I Should Be Folding Laundry

Wordless Wednesday OINK! OINK!

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Don't forget to enter my giveaway!

This exciting life of mine

This picture should give you some indication as to how I am feeling tonight.  Yes, I used a straw to suck out the last bit of pepto in the bottle, I was desperate, people, desperate.

I did not take this picture either, Brian went to throw something away and found the evidence of his desperate wife staring up at him.  He said "did you use a straw with the pepto?"  And I was all like "who?  wah?  me?  no!!  Of course, not!  That would be crazy and desperate!"  And he was all like, "yeah but there's a bottle of pepto with a straw in it in the garbage."

To which I replied.

"oh yeah.  that was me."  So, then he took a picture.  "For the blog," he says.  It's a family business this blogging is.  (and friends, I know I should have recycled the bottle, I know, but that is how out of sorts I am feeling, please forgive.)
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On to other non-tummy ache stories, if you don't mind.  Let's see...did you hear me screaming on Friday?  You did?  It's because we came through with t-shirt sponsors for the 5K.  Yes, we did.  And a water donation, yep, you heard me. And then the Chicago White Sox (which is not my favorite Chicago team, by ANY means) sent me an autographed picture to be raffled off at my event, which makes them by fave Chicago team!  (that is totally not true, I'm a Cubs fan.  Even if they ignore me when I ask for free crap for my event.)  Then, Dick's Sporting Goods sent me a packet of free stuff...all this on Friday and then there was more, soooo much more, but I do not want to bore you.  Let's just say we are under way!  And if you live near Northern Indiana, Northeast Illinois and Southwest Michigan you and your family had BEST be at this event.  Got that?  I'll be watching you.

Man, I can be bossy.
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On to other news that does not have to do with my 5K.

We went to the county fair last week.  Racecar finally faced his fears and went on a ride, which is a big deal because he will not go anywhere near anything that you can ride on or that moves or that makes any noise, he's an adventurous one, that Racecar is.  And suddenly, he said "I WANT TO RIDE ON THE BOAT."  I was all over it.  You can see why.

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So, that about wraps up this edition of what my little family has been up to!  I did have to syringe a pea out of Racecar's nose yesterday, that was fun.  And Ariel gave birth to a cabbage patch kid today, it was all very exciting.
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I need more pepto.

Febreze Candle Giveaway!

I was recently given the opportunity to try out the new Febreze candles.  Here's the scoop on these candles:

"Febreze Candles have an advanced core that can eliminate odors while freshening the air with a clean scent. Five of your favorite Febreze fragrances are available, including Apple Spice & Delight™."

I like to relate this product to one particular time, ages ago, when I wanted to cover up the smell of cigarette smoke, so I sprayed my favorite body spray, at the time, Freesia, all over the room to try to mask the ciggy smell.  That left me with freesia flavored cigarettes, and every time I sprayed Freesia, it reminded me of cigarettes and I still, to this day, can not stand that smell.  All thanks to that experience.

Febreze says these candles will get rid of that not so lovely smell and provide you with a pleasant scent and I have to tell you, it's true.  Very true. (without going into details, I can tell you...it's true.)   I'm also impressed with the burn time, last week I burned this candle for eleven hours and there's still plenty of candle left.  And I look forward to burning it, to be honest with you.

GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!  I'm giving away an Apple Spice and Delight Candle to four lucky winners!  All you have to do is leave a comment at this post by Thursday evening, August 2nd at 11:59 pm EST, AND link back to this giveaway on your blog.  Share this contest with your readers!  Don't have a blog?  That's okay, just leave a comment!

Winners will be announced on Friday, August 3rd.

GOOD LUCK!!

Free Coffee, LCD's and more

Yallz know how I loves me some coffee.  But free coffee?  Forget about it.  Go here and get your own bag of free gourmet coffee, I personally LOVE Folgers.  (unlike my fickle blogging counterpart, DCRMOM, who despises Folgers, It's okay, we're still friends.  And yes, that is her real name.)

Anyway, click away:

(thanks Jodi, for the tip for free coffee, my coffee addiction thanks your coffee addiction from the bottom of it's very large cup.)

Also, the winner of my Smart Set Alarm clock giveaway is Nancy over at From the Heart.  Her new clock has been shipped and is on it's way!

Speaking of giveaways, have you heard about what the girls are giving away over at 5 Minutes for Mom?  None other than a monstrous FLAT SCREEN LCD HDTV MP3 JPEG C3P0 R2D2 MGZ, or a monitor, you know, for free.  The drawing will be held on August 17th and is brought to you by the friendly folks at Best Buy.

And finally, not to be outdone by some silly little flat screen TV, which I'm totally going to win, I am hosting a great smelling giveaway on Monday (which is tomorrow!) courtesy of Febreze, so come back on Monday, ya hear?

Blogging is so hard after you have stuffed yourself silly

Oh My Lands.  (do people really say that?)  I am stuffed to the gill.  (do people really say that?)  Tonight we ordered pizza, some of my favorite pizza and I could not stop eating it.  Afterwards, I was trying to mop my kitchen while rolling around and well...it was tough considering I thought my stomach was going to rip open and pizza would come flying out like a volcano eruption.  It's not comfortable, it's stupid and I wish I wouldn't do it, but pizza is so good. 

While cleaning and popping rolaids, I was thinking that pizza boxes should have warning labels on them like cigarettes do, it would read like this:

-The Surgeon General warns that pizza is freakin' good.  Even reheated.
-The Surgeon General warns that if you like cheese or bread to stay away.
-The Surgeon General warns that if you like garlic to stay away.
-The Surgeon General warns that if you like to eat, do not, he repeats, do not eat this pizza.
-The Surgeon General warns that you may not move after eating.
-The Surgeon General warns that you will not eat just one two three pieces half of the pizza.
-The Surgeon General warns that even after eating half of the pizza, you will continue to eat the pizza.
-The Surgeon General warns if you are on your period or pregnant or a woman, to just stay away from the crap.
-The Surgeon General warns that if your husband takes the last piece without asking when you wanted it (even though you were not hungry at all) he may die or at least lose a finger.
-The Surgeon General warns that just because you only have one ginormous slice on your plate, that does not count as one serving, you idiot.
-The Surgeon General warns that you do not need two pizzas for two adults and two toddlers, you big fat pigs.
-The Surgeon General warns that you will have gas.  But he knows you won't care.
-The Surgeon General warns that if you have garlic sauce and/or cheese sauce that comes with your pizza, that you will search for anyone's leftover crust so you can dip it in the sauce.  You know it's true. 
-The Surgeon General warns that if you can't find someone's leftover crust, you will eat another slice just to have the crust to dip in the garlic sauce.  You know that's true. too.
-The Surgeon General warns it will cause you to walk around with your pants unbuttoned.  Even in public.
-The Surgeon General warns that even after reading this label, you will still stuff yourself silly.

Don't even get me started on chocolate.

Wordless Wednesday

My very funny nephew who let me put lipstick on him.

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Random like the lottery

Today started out running a ton of errands for the 5K Run, although it was productive, it was tiring and my kids drove me crazy and I just wanted to go home or go to a fair or do something besides WAITING FOR SPONSORS.

Which aren't calling, or e-mailing or sending checks.  At least to me. (despite additional attempts today and over the weekend.  whatever, y'all.  what.ever.)

I'm so aggravated, I feel defeated,  I feel like a failure, I'm very upset tonight.  This event is so good, everything is right, great location, great logo, awesome prizes, incredible entertainment, but I just can't get THREE BUSINESSES TO DONATE $300 so we can give our runners t-shirts and I'm just very upset over this.  I shed tears tonight, people, TEARS.  That's doesn't happen too often.  (usually only when I'm out of queso or when I watch Steel Magnolias.  Shut up, you cry, too.)

I almost didn't blog tonight because who wants to read someone whining about some charity work gone potentially bad, but I am blogging because this is my life right now, so therefore I blog about it.

Oh and did I mention my air conditioning is not working?  I heart my piece of crap house. 

ON TO THE GOOD SIDE OF THINGS, because there are always good things if you look hard enough....Brian is home safely from his trip, after a cancelled flight he came home tonight and the kids turned into crazy, hyper children, they were so excited to see him.  So hyper that he immediately put them to bed.

I LOVE MY iPOD so much.  I'm really getting a ton of use out of it.  Brian bought me speakers for it last week and now I love it even more! 

I received my Monk & Neagle CD from BooMama's giveaway and it's awesome...and already on my iTunes.

And a thyroid update, I did get my thyroid test results back a week ago Friday and they came back fine, which sucks.  (nice attitude, huh?) I do plan to get into my doctor to discuss some of my symptoms because I am still tired and totally on the crazy side.  Totally.

At least I can admit it, right?

And, for those wondering, I loved the Tim McGraw and Faith Hill concert, I'm so glad I went.  The concert was very long, I went to bed at 3:00 a.m. that night, but it was worth it.  I didn't know that our seats were in a suite, which equals free drinks and food and a DESSERT CART!  Hello?!?!?!  Then, Christine and Shanlie, who worked the dessert cart were super nice.  Christine told me I was too young to be married and I was all like "HUH??  whatchoo talkin' about willis??"  Seriously, I explained  that I was thirty and had two children and had been married for eight years and she said I looked much younger, like 22.  OMG, I almost kissed her.  (I may have...I said free drinks, remember?)  Anyway, both girls were super duper nice. (by the way, I do not say "super duper" in real life.)  I love the songs "I Need You" and "Like We Never Loved At All."  Love those songs.  They are totally on my iTunes.

Oh and I was given a gift at the concert, too. (by our very generous host)

I did get a t-shirt after all.  And there are more pictures, but they are on someone else's computer and that person is in DisneyWorld, so I took a picture of the shirt hanging in my room, rather than showing you a picture of me in the shirt which is kinda better because this way you can't see my rolls hanging over my jeans.  Which is a good thing.

So, there you have it.  Aren't you glad I blogged tonight?

Dog Days of Summer Giveaway!

   

COMMENTS WILL BE CLOSED AFTER 9:00 A.M. CST ON FRIDAY JULY 27th.  A winner will be drawn and announced at some point on Friday.  Any comments left after that time will not be included in the drawing.

Well of course I'm going to participate!  I LOVE GIVING THINGS AWAY!

So, what do I have up my (probably stained) sleeve for you?  None other than the GREATEST ALARM CLOCK IN THE UNIVERSE..THAT'S ALL! 

I thought I should give something away that I use everyday and that I love and appreciate with my whole heart and soul and this is it.

The Emerson Research AM/FM Alarm clock with Smart Set.

which means you will never, ever have to set your clock again.

Not after your power goes out.

Not after a time change.

NEVER. 

EVER.

got that?

So, leave a comment and BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!

For more rockin' giveaways, GO HERE RIGHT NOW!
(U.S and Canada only)

Not sure what the point is. oh yeah. I'm lazy.

hmmm...blogging on Saturday, I haven't blogged on a Saturday in ages.  Not for any reason in particular, other than I'm rarely home on Saturdays. 

So, I'm still at home alone with the kids and although they are being pretty good, I'm finding myself to be pretty short fused and totally unmotivated.  The last time Brian went out of town for business, or what I like to call his "vacation,"  which is totally me being a jerk, because the guy is working his tail off RIGHT NOW with only three hours of sleep, anyway, the last time he was gone I cleaned my house all of the time and did other projects.  and now, well.  Let's just say I am not. 

One of the times he was away was in April and I was pretty sure I was going on the energy I had pent up from winter.  My house was very clean and then Brian came home from LA and it wasn't clean anymore.  But then he left again and I cleaned again and he came home New York and it was messy again.  Not a fun cycle, but I'd rather he be home and my house messy than him being gone and my house be clean.

But now, my house is a mess and he's gone and it's the pits.  I don't like it.

By the way, I just dropped a S'mores pop tart on my laptop.  The gooey marshmallow and melted chocolate splattered on my laptop, but I'm not mad at the pop tart.  You did hear me say marshmallow and chocolate, right?  Being mad at the pop tart would be like becoming angry at a newborn or a little kitten.  Nothing that a little licking won't fix.

My tornado-like children are not making my life any easier, everywhere I go there is a Thomas the Tank Engine on the floor, hiding in the corner or underneath the couch laughing at me saying "you can't keep up, beyotch!  WE ARE EVERYWHERE!!"  And then I start to feel defeated and a little crazy, to be honest with you.

I decided I needed a nice starting point and I scanned the room and saw princesses and Pottery Barn Kids catalogs (Ariel's favorite) and Thomas the Tank engines and dress up clothes and matchbox cars and eighty million markers and thirty thousands sheets of paper.  So, I decided to start with the crayons and paper, but when I looked at my cabinet where I store them, it was a total disaster.  It was almost as if the children sat in the cabinet, removed every crayon and marker and coloring book and notebook and threw them up in the air to see where they landed and then walked away.  Leaving it for me to clean, which I did, just today.

It was fun, I utilized the now empty containers that were in the cabinet and actually filled them up (again) with crayons and markers and pens and pencils.  I then tested every marker and sadly, I through away about eleven dollars in markers, but I don't care.

Look, I took a picture of the finished product for you.  (I wish I had taken a before picture, I swear to you that you would not have know there was a shelf in there.)  First, you can see how sneaky I am about hiding this God forsaken mess, I purchased this shelf, which I love, this spring and I knew when I saw it that the cabinets underneath the shelves would be a great place for Arts and Crafts (fyi, arts and crafts at my home equals crayons and paper and some stickers).  Brian then securely fastened the shelving until to the wall and viola, this is what we have!

Doors closed:

See the white box to the right of the shelf with the forty cords sticking out of it?  That's decorating a la Brian.  magnificent, no?

Doors opened:

ahhh...the beauty, for about one more hour.

So, we will eat lunch, I will find another project, which may or may not include closing my eyes and then we'll be heading off to my niece's birthday party, she's two.

It's our FIFTH birthday party this week.  We have another one more tomorrow.

Why yes, I am poor now.  Poor and happy.  Poor and happy and fat from cake and ice cream.

Oh and I know I mentioned eating a S'Mores pop tart, please don't mention that to the creator of Tales from the Scales, I heard she's a meanie, a real ninja.  It's our little secret.

The other me

The non blogging part of me is planning this huge event.  Because I volunteer.  I volunteer with a large group of people across the country, we make up a national team called Friends of Heroes , we (mothers, fathers and children) have raised over $840,000 for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society since 2004.

We are inspired by children, children who are battling cancer, children who have lost their battles and by the families that stand by them.  We have teams all over the country that walk in The Leukemia & Lymphoma's Light The Night Walk, we have affiliate teams that walk in honor of their sons and daughters, sisters and brothers.

We are a very good thing.

I bring this up to you because I am currently chest deep in planning for our local fundraiser this year.  Our walk will be held in September, it's a beautiful event that is so sad, yet so motivating.  Survivors hold white balloons and their supporter hold red balloons, both colors light up and illuminate against the night's sky.  The message is powerful. I'm always so proud to turn in my entire teams worth of donations.  I'm so lucky to have my family and friends and their family and friends join me for this walk.

Last year our biggest fundraiser locally was a garage sale that raised over $1,000, which was a huge success.  We also manned a large booth at a very popular day long festival in the area that not only raised money but raised a ton of awareness, raising awareness is just as important raising the money.

My friend and fellow walker e-mailed me this spring, we'll call her Mel (which is not her name but I don't want to give her name away and Mel is easier than say Regina Phalange or Anastasia Beaverhousen), so Mel e-mails me and she's all like" hey why don't we hold a 5K run for a fundraiser?"  And I was all like "wha?  Little us?  Holding something so very large?  I don't think so."  and she was all like "yeah, but we can do it."  and so we did.

We are holding this 5K and the planning has gone really well.  The location is GORGEOUS and was donated ($1000) and other race like things were donated and now this run is like 5 weeks away and I'm freaking out.

I'm freaking out because we need some very important things, things like t-shirts for runners, water and well, runners.  You know, the little things.  The cost of t-shirts is approximately $900, so we just figured that if we could get three businesses to donate $300 that we could get the t-shirts easily...except we can't seem to get even one business to donate $300 (even with our very generous sponsorship program with national exposure), so now were topless, so to speak, and our runners are expecting t-shirts and well, it looks like they'll be topless, too.

So now what?  I don't know.  Honestly I don't know.  We mailed out 175 beautiful sponsorship letters and we did receive some responses.  After the run we are also hosting a Family Fun Walk and after the walk Gymboree has agreed to host activities for the children and I love that.  We have hotel stays and gift certificates for a drawing, but we don't have $900 or bottles of water and well...let's just say sleep comes after I worry about all the details of this run.  This run that I love, this run that I can't wait for, this run that is giving me an ulcer.

I also e-mailed 11 companies on-line that do screen printing and asked them very nicely to just cover the cost of our shirts (it doesn't hurt to ask, right?) and they were all like "nope, but here's a very special price just for asking!"  Which some of the prices aren't really all that nice at all.

The thing is, is that I am a team captain of my walk, but I don't have to hold big fundraisers, I can show up with a small envelope of donations and show my support and that is awesome, except I'm not wired that way.  Each year gets bigger and each year I see our potential and each year I hear about more children who are fighting for their lives to beat cancer and I just can't sit around and not do anything.  Therefore I challenge myself to do more...because I can.

So, there you go.  That's what is on my plate.  Tomorrow morning I am having 100 posters printed (for free, I know, right?) and I need to get on the ball and design this bad boy.  Like right now.

Until then, if you happen to have a t-shirt business in your basement, call me, m'kay?

Did you know that currently, one in every 330 Americans develops cancer during childhood or adolescence, before the age of 20.  On the average, 46 children and adolescents are diagnosed with cancer every weekday in the  United States?

shocking, isn't it?