people who drive with crap on their dash

this picture doesn't exactly explain what i'm talking about, but this past weekend, i was out running errands and a lady almost hit me.  know why? because she couldn't see me.  why couldn't she see me?  because she had crap stacked up on her dash - trash - magazines, letters, mail, newspapers, grocery bags,etc., all stored in her dash.  when i say dash, i mean the part of the car in front of you when you are driving - the part above your steering wheel and speedometer, etc., above the radio, above the airbags.  her whole dash was covered, atleast 1/3 the way up.  it was a driving hazard!  she didn't see me and almost hit me because of it!  stupid lady.  stupid clutterbug.

the truth about chick-fil-a

maybe this isn't a big deal to you, maybe you don't care what you put in your body.
there seems to be a disconnect in eating out and ingredients lists.  when you go to the grocery store (or at least when i do), i read EVERYTHING.  sometimes, i let things slide.  so what if the one bag of cookies i buy have partially hydrogenated oils.  most everything else i get doesn't.  and so what if my chocolate syrup has corn syrup in it, the kids don't drink it, so it doesn't matter.  (when they start drinking chocolate milk, it will matter...)  but my spaghetti sauce NEVER has sugar or sugary products in it, and our spaghetti noodles are typically whole grain - just like the goldfish and our cereals and breads, most of them anyway.

anyway, to my point.  there are a few things, though, that i never buy:  BHT and MSG.  NEVER EVER.

here is a round about story: went to the neurologist last week and we were discussing my trigger foods.  i was telling him how the foods i don't like are typically my triggers, which is probably why i don't like them.  like, for example raw onions.  and some times peanut butter (if my head is in a "migraine mood").  also, doritos and most flavored chips - and chinese food.  mainly because they have MSG.  i can taste it. 

he said, do you like chick-fil-a?  i said, well, not particularly but we do eat there sometimes, my son will eat their nuggets (he won't eat them from most places).  it was THEN that he informed me that chickfila puts MSG in their breader for their nuggets, strips, and patties!  SURPRISE!  no wonder i'm not a fan.

so naturally i had to look it up - and he was right! see for yourself:  http://www.chick-fil-a.com/#menu

so my point here is look out for those too-good-to-be-true places!  this sandwich isn't all that good.  it is plain, no extras on it just pickles which i don't like anyway and still has a lot of fat and calories:









you're saying... well a burger isn't any better!

well lets see.
my favorite burger is a whopper jr!

that is less calories and  if i got it without mayo, it'd be less fat (12 g fat)!  there isn't any MSG in the beef or buns (but, just to be fair, they so use it in their breader for the chicken at BK! i checked.)

bad grocery baggers

yea, ok, i know i have some OCDs.  when my kids aren't with me and i can actually "enjoy" a trip to the grocery store (i.e. spend more than 10 minutes to spend $100), i do think about what i'm getting and read just about every label and compare every price AND look for coupons in my coupon envelope.  (kids with me - no chance of any of that happening - i have to stick to the list and get in and get out quick!)

today i went to food lion with no kids.  when i unloaded my cart onto the check-out counter, i laid everything out in order so that it would be easy to bag AND all the big (TP, drinks) stuff was together, all the boxes were together, produce, bread, cold, etc. presumably making it easier for the bagger to bag everything in a decent order.

apparently there is an art to bagging groceries. and i know it but not everyone does.


long story short, today i had a bad bagger.
even worse, today my bad bagger was combined with a bad checker-outer.  she grabbed stuff from all over the check-out counter/belt thingy.  i did most of my birthday-party shopping, which involved buying several of each of these things: 5 boxes of juice packs, 4 applesauce packs, 3 raisin boxes, 5 cake mixes, 5 frosting mixes, etc. and some other things that we just needed for our regular week.  so, i placed those things all together on the belt assuming she'd be able to ring them up together and THEN bag them together... like i wanted.

no such luck.  she grabbed a bag of raisins, a gallon of milk, a sleeve of oranges, a bag of chips, bagels, cheese, TP, coke, you name it - all random.  and that is exactly how it ended up in the bags, and in my car, and in my kitchen.  WHY OH WHY didn't she look and see that i had it organized before she started checking me out? 

such is life at food lion.  it is one of the reasons i don't like shopping there.  i prefer lowes foods because in general, they have better baggers.  and, i don't mind paying a little extra for that (though for the most part, i don't think they have much higher prices!  their generics rock and much of the time their specials are more special!  i just never buy meat there.  that is really expensive.  same goes for target. expensive there too.  but, they have good baggers at target!)

and in case you're saying to yourself "you should just use the self-checkout line if you want it bagged your own way!" - i had way too much stuff for that.  my cart was overflowing as it was.  and, half the time i use the self-checkout lanes, someone that works there will come over and bag it for me anyway!  especially at lowes foods.  and, that gets on my nerves too.  maybe what i was buying in the "self" service lane was private and i didn't want anyone to see it!  anyway, not that that has been an issue, but i prefer the self lanes to be for self only.  and keep away if you are buying alcohol.  that isn't self, that requires help.  go to a regular lane!!! :)

most popular birthday

after consulting my calender, i'm surprised to announce that there is a tie between may and september for the most birthdays:
may:  caroline, melody, kathy, jeffrey, jodi, zach, natalie, dina, ann, & matt = 10
september: jon, sara madison, melissa, cole, kendal, me, grace, butch, lindsey, and joshT = 10

third busiest is january: meredith, jonathan, ray, rob, smitty, daryl, and joy = 7

december isn't even 4th!
least busiest is february.  only "uncle" chris's birthday is recorded there.
i guess, technically, it is the hardest month to "hit" since it has the shortest number of days.  hum.  on what month would one have to get pregnant to have a baby in february? late may/early june.  just saying in case anyone in the family would like to add to that month.  probably won't be me since not having a job kinda puts a damper on growing a larger family.

Analee's Stampin' Up! site and online store

Analee's Stampin' Up! site and online store

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So i think i'm gonna do away with my parallel blog and just post my projects on my SU site.  I have to pay for that site (eventually, anyway... i get 2 months for free).

so, i'm just saying. 
i'll put a link to it over on my sidebar.  sometime.

he's a mad mad mad mad boy!

i always post cute pictures of my kids (cute to me), i thought i'd post a picture i took of kendal when he was mad tonight.  you can almost see his devil-horns coming out of his head!  lol.  he's had a rough day for some reason!  been fussy all day.  i think it is too early for 2nd molars ("they" say 25 months for those teeth to start coming in, and he's been about 3 months past the start date for all his other teeth thus far), so, maybe he's going through a growth spurt.  who knows.  he's a grumpus today though.

parallel blog

i started a parallel blog for stamping stuff.  (and a parallel email account. and a parallel bank account.)

in reference to the blog, though, that is so this one can stay "me" and not be stuffed with card stuff.
if you want to see cards, then go to that site.
if you want to see "me", then stay here! (or you can see both.)

no more secret boxes here (so if you pull the string a secret bottom will come out and a funny picture of chris  from last year's christmas party will be hidden in the bottom! muhahahahaha)

oh my god i have to go to bed.  i have a big day tomorrow and i need some rest!  good thing that i CAN get a nap if i have to.  first thing tomorrow is angel food distribution (i volunteer there), then in the PM is dinner with andrea and tiffany. yay!  andrea is getting married (another eharmony victory!)

so  i've eaten nachos and drank milk with hopes that stopping my tummy from growling will help me get sleepy.  have i mentioned that i lost nearly 8 pounds this past week?  (that includes clothes)  lets see if i can do that again THIS week!  (right!)

ok so now i need to brush my teeth and put on PJs and put this damn stamping up catalog down.  maybe then i can catch some zzzz-s 

yeah, right!

orange juice poll

i have a question and i hope everyone that reads this will comment: pulp or no in your OJ? i prefer my OJ with no pulp, smooth as can be. at dinner last night, i poured us a small glass of OJ with our turkey sandwiches. nathaniel, somewhat turning up his nose at the glass said "well i just prefer pulp in mine" to which i said "if you want pulp, then go eat an orange!" that is just the way i think, i suppose, but i was wondering what YOU think!?! (and, just to clarify, he did drink the juice. and for the whole 4 or so years we've been dating, there hasn't ever been a carton of pulpy OJ in our house - and i drink a LOT of OJ! i never knew he had that preference!)

"kendal's" birthday list

(yes, they are still in their PJs in this photo...)

i've been getting questions... what does he want? who knows. but, here are some things he doesn't have and would probably like. i've been working on a list for a month or so... for myself, but i'll share it! since he can't read and pretty much has no idea what the internet is yet (he just thinks the computer is a place where pictures constantly cycle through...) - if you want to "claim" something for yourself, please let me know and i'll remove it from the list. but, that is up to you. and, this is also just a suggestion list. you may have better ideas! he may hate all of these things! who knows! he still loves books, and the wonder pets, and farm animals - and he rarely sits down these days. he needs some yard toys but those are too expensive even for us (and probably too "big" for him still). one more note... this list is just a "something like this" kind of list. for example, the $42 vacuum, well, i don't particularly care if it is THAT vacuum, that just happened to be the vacuum on the site i was browsing at the moment. i know that dirt devil makes one, i've seen it somewhere, but i didn't take the time to find it online. so, that is what i mean when i say a "something like this" list. also, we don't mind second hand stuff! so if you have hand-me-downs (or you like to shop at consignment store or places like that), don't hesitate to regift! kendal will never know the difference. and we don't care. :) anyway, here is my old blog post.... http://theoutcrop.blogspot.com/2009/07/reminder-list-to-myself.html

made a box! maybe this is a secret box...

don't pull the string! lol (that is an inside joke, sorta - for sponge bob fans, anyway) DISCLAIMER(S): first of all, i'm a horrible videographer. that is something i'm gonna start working on, since part of my plan for this whole stampin' up! demonstrater thing is to post video-tutorials for making cards. i got that idea from dawn's stamping spot. do a websearch, she has a great blog, one that i want to model mine after. no worries to her, i plan to have a link to her page on mine! she has some awesome tutorials. and her voice is so cute! second, i saw a box like this at martha's house yesterday. i don't know if she made it up or if she got the idea from someone else, but i'm giving her the credit for giving me the idea. last, all these products (the paper, the stamps) except for the ink colors and cardstock are retired as far as i know! but, like always, SU has plenty of other beautiful choices! i can't wait to get my hands on MORE SU! stuff! gotta sell to buy... (for me, anyway...) i think, officially, my first "class" will be this box. in christmas paper. won't that be pretty? and, perfect for a grandparent, or a teacher - or to put a special present in for under the tree (this box would easily fit IN the tree and be disguised as a ornament) - heck, it could even be used as a real box! i'm just sayin'... friday i'm going to open a separate bank account for my SU stuff. friday, i'm also officially joining. friday, ya'll better watch out because i'm gonna be begging and pleading for you to host a show to get me off the ground!!!

traveling light

"a wedding is reenacted in which we hear the thoughts of the bride and groom. the groom enters, laden with luggage. a bag dangles from every appendage. and each bag is labeled: guilt, anger, attogance, insecurities. this fellow is loaded. as he stands at the alter, the audience hears him thinking, finally, a woman who will help me carry all my burdens. she's so strong, so stable, so... as his thoughts continue, hers begin. she enters, wearing a wedding bown but, like her fiance, covered with luggate. pulling a hanging bag, shouldering a carry-on, hauling a makeup kit, a paper sack - everything you could imagine and everything labeled. she has her own bags: prejudice, loneliness, disappointments. and her expectations? listen to what she is thinking: just a few more minutes and i've got me a man. no more counselors, no more group sessions. so long, discourgement and worry. i won't be seeing you anymore. he's going to fix me. finally they stand at the altar, lost in a mountain of luggage. they smile their way through the ceremony, but when given the invitation to kiss earch other, they can't. how do you embrace someone if your arms are full of bags?" my sister mailed me a book called traveling light by max lucado about 2 or 3 weeks ago. i've been reading it page by page... and it is a good book, but i just don't have a lot of time to read these days. however, the first chapter REALLY grabbed me. this book, naturally, came at a perfect time (and i know that is why she sent it) of loosing a job, etc. when my stress is high. and though i pray often (not often enough) and feel like i so give my burdens to my Lord, the few hours of sleep i get at night because of laying away with a working brain lends itself otherwise. anyway, if anyone is looking for a good book, althought i've not finished this one, i can relatively positively say that it's gonna be a good one. :) thanks sis! "for the sake of those you love, travel light. for the sake of the God you serve, travel light. for the sake of your own joy, travel light. there are certain weights in life you simply cannot carry. your Lord is asking you to set them down and trust him He is the father at the baggage claim. when a dad sees his five-year-old son trying to drag the family trunk off the carousel, what does he say? the father will say to his son what God is saying to you. 'set it down, child, I'll carry that one.' "

three tired boys and at least one tired girl!

here are some pictures from today's playdate with sutter and tripp, kendal's friends from his "old" daycare. he (actually we all) had a lot of fun and we are really happy that they came over! kendal and holly both crashed hard after they left, and we had to battle through an hour of whine/cry/scream until naptime! that is ok, though, because we knew the reason they were whining - exhaustion! and if it weren't for me and my darn schedule keeping rule, they both would have hit the sack by noon! though this picture looks like kendal is hitting sutter, really they were playing like bucking horses on the floor (sutter looked like he was breakdancing). they were apart enough that they weren't bumping! kendal is definitely a "monkey see monkey do" kind of boy! sutter and nathaniel and holly playing ball: chase was the game of the day: sutter with a mouth full of cookies (and by the way, sutter is wet because we had just come in from outside, where we played with bubbles and water...): tripp playing with the baseball toy: tripp couldn't get enough to eat! he's 2 months younger than kendal - and about to grow! kendal went through the same thing 2 months ago, starving all the time! (no, really, when ISN'T kendal about to starve? "EAT!" is his favorite verb!) isn't he adorable? again, wet from outside... holly was taking in all the movement! her head didn't sit still for a minute! the three amigos - i took literally 15 pictures when they were on the couch and this is the ONLY one that was decent of the 3 of them in the vicinity of the couch! sutter likes to GO! most of my pictures of him are a blur. i swear he is going to be a sprint runner when he grows up! the very beautiful chiara. she was getting ready to go to a birthday party. she's just the cutest thing, very sweet, and today she was pretty quiet! tripp was laying down getting tickled, kendal wanted some too!

the humming harmonica

this video needs NO explanation...

some cute pictures from today after nap

holly's after-nap feeding was interrupted by kendal about mid-way through the bottle. he was ready to get OUT of the crib, so i thought. since she was in my arms, i couldn't exactly get him out at the same time, so i sat her down in it... thus he decided that was too much potential fun to let it pass!!! holly quickly also decided it was fun, even though it meant she'd have to wait a little longer to finish her bottle. kendal LOVES her so much, he is always trying to lay on her. he filled her lap with his blankets (yes, blanketS - he has three...) and then laid down on them, in her lap. then kendal showed holly how to turn on his glow worm. she liked that. they really were having fun in the crib! after a brief make-out session... kendal piled all his stuffed animals on top of her. i think she liked being at the bottom of a stack of stuffed animals! after a 15 minute hiatus, holly finally got to finish eating. here is kendal's grover face (or brian shrader face - the traffic guy on WRAL...) he was making it at himself in the mirror while i was feeding holly! how cute is that?

my new danskos!

ladies, if you haven't bought a pair of danskos yet, well, you just need to break down and do it. they are expensive, i know, but they are SO worth every penny. and, don't settle for any look-a-likes (like sanita), they just aren't the same. i've had a pair and danskos are better. last weekend i won an auction on ebay for a BRAND NEW pair of black patent danskos. i can't believe that they were even that low of a price. it was a "buy it now" for $69.99, not even the option of bidding! they are $120 new in the store (or online), and even other auctions were ending for near $100! not sure why they were so cheap, because i have them now and there isn't a scuff or anything on them. they are definitely brand new. sweet for me! (by the way, the match 3 of the 4 new "work" outfits i bought in hopes to be starting a job next week, which isn't gonna happen. i can take the clothes back, but i think i'll keep them with hopes i'll have a job before the seasons change!)

the holly peek show

holly's favorite thing to do is play peek-a-boo. well, let me back up here. she's outgrown pretty much all of her 9 month clothes (at 7-1/2 months of age) so nathaniel went up into the attic last week to get down the bags of 12 month and up clothes we had in-waiting for her. good thing, too, because there were a lot of cute summer clothes in there that fit her right now. this shirt dress, in particular, has doubled as a blanket (well, most dresses do, she likes to hold them up to her face when she sleeps). tonight, though, it started to become a prop in a game of peek-a-boo! (note that she won't pull her shirt down until i say "where's holly?" or "peek-a-boo!") she also plays this game with my blanket (yes, i sleep with a blanket, i use it as a pillow..., or the sheets. sometimes she gets carried away with it and will cover herself too far with the sheets and i'll find her screaming and kicking because she can't uncover herself. its sad, but funny. did you know that she will NOT sleep without covers??? just like her mama. ha. she won't even sleep without her mama!)

50 pounds of sugar

its official. i have 50 pounds of kids. i weighed them yesterday and kendal was a little over 30 pounds and holly was right at 20. when did they get so big????

baby book recommendations

i just thought that since i was doing this for one of my pregnant friends, i'd post this on here for anyone else who was considering books for their infant/toddler. here are kendal's favorite books as of 22 months: belly button book! by sandra boynton animal babies on mountains by kingfisher publications animal babies on the farm by kingfisher publications goodnight moon by margaret wise brown mommy loves by anne gutman and georg hallensleben mommy hugs by anne gutman and georg hallensleben daddy cuddles by anne gutman and georg hallensleben (this is his FAVORITE favorite book) daddy kisses by anne gutman and georg hallensleben polar bear, polar bear, what do you hear? by bill martin jr. brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? by bill martin jr. (we always say the teacher in the back is mamaw, and then we pick out his friends out of the children on the last page.) panda bear, panda bear, what do you see? by bill martin jr. how do you make a baby smile by philemon sturges and the train goes... by william bee (this was one of the first books he laughed to. now he just wants to say "train" and "choo choo" on every page.) llama llama red pajama by anna dewdney the very hungry caterpillar by eric carle (he most likes to poke the holes with his fingers...) five little monkeys jumping on the bed by eileen christelow (this one we have memorized... ) he also loves most anything with sesame street on it (this started with the books that shannon and jon gave him for his birthday last year). though we never watch sesame street, he just has a liking for elmo and cookie monster and grover. especially grover. its funny, though, that he never really liked the touch-and-feel books. holly, however, already likes them. all the usborne "that's not my..." books that we had for kendal (that he never would touch), well, holly LOVES those!

holly's first pizza (crust)

Click here to view these pictures larger

thursday night special - coldplay live!

this past thursday beneath a FULL moon, i got an early early birthday present from my sister and my mom: tickets to coldplay! nathaniel got the reap the benefits since he went with me. we had to park about a mile away. it was a 20 - 25 minute brisk walk. that sucked. though we had a tarp, we decided to only take in our blanket to sit on because it seemed dry outside. mistake. our butts (and the blanket) got really wet - (we sat in the lawn). the lawn was also packed (sold out) by the time we got there (8ish), so we ended up sitting in the "family" section (no smoking, no drinking), which were actually pretty good seats. i'm surprised more folks didn't forgo the booze and smokes for these, being as they were close up front and all. i had no problem with that since i don't typically do either anyway!!! and though nathaniel was probably a little disappointed he couldn't drink a beer, after he saw the prices i think he was ok with it ($11 for a beer - TOO expensive). we settled for a $4 slushy! YUM! but, let me assure you, our tired lets and soggy bottoms didn't take away from their show.... coldplay not only are great musicians, they are also great performers. it was an awesome concert, probably one of the best i've ever been to (up there with chairman of the board though very different type of audience...)! they performed on the main stage, as well as 2 other stages, one to the right of the stage (facing) in the crowd, and one also in the lawn. we were pretty close to the lawn stage, though we didn't know that is what it was when we chose our seats. it was neat to be able to see them that close singing and all. the lead singer even sang an impromptu song while the guitarist tuned his guitar (which i assume wasn't supposed to be out of tune). it was funny, though i could have done without the one "f" word used in the entire show. they also had these big yellow inflatable balls that they released during one of the songs once they were back up front... the crowd bounced them around for a while. they also sprayed paper butterfly confetti into the air during one song. that was really pretty, looked like it was raining/snowing. great visual. at the end of the concert, they gave away a CD with a live concert on it. sweet, eh??? so these pictures aren't very good, but they are all i have. cell phones aren't that great you know.

see it? airplane!!!

went to the RDU OBservation deck today. kendal loves airplaines. you can see him watch them take off... say airplaine, and also "see it!" he loved it. and, we haven't stopped watching the videos since we got home!!!

i saw this blogpost and found it so so true. please read it. http://iaminthearmytoo.blogspot.com/2009/07/content-like-baby.html

mail confusion

today i checked the mail. today, there was a yellow padded envelope in it addressed to me with a return address of amazon.com. lately, nathaniel has been selling a lot of stuff on amazon (books, games, etc.) so i called him because i KNOW i haven't ordered anything. me - "hey, i got a package from amazon, did you get a return or something?" N - "i don't think so, what does it feel like?" me - " a book or a DVD or something" N - "no, who is it addressed to?" me - "me" (at which point i realized why in the world would he get something returned with my name on it?) N - "well open it!" me - [breaking out with laughter] "BIG BANG THEORY!?!?! who sent this? did you send this?" (at that point, i found the insert that indicated it was from allison and emily, and then i REALLY couldn't stop laughing!!!) guys, you are the greatest. i can't wait to watch them. i'll always think of you when i watch it, too. thanks for the pick me up. i don't think i've laughed like that in quite some time!!!

snake on the rock

here is the snake that i mentioned yesterday that i saw on the rock outside (almost center of the picture, looks like a crack in the rock - head to the left and his head is UP also). it wasn't really long, but it was black (in color) - from the way it reared its head and from the way and speed in which it moved, it may not have been a black [rat] snake. obviously, i didn't see its belly. my gut tells me it wasn't a black snake. i've never seen a black snake move like this one. it was fast. i'd put my money on a racer. and if that is the case (that it was a racer), i hope i don't see it again!!!

TRIPP!!!!!

two weeks before kendal left daycare, i sent home notes to three of the moms (or dads) about having playdates - i got ONE response thus far! and it was from tripp's mom! yay! kendal loves tripp. tripp and his sister kiera came over saturday morning and played until all three kids were completely pooped. they did very well together too, i thought anyway! and tripp's mom is really nice too, which is always nice. :) when they left, they couldn't hear it but kendal was screaming "tripp! tripp! TRIPP!!!!!" (of coarse, he says it like twipp.) and the next morning when he got up, the first thing he did downstairs was go to the front door and yell out the window "TRIPP!!!!!" i know he enjoyed the visit. i hope they come back! here are a few pictures from the morning! we had a house full of cute kids!!! you could definitely hear "outside" (ass-side) in stereo with these two boys! they were checking out the cat laying on the deck. tripp called him a kittycat. kendal just cays cat. ah. there is a snake on our rock out back!