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Well, we're back home now.

Venice Beach was awesome; coming home to 100F and screaming children kinda sucked.

So Long, suckers!

Tomorrow, Keith and I head out to Sunny California for a (much needed) 5-day vacation without the children.

The forecast for the particular area we're going? Highs in the low 80's, lows in the upper 60's.

The forecast for Kansas City? 101F, low 74F

heh, don't you wish you were going with us?!

Guess I need to change the color of my blog.....

Your Psyche is Red

You are bright, bold, energetic, and intense. Your upbeat, zany energy inspires those who are down. Spontaneous and playful, you also have a courageous and fearless side. When you are too red: you are angry, overprotective, and truly scary. When you don't have enough red: you are depleted and lifeless.

What Color Is Your Psyche?

Who the heck is Marcus Brigstocke?

Stolen from pharyngula.

Yay!

We got our air conditioner fixed! (it only cost us $575!) The guy came out this afternoon and spent maybe 45 minutes replacing the motor, and now our house is almost cooled back down! Now, $575 sounds like a lot, and it is, but..... to completely replace the unit, it would have been around $3200. We were happy they could fix it!

Sweet, sweet air conditioning, oh, how I love thee!

oh joy

So one of our air conditioners broke today, the one that cools the upstairs. We're having issues with our sprinkler system (it won't shut off, even when you've turned it off). And my Sims 2 game (or my computer, not really for sure) is broken (won't load, won't even uninstall).

Don't you wish you were us!

Gah.

It's a good thing it's only supposed to reach a high of 85 this weekend, I don't know how I'd survive the 90's with the 60% humidity. I've done it before, but it's not fun, that's for sure.

Who, me?

So XO over at Hip Suburban White Guy tagged me a few days ago for the 8 Random Things About Me me-me. ME! He tagged ME! I'm finally popular enough to be tagged!

I don't know if that's a good thing or not.

Okay, on to learning even MORE about me! It's not like this blog is my outlet for sharing my thoughts or opinions, right?

1. I grew up not having a TV in the house. Apparently my parent's tv died when I was two, and they just never replaced it. They finally got another when I was 12. My mom did tell me once that she absolutely hated Big Bird. Guess I watched Sesame Street when I was little!

2. My cb radio handle is two-bit. I hated it. Back in the day, when cb radios were the 'thing' and there were no cell phones, my parents used it to communicate when my dad was working. We only had one car, so it made sense. My dad's handle is Yankee Clipper, and my mom's is Lady Clipper. I should have been baby clipper or something like that. Two-bit sucked ass.

3. I have been technically homeless. Fortunately, I had enough friends I always had a place to stay until I found my own place.

4. I almost flunked my freshman art class when I was a senior in high school. It was my fine arts credit, too. Very important. If I flunked that class, I didn't graduate! I should have just taken Spanish III.

5. I am a Sims addict. I had every single expansion pack (EP) for the original Sims, and every EP for the Sims 2. I only have one of their 'stuff packs', though. I still have my original Sims games, but they are no longer on my computer.

6. I am the best cook in my family. Seriously. My grandmother's idea of potatoes were those that came from a box. And that is why Keith used to do most of the cooking. I cook more (and better than I used to) now that he works later, but you have no idea how happy I am that I fell in love with someone that knows how and LIKES to cook. (And his smoked ribs & chicken are to die for!)

7. I love reading the Harry Potter books. When I first heard of the series, I decided to not read them because I figured if they were as good as everyone was saying, I'd get addicted, and then have to suffer the wait until the next book was released. A few years later, the movies started. Keith and I liked the first movie so much, we started reading the books. I think there were only 4 books at that time, so I've been waiting with everyone else anyway. Oh well, they ARE good.

8. There are times when I hate having children. They suck so much out of you. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my children. I wouldn't give them up, or trade them for anything. I may even have another. But there are moments when I wish they didn't live with me 24/7. And then Matthew will run up to me, hug me, and say "I love you mommy!" and I just melt. Big puddle on the floor. Parenting is the hardest thing I have ever done. And I've escaped a toxic religion, so doing hard things is not a foreign concept to me. I'd have to say that it is also one of the most rewarding things I have ever done.

There. Eight things about me. I'm not going to tag anyone, except maybe Fate!

Because I haven't showed off my kids lately

Kisses for you!

See how flexible I am!

Yeah, I'm THAT cool.

Who, me?

First hair cut!

After first haircut!

uug, part II

Migraine has downgraded to headache, finally. I actually feel like doing more than sleeping. Yay. Maybe now my laundry will get done before we go to grandma's house this weekend.

In the funny category, check out the original Die Hard movie, done in 30 seconds and reenacted by bunnies.

uug

Migraine today. Posting will resume when it's gone and I've caught up on the housework and errands.


blech.

We'll laugh in a year or two.

Yesterday was hubby and I's 6th wedding anniversary. Instead of our traditional dinner out at a steak house, we decided to cook our own steak at home.

Let me just say, its much cheaper to go out.

We wound up eating Subway for dinner, and we now need to replace our stove hood. And we will never try to flambe something in our kitchen ever again.

Keith should have pictures of the aftermath up at the family site soon.

edited to add: It was Steak au Poivre, from Alton Brown. The steaks were fine, it was the brandy that we had issues with!

Keith's comments here, and pictures here.

Mmmmmm, chocolate.....

You are Dark Chocolate

You live your life with intensity, always going full force. You push yourself (and others) to the limit... you want more than you can handle. An extreme person, you challenge and inspire the world!

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

God is amazing!

A little long (10 minutes), but worth it!

On the death of Jerry Falwell.....

In the words of Clarence Darrow*...

I've never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.

I really don't have mixed feelings on this one. This man was the exact opposite of what a Christian should be. He preached hate and bigotry very loudly. I have no respect for him, even when some say they respect that he held very strong beliefs. Just because you "believe" something, doesn't mean you deserve respect.

I know all about believing in something that isn't true. There is no respect from me when what you believe hurts people.

*edited because I didn't check my facts before posting

1972

Today, I turn 35.

I don't feel 35 in my brain, but my body reminds me quite often. Nothing major, just minor things, like those extra 20 pounds leftover from my second pregnancy didn't just fall off like they did after the first pregnancy. Knees that hurt at just the thought of going to the gym. Little things like that.

A lot has happened in the last year. I had a baby last May. My brother invited me, then UN-invited me to his wedding. My blood family stopped talking to me completely. I had a breakdown. I started therapy. My son turned 3. Someone I considered my best friend turned her back on me. Someone else, whom I also considered my best friend, stuck with me through all the shit I've been through the last year, and truly became my sister. I adopted a new brother (Hi, Andrew!).

Even with all the family shit, it's been a fairly good year for me. I have two beautiful children and a wonderful husband. I have "adopted" family who truly cares for me. I have a wonderful mother-in-law. I have great friends on the internet (only some of who I've met).

If the sun stays out, I think I'll take the kids to the park today.

Oh, and hubby got me an Ipod shuffle for my b-day present! Go me!

The more things stay the same.....

The more things never change.

Let's see, PMS, a 3-day migrain, being in my home town without seeing my parents.

Yeah, that was my weekend. I hope yours was better.

In other news, Keith uploaded new pictures to the family site.

I love Spring

It may not be spring officially, but it's nice enough to break out the stroller and tricycle and walk around the block with the kids!

Matthew is REALLY good pedaling his tricycle now. He still can't pedal all the way up our driveway, but he's better than he was last year. Pretty soon, I'll have to power walk to keep up with him, which I am totally okay with! (I still have 20 pounds of baby weight to get rid of.)

So after my really crappy morning yesterday, we went for a walk. We went around our neighborhood block twice, which is about a mile. Monday we only went around once, and I hope to work our way up to four laps, equalling aprx. 2 miles, per day, at least on the nice days.

Here's to no more snow storms this season!

grrrr.....

So its 1:45 am, and I'm sitting here at my computer because my son woke me up around 12:30, then while I was putting him back to bed, he made enough noise to wake my daughter up, and now that they are both back asleep, I'm unable to sleep. I finally couldn't stand laying in bed having a theological argument I can't have with my father (because he won't talk to me) run around in my head. It's very frustrating, to say the least.

And now I'm hungry. I guess I could have some bread. I had a really bad sugar crash earlier this evening, so no more cookies and hot cocoa for me.

*bangs head against wall because I can't seem to stop rambling*