Tripping down Memory Lane

I spent most of Thursday going through pictures. Trying to find a dorky one for upcoming Dorky Tuesday.

I had the best time. I found pics that I had totally forgotten about. All the way back to my teen years. Of course they are all thrown in various boxes. Organizing them would be a pain. But sifting through them was sooo damn fun. I ended up taking out a huge stack to take to the cabin this weekend. I figured David, I, my brother and SIL can take a trip down Memory Lane one night while we are drinking:-)

So, we are off for the weekend. I have my bags packed, chest full of beer & wine....and my pictures.

Have a great Labor Day Weekend.

HNT: Asleep On The Job

As I mentioned, we do an annual garage sale. The proceeds go to the kids school clothes. The main requirement is that they help out in some way. K spent all day Friday helping. Saturday was suppose to be D's turn.

Hmmm, this was his idea of helping:

SERIOUSLY,I'm not kidding.... he fell asleep on that bean bag...complete with his 'drawers' hanging out. At one point we were gonna put a FOR SALE sign on him. But we ended up waking him up when someone almost TRIPPED OVER HIM!!!! LOL

When we woke him up, it took forever for him to get off the ground, because he can't bend his left leg (he dislocated his knee cap a few weeks back....AGAIN). So not only did it take him a while but he did it all funky like. Some lady was walking up the walkway while D was getting up. He whispers to me "OMG Mom, I think I just flashed that lady my asscrack". I started laughing and he says "I"M NOT KIDDING".

He went straight into the house and wouldn't come out till she was gone.
LMAO

Rambling...

Well I finally got all the leftover junk packed up from our garage sale. It only sat in our yard two extra days. I'm sure people in town loved that I added to the reputation as a hick small town. Very trailer trash of me. LOL And while I really appreciated the people that came by and took stuff off my hands, FOR FREE.....I can't help but wonder where these people where when I was actually selling this stuff for DIRT cheap? Normally I wouldn't complain. But we do this sale every year. The proceeds go to my kids school clothes. I guess after last years $900 success, I am a bit bummed out this year that we didn't come close. I just need to accept that last year was a fluke. sigh......looks like I will be coughing up my OWN money this year for their clothes.
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I'm kinda feeling funky about school starting back up. Usually by this time I am so ready for those 'back to school' routines to kick in. And while I think I will get a better grip on the household routines (housework, cooking meals), I am kinda sad for the kids to go back. I think this Summer just went by way to fast for me.
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I'm in a wierd place right now with the whole city buying our house situation. They say if things were all to fall into place that it would be a minimum of two years before they were to begin demolishing my house construction on the new road. However they said the city still could approach us in 6 months with an offer. AND they said they were very concerned about our feelings. LOL I'm thinking that tomorrow when I go into town hall to pay my water bill; that I will tell them to give me AT LEAST a year before they make an offer. I just don't see us ready to move that soon. WE could negotiate to rent back till they are ready to begin construction. But I want to reinvest the money into a new house. I just need AT LEAST a year to get our credit back in shape and maybe even put some extra aside. We always talk about moving...but now that its a reality it freaks me out. I feel kinda like the decision was taken from me. I want to move on my terms...not the cities. AND on top of that. I'm a real estate agent. I did a search. I do not like ANYTHING that is currently listed in our area, other than a few unattainable high priced homes. So I need time!

What this had done though, is made me appreciate this house so much. I plan on spending all my remaining time inviting others over to enjoy it as well:-)

So I could write a few more chapters. But this already is disjointed enough. Just spewing some thoughts that are tucked into my brain.

Perspective....

I'm still recovering.....we had a VERY LARGE garage sale, this past weekend. It's over but I am organizing all the leftovers and figuring out what to do with it all. I still have three tables worth of shit stuff in my front yard!

While I take care of all that and find my way back into the groove.....I thought this was another great inspirational writing.

Perspective:
One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."


"Did you see how poor people live?" asked the father

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are."

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your family and friends!

Life is too short and friends are too few.

CAN YOU HEAR ME????

People are always saying "Christina is such a good listener".

I'm always listening...listening...listening. Listening to their friend problems. Listening to their marriage problems. Listening to their family problems. Sometimes listening to stupid shit I could care less about!

Sometimes I wish they would shut the fuck up and listen to me for a change!

HNT: David turning 40

For Davids 40th, we rented a party bus with 15 of our friends. OMG...it was so freaking fun. No worries on who had to drive. We all cut loose. It was CRAZY.

Here's the BDay boy and his "required" adornments for the evening!

Erotic Personality???

While visiting The 13th Floor, I came across this fun quiz. I decided to join the fun and here are my 'results'. Scary how accurate these things can be:

I took Sage Vivant's Erotic Personality Quiz and discovered I'm an Escapist!

What is your Erotic Personality? Find out now.

Reality is The Escapist’s least favorite place. Sex in another era or galaxy with other people would be ideal for this erotic personality—or so they believe. They also like to revise their own history and think about how great a certain sexual encounter or partner would have been if only this or that had happened. An Escapist’s fantasy life is active and rich, but it is characterized by fantasies that they’ve nurtured and cultivated to perfection. This is the mother of all erotic types and almost everyone has a bit of The Escapist in them. What makes this type a person’s dominant erotic personality, however, is how necessary the fantasies are for erotic fulfillment.

Greet the Day

"I will greet this day with love in my heart.
And how will I do this?
Henceforth will I look on all things with love and be born again.
I will love the sun for it warms my bones;
yet I will love the rain for it cleanses my spirit.
I will love the light for it shows me the way;
yet I will love the darkness for it shows me the stars.
I will welcome happiness as it enlarges my heart;
yet I will endure sadness for it opens my soul.
I will acknowledge rewards for they are my due;
yet I will welcome obstacles for they are my challenge."

-- Og Mandino

I stole this from Lori's blog.

But I found it so powerful that I felt it needed a repeat!!!!

HNT: Splashing

My nephews, having the time of their life!

RANDOM FYI

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?

A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Penne in Vodka Cream Sauce

Penne in Vodka Cream Sauce

4 ~ 12 oz packages of penne rigatoni

salt

2 T. butter

1/4 cup olive oil

1 shallot, diced

1 small bulb of garlic, diced

1 cup vodka

3 ~ 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes

salt/pepper

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese

1 handful of chopped fresh basil

~Put on a large pot of water to boil.

~ In a large skillet, melt butter and add olive oil over medium heat. Saute shallots till tender. Add garlic and saute a few more minutes. Add vodka. Let simmer, stirring occasionally, till reduced about half. Add canned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes.

~ salt boiling water then add pasta. stir occasionally and cook till al dente.

~~ Right before pasta is done, add cream to tomato sauce mix.
Stir well then add the cheese and basil. Simmer a few more minutes.

~~ Drain pasta really well. Add to sauce and stir well.

~~ Season with more freshly ground pepper.

***This served 12 people....with room for seconds and thirds.***

WAHOO...I found it!

I found my camera! Well actually K~ found it, but still I am so excited.

This whole time I thought B~ had lost it. And technically she did. My sister in law had borrowed it. She gave it back to B~ one day when they were out running errands. Well yesterday we went for a drive in sister in laws SUV. K~ unfolds the very back and THERE IT IS. Right where B~ must have left it!!! About TWO MONTHS LATER.

I am sooo releived. I use this camera for work too!
Now I can quit borrowing everyone else.

HNT: Cleaning the bathroom

We are having a surprise 40th BDAY party for David, tomorrow night. So me and kids are busy cleaning up the house (which is a total PIT). I took a break before the bathroom mirror got cleaned. LOL

I'm enjoying reclaiming my home from the mess. BUT, I am finding lots of things I want to do to it. Of course many will never get done since most likely it will belong to the city eventually.

So I have just accepted the fact that I will be moving at some point in next few years and to enjoy the house while I am here. Doesn't make me any happier about it...but I've accepted it.

Why I LOVE Dolphins!

Humans & dolphins are the only species that have sex for pleasure.

(Is that why Flipper was always smiling?)

They say It Takes a Village....

"It takes a Village to raise a child"

I've said it many times. I firmly believe it.

But sometimes I just wish people would mind their own damn business and keep their opinions to themselves..........

5 Things...

So Lori tagged me with this Meme:-)

5 THINGS I LOVE:
~~ getting totally lost in a good book. Enjoying it so much that I am devastated when it comes to an end.
~~ driving in my car with no passengers, listing to tunes really loud and feeling the music.
~~ COOKING. Finding new recipes to share with my family and friends.
~~ laughing till my side hurts and I can't breath.
~~ A clean house. (although its rare)



5 THINGS I WAS DOING 10 YEARS AGO:
~~ looking for our first home to buy
~~ living in a crappy rental in the neighborhood I grew up in.
~~ chasing a 2 year old, a 5 year old and relying on the 10 year old to help!
~~ spending lots of time with my Nana who passed away the following year.
~~ meeting up weekly with a great group of gals I met online.



5 FAVORITE SNACKS:
~~ CHEESE & wine
~~ CHOCOLATE
~~ chips, salsa and guacamole
~~ any type of cut up fruit
~~ my grampa's popcorn


5 SONGS YOU KNOW ALL THE WORDS TOO:
~~ Stand by Me
~~ Bitch
~~ Margaritaville
~~ Jessie's Girl
~~ Most Pat Benatar songs



5 THINGS YOU WILL NEVER WEAR AGAIN:
~~ gaucho's
~~ THICK blue eyeliner
~~ legwarmers....I don't care if they do make a comeback.
~~ one big side ponytail
~~ light up tennis shoes



5 THINGS YOU WOULD DO IF YOU WERE A MILLIONAIRE:
~~ Have David quit his job and start his own business
~~ pay off all my bills (including house)
~~ pay cash for a brand new Hummer
~~ buy several vacation homes: in CA, Lake Chelan and someplace with snow
~~ set up a foundation to raise money for several of my fave charities

HNT: Putting my best smile forward.....

So why is this considered HN? Probably because I am without makeup and feeling 'exposed'. LOL And.....I got nothing else. hehehehehe

Despite my feeling blue regarding our house situation; I can still smile. Although that smile was RARE today:-(

I'll be back soon to update on the house vs city fiasco.