The Ring of Death

My dear husband is the proud owner of a XBOX 360. He has had it for sometime.....and dare I say he has cherished every moment with it. The other morning dh came downstairs early for a friendly rendezvous with said XBOX and he received the most unpleasant surprise.......The Ring of Death. Mortified doesn't come close to the expression on his face......devestated...nope uh uh it was worse. I guess you could call it mortifstated. He was quick to get on the phone and call XBOX to see if he could find a way to get this problem fixed. I took a deep breath for him because I have never had an easy fix with an 800 number before. Donte spoke to one of the best reps ever who said all he needed to do was send it back in......in the box that they would send him. No shipping, no postage costs for us...no sirree. They would not only fix it......if they couldn't fix it they would send him a new one!!! I was floored! Note to self....always let DH deal with these situations from now on. Well since last Thursday he has asked EVERY day "Has the box come yet?". Yes a little bit obsessive are we. Well today his pretty little box came in. I have dutifully placed said XBOX into the box with the padding and all the precautions, Sealed it, and placed the mailing label on it. Now I must gather the kids and go hunt out our nearest UPS facility so that in 3 to 6 weeks my husband can have his XBOX back. **sigh**

Lightning Bugs

When I was a kid my Grandparents lived in Pennsylvania. I remember many a summer night chasing lightning bugs with my little brother and cousins. I remember how the air felt, the softness of the grass, and the pure magic that a bug that can glow in the dark would bring to me.
I don't think that I ever saw one in North Carolina but there are tons here. Last night, with plastic jars instead of glass, all four of us went outside to catch some lightning bugs. The boys were running around like crazy trying to catch them. Donte couldn't help himself he too had to get out there.
Sometimes I wonder how it would be if there were no digital cable, Wii, DS's, and PSP's. How carefree and wonderful it must have been to deem lightning bug catching as evening entertainment. Don't get me wrong I love all the new technology that we have today. It's just that seeing the boys so gleefully happy chasing bugs was wonderful. I want them to have the experiences that we had as kids, a little bit of the carfreeness, I want them to enjoy being a kid.

I Couldn't Resist

I just had to post this. Please excuse all the foul language but that's how it came. When it first snowed here I was so excited about it. We all went out and played in it.....let's just say it got old fast. In the end I was like screw the shovel I'm driving over it....that's why God made minivans right? Anyway enjoy...

A Southerner Moves North
Jan.10 5:00 P.M. It's starting to snow. The first of the season and the first one we've seen in years.

The wife and I took our hot buttered
rum and sat by the picture window, watching the soft flakes drift down, clinging to the trees and covering the ground.

It was beautiful!

Jan. 11 We awoke to a lovely blanket of crystal white snow covering the landscape. What a fantastic sight.

Every tree and shrub covered
with a beautiful white mantle. I shoveled snow for the first time ever and loved it. I did both our driveway and our sidewalk. Later a city snowplow came along and accidently covered up our driveway with compacted snow from the street. The driver smiled and waved.

I waved
back and shoveled it again.



Jan. 12 It snowed an additional 5 inches last night, and the temperature has dropped to around 11 degrees. Several limbs on the trees and shrubs snapped due to the weight of the snow. I shoveled our driveway again. Shortly afterwards, the snowplow came by and did his trick again. Much of the snow is now brownish-gray.



Jan. 13 Warmed up enough during the day to create some slush which soon became ice when the temperature dropped again. Bought snow tires for both cars. Fell on my ass in the driveway. $145 to a chiropractor, but nothing was broken. More snow and ice expected.



Jan. 14 Still cold. Sold the wife's car and bought a 4x4 in order to get her to work. Slid into a guardrail anyway and did a considerable amount of damage to the right rear quarter-panel. Had another 8 inches of the white shit last night. Both vehicles covered in salt and crud. More shoveling in store for me today. That goddamn snowplow came by twice today.



Jan. 15 2 degrees outside. More fuckin' snow. Not a tree or shrub on our property that hasn't been damaged. Power was off most of the night. Tried to keep from freezing to death with candles and a kerosene heater, which tipped over and nearly burned the house down. I managed to put the flames out, but suffered second degree burns on my hands and lost all my eyelashes and eyebrows. Car slid on ice on way to emergency room and was totalled.



Jan.16 Goddamn mother fuckin' white shit keeps on coming down. Have to put on all the clothes we own just to get to the fuckin' mailbox. If I ever catch the son-of-a-bitch that drives the snowplow, I'll chew open his chest and rip out his heart. I think he hides around the corner and waits for me to open our driveway again! Power still off. Toilet froze and part of the roof has started to cave in.



Jan.17 Six goddamn more fuckin' inches of fuckin' snow and fuckin' sleet and fuckin' ice and God knows what other kind of white fuckin' shit fell last night. I wounded the fuckin' snowplow asshole with an ice axe, but he got away. Car won't start. I think I'm going snow blind. I can't move my toes. I haven't seen the sun in weeks. More snow predicted. Wind chill -22 fuckin' degrees.

I'm moving back to North Carolina!

Rainy Days

I woke up today to the sound of rain beating on my window. Of course this meant that Soccer camp would be cancelled. I immediately went to the computer and checked the website. Luckily for me it was just delayed until 10. Wooo Hooo!! Donte woke the boys up early and gave them their crazy hair. One was shaved on the bottom the other on top. It was lovely I tell ya. since it's such a rainy day I think I am going to do some scrap booking. I have been slacking in that department so the rain keeping us in is the perfect opportunity.

Daniel


Donnie was so busy eating ribs that he acted like it was a bother for me to get this pic......but I am more than ready to cut the extra off so poor baby had to suck it up.

The Joys of Being a Recruiters Wife

Going to bed at 10:33.....Alone.

Having husband do paperwork until his index finger just turns into a pen....saves time for the important crap.

Going to a mandatory FRG meeting.....ummm I will keep my mouth shut.

Setting the filled dinner plate in the microwave for the love of my life.....so he can just hit start when he comes in half asleep.

Having him home everynight....PRICELESS.

I am trying here folks.....I swear I am.

Winston

Here is Winston before.

As I told you guys before my parents rescued a puppy a few weeks ago. they named him Winston Henry and he is adorable!!! Here is a before and an after picture. It's amazing what a little bit of food, medicine, and a whole bunch of love can do.
It really pissed me off that anyone can let a puppy get like he was. I think that people who treat animals like that should have the same treatment. Mean maybe but hey I am being honest.

The lovable Winston after.

SIFE

The boys started their soccer camp today. It runs for three days, 9AM-1PM and is about a 30 min drive away. I was apprehensive at first but the longer I stayed the more I liked it and the more the boys liked it. The camp is about 30 minutes away so I decided to bring a book and find a shady spot to sit and read. How great was that...I had 4 uninterrupted hours to sit in the shade while the wind blew every so gently as I read and read and read. It was total bliss. Back to the camp. There were about 300 kids and a mass of teenage counselors. Don't worry there were plenty of adults as well. They had a ton of fields set up and the literally played game after game that dealt with soccer for the 4 hours. The fed the kids pizza and hot dogs. There was plenty of drinks and they even had a water tent set up. They rigged hoses in the top of a tent so the kids could get good and misted on their breaks before heading back to the fields to play. Tomorrow is crazy hair day so we will see what we come up with. They also received their T-Shirts that they will wear for the next two days. Did I mention too that this camp is 100% free for all attendees. They get donations and they have the time of their lives. I am so happy that the boys are getting a chance to be a part of it all. They played, and played, and played, and I read, and read, and read. This was a total win, win situation. WOOOOOHOOOO. I can't wait for tomorrow morning.

After we got home the boys ran up to shower and then we played rock band. Can I tell you that this game is great. Whoever thought of the Wii sure did hit the nail on the head. Right now they are outside playing football with some neighbors and I am waiting for the roast to finish. I have a feeling that bedtime is going to come super early tonight.

I Did It.

I woke up, got completely dressed and ready by 730 in the morning. Now it's 3:33 and I am sitting in the recliner looking up at the clouds in the beautiful blue sky....all the while trying my damnedest to stay awake. I guess that's what I get for giving up caffeine.

It's Official......

.....I have been bitten by the lazy bug. Now my laundry is done and the floors are swept......but if it's not going to the pool or summer time fun....I DON"T wanna do it. The BBQ is getting a great workout as are the Dogs, the bikes, the sidewalk chalk, I am sure you get the picture. What's a girl to do? I even found myself singing along to Rock Band today while the boys were playing....whats the song you ask? uuuuuuummmmmm......wanted.......dead or alive.....I got a 98% wooohooo. Not bad considering it's the only song I know on the blasted thing.
Tomorrow is Monday and I swear I am getting out of bed and fully dressed by 730!!! I have to...ok I'm clicking my heels together and with my eyes closed I am saying "I think I can"! Wish me luck.

FINALLY

For weeks now I have been trying to get the Wii Fit. Every weekend when we go about our business of shopping and running errands we have been popping in and out of stores innocently asking "Do you have any Wii Fits available"? We are always answered with a no and a look of....hey lady do you see any on the shelf. I politely smile and say thanks you. In the back of my head I am saying you jerk check the back. Well after week upon week I had given up on searching. I decided last Sunday on Fathers Day that I wasn't looking anymore and that when it was no longer a hot item I would find one. Now I decided this as a hail storm was starting and here we are in the middle of gamestop. I am seriously thinking that I don't want the last moments of my life to be in a video game store. They say hail comes with a twister and man it was pitch black and the hail sounded like baseballs hitting the glass of the store. I decided to preorder rock band for the boys. What the heck I knew that if I didn't it would be a Wii Fit situation. Yesterday as Donnie and I are about to start a game on the Wii I decide to call gamestop to make sure I had the pick up day for Rock band right and I casually ask about Wii Fit and the guys says "uh Yeah we got it" OMG Donnie and I jump in the car and race to the store. It took literally 5 min bt we got the very last one!!! WooHoo!! Can I say that I love it and the fact that I actually broke a sweat was great. Donte and I have been doing 2 miles in the morning but this was great. I did some Yoga and I love it. I had never really done yoga before and can I say that my stomach muscles were more than a little sore. Bulls eye I cant wait to keep it going.

I Love The Summer

Now that the snot is all gone. I am having a blast with the boys on these long summer days. In fact I am sitting in the shade watching the boys and two of their friends playing baseball in the front yard. The breeze is blowing and the sun is shining. I have a tall glass of sweet tea and my flip flops on. It really doesn't get much better than this. We have been super busy as usual. We took a trip to the brookfield zoo last Tuesday. It was so much fun. We rode into work with Donte, had breakfast with him and then headed to the zoo. The boys and I had an absolute blast. We saw so much and they even got to pet sting rays and sharks. I got some great pics of them. It still amazes me just how fast they grow. At least the zoo is still fun for them....I hope that they never out grow it.
Fathers Day weekend was great. The boys actually had some Dad time on Friday night. I went out with a girlfriend and watched SATC again and then we headed off to a small little bar where there was lots of singing and some good laughs. Saturday morning we got up early and went to the boys soccer games. Their games were at the same times so Donte went to Dannies and I went to Donnies. Dannie played well but his team lost but there was a trophy at the end for him to soothe his little bruised ego. Donnie actually played awesome. His team won by 7 and he made a goal. He also received player of the week on top of the trophy so he was beaming from ear to ear. From there we headed to the movies. We saw the Hulk and I have to admit that it was really good. To end the day we came home and grilled steaks. What a great Sat. I wish that they could all be so relaxing. Sunday morning we woke Donte with his presents and got ready for the day. I had made reservations at Zeds. A Brazilian steak house.....yummmmmmmy. We ate to our hearts content and then came home and crashed. It was a great relaxing day filled with some great family time.
Yesterday we headed to the Y to swim. I was totally exhausted after we came back. Swimming takes so much out of you. I swear I felt like I ran a marathon. This morning I woke up and worked out. It had been a week or so since I had done so, so I had to push myself a little bit harder but boy was it worth it. I feel GREAT. We ran to my friends store to get a couple of webkinz. She has a special going on where the kids can get a dollar off for every A the receive. They made out like bandits and I got some good chatting time in. That brings me to know....sitting in the front relaxing and feeling ever so grateful that I am living the life I am.

Jersey Boys

Last Tuesday was the last day of school in our district. A few of us hopped onto a limobus (with an open bar) and headed into the big city to eat a great dinner and see Jersey Boys. Can I start by saying that the limo bus is awesome!! OMG what a great idea. Everyone crammed in and off we went. We ended up at a cute little place for dinner unfortunatly it took forever to get our food so we had literally 15 min to eat it and get to the theater. We get to the theater and start to get settled....so picture this 21 adults excited and ready to see Jersey Boys, up on the balcony...one of which is petrified of heights....when all of a sudden, the rudest usher in the world starts barking orders. Stating that we better be in the seats that are on the stubs....ok no shit sherlock theres 21 of us who cares if I sit in the left seat and Donte takes the right...she really didnt need to work with the public.....enough said. Any way we finally got settled in and I loved it. It was a great musical and it was the perfect way to end the school year.

SINUS

Why did God create sinus' seriously whats up with them. I totally see no need for them. I swear if there is an infection out there I seem to catch it.I am on the tail end of the worst sinus infection I have had in a while.....UGGGGGG!! There's nothing worse than a summer cold. snot, snot and more snot! EWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

SATC......and more

On April 30th I woke up and was sooooo excited because I thought that the premiere of Sex and The City would be that night....well obviously my bubble burst and I realized that I was a whole month early. When Friday night rolled around I hurried up and got my hiney to the theater....What a FABULOUS movie. OMG I wont post specifics but lets just say that it did not disappoint. If you were a fan of the HBO series or even if your not...get out there and see it....you will love it.

Here's a coupe of pics...man they are growing up...






We officially have 2 days of school left...woooohoooo. What ever will I do for 3 months of not having to use an alarm clock..... :0) SMILE :0). It is finally warming up here a bit. I think it it 81 here today...not the June that we are used to but we will take anything in the 70's and up. We went to a graduation party next door yesterday that was a blast. Amy and Reed have two foreign exchange students and they really are sweet girls. They graduated from PSHS and will be going back to their homes in a few weeks. We had a great night of friends, food and laughter.
My allergies have flared up so I stayed in for the rest of the weekend. I am finally starting to feel a little better. I tell you with it being cold for so long my body is mucho confused!!!
My Mom and Dad rescued the cutest little puppy last week his name is Winston. He looks a lot like Buster did and I know with my parents love he will flourish. He has gained 4 ounces in less than a week...not bad for a puppy that weighed less than 5 pounds. He is now up to 5.4 pounds...can I just say that he is going to be the most spoiled puppy in the world. Here's a pic of the little muffin.