Home Truths

These are some of the things that I have learned this past week:

1. Never “taste” anything you find on the kitchen island that you have not placed there yourself. That is the current site of home experiments.
2. Searching pockets will not only yield loose change, gum, and paperclips, but also notes full of chemical equations and logical fallacies. Save those.
3. Always wear your glasses, even when you don’t think you need them. Screaming for your son to kill the massive spider you spied under the endtable is all well and good, until he explains it is a bit of fuzz from the dog’s toy.
4. Boredom can lead to shopping. And chemical failings, but mostly shopping.
5. The amount of cleaning you do is inversely proportional to the amount of visitors you receive. This means I should keep the house a mess if I want company coming by.
6. You only notice the amount of cookies in the pantry when you decide to give up snacking.
7. The same goes for liquor.

This concludes this week’s Extreme Wrap-Up: Aggie Losing Her Marbles Edition™. Hope y’all are enjoying your weekend!!

Soothing the Soul

Yesterday I spent the day driving in the rain. Normally that will set me on edge, because I hate driving, for one thing, and I hate dealing with idiot drivers who have no idea how to drive in the rain, for another. I must have seen the aftermath of four accidents, and several road closures, along with one bridge washout.Needless to say, by the time I got home I was beyond tired, and more than a bit grumpy.

But laying in bed after a long day, there is nothing more soothing than the sound of gentle rain falling on your roof. Thankfully, there was no thunder or lightning to disturb the dogs.

As harried as I have been, this morning finds my soul soothed, and my grumpiness gone, as I sit here and enjoy the birds singing and warbling outside, enjoying the freshness of a cool morning.

Of course, once the kids wake up that lovely peace will be shattered, but it is nice while it lasts 😀

Friday Sithy

I am going to be out of town this morning, running an errand for a friend in Oklahoma, so I will post one of those “What I Really Do” posters floating around the interwebtubenets for your enjoyment!

Click to embiggenify!!

Y’all have a great Friday!!

Guilt is a Great Motivator

Last night as I was going through clothing I haven’t worn in a year to donate to charity, I had an epiphany of sorts: I tend to keep clothing that doesn’t fit, either because I plan on losing a bit of weight to be comfy in it again, or because I am far too lazy to lose a bit of weight, and need comfier clothes to accommodate me. I felt a bit guilty over having an “escape route” for my laziness, and finally realized it was time to change that habit.

Luckily for me, Lent is coming up. And as is my custom, I don’t give up just one thing. I give up many, many things.

I give up drinking booze.

I give up sweets, including chocolate.

I give up fatty foods.

And I even give up caffeine.

Check it out! I come with a warning sign!

Usually Hubby steps around here on eggshells during Lent. He’s a smart cookie, though. He gives up cooking for Lent. But since he won’t be back until after Lent, he will get a reprieve. Last year I lost almost 17 pounds. This year he will come home to a more svelte wife. And if he’s smart, he will be carrying a bar of chocolate when he gets off the plane 😉

Well, I Did It

And I had a wonderful time. Yesterday I had the Travelling Red Dress™ photo shoot (info on the TRD is here). I had an amazing time with the photographer, Elizabeth, of Amakua Market Photography. She is a young woman who has an infectious love of life, and a wonderful personality, as well as that rarest of rare things: a love of her job. Grateful for the warm weather, we decided to go to the Japanese Gardens and walk around taking pics and laughing while enjoying the scenery.

And this is me. In the Almost Red Dress.

Yes, pixelated to protect my secret identity.

I found that this dress has a secret: it’s a magnifying glass. I started off wearing this dress to give myself a bit of magic, and found that the dress didn’t give it to me, it only let’s it show through. For that hour when I wore it, I saw myself like a court jester, and a petite flower, and a queen, and a little fish in the big pond full of Koi, and I loved it!! Big or small, I liked what I saw. It took me a long time to realize that I like who I am, and this dress helped me to see that others have always felt the same way. No, not everyone likes me, but at least I can see why some people do.

And the Converse All Stars™ were definitely the finishing touch 😉

Happy Hearts Day!!

I ♥ you guys!!!

Today I had the Travelling Red Dress photo shoot, so I am late with the post. I had a BLAST!! The photographer was not only professional, but very funny and kind, too. We did the shoot at the Japanese Gardens, and luckily the weather was warm enough. I will have pics soon and yes, I will be posting one here, as tradition dictates.

And yes, I did wear my Converse All Stars™!!

Rough Day Ahead

It’s a rough week for me. This week Hubby would have been home from his deployment. Though we don’t do much celebrating for Valentine’s Day, it still hard not having him here.

So I send him a kiss…

And I send him flowers….

And my fervent wish that he comes home soon.

I would send more, but this here is a family friendly blog 😉

Winter, Sorta

This morning finds my corner of the world in freezing temperatures. Ok, it’s 34* Fahrenheit, which is 1* Celsius for my readers in Metriclands. I’m well aware that some of you living up North think I’m whiny about this. And you would be right. But you would whine too, if you had enjoyed the wonderful warm weather we had through January. It was warm enough for me to wash the vehicles. It was warm enough the weeds were coming up, all confused and happy. It was warm enough that the A/C was kicking in.

I guess it’s time for me to get all the cold weather clothing out and put away the t-shirts. At least I get to clean out that part of my wardrobe.

I guess Winter is a woman, and we are always waiting for her here in Texas 😉

It’s a Party, and I Can Cry Because I’ll Have Waterproof Mascara

Quick confession: I used to sell Mary Kay Cosmetics™. The judging stops NOW!

Moving on. A friend of mine has invited me to a Mary Kay party. It has been roughly ten years since I have been to one, much less used their stuff. That doesn’t mean I don’t own some still, though mostly perfumey stuff. Usually I dread going to these parties because I have awful skin, and usually buy into the hope that this time I will find something that will make my skin look perfect and flawless. That is silly, of course, but I can still hope. Prayer doesn’t hurt, either.

Surprisingly, I am looking forward to it. I have come to the realization that I am a homebody. I don’t go out much, and when I do, I tend to come home early because of the kids. I do my chores around the house in total silence, forgetting about the radio or the CD player, and sometimes feel like I’m in a tomb, at least until Little One comes home and watches Disney Channel. I need to get out more, and make new friends, and if that entails going to a make-up party and buying something that guarantees to take years off your face, I will do it!

I just hope that stuff isn’t botox 😉

I Need to Invest in a Rake

I have temporary custody of my sister-in-law’s sheltie. It is a very pretty, very fluffy dog.

It also barks a lot.

Anyway, I usually sit with her and comb her coat before Eldest gives her a bath. One thing about this dog: she LOVES getting a bath. She also LOVES being combed. And finally, she LOVES getting her coat blown dry. I think she was a princess in a former life. But boy, does she ever shed.

I know you can’t tell very well, but that pile was the stuff I combed out. And it didn’t even make a dent, people!! She fluffed herself up again, and I could see little bits of fluff floating down to the ground. If I can’t use a rake, I will start using the vacuum on her coat.

At least she was happy!