Can I Get A Witness

Have I ever told you...

2011-03-08T17:23:00.002-06:00

About the time I had to strip color off of my hair? Go get a cookie,,, I'll wait.....When I was pregnant I was afraid to dye my hair.... I read in a book that it could be harmfu(obviously written by a man)...so I bought some organic hair dye made from vegetable roots or dog snot or some other such earthie goo. It turned my hair PURPLE! Since 'turnip' wasn't the look I was going for I called my hair chick and told her what I had done. After she cleaned the sweet tea off her phone receiver where she spewed it from laughing so hard, she told me to go buy some color strip/correcting concoction from Sally's Beauty Supply. It was like $749 or something outrageous like that but hey, it worked and I didn't look like a Tele-Tubby any more.

New Wal-Mart coupon Policy

2011-03-04T22:53:00.004-06:00

Okay peeps! It looks like Wal-Mart has stepped up the game and you no longer have to wear a stripped shirt and green pants in order to redeem a coupon!! Woohoo!! No, really, it's much better than that. From what I'm reading, it appears that we will be able to use register rewards and Catalina's that print from other stores....I'm sure it will take a while to get all of the stores trained in this. But if we are all friendly and take a printed copy of THEIR coupon policy with us, it shouldn't take long.
Go HERE to view and print!

I hope to have my Wag's scenarios up tomorrow night. Let me know if any of this helps...if not, I'll stop.
Thanks!!

Coupon Insert schedule for 2011

2011-03-03T11:10:00.001-06:00

2011 Sunday Coupon Insert Schedule (Smartsource Coupon Preview 2011, Redplum Coupon Preview 2011, Proctor & Gamble Coupon Preview 2011, General Mills Coupon Preview 2011) You can go here to get a listing of each coupon.

January
2— (2) Smart Source (2) Red Plum and General Mill
9— Smart Source and Red Plum
16 — Proctor & Gamble
23 — Smart Source and Red Plum
30 — Smart Source and Red Plum

February

6 — Smart Source
13 — No Inserts scheduled (Valentine’s Day)
20 — Smart Source, General Mills and Procter & Gamble
27 — Smart Source and Red Plum

March
6— Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
13 — Smart Source and Red Plum
20 — Smart Source and Red Plum
27 — (2) Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

April
3— No Inserts scheduled
10 — Smart Source and Red Plum
17 — Smart Source and Red Plum
24 — Smart Source and Red Plum

May
1 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
8— Smart Source and Red Plum
15 — (2) Smart Source and Red Plum
22 — Smart Source and Red Plum
29 — No Inserts scheduled (Memorial Day)

June

5 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
12 — Smart Source
19 — Smart Source and Red Plum
26 — Smart Source and Red Plum

July
3 — No Inserts scheduled (Independence Day)
10 — Smart Source and Red Plum
17 — Smart Source
24 — Smart Source and Red Plum
31 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

August
7 — Smart Source and Red Plum
14 — Smart Source and Red Plum
21 — Smart Source and Red Plum
28 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble

September
4 — No Inserts scheduled (Labor Day)
11 — Smart Source and (2) Red Plum
18 — Smart Source and Red Plum
25 — Smart Source and Red Plum

October
2 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
9 — Smart Source and Red Plum
16 — Smart Source and Red Plum
23 — Smart Source and Red Plum
30 — Smart Source and Red Plum

November
6 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
13 — Smart Source and Red Plum
20 — Smart Source and Red Plum
27 — No Inserts scheduled (Thanksgiving)

December
4 — Smart Source, Red Plum and Procter & Gamble
11 — Smart Source and Red Plum
18 — No Inserts scheduled (Christmas)
25 — Procter & Gamble

Back again! Excuses, excuses and sales at Walgreen's!

2011-02-26T12:30:00.005-06:00

Yes, people. I'm back again. I'm sorry that I am such a sporadic blog poster person....but...I can't seem to help it. I post, I don't post, and then, as you you can see, I post again!
Facebook has been the main reason that I have not posted. I tend to leave quick one lined blurbs there and it requires little thought I my part....which is a good thing for me after homeschooling the girls and keeping up with daily life by 4 or 5 p.m.each day my brain is pretty much fried. That smell of burnt microwave popcorn would be my brain cells sizzling.
While fb may be the means of my communicating blurbs of needless info, it can also be a quagmire of garbage that takes hours to wade through...there is a fine line between "I should do a status update about that" and "I should talk to a therapist about that". All that to say, I've not been spending my time wisely people.
I'm going to try to do better. Here, I am going to post about some sales at Walgreens that are taking place starting tomorrow. This is meant to help my new coupon peeps that I have been helping recently.
Here is a listing of the things that Wags has on sale this week. Look over the blog and ck out monthly sales as well as the weeks sales items. Get any printables you can to match up with the sale items.
As requested, I am including my scenarios for the week.
#1 Applied Nutrition Total Body Defense
2 Motrin IB 20 ct @3.00 each
use $6/2 coupon for Motrin
use $10 rr I had from previous sale
pay only tax oop(out of pocket)
Get back $10 rr and $3 rr

#2 1 Baby Magic Lotion or wash
use $3 rr from transaction #1
pay only tax oop
get back $3 rr

#3 Colgate Total Defense $2.99
Peroxide .39 with in ad (q) coupon from this weeks flier
Super Poligrip $1.99
use Colgate $1/1 mfg (q)coupon from Wags Diabetes and You
use Wags coupon $1/1 from same booklet
use $3 rr from transaction #2
pay $3.37 oop
get back $3 rr and $2 rr

#4 Aquaphor Lip Repair $4.99
Peroxide .39 w/ in ad q
Schick Hydro Razor $8.99
Use $1/1 Aquaphor
use $2/1 Razor
use $10 rr from trans #1
pay $1.37 plus tax
get back $5 rr and $6 rr

#5 Schick Hydro $8.99
Listerine $2.99
Naso anti-drip spray gel $4.99
use $2/1 Schick
use @2/1 Listerine
use $10 rr I had from previous transaction
pay $2.97 plus tax
get back $6 rr $1 rr and $5 rr

#6 Drinking water $2.49 w/ in ad q
Jet Dry $3.49
use $1 off Jet Dry from Wag's March booklet
use $1/1 mfg q for Jet Dry
use $2.99 rr
pay .99 plus tax

In the end, I'll have $25 worth of register rewards left over to use towards other purchase. Since Walgreens carries such a wide variety of products these can be used on a lot of different items, or save them for next weeks sale. Happy shopping!

Wag's week!

2010-10-10T12:42:00.003-05:00

Walgreen's is the place for me this week! Today I spent $14.53 pre-tax for....2 newspapers, 2 Gillette body washes, 2 men's Nivea body washes, 2 Old Spice body washes, 3 tubes of Crest Pro-Health, 4 can's of Swanson's Chicken Broth, 1 Red Barron Pizza, a 40 count pack of Huggies, 4 pair of Knee Highs, 1 75 foot of Reynold's Wrap, 4 Right Guard Deodorants, and a pck of M&M's. WOW!! I used some register rewards, but also left with $8.50 in additional RR's! Total before Q's was $77.94.
I love coupons!
It was a good day to double up on your newspaper purchases as well!!
I'm headed back to Kroger tomorrow. I 'll shout if there is anything crazy. Don't forget they are having the MEGA-EVENT buy 10 get $5 off on MANY items.

Sunday's inserts

2010-10-02T00:27:00.002-05:00

There should be a General Mills insert as well as a SmartSource and Red Plum inserts this week. These vary by region. I don't get a RedPlum. Makes me very sad....anyway. I've added a new widget to the right where upon you may click to see the up and coming inserts!

This week in coupons....

2010-10-01T23:55:00.004-05:00

I didn't take pics this week. I got in a hurry and put it all away before I thought about it. I started to dig it all back out and realized that was insanity. All in all this was a great week for me with my coupons. I had a slight set back at the Hernando Wal-Mart. As one of my friends pointed out, I obviously wasn't wearing my striped shirt.
A local store had Kraft shredded cheese on sale for $1.57, and Kraft sliced cheese on sale for $1.37. The unfortunate thing is that they won't take internet coupons because they are a sadly misinformed Mom and Pop store and thus, do not know what in the world they are missing out on. The revenue they could collect from these manufacturers is endless. Oh well. Anyway, I took my ad to a second Wal-Mart where they did graciously price match. Then I gave them my $5 off of $5 Kraft cheese items coupons. ( I had 3 of them to use) It took a while for them to figure this out. Their registers were recognizing this as a $5 off one coupon and they can not give you more than you pay for the item. Therefore it only wanted to $1.37 off of my purchase. I tried to explain this to the cashier. Imagine how well that went for a moment and when you're through laughing, return to the post......glad you had a chuckle. Anyway, she said it was because it was comped....whatevah. So take it off and charge me full price and see what happens....then it only took $2 off because that is how much their cheese was. Okay, so now to you understand. Yes,yes she did. I also explained to her that she can't give me only $2.00 off an item and then claim the full $5 from Kraft, that is coupon fraud. What they so often want to accuse the customer of. ....She understood this concept, So they price matched and then just kept scanning the coupon for $1.37 until she got tired of it which was 12 times. This meant I got $16.44 off instead of $15. I'll take it. I'll consider that mileage payment for having to drive to two Wal-Marts. I got 15 packages of shredded and sliced cheese for .38 per pack. That was a good coupon day. Wal-Mart also had an unadvertised price roll back for Goldfish and they are $1!! I had several $1 off one q's so that was another happy coupon moment.
I got 6 canisters of Clorox wipes for .50 each from Walgreen's. I also got 2 Tilex for .50 each and 2 Clorox Toilet bowl cleaners which we were slap out of, for .75 each. I had the $1 off one for the Deli Fresh lunch meat also so I got 4 of those for $1.50 each, and the Soft Soap refills for $3.50 each with q's all from Wag's as well.
All in all, it was a great coupon week. I'm looking forward to hopefully hitting CVS tomorrow to take advantage of last weeks AND this coming weeks sales. Post any really good sales you got this week in the comments. I'd LOVE to hear them!

Walgreen's is the place to be this week!

2010-09-27T12:14:00.002-05:00

Wags has some serious sales for my family this week.
If you become a fan of Clorox on FB then you can print a $1 off coupon for their wipes..any size! You can print two. They are on sale 2/$5 with a 2 rr...so really 2 for $3, if you print two coupons then theyn are 2 for $1! That's a good deal for germaphobes like us!!
For more awesome deals at wags this week, click HERE!!

Kroger Week!!

2010-09-20T22:58:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I had quite a coupon fiasco at Kroger on Saturday.(who knew the system would stop doubling identical coupons after 15...so I had to make 7 different transactions....) Alas, I have recovered and I am ready to head that way again! All of you who listened a few posts back and started saving the Pillsbury and Frozen veggie coupons are about to have a good week at Kroger! This week, starting Tomorrow afternoon(you can get the new week's sale prices as well as the old week on Tuesday afternoons) the Green Giant frozen veggies AND the Pillsbury biscuits and other frozen breads will be on sale. There are multiple ecoupons at shortcuts.com and Kroger.com and Cellfire.com which you can load directly to your Kroger card to go along with your paper coupons you've been saving. There is also a Green Giant Catalina that is going on...from 9/6 until 10/3 buy 4 get $1, buy 6 get $2 buy 8 or more and get $3 off your next shopping purchase. I'd buy my veggies first and then use my catalina to offset my Pillsbury purchase!!
At CVS this week you can get free Revlon lipstick with their ECB deal. If you're interested in this go to Southern Savers and click the CVS tab for further instructions!
Any site I've mentioned here can be accessed directly from the sidebar where it says "I heart these blogs"
Happy Shopping!!

Spanish Coupons

2010-09-17T09:19:00.001-05:00

My Spanish is pretty much non-existant. I hope to change that over the next two years as we study Spanish at home with Rosetta Stone. However, I was able to make my throught this WEBSITE for General Mills that appears to offer coupons for FULL size items. Go and fill it out and you should get them in the mail.

Good coupons!

2010-09-08T22:39:00.001-05:00

There are some good coupons to be found HERE. These are mostly $1 off coupons which are no better than .50 q's used at Kroger where they double. But these will go great at Target and Wal-Mart!

Schnucks and CVS

2010-09-08T00:35:00.006-05:00

Okay, this is shaping up to be a great week in the Memphis area for couponers. Not only can you rack up on the free SoBe waters at CVS, but you can find some awesome deals with the HUGE 10 for $10 sale at Schnucks. Remember they double up to .60 each day!! They also give .20 off PER GALLON when you have spent $100, and this accumulates, unlike Kroger. Make sure you have ALL of your coupons with you when you go because I don't think they have everything that is $1 listed in the add. We should be able to pick up some freebies there this week! Here are just a few of the items on sale that I know there are coupons for...Land Of Lakes Butter, Totino's Pizza Rolls, Hamburger Helper, Delmonte fruit cups, Bisquick Shake and Pour, Palmolive dish soap....head on over.
This is a pic of my finds at CVS this week. I got it all for $5.70. Don't forget when you go into a CVS to scan your card at the coupon station. It prints out extra coupons for you to use on your purchase that day. In fact, if you're near a CVS and have a minute to kill, go in and do this and just see what you can get. On this visit I got an additional $3 off of my purchase and $3 off of any as seen on TV item.
Can't beat it for less than six bucks!

What do coupons and the moon have in common?

2010-09-01T22:39:00.003-05:00

They both go around in cycles.....Sales and coupons are ran and generated in cycles. You will usually notice that you are seeing the same ole coupons and the same ole sales for about 10-12 weeks. Then you will start noticing a new set. This will run for 10-12 weeks and then another. It's a rotation. This is another GREAT reason to STOCK UP when they are on sale and running coupons. For the entire summer we've been getting free razors and deodorant, however I've been missing all of the great frozen veggie coupons I saw in the spring. I'm glad to see they are coming back. ..go over to the sidebar in my faves and click Coupons.com and print some!! There are several good ones. You will start to see a LOT of candy coupons because of the harvest fest formerly known as Halloween.
Make sure you print extras to save for the Christmas candy that they'll put out the day BEFORE Halloween....sheesh.
Anyway, tonight I found some cheap razors, and cheap Pizza Rolls at Target. They had Pizza rolls on sale for $1.36. If you happened to print out the .40 Target q for 2 boxes, and the new $1/1 (print two) at Pillsbury.com then you can get two boxes for .32!!
Y'all have a good night. If you know of any good bargains out there, then share the love and leave a comment!

Free SoBe and cheap Dr. Pepper!

2010-08-31T00:59:00.005-05:00

I love cheap dranks dontcha know!! FYI....starting Sunday at Walgreen's they will have have $5 rr when you buy 3 12 packs at 3 for $11. This means 3 for $6 when it's all said and done...that's $2 a 12 pack folks...and I love me some Dr. Pepper!!

Also, CVS will have SoBe Water B1G1, so go to SoBe Lifewater and play the game every day for a chance to win a B1G1 coupon. (print it twice), that way they will both be FREE. Last time they ran this sale a month or so ago and I got 8 free SoBe Waters!

Went to Kroger today. Saved $81.29 and spent $29.74...savings of 76%!!!

The years remaining coupon inserts....

2010-08-30T00:22:00.001-05:00

This is a list of the years remaining coupon inserts. Remember that this is regional. Some areas don't get every insert. I don't get Red Plum. So if any of you want to share with me....LOL...Also, If you don't get one of these inserts in your local paper, they can always be purchased from a clipping service.

September

5 -- NO INSERTS (Labor Day)

12 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

19 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

26 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

October

3 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

10 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

17 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

24 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

31 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

November

7 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

14 -- Smartsource , 2 Red Plum

21 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

28 -- NO INSERTS (Thanksgiving)

December

5 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

12 -- Smartsource, Red Plum

19 -- NO INSERTS (Christmas)

26 -- NO INSERTS (New Year's)

Stocking up, and naming your price!

2010-08-29T23:27:00.028-05:00

Who among us has not read the posts by people claiming to be able to feed their family of four and a stray cat on twelve cents a week? I know, I know, I exaggerate, but really. We've all read the ones who claim to only spend about $30 a week to feed their fam. I thought it was a pack of lies. But, friends, it can be done. And done well. The secret behind this ability is to STOCK PILE. I am going to post some pics here of some of my stashes...

The Capri Suns are something we consider a staple at the Witness household, so at $1 per box, I stocked up. They won't last long...we'd already gone through two boxes when I snapped this pic.

We LOVE Smores Goldfish, and most any other type of Goldfish for that matter as long as I don't have to change it's bowl......Kroger had these 10 for $10 and I had .75 off each one in paper coupons,,I also had ecoupons for .50 off of two. I got FREE Goldfish. The Flatbreads are another of my addictions, they are normally around $3 so when I scored these for $1, I stocked up.

I don't pay for toothbrushes. Kroger also had OralB 10 for $10 and I had .50 q's which they doubled. Wag's (Walgreen's) had Reach for .99 each and I had $1 q's....so those were free. I'm waiting for them to do that one again!

Again, Kroger had the Crest 10 for $10 and I had .50 q's which they doubled. I had a couple of .75 cent ones so I had to pay a quarter for those since they only double to .60.....I paid $1.25 for 14 of them...plus tax

All of the men's razors where either FREE or FREE plus money back. Don't get confused, they will not REFUND money to you. The way this works is that the money is applied to the rest of your bill. So don't go in and buy ONE item and have a coupon worth more than the value and think they will give you money for it....if you find a store than does, call me, I'm goin' shopping there. Most all of the women's razors were free at Target. I had to pay .50 each for two packs, but the rest were freebies.

The shaving cream was .50 per can after a Wag's coupon matched up with a manufacturer coupon. The 3 Nivea Body washes were .99 each and the other body washes behind it were free, all at Wag's.

The pepsi products I got at Wag's yesterday. GREAT SALE. they were 4 12 packs for $8 after a $5 rr. My sister mailed me two q's from her paper that were for $2 off 4 so I got them for $1.50 a 12 pack. Thanks Sis!!She's my partner in this thing.

The pantry is a crazy mess, please excuse it. I plan to organize it this week....bwahahahah. Yeah right. The puddings were almost free at Target when I matched their q's, the fruit cup packs were .94 for each container of 4. Lots of free soup in the background.

That is just what I have handy. I also have a stash of Laundry Detergent and Fabric Softener that I've been living off of for almost a year. I have over 15 Toaster Strudel pkgs in the deep freeze, ditto for Lean Cuisines, and so forth. I got most of these for nearly free if not totally free. When I can get items for almost nothing I will get as many as I can, so that I will not be at their mercy when I need something. If you have a stockpile then you can name the price you are willing to pay for an item instead of having to pay what they are asking. For example....I'm not willing to pay for than .25 for toothpaste. I'm not willing to pay for toothbrushes at all, the same goes for deodorant, which I didn't take a picture of, but I have about 15 sticks. If you don't have any and you need it, then they have the upper hand. So you get the idea. Stock pile your regulars and then you don't have to buy them later. You'd be surprised how low your grocery bill is if you don't have to buy washing products or toiletries. If you're stocked on cereal and soup and such that's even less. I'm to the point that I really only need to buy meat, milk, and bread for a while. But if I do that I'll lose my stock pile. So I just stay on top of what I can get for free or close to it.

Another thing about coupons is that you can't be brand loyal if you want to maximize your savings. If Sure is on sale for .99 and you have a $1 coupon, then that's the kind you might want to use instead of Secret this month. There are some things you just can't change though and for those go ahead and get the free item and donate it to a needy cause. I can't tell you how many bags of things I've given away 6 bags of things in just the last 6 weeks. If there is a favorite, like Crest at my house, then consider going to a clipping service like Kuntry Klippers and purchasing a bundle of coupons for your favorite item. That way when it goes on sale you can buy bulk.

Now go...clean off a shelf and get ready!

Sunday 8/29

2010-08-28T09:22:00.001-05:00

Don't forget to buy multiple papers on Sunday 8/29. These will have an extra coupon insert from Proctor and Gamble. It usually has some great high value coupons!!

Coupon Organization

2010-08-25T20:39:00.018-05:00

Organization is key in successful couponing. I've tried numerous methods for organizing my coupons. Everything from the box method, to having them in envelopes by store, or carrying them around in little accordion coupon holders in my purse. These methods may work great for you, but the binder method works best for me. With the binder method, I have all of my coupons with me ALL the time. I can see them, I don't have to DIG through to find them. It makes it MUCH better. Here are some pictures of my binder.

I bought this binder in the fall last year marked down to $3.

I keep a pen and a little pair of fold out scissors to clip any coupons that I may come across at the last minute.

I have a clear view zipper pouch up front that I keep rainchecks and store coupons(rr rewards/catalinas/ECBs)in. This way I don't forget about them since most of these expire rather quickly. On the left there is a three section accordion that is sized perfectly for shopping ads, and grocery lists, etc.

I downloaded my dividers from Krazy Coupon Lady.

My coupons are in baseball card holders that I bought for $5.77 a pack.
Lastly, I used "Post It" stick on tabs for labels to keep them in order according to the table of contents. I adjusted the contents to fit my needs. For example, I didn't need a baby section.....Thank you, Krazy Coupon Lady for making this available.

This is the only method I found that didn't leave me completely frustrated, standing in the isle with a stack of coupons going through them over and over trying to find a particular one.
I know it may look cumbersome, but it's so worth it.

Let's Go Krogering....

2010-08-24T23:15:00.006-05:00

Today, I went to Kroger. My bill was $116.45, but I paid $46.05, and the manufacturer's paid for the rest.

Okay...Time for true confessions! I was a shopper who made a list of needs for the week, thumbed through the Sunday paper and clipped what coupons I thought would go with it and then headed to the store only to find that once my coupon was redeemed I would still be better off to just buy the store brand. Those were sad times people.
I didn't have a CLUE what I was doing.

Who doesn't have a Kroger card? I think everyone in the central part of the United States has one. They are HANDY. You can load couopons DIRECTLY onto your Kroger card and never cut one out again...but you'll want to before I'm done. First, here is a list and link to the places from which you can load coupons directly to your Kroger card:
Kroger.com That's right. You can go to their own website and choose coupons to load directly to your card.
Shortcuts.com
Cellfire.com

At each of these sites you will need to register your Kroger card number, found on the back of your card. I have never received junk mail, or a phone call or text from any of these sites. I have, however, saved a ton of money using their coupons.
Once you have loaded the coupons on your card they will automatically come off when the cashier scans your Kroger card. There is no need to even mention it to the cashier, because they don't have to do anything. The fun part is that you can ALSO use a paper coupon for the same product. AND MY KROGER DOUBLES up to .60. So you can very likely get some FREE or really cheap items. Here is an example:
Kroger had these on sale in their buy 8 get $4 off promotion this week...That would make them .69 each. $2.76 for all four....

I had 3 coupons loaded on my Kroger card from varios e-coupon sites listed above. I had two q's loaded for .50 off, and another loaded for .75 off this took $1.75 off immediatly. Then I had 2 paper coupons for .50 off one. They doubled both of these, and then I had a coupon for .75 off of two, so I saved $2.75 in paper coupons. So the total I owed for these before coupons was 2.76, when I was done, they owed me $1.74....which was just applied to the rest of my grocery bill. Not only were they FREE, they were a money maker.
Now get off of here and go register your Kroger card!!

The Wal-Mart Deception

2010-08-24T22:31:00.004-05:00

Back in the day did you ever know one of those kids who talked tough? I mean the kid that everyone was intimidated by and NO ONE wanted to cross. Then one day somebody got sick of it and stood up to the bully and found out he wasn't so tough after all. Well, that is the deception of Wal-Mart. They have this reputation, which they've spent millions to build, of having the lowest price any where in the land. But, like the bully, they are all talk. When faced with a public armed with "shopping savvy" they roll over, or "ROLL BACK" as the case may be, and play dead. I grew up in Wal-Mart country. I remember the FIRST super-centers. Every time the would open a new one, they would start HUGE price wars with the local grocery chains. Milk for $1 a gallon, Bread for $.25, and so forth. This is one of the ways they got the reputation for having the lowest price. But man can not live by bread and milk alone,,,and Wal-Mart knows this well. Wal-Mart will price comp your ads.....this is a fairy tail most of the time. They will price comp, if: you have your ad present, the advertising store is local, you are wearing a striped shirt at the time you are making your purchase, AND if the cashier is in a good mood. LOL but really THIS is where I was deceived. I was a shopper who would look at the ad for other stores, and see that most of what they had on sale in their ad was not what I was buying, and just assume that everything else they had was more expensive than Wal-Mart. So I didn't even bother going to them. The truth is, that other stores are on to this price matching game and have more UNADVERTISED sales than they have in their sale ad. Quite often over HALF of the good deals I find while shopping are unadvertised. AND..even if they were, and I had Wal-Mart to comp them, they won't double my coupons like Kroger will. They don't have Wal-Mart coupons online that you can match with manufacturer coupons like Target does. I think if more Target Super Centers would go in, Wal-Mart would have to change the way they do business.

I was among the imtimidated, and shall I say it, uneducated shoppers who threw money at Wal-Mart in obscene amounts. I thought at one point we'd be better off to have our paychecks directly deposited to Wal-Mart and they could just pay us what was left. In loose change. I have gone from spending well over $600 a month at Wal-Mart, to around $150 or so per month.

Once I began to coupon, and started shopping at stores other than Wal-Mart, mostly because they are not overly coupon friendly, I began to see how I'd been deceived. Wal-Mart does still have their good deals. But all in all, NOT the best bang for the buck, FO SHO!! Our local Wal-Mart is pretty easy going about couponing. But I've been to a couple that are insane about it. They'll take your coupon if both YOU AND the CASHIER are wearing striped shirts, and she/He is in a good mood.

I say all of this to encourage you to get out and look around. It may take a little time at first to familiarize yourself with other stores prices, but it's worth it. If you are shopping at Wal-Mart for convenience, then they can't be beat. Otherwise....it's time to see other ~~people~~...umm, err, stores.

Registering for Coupons....

2010-08-24T00:27:00.004-05:00

Have you ever been out with your friends and some loser won't leave you alone? Finally you give him ~~your friend's number~~ a fake number so he'll buzz off.....Well, you might want to do a version of that with all of the companies you are going to sign up to receive coupons from. Not really your phone number, but with your email address. It's easy to make a new email address, you can do it through Yahoo, Gmail, or many others. Make it something impersonal and don't give it to anyone except the companies you are registering with. That way your personal mail box does not get bombarded, and you can log on to your "fake" address only when you want to check for coupons and special offers. In the posts to follow, I'll be naming companies, and giving links where you can sign up for Q's.
Happy Couponing!

Target Freebies today!

2010-08-24T00:07:00.010-05:00

Today I made a run to Target in Olive Branch. I usually go there because they have a grocery section. The fact that they have a Starbucks has NOTHING to do with it.....Anyway today was a good Target day.

They had the 16 oz Wishbone Italian on sale (unadvertised) for $1.50. I had the Target Q for .75 and a manufacturer Q for .75 so it was free. The ChefBoyRDee was on sale, also unadvertised for .82 and they have a printable on their site for $1 off 1 can, so it was free as well. You can get two prints for most of their coupons, then you have reached your limit and they remove it from your menu of Q's...I had a coupon from Kraft for the Free Mac and Cheese, sign up at Kraft First Taste, it takes a little time in the beginning, but SOOO worth it. They have sent me FREE Q's for many items.
I was also able to score Bagel Bites for .24 per box. They are on sale for $2.24 and there was a printable at Target for $1, I also had a manufacturer Q for $1, so that makes it .24. I was surprised that the Campbell's Select Harvest Soup Bowls were also on sale for $1.50 and there was a Target Q for .50 I added to the $1 Q I got from Campbell's Kitchen, for which you may sign up HERE! They usually have a variety of Q's that changes regularly. Just sign up and log in, click the savings tab.
I had Free coupons for the SoBe water from the game on their website. You can still play HERE! Elly loves this stuff and it has less sugar than Kool-Aid or soda and it's free,,,so sounds like a win/win to me. All of the items I purchased are not pictured. I only photograph FREE items. My total savings on my bill was 71%. I shoot for anything over 50%, so I was pleased.

When you're at Target, always browse the back isle end caps. They have tons of unadvertised mark downs. Today I found Biore' facial cleanser and Clean and Clear Morning Burst, both marked down to $2.48. With coupons, it was nearly free. Always keep your coupons with you at all times so that when you come across a clearance item you don't have to pout all the way home about how you could've gotten it for free if only you'd had your coupons.....not that I would do that or anything.

New links and new Target printables

2010-08-22T14:59:00.004-05:00

I've added several coupon sites to the "I heart these blogs" section in the sidebar. There are a lot of new Target printables on their website, which you can also access from the sidebar. Target will take one Target coupon and one manufacturer coupon per item. This is how I got free razors last week.
I just got through printing my Target q's (coupons) and I was thrilled to see they have reloaded the one for $1/1 Bagel Bites. The also have one for $1/1 Chef BoyRDee that makes it FREE. They have $1/1 DelMonte fruit cups, that makes it .97... There is also a $1/1 for Kid's Cuisine and they are on sale for $1.75, so it will be .75...there are some hot ones that can be doubled with a manufacturer Q for free salad dressing and cheap detergent as well. Just go look and then check your coupon stash. I bet you can match a lot of these up.
(a side note...on the Target coupons it states that they will only do ONE identical offer per transaction, you can do separate transactions, or whatevah...you figure it out. BUT, I will say that I have never had them tell me that I couldn't use two of their identical coupons to buy two identical items. I think the wording may just be a bit confusing on this. You can try it and if they say no, smile and be polite, and get it next time...)
For more deals click on over to Totally Target!

Wag's tomorrow, Free Listerine and cheap body wash!

2010-08-21T17:45:00.003-05:00

Starting tomorrow Walgreen's has Nivea Body Wash B1G1 for $5.99. You can get a coupon for $4 off of 2Here! That makes them .99 cents each. I love Nivea so that's a good deal for me.
They also have Listerine Zero on sale for $2.99. There is a $1 off in ad coupon that makes it $1.99. You can get a $2 off coupon HERE! That makes it FREE!

Recent Freebies!

2010-08-21T00:09:00.005-05:00

I reecently picked up all of this PLUS three more Secret deoderants and 4 pkgs of Sweet Tarts that didn't make it until picture time, from Walgreen's for FREE!! I had to pay tax of course. When I was through I still had $9 in RR left over from the purchase.

Also Free THIS WEEK at Walgreen's...

Yesterday I got these items for FREE at CVS and Target!

Walgreen's is givin' away the store!

2010-08-20T17:27:00.001-05:00

Remeber the commercials for Fred's Dollar Store back in the 90's where the old woman's voice would yell "Fred's giving away the store"? Yeah, well, I never got anything for free at Fred's, but I do at Walgreen's. In fact, they pay ME sometimes.
I promised a post about Walgreen's shopping today and here it is. I will dedicate this post to one of my FAVE cashiers who always knew just how to "make it work"....today is her last day at Walgreen's...I'll miss you E!!

The beginning of Walgreen's savings starts with their monthly savings book they they kindly place in the front of most stores with thier sales ads. This can sometimes go quickly, but our Walgreen's keeps a good supply. In these booklets, they offer a variety of coupons that can only be used in Walgreen's for items ranging from toilet paper to cookies.....maybe I should have picked better examples...You can also find coupons in a small booklet that can be purchased at the pharmacy, it's a kid's coloring book and is usually .99 or so. I believe you could look through it before you buy it. Walgreen's also has coupons in their ad each week and it can usually be found your local Sunday paper.
The great news is that Walgreen's will take a Walgreen's coupon AND a manufacture coupon for each item. You can get your manufacture coupons in your Sunday paper inserts, from magazines, or printed straight from your computer. Unfortunately Walgreen's corporation does not have a standarized coupon policy, so it can vary by store. One thing that is the same everywhere is that even though you may have multiple coupons per item, your total of items purchased can NOT out number your number of coupons. For ex: Walgreen's had Benadryl on sale for $7.99. They had a $3.00 off coupon in their booklet, and a $3.00 coupon in their ad. I also had a $2.00 off coupon from the paper. This made the Benadryl free because the total of my coupons was $8.00, but I had to purchase two more items of some sort in order to use three coupons. I bought to highlighters that were on sale for .09 each. So I paid .17 total.
Register Rewards(rr)
Register Rewards are rewards the store offers you for purchasing certain products. These print at the checkout after you pay for your transaction. If they are offering a $5 rr for a $10 product, then you will pay the $10 and then they will give you a $5 rr (which looks like a reciept) for your next purchase. The way to maximize your savings is to find a large item that has a high rr being offered. Use a high value coupon for that item, and then use the rr to make your next purchase. You will often have many transactions. That is okay, they are used to it, and you will get used to it too. Here is an example. Sometime ago they had eye drops on sale for $8.00 with a rr for $8. I had a coupon for $4 off of the item. I paid $4 our of pocket(oop) and they gave me a register reward for $8. Then you can use that register reward to pay for the toilet paper and milk in your cart that are also on sale, and you hopefully have a coupon for at least the toilet paper. This is the way you can get your milk for FREE. You use the extra $4 you just got to pay for it.
Often the things they have rr for are not things you would normally use, just get it anyway. If it's free why not get it and donate it to a charity?

When using manufacture coupons and Walgreens coupons along with register rewards, you want to give them your coupons in this orde:
1) Manufacture coupons
2) Walgreen's Coupons
3) Register Rewards
There is a method to this madness....if the coupon total is more than the price of the item, then the manufacture coupon will "Beep" and the cashier will give you your coupon back with a blank stare.....If you give them the manufacture coupon FIRST then it will come right off and the system rarely ever turns down it's own coupon. If it does, they type it right in.....

I hope this helps when shopping Walgreen's.....
I'll post some of my finds later!

Back By Popular Demand!

2010-08-20T01:43:00.001-05:00

Well, peeps, I'd like to say I'm back by popular demand because people just couldn't live without my charming witt and endearing ways,,,,but that would just be hogwash. I'm back because I have many ~~cheap~~ sweet friends who have started couponing and since I myself am ~~cheap~~ thrifty in every way I thought I could be of better assistance to them here on the blog than in quick snippets on facebook.... I plan on sharing info and tips tomorrow. If anyone has questions, just leave a comment, or a note in the sidebar and I'll do my best to help.
I've added some of the blogs that I follow in the sidebar. Many of these help me to stay organized.
I'm going to post about shopping at Walgreen's tomorrow. For tonight, since it's almost 1:30 and I should really go lay in my bed and stare at the ceiling, I'm just gonna leave you with a few locations to get coupons.

Internet coupons
RedPlum.com
Coupons.Com
SmartSource.com
Snackpicks.com
Campbellskitchen.com

On Snackpicks and Campbell's Kitchen you have to click the tab for coupons/saving's center.

READY. SET. START PRINTING!!!
catch ya on the flip side...and if you're too young to understand that, we'll talk about taht later too!

Living Proof Live at the Fed Ex Forum

2009-10-08T23:02:00.002-05:00

I'm excited peeps. I'm excited because this time tomorrow night I'll be with 6 of my peeps at Living Proof Live at the Fed Ex Forum in Memphis!!! Yeah.....I can't wait to see Beth Moore and her big hair in person. She's such a gifted speaker and Bible teacher. I can't wait to get a fresh word!! Hope to see ya there!

My, how you've grown....

2009-10-06T16:59:00.003-05:00

Today the pest control man came for our quarterly treatment. No, we don't live in the ghetto, I just don't like creatures of the six legged variety. Anyway, this is what was said.....

Mr. Bug Man: "My you girls sure are getting big!"
Sydney: "Yep, I almost come to my Mom's chin, see......" (marches over and measures herself against me....)

Elly: "And I come just under her boobies, wanta see?!!"

Thank you Mr. Bug Man for not looking me in the eye as you turned around and went out the door.....laughing audibly. When you tell this to the lady at the office, please don't use our real names.

Thank you!

2009-09-23T23:25:00.005-05:00

Howdy interwebular peeps!! I'm excited 'cause I've been on my pretend BFF, Beth Moore's, website and I CAN.NOT.WAIT. until she is here in the greater Memphis area.I like to say it that way 'cause it sounds all "newsy" doesn't it? Anyway, she'll be here October 9-10 and it's gonna be great! I'm going with some of my Bible Study buddies and I can't wait....I think I said that already.

I really would like to buy a new outfit to wear so I can look all stylish since I'm usually the frumpiest mom on the block, but I also really wanted to lose about 5 or 37 pounds before I bought any new clothes. I'm starting to think that's nevuh gonna happen though. I think I'm like toilet paper, better in bulk. Just call me TP. It also stands for tight pants, which is oh so fitting as well, the title that is, not the pants.....

I really was gonna exercise today. I started looking through the C.D.s for some upbeat praise music to workout to, I just seem to do better if I have some tunes going and thought it would be good to have some praises going up too. Elly walked in and wanted to know if I was gonna play some "Jesus music" whilst I exercised. I said, "Yes, why?" and she said, "Good, Sydney needs to hear it". Yeah, I didn't ask................and I gave up looking. I didn't find anything that seemed fitting. I just can't beebop to Phillips, Craig, & Dean....what do you guys listen to when you exercise?

How was your weekend?

2009-09-20T23:40:00.013-05:00

It's been a nice weekend. Our soccer games were rained out, which I was unhappy about at first, but we enjoyed a nice day at home yesterday. We ate popcorn and watched oldies like Little House on the Prairie and The Apple Dumplin' Gang, it was a hoot. Then last night we ran some errands and made a stop by Sam's, where my oldest saw a sign that read "no tobacco sold to minors" she looked at me and said, "those stupid people, there aren't any mines around here!" Bwahahahahaha! A little too many "gold rush era" television shows 'ey? Today we had a wonderful day at church and fun times with friends. So that concludes our wonderful weekend!

Now to start the new week.....

I should really be thumbing through school books and making out lesson plans, or doing the daily assignment for my Bible study, but lo, I sit here. It always seems to come together. Even last week when we had to study spores in science. I took the girls outside to look for some mushrooms or moss for examples. What with all the rain we've had lately that was sure to be an easy find. I found both, and even found a fern like plant growing from under a tree. Who knew we lived in a forest? I was just glad I didn't have to resort to the spore infested year old hot dog bun in the pantry that I'm apparently saving to pass on to the next generation. We like to grow our own penicillin, we're organic like that. If all that left you going, "what is she talkin' bout? Just hit delete and move on down to the cartoon below.....remember how I said I'd been on facebook with all the people I'd briefly met a time or two...

I thought this was cute, even though I must say, I've met and made some sweet friends from my blog that I now enjoy having on facebook too!

SHEEEEE'S BAAACK

2009-09-19T00:51:00.008-05:00

Dear blog,

I'm sorry I have neglected you so. I know I left you for shallow facebook, but you stayed here waiting. You knew all along that I'd be back, it couldn't last between me and the facebook....it was only a fling, 'cause bless it, I just can't say what I need to in three lines or less. I tried.

My Word! It's been over a month. I started out so strong and then I faded. Like I do with most things. Mostly cause I spent so much TIME on the blasted fb ~~stalking~~ seeing what my ~~everyone I've ever come in contact with that has a facebook account~~ friends were doing. I finally decided this takes up less time. I'm not giving up fb, just gonna try to stay away a little.

The truth is, I should probably just do a little more real work and turn the whole thing off. That wouldn't be much fun though, now would it?

I'm gonna head off to bed now to get a little sleep since it's already after 1:00, but I'll be back. SOON!

Things Heard in my house today......

2009-08-10T21:59:00.003-05:00

Elly: "Sydney, can I play with your Sea World Barbie?"

Sydney: "Have you lost your mind?" NO!

Elly: "Fine, you can't ride in my limo when we grow up!"

Later in the day...................

Elly: (after rooting around in my jewelry box and finding a heart pendant) "Momma, I like this, can I wear it?"

Me: "Yes, but please be careful and don't break it"

Elly: "Okay, can I have it when you're dead?"

Me: "That depends, can I ride in the limo?"

Elly: "Okay, but make sure Sydney knows it's mine!!"

Me: "fine, but it's all you're getting..."

All this for a fourteen dollar necklace from Target.
If we were wealthy, I believe a reality show could be in the making!

More of Elly's two cents....

2009-08-09T23:43:00.003-05:00

Tonight during our family prayer this was Elly's two cents worth...."Lord, help Sydney get.over.it"....... not sure what "it" was exactly. I've learned not to ask.

Peeps I have not posted in over a week because I have been trying to stay focused on God's Word and in some have duty prayer. We have a tough decision to make tomorrow, I have not shared what that decision is with many people because I don't want anyone biased to influence it. I want this all to be from the LORD alone and for us to be in His perfect will. Once it is over and done with, I will let you know all about it, but for now, I'm asking all my internet peeps to pray for God's leading in our lives, and for our obedience to His direction. Thank you so much!!

What did you say???

2009-07-28T01:25:00.004-05:00

You may be watching too much Fox News when your 5 five year old calls her sister a DEMOCRAT!! in a fit of rage.......just sayin'

Game night=Quality Family Time!

2009-07-25T12:51:00.004-05:00

You guys know what a sap I am about the girls growing up. I would keep them toddlers fo-evah! BUT, one thing I have been looking forward to was being able to play games. I love to play games. For those of you don't know me well, I can be a little competitive. Any way, we got a new game this week. Called Acting Out, it's so much fun to watch them play this game. It says from ages 7 and up, but I just read the card to Elly and she can play along with Sydney. You have to pull one card that has a sound named on it, and another that has an activity on it, and you have act/sound them out simultaneously. They have a blast, and quite frankly I've about spewed soda outta my nose watching them play. It's definitely a girlie game. It would be fun at a sleep over. There were a few cards that I had to take out because they would not understand them, but overall it's a really fun game!! It gets three snaps!! You can get it at HERE. And that, my friends is our review!!

Back to School........

2009-07-23T11:49:00.008-05:00

Well, it's that time of year again. Time to start getting everything ready for school. I'm finally beginning to get excited. It took a while this year, but I'm finally getting the "eager for school bug," not to be confused with the, "I'm sick of school, when will this wretched school year ever end bug," that comes around mid September. J/K, I love it. God gives me grace and mercies new each day or I couldn't do the thing.

There really is such a list of things to do. Monday we went "back to school" shopping. I thought by going on a weekday we could avoid the crowds, which we did, but I had forgotten in my summer vacation fog, that you encounter a whole different animal in the forest of retail on Mondays.......the PROFESSIONAL SHOPPER......you've spotted her, the lady with the fanny pack carrying her calculator clipped on the side. Her sale fliers spread across the front of her cart with items needed circled in Sharpie red. She can tell you the price of a loaf of bread by the slice. If you are one of these creatures, God bless you. I wanta be just like ya when I grow up. But for now, I have a kid I'm trying to keep out of the ice machine and one I'm trying to keep from asking the guy with the nose ring what he was thinkin' when he made that decision. If we get out with the crayons, pencil sharpener, and milk we came for it'll be a blessed day.

We finished reading Treasure Island, and are currently winding up our unit study. Sydney has developed an attachment to the characters the same way I do when I read a book and hates to see it ending. It warms my heart to see her love literature....pirates not so much. A fellow blogger asked me in her comments if we were reading the unabridged version. Mwuahahahahaha...No. We are reading a children's version from Dalmatian Press. It still has some degree of pirate speak without my having to stop and decipher for them everything being said.

Well, I am off to fold laundry, do dishes, and organize a little more for school. I hope to find time to eat a little chocolate somewhere in there.

Ayee there Matey!

2009-07-16T23:27:00.004-05:00

Wow! What a week. I've been helping a friend by watching her kids for her this week and let me just say....babies are soooo stinkin' sweet, especially this one, and it's amazing how fast you forget yours being that little. Let me also just say....I'm almost 40. And too stinkin' old to be doing everything with a baby on my hip. OH.MY.WORD. I forgot how much work they were. ~~Amtrak~~Calgon, Take me Away........Okay so Molly Ringwald is older than me and just had twins, she also has nanny, a maid and a yard boy. Throw in a personal trainer and team of plastic surgeons and the staff's complete. Since, I'm not an 80's drama queen, well I am, but I didn't get paid for it...I'm thankful mine are out of diapers.

As a tribute to our summer spent on the gulf in the salty water and on the sandy beaches we've been reading "Treasure Island". In fact they have been enjoying all things pirate this summer for some reason. Yes, they are girls. Anyway, the other day we were at the doctor's office getting on the elevator when a man with a patch over his eye got on the elevator with us. Before I could get between Elly and the man she blurted out, "Wow, that's an awesome pirate patch!!" Good times.

It's just another Moron Monday.....ohhhh,ohhhh....

2009-07-12T23:05:00.005-05:00

Hey peeps, haven't done Moron Monday in like, forever. Actually, I haven't blogged with any consistency in like, forever, but I read an article tonight that blew me away. Apparently swearing, cussing, cursing, whatever you call it at your house, is a "

universal human linguistic phenomenon

". Yes, and apparently needed people from large universities, being paid large large salaries to research this and they have determined that if we swear when we get hurt, it helps the pain. ???? You have got to be kidding me!! It goes on to say that contrary to their expectations, people who swore had a higher tolerance for pain...In my house if you swore you developed a high tolerance for Lemon Fresh Joy....But hey, I'll try to remember this the next time I'm at the dentist's office, or having a mammogram. If they ask me if I'd like anything for the pain, I'll just say, "no, I just thought I'd cuss you out first and see if that helps."
These people must be smokin' crack. I want a refund of my tax dollars.

2009-07-07T22:50:00.006-05:00

Hey peeps! I am almost unpacked. Truth told I spent most of the day today finishing up a book I had started in the just before we left the gulf. So, I could have been done but instead I'm a day behind. Oh well, call it a relapse into vacation mode.

I am so glad the Michael Jackson--funeral/memorial/~~worship~~/tribute, is finally over. This has lasted since June TWENTY-FIFTH people. I mean absolutely no disrespect what.so.ever, but I hate to see a mere person literally worshipped. But I believe they finally laid him to rest today, somewhere unrevealed to the public at this time. Sounds like something I may have read before.....hummmmmmmm.

It has been a sad week for sure in the entire entertainment and sports industry. What last week with the latest episode of NFL:CSI. That was truly a sad case. I feel terrible sorry for Mr. McNair's wife and children who are left to deal with not only the loss of a father/husband but the cloud of mystery and confusion and frustration they are left to deal with and defend. Sad times, sad times.

The fact remains that God is on His throne and He is listening. These are people who need our prayers. Though we don't know them, and they are out of our physical reach, our prayers can touch their lives in ways we'll never know this side of Heaven. So join with me please.

Talk more soon!

2009-07-06T09:08:00.002-05:00

I laid on the beach like a big fat pig, now I'm home again, home again, jiggity jig!!

We got home last night around 5:30. It's amazing how long it takes to unload 6 weeks worth of stuff. You might as well just say you moved. It will take all week to sort things out and put them back where they belong.

It was an absolute blast but now, back to life, back to reality.......

talk more later..

Happy Birthday Sydney

2009-06-24T22:11:00.012-05:00

The girls and I are back in the gulf. We came down earlier this week. I'm gonna try to make short posts to keep in touch with everyone. I can't make long posts because the internet only stays up for a few seconds at a time, so I'll have to blog in bursts, which is better than my blogging of late, which is non-existent......so, anyway.
This morning we got up and went to the beach early before it got too hot. It has been really hot down here, 102 yesterday. The water was surprisingly cool, and still NO jellyfish. For those of you used to visiting the gulf this time of year, you know that's a blessing right there!
We spent the rest of the day milling around the outlet mall and playing at the pool. Tomorrow is Sydney's birthday! She'll be 8. I'm sad. Tonight we'll have our ritual of crying and lamenting over her last night as a 7 year old......I can't do a photo slide show because the connection is too slow, but I am gonna up load a photo or two of her younger years....Happy Birthday Sydney! I love you!

2009-06-16T22:31:00.004-05:00

Please lift up my dear friend Stephanie who lost her sister Paula, also a friend of mine, today. Please pray for their entire family. She leaves behind three beautiful young children. Thank you to you all!!

Home Again, Home again, Jiggity Jig.....

2009-06-11T19:35:00.005-05:00

We made it home this week for Vacation Bible School. Many of my peeps have emailed me to find out if I'm still breathing....I appreciate those emails. It's nice to be missed. The problem at the campground is that the internet connection is S.L.O.W...... Many times I have typed up a post only to be timed out when I tried to publish it so I just gave it up. We came back home this last Sunday to do VBS and for Tracy to return to work, but decided to leave our camper down on the coast and head back down that way in a week or so. It's just so hard to leave the beach! It's so much easier to relax there. It's no small wonder why. We got back here and I don't think I've sat down for more than 20 minutes since we got here. There is just so much work to do at home. In the camper I have what, 20 sq foot to vacuum, 15 to mop? One toilet to clean. Two beds to make. All done, that took 12 minutes let's go play. Here at home I have about 2200 sq foot of carpet to vacuum and another 1000 to mop. Forget that I haven't seen the carpet since 2004 'cause it's covered in toys. Let us not forget the entertainment factor.....my two children have been in entertainment withdwrawl since we got home. We get up and go to VBS every day so that means from about 2 p.m. every day when we get home until bed time they have no entertainment. (reference carpeting above) They got used to the large playground and endless entertainment of the gulf. As did their Mom. It's nice to be able to pull up a chair in the shade and peek at the kiddos over the top of a good book while they play. So....we are leaving next week to go back and this time I will try to make small posts each day or at least every other day.

On another exciting note I have an optimistic friend who thinks she is going to teach me to play tennis. She has been coaching another friend of ours who is doing quite well. Hubs played a good bit years ago before he met me, so he is eager to get back into it. I, think I'll limp along at best. Maybe I should take this next two weeks at the beach to do a boot camp of sorts to try to get myself into shape....or maybe not.

Well, I had better get some sleep tomorrow is the last day of Bible school. I am working on a slideshow of our Disney pics to put on here soon!

2009-05-24T22:29:00.007-05:00

WOW!! The last time I talked to you all we were on our way to Disney World and had just made it to Orlando. We arrived at the same time as the first tropical depression of the season and it started raining approximately 5 hours and 22 minutes after we entered the park and didn't stop until some time after we left town. Yes people, we experienced Disney in a monsoon. It can be done. All the locals there seemed to think it would console all of us who had spent our blood, sweat and tears to make a trip to the SUNSHINE STATE if they informed us all that leading up to this torrential down pour they had been in a 5 week drought. However by the end of the week even the locals were cursing the rain. One of my good friends told me that they had started the week tracking our weather as a means of keeping up with us, but by mid-week the national news was reporting on Orlando weather and she no longer had to track it......There is an upside...... God always orders things perfectly now doesn't he? We did not have to wait in line for much of anything. People kept trying to avoid the rain so we would brave it and yank on our Mickey ponchos and grab our Mickey umbrellas and head out. There were only two rides we missed out on, one was inoperable in the rain and even though we returned to Epcot on three different occasions it was always too wet to ride it and that was Test Track. The other was The Flight of Peter Pan. We missed this because.....I forgot about it.....we made a couple of trips to Magic Kingdom and we stumbled upon it the last time, but it did have a wait and we had reservations for dinner so we had to miss that one. Another positive about the rain is that it kept the temps down and the kiddos didn't get hot. It's so hard for them to be hot and walk all that way. At 5 and 7 our girls walked each park from 9:30 each morning until closing time each day WITHOUT the aid of a stroller. We brought one but they didn't use it the first couple of days and it was a pain in the rain so we quit bringing it. Had it been 85 and sunny I don't think they could've done that.

So, I have no complaints about the weather. I think that it was just the way it was supposed to be. I'll admit I was bummed about it until the last day for two reasons, one, we had spent additional money for water park tickets that we obviously had not been able to use, and two, we had not been able to take pictures the way I had hoped. The picture possibilities at Disney are limitless....did I mention I scrapbook??? So, of course, you know I wanted to have a ton of photos, but with the rain, getting the camera out was not a lot of fun, not to mention the kids were wearing the same outfit in every picture....a wet poncho and wet hair plastered to their little melons. After Tuesday Tracy said no more ponchos, so every time we saw a character or had a photo op with no BIG raindrops we took off the ponchos and tried to fluff the hair. That helped a little. Then on the last evening we heard from Angie, the lady who got our tickets for us, that Disney was going to give us a credit for our water park tickets since we had not used them and the weather had been so bad. That was an answer to prayer. Then the last morning we woke up and it was not raining we headed straight to Epcot to get some pics and maybe a chance at Test Track before it started to pour again but it was still down from the storm earlier in the morning. We did however get some wonderful pic's in the hour we were there before the bottom fell out and we decided to head for higher ground, literally. So we got in our car and headed north to Alabama. The Lord answered all of our prayers.

I'm gonna post a few pictures that we took on here. One of my faves was one of the whole family at Chef Mickey's but I don't have it. I was surprised it turned out to be worth anything. It was one of those days where we had been in the rain all day, our reservation was at 8:40 and we had come straight from the park. I hadn't seen a mirror since 8 a.m. so you can only imagine. When they told the whole family to gather for a photo I asked Tracy "how to I look?" he gave his usual pat reply, "fine"....why do I ask...I asked the girls, "maybe just the two of you should go, does Mommy look okay for a picture?"...Elly said I looked fine, but my hair looked tired, to which Sydney added that I smelled like wet trash. ????? The woman taking the photo found it all quite funny, but not as funny as I found it twenty minutes later when they brought the picture to my table and wanted $39 for it. Yeah, I don't think so!

I cried many happy tears when they saw their first parade there, when they saw their first princess there, when they cried because they had to leave and said that Disney World really is magical.......here are a few of our pics to share with you.....this is just a few, I'll do a slideshow later.....

Quick update

2009-05-16T21:47:00.002-05:00

We have made it to Orlando. Thank you Jesus!! I thought I was gonna have to be dropped off on the FL Turnpike many times. When I finally got one child to sleep and the other one to quit asking how many more minutes away we were from Disney World I thought I was gonna get a break. Then it started to storm. Ya'll know I don't like to drive, and when it's stormin' I don't even like to RIDE. It terrifies me. I looked at Tracy and said, "I need a nerve pill," I didn't think I was gonna make it. He was laughing at me so hard that I don't know how he could see to drive and that made it even worse.

I know I asked you all to pray for my kidneys and knees. My knees have been tight the last couple of days partly due to the fact that I'be baked them, and partly due to the fact they've been stuck in a car seat for 8 hours...hmmmm. The kidney/bladder issue was a surprise to me this week. I went to the doctor for a headache and stomach problem last week and they did a urine test to check on an existing kidney stone....they just said things looked fine other than the fact that I had some blood in my urine.....not so fine to me, but okay, they gave me something for the headache and the stomach so two out of three.....until we had been here for about 23 and half hours and I started having bladder spasms....only me, I know. Anyway the doctor called in some meds yesterday and they have started to help a bit. One of the side effects of one is that is seems to make my joints a little more stiff, and a side effect of the other is that it makes my urine green. No really, it does, neon green. I thought after the car ride today my khaki Dockers were gonna have a neon green stain all the way down the leg.

We stopped at a Wal-Mart in a town called Defuniak Springs today. If you ever think you've lived in a red neck town, I encourage you to visit this place. I thought I had grown up in such an area until today, but this place made the Wal-Mart where I'm from look like a debutaunt ball. More on that later, but for now, I gotta get some sleep.....we're on Mickey's time zone now!!

Love ya!

2009-05-16T00:06:00.002-05:00

Catchin' ya up! Thought I would take a minute to catch you up before we head tomorrow. We have had a WONDERFUL week. I am fried to a crispy shade of lobster red. As we speak I am basted in aloe vera gel and white vinegar. I'm not stinging too badly at the moment. Elly is already a nice shade of brown and no longer looks like one of us with her sun bleached hair and brown skin. She is a beach beauty for sure.

Last night we took the girls to hunt for sand crabs on the beach and they had a blast. Elly would spot light the crabs and scream "hewe, hewe" in her best southern drawl while Syd would come running with the net. They caught eight in all. They were sad when we had to release them but I would be sad when I smelled dead crabs in a couple days, so out they went.

I hate to make this short, but it's late, really late, and the light of the computer is keeping little eyes open....and we are leaving in the morning for.....DISNEY!!!!! Doubt I'll blog from there but I'll try to post pics and catch up when we get back.....edit button is not working so have patience with me....love all of ya...send up some prayers for my knees and kidneys.....thanks!!

Vacation Day 2

2009-05-11T22:20:00.003-05:00

So I am just gonna completely bore you to tears with all of the little details of our vacation, but I don't care, if you don't want to hear it you can just say blah, blah, blah, and hit return, return, return, and read the last line. You may do that anyway for all I know.
Anyhow after I talked to you yesterday we spent an hour or three at the pool and then went to grab a bite to eat. We spent the remainder of the evening at a bridge known locally as "the pass" where hubs likes to fish. It is a neat place because you meet all manner of people there, and I could tell you stories that would make you laugh until you spit that Dr. Pepper/Diet Coke, yeah, you know who I'm talkin' to, all over your screen, but I'll save those for another post. Last night we met a young man from Russia. He has been here for 14 years. He caught an eel and showed it to my girls. They were so impressed with it that he then spent the rest of his time trying to find another creature to impress us with, so we got to see and pet a baby sting ray and a baby eel and a really weird fish that looked like it had butterfly wings. He caught all of this with a net. We were actually learning something much to the chagrin of all those people who keep asking us why we aren't in school!!

Today we spent some time at the outlet mall, and visiting with family. This evening we did our time at the pool for the girls and went to a local park, then made our way to one of our favorite places to eat, The Shrimp Basket, and had all you can eat fried fish.Is there any other way to eat it? Not sure what we are gonna do tomorrow, but I know we have to be back here in time for American Idol! See ya then!

We Are HERE!!

2009-05-10T17:21:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back on the blog but you know had I had important thing to do....like you know, get ready for vacation!!!!

After the 5 hour drive that took 8 hours, we are finally here and set up. As I type this I am sitting at the dining table in the camper watching my two little girls play on the playground about 50 feet outside my window. We are on VACATION people!! We just finished getting everything set up for the most part. We are going to be here at this park for a week, then leave for Disney World for a week and then head back here for two weeks more. We spent a couple of hours at the pool this afternoon. It is about 80 degrees with beautiful, clear skies which is great after the two or three weeks of clouds and rain we came from at our house. There will be a full moon tonight so hubs is looking forward to some moonlight beach fishing, and the girls and I love to watch!!
I will be back on here as often as I can to update and tell stories. Hope I don't bore you to tears!!

American Idol.....

2009-04-29T11:59:00.002-05:00

Sorry I have not spent any time with you this past week computer friends. Apparently homeschooling, housekeeping, church activities, and soccer don't leave much time for virtual friendships. Maybe I'll do better over the summer.

I did manage to catch AI last night. I have to tune in each week to watch Adam Lambert's tongue perform. Really American Idol, do you have to showcase his fat tongue every week. In what type of musical training are we taught to actually extend the tongue from the mouth? I guess you have to be part of his fan base to enjoy the view. Oh well.

Surprise, surprise my faves were Kris and Danny. I am afraid Allison may go home after tonight, but it may be Matt. Which, is funny considering the fact that he's been waiting all season for last night and things he is the cat's meow when it comes to Jazz/Blues.

LOVED Jamie Fox on the show. I thought he gave good advice and was very helpful to each contestant. It would have been so hard for me to take advice from him though. Every time I see him I want him to puff out his lips and say "heeeey" oh Wanda, I miss thee.....
We'll see what happens tonight!

Shaheen Jafargholi singing on Britain's Got Talent....

2009-04-22T10:10:00.005-05:00

Britain's Got Talent Week 2: Shaheen Jafargholi - video powered by Metacafe

Susan Boyle hasn't won it yet...........

If Randy had been there, he'd have said, "He blew it out da box"!!!

The Pool of Abdul....

2009-04-21T22:37:00.006-05:00

If you missed AI tonight then the title of this post is lost on you completely, and for those of you didn't miss it,,,what is up with Simon and Paula anyway?
Sorry I have not been on, but the blog, it was sick last week. I couldn't get it take any posts. I think someone knew I needed to get some work done instead of playing on here......hummmmmmm

Anyway, here's the run down...

Lil' sang "I'm Every Woman" and did a decent job of it, but at this point the judges have decided they hate her. If it hadn't been disco night one of the guys could have easily come on after her and sang "Baby's Got Back" and won the vote for the night, 'cause I'm just sayin' that wagon she's draggin,' it's full gurrl.

Next was Kris, He sang "She Works Hard for the Money" Santana style. I had just said to my hubs that sounded like Santana music...and they Paula stole my line. Gee, I hope that doesn't mean we think alike....ugh. He was as boring as usual with he intelligent answer about the song having something real to say,,,,"about a woman who works hard"......ummm, really? Boring personality or not, he pulled it off, and I really liked it.

Danny was number three and I loved his version of "September" and a little bit of "I Can See Clearly Now" tagged in there. It was a good mix. I hope he wins. Of course, you already knew that.

Allison sang "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer, HATE.ED.IT! I usually like her, not tonight though. And I am afraid she may go home tomorrow, but let's hope not.

Adam Lambert sang "If I Can't Have You" in the most whiny style possible. I am just so over his screeching head voice that I can't take it anymore. I am sorry, but I don't see why they are so impressed with him. He's undoubtedly gonna win, and I hope it pleases the judges when he does and can't sell many records. What's he gonna record? He has a great future on Broadway though with all his drama. Paula was holding back tears, genuinely, the woman was about to have an ugly cry over it. I think her doctor needs to up her meds.

Matt sang "Stayin' Alive" and I felt sorry for the remaining Bee Gees who may have been listening. It was bad. If they had not just saved his tail last week and not wanted to look like morons for doing so, I think the judges would have torn him up tonight. I think he's in trouble. I was glad to see him in that hat again this week. It hides that wart on his forehead, I know if it were me, I'd wear it every week. Every time I see it I think of John Candy in "Uncle Buck" when he tosses that lady a quarter and tells her to "hire a rat to chew that thing off her face"......sounds mean I know, and I know that I'm no beauty queen, but I'm not on national television with a wart the size of Milwakee on my forehead either.

Anoop sang "Dim The Lights". I had never heard the song, but he did a good job. I think Anoop's problem is that he doesn't have any stage presence....I sound so professional don't I? Like I know what stage presence is.... I'm just saying he doesn't command the audience.

All in all it was a pretty good night. Two go home tomorrow night. I think it will be Matt, and either Anoop or Lil, but it wouldn't surprise me if Allison slipped through the cracks tonight and got voted off. The people over at votefortheworst.com are asking everyone to vote for Lil so it could happen that she would have just enough to stay on the show....we shall see. I personally did not vote tonight, too busy working on...........wait for it......OUR DISNEY TRIP!!!

Yes, the Lord blessed us with this and we are sooooo thankful. We got it all booked, now we're just waiting on confirmation for some of the restaurants we are wanting to take the girls to for dinner. I am so excited!!

You have to be careful what you tell your kids....

2009-04-12T23:20:00.005-05:00

Hubs and I have been contemplating a trip to Disney World for about a year. No one has offered us free tickets, nor have we won the lottery so we haven't committed to going. Therefore we have not shared a lot about this with the kids. I'd hate to get their hopes up only to have them dashed. Anyhoo, we have been doing research on the internet for cheap Disney vacations(I know, I am dreaming), and what the best deals are, etc.,,,if you've ever planned a trip to Disney then you know a lot of thought goes into it. So we have been sneaking around looking up hotels and tickets and so forth on the internet all the while trying to keep the kids away so they won't see what we are looking at. They are not used to us being secretive, they tend to be right in the thick of things at all times. And need I say it people, they are NOSEY!!

On an unrelated issue, we have also been considering refinancing our home at a lower interest rate, and for a shorter amount of time. We have several friends who have recently done the same thing because the rates have been so low, and seem like the may go lower. So, we decided to have the house appraised and have that under our belts so we could move quickly when the time comes. So last week I spent all day one day cleaning and getting ready for the appraiser. In my mad rush to get things done Elly(5), asked who was coming over, 'cause apparently she's not used to the house being cleaned unless company is coming over. Hmmmmm. I told her that a special man was coming to look through our house. This was enough to satisfy her for a few hours. When I finished cleaning up I had a few minutes to put on some make up and clean myself up. Elly came into the room where I was getting ready and said, "where are we going?" 'cause apparently she's also used to me looking like a slob unless I am actually leaving my home to go somewhere,,,,are we starting to see a pattern here? She ended up answering her own question by saying, "oh, you're putting on make-up because the special man is coming over"......ummm no, er yes, but not like that,,,,any way I didn't have time to answer her because just then the door bell rang......but it wasn't the appraiser, it was a kind person inviting us to attend their church.......Elly let her know that she came at just the right time because "now mommy had on all her make-up for the special man to come over".....uggggh, "I briefly explain that we're having our home appraised". She smirks. She talks about her church some more, I tell her I am familiar with it and follow some of their happenings on their website and was just looking something up their recently....at which point my little one says "is that what you were looking at that I can't see, huh, is that what you were watching and I had to go in the other room?" Ummm, I'm just given' up here folks, 'cause I got nuthin'. This was worse than when the union rep came to the door. I'm sure in some small group there's a huddle of blue haired ladies praying for the people at (insert address here) 'cause WE ARE HEATHENS. We'll take that prayer....and this folks, THIS is why you have to be careful what you tell your kids!

Are you chasing shadows......

2009-04-07T23:22:00.008-05:00

I have been studying the feasts of the Lord, and reading a good bit about Passover. Today I was reading and came across a verse or two that absolutely smacked me slap upside of my head. It may not assault you in the same fashion, but I'm gonna share it anyway cause I'm preachy like that. Here it is:
Isaiah 1:13-14
13.Bring no more vain offerings;
incense is an abomination to me.
New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—
I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14.Your new moons and your appointed feasts
my soul hates; they have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.

Wow!! Why would God be weary of, and hate the feasts that he himself set up? Have you ever gone to church and left feeling like you did your duty? Let's be honest here, 'cause I have. Thank goodness I don't anymore. You see, I don't think he hated the feasts or convocations themselves. I think he hated the show that they had become. The people misunderstood and distorted God's law. They abandoned a personal relationship with God and instead they sought self-righteousness through keeping requirements of the Law.Can you see where Easter might be a time of just filling a duty? It's a festival of sorts for the Christian. We have a big celebration, gather together with friends and family and have a feast and practice many traditions. It may be dying eggs, or hiding them, making baskets, finding the perfect dress, or glazing the honey ham, and of course attending church service. All of these things are wonderful things to do, as long as we keep our focus on the main thing, and that's Jesus. Otherwise we miss the real thing 'cause we're too busy chasing a shadow. You see the festivals were set up to point to the Messiah, but if we get too busy being caught up in all that goes on around the day itself we will miss Him and only catch a glimpse of that shadow.
My husband used to work in the evening and get home late in the night. Many nights I would lay in bed still awake when he would quietly enter the house. My heart would beat faster in anticipation as I would see the outline of his Shadow coming down the hall, but when he finally made his way into the room, I didn't hug his shadow, I hugged him. Let's make sure that we are not so busy this week that we are so focused on the shadow, or superficial traditions of the day, that we don't embrace Jesus the real person.

The Health Care system is a vampire!

2009-04-05T23:00:00.006-05:00

Let's have a review. I have recently undergone knee surgery that turned out to be a little more than expected. Weeks of physical therapy. A colonoscopy and CT scan for scar tissue in my abdomen from, now remember this next phrase, "MY COMPLETE HYSTERECTOMY." And last but not least a consult with a surgeon concerning the same issue. As you might would guess, what with this tick list of minor health concerns I have received a pile of medical bills thick enough to insulate a small dwelling. I am so thankful for health insurance! I go over each bill with a fine toothed comb to make sure that my insurance company agrees with the doctor's office on what my portion should be before I send out a check. I got the bill the other day from the doctor that I went to for the consult concerning (this is from the chart now), "adhesions due to hysterectomy".....on the itemized statement was a charge for $18.00 for a PREGNANCY TEST!! What? Are you kidding me? Surely this is a mistake, I thought. So, of course, I called the less than stellar employee at the doctor's office. I explained to the girl that my insurance company was being charged for a pregnancy test on a woman with NO uterus! She laughed, and said, "yeah, isn't that crazy, we do one on every one that comes in." Well, heck yeah ya do. It cost's sixty-seven cents to do one and then you get $18 dollars for it, that's good business anywhere you check. I said, "so I see how it works, you know you have an agreed upon amount that the insurance company is willing to pay, so you drum up every charge you can possibly come up with and hope in the end you'll get $185.00 of the $2000.00 you charged them. 'I see here where your chart says you've had a tonsillectomy Mrs. Patterson, open up and let's see if they're still gone, yep they're gone alright, that'll be $22.50, add that to the bill Nurse'.......her reply,,,"um, actually, yeah."
I give up!!

The headline said...........

2009-04-03T09:42:00.003-05:00

"Rocket Fuel Found In Baby Formula"
...

And all this time I thought it was the sugar and red Kool-Aid!!

American Idol Top 9, otherwise titled, GO HOME MEGAN!

2009-03-31T23:26:00.003-05:00

Okay, I have NO idea what the idea was behind tonight's "theme" or lack there of. It was crazy, they may as well have called it "pick a tune you may have heard on the radio before night," cause that's how diverse it was.
Short and sweet, here is what they sang and what yours truly thought about it:

Megan sang a Lauryn Hill/Bob Marley song. This song had absolutely no melody. The vocals were reminiscent of a goat with it's head stuck in barbed wire fence. Hated her outfit and once again she went sleeveless, surprise, surprise.

Allison Ican'tspellherlastname, sang "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. It sounded like all of her other songs. She has a good rocker voice. Knows who she is and what she does well. Needs a stylist IN.THE.WORST.WAY! The end

Danny Gokey sang "What Hurts the Most" by Rascal Flatts, only it didn't sound so much like the Rascal Flatts version, in fact, I like it better. Danny is my fave.He lost his gramps this week, as he said he "went home to be with the Lord." Props my brotha! He did not allow them to mention it on the show because he felt they had already mentioned his personal losses enough.

Anoop sang, "Caught Up" by Usher, I feel really old, because I don't know this song AT.ALL, and after hearing it tonight, I didn't miss a thing. Anoop is confused.

Scott sang, "Just the Way You Are" by Billy Joel. Did a great job in my opinion. I actually like his voice better than Billy's. I like Scott, but I don't think he can sell records. He may prove to be a good songwriter/arranger though.

Lil Rounds sang, "Surrender" by Celine. Didn't like it. She needs to go back to the Aretha, Mary J stuff she was good at. This was pitchy, and boring. You know a little excitement covers a multitude of pitch issues. Hey what do Memphis and Lil have in common? They both need a coach...,....

Adam Lambert sang, "Play that Funky Music" by Wild Cherry. For the life of me I can't figure out the judges infatuation with this, um, er, individual. He could come in and sing the Bulgarian national anthem and as long as he hit at least two notes only a dog can hear they would lick his boots. The only place I can imagine him being a hit in real life and not on planet AI is Vegas.

Kris Allen sang, "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers, AWESOME job. I love this guy. Boring as watching Jell-O mold, but a talented singer. Tonight he did show more emotion. I think he's just humble and scared. I hope he goes far. The nerves will work out in time. I think he would likely record a Christian CD. He is a praise team leader at a church in Conway AR. My physical therapy chicks sister knows him....oh my gosh, I sound like Truvvy.

Did ya'll see Mandisa behind Randy??

Matt Giraud sang "You Found Me" by The Fray, I wish they hadn't found him.

I'm done now! What did you think?

Public restroom reviews post two....

2009-03-30T23:11:00.007-05:00

Surprise, surprise two days in a row....we may be on a roll folks. I hope I didn't sound at all put out by my fun day with Elly. I would rather have a pedicure from my little punkin than any where else I can imagine. They are only little for a while and I enjoy every minute with them, except maybe for the minutes we spend in public bathrooms. Those, not so much. Elly generally has the urgent need to pee every time we are in Wal-Mart which is usually every other day. Until recently that is, when I started having to go to physical therapy twice a week, so I've been going to Aldi's which is much cheaper and right by the hospital. Last week when I was there I must have channeled Elly because nature called and I answered. It was a nice enough public restroom, but would it kill 'em to put a coat rack on the door? I WILL NOT put my purse on a nasty bathroom floor. So, I'm in the Aldi's, taking care of business when the cleaning lady comes in and says "is anyone in here?"....seriously, can't she just bend over and look for feet like every body else? It's not bad enough that I have to hoover between the heavens and earth in order to avoid Lord knows what kind of germs, but I'm clenching a twenty nine pound purse between my teeth too. How am I supposed to answer? I know how, you can acknowledge her by tapping the stall door with your foot, but not so hard the door COMES.OPEN. like I did!!! Why don't those things latch better???

Hey Internet people!

2009-03-30T00:09:00.011-05:00

It's been so long since I made a post I had a hard time remembering how to do it. It's been a wild couple of weeks around here, and I had to put the blog on the back burner. You may not have even noticed I was gone..sob, sob.(needy moment)
We had a Global Impact Conference at our church this past week featuring missionaries from all over the world. It was a really great experience. I learned so much I did not know, or had ever really thought about. My heart was stirred so deeply for people all around the world. It was really a blessing.

We are trying to get all of our lessons done by the first week in May. We are planning our trip to head to the gulf for a month and I would like to have a few days after we get finished with school before we have to leave. So there you have it,,,full schedule, but I've missed you, even though I talk to both of you who read this almost every day. So I guess what I'm saying is, my computer missed your computer.

Yesterday Sydney had a birthday party to go to and Elly was really wanting some Mommy time. So Tracy, my sweet sweet husband(if my sister is reading this she is laughing so hard her side hurts right now) took Sydney to yet another birthday party for me. Elly had a list longer than my leg of things she wanted for us to do "togeva" in the three hours they were gonna be gone. "I wanta paint our toes, make cookies, do cwafts, play dolls, and dressup, and cutter,(color)."....When we were through I needed a nap.
Of course I had to take some pictures of our day....

She is so hard at work here, concentrating on each brush stroke. Notice her fancy United Way pin on her "dress". I tell you, only the finest jewelry for the Patterson fam!

When she said, "paint your toes" folks she obviously meant it literally. It looks like I've played a barefoot extra on the set of Carrie.

We made some really good pink princess fairy cookies. (Thanks Eden!)

And lastly, she wanted to play dwess up wiff mommy's make up. She opted for the dramatic evening look. Obviously I helped her with her eyes, because I didn't want to make any trips to the ER. Of course as soon as I finished her new look, I remembered we had church in two hours and I had to scrub it all off. But not before we had "cookies and tea". I love being a girl momma.

Well, I am off to bed. I plan on trying to get back to talking to you daily.
See ya!!

Praying to move a mountain....

2009-03-19T09:39:00.002-05:00

I've had so much heaviness on my heart of late that if I'm not purposeful at staying in constant prayer, I'll fall into a pit of depression. I try to keep the blog "lite" with general musings and the silliness that I love about everyday life. But today I have to unload some deeper matters,,,so, go get a cookie, then come back.

Sometime back I began to pray that God would help me to see things the way that He sees them. To love and care for people and be concerned about what they are going through. So often we hear people say "well, what did they expect?" or "I don't feel sorry for them for that" "It's hard to have pity" you know the phrases, you've heard them too, maybe even said a few of them in your day, I have. However, lately I can't hear a story on the news, or hear of a difficult situation someone is in without feeling overwhelming compassion for that person, and that situation. Even if it was because of a bad decision or ignorance on the part of the person suffering. I am so thankful that the LORD has opened the eyes in my heart. I know first hand this is compassion that you want to learn through His Word and prayer(in the class room as they say), and not on a field trip. I have learned sympathy, and understanding before the hard way, by having to go through my own trials. The fact is that sometimes when we pray to ask God to move a mountain, He chooses to leave the mountain right where it is, because the climb will be good for us. You see, through the blood, sweat and tears of that rough climb, we learn things like how much we really need Him, how we can't do things on our own. We learn compassion for others who may have been there in that situation before us. We learn to mentor people who may be in that situation after us.

I don't know what your mountain is today. Or if you are even facing one. If you are not at the foot of one today, then you will be at some time. If you are a child of God than you can trust in Him to be with you every step of that climb. He will hold your ropes, and not let your foot slip. (Psalm 121) When you come out on the other side, you will be more like Jesus, compassionate, understanding, and merciful, and your faith in the One who never left your side will be even stronger than before.

Father, please help me to trust in you today. Help me to put all of my fears, and doubts and failures in your hands. I know that YOU are in control of my life, and all that surrounds me. Your word tells me that you have a plan for me, for a hope and a future, not for harm. I trust your word that tells me that you will not let my foot slip, that you will be right by my side. I thank you that wither you decide to move the mountain, or lead me over the rocky terrain, that you have a purpose in it all to make me more like Jesus, the lover of my soul. In His precious name I pray,
Amen.

If you are not certain of your salvation, and would like to know how to be saved, here is some information for you. It is the best decision you will ever make.

American Idol

2009-03-18T16:06:00.002-05:00

Did you watch AI last night?Last night was country night, usually not my fave which is odd since I grew up in a house filled with country music. The fact is they usually butcher in on this show, but what a night! Randy Travis was their coach and he did a great job, he seems like a kind, geniune, down to earth kinda guy. I think any of these people could win. I hope it's not Adam or Megan though. He belongs ~~in a circus~~ in theater, and she needs to star in an episode of Miami Ink or, be in a circus. She is too quirky which is what they like about her, and he is just plan yucky as far as I'm concerned. He gives me the creeps. He sang burning ring of fire with some Mid East/Egyptian twangning in the background. I half expected someone to come out with a jackyl mask on and serve shishkabobs, just plain ole weird. I was tickled when Randy Travis told him that he wasn't used to guys with nail polish and didn't know what to think about that.
Of course my favorite as usualy was Danny Gokey. He can sing anything. I really enjoyed his song. He sang Jesus Take the Wheel, and I was worried when I heard that, but I was impressed. Pualer was fully recovered from last week, when she was so clearly freshly botoxed. Her face wouldn't even move AT ALL. She was frightening. Last night she and Simon were at each other's throats. She was making stupid comments, which may or may not of had anything to do with the how glossy her eyes were, and Simon was sick of it. They stormed out different doors before one of the commercial breaks, but made up quickly.
I can't wait to see who goes home tongiht!!!

25 Random things about me...

2009-03-13T22:15:00.001-05:00

...I was tagged a fb a time or 6 to do a meme called "25 Random Things About Me" ~~I put it off~~ thought about it for a while and finally made my list. I am no good at this kind of thing, therefore this is my one time fb and blog list,,,so here ya go....

1. I love to make lists. Prayer requests, grocery lists, to do lists, you get it.
2. I write things I have already done on my to do lists, so I can mark them off.
3. I am scared of fire.
4. I love to read, but need some down time after I finish a book because I feel like my friends have moved away or died. I know, Serious attachment disorder.
5. Even though I love making lists, I hate making this one, because I can’t think of 25 things about myself.
6. I wear regrettable clothing, but unless you’ve never met me, or are blind in one eye and squint with the other, you’ve probably already noticed this. I am a T-shirt and jeans kinda girl.
7. I am a homeschooling Mom, which officially causes us to clench the title of, “That Family” from some of our friends and relatives.
8. I love My Redeemer Jesus Christ with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, without Him I have nothing and that is why this should be number one.
9. My family was dysfunctional and if you don’t think yours was , then you might be a little optimistic.Just sayin'
10. I have two precious little girls that I love so much it hurts.
11. I belong to a wonderful church that I look forward to going to every Sunday and Wednesday, the people there are like family to us.
12. I don’t watch much T.V. because there is too much junk on there, however I love American Idol.
13. I love to read blogs, it’s like reality T.V. lite.
14. I love to scrapbook the two times a year I actually manage to get the stuff out and do a page.
15. I HATE it when someone says “nucUler” instead of nuclear which is the proper way to say the word.
16. To say that I am a little sarcastic would be like saying the ocean gets a little deep, but I am not malicious in my speech and would not hurt someone’s feelings on purpose.
17. I really should be cleaning something right now.
18. I would love to learn to play the piano, crochet, and smock.
19. I would also love to manufacture time in which to do the above mentioned activities.
20. My husband makes me laugh every day, at least once. Often at myself. And it still makes my heart skip a beat when I see him from accross a crowded room.
21. I am a tad bit over dramatic at times. Okay, so the ocean does get a little deep.
22. I did not finish college. This makes me disappointed with myself. It is on my to do list, when the girls are a bit older.
23. I prefer summer over winter, and spring over fall.
24. Since I hate to make this type of lists, because it requires way too much inflection and I’m just shallow like that, I am gonna make this my one time list for FB and the bloggy blog.
25. Drum roll please…da,,da,,,,da,,,,da,,,,I can’t stand politics. Finding a decent politician is like trying to nail Jello to a tree. That’s why we have to pray, pray just to make it today, pray every day…didn’t MC Hammer say that?

THE talk.......

2009-03-13T14:49:00.002-05:00

My child just walked in the room and asked me what 'expectations' are. Apparently I did not explain it well, because she then asked, "do guys have them too?" UMMMM er, yeah, but we won't talk about those, for a long, long time...always pay for your own dinner.... Luckily this was just a generic run of the mill question, that I was able to clear up by using the example of expectations of a birthday party. But,,,the questions are getting deeper, and I know the day will be coming for THE question, so I need to head it off at the pass. I've read books and prayed, now I have to muster up the courage. After all, she recently asked how dogs have puppies since they don't get married...then my phone rang and I've never been so happy to talk to the Fireman's fund people in my whole life. How did YOU handle this?

Wordful Wednesdays....

2009-03-11T00:04:00.004-05:00

There are a lot of bloggers out there who participate in something called Wordless Wednesdays where you post a picture and it speaks a thousand words....yeah, yeah, if you know me, then you know the picture can't get a word in edge wise.
Wordful Wednesdays was thought up by someone like me who can't just post a picture and then shut up. So I'm gonna play along on that team, 'Cause I'm chatty like that.

This is a picture I took of Sydney this Fall in a cotton field by our house. I played with it in Photoshop and I liked it in some ways, but she sorta looks transposed. I would love to learn a lot more about Photoshop, but unless they come up with a way you can learn it in your sleep, or someone can come tutor me while I fold laundry I don't think it's gonna happen any time soon. I'll wait until the girls are in college, by then there will be a brain download available.
Anyhoo, here's the picture already....

She wuvs wadybugs.......

2009-03-09T23:31:00.006-05:00

Have I ever mentioned to you how much Elly loves Ladybugs? She adores them. Every time she sees one she has to pick it up and ~~mash it to death in her grip of love~~ keep it as a pet. As I sit here and type there are two of the her spotted friends crawling around in an acrylic box next to me. In the Fall she had "her favwitt wadybug" in her little chubby hands and I told her to be careful or she might mash it. She came to me heartbroken some time later with her dead bug in her hand and said, "I think she's hurt." I said, "Mommy told you that if you kept holding her it was going to kill her." She looked at me and said matter of factly, "I didn't kill her, I just wuved on her and she killed huself".....It was so cute in her little 4 year old "l" and "r" challenged voice.
Here is the ladybug queen and a few of her friends!

Kohl's could pretty much care less......

2009-03-06T09:32:00.004-06:00

.....this is an excerpt from their response that came to me this morning...

Ms. Spears is an international celebrity and pop culture icon who embodies the spirit of the Candie's brand and personifies the iconic Candie's Girl, self confident and stylish. We respect Ms. Spears right to privacy, and her personal life does not reflect the views of Kohl's Department Stores.

yada, yada, yada.....we had a name for talk like this where I come from, and you could find it in a barnyard usually close behind a horse.

If a person's entire "persona" to borrow their word, revolves around sex, drugs/alcohol, and self degradation, and you're telling us that is the "spirit" of their brand, then folks, they can keep it. And as far as Ms. Spears and their respect of her private life,,,puhleeze. She doesn't want her life to be private. If she did, she'd quit her lifestyle move back to Louisiana where she came from, get a job at Sears, cook dinner, watch T.V. and play with her kids in the park. The paparazzi would get bored with that in about three minutes. GET.OVER.IT!!

Kohl's joins with Britney Spears...

2009-03-05T14:32:00.004-06:00

.... to represent their Junior girls clothing line. WHAT ARE THEY THINKING? I don't know why this surprises me based on passed experience, but it does. Do they not know that she's got ish-uhs? I actually pity this girl. I went through a long period of time where every time I heard her name I would stop what I was doing and pray that God would send someone her way to guide her to Him. But now, I really think she just keeps on trying to trump her own bad decisions. I heard them on talk radio the other day discussing her new song "If You Seek Amy"....I 'll give ya two guess what the song is about,,,,,and it aint about a girl named Amy. Say if fast....F.U.@.K. Me. What in the world? Where were the Kohl's people when she shaved her head and flashed her bare crotch to the world? Did they know she was busted for drugs? Lost her kids in a custody battle? This is just sad. I am baffled, truly, I am. This is like selecting Charles Manson to be the spokesperson for Gerber baby food. That's all I got to say 'bout that!

Phone: (866) 887-8884

Email: Customer.Service@Kohls.com

Hours: 8am to 1am EST Monday through Saturday

9am to Midnight EST Sunday

I won, I won...

2009-03-05T00:03:00.003-06:00

...I can't believe I won.... I'm not a loser anymore.....heeheee

Vicki Courtney was giving away two books on her blog and I won one of them. She has a great website and several books about raising virtuous daughters. Go check it out...HERE!

Tatiana part II

2009-03-04T22:58:00.003-06:00

What? Hello? What are they thinking? They are gonna put this chick through to the top 12 wait and see. Then every week, we will have to watch her sob and cry and then go through her dramatic "thank you, oh thank you, thank everyone, I would do anything for you," gasping until I spit up. At least they let Anoop come back. And in the words of Forest Gump, "that's all I got to say 'bout that"

Randomness....

2009-03-04T14:20:00.004-06:00

Yay!! my stitches are out. I went back to the doctor yesterday and he thought I was walking VERY well for two weeks out. I have PT now three times a week for three weeks. He said this kind of temporary fix will sometimes buy patients two to five years before knee replacement. I prayin' for 10. Or better yet that I will never need one, that God will heal it without medicine. However, if that's His plan, then I know he will work it all out perfectly. I'm just glad to have the pesky stitches gone, because they were catching on everything.

I watched AI last night. I'm not entertained by it anymore. Of course I can't tear myself away from it. I'm compelled to watch it. I just hate the way they are doing the thing this year. I have to say, as much as I poke fun at Pauler, I think she is a far better judge than Randy or Kara. Just the fact that she remembers what they did the week before impresses me. None of the other do. Hence, the conflicting judgements each week. One week they're told to sing a balled so we can connect with their serious sides, the next week they are scorned for being too serious. Hello? Who trained these judges Sybil?(if you're under 35 ask your mom who Cybil is)

I could think of a million goofy, negative things to say about Nancy boy Nathanial and all his drama invoking tears, but really, my heart goes out to this boy. I can't watch him without praying for him. Therefore, make fun of him I can not do. ...how's that for Yoda speak?

I will say that faves from last night were Ju'Not, who reminds me a little of Chikezie from last year, and Lil' Rounds or Felicia Barton. I hope those three make it though tonight. I really DO NOT like Von Smith, he's just odd to me. Don't like his voice, style, or songs. He looks like Donnie Osmond.

For all of you out there who watch The Bachelor, I offer my condolences. I do not watch the show, but I have heard the stories.

Well, I have to leave for the library now before send a search party for their books.
See ya!

Happy Birthday Elly, Where did the time go???

2009-03-02T22:55:00.000-06:00

Tuesday March 3rd is Elly's 5th birthday. I don't know where the time went. I thank God for every moment spent with this precious, spunky, full of life little spit-fire girl. She has taught me so much! Like how to pick my battles; How to get a bean out of your nose. How we should save all Lady Bugs and Earth worms because they are God's creatures, and most recently, that you can save money by buying peanut butter that's made from unshelled peanuts.
I prayed for this child to love deeply, and God has so honored that prayer. She loves Him so very much, and talks about Him all of the time. She loves her Momma who doesn't deserve her. She loves her Daddy and says she's "Daddy's guhl, and Momma's and Sydney's too, but mostly God's." I wouldn't have it any other way baby.
Happy Birthday Big Girl!! I love you More!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

A small sacrifice.........

2009-02-27T13:03:00.006-06:00

We've been discussing cutting back on spending with the financial crisis hanging over all our heads.That aside, I accidentally bought crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy. My bad. A simple mistake on my part. A cardinal sin to a 4 almost 5 year old. After one bite of her PB and J sandwich Elly looked at me and said, "I know we gotta save monies, but can we still buy the peanut butter without the shells?" obviously the child thinks I'm feeding her peanut butter made from unshelled peanuts,,,,M'kay, sorry.

2009-02-26T22:41:00.002-06:00

Norm didn't make it through, not that he could have done anything, but he was entertaining anyway. I am sooo tired of whiney Ryan Seacrest. They need to give Norm his job. Sheeesh. Have you ever seen someone who could dish it out but not take any worse than Seaweed? He jusgitsonmynerves! I was so glad Kris Allen made it!

Just when I think I've got it all under control....

2009-02-23T18:16:00.003-06:00

...The LORD shows me otherwise. Okay, this is long, but I'm pouring out my heart here, so humor me. Did y'all notice I was gone? I've been on a field trip for the last couple of days. Not one where you get on a bus awaiting adventures untold. But rather one that involves my own pride, and self sufficiency, or insufficiency I've learned...the hard way. As an adult I have had a pretty high tolerance for pain and I have a wonderful husband who makes an excellent nurse. In the past, I have even been known to brag about making it through two C-section recoveries without opening the pain pills, and a hysterectomy recovery with only taking two, and yada, yada, yada.... I had a minor knee scope 9 years ago that I made it through with flying colors. Soooo,,,when I found out I was having knee surgery last week, it was NO BIG DEAL to me. I didn't call my family, the only friends that knew were ones that happened to call anyway, and the few of you that read here on a regular basis. I didn't put myself on the prayer list, or request prayer from anyone for that matter. I am ashamed to admit this, the only prayer I sent up myself was the night before the surgery, for the doctor. I guess I thought I "had this one".....ever been there? I would be fine. I would up and at 'em twice as fast as anyone I knew, I even told the doctor not to bother writing a pain prescription, I had a cabinet full of that stuff rotting at home. Notice that ugly one letter word up there that is repeated over and over?

Well let me tell you, I didn't have anything. When I woke up my husband told me that it was a lot worse than the doctor had thought. He wasn't able to help me much because my knee had the absence of any cartilage or fluid around the knee at all. They drilled some holes in the bones around the knee joint to try to produce bleeding to make a pocket of fluid around the knee joint. The doctor told Tracy this would be a temporary fix until I got a knee replacement. I was BUMMED out. I thought I was going to have the knee of a 25 year old when I came out of there. I'd be fine in two or three days. Did I ever pray and ask for that? Quick healing? Leg like new? Not once. Instead I was laying on the couch two, then three, then four days later, whining. Wondering what was wrong with me. I had been through at least half a dozen pain pills, Tylenol, nothing was helping for long. I couldn't get around well on my own, I was sore all over from laying down, as my OCD, ADHD self I'm not too used to that, so I was miserable.

Since I was laid up, I decided I would read. I'm at the end of a Beth Moore Bible Study on the Psalms of ascent. I've been doing and I have so loved it. I look forward to the homework and sometimes I even put it off as a treat for later. I picked it up and read, and re-read, it wasn't going passed my eyes. I tried reading just scriptures, same thing. It was like I was reading the words but they weren't going any where. Between the print and my brain, the words were floating away. Now I was confused and in pain. Finally I decided I would read something that didn't "require any thought" so I picked up a Christian novel. The entire story was based on a bad decision, and plan that was unfolding all because someone thought "they had it" instead of trusting God with it. On virtually every page, I said to myself, "when is this moron gonna get it?" As I got to the last chapter, THIS moron finally got it. I confessed my own pride, and false thoughts of self sufficiency in this whole ordeal. I called out to God for His healing, and peace that only He can give and He heard. Yes He did. Just like He heard the Psalmist in Psalm 132, which I finally was able to read. Thank you LORD, for taking care of me, and for forgiving my pride and hard headedness!!
Is there any area of pride or false thoughts of self-sufficiency going on in your life that you may not have recognized? If there is, turn it over to Him who is able to do ALL things.

Just cheking in....

2009-02-20T12:55:00.002-06:00

I thought I would drop a few lines for those who don't ~~stalk~~ browse Facebook. I am still alive. Sore yes, but here. I've had knee surgery before, so this isn't my first rodeo, but this time it hurts. They went in to do a clean up of torn cartalege and debris(?is someone littering in my knee) but when the doctor came out he told Tracy is was worse than he had anticipated. I had no cartalege left to repair and no fluid around my knee at all. He drilled some holes to cause bleeding and fill the area with a cushion of blood... sounds fun, no? Anyway, he told Tracy he didn't think it would last long and I would need a complete knee replacement....

I wanted to cry when Tracy told me this. I thought I was going to go in, and come out with the knee of a 25 year old like my friend did last month. I went in thinking I would be exercising and losing some of the 5 year post baby and two year post hysterectomy fat. Now I get to have rehab and then another surgery. I know I'm whining. I'll stop now. Thank you LORD, for the insurance that helped pay for it, Tracy's job that paid for the rest. The knee that CAN be fixed, and for a home to recover in. It could be SOOOO much worse.

Y'all take care. Remember to send up a prayer today for those who are in a tight situation. Stand in the gap for somebody. Someone whose in fear of job loss, or already has lost a job. Pray for someone whose home is being foreclosed on, for someone who just doesn't know what's gonna happen next. Pray over their situation and for their heart to be guarded for the one who preys on the weak. Clear that spiritual air around them with a covering of prayer so that God's miracles can take place in their lives. I read today to think of your prayers as the smart bombs that go before the warriors. The prayer clears the way so they can go in and do their job. Crude analogy? Maybe, but think about it a while......
Thank you to all of you who have been checking on me!!
I love ya to stinkin' pieces!!

Follow up!

2009-02-16T16:15:00.002-06:00

I went to the doctor for the follow up on my MRI today. I thought I would NEVUH get in. I have never been in a doctor's office that was SRO, really, it was at capacity. I was about to give an elderly woman my seat the average age of the patients in waiting was about 72!,when they called my name. As she lead me down the hall to the examining room I saw the big banner that said "Welcome to Memphis Orthopedics Sports Medicine" I laughed at this. When the doctor finally came in, I told him I hated to keep from his legion of athletes out in the waiting room and I hoped my visit wouldn't take long. He laughed at me, though I don't know if he was entertained or insulted. I would not have mentioned it except for the fact he told me that most of my problems came from my age....Hello? 39! Then he said it's only gonna get worse at 40! The reality of getting old, it stinks people.

Anyway, I'm having knee surgery on Wednesday. Yes, the day after tomorrow. I may be of the blog for a day or two after that. I'm sure I'll make up for it later!

Colonoscopy, MRI, what's next?

2009-02-15T23:16:00.009-06:00

Happy late Valentine's Day. Here are some valentine cookies I thought about making for you!

It's the thought that counts right? I hope y'all had a nice Valentine's Day, with your sweeties. We watched Fireproof and had Take out while the kids played and ate dinner with friends. It was really nice. If you haven't seen Fireproof yet, I can't recommend it highly enough. I've seen all three of their movies, and Fly Wheel is still my fave, but Fireproof is awesome. The out takes and extras on the DVD alone were enough to make be glad I bought it.

Friday Tracy watched the kids while I went shopping after my MRI. I don't know if I told you or not, but I've had knee pain for the last few years, and in the last year or so it's gotten worse. One of our friends at church just had knee surgery and he recommended his doctor so I finally bit the bullet and went in last Tuesday. Friday I went in for an MRI, and that was an experience. I've had an MRI before, but not like this one. I pulled up to the address where the MRI was scheduled and it was a warehouse type building, in what looked like nothing short of a ravine. Down in a little valley on a dead end side road. Looked NUTHIN' like a medical facility. After filling out my entire life's history and providing photocopies of all my school records for K-12, I took a seat. Someone came to the door and called for someone in the waiting room. I thought it was a family member because she was just wearing jeans and a shirt, but then I noticed the file in her hands. A moment later another employee came to the door and called out for a second patient. She too had on street clothes, ones that caused me to recall tacky day during homecoming week in high school. How many pieces of Premiere Jewelery are really appropriate with a pair of stone washed black jeans and a stained Ole Miss T-shirt anyway, is there anything in Vogue about this? Now I hate to sound like a snob, 'cause I am totally not one. I'm nothing if I'm not plain. But I like my medical professionals in scrubs. There's a wide variety out there, many colors, some with animals, some with cartoon characters, you name it. Just something that announces that you possess some type of license or certificate, and a name tag is nice. Yes, yes, I like a name tag too. These people had none of this. I realize it was Friday. Maybe casual Friday. But really folks, how uncomfortable is a pair of scrubs?

Anyway, after about 15 minutes a man beckons me at the door. He looks as though he is picking me up for a date. Flashback 1987. He is wearing a brown leather bomber jacket, blue jeans, and brown hiking boots. At this point it is only myself and an 82year old man in the waiting room. He opens the door and says "you must be Calista, right this way"....I can hear 38 Special music in my head. I catch a faint whiff of Halston Z-14, or maybe Polo cologne. I follow him down the corridor and begin to wonder just how long this building could possibly be when he opens a door for me that leads outside. I said "we're going outside?" "Yes" he said, "it's right over there." Over where? I don't see anything but a bunch of vehicles, and oddly enough, a patio with some nice lawn furniture and a grill? At this point I'm looking around for a camera, I know I've been punked. "It's in that truck over there by my Mustang." I look up and there is a semi-truck in the parking lot. He had me to walk up on a lift and he hoisted me up to the truck entrance. There was a small little area the size of a bath room with two chairs and a laptop, and then a slightly larger area with the MRI tube. He told me to leave my purse in one of the chairs and he proceeded to strap me into the tube. Literally. He told me it would take 20 minutes and not to move. I couldn't move, I was strapped down. He left the room. All I could think of was the fact that I was tied to a board in a 32 degree room with half my body in this tube while he was out there with my purse. It turned into a Seinfeld moment. 20 minutes is enough to order yourself a new updated wardrobe by phone with my credit card, and I'd be none the wiser. It wouldn't be hard, they know everything about me including the name of my third grade teacher. I mean really, your info is compromised and you think "Wal-Mart, the bank, the waiter," but you don't think about your MRI technician.......I'm watching my accounts, if I see where I've been charged for a new leather jacket, or 80's Power Ballads, I now where I'm going!

American Idol Chair Episode

2009-02-12T00:48:00.002-06:00

Okay who wants to watch two hours of people sitting in chairs waiting to hear yes or no. Apparently ME!

Of course this took place in the reality TV mansion. How MANY reality TV shows are we gonna see this mansion in? Is this the only mansion they have access to? Anyway, there they sat perched on their thrones, waiting to decree yes or no to all the hopefuls. The top 36 that were predicted on yesterday's post was absolutely correct.
I think it was pretty ratty the way they pitted the buddies against each other. Only fitting though since they seemed to have the enemies against each other earlier on. I will say that this year the judges seem to be just as happy to have a personality as to have a talented singer. And by personality I don't mean congenial, I mean weirdo.

I know Tatiana has a good voice, that can't be denied. But I CAN NOT STAND THIS CHICK! The chick acts like she's making a Grammy acceptance speech after every performance. That loud obnoxious nervous laugh just causes my spine to jerk. Do they not staff a pharmacist? She needs some serious medication, if not her, then everyone else around her.

I was glad to see Nick/Norm make it through 'cause he is sooo stinkin' hilarious. I think I could watch him all day. When he said he would wash Simon's 20 cars or wear a bikini like bikini girl to get through, I snorted Dr. Pepper through my nose. He does make me laugh.

It was all pretty predictable. I was glad they let both the guys through at the end.
Now they will be performing in groups of 12. Let the fun begin!

American Idol Hollywood week part 3

2009-02-11T09:59:00.004-06:00

Dad Adam Flamebert really sing a Cher song? I do not dispute he has a good voice, control even, but puh-leeze! Dude likes to accessorize. One too many rings for my taste, at least they weren't through his nose.

Tatiana just makes me queasy. I can't imagine five minutes with that chick. I know I would hurt her. The mumu she was wearing looked exactly like the curtains in my Grandma's guest bedroom. Her over confidence leaves me bewildered.

I really like the Danny Gokey, not that I really think he is marketable as and AI winner, but talented none the less. Anoop is still high on my list as well, but with the same feelings I have about Danny Gokey. I liked Kai Kalama, but his voice was not up to par, I hate that for him.

I'm gonna skip over some of the obvious drama from last night. It speaks for itself. If I was there, I'd slap a lot of people. Just sayin'

Tonight it returns. Two hours long! No performances, just footage of one or two contestants at at time, finding out if they made it. From what I understand there will times when the judges aren't sure and they will have two contestants compete against each other for the spot....

Anyway, here is an unofficial list of the top 36 I got from AI Blogs Insiders:

Adam Lambert
Alexander Wagner-Trugman
Alexis Grace
Allison Iraheta
Ann Marie Boskovich
Anoop Desai
Arianna Ayesha Afsar
Brent Keith
Casey Carlson
Danny Gokey
Jackie Tohn
Jasmine Murray
Jeanine Vailes
Jessica Langseth
Joanna Pacitti
Jorge Nunez
Junot Joyner
Kai Kalama
Kendall Beard
Kristen McNamara
Kris Allen
Lil Rounds
Matt Breitzke
Matt Giraud
Megan Corkrey
Michael Sarver
Mishavonna Henson
Nathaniel Marshall
Nick Mitchell
Ricky Braddy
Scott MacIntyre
Stephen Fowler
Stevie Wright
Taylor Vaifanua
Tatiana Del Toro
Von Smith
Thanks Joesplace

I really missed you blog!

2009-02-09T23:32:00.008-06:00

Hey web peeps. I'm back!! It was a wonderful week. Thanks to those of you who sent me notes of encouragement for the fast and actually NOTICED I was gone. Thanks for that!! Our family did a lot of praying together, reading together, and a whole lot of playing games together. My four year old can beat my socks off at Uno. And instead of just giving you the Uno warning when she has one card left, she also yells "TUNO" when she has two. Original, no?

It's amazing how much you can get done in a week with no TV, no blog, and no facebook! I cleaned out the kids closets, and even my cook books and recipe collection. Was I ever really considering making a Standing Rib Roast with Yorkshire Pudding? I battled for a whole day and night trying to arrange stuffed animals. Webkinz, Build-A-Bears, etc. Some day one of my children will ask me why they can't go to a "good college" and I will hold out a tub of Build-A-Bear animals with full attire. Seriously, I will.

I redecorated Elly's room so that it is more big girl. Yes, you hear me sniffling. I'm lost somewhere on that street in Motherhood where you wish so badly for them to be able to bathe themselves and poor their own Kool-Aid, and at the same time wanting them to still be in a bouncy seat. I cry over this often. Angst, ugh!
Anyway, it had to be done. But Elly HATES change. Just like a cat. She wanted to have a big girl bed in her room. You know, a place to lay her dolls and spread out her books and so forth, 'cause she surenuff ain't plannin' on sleeping in it as long as I've got a King size pillow top in the next room over. The new bed called for a new bedspread of course, so off we went to hunt one down. After MUCH, MUCH, searching we ended up at Target of course. They had two really cute sets that I had a hard time choosing between. One of them was so cute and it had a rug and lamp to match. Obviously that was the one I wanted, 'cause why spend $60 and get what you came for when you could spend $125 and have a whole room full of stuff? Suddenly, Miss I hate change,(Maybe her next bedtime story should be Who Moved My Cheese?) got all worked up because she did not want to get a new lamp. She likes the one that went with her crib set. Now, she doesn't even remember the crib set, but she can't part with the lamp. She's crying and taking on, then she sees this stuffed fluffy pink pig wearing a tu-tu and says, "can I have that?" NO! It's as big as my bed pillow and besides, remember the problem I was having in paragraph two? No more animal room! Not to mention this thing is $18, do you want to go to a community college? Hubs looked at her and said, "if you had the piggy do you think you could let the old lamp go?" No he di-unt? "Yes" she said gleefully. "Since when do we negotiate with terrorists?" I asked. Since he's tired of standing in Target for two hours, he doesn't even have to answer, I can read his thoughts.

It's all pretty much done now. I ended up doing a few things in Syd's room as well. I'll try to have some pic's up this week.

I was trying to decide if I should watch last weeks American Idol and fill your in boxes with my nonsense about it, but really, I'm just thinkin' NO! I'll watch the ones this week and start from there. In fact, what I really should do is go to bed, that way I'll still be up when it comes on tomorrow night.
See ya!!

Fasting and Praying=Focus, and vision

2009-02-02T18:55:00.004-06:00

Hey peeps. Our Pastor asked us to fast from television this week. The purpose is so that when we miss it, we will turn to God and be closer to Him. The truth is, I only watch T.V. a couple of hours a week, and you know what those two hours are because I talk to you about them extensively every Wednesday and Thursday....American Idol. So since I am going television-less this week, I will not be blogging about AI...yes, I know it's Hollywood week. Since I really won't miss T.V. a lot, I am also gonna fast from blogging....ouch. That one hurts. So after this post publishes, I'll return to the blog and fb next Monday. See ya then, have a blessed week!

Thank you LORD, for watching over me even when I am an idiot!

2009-01-31T12:05:00.001-06:00

I know I haven't blogged much lately except for the AI posts which don't really count I guess. But it seems I've had so much going on that it's been hard to justify the time really. So I'll try to catch up on a few random things.

1.The indoor soccer season is over. Syd's team finished on top with NO losses. She scored in all games but two and had a great time playing. Today was our end of the season party. I'll honestly miss it.

2.I think I am gonna let my hair grow out back to it's old style from a few months ago. As I mentioned before, you may recall, my hair grows faster than a chia-pet. Therefore when I get it cut it looks bad for a few days, then I have good hair for about 1.7 days and then it looks bad again. My hair just grows too fast to try to maintain a short or semi-short do.

3. I've been tooling around with an expired drivers license since November. Yes Ma'am, you heard it right. I am officially a criminal. I pulled up to the bank today to cash a check a friend had given me for some things I picked up for her. As I prepared the check I slipped my license out in case she asked for it and as I did the thought came to me....I wonder when my license expires......I looked down, and guess when. Last November! Immediately I heard, "Bad Boys, Bad Boys, watcha gonna do?" playing in my head. Still in shock, I put the check and the license in the pneumatic shuttle and ~~began concocting a story in my mind about being quarantined with a mysterious form of Bird Flu that rendered me unable to renew my license~~ sat there wondering if they would,
A.make me take a driver's test again
B. Fine me
C. Ask me if I have been driving since November, and if they did, would they arrest me if I told them yes........

My thoughts came to a screeching halt when the teller came over the speaker and said, "Mrs. Patterson, do you have a valid driver's license?" What? You HAVE to possess a driver's license in order to cash a check? I was unaware of this type of discrimination...mental note to self, lobby state legislature to stop this type of harassment I said to Ms. Demanding, "I have had an account with you for 21 years, (Argh!! Now she knows I'm older than dirt, is it any wonder I forgot to renew my license,) the party who wrote the check has an account with you as well, while my license may be expired, it still has everything else on it correctly and you can see by the picture that it is my dumpy self." And then I proceeded to stuff my bank card, my visa, my check book and a chewing gum wrapper in the pneumatic shuttle and pressed send AGAIN! After a few minutes I finally got my expired license back and all my other belongings and my $23 smackaroos. I couldn't help but think that if the guy in the lane next to me blasting "50 cent" had been trying to cash MY check with his 'valid' license she would have given him the 23 bucks and a sucker for his time. Why is it hard to be an honest citizen, but easy to be a criminal I ask?
So, my next stop was the Driver's Testing Center to get my new license....and it was a bad hair day, of course. They never asked anything about it being expired, but I admitted my own guilt and stupidity to the officer. She said, "No biggie, people come in here to renew when they've been expired for a year." I wonder where they bank.

American Idol NY/PR

2009-01-30T23:37:00.002-06:00

Hey peeps. I failed to post about American Idol last night because, well, I just didn't want to. I didn't find it that impressive. The person who left the biggest impression on me was Nick Mitchell with his alter ego Norman Gentle. He was so funny I couldn't stand it. If you closed your eyes when he was singing he wasn't half bad. If it wasn't for the fact that he seemed to be a flamer and by flamer I dont' mean burning embers, I could probably watch him converse with Simon all day. But for the most part they let junk through and sent some people packing that were more talented than some they sent to HW.

I would be willing to bet Kara had no male role model in her life growing up, because she seems to be looking for one now. The minute Melinda, I wanta uplift humanity, walked in and started talking, Kara asked her "if she wished she could sing naked right now." If Kara was a dog, I say she needed to be fixed.

Anyway, that's enough about AI because this week they start second rounds in HW and that's where the real drama starts. So it should make blog fodder a plenty.

American Idol Salt Lake City

2009-01-28T23:23:00.005-06:00

...yes Randy, it's in Utah. Tonight 13 got through to Hollywood. I was only impressed with a couple of them. After tonight's show I am certain of four things,
A. Simon though harsh, always speaks the truth.
B. Pauler will NEVER go against Kara, and rarely against Randy.
C. Pauler really does need a fashion consultant. Was that a K-Mart turtle neck she was wearing? In late July?
D. The blind woman who cut my husband's hair a few months ago, has recently cut Simon's.

Tonight we met David Osmond, son of Alan Osmond from the Osmond Brothers. He had a nice voice. Very likable guy. My only question in a situation like this is...."do ya not know enuff folks in the 'biz' to help ya get started without this?"
Golden Ticket

Next up Tara Matthews who screeched "One Day I'll Fly Away" in her wonderful bondage inspired outfit that was six and half sizes too small. It was all just horrible.
Fly away THIS day!
NO!

Then there was Lamb girl audition part two with Aleesha Turner. Let the bleating begin....
NO!

Katie Sulivan STUNK
NO!

Remember Rich Kable the long haired hippie guy trapped in 1975. Apparently he was trying to channel Jim Morrison. His eyes were so wild looking they were frightening.
NO!

There was the guy with the friend in the bunny suit, his name was Chris something. Really dude, you tried too hard. I think he would have stood a chance if it hadn't been for the bunny. They've let worse through this year for sure.
NO!

Yet again, just as I was ready to turn off the pukefest, along came Frankie Jordan. She looks like that poor misled Amy Winehouse minus the crack. I know it's easy to make fun of people like that, but really, I pity her. This girl had a distinctive voice. She's gonna be one to watch.
Golden Ticket!

Next, Megan Corkey...Simon liked her a lot. She had a voice that carried you back to the woodstock days. He said she was his fave so far, but we've heard him say that before only to hear him bash them the next week in HW. Not my fave, not that you care, but it's my blog. We'll see how far she goes.
Golden Ticket!

DID NOT LIKE the presumptuous teenage boy "Austin President of my high school class." Where did he find these songs? NONE of the judges even knew them. Simon didn't like him either, but Randy gave it the "yo-dawg" and Kara said okay, and of course Pauler can't think on her own so he's going to HW. If he makes it pass the first week I'll be surprised.
Golden Ticket!

Taylor Vaifanua was next. She is 16 and looks 28. That's great if your trying to get into One Eyed Jacks on Friday night, but when your 30 you're gonna be saaaad baby! She could sing! Had a GREAT song too.
Golden Ticket!

Rose Flack was up with her soulful HUGE voice. She obviously goes barefoot all the time. Okay, this just creeps me out. You could see the bottom of her feet as she walked away and they were black. Buy some soap, then some shoes, 'cause that's just nasty. This girl has an old soul but after what all she's been through losing both of her parents before age 16 who wouldn't?
Golden Ticket!

Okay Idol, I am a softy. A compassionate person most all of the time. Snarky? Yes, but compassionate. Having said that......if I want cheese I'll order a pizza. Stop with all the sappy, cheesy, sob stories. I know they are sad if they are true, but it's really been over done this year. Don't insult us, and don't play on our emotions, m'kay? M'kay.

It's on again tomorrow night and then next week starts the Hollywood week. It looks like there's gonna be a lot of drama. I would not do well there. I can't take a lot of whining and complaining. We'll see how it all turns out...

G'night!

Wordless Wednesday Morning......

2009-01-28T12:07:00.005-06:00

Elly 2006

Sydney 2003

Sydney 2006

American Idol Jacksonville

2009-01-27T21:16:00.007-06:00

Just got finished with American Idol in Jacksonville, FL. I know a few of my peeps in AR missed it because their power was out due to the blanket of ice they're buried under. But I gotta say, you didn't miss much. In fact, I am about ready to quit watching until the Hollywood shows start.

In Jacksonville which any of us with a brain know was NOT named after Randy thanks AI for insulting the intelligence of your viewers, they gave out 16 Golden Tickets from a crowd of roughly 12,000. They made their intro playing Journey music and hyping Randy's stint in their back up band.....we knew this was coming. I like Randy, in fact he's one of my faves. But, has he no shame? It's like going home for Christmas and your Mom dragging out all your ribbons and trophies from Junior High to show all of your family and friends.

The first two contestants absolutely stunk. And, I might mention, they got golden tickets. This season is so confusing.

First was Joshua Ulloe, he was entertaining at best. Simon said he was like Inspector Gadget. He was all over the place. So many runs and and turns it was crazy. Then he threw in a little beat boxing, rap, and just general screeching. If he makes it past Hollywood I'll be shocked!
Golden Ticket

Then came Sharon Wilbur. The most memorable thing about her was her cute dog Sasha. Simon liked the dog. She had one of those voices that screams "three packs a day." Randy and Simon voted yes on the cute factor alone. Pauler obviously had a few refills on her "water" because she did the back of the hand kiss with Kara. What is up with these people? Somehow she got through.
Golden Ticket

Dana Moreno was willing to accept any direction they might want to give her....and Simon directed her right out the door. Honestly, how do these people make it in there?
NO!

Then there was Kannesswa Finne. Her mother actually had her convinced that she was the best thing goin'. People, please don't lie to your kids! You're not helping them out, you're just settin' up for heartache.
NO!

Julissa Veloz. The creepy nervous laugh was too much for me. She made me think Titiana TuTu girl last week, with the giggle. She sang Whitney though which usually fails miserably, and it wasn't that bad. At least by the standards they had thus far set this evening she certainly deserved to go through, and she did.
Golden Ticket

Then there were several flops, Darin Darnell and his friend Devin, were horrendous. And what about Naomi Sikes? Please. This woman cried when she was turned down, as if she actually expected to make it through. Even her chubby friend perched on Randy's lap had a look of terror on her face while she sang. Then when it was said and done, she stated that she actually thought she did a good job on the song "THIS TIME." Wow, I'm glad we didn't hear it the other times, 'cause I think my ears would have bled.
NO!

DAY TWO in Jacksonville brought out Jasmine Murray. She was from Starkville MS....woohoo....only about an hour from here. She was GOOD, and her sweet family made me smile. All her sisters, and her Momma coming to support their sweet girl. She's only 16, but has a strong voice.
Golden Ticket

George Ramirez....was obviously supposed to be in the competition for facial hair and took a wrong turn. DUDE! He is only 18.YEARS.OLD. He made me think of the guy that's in every one's high school yearbook that looks like he is faculty when he's really a senior. You look back 15 years later, and say "oh that was Mr.....no, no, that was George!" No fake I.D.s ever needed for this guy. But please, just DON'T sing. EVER!
NO!

Okay. I don't know what you thought of Anne Marie Boskovich, but I thought she was good. I was insulted that they even felt they needed to offer her a second chance when they asked her to come back in a bit with more confidence. After the talent challenged people we've seen put through tonight alone? I almost turned off the T.V. They put her through with the words, "she deserves a second chance".....at our household she is the favorite so far. I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out she has had a previous deal somewhere though.
Golden Ticket

Then came T.K. Hash. He was pretty good. He was returning for a second audition after not making it through last year. Simon said no automatically, but it was three to one, so he's headed to HW. I didn't care for him. He sang Imagine by John Lennon, and it was so over sang it was just sad really.
Golden Ticket

Michael Perrelli wound it up, and down for that matter. He was young, 18 I think. He wanted his guitar, and kept it with him like a security blanket it front of him. He is one of those people that is probably not going to be bad, but he NEEDS a band. Simon gave him good advice, to have a normal life and get a band together in his spare time. He needs to grow up a little anyway. He cried like my four year old when she loses her blankie when they told him he couldn't play his guitar in the audition....my question is, "has he never seen this before?"
NO!

That wraps up Jacksonville. I was let down with the lack of talent that was aired. They are clearly only showing us the junk and holding out the goods for Hollywood week. Let's hope tomorrow is better.

G'Night

She's alive..........

2009-01-26T09:34:00.002-06:00

I'll spare y'all the tears and crying out, and whole quotation of EVERY Psalm of Ascent. I feel much better this morning, only really weak. I am quite sure that on this one and only day of the year,,,,I could comfortably wear a size 8!

2009-01-25T19:29:00.002-06:00

This is what I feel like right now!

The Joys of my day..........

2009-01-25T13:34:00.005-06:00

I don't know if any of you read the post back in November about the colonoscopy the doctor considered doing if I wanted him to. Y'all know it wasn't at the top of my list. Anyway the new doctor I am going to felt it was needed and didn't give me a choice. So tomorrow I will get to take part in the colorectal fun known as a colonoscopy. Joy floods my soul. And from what I understand, I expect other floods to come.A friend told me this morning that she didn't want to alarm me, but I might want to get some Depends. Okay, I'm a little afraid now. I thought I had a few more years before I was in the adult pull-ups.

I begin my preparations, this afternoon. By preparations I mean drinking 20 ounces of corn syrup mixed with club soda and lemon juice also known as Magnesium Citrate. Not to mention the dozen or so laxatives you get to ingest. At least it's something solid. I had to stop all solid foods at 12:00 last night and can't have anything else to eat until tomorrow around 4:00 when I leave the doctor's office. All liquids today. I think that will be the hardest part for me. I'm not one to skip many meals. Thus my svelte size 14 waist. For once I am glad to have a sinus infection. Is drainage considered a solid, at least my stomach isn't completely empty.

Since I'm confined to the house, I am sure I'll be posting more later.

Have a fun afternoon!

This Makes Me Giggle

2009-01-23T15:46:00.019-06:00

Today I am going to attempt to do a post completely void of sarcasm. I found a blog carnival refrenced on a friend's blog, called Flash Back Fridays, where you post pictures related to different topics from the past. Today's title was "This Makes Me Giggle. I've never participated in anything like a meme or a blog carnival, but today I'm fogged up on sinus meds and can't think long enough to pull anything together that closely resembles a decent post. Howevuh, being the Momma to two cute young girls, I've got plenty of pics that make me giggle. Here are a couple....

Just Call her Miss Matched

It's been a tough day at the palace!

American Idol In Kentucky!

2009-01-21T22:31:00.005-06:00

Let's start with the stats. Tonight AI was in Kentucky. They had roughly 11,000 there to audition and they sent 19 through. CRAZY ODDS. Apparently in these one hour episodes the first half is the first day of auditions and obviously the last half hour is the second day. I am no fashion maven but Paula, or Pauler as Simon calls her, needs help. She's clearly having an identity crisis. The first day she looked like one of your matronly school teachers. The one that always wore the polyester shirts that buttoned up to her ears. For me it was Mrs. Blackburn in 11th grade American History, but I digress. As usual. The next day she wore her hair down and what appeared to be something out of Paris Hilton's Goodwill bag. She can't decide if she's 61 or 16.

The night began with Ryan in the heart of Churchill Downs Race Track. Only he somehow forgot where he was and motioned as if he was throwing out a baseball in the intro. It's okay Ryan, all that lush grass in KY can make anyone feel like they're standing on astroturf. The first contestant up was Tiffany ? Didn't catch her last name. This chick had on so much blue eye shadow it looked like her gall bladder had exploded. And her Momma who was soooo proud of her and thought she had the best voice in the world, needed to take the money they spent traveling to the Blue Grass state and spend it some good hair color for baby girl, 'cause Clorox is just not her color.
NO!

Up next, Joanna Paciti. This is one to watch. She had a good voice. Pretty girl. Stage presence, etc. She was in over 100 episodes of the musical Annie when she was 11. She apparently had a failed record deal with A&M Records, and Kara called her out on it. That was a pretty smart thing to do. They obviously had it planned ahead of time to avoid a debacle like last year when it was made public that Carly had a previous failed record deal. Don't know the story behind it, but I'm sure we'll hear about it. I expect the rumors will start flying right, about, now...
Golden Ticket

Oh Mr. Mudd, you are so misunderstood. I think this was just a country nice guy. I don't think he was trying to threaten the judges at all. He was just saying "thanks y'all, be careful out there" lines often heard in the South, but the city folks didn't get it and thought they were being threatened. I say it all the time. I hope y'all don't feel threatened by me. Anyway, homeboy couldn't sang a lick, as my Gramps would've said.
NO!

Did ya get to see Brent Smith? The young girls will like him. Apparently Pauler and Kara did. Simon said he was "buskerish." Look that one up. I couldn't find a definition anywhere. Nobody in my hood says "buskerish" but from what I gather it means throaty, sorta gruff, if you know what it means please leave a comment and enlighten a sista. Decent voice.
Golden Ticket

Oh my stars. Obionekanobe...or whatever her name was...or as my 7 year old referred to her, "the girl with the lamb voice" ba-a-a-a-a-a
Then there was another sorry dude, Will something, HORRIBLE, then Ryan Willborough, what was up with him? The monochromatic look. Who paints themselves up like a zebra. After that pathetic trifecta I was almost ready to turn off the DVR. Then came...

Matt Giraud, the piano man. His voice was good, not knock your socks off impressive but good. Like Simon, he reminded me of Elliot, whom I liked. But please, no Donny Hathaway songs, not every time anyway. It just gives the air of a lounge singer.
Golden Ticket!

I'm not even gonna mention the geek who tried to learn to sing by watching YouTube....(not by name anyway) but it was funny when he drank all of Pauler's water.

Alexes Grace was from Memphis. She was a young single mother. Out of 11,000 people it is hard for me to believe she was one of the best, but the judges liked her, I wish her luck.
Golden Ticket!

Lenicia Young was the last one to sing. It was an original, boy I'll say. I didn't care for it....maybe I'm too old to appreciate a song that mentions "how she likes his thugish ways"......
Golden Ticket

There were several singers who were actually good. We just didn't get to see them. They had soundbites toward the end of the show. They were all holding Golden Tickets, so I guess we'll see them in HW.

That's all for this week. Keep your DVR's on ready. G'night!!

American Idol San Francisco

2009-01-20T21:43:00.006-06:00

I found tonight's AI a bit boring. Is it just me, or is Randy in a bad mood this season? And Ryan doesn't banter with the folks like he used to. Oh well, tonight we opened up with the Psychic Friends poster girl and laughing hyena, Tatiana DelToro.
I CAN.NOT.BELIEVE she is going to Hollywood. She thought she was the best thing that ever set foot on their stage. I can't wait for her to go toe to toe with bikini girl from last week when they get to Hollywood. They only sent 12 people through from San Francisco and the fact that she was one of them leaves me speechless. And I have one question, if her psychic friend knew who would be in the top 12, why didn't she just go ahead and tell her who's gonna win?
Golden Ticket

Nick Reed was interesting. I don't know if you call that beat boxing or what. But it was entertaining in a frightening sorta way.
NO!

Did y'all see Sofa jacket boy? Dean Anthony Bradford. He looked like a character from Planet Of the Apes. STRANGE.
NO!!

Then there was Jes`us Valensuala....his voice was okay at best, but his cute boys were too much for the female judges. Even Simon gave one of them a hug....
Golden Ticket, by way of guilt..

Akuila Iskew Gholston was by far the most entertaining of everyone auditioning tonight. She brought with her a complete diagram of the human body. At a loss here. She was studying how to be a better singer. Still at a loss. She kept telling Ryan she was singing from her trachea pronounced by her as tray-she-uh......then when she messed up on her song, she said she was singing from the wrong rectum....yes ma'am that is what she said. I had to rewind it 5 times to make sure, but that IS what she said. And a couple of the judges caught it and were laughing so hard they missed the next line when she said, "you have to sing from your lagenical cartilages," as she rubbed her groin area. I believe I snorted out loud somewhere around that last statement. The judges have to laugh themselves silly when they see some of this stuff in replay. Akuila went on to say that she didn't get a Golden Ticket because she was nervous and the judges "irackatated her."

There were a couple of high lights of people who could actually you know SING, when we saw John Twiford, and Adam Lambert who both had good voices, and got coveted golden tickets. But Kai Kalama y'all.....I got all weepy when he called his sick Mamma that he's been takin' care of to tell her he got a golden ticket. And the fact that they were playing Mercy Me singing I Can Only Imagine in the background just did me in.

That's it for now!! See ya tomorrow!

UPDATE** Apparently it is good office workers we are lacking in....

2009-01-20T13:25:00.003-06:00

..and not good doctors after all. Thanks to my good friend Mother of all things Potato, Tater Mama who knows Dr. Martin personally, I called the office back. And just as I am sure most of you had already suspected, Tiffany was oblivious. He IS the doctor I need. And already has my profile worked up and a plan of action!! What a man! Thanks Tater Mama!

What we need is, a Few Good Doctors........

2009-01-20T10:14:00.005-06:00

...or good office helpers really.

Okay, y'all know I haven't held back on all the aches and pains my tired 39 year old body have become acquainted with. I went to the GP, the OB/Gyn and the Gastro doctors all over the last three months with my abdomen pains. They finally all came to the general consensus that it is scar tissue from my previous c-sections and abdominal hysterectomy, that will need to be removed. My most loved OB/GYN doctor would not be able to do it, because he only does female surgeries, and I no longer have those parts....I would need to see a General Surgeon. My doctor had one he recommended highly. After much, MUCH phone time, running all over the North MS and Memphis area to doctors and did I mention much phone time, even emails people, I finally got a referral to a doctor who they say can take care of this. However, he was not the doctor I had originally been referred to because he couldn't take me for some reason..... Of course one of my previously visited doctors offices did the referral AND made the appointment. The patient relations rep called me with the office info and appointment time. I was pleased.

Fast Forward....of course the appointment was about one month out, because you can't get in to see a specialist you haven't been in the care of since birth without a long wait. My appointment is still 3 weeks out, but I thought I would call today and make sure of the address, time, verify that they take my insurance and such so that there are no glitches when I arrive. FOR ONCE my OCD paid off, because here is what happened:

I called, she answered......
"Hello, UT OB/GYN group, this is Tiffany, can I help you?"(this immediately sent up a flag, I've already seen an gyn doctor)

Me: "Yes, is this Dr. Dan Martin's office?"

Tiffany: "Yes, it is."

Me: "Well, I have an appointment with Dr. Martin, and I wanted to verify that you accept Cigna Ins. and get your location, just out of curiosity, is Dr. Martin a general surgeon?"

Tiffany: "No, he's a Reproductive Endocrinologist"

Me: "Okay, this is clearly a test of my medical terminology, but isn't he the doctor I would see if I was TRYING to get pregnant, and having hormonal related difficulties?"

Tiffany: "Yes."

Me: "Okay, I'm thinking he isn't going to be able to help me."

Tiffany: "Oh, Dr. Martin is good, he has helped a lot of women to get pregnant, and I'm sure he'll be able to help you."

Me: "I'm pretty sure they all had a uterus Tiff. And I'm not trying to get pregnant, I have scar tissue from other surgeries that needs to be removed."

Tiff: "Oh, no, he doesn't do things like that."

Me: "Thank you, while Dr. Martin. may not be able to help me, your exuberance has left me much less frustrated."

Tiff: "O.K."

Me: "Good-bye"

And now and I sit here, Tiff's exuberance has worn off, and I am frustrated. Could someone redirect me to square one please?

And I just realized that I have been here typing for some time, and I forgot to turn on the timer, and I have color in my hair. So, I may have purple, or red, or goth black hair, who really knows.

GOTTA GO!

Just Catchin' up...........

2009-01-19T23:37:00.011-06:00

Hey peeps, how was your weekend? As you may or may not have noticed, no blogging for me over the weekend. I had to take care of this:

And this:

And then make these:

And these:

The house was a wreck. I had not taken the time to clean it well since I took all of the Christmas stuff down, and it was in dire need. Not to mention the fact that I went to scrapbook with some friends at church Friday night and when I returned it looked like a bomb had exploded. How does that happen when I leave? Anyway...

I had bought some fabric and promised the kids I would make them some soft flannel sleep pants, their uniform of the day, so I made good on that promise. I obviously invoked the powers of Mahhhhtha Stewart because I made both pairs of sleep pants and finished Elly's baby/scrapbook on Saturday. She is four you know. Maybe I'll get her second year done in time for a wedding gift.

Do you all remember the post about my "non-resolutions" earlier in the month? Well, I had made a silent non-resolution to myself NOT to watch 24 this year. Partly because I don't have the time, but mostly because I no longer have the ability to focus both of my existing brain cells on a plot that twists faster than Aunt Myrtle can leave the table before the check comes. But alas, I sat there perched on the recliner as yet another season is rolled out before my eyes. I'm just a sucker for MacGyver, Navy Seals, all the James Bonds and Spencer For Hire, all rolled up into one. Hey, at least I'm getting two series and a whole bushel of movies out of one viewing time.....but I am faced with the fact that I can't even keep my non-resolutions, oh I am weak people, weak! Tomorrow it's American Idol, and I can't wait to see what they have for us next.

I had better get off of here and read the 736 blogs I have to catch up on, 'cause I got to know every body's bidness like that, and then I have to play at least 27 games of Word Challenge or Pathwords, I can't decide!! Sleep tight!

I got nuthin, really

2009-01-16T00:46:00.002-06:00

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

AI Kansas City.........

2009-01-14T22:42:00.005-06:00

Can we please ban "Over The Rainbow" and "Heard It Through The Grapevine" I mean pulease. How many songs have there been on the top 40 in the last 40 years and we have to hear these same two ovuh and ovuh!!

Tonight we started out with a teeny bopper who thought she had the worlds most powerful voice. I believe her quote was "when I open my mouth people are in disbelief at the powerful voice that comes out"....when we hear this on AI, we can only imagine how bad it's gonna be...and it was. Honey, it's not the powerful voice they're in disbelief over.....
No where near a Golden Ticket

Jason Castro from last year brought his strange little brother to audition this year. Dude, you were number 4 last year, use it. Quit babysitting and get something done. His little brother was not too bad and his voice had that familial resemblance, I'd love to hear them sing together 'cause I'm a choir geek like that.
Golden Ticket

Then there was Vaughn Smith. He was an odd looking character in a Donnie Osmond sorta way. Kara thought he had big instrument. Okay ummm, err, just, NO COMMENT.
Golden Ticket

Did anyone catch the dude in the yellow and orange suit with the funny dance singin' about bananas. Clearly PeeWee Herman was his fashion consultant.
Need I say it? No Golden Ticket.

In comes Matt from Oklahoma, just a short drive away from the ole KC. Had a bluesy voice and I liked his rendition of "Every Time She Goes Away".....Don't know how far it'll get him, but he got a...
Golden Ticket

Then there was Jazz.....Jasmine. Pick a color any color, just pick a color for your hair!! And don't sing ever, ever, again.
No Ticket

I liked Jessica Page Verning who lives in KS with her 93 year old Grandma. Mostly because I have a 90 year old Grandma in KS too.....but she did have a good voice. I usually tend to question the vocal capabilities(don't I sound professional?) of someone who chooses a Janice Joplin song for their audition. Because well, you tend to pick a song that best showcases your range, and control in a situation like this...or not...anyway...
Golden Ticket

Props to the rapping sisters Asia and India. Maybe next season we can see their siblings Africa and Kenya.
Asia no ticket.
India, Golden Ticket

Jamar who yelled "California Dreaming" got through. Now I'm just bewildered.....
Golden Ticket

Anupe AKA Noop Dawg, I'm guessing he's from India. Not what anyone expected to come from him. Not a mind blowing vocal, but good enough to get through. I think we should have some humor from Randy with Noop Dawg.....we'll see...
Golden Ticket

There was the girl from Hickory Hood not too far from here, that had been through the tornado last year. I felt sorry for her. She had a big voice. I think her name was Lil. Don't know if that's Lil as in short for Lillian or 'Lil, as in short for little.....just sayin'
Golden Ticket

Last but not least there was Michael Nicewonder whose own mother tried to tell him he couldn't sing and not to go on there. But he did anyway, and cried a river when they turned him down. Dude was wearing a medal around his neck from chorus in Intermediate School, I'm sure there is a chemical imbalance present here somewhere....
I think they gave him a ticket back home....

Poor, poor Mia. The sleepy Janitorial Engineer (do the contestants make up these titles or does the staff at AI?) who woke up just in time to screech in such a way that caused me to want to stick needles in my ears. Then she called down the wrath of God on the judges for not letting her through.
Bus ticket

This is by no means all of the contestants from tonight, but they are the ones that stuck out in my mind. Towards the end of the show they had the usual run down of the nights biggest losers and did y'all catch the reincarnated Mr. Ed, singing "Signed Sealed Delivered" Those teeth need their own apartment. MAN!!

I still don't have a favorite. We'll see what happens next week. From the previews, it looks like there will be blog fodder a plenty.....

See ya tomorrow.

American Idol, you do not fail.............

2009-01-14T15:54:00.013-06:00

....to leave me speechless at your exploitation of ignorance.

Okay, maybe speechless was an exaggeration!

The first few shows of the season are always the best for me. I love to see the levels to which morons will stoop for 15 minutes of fame. The only thing I hate about it is that you can usually tell within the first 3 seconds after the ~~groupie~~ contestant opens their mouth whither or not they have enough talent to sing at their cousin's wedding. In these opening shows they tend to only show the really good contestants and the ones that stink so bad it peels the enamel right off Simon's veneers. There are many we don't get to see who are really good, and could go either way, will they? won't they? I'd like to see a few more of those.

But alas, what do you do when someone has no talent and yet insists on humiliating themselves at a grasp for fame? Exploit them for laughs, at least that's what AI does, and so shall I.....Here goes....

Alright, bear in mind I just watched about an hour and twenty minutes of AI from last night before the kids absolutely melted and I had to turn on the Wii. I only have DVR on one TV, the same with Wii and wouldn't you know it, they are on the same one. So far I can say the only thing better than watching AI in the past is watching it on HD which is new at our house this year...YEAH!!

So, thus far.....I don't like the new judge Kara Dio~~rhea~~Guardi. I may be jumping to conclusions, but she seems a bit ~~like a wench~~ snarky to me. Moving right along....
What did you guys think of the contestant Michael Gurr? He reminded me of a rabid dog. And his name was so apropos because he put a "grrrr" into every word. Scary..

I noticed Randy got some new glasses this season. I wonder how many times he's gonna reference his weekend stint with Journey this year? Maybe he can invite that Chinese guy that sings like Steve Perry to do a special on the show. Sorry, just had to throw that in there. Only real Journey fans will get that one.....I am a product of the 80's what can I say?

Okay, usher in Bikini Ho. All I can say is "poor Ryan." Is her white trash brain really so lame that she doesn't know? Or did she think her skimpy bikini from Baby Gap was gonna change things. He was almost as uncomfortable when she kissed him as he was when he realized he was trying to HIGH FIVE a BLIND DUDE! HELLO??? He did a better save there though. He was frozen in his ~~closet~~ tracks when she laid one on him. Paula was more comfortable when Simon came at her with his tongue out in Season 6, or was it 5? They run together.......

I can't believe Simon voted for her. Obviously he's had one too many face lifts because his eyes are apparently covering his ears! In the past he didn't let his eyes over rule his ears. She was horrible, but he couldn't take his eyes off her,um,err vocal chords.

I have no more, until I see more. I saw on Fox.com that Constantine has a blog about the show...How long exactly can you drag out 15 minutes?

See ya tonight!

Ladies and Gentlemen of the jury,...

2009-01-13T22:54:00.006-06:00

...my client has fallen in pee and can't get up......

Hello peeps. Hubs has been on jury duty for the last couple of days. It was one of those trials that keeps you on the edge of your seat in hair splitting suspense. Yeah, some guy slipped in some pee in a public restroom and wanted some cool cash for his trouble. There was nothing wrong with him. It happened 4 years ago, he's been to the doctor twice, both times they found nothing wrong, yet he sues. No wonder our courts are so back logged. And where do you think he found his attorney? I mean seriously. I can see the commercial now.
"Have you taken a prescription medication that caused you stomach upset? Have you been late to work because someone's car broke down in your lane and you were docked 5minutes pay? Or have you simply slipped in some urine and need a little extra cash? Why work, when you can sue? Call 1-800-GOT-MINE and we'll get your money for you?*****paid testimonial following....'Hi, I'm Porter C. Johnson, I slipped in some pee and now I have a shiny new car and a deluxe mobile home, thank you Mr. Flunk E. Attorney.'"

Of course, he left empty handed, yeah jurors. And hubs drove to Oxford and back for two days in a row to listen to this drivel. He has been called for Federal jury duty 4 times in the past few years, but was never picked for a trial. Then he gets this. A bit disappointing, but at least it only lasted for two days......

I know I promised to be here with my AI overview this evening, but I didn't make it home from the mountain of errands I had to run before it was over. So, I will have to catch up on two episodes tomorrow. Talk to ya then!!

Gee, your hair smells like...

2009-01-09T23:27:00.004-06:00

..Bacon? My pretend BFF BooMama mentioned on her blog the other day that she had been making a hot breakfast each morning lately which left her hair smelling like bacon every day. This made me laugh out loud. My hair has always smelled like bacon EVERY. TIME. I cook it. I've always wondered if anyone else could smell it, or just me. I've tried a few different ways to cook it, even in the microwave, but it STILL smells up my do.

Well, I lurv me some bacon, and every Sunday by the time we get out of church my stomach is growling so loud every body on our row can hear it. So, I decided I was gonna make some bacon and eggs before church. Now, I ~~move my lips~~ sing in the choir, and it's a bit close up there, so my first thought was, "what if every one notices my hair smells like bacon?" Do you think I let that keep me from my bacon? Heck no, I pulled on a Disney princess shower cap and threw that bacon in the pan! "Did my hair smell like hickory smoked pork", you ask. No, it smelled like the stinky cheap vinyl they used to make the shower cap. At least I had my bacon.