Thoughts for a New Year

As the year 2008 wraps up and we are presented with a brand spanking new year of 2009, I bet some of you out there are making your list of resolutions. Any other year I am sure I would do the same but not this year. I think I will just be happy when I accomplish a demanding task and jump for joy when I something great happens. When challenges arise I will just work harder and keep on going, doing the best that I can. I will laugh during the good times and cry when times are hard. Most of all I will live, love and be grateful for every moment I spend with my friends and family, knowing above all, this is what really counts.

Have a safe and Happy New Year!

Back From the Snow Break

So, I slacked off once again. I was snowed in last week and since I was so bummed out from Snowmageddon I opted not to post anything. Who wants to hear: It is snowing again *&%$^@!!!!! ? Seriously, that is exactly what I was yelling every time I looked out the window. Two weeks of snow can really wear one out. instead of going into all the gory details of all the snow we got (I don't know it was a LOT -came up to my knees), how crazy I felt from being trapped in my house for so long (pretty darn crazy- I was locked up for 5 days), and how I even began to miss working in the office (you start to get desperate after awhile)...I will share some pics I took during the white out.

So much Snow!

This is how people got around unless they had a ginormous truck to off-road in.


The reason this one appears so blurred is because of the massive amount of snow falling at the time. The flakes were so tiny and so many!


This is one of my faves. Don't know why. I just like it.

**I was taking the pic above when I really should have taken pics of all the fools snow boarding down the hill past my house. It was too funny to watch all those people fall on their butts.**

Miss B decided to make some use of the snow and worked with the Mr on this year's snow sculpture.....

THE SNOW DUCK

I can't wait to see what they come up with next.

No More Snow...Please

The Weatherman says more snow while I say OH NO!!!!!! You have got to be kidding me. When I got to work this morning it had begun to snow yet again but thank goodness it quit soon after. Still, the weatherman says we will have more snow this weekend forcing another weekend of lockdown at the Kally Casa. I don't think I can stand much more of it.

Dang I cannot get through this post. It is snowing AGAIN!!!! Wish me luck that this white nightmare will end soon. Cabin fever stinks :p

Good news: Even though B is at home (school is closed) she has Granny (the Mr's Grandmother) there to entertain her. Maybe escape is still a possibility...even if it is only a stroll through the neighborhood. I am hoping to make it to Target to get a cute little hat. (Miss B keeps telling me that when I let the snow just land in my hair (not covering my head) makes me look like I have a major case of dandruff. I love how she is always looking out for me :)

So I Lied

Sorry guys. I will be the first to admit that I was WRONG. I awoke Sunday morning to nothing on the roads and not a flake falling from the sky. This meant we had to scurry to get ready for Sunday School. Then, wouldn't you know....the sky opened up and down came the snow. Lots of it. I couldn't believe my eyes. I knew I couldn't let you down so I braved the winds and flying snowballs (courtesy of Miss B) to get some pics of the snow.






Here is one from yesterday... while I was working... in the office. Funny how most of the people from Tulsa are showing up at the office but the Portlanders are staying home.



12/18/08 Most of it has melted off today because of the higher temps and rain. I am hoping & praying it doesn't freeze overnight making Miss B complete an entire week of no school. I'm starting to go a little nuts because one can handle only so much Suite Life before they REALLY lose it! Yay me! Aaaagh!!!!!

Warning

After I received this from a co-worker I have decided to stay of the roads in the case of snow. These Portland drivers are NUTS!

Snow...Whatever

Every time I check my email I have had at least 3 to 7 warning of the impending snow we will get here. Well according to the weathermen we should be getting snow. I DON'T believe it. Being from OKlahoma and enduring many a winter always including snow and ice - I've even made through a couple of icestorms in my lifetime.- I know the kind of weather in which to expect snow. Portland will not get any this weekend (this is my prediction). In the chance that I am wrong and snow does fall, there is NO possible way it can stick to the streets. Our temps have been too high to lower the ground temperature enough to the point for snow to stick to the streets. The kiddos might get lucky and have some stick to the ground/yard but I kinda doubt it. As I said before it really does not matter if it is cold enough outside to snow but whether the ground is cold enough for any snowfall to stick. So to all of you locals that check out the blog take a deep breath and put AWAY those tires with studs on them and stop freakin' out. Drive slowly if the snow does fall and if you are worried about sliding around on the roads, weight your car down by putting heavy stuff in the trunk (like firewood). This too shall pass.

Have a great weekend y'all.

Friends Who Have Gone Private

I just noticed one of my blog land gal pals has gone private. Kim if you see this PLEASE, Please, please invite me to your blog. :)

If anyone else thinks about going private...let me know.

Starbucks I am Not

Wow! Another post. No. Not really, just a couple of quick thoughts and that's all.

• I was thinking about celebrities vs normal peeps as I drank my crappy coffee this morning. I had to get my morning dose of celebrity gossip. Today it was provided by MSN - Hot Gossip and I began to think..... Thank god NORMAL people like me are not stalked by the likes of paparazzi. Imagine what it would do to your self esteem to have a bad bloat day or gain a couple of pounds and have the world claim you are preggers. I thought I was going to die of depression over the summer when I had put on some extra weight and my parents accused me of being with child. I told the truth and denied the awful assumption of theirs while they continued with their winks & nudges. How embarrassing it must be to have your "fat day pics" posted all over mags & tabs across the world. Don't get me wrong I LOVE reading that stuff while waiting in the grocery line as much as the next mom but after pondering that kind of existence I am glad I am a nobody.


• In regards to the aforementioned crappy coffee I have learned...I really do NOT like coffee maker coffee! With the limited resources available here @ work, I have been nursing a half full styrofoam cup of black coffee with only one tsp of sugar. Blech! If it was not for the caffeine boost I will get I would dump that junk. It tastes like dirt! You can bet the next time I am desperate for a caffeinated jump start I will suck it up and make the stroll to the nearest Starbucks for some calorie laden but oh so yummy frou frou coffee :) with whipped cream & sprinkles :)
  

Well Holy Cow this actually turned out to be a post after all.

Neglect - No pics

I guess I have been neglecting my duties as a good picture taking mom lately. I glanced through the pics and the most recent pictures I have taken are the ones from the pow wow night which is a story in itself. I was thinking about posting a couple from that night but then thought ...Naw, it feels outdated. After all, that was Thanksgiving weekend which seems forever ago. How do you fantastic picture takin' peeps keep up with your camera duties? I tried carrying it with me in my purse so I would remember to take a pic every now and then but it seems to get eaten by the black hole in my purse. By the time I dig it out the moment has passed and taking a pic feels so staged. Do I need to wear it around my neck and play like I am a real photographer?

Back in the Swing of Things

I am trying really hard to get back to blogging regularly again. Things were pretty rough for me after some major changes at work were made and I had a mountain of things to do here, there and everywhere. I still do have a lot on my plate but I am learning how to manage it better. Thank God because I thought I was gonna go CRAZY there for awhile.

Last night I went over to ScrappyGirl's for some cool crafting of bags & tags. It was odd for me -the Queen of the dollar store gift bag- to create my own gift bags & boxes. I should have taken pics of everything last night but my camera was in my purse and my glass of wine was on the table. The wine won -Sorry. You would choose the wine too, I bet. I will try to get some pics of the finished products and add them later.

Must get back to work. The fridge here at Computer Co smells like nothing you'd find in the kitchen and more like something from the bathroom. I have to send out an email to get these nasty boys to throw away the science projects from the fridge and freezer. :p

A Little Dork on the Side

So, I totally made the last post assuming everyone was as geeky as the Kally family and knew what a griffin was. For those of you who don't know...

The griffin is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and often wings of an eagle. -got that from Wikipedia. You can click on it to learn more.

AND for those of you who want a pic....here you go

Kinda freaky that my kid wants one of these!

Kally Cooks Again

Today I was informed by the Mr that I will need to cater snacks for the next "planning meeting" at work. Personally, I believe the only planning that went on today was -how to get Kally to bake for us- and MAYBE some company planning too. I am thinking of making some ginger cookies next. The Mr says I have many willing test subjects for any new recipes I want to try out. Hahaha! Men...B-O-Y-S....all of them.

Here is a little B-ism for you:
Last Sunday I took her grocery shopping with me and left the list at home. -D'oh! I hate it when I forget the list!- So here I was shopping from memory & asking Miss B if there was anything special she would like. And Soooo, while I only half listened, she began with her list: "I would like ice cream, pomegranates, bananas, latkes, turkey, pasta, and a griffin. Unfortunately, there are some things you just can't get from Albertsons."

Whow! Back the trolley up! Did B just ask me for a griffin? Where do they come up with these things?!

New Tricks

Learning html

My latest adventure? I am trying to learn html. I can't let the Mr be the ONLY tech savy person in the Kally Casa. So far I am just kind of learning the tags and what they do but I am hoping that within a couple months I won't have to reference my cheat-sheet note cards as much.

I used some of the tags I am learning in the piece above. Go me!

Then I cheated and decided to change the color of the sub-head I created :)

How many of you know html? or Are you interested in learning some?

Ack! Cleaning House

I had better get my butt in gear. The Mr says if I don't hurry he is putting the pile O boxes in our bedroom. Hmmmmm now that I think about it maybe I could be okay with that as long as he leaves my closet alone.

That Time of Year

I wanted to share one of my favorite pics of Miss B with you in the midst of the constant Crazy mode I have been with work as busy as ever and family on the way. -Granny, the Mr's grandmother, is coming to visit while B is on winter break. So of course I am stressed out knowing she is going to get here on the 18th and the room she will be sleeping in is still full of boxes. Tonight I will be making a huge attempt to clear out most of these boxes and make the room livable :)

On the bright side, I am about half way there as far as getting gifts goes! I can't post pics because Miss B will totally sneak a peek here to see if I am letting you in on the loot she will receive.

Thanksgiving Memories

Is it too terrible that we didn't take a single picture on Thanksgiving? Oh well, nothing I can do about it now. I will just have to tell you about it then.

We went most of the day with friends and had a wonderful dinner in between random rounds of Rock Band. I am NOT musical so I played groupie while the Mr switched back and forth from guitar to drums and (cover your ears) lead vocals. Miss B played bass guitar once and decided that was enough for her and off she went upstairs to play with the other little girl there. We arrived home late and fell asleep soon after. I was surprised the tryptophan didn't seem to have an effect on me throughout the day. Little did I know it would wait for me. I swear I spent most of Friday in turkey -coma. I barely rolled out of bed at close to 5pm to meet some friends for dinner. Can turkey affects wait to hit the next day?

Today we are all doing fine....and awake. Miss B had a friend stay the night and they have played NON-STOP. Tonight we are supposed to go to a Pow Wow in Gresham (I think) for B's school. I have never been to a Pow Wow before. I will try to remember the camera tonight and get some great pics of all the goings on.

The Bakin' Lady

After a relaxing weekend with friends, I feel ready for Thanksgiving. -Between us, I wish I could skip the work week. Not happening though so I am making the best of it. Last night I decided I would go ahead with the pumpkin bread bake off. (I baked mini loaves of pumpkin bread for every employee at Computer Co and some for Miss B to take to her teachers.) Let me say that was quite ambitious for my semi-unpacked kitchen with only one little oven. I finally wrapped things up around 11 o'clock last night and fell into bed shortly after but not before the Mr had to say "Dang, that's A LOT of bread" at least 20 times. It was nice to have that pumpkin spice smell wafting through the house while I slept and not worry about a candle burning down the house because of all the piles of packing paper still lying around. -We only get trash pick up once a week and the paper recycling dumpster is already overflowing in the garage.- Early this morning we carted in the bags of bread and soon when the employees arrive I will distribute the little loaves. Maybe I did this because I am Thankful for all of my friends and love to show my appreciation or Maybe I am just Thankful for the 4 day weekend I am getting!

A Quick Laugh

Sorry again for my absence. I really need to get my gak together and just post at night instead of early morning/daytime posting. Work has me so busy I barely have time to think straight. I am hoping things will mellow out soon but until then I will be working like crazy just to get to normal.

Miss B is off from school today because of parent-teacher conferences so we brought her up the office. Yeah, my work is cool like that. Maybe it is because the girl sits quietly in a corner desk with her activity bag, ipod and DS. She also shreds paper for those in need. Quite the little helper, don't you think?

B forgot her book today so I let her borrow Twilight. After 2 chapters she gave me the book back. Saying: Well it is a book about a girl who had to move to a place where she is bored out of her mind and she hates it there. -When I asked her what she thought about Edward she said: He is an obnoxious boy that skips school. Ugh!!!

The only highlight she loved from the book is when "Bella gets mad at Edward and decides she should hit his car." (she says this as she laughs hysterically)

-This scares me.-

Note to self: Remember when she is 16 not to get her a monster truck.

And the Winner Is...

Miss B is taking this job seriously ;)


The Winner of the Holiday Card is......

Georgie :)

***PLEASE NOTICE***The winner will have until Wednesday, November 19, 2008 11:59pm(PST) to claim the prize by emailing his/her full name as well as mailing info (to receive the prize). I will contact the winner via email and/or blog comment if such info is provided. If the winner does not respond by the given date, the first runner up will be contacted to email his/her info.

Thanks to everyone who participated. This was so much fun for me. There is a great possibility of other give aways in the future

Friday Fun

Hey, hey, hey! It's Friday!!!!!!! Can you tell I am happy? This has just been one of those weeks where I am ready for the weekend baby!

Fun
****Sooooo, in the case you haven't entered and commented for the Holiday Gift Card Give Away please click here and comment away. (Tulsa friends you can enter this too :D I will be doing a random drawing tomorrow to discover the winner - Miss B will pull a comment from a hat. Good luck!***

FUN!

I just started reading Twilight and so far I am LOVIN' it! When I happened upon this piece of fun I couldn't resist. I quizzed away and found out...

Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!

Even More Fun!
Well, fun for me. This is going to be a baking weekend. I am thinking pumpkin bread since it is getting close to Thanksgiving. If it turns out tasting great I just might post the recipe. Next week will be filled with pumkiny goodness for my co-workers and nearby friends.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!



ps. just wanted to let you know this post did NOT come easy. I created the whole thing and just as I was about to publish -KaPOW!!!- stupid blogger did something and 75% of my post was GONE!!! Has this ever happened to anyone else and did you feel as POd as I did?

Beware of the Chocolate Shakes

***DON'T FORGET...If you haven't entered my Holiday Card Giveaway. Please do so. It is so easy. So Comment away here . If you have already entered...Great! You have made my day :)

I am having one of those days where it seems like there is so much to do in so little time. Dinner, dishes, homework, housework, exercise, showers, and hopefully some sleep at the end. All of the happenings will be between the hours of 6pm & 11pm. My goal is to get around to the whole sleep thing by 11pm. To keep from stressing about all of my gak I have to do, I am going to share with you a bit of yesterday's happenings.

Since the Mr was off site yesterday at lunch he hit the nearby Burgerville. This sweet husband of mine brought me back my favorite shake -I think it is called a Chocolate Monkey or something. With mixed feelings of guilt & pleasure I grabbed that shake from his hand in a heartbeat. Come on, it was chocolate and I could always put in extra treadmill time. After digging through the accompanying bag containing sweet potato fries -okay more treadmill time, whatever- I noticed the lack of straw for my shake. Ack!!! How do you drink a shake without a straw? And wouldn't you know I didn't have a single one in my desk drawer or the bottomless pit aka the mommy purse. The shake was slightly melted so I figured I could drink this with the lid off :) No big deal right?
WRONG! About a fourth of the way into the shake I realized there was a big clump of unmelted shake in my cup. Too bad I didn't realize this before FLUMP!!! I was wearing half of my shake on may face, in my hair, up my nose and all over my hoodie. So glad I was wearing it and even more so since it is black. I gathered a mountain of napkins and quickly covered my face just as a girl from another office walked by. Thanks to her for asking if I was okay. No thanks for laughing her bum off.

Oh my Aching....

You name it. It all hurts. I found my safety key to my treadmill last night so there were no more excuses. I dug out the exercise duds and got back into action. I did request my special bottled water for running and Mr C was happy to get it at the nearby Swan Mart.
**(When running, I must have bottled water with a pop-top. Nothing else will suffice. The screw caps end up giving one an impromptu bath -an open bottle while running = a mess! The twist caps are DANGEROUS. Last time I tried to open a twist cap while running on the treadmill, I mis-stepped and was almost propelled off the beastly machine.)***
Now, back to our regularly scheduled workout. I ran for about 30 minutes but couldn't quite handle the old speeds and had to turn them down slightly. About half-way through my baby cows aka calves were mooing in great protest and I seriously considered ending the run. I pushed on and completed the 30 minutes and almost cried when I realized still had to climb 2 flights of stairs to reach the shower. Yes, getting back into shape can be quite the emotional experience.
Today I am going to take it easy and just do the 30 minute power walk. I will leave the running for later in the week.

What are you doing to get into/keep in shape?

**-Just want to remind y'all to go forth and comment for the Holiday Give Away if you haven't yet." (To tired to link to the post. Scroll down, it's not that far away.)

Don't Ask what I am Singing

****If you haven't done so already click here to enter my itty bitty Holiday Give Away. It's super easy click and comment on my post and you will be entered. Whatcha waitin' for?****

Okay, so I heard this great song on a podcast last week. I loved it. The sound really reminds me of some great 80s bands I loved. Then I heard the song played again on Saturday Night Live. Now, I seriously can't get it out of my head. I keep half humming, half singing this song and I am scared half to death one of the supervisors is going to ask me the name of the song I am singing.

What is the song you ask?
Answer: Sex on Fire

It is by Kings of Leon and I love it BUT I don't think my boss would like to hear me singing "Your Sex is on Fire."

So, What song are you embarrassed to say you are singing?

It's a Give Away

I have teamed up with ScrappyGirl to give you a mini holiday give away!! Who doesn't like free stuff? I know I LOVE it!
Here's what you get: Five Free Assorted Holiday Cards Created by ScrappyGirl & Me!
What you do: Go on over to ScrappyGirl's site look around leave her a comment (cuz we all love to get comments, ya know) and then come back here tell me which card of hers you LOVE the best and BADA-BING you are entered! (If you don't have a blog, please leave an email addy where I can contact you.) So click here and start the process.
Contest will end 11:59 next Friday night (that's 11/14-almost 15/2008)
I will post the winner on Saturday :) Luck to all!!

Here are some examples of cards you might get!!!

What's Goin' On?

Here are the updates as promised:

Halloween:

The costume: Sharpay from High School Musical. (Attitude not included)...(I also didn't get a blond wig. I could just imagine the rats nest it would be by the end of the night so B was a brunette Sharpay and I quick styled her hair and we were out the door.

We took Miss B trick or treating in a friends neighborhood. It was hilarious to see B going from house to house answering time after time that she was dressed as Sharpay and even singing a snippet of Bop to the Top for a few luck peeps. She came upon one house answered by a crowd of tween boys who acted like they were above HSM so I called to them from the street "Come on guys, you know you like High School Musical too!" Next thing I knew, these boys were singing and dancing along with her. The girl knew what she was doing because she scored extra candy every time she sang.

A brunette Sharpay.


Sharpay and the Construction Crew???


Trick or Treat!!!


After sooooo many houses B was ready to go home. The poor girl was too pooped to pose!



Other stuff: Work has been insanely busy for me lately. Lots of extra work, extra hours and soon tons of training. I feel like a madwoman running around with her head on fire.

I went to a watch party on Tuesday and had a blast!!! So many people showed up to this party and OoooHHH the food...it was all American: Hamburgers & Apple Pie. Yum!

Fighting the laundry monster: Something is wrong with my dryer. It takes 3 hours to dry clothes!!! At first we thought the vent was clogged so we had someone come out to clean it. (The vent is on the roof of our townhouse.) The guy pulled out a gnarly soft ball of lint and told us "problem solved." Well, he was WRONG! The problem continued so we had to have a vent sucker come out to completely remove all lint from the air vent. Another giant ball of lint was removed and this guy also gave the same retort of "problem solved." Ennnnnn Wrong! Last night it took me 2 and a half hours to dry one load of laundry. I am thinking it may not be the vent but still looking for an answer while I fear for my life. -That ever growing pile of laundry might collapse on me in my sleep. Yikes! :O

Updates Soon

Sorry, but I must keep things short right now. A lot is going on here. I hope to update y'all soon on everything. Just try and hang in there because I know I am. Talk to you soon.

I Voted!!! Did you?

A Crafty, Boogity, Costumes for All Halloween

I got Boo-ed!!!! When I received this I thought Oh no! Tenakim of My Therapy thinks I am terrible so she has Booed me :( So I hopped on over to her blog and realized -Hello, Kally! Clueless, Party of One!!! -It's Halloween and this is a piece of bloggy goodness. A little something for us blog-aholics to spread around while also spreading some linky love. (Who doesn't LOVE being linked, I ask you?) So I am all for it! Here's how it works: Go to as many of your blog buddies as you want and tell them they have been boo-ed. Have them pick up this picture and add it to their blog and say with the link who boo-ed them. Happy Boo-ing!



Here is a little Happy Halloween card I made just for you guys. Soooooo Happy Halloween from me! Oh, wait....Why oh Why, you may ask, didn't I stamp a Happy Halloween at the bottom of this card??? -Well, after rummaging and sorting through both mine and Scrappy Girl's stamp collections did I realize neither of us own a stamp with the words "Happy Halloween" on it. I know that is the slacker in me showing. Oh, well.




Here are Miss B and Mr C dressed up. Probably not from Halloween since the Mr is wearing shorts but didn't you know everyday is Halloween at the Kally Casa. These two love to dress up! Can you tell?

Happy Halloween!
(and don't forget to watch out for those pumpkins :)