Southern Belle Give Away Extravaganza

No, nobody is giving Belle away. We would miss her too much and I am pretty sure her family would too.

This is Belle's birthday week and to celebrate she will be hosting a whole week of generously giving away great goodies!

Monday: Screen Doors and Sweet Tea--Recipes and Tales from a Southern Cook
Tuesday: Subscription to Southern Living or Real Simple, your choice
Wednesday: DVD of my favorite movie of all time…The Big Chill
Thursday: $25 Starbucks gift card OR $25 Target gift card, your choice

Grand Prize Friday:
$25 Target Gift Card, The Big Chill DVD, and subscription to Southern Living or Real Simple, your choice

Click HERE and leave her a comment on any and all days you might be interested in winning! Don't forget if you tell her Happy Birthday on Wednesday she will throw your name in twice that day! Don't wait, Head on over to Life of a Southern Belle!

Early Morning

Hmmm....what to do when you can't sleep and there is nothing on television? Well blog, of course. Here are a couple of bits and pieces about what's going on in the Kally Casa lately.

I have had a chest cold the past few days so in between sleeping, coughing and taking meds I have been watching so much TV I think my mind is turning to mush. After a couple of hours of channel surfing, I realized I have lost Bravo. The comcast package we have doesn't appear to include it. I am going into withdrawals without my Project Runway!!! I have tried other substitutes: I caught up on all of the Charmed episodes I ever wanted to see and some I didn't. I keep finding myself clicking over to E! as a default when nothing else appeals.

We made a mandatory trip to Tar-jay today for magic pants, Miss B's Halloween costume (HSM Sharpay, including the funniest accessory...a microphone headset), shabby chic shower hooks for my bathroom (I let Miss B pick them out.), and some groceries we needed. While at Target I spotted a lady that looked like Granny (Mr C's grandmother) and I pointed her out to Miss B.
Kally: Hey B look! Doesn't that lady look EXACTLY like Granny?
Miss B: No, that lady has better fashion sense than Granny. You do know, that is why Granny keeps me around, I have the fashion sense and I help Granny when she shops.

This girl always cracks me up.

Here are the shower hooks Miss B picked out. Funny, huh?


**I just watched the funniest infomercial for a product called Smooth Away, a hair removal product. I swear the thing looks like sandpaper attached to a pink handle. What the heck? Who uses sandpaper to shave their legs? Next thing you know we are going to be using a cheese grater on our feet for calluses. Oh, too late. Next up, a commercial for the pedi-egg.

Have You Ever????

*****Giant WARNING!!! This post is NOT FOR MALES or the few ladies who might possibly get offended easily!!!If you choose to read on then it is your own fault, I warned you.*****

So how many of you have heard of the Diva Cup? I had not until recently. I have a very Green Friend who has started her own online womens/mothers/ & baby earth friendly product business. She informed me of an item she would be carrying called the Diva Cup. For those of you who don't know it is an alternative feminine hygene product that collects..... I had never heard of this before and was kinda grossed out at the thought and afraid of accidents. When listening to my favorite podcast the next evening, the co-hosts brought up the topic of the Diva Cup. I was cracking up laughing at this coincidence. Later I told Mr C about hearing about it on the podcast. Now don't get me wrong I knew he did NOT want to hear about this thing. I just needed a good laugh. Please enjoy a slight re-enactment of what was said so you may enjoy your laugh at poor Mr C's expense.

I told him the name, diva cup, then I began to describe what it does. (I did not get very far.) His response was thisquick...something like "NOOOOOoooooooooo" "Stop! Right There. I have heard ENOUGH!!!" I don't care if the thing is black, white, striped, diamond studded or glows in the dark! That is stuff you need to talk to your girl friends about!" "AND if you ever think someone is going to talk about it, even to say the name of it around me you have the right to physically tackle me and cover my ears. I won't fight you off or ask any questions. I will just know."

I swear I was laughing so hard I was crying.

Way to Shop

While grabbing a bite for lunch today, I was catching up on Manic Mommies, the most wonderfully funny and real podcast in the world. It was the episode on grocery shopping and what I believe to be a mythical place called Stop & Shop. The grocery store seems to good to be true. You come in and get your little scanning gun, just like the ones you use when registering for weddings or babies, and scan your grocery gak as you go. Then you can bag it after scanning it, right in your cart. I am clueless as to how or when you pay for said stuff already bagged to go but I think this is a FANTASTIC concept and I wish I had a Stop & Shop near me. No more waiting an the painfully long lines. No more food defrosting while waiting in these lines. No more trying to keep the kiddos occupied while you wait. I love it. Stop & Shop please come to Portland.

If anyone has been to or lives near one of these magical stores please tell me what you think of the place.

Trail Pics Part 1

We headed out from Oklahoma packed into these bad boys. At one point we had 9 people, a driver and 2 dogs in our RV! Crazy Town!


This is the Water Tower in Newton, Kansas (I think). This is when I made my first post about the Trail and found to my dismay that I was without an Internet connection.



We stopped in Colorado the first evening and I was loving the view.


Miss B striking a pose. She was having a blast!


This is Molly, one of the dogs that was housed up in the RV shower. I was surprised at how laid back they were considering the circumstances.


Sunset on day 1. Goodnight John Boy.

A Freebie

Go check it out and leave a comment for this Oh-so-Cute tote that Monogram Chick will be giving away. As always REMEMBER to add in your comment that Kally sent you and we BOTH will win totes! How neat-o is that? So click here and leave your comment and you just might win! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

A Joyous Occasion

Oh happy day!! It really looks like the Kally Casa might get Internetz today!!! So sad that we are the last of the group to get it and Mr C is the IT Guy. How in the world did we manage to stay out of the loop and not hear of "the guy" from Comcast who is stinking awesome and will come out next day??? Soon I will be able to post more than just the quickies I type up during a break at work and pictures, yes pictures will definitely be a possibility in the very near future. Please Comcast Guy get here soon!!!

***Swap Stuff***On another note, I am participating in the "Wicked" swap from The Pink Clutch and all I have to do is wrap and label the goodies! I am supposed to have things sent out by the 30th but as always my slacker hiney is getting very close to the deadline and I have yet to find out where the nearest Post Office is. Yikes! To my swap-mate Diary of a Skinny Fat Chick: the beautiful wrapping will not be my doing. Mr C is the wrap-tastic one in the Kally family. One can always tell my wrapping by the massive amounts of tape and large crumpling of paper at each end.

Thanks and More

Just a quick Thank You to all of my Bloggy Friends and my friends from back home for being so supportive and helpful during this move we have made. Although Miss B has adjusted fairly well and Mr C is pretty much on his way to adjustment, I have had a rough go of it all. Portland just doesn't feel like home since I feel lost about 98.9% of the time here. I keep looking around for something familiar, something that might remind me of home when one night we drove past a Papa John's and I had such a silly rush of familiarity that I almost cried. Kind of silly now that I think about it but then again maybe not.

So for all of my friends that have called, emailed, and commented, Thank you, your thoughts and voices really help. I would feel 100% lost without you.

***How funny are all the copyright words running through the piece of clipart I chose to represent my post?***

Happy Birthday Mr C

I can't believe it in all of the rush going on I forgot this morning that today is his birthday. I remembered when writing down the date for something work-related. As soon as I caught my mistake I marched myself down to his office to wish him a happy birthday. I tried acting cool about it but I was BUSTED! It must have been when I mentioned going to Ikea tonight and he told me "no" and I asked "why not?" Oops!

Mr C:
In all sincerity, I would like to wish you the happiest of days today and everyday. The world (especially my world) would not be the same without you. Every time I look at you I am reminded of how special you are and how lucky I am to have you in my life.

Happy Birthday! May we enjoy another eventful year together...even if sometimes it feels like 10 years!

Love,

I Forgot

To all that are wondering the Fabulous Miss B is doing ....well fabulous. She loves the new school and has made many friends quickly. The aftercare program is full so when school gets out Mr C makes a run to the school to pick her up. This afternoon she came to the office without any homework so to keep her from I asked her if she would like to pull up a chair and be my co-pilot. She gives me a look like I asked if she would like to eat dog food and tells me "No, not really." and once again my darling girl walks off leaving me grateful that I have such a loving child.

Warning

If you don't hear anything from me, I promise I am not abandoning you. I have yet to get an Internet connection at the Kally house. I will search for the missing digital camera to upload some crazy and some amazing pics from the Trail.

Must go search out great places to eat in PDX & shopping too!

Happy Weekend :)

Welcomes

We have been in our new house for almost a week and we just received our furniture and boxes of belongings yesterday. Let me tell you what an event that was. I had 2 movers hauling boxes and furniture strapped to their backs up the 2 flights of stairs. At the time I was amazed at their efficiency and hard work. After they left I learned the true story. The movers scratched up one of the doors, put a dent in the wall in Miss B's room and best of all....they pooped in all of my toilets (we have 3 in the house) and they didn't FLUSH!!!! Can you believe it?!?!?! I was shocked to say the least. I unpacked a grand total of 7/almost 8 boxes. Still missing at this point are: silverware, Mr C's shoes and the bedding for mine and Miss B's beds are all incognito. :( maybe I will find these items hiding in one of the boxes in the office.

The neighborhood welcome wagon (the next door neighbors) rolled through yesterday also. They smiled and waved hello as they were leaving. Later in the day I discovered these same neighbors swapped out my cute little daisy welcome mat for their old ratty grey-ish salmon colored one. I am so disappointed in the neighborly love and I was going to bake cookies, as soon as I find the cookie sheets, to introduce ourselves to the neighborhood. I was wondering if I should swap mats again in the middle of the night or just purchase a new one. I am pretty sure I will just get a new mat. It gives me an excuse to go shopping.

Big question for all of my bloggy friends...Where are the best places for Italian food in Portland? I am dying for some!

OSB - Complications

I am not trying to hide anything. I promise. We just don't have our furniture yet. The movers should be arriving today with the Kally family belongings...including my scale! I might say I feel a tad lighter due to the great amount of walking I have been doing here in Portland and the many stairs I climb between home and work. We have 2 flights of stairs at home and one giant flight of stairs at Computer Co. Give me two weeks and my legs will be rock hard from running up and down all of these stairs. With a little hope I might just find the scale by next Wednesday. Good job & keep up all the hard work to all of my other OSB sistas!

The Oregon Trail (Highlights)

I typed this on the first day of the Trail. Still no internet connection at the Kally casa yet. This will be fixed soon according to Mr C. Until then enjoy my 1st day of the Trail...

Sept. 3 (Day 1) Typed @ 7pm: We are on the trail! Somewhere in Kansas, I think. We are supposed to get to Colorado by the evening. Crazy that here we are, Computer Co and I don't have a wireless connection to post something. Something has to be done about that IT Guy :) he is slacking off. I have slept almost the whole day. I don't know why but something about a moving vehicle always puts me to sleep.

When Miss B decided she was finished napping and wanted to get the Nintendo DS to pass time I didn't worry. Then the RV turned this giant curve and I heard this whoosh, thump, THUMP, OWWwwww! It was Miss B. As she was walking past the sink the RV hit that curve and she flew across the RV, down the stairs and banged into the door. Once I made sure she wasn't injured, I totally lost it. I was laughing so hard I was crying. This girl is an accident looking to happen (one day if you remind me I will tell you about her run-in with my treadmill).

Nothing much has been going on. Most of us are either on our laptops or sleeping. I will try to let you know if something exciting happens.

Always :)

Something Real Soon

We are still on the Oregon Trail we have made it to OR after some very interesting nights in Colorado, Wyoming and Idaho. I think we might might crash someone's cattle pasture tonight. Tomorrow we will make it to Portland by afternoon and as soon as I have a real Internet connection (I am borrowing someone's EVDO card right now to let you know I haven't been eaten by mountain lions or mauled by a bear.) I will post pics and full retelling of the Trail. I can't wait to take a real shower! Camp showers don't even compare. Must go! Love, Love, LOVE to all!