Brandon's Puppy

How Could I Forget?!

It completely slipped my mind in my earlier post to mention that Matty is 10 months old today. I know I say this quite often, but I really can't believe he is so big already! My friend K and I were talking just this morning about how a year ago we were enjoying a pizza lunch (half the office was away at a conference, as they are now) and I was pregnant, and my due date seemed so far away. And now here we are, just two months shy of Matty's first birthday...
That reminds me, I should really book the park for the birthday party. Otherwise, it will end up being at my house, and that is just not possible. I can't fit that many people in my house!

Sweet Treats

A few years ago, a former coworker received a cookie gift basket from her daughter for her 60th birthday. Everyone in the office had something to say about it, it was so cute! I never got around to asking her where her daughter ordered it from, but I was recently searching online for gift baskets and found them at DelightfulDeliveries.com. The site was recently recognized by Hot 100 as being among the best in the nation for the coming year. Here’s their press release:

DelightfulDeliveries.com Recognized as Hot 100 Retail Website

Internet Retailer Ranks Website Among Best in Nation for 2008

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--DelightfulDeliveries.com, the premiere Internet Gift Retailer and America’s #1 Gift Basket Website, today announced it has been named one of The Hot 100 Retail Websites for 2008 by leading industry magazine, Internet Retailer. The Hot 100 list represents the best of what retailers are doing online, highlighting innovation and setting the standards in online for what the rest of the industry should be doing.

DelightfulDeliveries.com, a privately-held company, with one of the largest and most unique selections of gourmet gifts, ranked alongside larger sites such as Dell, Nike and Amazon.com, by building its award-winning site on selection, functionality, speed and the complete customer experience. A recent re-design has improved the customer’s shopping experience to make holiday gift-giving easy and enjoyable, including rating and reviews, behavioral recommendations and free shipping offers.

“We are extremely honored to be recognized as a pacesetter in online retailing,” said Eric Lituchy, Founder and CEO of DelightfulDeliveries.com. “We pride ourselves on using the latest technology to make gift-giving fun and easy. Being named among the best in the nation validates we are succeeding in our efforts to deliver the best possible customer experience.”

In addition to making Internet Retailer’s The Hot 100 list for 2008, DelightfulDeliveries.com was recently recognized by Inc. Magazine as part of its Inc. 5000, which highlights the fastest growing private companies.

DelightfulDeliveries.com offers over 2000 unique and delicious gifts from America’s best brands to the finest boutique shops. Consumers can easily shop the site by gift or food category, occasion, type and best-seller. Corporate gift-givers can choose from hundreds of customized gourmet treats.

For additional information, and to see a complete selection of gifts available, visit www.DelightfulDeliveries.com.

About Delightful Deliveries

DelightfulDeliveries.com is an award-winning website that began in 1998 and quickly established itself as one of the premier Internet gift retailers. Its mission is to bring great products to gift-givers, while providing world-class service. The company selects its offerings from a broad variety of fine food gift products for consumers and for corporate gifts, and gathers them in one place to make the selection process quick and simple.

I was browsing their easy-to-use site, and they don’t just feature cookie baskets. They offer chocolate baskets, fruit baskets, gourmet food baskets, floral arrangements, a variety of gift towers, and baked goods as well. The “It’s a Boy” cookie basket is adorable, but then so is the lollipop basket. My friend is a lover of all things chocolate, so maybe the Box of Treats is a better option, and she can use the box in the baby’s nursery. They've got plenty of options for other ocassions too, like the Snowman Tower, the mouth-watering Dancing Deer Black Forest Cake, the Over the Hill Birthday Colossal Cookie, and the Organic Fruit Banquet for the health-conscious folk. They feature popular brands like Mrs. Fields, Ghirardelli's, Starbucks and many others.
So many cute choices. I guess I’ve still got plenty of time to decide. I've got to go get a snack now. Suddenly, I'm craving something sweet...

A Few Things

- It's Friday! =) =) =)

- I made another cheesecake last night, and brought it to work today. I guess everyone liked it because it's long gone.

- We're putting up our tree tomorrow. Which means I have to clean tonight.

- My birthday is next Friday, and my friend K's wedding is the Friday after that. I tried on the dress I wore for my best friend's wedding in the summer of 2002, and it fits! Hooray! Now I just need shoes for it.

EOAS, Week 19

I have a confession to make. I've been delaying the EOAS postings because I am quickly running out of pages. I've got maybe two more sets to share, and then I'm done with Brandon's pages. I've been a bad, bad scrapper and have yet to start Matty's book. Well, that's not entirely true. There is one page done. I just can't seem to find the time to scrap. I'll plan to sit down for a couple of hours on a given day, but then I feel terribly guilty that there are things to do, like laundry, or cleaning, or folding laundry...
I think I'm going to have to go to a Crop at the local scrapbook store to actually get some pages done. (Claud, Lilli, you in?)
So here are a few more pages, all from the Fall of 2005. Hope you like 'em!

I had blogged about Brandon playing the piano when we took these pictures. To this day, he will visit Adrian and Lilli and he'll sit at the piano and try and play.

These pictures were taken a day or two after Hurricane Wilma. Marilu was just days away from having Andrew, and we were all frustrated from being couped up in our homes during the hurricane, so we decided to head out and enjoy an afternoon at the park. So much fun was had, the kids didn't want to leave!

Our first trip to the pumpkin patch. I love the pages I found for this layout!

That's it for now. More soon! (How soon, I don't know, but soon.)

Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd

I’ve always had a bit of a crush on Johnny Depp. I watched 21 Jump Street when I was younger, and that’s when I got hooked. I’ve seen almost all his movies, but my favorites are “Benny & Joon” and the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. I haven’t seen “Benny & Joon” in ages, but my absolute favorite scene is where his character, Sam, is making grilled cheese sandwiches with an iron. It’s completely bizarre, but absolutely brilliant at the same time. He and Mary Stuart Masterson were just perfect together in that movie.
As for Pirates of the Caribbean…Jack Sparrow is one of my favorite movie characters. On the surface he’s a self-absorbed, deceitful, immoral pirate, but throughout the trilogy there are glimpses of a good and moral person, even if he still is a pirate. I have no particular favorite scenes because any scene with Jack Sparrow is a riot. If Jack Sparrow’s around, trouble is sure to follow. I’m looking forward to getting the DVD for “At World’s End” in December.
Speaking of December, that’s when Johnny’s recent movie, “Sweeney Todd”, hits theaters (the 21st, to be exact). I had to visit the official Sweeney Todd movie site to find out what it was about because I had no idea what the storyline was. Turns out that Sweeney Todd is unjustly sent to prison, and loses his family while he’s there. He seeks revenge on those that convicted him, with Helena Bonham Carter as his accomplice. It’s dark and morbid, typical of director Tim Burton. If you want to hear more about it, you can also visit Sweeney Todd on MySpace. It seems very interesting. I'm going to coax hubby to take me to see it.

Internetless

The network at work was down for most of the morning, including phones, email and internet.
I texted wb at 10:02am:
ARGH! Network down at work. No email, no internet, no phones, nada! =(.

Once the connection was restored at 11:51am (there went any hope of leaving work early!), I emailed her to let her know I was back in business. I found our exchange quite humorous:

Me: (Email subject: "Did you get my text?") We're back up..YAY!
wb: Yes, but I didn’t notice until you emailed. Yay!
Me: I felt so….lost without internet. =/
wb: I thought I felt a disturbance in the force!
Me: You know what, I’m blogging this!! LOL

I loved the Star Wars reference. It amused me.

Writers' Strike

So far, I haven't been affected by writers' strike in Hollywood and NYC, but I will feel its effects very soon. ABC has stopped production on most shows because they've run out of scripts. This includes Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, and Desperate Housewives, which airs it's last new episode this coming weekend. My other favorites are okay for now: Journeyman and Nip/Tuck. Rescue Me is still up in the air, though. Check out your favorites with this handy-dandy little chart I found at zap2it.com.
I hope the writers and studios come to an agreement soon. They deserve what they are asking for.

Apogee Search

I’ve come across the name “Apogee Search” a couple of times, and I thought they were just another search engine, but that’s not the case at all. They are one of the largest search engine marketing firms in the world. T If you make a living from the internet and need to increase your traffic, then you should definitely look into the services offered by Apogee Search. These include paid search advertising, natural search engine optimization, pay per call management, ad exchange management, and online media planning and buying. They offer customized Dallas SEO strategies based on the needs of their customers, and in turn will boost visits, and sales for your company. I strongly urge you to contact them for a consultation, and in the meantime, check out their site and blog for some useful marketing information.

In Case You Didn't Know

The actress that plays Kate on Nip/Tuck is not the same actress that was in the movie Summer School. Kate is played by Paula Marshall. Rhonda was played by Shawnee Smith.
I know, I know, you couldn't go on without this clarification.

That is all.

;-)

We've been there so many times, we can pass for locals!

My birthday is fast approaching, and I’m still not sure what I want to do to celebrate. Back in the day (also known as “before we had children”), hubby and I would hop in the car, along with our friends, and drive down to Key West for the day. Sometimes we’d take the World Famous Conch Train Tour, or we’d rent scooters and drive ourselves around. And of course there were times when we’d just skip vehicles altogether and see it all on foot. Each trip was always different, but two things remained constant: we’d have a celebratory birthday lunch at one of the restaurants, and we didn’t leave Key West until after sunset.
We haven’t done one of these day trips since we’ve had kids. Logistically speaking, it’s a lot harder for everyone to get the day off, and we don’t have the ease of fitting in just one or two cars like we used to with all the baby gear in tow. When I saw that Trusted Tours and Attractions was having a contest where new subscribers to their e-newsletter are automatically entered to win 4 free tickets to tours in a city of their choice, and that the offer ends December 14th (a week after my birthday), I took it as a sign. We may just be headed down South for my birthday in two weekends.

Trusted Tours and Attractions offers tickets to a variety of cities: Atlanta, Boston, New York, Savannah, Washington DC…my choice for the free tickets? New York, of course!

The Colors

The meme I posted below reminded me that I should share the pictures I took of a rainbow. It was visible on my way to work on Halloween morning, but as you might have guessed I was driving. By the time I was at a stop and could get a decent shot, it was gone.

Did you see that there were two?

The Colors of Friendship

I mentioned earlier today that wb tagged me with a lovely friendship meme. I am quite touched that she considers me a good friend, as I do her. Thank you, friend.

The Colors of Friendship

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel. All claimed that they were the best. The most important. The most useful. The most beautiful. The favorite.

Green said: “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees and leaves. Without me, all animals would die. Look over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.”

Blue interrupted: “You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace, you would all be nothing.”

Yellow chuckled: “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, and the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun.”

Orange started next to blow her trumpet: “I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangoes, and papayas. I don’t hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one gives another thought to any of you.”

Red could stand it no longer he shouted out: “I am the ruler of all of you. I am blood - life’s blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire into the blood. Without me, the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poinsettia and the poppy.”

Purple rose up to his full height: He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: “I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am the sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me! They listen and obey.”

Finally Indigo spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: “Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.”

And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced of his or her own superiority. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of bright lightening, thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

In the midst of the clamor, rain began to speak: “You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know that you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.”

Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands.

The rain continued: “From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of color as a reminder that you can all live in peace. The Rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow.” And so, whenever a good rain washes the world and a Rainbow appears in the sky, to let us remember to appreciate one another.

Now, for the tagging.

Claudia, you've been my friend for over 15 years. We've been through so many things together, it's only fitting that you be the first person I pass this on to. Love you!

Lilli, for lack of siblings, you sure do have a lot of friends that love you like a sister. Never doubt that I am one of those. Lots of Love!

Tere, I haven't known you as long as I've known these other lovely ladies, but you are one of the most intelligent, funny, strong women I know. I hope our friendship continues to flourish as the years pass.

Marta, you are practically family. I can't explain why I love you and your family as much as I do, having only known you for less than a year, but I do. It's something I can't explain. Whenever my day needs brightening, all I have to do is go to your blog and read your wonderful posts. You truly are Great! ;-)

And last but not least, Just Me. I do hope that someday we have the opportunity to meet in person. Maybe we can meet halfway? ;-)

Payday loans

I just looked at our checking account balance online, and I’m so glad that both hubby and I get paid on Friday. Though it’s been less bumpy than anticipated, I’m still adapting to getting paid just once a month. Hubby gets paid weekly, and that’s our saving grace. If that weren’t the case, we’d have to resort to other options, like applying for quick pay day loans online. The process is fast and easy, we meet the requirements, and it’s free to apply online. As each month passes, we're adjusting more and more, but it's nice to know this option is there if an emergency arises and we need cash fast.

Scary Santa, part 2

Claudia just posted about how Christian clung to her like a monkey last week when they attempted to take his picture with Santa. We had much of the same at our house this weekend. Hubby and I took the boys to The Falls on Saturday afternoon (they have one of the nicest looking Santas in town) for what I hoped would be the simple, painless process of taking a picture with Jolly Ole St. Nick. I was wrong. Things were going well while we were in line, even while we waited for the "elf" to set up the camera properly. Matty interacted with Santa while I was carrying him, smiling and waving, but once I sat him down, that was it. The tears would not stop until I picked him up. He was trying to wiggle off of Santa's lap, and putting his arms up so daddy or I would pick him up. We tried taking a few shots to see if some of them might look like perhaps Matty wasn't crying, just unhappy, but no luck. I picked him up and consoled him and we took one of just Brandon which looked great, but we didn't buy it. Just one sheet was $15.99, and I wasn't going to spend the money if the entire point was to document Matty's first Christmas. We can do some holiday-themed pictures at home for free. (*wink, wink, nudge, nudge* aimed at Tia Lilli and her mad photo skillz).

The (screechy) Sound of Music

I confess: I am a band geek. I learned how to play violin in 8th grade and played clarinet throughout high school. All that time spent learning instruments and now, 15 years later, I can’t remember the difference between a Treble Clef and a Bass Clef. It’s a shame, really. I never bought either instrument, but perhaps if I had, I’d dust off the old violin and get some lessons to strengthen my very rusty skills. I’d much prefer learning by watching a DVD in the privacy of my home, rather than going to a private teacher or school and completely embarrassing myself.

8 secrets/things I haven't blogged about

Claudia tagged me with this meme, 8 secrets/things I haven't blogged about. I agree with her, I'm not going to reveal my secrets because then they wouldn't be secrets, and what's the fun in that?! So here are 8 things I haven't blogged about, in whatever order they pop into my head:

1. I saw a peacock on the way to work yesterday, waddling it's way towards a street from someone's front yard. It's in a neighborhood near the highway, a shortcut I take to avoid some of the traffic on 8th Street after dropping off Matty. I found it very strange to see a peacock in this particular neighborhood (Westchester, for those familiar with Miami). It's not uncommon in areas like Coral Gables, Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay, but it just seemed so out of place in Westchester.

2. Hubby lost his wedding ring last Wednesday. He was frantically looking for it all over the house late at night, even losing sleep over it. See, he works with his hands, and sometimes he puts it in his pocket when it bothers him while at work. We concluded that it must have fallen out of his pocket somewhere, and we were hoping it would turn up, either in the car or our driveway or his work station. He woke up on Thanksgiving and headed over to his job before having breakfast to take a look around. No such luck.Well, he shows up to work on Friday, and guess what he sees on the floor as he's getting out of the car? Yup! It was there. I told him if he has to take it off while at work, at least put it on the glove compartment or the ashtray of his car for safe-keeping.

3. I'm thinking of going back to school in the near future, maybe the next year or so. There's a graduate program that only requires ten classes, and I'll have a Master's Degree in hand in a year and a half. The only set-back is that I have to pay the taxes (but no tuition, part of my employee benefits) and they are do at the start of the semester. Maybe that can be a goal for next Fall. We'll see...

4. We made a pitstop at two Targets on our way home from my sister's on Sunday night, looking for Matty's Christmas present. At the second Target, I got off and ran in to look while hubby stayed in the car with the boys (they were both asleep). I ran into Cristian Castro, a famous Mexican singer/actor. Well, I didn't really "run into" him, but on two different ocassions when I was going down two different aisles, there he was, with his wife (maybe girlfriend? I heard he was getting separated a while back) and daughter. I'm a chickensh** when it comes to talking to famous people, so I didn't say hi, and I should have. He was a frequent customer at my husband's old job, and even got me an autograph once (I thought I had posted about that, but now I can't find it...oh well.) And, I was going to call hubby and tell him, but I absentmindedly left my phone in the car. Doh.

5. I never told you guys about the awesome deal I got on a double stroller two weekends ago. I went to Babies R Us looking for the Jeep double stroller, the really light one that folds up like an umbrella. It retails for $79.99 plus tax, which is fairly inexpensive for a double stroller. Well, I'm looking around the stroller area and waltz to the end of the hallway where they have clearance items. There it was, the double stroller I was looking for, opened up and on display, the open box right next to it. I guess someone must have bought it, opened it up, was not pleased, and returned it. Even the wheels were perfectly clean. Since it was an open item, and I had a 15% coupon in my purse, I got it for $58.20. I was so delighted...and still am!

6. Brandon and I re-organized the playroom on Thursday morning, and I told him that sometime very soon we were going to sort through his older toys and pick out stuff to give to charity. I've been telling him for a while that he has way too many toys, and that there are kids in the world that don't have any toys, at all, and that he should share his toys with those kids. So I asked him on Thursday, when we were organizing, "Brandon, what are we going to do with some of your toys?" and he said, "Give them to the kids that have no toys, mommy." He gets it. I'm so proud. :-)

7. Brandon, Matty and I went to our friend Vivian's house for dinner last night. Her husband made spaghetti and meatballs, which was quite tasty. Their youngest, Julie (who will be 3 in February), requested a second helping, and said, "I want lots of snakes, daddy". How cute is that?!

8. I was tagged by wb last week, and haven't gotten around to passing that one on, but I will. I need to take my time since I need to do that coding thing. In exchange, I am tagging you with this one. =P

About our driveway

We just got a notice from our HOA that we have to resurface our driveway. It’s got a couple of oil stains, and the seal looks quite worn. We’re going to attempt to re-seal it ourselves next week. Let’s see how that goes! I'm guessing it should be easier to do than, say, resealing garage floors. Sometimes I wish we had a garage. We could use the storage and it would be nice to be able to protect the cars from the elements. Then again, it would be nice to not have to worry about every little nit-picky thing the HOA nags us about.

Monday, again?!

Are you all still recovering from the long weekend? I am. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, and I didn't even do half the things I wanted to do. Our backyard still needs a makeover, the house needs cleaning, and the bills need paying and filing/rganizing. I'll be cleaning the house bit by bit throughout the week because we would like to put up our holiday stuff over the coming weekend.
The pluses: all the laundry's done, the Christmas shopping is done (except two gifts which we're holding off on for a couple of weeks so that my credit card can cool off), and we got an AWESOME deal on an artificial pre-lit tree on Saturday. That takes tree-shopping off the list! :-)

Visuals!

Thanksgiving Day pics are now on flickr. Check them out here.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

You may recall I mentioned a couple of weeks ago how Matty mimics others laughing. Last weekend we captured it on video (well, not we, Claudia. I was off-camera making him laugh, she was videographer.)
Enjoy!

A Slice of Deliciousness

On Tuesday evening, my uncle called to see if I would bring dessert to Thanksgiving dinner. I told him that I could try and make something, and he suggested I make Marta's Dulce de Leche Cheesecake. It seemed like a toughie, but I thought I'd give it a try. I went to work on Wednesday determined to purchase anything I might need after work. Fortunately, I was let go early, just a bit before 3PM, and went to the supermarket to get the essentials before picking up Matty. I picked up Brandon, got home, put the cans of condensed milk in the slow cooker as instructed, and headed back out for a couple of errands. We got home a couple of hours later and I made dinner, bathed the boys and took a shower before the baking began. I didn't go to bed until 1:30 in the morning, but it was well worth it because the end result was absolutely delicious! (or at least that's what everyone said. I hope they were being honest, not just being nice.) It was tasty but not repugnant, as some cheesecakes can be. I'm making another to take to my sister's house tomorrow for a small get-together, and maybe next week I'll try to make an Oreo cheesecake (I saw the recipe somewhere.) What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

May you all have a joyous, bountiful holiday.

Love, The Dufaus

Waiting for lunch

We were supposed to start our Thanksgiving luncheon at 12:30, but apparently the food was delivered late or something, and now is when the "prep volunteers" are getting everything ready. I didn't have my usual mid-morning snack this morning, and I'm so hungry right now, I'm extremely tempted to run downstairs and get a bag of chips or something. But, knowing my luck, as soon as I get on the elevator the party will begin, and I'll be last in line for food.
Hopefully we'll get to go home early after we stuff our faces with that yummy food, but for now, I'm just sitting here...waiting...

The Importance of Customer Service

We’ve all been subjected to lousy customer service: that rude waiter at your favorite restaurant, or the cashier at the mall who is on the phone instead of ringing up your purchases. There’s also those occasions where the service has been exceptional, and you want to spread the word about your experience and that wonderful salesperson you encountered. Measuredup.com allows you to share your frustrations or your praise. Companies that monitor Measuredup.com and likely address the situation, be it good or bad, giving you the the last word in customer service. The site is very user-friendly, and I'm particularly fond of the "smiley" faces used for ratings.
What do you think of it?

It's Booked!

After a couple of obstacles, Matty's baptism is finally booked for January 20th. Closer to his birthday than I wanted, but I've got proper time to plan and prepare. Their birthday party will be the following weekend, the 27th. January is going to be quite a busy month for us.

I have to get him his own outfit instead of using Brandon's, which I thought would be a sweet touch. Brandon was baptized when he was 7 months old, and there's no way Matty will fit in it when his baptism is 10 days before his first birthday!

Hard Work and Achy Backs

Hubby’s been working his a** for the last four months, and he’s completely useless to me when he gets home from work. He’s the car wash guy at one of the local hubs of a car rental place, and it’s weekends like this one coming up that really do a number on him. His back aches, his legs ache, his arms ache. Every couple of days I’ll give him a massage, but it’s just not enough. There are days when he’s so busy at work that he hardly has time for lunch. He usually has a day or two off a week, but then I need him to help me run errands, chase the kids, or do things around the house and he simply does not find the time to rest his weary bones. As it is he’s prone to backaches, no thanks to a herniated disc and scoliosis, which he’s suffered from since he was a child (so bad it stunted his growth).
I told him that next time I go over to Walgreens I’ll get him a tube of Freeze It Gel to ease his aching back, shoulders and muscles. Since it can be used up to four times a day, he can take a roll-on tube to work and have it there for the really crazy days.

If we won a year’s supply of Freeze It, it would be a great thing. Not only would it be beneficial to hubby, but I’d benefit from it too. There are days that the baby will wake up early in the morning and in order for us to get some much needed sleep, hubby will bring him to our bed. I end up on the edge of the bed in a semi-fetal position, resulting in lower back pain. Freeze It helps alleviate arthritis pain too, and I know a bunch of people who could try some from my year's-worth supply when they come over to my house.

I appreciate hubby working so hard, but with this constant aching, I'd much rather he take it easy, for his sake and mine.

What to do, what to do

I'll be 31 in a little over 2 weeks. We won't be having a big bash like last year since there are two costly events coming up (the baptism and the boys' party), but I would like to do mark the ocassion with some sort of outing. I would like to go see the new Disney movie, Enchanted. Another idea is going to dinner, since that's a luxury nowadays. Or should we just be frugal and cut a cake at home with a small group of family and friends?

Thoughts?

They say it's the thought that counts, right?

It's so aggravating to see the perfect presents for my loved ones, and not be able to buy them. Case in point: this Globetrotter's LogBook® would be PERFECT for my cousin Alex, who loves to travel. It’s a souvenir book that lists all 193 countries in the world, and includes items like maps, time zone information, and currency information, and a detailed flight register and vaccination log. But my favorite feature (like the scrapper that I am) is the sections within each country for personal mementos: a postage stamp from Italy, a postcard from Greece, a petal from a tulip in Holland.
The book is from Belgium, and sells for 12.95 Euros. That’s just under $20.00. Not bad at all! But alas, we are only purchasing gifts for children this year.

I should have been home, blogging

Hubby, our friend Adrian, my sister and I went to a baptismal class last night. They provided us with certificates that I need to show at the church with when I go reserve the date for the baptism (which I'm doing tonight). Can I just say it was a big waste of time? I know I shouldn't say that, but really, it was. It is my understanding that these classes are required by the Church to elaborate on the meaning of baptism, and the responsibilities of the parents and Godparents. The four volunteers from the church that led the talk were very nice, but it just dragged on. One particular person went off on a tangent for quite a while. And to close, they were going to show a video but there was only audio.
At least it's done with now, and the planning can resume. I just hope there's availability before the end of the year.

Money makes the world go 'round

The current state of the economy is not being very kind to most people. It’s not just the plunging housing market, but the rising cost of oil, groceries, daycare…everything is getting more and more expensive. It seems like money doesn’t stretch like it used to. Consolidating bills is a great way to lower monthly payments while reducing interest rates. If you’re really in a rut, applying for bad credit loans can help you get back on track financially by rebuilding your credit history.

It's so easy to just pull out a credit card and charge things we don't really need. I've been there, and I still do it from time to time, but I stop myself by thinking about my children and the things I can otherwise do with that money (save for their education, pay off our house). The strategy works, since I want nothing more than to provide for them as best I can, and do I really need another shirt or pair of pants? I can save that money, and the interest potentially incurred, and put it in the bank for the things that really matter.

20K, for real this time!

I've passed 20K hits. Funny thing, the 20K visitor? It was none other than me! I clicked on the blog last night to go down my blogroll. LOL
But, visitor #20,001 was someone who dropped by from Warsaw, Indiana.

Thanks for coming by and reading! yOU ARE THE BEST!!

True friends are forever

I was M.I.A. yesterday because I spent the day with a very old, very dear friend of mine, his wife, and their two kids. I've known C since I was about 10 years old. He was the first boy I ever had a crush on. He's from New Jersey; our families would cross paths during summer vacation every year at the Hilyard in Miami Beach. I eventually outgrew the crush, and the hotel has been gone for a few years (replaced by, what else?, condos!), but our friendship has survived both time and distance. They moved to South Florida about two years ago, but this is the first chance in that time we had finally been able to coordinate some time together.
We had lunch and hung out for a while, and it was great. I took a moment and reflected on how cool it was that our kids were playing together. What a difference from last week's reflective moment.

On a related note, the Sheraton Bal Harbour was demolished yesterday morning to make room for even more overpriced condos. The Sheraton holds a special place in my heart. It's part of those childhood memories of staying at the beach with family and friends. In the evenings, we'd hound my aunt to let us walk two blocks to the Sheraton at night-by ourselves!- with the other kids staying at the hotel (C and his family included) to play video games and buy candy and magazines from the gift shop. Most of the time we got to go, albeit with a chaperone.

It so sad that my children will never get to enjoy these places as we did, but I'm comforted in knowing I'm creating new memories for them to hold dear 20 years from now.

A Matter of Perception

Recently I was thinking how something so simple as vocabulary can completely alter our idea of something. For example, if someone mentions a home with a conservatory, you think of an extension to a home with a beautiful landscape visible through the windows of a gorgeous Victorian-style home with perfect landscaping in the middle of Europe somewhere, surrounded by snow-capped mountains and winding roads.
Now, what do you think of when you hear the words Florida room? Same theory, different picture. You may imagine a gathering room in a home in Florida, with a backyard full of palm trees and tropical flowers blooming. The sky is a clear blue, and you can almost smell the salt air from the beach a few miles away.
Conservatory, sunroom, Florida room, family room: it’s all the same thing. Neither is any lovelier than the other. It’s just all based on what you’ve been exposed to and what your imagination comes up with.
All this to say: I need to work on my backyard this coming weekend, desperately. I’d like more pleasant scenery to look at than 2-foot high weeds.

It's Finally Here!!

What is, you may ask? The Harvest Festival, of course! Many people I know, including me, look forward to this every year. I didn't budget for it this year, so I probably won't buy anything...ah, who am I kidding?! I always get at least an ornament or two. They have so many cute things! Last year I purchased an outdoor decorative stake with a wooden gingerbread man holding a swag with four little hearts with each of our names on it. That reminds me, I don't think I had Matty's name put on it last year, I'll have to take it and have it written in.
Anyway, for those locals who'd like to go, it's held at the Fair Expo Center from 10-5 Saturday and Sunday. Check out the website I linked to above, there's a $1 off coupon in there somewhere. My sister and I will be there tomorrow around noon. Who else is going to be there?

(p.s. this is not a paid post...I love this festival so much, I have to give it props.If you've been, you know what I'm talking about!)

Personalized Presents

Last year for Christmas, my Godmother gave Brandon a personalized book featuring him and the characters from the movie Toy Story. The year before that she got him a personalized stepstool shaped like a train for his room. This year she plans on getting him the "My Special Christmas Adventure" book. Can you tell she's a big fan of personalized gifts for children?

Sad

Sorry for the lack of blogging today. I’ve been feeling a bit blue. This post from Tere hit home with me today, and while I may not share all the sad, complicated details why, I will say this: A year ago, what I considered a very special friendship ended. It is very sad to know that a friendship that spanned 15 years was not a friendship at all. The other person ended it because they blamed me for something that occurred in their life that I had nothing to do with, except I offered a shoulder to cry on. I’ve attempted communications several times in the last year, even apologized for what I *didn’t* do, to no avail. While I still maintain contact with the person’s family (who I hold very dear), I have not seen or spoken to this person in months.
I know that things happen for a reason, but it still stings. It’s for the best in the end, I know, but that won’t stop it from hurting.
(This post may be deleted later …it was a bit therapeutic to write it out, but it really shouldn’t be out there.)

A necessary evil

I realized last week that I neglected to inform you all on the status of my home equity line request last month. Unfortunately, I was declined. The bad news: our loan to value amount is too high. The good news: I got my credit score, and I'm happy to report it's currently at 696. I was in shock! I've never been so close to 700 before. If I had a small business, it's be a breeze to get a small business loan and use that to pay down my debt. Then again, if I had a small business, my debt would surely be higher and we'd have other problems to deal with.
There's nothing more we can do but wait (im)patiently for the housing market to stabilize again so our value goes up, and the loan to value ratio widens. In the meantime, we're keeping our heads above water by spending wisely and cutting costs.

Vocalizations

Matty has been quite the barrel of fun lately (more than usual). He has conversations with his pacifier and toys while in the car when we're driving to the sitter's house. He uses different tones and inflections. It's a riot to hear him! And he mimics laughter. If he hears someone laugh, he laughs too. It's a very amusing sound- part laughter, part fake coughing. I'll see if I can get him on video and post it.

The Marvels of Modern Medicine

I’ve got some unsightly battle scars courtesy of my pregnancies, and no, it’s not stretch marks. I’ve got spider veins on both my thighs, though my right thigh has significantly more than my left. The culprit is that dang preeclampsia I was diagnosed with while pregnant with Brandon. Not only was I swollen everywhere, but I gained 41 pounds. While this is in the “normal” range, it did take a toll on my body. Fortunately, with Matty’s pregnancy, I only gained 13 pounds and was back to my pre-pregnancy weight in no time. But the spider veins remain. They are usually not a problem but sometimes, when I’ve spent too much time on my feet (shopping, theme parks, etc) or in one position (like sitting at my desk at work) they sting and hurt until the next day. If it gets worse, I’m considering laser treatment to get rid of them. Have any of you had experience with this sort of thing?

Because I Deserve It

As a reward for his good behavior at the dentist, Brandon and I made a pit-stop at Target before dropping him off at school. He was pleased with his selections, a train and freight car from the $1 section that had an uncanny resemblance to Thomas. I returned a pair of pants I bought him last week because the button didn't snap. I purchased a couple of Christmas gifts for him and Matty, and he didn't even notice! Best of all, I bought myself an early birthday present: A PacMan video game (Like this one, but not Super Pac Man. I got "regular" Pac Man)! It was on sale, just $10 this week, and I've wanted one for a long time. I can't wait to get home and play with it, but I'll be responsible and do the things I need to do first.

Pearly Whites

I took Brandon to his very first dentist appointment this morning. I'm proud to report that his teeth are perfect! Not a single cavity, no swollen gums (gingivitis), nothing! The dentist did say he has a bit of cramping, that it's not really a problem now, but it will be when his permanent teeth come in. We'll deal with that when the time comes.
As far as his behavior, I cannot complain. He let them do what they needed to do, the only thing he complained about was the light in his eyes. He was amused when the spinning thing (I don't know the name of it) tickled his tongue. The toothpaste tasted like watermelon, and the flouride tasted like berries, and he was lovin' that! He chose a new toothbrush (blue, of course) with a green dinosaur cover for the bristles, and he was also given a plastic snake, a toy car, and two little sheets of Thomas stickers. One of the stickers said "Great Patient" and he was showing it off to all his classmates when he got to school. He gushed, "Know where I got this? At the DENTIST!!", to all his friends.
Overall, a complete success! =)

My Little Pumpkin

Just got back from the portrait studio with my sister and the two boys. We did a winter shot (which I'm not sharing just yet because I'm not sure if it's the picture we'll be using for our Christmas Cards) and Matty's first Halloween/Fall pictures. Yes, I know, a little late. We hadn't been able to coordinate the visit to the studio. Anyway, enjoy the pictures of my little pumpkin!

Fabulous Photography

Have you heard of PictPicture.com?

Here's their press release:

November 10, 2007 - "PictPicture.com has just launched their new socially driven photography website. It will be providing photographers a new system for sharing their work and providing fans of photography with an innovative way to provide feedback and enhance the photoblogging community. PictPicture will host photos from sources around the world, and users will have the ability to vote their favorites to prominent spots on the front page, putting user-generated, user-approved content at the forefront of photoblogging. Photographic artists, aspiring photographers, photoblog owners, or anyone interested in good photography should check out PictPicture.com.”

I fancy myself a photographer, but I know I’m nowhere near as good as some of the users featured on this site. I know several people who would probably love being a part of this online community (B, Sheila, Helen, sherlock: this means you!)
I haven’t had a chance to explore the site as thoroughly as I’d like, but I’m awed beyond words just by the images on the main page.

Irony

A month or two ago, I cancelled my text message option and hubby's wireless internet option from our cell phone. It's cut our wireless bill by just under $15. But, in the last two weeks I've been texted 27 times, and had to reply to 14. That's $6.15. So much for trying to save money!
There are some that can't be avoided, like my friend K who needed me to find out something for her while she was in class, and that was the only way to communicate the information to her, but really? There shouldn't be that many. I didn't have that many when I did have the text package!

No Wonder I'm Tired!

WB described her busy schedule last week, and I just laughed. That's nothing compared to our usual agendas. That's what most of my weekends look like, and sometimes it's unplanned. For example, we didn't have "many" plans for this past weekend (for once!). On Saturday we were spending the day with my BFF Angie and her daughter Em, who just turned 4. The plan was to go see The Bee Movie, then go to a pizza place for lunch. Sunday was to be spent at home cleaning while hubby watched football and tended to the boys. Alas, that is not at all how the weekend panned out. Let's start with Friday night. I received a call from a dear old friend (not because he's old, but because our friendship is old. I've known him since I was a 'tween.). He and his wife were going to be in the area (they live in Broward) and wanted to come by and see Matty. We planned their arrival for about 6:30, which would give me about 10 minutes to spruce up the house a bit (not much time since it was turned upside down, but I'd do my best). Things were going according to plan, until hubby calls me during my drive home to find out if they mind postponing until next weekend because he got free tickets to the Auto Show. So now rather than just rushing home to spruce up the house and make it presentable for a night in with friends, I had to rush home to feed and change the boys and head right back out once hubby got home from work. Once hubby got home, we got to the convention center within half an hour, but it took us almost an hour to find parking. We were so frustrated we were on the verge of forgetting the whole thing, but at the very moment we were about to give up, a parking garage appeared right in front of us. (Okay, no not really, it was there the whole time, we were just on an unfamiliar street, so I didn't know it was there).
We walked the 6 blocks to the convention center, met up with a friend of ours outside, and walked through the show for a good two hours. That extra hour we spent finding a place to park would have been better inside the show, it felt like missed so much since we had to rush through it. The boys were well behaved, considering what a long day it had been.
(The rest is in the extended entry...It's going to be quite a long post.)

We got home at 1am, and woke up on Saturday around 7:30. It seemed like we hadn't slept more than an hour, we were so tired. But hubby had to go to work, and I had plans to go to Toys R Us for the weekend doorbuster sale (which I was supposed to do on Friday night, but that got pushed aside, obviously) before heading to the movie theater. I rushed through the toy store with the boys in tow. I think I spent more time in line to pay than the time I spent finding the items I purchased!
We left the store and arrived at the theater 10 minutes before the movie began. It was the first showing of the day and we had the theater practically all to ourselves. The movie is hilarious! Brandon loved it, and Matty sat through most of it (his first movie theater experience!!). After the movies and on the way to the pizza place I made a pitstop at a friend's house so she could see the boys, and drove a few blocks over to another friend's house for the same reason (but they weren't home).
We pigged out at the pizza place (it was one of those buffet places), and then headed over to my mom's, but not before stopping at my Godmother's house to check out an issue she had with her computer. We spent the rest of the evening at my mom's where we had dinner with her, my brother, my grandparents, and a family friend. Brandon didn't want to leave, and I had to drag him to the car at about 9:30pm.
Yesterday was the only day that somewhat mirrored the original plans. My older sister called me around 10 that Mikey wanted his cousin to come over and play, which worked out for me since I had to clean. After breakfast, I dropped him off and went to do groceries before heading back home. I did so much laundry I forgot how many loads there were. I cleaned the two bathrooms, and decluttered the kitchen counter and dining room table. I still have to do the floors, but that can be done during the week after work. Mind you, during all this hubby was in the living room entertaining Matty while the Dolphins game was on (and the losing streak continues...SHEESH, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THESE GUYS?!). I finished shortly after the game was over. Hubby fed Matty while I made a quick something for us for a late lunch. I took a shower and we headed to my sister's to pick up Brandon. We were going to just pick him up and go to Target and Walmart (ugh.) to pick up some things we needed, but ended up just hanging out and having dinner there.
The frenzy continues tonight. After work, I'm picking up the boys and we're headed to the mall for their holiday portraits.
So far there are no plans for tomorrow...let's see how long that lasts!

I made a list, and I've checked it twice!

I’ve become quite a savvy shopper lately. I’ve been clipping coupons for months, and I’ve been very good about actually taking them with me when I go to the grocery store. I have also kept an eye out on the early holiday sales, and have taken advantage of some of them the last two weekends. There are a couple of items that I will end up purchasing online because they haven't been in stock at the store. NCNatural is one of those sites that provides listings for coupon and discount offers for a variety of online retailers.Their site is very easy to use, and is updated daily. I’ll be using using the Target and Disney Store offers in the very near future. My goal is to finish my shopping before December even begins, and with just six gifts left to purchase, it looks like it just might happen!

Birthday Wishes

Happy birthday, my friend!

The big little guy made this for you this morning. I wanted to take a picture of it with them next to it, but we just got home and they are both asleep. We had a busy day today, but didn't want you thinking we forgot this very special day. Hope you had a great one!

Grandpa's Gaffe

I heard this story earlier today about a grandfather that picked up the wrong child at pre-school. During lunch, I saw that the story became a topic of discussion over at GoodyBlog. The writer asks:

So how well supervised is your child's school drop off and pickup areas? Is there a list of approved adults who can claim your child? Do the teachers actually check I.D.s? Any good or bad experiences you've had that we can all learn from? Please share with the rest of the class ... and also be sure your child's grandfather knows what he looks like.

I'll answer these in order, then I'll share a little story to illustrate the effectiveness of the system at my son's school.
The entrance to Brandon's preschool faces the receptionist's desk, and to the right is the director's office. To the left is a foyer-type area with a doorway, and beyond that doorway are the classrooms. On the receptionist's desk is a touch-screen monitor where parents and guardians have to punch in or punch out the kids. The kids cannot be dropped off or picked up in this area, they must be walked over or picked up in the classrooms. When the child is enrolled in the school, part of the informational package is a form which lists those persons authorized to pick up the child. The child will not be released to anyone on that list, with the rare exception in the event of an emergency. ID's are checked, and a copy of the ID is attached to the list of those people approved to pick up the child. When a person other than the mother or father comes to pick up the child, the adult that receives them (receptionist, director, and/or teacher) checks the file and matches the person to their picture, then grants them permission to pick up the child. If they are not familiar with the school, they are escorted to the classroom where the child is located.

Now on to my story:

This past October, my mom took the day off for my grandmother's birthday. We were having a gathering that evening, and it was going to take me forever to get there since I had to go pick up Matty at the sitter's, and then all the way home to pick up Brandon (