I got to go eat lunch with my two most favorite elementary students today. It was fun.

Due to the graphic nature (my face/forehead) of this extreme close-up, I have converted this photo to B&W.
Your Welcome.

I HATE Ikea. It's not the products that I have a problem with, because I quite like them. It is the whole Ikea "Experience" that makes me crazy. But I have been wanting to go to check on a few things, so I gave myself a "you can do it" pep talk, and decided today would be the big day since I had nothing else going on. About 9:00 am I head out, and I was there 20 minutes later. I thought they opened at 9:30. They don't. Well, that's okay, I'll go upstairs and eat. I LOVE their cafeteria. (except when you go to put your tray away on the rack, that part TOTALLY grosses me out.) This is probably going to sound sarcastic, but its not. I reallly do love the little squared potatoes, the fake scrambled eggs, and the little pancake folded so cute with the tiny spoonful of lingen berries on top. So SCRUMPTIOUS!!!! At this point I go to make sure I've got some cash in my wallet to eat with. No wallet. I realize I left it at home on the pool table. AARRRGGGGHH! At this point I am inside the store, and suddenly all of my anxiety about this store manifests. I wasn't planning to buy anything on this trip anyways, I was just checking things out, so when I saw the catalog stand out of the corner of my eye, I KNEW someone was watching out for me. I grabbed one and left.

I could not, COULD NOT do it. I will only go back when I am ready to make my purchases.

ALERT: Long Boring Post

Because of the previous post it got me thinking about the news and I thought I'd share my stance on it, because I know your all wondering! Like Denise said in her comments, it goes without saying that Drudge comes first. That is a NO-BRAINER, hence the reason I did not include it on the list. (Also with e-mail & blogs)

Now here is the part where I will probably ruffle some feathers, but you are all strong so I know you can take it! :)

I DO NOT not watch Fox News. At all. Ever. And about two years ago I cut the cord with Rush and Hannity on the radio as well. And here is why. I already know how I think and I already know what I believe. I want to know how everyone else thinks and believes so I can be armed and prepared. Does that make sense?

Also, I have a true confession that I will now come clean with....I am in LOVE with Anderson Cooper. It started 13 years ago in the middle of a warm summer night. In the bedroom of my apartment in the ghetto. It was just me and him. And three sick, crying babies. And a passed-out snorring husband. You see Anderson started out as the fill-in news person on ABC World News Now which is on from midnight to 2am. Then it repeats from 2am-5am. So at that time I was up all night for like 5 years straight with various Babbies/kids and their different stages. He caught my attention because every now and then you would see glimpses of his quirky, dry sense of humor, which was rare to see in news people at that time. From then on I kind of followed him and his carreer. Then when I found out years later that Gloria Vanderbuilt was his mother, I came to repect him as well. That he made his own way and started out in the trenches and worked his way up impressed me. And he has a blog on CNN.com that I just love, I love his writing style. So there. I LOVE ANDERSON FOREVER!

Also on CNN, is where you will find Looney Larry. AKA Larry King. Who doesn't love a good laugh, and that is what you will have if you watch Larry TRY to interview someone. Seriously, does CNN not have a retirement plan? It is to the point where Bill has banned him from being on the TV if he is home.

Also, just so you know (because I know you want too) right before I pass out at night, you know the part where you feel yourself drifting off, I change the channel from whatever we're watching to CNN and I leave the TV on all night. That way when I wake up a thousand times (another post, another day) I will know what is going on in the world. When Princess Diana died, I knew it right away. Same thing when Britney shaved her head. See how it pays off.

There you go.

I was just sitting here thinking, and I'm curious about something. I want to know what websites people go to. I'll tell you mine....but you have to tell me yours. I want your "have to go to first thing" types (Top 10).

DISCLAIMER: Now, some of these I'm not particularly proud of, but the first step is admitting you have a problem, and these are mine. Don't judge me.

1. CNN
2. AZ Central
3. People
4. US Weekly
5. Pop Sugar
6. Just Jared
7. D Listed
8. TMZ
9. Crazy Days and Nights
10. Go Fug Yourself


Now tell me yours.

I love to read. However, I tend to go in spurts, I'll read countless books every waking moment for a couple of months, then nothing at all for a few months. Anyways, I've kind of been in the mood to read again, so I was going to go to B&N to find something good. Then I remembered that I still have a couple of books on my nightstand that I just can't seem to finish, one of them is the Time Traveler's Wife. I know it is probably good because they are making a movie of it, plus I've read lots of good reviews on it. Do I give it one more try or do I move on to another? Also, does anyone have any recommendations for me?

Sidenote: I NEED David Sedaris to come out with something new! I LOVE him, but I have read his books so many times they are falling apart.

UPDATE: Just got super excited. There will be something new coming out in June.

Bonus Saturday Post

Went and got take-out at Waldo's BBQ (it was eeh...Famous Dave's is better) anywho, we're sitting at the counter eating and talking and the following is a true and accurate accounting of our conversation.

Me: It does not even really feel like it's Easter this year. We didn't dye eggs or go to the Easter Pagent or anything. I don't like it being in March.

Emmy & Holly: Yeah...I know. It's weird.

Austin: It's Easter?

Me: Well not today, but tomorrow it is.

Austin: Oh. (a moment of silence) Does that mean there's no church?

Me: There is still church Austin.

Austin: Well, can we stay home since it IS a holiday?

Me: (speechless)



Now, you all know how much I love my Austin, but the boy is clueless.

I'm SOOOO Excited!

I just read on AZCentral.com that my two most favorite stores in the whole world are coming to Dana Park, Z. Gallerie & Anthropologie. YEAYYYYY!

That's it. Lame post...I know.

Blokus

We are home, and when we pulled up we saw that someone had lovingly sprayed our garage and Bill's truck with paintballs.

Anyways...One night while we were in Flagstaff we went to Target and got a bunch of games to play in the room. One of the games was called Blokus. I have never heard of it before, but I am hooked! I made the kids play with me over and over, now they won't play anymore.

Someone come play Blokus with me!!!!



**when I went to look for a picture of it, I found out there is going to be a Blokus Palooza in Montreal during June. I just got all excited, maybe I will go.

Spring Break

Bill had told the kids that he would take them camping for Spring Break. Now I think it is pretty common knowledge that I DON"T camp. This is their thing, and that's the way everyone prefers it. Sunday I started getting a little "itchy" like I needed to get out and go somewhere, so I made the announcement that I would be joining them for their adventures. Lets just say that I was not well received. Holly sighed. Emmy told me "Great mom...your going to RUIN EVERYTHING." Bill went to his computer. My Austin was the only one who was pleased with this late breaking development. You could see his brain thinking, "Yea! Mom's coming, now they (Bill & the girls) will not be able to torture me."

We got all packed and loaded up, then Monday morning we headed out.

To Flagstaff.

To Little America.

And apparantly Flagstaff did not get the memo that it's Spring, because this is what we found when we got there.

Emmy was Happy because she got to make a mini snowman

And so much for Austin not being tortured. No, That is not "Where's Waldo" it's Holly.


So, we are having fun, and it all worked out.

Could this weather be any more perfect? The answer is no. We were not about to stay couped up in the house yesterday, so we (sans Austin, of course) went to the Desert Botanical Gardens. We had so much fun just walking around looking at the pretty wildflowers and looking for little critters. We splurged and forked over the extra 3 bucks to see the Butterfly exhibit, it was neat. But, I ask this, why do places like this charge extra for the exhibits? Why not just include it, it really BUGS me! Also, there were SO MANY elderly people there with their little art palettes & easles painting away. I was so happy to see this. This is what your soul needs as you get older, to seek out interests that maybe you never had the time for, not sitting somewhere all grumpy & complaining about the world. It gave me something to look forward too.

I Love Spring!

RH of NYC

Last night there were back to back episodes of Real Housewives of New York on (Bravo) MADE MY NIGHT! This show is the best! The previous (RH of Orange County) group was good, but this group runs circles around them. I'm starting to panic though, what if its only a 7 episode run? I need this to go on and on, I seriously could watch these people for the rest of my life. Life I've stated before, this is TV Gold! It makes you feel so good, If this is what Rich & Educated is all about, I'm totally okay with being dumb & poor (by their standards).

LOVE IT!

Question.

Isn't it about time for all the freakin' old people to start going back to their homes? If not now, when?

Cause I am REALLY getting tired of driving behind them and the way they crowd up my Wal-Mart (which is bad enough without adding them to it!)

Sopher's

I had the pleasure of Sophia's company this morning, and we had SO much fun.
We surfed


We cleaned


We took Muffin for a walk.


Then we polished her halo so she could wear it home, I don't know what her mom is talking about!

Happy Birthday D

Today is my sister's birthday.

I'm kind of "Jehovah's Witness" in the sense that I don't really "do" birthdays after a certain age or holidays. I just don't believe in them. If I see something I think you'll like or know someone needs something, I just do it. To me it has more meaning that way, to know that I have randomly thought about you. But if an actual birthday or Valentines Day or whatever comes along, don't go waiting by the phone or the mailbox, because you probably won't hear from me. (Note to D&S: See, this is how I roll, so just roll with it and know what I do is a gift, if it helps you, think of it as random birthday gifts throughout the year.) And if I love you, I'm going to tell you or show you, I'm not going to wait for a silly day on the calender.

Anyways, back to my sister. Considering the above philosphy, you must know how much she means to me, since I'm giving her a present. This post.

There is a 10 year age gap between me & her, so it never really "felt" like I had sisters growing up, the difference was just too wide. But I'm so grateful for it now because it has given me the opportunity to be able to watch the different stages of her life unfold, and then try to emmulate them in my own. Like a math equation: I see the results she gets, than I break it down to figure out how she got them. She truly has been the biggest influence in my life. I've told her that before, but I don't think she gets how true it is. I once was telling her how great I thought one of her kids was, and she looked at me and said, "Thank You, but don't tell me, tell them." I learned so much from that simple statement. It's often that we do our most "gushing" to random people instead of to the ones that its about, we go on & on about how great our kids/spouse is to others, instead of to them.

Here are just a few of the life lessons I've learned from her:

You don't respond to gossip. Ever.

You've had lots of bad experiences, and ALL of them have made you stronger, you'll get through this and be a better person because it.

Not talking about your problems to everyone doesn't mean you are trying to make people think you have this perfect little life, its about respecting the relationships that you have.

It's not your job to expose or talk about everyone's faults or trials, especially when it comes to your kids & your spouse.

If you have a problem, COMMUNICATE with THAT person, and get it worked out.

When you make a mistake, own it & learn from it. No excuses.

When someone gives you a compliment, say Thank You. (still working on that)

Success that you have is about effort and being blessed. Not luck or accident. Same with having good relationships, it's not by chance, it's about the effort you put into it.

Choose your love and love your choice. Okay, that one actually came from her equally great husband, but never before had I heard such profound words. It has had such a big impact on me and the way I live my life, I apply it to EVERYTHING! Once you make a choice, there is NO SENSE looking back or wondering what might have been had you chosen differently.

Really, I could go on & on with the wisdom I've gleaned from observing her. She has wonderful relationships with all of her children AND their spouses. I watched how she raised her kids when they were little and now I'm getting to learn how to have fun, fulfilling relationships with your kids when they are adults.

So, D., I love you, You mean the world to me! Thank you for letting me come live with you when I was not married with a 6 month old little boy, even though you had a full house of your own, you made room for me. I was a complete jerk the WHOLE time, but you never said an unkind thing to me. Not when I left my make-up out time after time and the twins got into it, or even when I called the twins "Brats." (Sorry M & A, I was a self absorbed nit wit.) You fiercely defended the honor of your 2-year old little girls without belittling me.

Thank you for buying me all those maternity clothes when I was pregnant with Dominic, because you knew I couldn't afford it.

Thank you for taking me to Cisco's for lunch when I was little and telling me I could order ANYTHING on the menu, even though you knew I would not be able to eat it all.

Thank you for taking me to that Classic Car Show in Phoenix, and when we got lost and had to go into a store to ask for directions, you saw that I saw, that they had Chemin De Fer jeans in my size (THEE jeans at the time) and you told me to find a pair that I liked and you bought them for me.

I'm not trying to put you on a pedestal, because everyone knows what happens when you do THAT. I just know that sometimes people wonder if they've done anything that made a difference in this world, you have. Me. I just want you to know I admire you, and you have had a HUGE impact on how I live my life and raise my family. Thank you.

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a wonderful day, you certainly deserve it.

It's 3 a.m.

We had a good weekend. Kind of Lazy-Daisy.

Friday we decided we try somewhere different to eat, so we went to a mexican place called Nando's. I guess its been there for quite sometime, its on Baseline & Val Vista. It was SO good, we will be going again...soon I hope. We have been TRYING to eat out only once a week (excluding YogurBerry, which by the way the girls informed us that they're in dire need of a new treat place. The nerve!) so we'll see.

Saturday, we went to Costco in the morning and then that afternoon Bill & the kids went swimming while i sat at the table and perused some magazines and watched them. I don't really get into swimming or playing in the pool. Not sure why, cause it always looks like they're having so much fun.

Sunday I did not go to church. My excuse is this, and yes I know its weak & lame. My flat iron broke. I have been walking around all week looking like a hot-mess. So not only do I have roots 3 inches long, with wirey gray hair springing out all over the place, it is now frizzy as well. I caught Emmy starring at me yesterday and she said, "No offense mom, but you look hideous." (She thinks that if she prefaces something with the "no offense" its perfectly acceptable to follow it with whatever she thinks of you.)

Anyways...Thank goodness I go to Chelsea tomorrow.

Emmy's been doing cheer, and she thinks she's finally found her purpose on this earth. ABC Family had its Bring It On Cheer-a-Thon this weekend, so we had to watch. No matter how many times I see those movies (not by choice) I find them hillarious. Nothing beats dialogue like this:

Head Cheerleader: "This is not a democracy, its a Cheer-ocracy!"
Reg. Cheerleader: "And your being a Cheer-tator!"

I fell off the wagon

Bill & I went out to Kierland Commons in Scottsdale yesterday, can I just say that the only thing that beats 'people watching on a Satuday at Wal-Mart' is people watching in Scottsdale. I LOVE IT!!! In fact, bill said at one point, "If I didn't know better I'd think it was Daddy/Daughter day." (All the old men with their new young, blonde girlfriends.) I digress...

We were going to stop on the way home and grab a salad for lunch at Sauce. We pull in to Dana Park at the far end and we are heading towards Molly Brannigans. Instatntly my head & my heart says, "NO SALAD...You WANT & NEED fish & chips from MB's."

I knew it was wrong, and I have been SO good for the last 7 weeks, but I gave in to my desires. Never has being bad tasted SO good.