sisters together for Christmas...

Kinda dark but I like this picture.... it's been a long time since we celebrated Christmas together.

Happy New Years to EVERYONE.....

I AM A SLACKER BLOGGER! 8 days since I last posted.. shame on me!

I haven't been posting or blogging since before Christmas... I guess being sick over the holidays sapped all my MOJO!

I wanted to post a few pictures of my cute daughter and nephew. We are all getting along just great! Spreading the flew back and forth with tons of hugs and kisses! LOL

My daughter just loves Naief and vise versa. Christmas morning and even Christmas Eve was so much fun watching them both interact together. Santa was very generous to both of them this year and the baby just loved all the commotion of Christmas... he would scream and laugh while we all opened gifts. Makes me wish I had another little one. Maybe this year God will bless me with the greatest gift of all... a child.

Hoping everyone is enjoying the Holidays.....

Have a laugh....

I wanted to post some pictures of my visit with my sister and nephew but my computer at home is being worked on.... so here are some laughs... i just love Christmas comics like these. I can go on and on and on searching the websites finding so many that just cracks me up!

We got a new tree (for free) and it's actually bigger, fresher and prettier than the last one we had. My sister and I had fun decorating it together....Naief wanted to play with all the ornaments and would cry when we took them away from him. We shopped all weekend and got some great deals and I am soooo happy to say that I am ALMOST DONE! YIPPPEEEE! Also I wrapped ALL of my gifts (probably about 50 or more!) over the weekend (stayed up till almost 2am every night) and the only ones I have left to wrap are the ones I still need to buy this week. So my MISSION WAS ACCOMPLISHED! Whew what a stress reliever knowing that now I can relax and enjoy the days ahead. Is it just me or is Christmas time a BIG STRESS? I miss being a child and not having to worry about this or that. Oh well....

Hey another thing... i haven't sent out my Christmas cards yet because I wanted to take a family picture but with Katelyn being so sick and my sister coming I haven't found the time. Is it too late or should I just send a generic card with no picture and hurry up and mail them??? I have never missed a year without sending out cards....

Sister is HERE... Daughter is SICK... Christmas tree is DEAD!

Well the past couple days have been very HECTIC! Trying to Blog.... HA! Wasn't happenin'!

First of all my sister, Um Naief, made it to LAX Monday afternoon. My nephew is the most precious little boy!! So beautiful and so well behaved. He is 10 months old and I miss those baby years....Katelyn is my only child so far and these 2.5 months with Naief is going to be so special... I am so very happy they are here and this time around I was less stressed about her coming. She thinks I am a neat freak (I do have those tendencies and can make everyone else's life miserable-but I made a promise to myself to RELAX and "go with the flow" which is a very hard thing for me to do) I was in a great mood and have been for 3 days now, so maybe just maybe we won't kill each other! lol- Welcome Tania and Naief. May you both have a wonderful Holiday in the U.S.

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On a sad note: my daughter has been very sick. She started getting sick with a fever last Wednesday evening and woke up with a high fever on Thursday. At first I thought it was just a cold; not eating, sleeping a lot, fevers, cold, hot, etc. etc. So I was just keeping her home and giving her soup, Motrin/Tylenol,etc. BUT on Sunday morning she woke up with these awful (awful is not the appropriate description-Gross is more like it) SORES all over her lips, inside of her lips, tongue, inside of cheeks, etc. Her gums were so red and swollen that you could barely see her upper teeth. I FREAKED OUT. I immediately called my girlfriends for support and one thought it was Foot, Hand and Mouth Disease. The other one (which is a nurse) said to take her in because you never know... that is what I did. Monday after picking my sister up I headed straight to the Dr's office. It is a form of that disease. It starts out as an internal virus that works it's self out through the mouth. It can last up to 14 days. No antibiotic was described. Very contagious. IT SUCKS!!!! Poor thing. She has lost over 5 lbs and looks like a ghost. I am here at work and just want to be home with her... hopefully Auntie is making her feel better.

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Another note: Our Christmas tree is COMPLETELY DEAD! I knew my husband was buying it too early. I want to cry. I went to the place that we purchased it and said we can get another one for no charge. But the thought of having to take everything off of the dead one and re-do it, is it worth it??? There is still 13 days left and the ornaments are already falling off the dead branches! Don't laugh. I know you want to....

Let it RAIN....

I LOVE RAIN. I love love love it! I love the way it feels. I love the smell. I love the sound. I love to watch it. I'm sure you get my point....

It rained last night. All night in fact. And it might rain again today.... my sister Tania is jealous because she too loves it and it never rains in Bahrain. I was talking to her last night and went outside to let her hear it. She flies in on Monday and wanted it not to rain until she gets here.... HA HA HA! Too bad ;-)

The air is crisp. I love this time of year... today would be the perfect day to be home, in bed with a good book and a cup of hot coco. But my butt is stuck here in my office at work with nagging clients calling and paperwork stacked all over the place.... But at least it is FRIDAY!

When should you buy....?

This is the type of tree that I buy every year for Christmas.... I love Noble's. Last year however, I over spent on gifts and had to buy a Spruce or something... but not this year. I have saved (okay not really but I do tell that to my hubby!)

Anyhoo.... I always wait until like the second week of December to buy my tree for our living room. My daughter has already put up her fake tree with all of her Hallmark ornaments that she has been given over the years in our dining room... and all the outside and inside decorations are up.

BUT when should you buy your tree? I want to buy it today but it's only the 4th... afraid it will be dead on Christmas morning... and how sad would that be!

BLOG Q&A

Okay.... This is my question... and thoughts about Blogging.

What is the "norm" when it comes to posting new posts? Everyday, every two days, 3, 4, one week?

Some bloggers (you know who you are) post EVERY SINGLE DAY! Sometimes twice in a day! I can barely keep up with these bloggers... if you miss a day- you are behind and if you miss a couple days- well you are basically screwed! LOL

Other Bloggers post every couple days.... that seems about right. It gives their visitors time to well... visit and leave comments.

Me on the other hand, I think I leave a post posted too long before doing another one. Lazy is what it's called!

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS IT SHALL BE....

This is my sister, Um Naief (AKA-Tooners AKA-Tania) and this adorable baby boy is my nephew Naief. They live in Bahrain. She fell in love with a Bahraini Boy and left her poor family behind over 4 years ago to live without her. Was I mad, Heck yah!

I have never been there yet. I want to go. I have promised her countless times that we would go, we being: my husband, my daughter, our mother... but with my daughter in school, etc. and our mother having chronic emphysema and the cost of four people to go there, whew. Maybe next year I will go myself or just with Katelyn. One of these days.....

Anyways, to get to my topic. She and Naief are COMING IN TWO WEEKS to spend Christmas with us and then Hashim (her hubby) will join us the end of January to celebrate Naief's 1st birthday on February 4th. I just found this out LAST NIGHT, yes I said, LAST NIGHT! OMG!

Am I prepared? Hell NO! We weren't really expecting them until after the New Year, and they usually come once a year and we celebrate the Holidays, etc. and exchange gifts at that time, so I HAVE BOUGHT NOTHING YET!

I am very happy because it's been YEARS since we were together for Christmas. And I will finally get to hold my nephew for the first time. This is her only child. And I really never thought my sister would have a baby. She wasn't the best Aunt... (just kidding) she is, but she never was into children. now seeing her as a mother, it was meant to be. Precious.

Us as sisters, well we have this LOVE/HATE relationship. We love hard and we fight hard. It's not easy at times but I think, actually I know, that this visit will be different. It has to be! There isn't enough time to fight over the silly things.... so, Um Naief, do as I say and everything will be just peachy! ;-)

2 weeks, OMG! OMG! OMG!

Top Toys for Christmas 2007!

Well it's that time of year (for those who celebrate) for Santa Clause. And even if you don't you still might have children or opinions on this topic.

What is the best gifts out there? What toys are a hit? What does every little girl and boy want?

I only have one child so spoiling her is just natural! ;-)

BUT I DO HAVE MY LIMITS AND THIS BIRD IS ONE OF THEM!

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HasbroHasbro's Furreal Friends Squawkers McCaw Parrot is a toy which makes it's presence felt! This toy takes technology and interactive play to the next level with features such as voice recognition, animatronics, and dance and sing features. The only word of caution is that it can repeat what you say, so watch those words coming out of your mouth! It comes with a remote control which has pre-programmed voice commands which can prompt the parrot to say something or dance if there's music playing. Although, since this parrot loves to dance, it will do so to his own tunes too. This product sells for about $70. The Squawkers McCaw Parrot is for those of you who are looking for something different this holiday season.

My daughter has asked for this from Santa... (okay she is 7 and still believes...., but hey I am 34 and still believe...) but I will NOT be buying this. Is that cruel? I just don't see the logic in a talking parrot!!!! And especially one that is fake!

Just curious on what Mommies and Daddies are buying this year... and so is Marci! ;-)

Happy Thanksgiving.... Gobble Gobble

Do I need to say more?

May your day be filled with lots of love, lots of laughter and lots of Turkey!

Kids and Cell Phones?

This blog was a request from my cousin (whom should really have her own blog because she has lots of crap to talk about and great in-laws to rat about... hee hee ha ha!) and she has somewhat become my #1 fan since I started this whole blog journey.

She would like to know from all of you out there.... WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE AGE FOR A CHILD TO HAVE THEIR OWN CELL PHONE?

Which kind? For what? For when? What limits?

She has a 7 year old son that goes bike riding with friends around the gated neighborhood that has it's in own park, etc. and he also goes over to his friends in the same hood, she always gives him her cell phone in case he should have to call home, or vise versa, but what about having his own?

So this is for Marci... please give advise for she is in a delima! She was thinking about buying a cell phone like this one, for kids only, to call Mom and Dad - 911, etc.

My sign....

Emotional and loving

Intuitive and imaginative

Shrewd and cautious

Protective and sympathetic
On the dark side...

Changeable and moody

Overemotional and touchy

Clinging and unable to let go

Ellie go me thinking about my sign and if it fits me to a tee? I think sometimes yes, sometimes no. I also think there is a sign out there floating around that is more me, perhaps called jahoonious?!

I had to post this....

This is just too funny! Could you imagine?

My daughter is a Brownie and was a Daisy for 2 years prior to this year... Finally we get to sale cookies this year as a Brownie scout. I am a co-leader for her troop and I just can't stop laughing when I saw this picture!

Oh mee Oh my, my tummy hurts from laughing...

But aren't girl scout cookies the best? My favorite is the one with chocolate and coconut, what are they called???? Shoot. They start with a S....

Would you buy cookies from her? I would... poor thing.

Me. A Rockin Blogger????

I won an award! WOW... I feel so honored. I want to thank God, my publicist, my producers, my family, and most of all my fans.....It is an honor.... LOL HA!

Thank you Olivia... I miss everyone too when I don't blog much and this week has been just that... I haven't blogged. I think I am on a blog nap. I can't quite think of what to say or what to post. Do you ever feel this way?

Anyways, Thank you so much for this award. Not only did it make my day but it gave me something to post... guess the Halloween pics weren't that interesting :-(

I nominate: Logziella and Kara. I love both of their blogs. I can't keep up since Logziella blogs everyday but I love them both!

Hello.... FINALLY!

We had a great time on Halloween.... sorry that it's been so long since I last blogged BUT I have been stressed to the max!!!! Not only is my best friend getting married in 4 days but I also found out that my office is being moved in 2 weeks! We are moving to a different location in the building and now I will FINALLY have my very own office... guess blogging will be easier! j/k

This is my daughter Katelyn as a little Indian. Cute huh? Found the shirt (for her a dress) at a thrift store for a whoppin $1.00! We made the headband and necklaces. Cheap and cute. The way I like it!

The little boy and girl are my best friend's children (also a family picture of them)... this is who is getting married. She never thought she would marry again after being married for 13 years and having Andrew, but she met Robert in her home town of WI (get it, cheese heads?) and they have been together for almost 5 years with two little precious baby girls, which I call my own! ;)

My hubby and I aren't in any of the pictures... oh wait, I am in one- at a Halloween party with some of my girlfriends... can you guess which one is me?! ;-) can my family guess? LOL

Anyhoo, sorry it's taken me so long (you know who) and I promise to post more pictures now.... need to live up to bloggers standards!

Oh and I put a picture of Katelyn in her Brownie uniform. Since that day she has lost her 2ND front tooth.... so I guess "All she wants for Christmas is her two front teeth!"

Happy Halloween!

Okay Okay... I know I am a little early but I plan on being super busy the next couple days... SO HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE! BOO! This picture is the e-card that my cousin sent to me, aren't these kids really cute?! Katelyn was a witch last year and this year she is going to be an American Indian. We make her costumes every year since she was a baby and this year I think it turned out okay. She is super white and very pale like me, so seeing her with a black wig with long braids and feathers is kinda funny.

Katelyn has her Brownie Troop meeting tonight at a Pumpkin Patch. It's a pretty big one with rides, etc. Should be lots of fun and I love seeing our troop of girls dressed in full uniform (which they do when we go to outings). I promise promise that the next post will be pictures of her (and maybe me, since I need to update my profile picture since it was almost 2 years ago!) of her in her brownie uniform and Halloween outfit.

I am very proud of myself for not eating any of the candy that we bought to pass out. Usually I sneak a couple hand fulls, but these year NONE! I am down 8 lbs. Hoping 15 by Christmas. My hubby is going to buy that book called, "You on a Diet" by Dr. Oz, has anyone heard of this book? I know of several people that have changed their life from it. Not only have they lost weight but they feel better and look healthier.

Okay back to candy.... it is HALLOWEEN damn it! Maybe today I'll sneak a snickers.

Me, at work...

This is what I look like at work... seriously!

It feels about 30 below zero!. The mail room controls the temp to my office... and the mail room jerks won't ever turn it down!

It is so cold that all day my hands are frozen and it actually hurts to type.

I guess they find it funny when they walk by and find me looking like this....

Anyhoo....

ps, fires are under control. Finally

My beloved California....

Hello everyone... Sorry that it's been some time since I blogged.

When I returned home from my business trip to Las Vegas, this is what I came home to!

The fires started on Sunday here and there. It has been soooooooooooo dry here in California and we haven't seen rain in I don't know how long. Then, came the winds. 120 mph winds at some points. The area in which I live gets the winds really bad and I knew the worst was yet to come.

Mother Nature started some of the fires but not all, some were caused by arson. How sick are people??? It makes me want to SCREAM!

I love California. It's not the cheapest place to live but the state is beautiful. Most of the fires (16 total) are in such gorgeous areas. If you have driven down the coast (Malibu area) or all the way to San Diego on HWY 15, then you know what a devastation it is to have it all burnt to ashes. My favorite place that is still on fire after 4 days is Lake Arrowhead. We go there to camp and I take my family up the mountain when they are here to visit. I guess it will be a long time before I return...

Thousands of acres have burned, people have died, animals have been left to burn, thousands of homes destroyed, families lives have been shattered. It breaks my heart and it has taken a toll on everyone that lives here in the state. I don't know what they show you in other states on the news or in the papers BUT I can tell you that it is TERRIBLE!

My home looks out over the San Bernardino mountains. Yesterday the back side of those mountains were on fire. Over 200 homes burned overnight. We couldn't even go outside from the polluted air. I now know what 911 felt like.... you are covered with ashes on your clothes and you gag from the smoke. During the day there is a black haze all over that makes it feel eerie. The oranges in the sky at night are like something out of a painting.

Please pray that we get National assistance. Please pray that the winds stop. Please pray that the "homeless" can move forward and start over.

Business Trip...in VEGAS!

Another Monday morning... YUK YUK YUK! Had a fun weekend though... got my hair colored and chopped off. Very cute. Spent time with the in-laws in Orange County and then spent all day Sunday at Disneyland! Yep, we saw Micky Mouse. Took a cute picture of the family with him and will post it when I get back from my business trip this week...

I have to take a GBS class (this is the software that we use in my office) and since I am pretty much a one woman show... oh yah, and the agent I work for ;-), we thought it might be helpful to learn just exactly what all the system will allow us to do to create a balance and more funchtional office system with our client data base.

I enjoy Vegas but I haven't gone alone... the Hotel that the course is at doesn't even have a CASINO! I was like WHAT THE *&^%! HECK! I thought ALL HOTELS have them! I am flying out from Ontario airport and the flight is about 45 minutes... just enough time to get up in the air, order a drink, and then you're there.... I have all day Wednesday to bum around... guess I will take a Taxi to the strip to find a hotel that I can lose all my money at. Class starts at 7am sharp both Thursday and Friday..... so not much fun will be had on this trip to Vegas.

Will not be posting until I return..... Take Care fellow bloggers and Wish me Lady Luck!

Kick Boxing kicked my BUTT!

Well I have started working out and thought about trying a new exercise. A co-worker of mine is a beautiful Asian, in VERY good shape and swears by kick boxing. She goes at least 6 times a week (different classes at 3 different gyms... did I say, very in shape!) She invited me to go to a hour long class on Monday at 24 Hour Fitness.

She told me that Monday classes are not advanced and this would be a good class to learn. BTW-I have never taken a kick boxing class... my routine of exercising is walking/jogging on treadmill, sit-ups, the stationary bike and some of the lifting equipment if I feel "perky" and walking the dog sometimes...

Anyhoo, we get there and warm up on the treadmill for 10 minutes prior to the class. We go in and she proceeds to go to the front of the class next to the instructor, and I am like "Oh No You Didn't!", she motions me up there and I was so devastated. She says that being up front makes you work out even harder. The music starts and I was like, Okay I can do this .. it was a jab there and a kick there, and ALL OF A SUDDEN the music changes and everyone yells 1,2,3 and WAM BAM it is all HIGH GEAR and I was like "WHAT?!" It was so fast, so hard and I had no idea what the hell I was doing... I didn't know what the Terminology meant, I couldn't keep up, I couldn't kick that high, I couldn't kick behind my back... I thought I would die.

I started to really fill ill after 35 minutes. I couldn't continue. She apologized because she said that they switched Monday's to HIGH IMPACT and she forgot. She said that being my first time that I really did a good job at keeping up, etc. I was like, Yah Right. I left the class and cooled down on the treadmill for 5 minutes.

I drove back to home and decided to stop by my gym (yes same night.. what the heck was I thinking) and I ended up working out more, did 150 sit-ups and the sauna before going home to collapse!

The next morning I was sore. I went to work and Kim (co-worker) showed me some stretches to do, but while I was doing them my back was really really hurting... that evening I did sit-ups over the phone with my sister in Bahrain and while I was doing them my back didn't feel right. WELL, GUESS WHAT?

My back went out when I tried to get up yesterday morning for work! I screamed at the pain. The pain is soooooooo intense and my muscle's started to contract. I couldn't lift my arm up at all. It hurt to get up and move around. I had to miss work. I did muscle stem and bio freeze and ice all day long. I feel like an old person and I am only 34! How sad is this being so out of shape. I want to cry. Everyone at work is laughing because I called in sick.

I will never do kick boxing again!

Monday Mornings...

Today is Monday. I hate Monday mornings...

When I got to work today the same person that annoys the heck out of me was being loud and obnoxious, going on and on about her weekend. Her birthday was last Wednesday and she is one of those types that celebrate for an entire week!

Lordy I mean she had the office take her to lunch on her birthday, then her boss took her the next day, then she wanted to celebrate Happy Hour Friday after work (which I don't think anyone went) and then she had a bunch of us meet her at a local pub on Saturday night (she is the cousin of a friend of mine)... Well anyway, here it is Monday and she is now taking the balloons down from her desk and throwing away the decorations and going on and on and on and on about it, she even mentioned she can't wait for next year!!!!

I need to pray.

Daily Jogs

Okay I started excerising again... and me and hubby went on a 3.5 mile walk the other day and we jogged a bit. We are going to up it tomorrow morning (if it doesn't rain but I guess we could go to the gym!) and my goal is to be this girl with all the fat men gocking over me. Well not the fat old men, the middle age hotties! How are her boobs so perky? Do mine look like that when I jog?

Boo! Kill the candy corns!

Kara said:On October 1st, I walk down to the store and buy a crapload of candy corn. By October 20th, I'm so sick of it that I don't want to see it again for a year. Someday, I'll make it to Halloween before sickening myself completely. It's good to have goals.

So this post is for Kara.... she said she likes candy corn or that she eats them! Ewwww. I think it's the worst candy of all times!

I think this picture (art work by Terry at Bent Objects-which, if you haven't visited his Blog, YOU MUST) sums up the reason why candy corn exists!

Now I am thinking of all the other gross candy out there... Oh I know.... PEEPS! What else, hymn...?

Happy Fall...

My girlfriend Logziella has really gotten me in the mood to go home and decorate for fall and Halloween. I love this time of year... wishing I lived back east or midwest so I could see all the pretty changes of colors... Oh how I miss that.

Katelyn has decided to go as a little Indian girl. Her outfit is turning out really cute (found her Indian top at a thift store for $1.00- can't beat that) and we are hand making bead necklaces, headband with feathers, etc. Should be really cute. We make her costumes every year so finding something for a buck was exciting....

I think I am going to make a scarecrow this year for my front yard.... I have lots of pumpkin decorations but isn't this little guy really cute?! I can make this. This will be our week project or weekend.. hee hee (like I can get this done working full-time!, gosh that is another thing I miss NOT working all the dang time!... why did I take this job?! Ugh!)

I love to buy tons of pumpkins and gourds... but where can I get hay stacks? Hymn.....

Need to buy enough pumpkins for decorating closer to the 31st. That is hubbies fav thing to do for Halloween... and eat all the candy ;-)

Will take a picture of my scarecrow once it's complete to compare them!

Hoping to get started tonight. Hoping.

Happy Friday #2

Happy Friday!

I am really annoyed right now.... and I should be happy since it's Friday right?!

I got up early this morning to download some pictures at home to blog a new post today at work. I put several pictures of my Aunt's visit on it and I was going to decide which ones to keep and which ones to delete (there was one of me that I liked but didn't like) and well... I DELETED them ALL!!! So now I have to re-do the whole dang thing when I get home!!! Ugh.

My Aunt promised to check my blog from time to time (she didn't know what a blog was prior to her visit) so I was going to put her to the test. Will she really do it? Guess I will have to have patience and do it again over the weekend . And hoping she doesn't get too mad by me posting her pictures....

I find myself really busy over the weekends and I don't blog much (or at all). I always find something else to do at home (cleaning, scrapbooking, watching TV, family time, BBQ's, birthday parties, shopping, etc. etc.) It irritates my sister mostly but when you work almost full time, weekends are always crammed packed!

Tonight my girlfriend wants to scrap. I also have to visit another girlfriend and go over fundraiser stuff for my daughter's Brownie troop. That's another thing, FUNDRAISERS, UGH! If it's not school doing one then it's always some other activity... girl scouts, baseball, etc. This time we are selling nuts instead of girl scout cookies. Yum, girl scout cookies. I am excited because this will be the first year she can sell them.... doesn't help my diet though.

Speaking of diet and exercise. I have worked out 3 times this week and plan on getting one more time in. I weighed in 3 lbs less today! Last night the family walked for almost 3 miles. Well Katelyn rode her scooter, which I must say she is very good on it... I jogged a little with Cody. He is getting better at his walks but still a puppy.

Any hoo.... must get back to work. Boss is out of town and I have several projects that must get completed by end of today.

Later Gaters

Have a laugh....

The New Bachelor

A new episode of the Bachelor has begone and my my my my thank heavens for little boys! And big ones...This is going to be such a great show! Not only is he cute as a button but he is a TEXAN.... (I grew up back and forth from Indiana, Texas and California) and I admit that I miss Texas a lot.... and if I knew that they grew them like this, I would have never have left ;-)

Last night's show was a hoot! All the "back stabbing" from the girls started within 15 minutes of the show. One got so drunk she could barely stand up during the rose ceremony and another one put her legs behind her back while laying down and then said to him, "spin me"... another one showed him her webbed toes and another one sang the yellow rose of Texas but didn't know the words and couldn't sing for the life of her!!!! Oh gosh my stomach still hurts from laughing so hard.... (and maybe because I did 130 sit ups at the gym last night) but it was worth it. I can't believe these girls get on national television and act like complete morons if front of such a fine young man.

Oh how fun this is going to be.....But I sometimes wonder if I weren't married, would I go to these links to find Mr. Right??? Would I dare? Almost all of them end in disaster and really how well can you really get to know someone within 6 weeks while dating 25/15/10/5/4/3/2 others at a time?! Oh well... it still makes the show, and I HAVE TO WATCH IT!

This got me thinking...

Every day when i drive home from work, i see the same homeless guy (not these ones!) at the off ramp that i exit from the freeway. He isn't that old...probably my age and he has a little sign asking for help. I feel very uncomfortable seeing him and having him stare into my car. I haven't given him money but thought about taking him food or maybe some bottles of water... should I? I mean shoot, is he really homeless??? He doesn't have a cart. Okay that was a bad joke. Or maybe I should take him a beer! Or maybe I should take a different exit.

What a weekend! Do I have to go to another dang yard sale?!

Well my Aunt Aloma flew in from Florida Friday night. This was basically the first time that I met her (last time was when i was a little girl age 5 or 6 but can't remember her at all) so it was exciting but a bit nerve wracking as well....

My hubby was off in a fishing tournament for the weekend so it was just my Mother, my Aunt, Kate and me to busy ourselves with activities. That was kinda nice because it gave us all time to get acquainted (again) and to have girly time.

We woke up at the crack of dawn (7ish and yep that is the "crack of dawn" for ME) and set off to go yard selling and thrift store shopping. My Mom warned me that my Aunt LOVES to go yard selling BUT OMG.... ALL DAY????

Yes we went to, hymn... let's see... about 6/7 yard sales around my house before heading an hour or so away to Orange County to go to GOD knows how many more there, along with something like 5 thrift stores, a farmers market, squeezed in lunch, drove an hour home to stop at yet another thrift store before they closed!!!! Now sometimes I drive by yard sales to check out "threw the window" to see if they have anything worth getting out of the car for BUT not Aunt Aloma, everyone MUST get out each time to scavendure through ALL the boxes and junk. I don't know how in the heck I survived but I did. My poor little girl kept saying " Do I have to get out of the car this time?"

Then we came home, had some drinks while making a yummy dinner of fresh produce from the farmers market (we were there a for over an hour!), then we stayed up and tried to talk to my sister in Bahrain on the computer before heading off to bed to begin the next day with a full load.

Yesterday I drove my Aunt to Palm Springs to see all of the windmills and to also go to the local casino. She didn't win - she lost $20.00 plus the cost of a Mama Bahama-which she picked out which was pretty dang tasty! But mother won $65.00!!!! That made her happy but she was pissed that she had to buy her own drinks - which I bought her ONE and refused to buy her anymore... guess Vegas spoiled her. I lost $10.00. But we had a nice time. At least we were doing something besides going to Yard Sales! Whew....

Tonight we are going to BBQ chicken on the grill and maybe watch a movie. She likes scary movies... so maybe I'll rent that movie Number 23 or something like that.

Um Naeif, don't be mad. I will take you to as many yard sales as you want TOO! ;-) Wishing you were here with us. She thinks Naief is adorable. Will try to call you again before she leaves, have your computer fixed by Friday (our night time). She leaves Sunday the 23rd.

It has been nice meeting someone new in my family. She is very sweet and courteous BUT has a little addiction to Yard Sales!

Post for Marci.... :-)

Middle Name Tag

Okay Munther... You tagged me. This is my first "Tag".... and I hope my last ;-) Should be easy since I have a small middle name. Must say the rules first:

1.You have to post these rules before you give the facts.

2.You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.

3.At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Middle Name : JOY

(j) Jahooni is a nickname that my sister, Um Naief, gave to me.

(o) Oysters are really yummy, but do they really make you horny?

(y) Yesterday I made Taco's for dinner but really wanted oysters ;-)

Whew... that wasn't too bad. Thank you Mother for giving me such a simple middle name!

I tag: Drum roll please...

Um Naief (of course)
Hashim
Olivia (London Dispatches)
Marci (leave answers on my comment section UNLESS you made your own Blog by NOW)

Opps, I dunnit Again...

Gosh, it was hubbies birthday yesterday and I didn't even post a Happy Birthday Blog for him! Oops. Isn't that awful? I'm truly sorry honey, BUT

Really it's not a big deal since he doesn't even check out my blog anymore!!!! Shame Shame on Him! Maybe just maybe he'll check in to see if I mentioned his b-day since I mentioned my sister's, so here is a toast to MY HUBBY (of 9 years)... HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! May you have a great 36th year in life and many many many more birthdays to follow.

We had a great time last night.... There is finally a BASS PRO SHOP here in California and low and behold, it's just down the street from where we live! We have been watching for over a year of the building process and being super excited for this... So after a long day of work, we as a family took off and spent the evening having dinner at the World Famous Islamorada Fish Company... YUM YUM YUM. I had grouper with Lobster sauce and it was delish. I also had 1/2 dozen oysters on the half shell. (Um Naief, King's Fish House had better ones) but they were still very good. Brandon had Rib Eye and Kate had shrimp. After dinner we walked half of the store (too gigantic to do it in one evening) and I bought him a new real and rod for his birthday. Maybe just maybe he'll win all the money next weekend in his fishing tournament! Good Luck Babe.

Anyhoo, back at work today. Going to scrapbook later with my girlfriend. WAY PAST DUE on that project.

have a great day everyone...

Again Happy Birthday Brandon!

To my sister....

Today is my sister, um naief's (hypnotic verses) birthday.
She lives in a far away place so I can't give her a big birthday hug or a pat on the butt for ALL THE YEARS she has been born ;-) Us Americans have a weird tradition to spank the butt for the number of years that you have been born, BUT was that ever a tradition, really? Don't worry I am not saying how many (even though the little sister part of me is coming out... LOL)

But what I can do is tell her how very much that I LOVE HER and that I MISS HER so very much! I can also sing (or type) the birthday song, so hear goes...imagine my voice, okay? Or maybe not.

Hymmnnn..... cough cough. Wait. Clearing throat. Okay.

Hymm.... Doe, Ray, Me, Fa, So, La, Tee, Doe........ cough cough.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEARRRRRRRRRRRR TOONERS....
HAPPY BIRTHDAYYYYYYYY TOOOOOOOOOOO YOOUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Any many more. On channel 4... don't let your butt get hit by the door!

Back To School

My daughter started 2nd grade this past Monday. 2nd grade!!!!! OMG... I am sad.

This was her first day of school. She was really nervous and excited at the same time. Doesn't she look so grown up?

She wants to grow her hair long for this year but I am so tempted to whack it off!

Kudos to Kate.

You go Girl!

Back Home

We are back from our vacation.... We had a great time. Fished a lot, played a lot of games, hiked, had picnics, and went site seeing. Had some good cold beers and yummy hot dogs, steak, chicken, fish (of course) bacon and eggs, marshmellows, a bottle of wine, a few mixed drinks.... lots of junk food (isn't that what vacation is about?) and how on earth I didn't gain weight is beyond me! My daughter had fun fishing with daddy. Daddy caught this trout and it weighed in at almost 5lbs. (Haven't ate it yet) A big brown bear came in our camp site and wanted to meet us in person (he got up on his hind legs... and was trying to tell us Who is Boss), my dog got stung by a bee in his mouth and got really sick from that, one of my brackets from my braces broke and my mouth got infected and my hubby had to cut off half my wire with these old wire clippers from the tool box in the truck, and OH YEAH.. the truck broke down 1 hour away from our designation and we had to wait 3.5 hours for Triple AAA to rescue us to take us back down the hill (not in the correct direction) to spend the night in the RV park and then hubby spent the entire first day under the hood trying to fix the clutch fan (which he did half ass) and we managed to make it to camp and then had no truck for 3 days and over $700
later... yadda yadda yadda. I proceeded to drink those cold beers while watching him sweat (poor thing), then I got a fishing hook stuck in my finger which got infected too. Hymn... what else?
But hey, it was fun! Until next year.

VACATION. FINALLY!

Going on vacation to Yosemite area for 9 days....

It is soooooooo beautiful there. This picture doesn't really do it justice. The trees are so lush, the air is so clear. I have gone every year for the last 14 years.... There is ALWAYS something new to see or do.

Have tons to do in the next couple days. Hubby is wanting everything packed and ready to go 2 days prior to leaving.... GEEZ. I thought camping is supposed to be "relaxful"? And the fact that we have a new travel trailer, I thought it would be easier to get organized but NOT really!

Wanted my Mom to go with us but with the high elevation and her breathing problems, she has chosen to stay home and do this and that. I worry about leaving her for so long but I have girlfriends that will check on her and bring her some goodies to eat. Guess I will find her a lovely pine cone ;-)

Hoping I catch a BIGGER fish than hubby! So long... bloggers.