Weekly Winners and PIF Gifty

November 23-29, 2008

So it's another lame week for pictures...I have nothing but a picture of the loot I won over at The Q Collective. Check out the post where I won.

Here are the goods!! Wowee!!! Chocolate covered coffee beans (yummy!), thin mint girl scout cookies...even yummier, some Reese's peanut butter cups (already gone), a Christmas ornament, some cool window clings that Shorty has already hung and a little dog creamer. Very cute!!!
Thanks so much!!! I will be holding another PIF Giveaway, but I think I'm going to wait for the new year. This is too crazy of a time to do a giveaway...at least in my opinion :)

Car Shopping Sucks

So Mr. Tall was rear ended and shoved into another car last week while driving his Ford Ranger. He is fine (so far) but the insurance company has decided that the truck is totaled. The body shop says they cannot fix it in a way that it would be safe to drive either. So now we're waiting to hear from the claims adjuster on what they'll offer us for the truck. Rumor has it they usually offer you next to nothing, instead of "replacement cost" of the vehicle. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for a fair amount. I've been calling upon the good karma gods out there and trying to cash in good karma I've earned. Wish us luck.

In the mean time, while we wait we decided we should probably start looking for something else. The rental we have is only ours for a week or so more. So....we dropped Shorty off at Grammy's house and headed out to check out the used car lots. We braced ourselves for the smarmy greasy pariah that are car salesmen. The first place we stopped at we witnessed a salesman chasing a woman down trying to make a sale...seriously, does he think this will encourage her to buy the car?

I. Think. Not.

So we didn't find anything we can't live without. Nor did we find any deals that made us want to sit down and sign papers. Part of the issue is we don't know how much we really have work with. We're hoping to cash flow the cost of the new truck. I just don't want to deal with a car loan. I hate debt!!!

So wish us luck. I'll keep you posted. And if you know of a screamer of a deal on a 2001-ish Nissan Frontier or Ford Ranger with a back seat and a great price.....e-mail me.

Haiku Friday

Home From Black Friday
Crabby, cranky,rude shoppers.
Can't they just be kind?

People get trampled.....
Stop the madness already!!!
They're just sales people!

That's all I have. Seriously. Each year I go out for Black Friday I say I'll never go again. Where is the kindness? Where are your manners? If you ram your cart into me, just say excuse me or oh, I'm sorry. But NO! Black Friday seems like a license to be a jerk. I saw on the news that a Wal-Mart worker got trampled and killed this morning. What is our world coming to?

Happy Thanksgiving

Bwahahahaha!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Go think about what you're thankful for.

I'm thankful for my family and friends and a knowing that in this economic crisis we are in I have a secure job. I'm thankful for stability in my life.

And if you want to know the history of Thanksgiving click here or here or here or here or here or here. Yeah, that should keep you busy.

Now go eat turkey.

The Night Before Thanksgiving-EDITED

So today I'm going to try my hand at some poetry. Please be gentle on me.

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving when all through the nation
women are preparing for the next day's grand occasion.

The salads were made,
the turkeys were stuffed,
two or three desserts, it's more than enough!

Dishes to be washed, no help to be had
those lazy men are just bad.

Then what to forgetful her over-taxed brain did enter?

Ok. I'm done. My head hurts and I have no more. Please, finish the damn thing for me. Leave it in the comments. K? Thanks. Bye.

Ok, duh....why didn't I just google to find a freaking poem?! So here is a great one I found over here:

'Twas the Night before Thanksgiving and all through the house
Mom was at the stove stirring and splattered her blouse.

The kids were in their beds, tucked in with care
while mom was in the kitchen, ready to pull out her hair.

The turkey, still frozen, sat in the sink
And all she could think of was "I need a drink."

The potatoes, cranberry sauce and the punch that was spiked
And the green bean with onion stuff that nobody liked,

All sat ready, in the fridge peacefully
And mom’s next thought was "I could really use some sleep."

But not yet, because though the food was prepared
Now the house had to be cleaned - except for upstairs.

So she scrubbed and she dusted up high and down low,
But she smartly skipped anything that wouldn't show.

Toward midnight it was, and tired was she
After prepping the meal and cleaning - Yippee!

For now it was time to get a little sleep
She was tired enough, no need to count sheep.

Because in a few short hours, the chaos would begin
And she would then know if she really did win.

When she sees the smiles and hears the laughter flow
Then, and only then, will she know

That even though a mom works harder than most
It is worth it when you are known as the host

That makes sure her family and her guests have their fun
And good food to eat when her work is done.

But she better sit down and have a glass of wine
Because she'll do it all again in a short month's time.

Being Thankful

So yesterday I basically posted crap. And I said I'd be more thoughtful today. So given that my good friend commented on the crap post with, "what are you thankful for?" I shall share what I am thankful for. I thought I had blogged it, but maybe I didn't.

So. What am I thankful for?
*I'm thankful for my husband who puts up with my crap on a pretty much daily basis and makes coffee for me often.
*I'm thankful for my Shorty McShort, she teaches me something new almost everyday, even if it's to just slow down and appreciate where she is.
*I'm thankful for my job, even though it can be quite stressful at times. My job is secure, I have freedom in how I teach and I work with an amazing staff. And the fact that there are 20 short people who adore me Monday-Friday from 7:40-2:00. Seriously, who could ask for more?
*I'm thankful for good friends like her and her and her and her.
*I'm thankful that my in-laws are normal, down to earth, fun to spend time with people who love me.
*I'm thankful to have a house that I'm not in jeopardy of losing.
*I'm thankful for my health.

My goal is to stop complaining and be more thankful on a daily basis.

So what are you thankful for?

I Got Nuttin

So it's day 24 of November and trying to post daily and I've got nuttin to offer you.

How about the fact that Thanksgiving is just a couple days away? Yeah...what are you cooking? I've been assigned acorn squash and dinner rolls.

That's all I have. I promise to be more thoughtful for tomorrow's post.

Weekly Winners

November 16-22, 2008

I don't have much this week....but thought I'd include what I can do with my fingers, since my husband could not believe it and said I was a freak....do you think it's freaky? Can you do this? I don't think I'm an anomaly.

Here is my hand with my fingers straight. (like my new red-tipped nails? I do, but they're a bit too long....oh well...just hoping I don't scratch a first grader on accident...I may have to head in for a trim....)

I can make my fingers curve up...see? Weird or Not Weird?
And here is down...not weird, just thought I'd throw this in...

Here is Barbie-Loving McShort and I playing with her Barbies. I had headless Barbie at the time who didn't realize she was naked...

See...not much this week....for better Weekly Winners, click here.

It's Saturday

So it's Saturday again. Bleh. One would think I look forward to Saturday, but not so much. I was woke up this morning by Yeller McShort at 6:30 am. Thank. You. Very. Much. All I wanna do is stuff a sock in your mouth and spank you on the bottom.

9:30 ballet class. Not bad, but not "mommy time" either.

10:30 play date. Nice to catch up and visit with my gal pal while the short people entertained each other.

2:30 "rest" time for Sleepy McShort who never slows down enough to sleep because she's too busy running to the stop of the stairs and yelling, "is rest time over yet"? during which time I'm madly trying to finish up the last bit of stuff for my distance writing course, since I have report cards to deal with next week and the stuff for class is due by the end of the month. Argh.

3:30 I've given up on finishing any work and am here writing about my day. I'm dreaming of getting away and getting a pedicure of my nails done. A glass of wine. That'd be nice. Where is my genie with three wishes when I need him? Heck, I'd even settle for an empty house where I could sip cocoa and read my book (I just started Love in the Time of Cholera). But I don't think that is going to happen. No. It's not. Oh well. I'll have peace and quiet when I'm dead, right?

Haiku Friday-Holiday Edition

"Elfed" the family
so funny...go check it out
just click here, go NOW

13 Random Thoughts

Thirteen Random Thoughts

1. i think my daughter may be a bully based on her saying that what she likes about her best friend at daycare is, "she doesn't tell on me when i be mean to her"...the mind of a four year old...

2. my doctor says that walking on my treadmill isn't exercise...wtf?! (now i have a really good reason NOT to get on my treadmill)

3. the fact that my four year old decided that our water man (sierra spring water service), whom i don't know the name of and comes when we're at work, has decided that he shall be called, "Mikey, because that's a boy name...seriously, where do they come up with this?

4. if the wind does not stop whipping shit around in my neighborhood (specifically shingles on my roof) i may need a higher dosage of my meds....

5. how long can i go without feeding the beta fish before it dies...i cannot currently remember the last time i fed it...

6. why when there is food at work do people not throw away a container or put it into the sink if they take the last bit of it?

7. i'm a teacher, so why does my four year old not believe me when i tell her that the b-i-n-g-o song is NOT V-I-N-G-O?! and then have to pull up a freaking bingo card on the internet to prove myself? btw...if you want to make custom bingo cards, click here.

8. my car is a thousand miles over it's oil change...i wonder if my darling husband made an appointment yet....(he had actually made one for veterans' day, but i went to astoria)

9. when am i going to find the time and motivation to finish the work for my distance writing class that is all due Nov. 30th?

10. why is facebook so addictive?

11. how is it that christmas is so stinking close? (see my counter in the side bar for exact number of days, hours and minutes!)

12. what should i read next? Love in the Time of Cholera or Barack Obama's Memoir or Thirteenth Tale

13. why if we're in an economic crisis are we bailing everybody out?

For more Thursday Thirteens click here.

Do You Know Your Stripper Name?

We all need a stripper name. See what your stripper name
will be, and Share it with me in the comments section. We all need a little
stress-reliever! It only takes a minute. It will entertain janelle. Please indulge me.

A. Follow the instructions to find your new name.
B. Once you have your new name, leave it in the comments section.

1. Use the third letter of your first name to determine
your new first name:
a = Chesty
b = Fantasia
c = Starr
d = Diamond
e = Montana
f = Angel
g = Sugar
h = Pinky
i = Lola
j =Kitty
k = Roxie
l = Dallas
m = Princess
n = Heidi
o = Bambi
p = Bunny
q = Brandy
r = S ugar
s = Candy
t = Raquelle
u = Sapphire
v = Cinnamon
w = Blaze
x = Trixie
y = Isis
z = Jade

2. Use the second letter of your last name to determine the
first half of your new last name:
a = Leather
b = Dream
c = Sunny
d = Deep
e = Heaven
f = Tight
g = Shimmer
h = Velvet
i = Lusty
j = Harley
k = Passion
l = Dazzle
m = Dixie
n = Spank
o = Glitter
p = Razor
q = Meadow
r = Glitzy
s = Sparkle
t = Sweet
u = Silver
v = Tickle
w = Cherry
x = Hard
y = Night
z = Amber

3. Use the third letter of your last name to determine the
second half of your new last name:
a = hooters
b = horn
c = tower
d = fire
e = thighs
f = hips
g = side
h = jugs
i = shock
j = cocker
k = brook
l = tush
m = sizzle
n = storm
o = kiss
p = bomb
q = cream
r = thong
s = heat
t = whip
u = cheeks
v = rock
w = hiney
x = button
y = lick
z = juice

Heidi Glitter Thong is my stripper name. Heidi Leather Side is my stripper name using my maiden name. So what's yours? I'm cracking up here people. Seriously. I'm going to introduce myself to someone today at work at Mrs. Glitter Thong. Bwahahahhahaaha!!!! Happy hump day.

My Last PIF Winnah!

So Jen over at Mama Mia won my last PIF Giveaway. Here is her post of the goods from me. And here is the post of her own giveaway. Go enter it...you'll be glad you did.

On a different note, it's November 18th and I'm 18 posts for 18 days. Can you freaking believe that? I can't. Seriously. I think in honor of this I shall compose a limerick. Ahem...clearing my throat and cracking my knuckles.

There was once a girl who had a blog.
So much time on her computer, her husband did flog.
She continued to write,
With all of her might
Time time time on her computer she did hog.

How was that? Pretty bad, I know. How about this one...

There was a tired and overworked Mom.
Whom everyone thought was the bomb.
she was funny
she was punny
She resided at yayasmom.blogpot.com.

Not much better. I'm not going to try anymore. Happy Tuesday to you.

Yummy Dinner

So I made a yummy dinner last night...at least my family and I think so. I was thinking I should make something with pasta due to the fact that we have so much of it around. It must have been on a good sale or something. I can't resist a great price.

So. Dinner. I found this recipe, Baked Ziti with Turkey Meatballs over at Epicurious. I thought it sounded yummy, but didn't want to make my own meatballs, and happened to have a bag of turkey meatballs from Trader Joe's. I think in the future I'll make the meatballs over there because they sound delicious. So here is the modified recipe:

Baked Ziti with Turkey Meatballs

you need:
1 pound ziti penne pasta
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated mozzarella cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 cup freshly grated Romano cheese (about 3 ounces)
about 6 cups pasta sauce (two jars)
a 15-ounce container ricotta cheese (I used low fat)

In a kettle of salted boiling water cook pasta until just al dente, about 8 minutes, and drain well. I used the whole grain penne pasta.

In a small bowl toss together 6 oz. shredded mozzarella and 3 oz. shredded Romano cheeses (I used a blend of romano and parmesan because that was what I had on hand.

Spoon about 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce and half of meatballs into prepared dish (I used my 9x13 stoneware baking dish from Pampered Chef) and spoon half of pasta on top. Spread half remaining sauce and half cheese mixture over pasta. Top with remaining meatballs and drop dollops of ricotta over meatballs. Spread remaining pasta over ricotta and top with remaining sauce and remaining cheese mixture.

Bake in middle of oven 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden, and let stand 10 minutes before serving.

This stuff was a hit with the family. I wanted to serve it with broccoli and garlic toast, but had neither so I made green beans to go with it. Lots of yummy leftovers too!

Happy Monday to you and have a nice week!

Weekly Winners

November 9-15, 2008

Here is my week in pictures....my very birthday party filled week.....

Birthday Party at Sally's for her daughter.

Amazing cake Sally made.

Another birthday party....this one at the beach for Abby.

Isn't Abby silly?

Shorty at Seaside's Beach...oh how I miss living the beach....

She loves the beach...especially chasing seagulls.
Ahh....Tillamook HeadYes, a THIRD birthday this week...this time it's Quinn.

Barbie homicide?

For more weekly winners click here.

Saturday Lazies

I need to tell you something....it's 10:30 and I'm still in my jammies. No, it's not that I lack things I need to do. It's that I lack mo-ti-va-tion! So far today I've made an online book at Snapfish (thanks Oprah), had some breakfast, and got the roomba moving and vacuumed the bathroom myself. I know. Sick and sad. I need to get moving. I've got a birthday present to buy before the party this afternoon, a ton of laundry to tackle, reading and writing to do for a couple classes I'm taking, and I'd like to do some baking today as well.

Wish me luck. One thing I have done is manage to blog each day this month....so far...15 days and counting, 15 more to go.

Happy Saturday to you!

Haiku Friday

decisions, standards,
algebra...i'm off to math
committee today

Don't hate me because I get to have a day away from my noisy short people, whom I have grown to like a lot...maybe you could say "love". Don't hate me because I get paid to help make decisions on a committe, for which I have to plan my day to be gone. Don't hate me because I'm so stinking witty and can write udderly ridiculous posts.

This is going no where and my head hurts. Happy Haiku Friday to you. Click here for more 'kus.

Milking Cows

Who knew milking cows was so high tech? Seriously people...Mr. Tall was watching the show How Things Work, or something called something like that. Anyhow...it showed how horizontal blinds are made (snooze) and then came the dairy part which was fascinating.

So there is this completely hi-tech dairy. It described how basically a happy cow equals better milk. So the cows were not on any milking schedule, but got to choose when to go be milked. This is where it gets really good. The cow makes her way to the milking pen where her identity is detected by the collar she wears and a laser guided teat cleaner washes her teats. Next a laser guided suction cupped teat holder begins to connect to each (sparklingly clean) teat, adjusting for the right fit. After that the milking begins. The machine detects if there are any impurities in the milk. If so, the milk is dumped. The machine also detects when to stop milking so as to not go too long and hurt the cow.

Mr. Tall and I were dying on the couch. Way too funny. Who knew the cows had it so good? Something else I didn't know, but should have just realized is that the cows only have milk for ten months after having a calf. The sad part is that they keep the poor cows pregnant, let them give birth, allow the calf to suckle for a week or so and then take the mother's milk for the next ten months. The cycle continues.

So what do you think? I don't really want to drink milk anymore. It just seems mean.


Here is some info from Engadget:
Swedish company DeLaval specializes in "cow comfort" products including the Voluntary Milking System. You see, a cozy independent cow is a happy cow and that makes for an increase in milk yield, dig? The VMS is powered by embedded Linux 2.4.18 running on an AMD Geode GX1 200MHz processor — a single system can milk a herd of 60 cows three times a day. This gives farmers more time to kick back, relax and presumably drunk-milk their friends and pets. When the cow feels the need, she enters the stall where a laser and photo-sensor guided robotic arm searches for, cleans, and then milks each of the four teats. Milk flow, quantity and time is monitored and compared to historical data as early indicators of illness or injury. Be sure to check out the vids for plenty of hot lactating bovine action.

'Nuff Said

I found this on Avitable's blog. I found his blog via Redneck Mommy. Her blog never ceases to make me laugh.

At any rate, I LOVE this tee shirt and think it pretty much sums up how many of us feel.

I'm exhausted, will post soon about Shorty & I trekking to Astoria and hitting the rainy beach. Just a teaser to get you to come back.

Happy Veterans' Day

Thank you to all the wonderful men and women who have served in the armed forces. You keep our country safe. Enjoy the day meant to honor you.

Sugar + Short People = CHAOS

Ok, so I think the title of my post today about sums it up. Sugar and short people is a bad horrible idea. Let me tell you about Sunday's birthday party. So my good friend Sally's daughter, Nicole was having her fourth birthday party and Little Miss Shorty McShort was invited. Pizza and cake at noon. Fantastic, it'll be fun Shorty loves a good party...especially one that involves cake.

So we get there and things are fairly mellow. Kids are playing and more kids arrive. All is harmonious. Sally is cooking pizza with her handy sidekick Todd. It's lovely. I'm sipping my Dt. Coke and enjoying a blissful moment. We eat a little lunch and the kids play some more.

Cue the cake. (Isn't it lurvley? Sally crafted it herself. Can you believe her cake decorating skills?) Seriously...I was impressed people. Watch out Martha, Sally is making cakes these days.









is this not the cutest cake?!


So...we sing, yadda yadda, kids enjoy cake, some enjoy a second piece of cake (oh god sally...how could you?!). Kids get cleaned up and continue to play some more...time lapses a good 20 minutes and all hell breaks loose. Kids are screaming, crying and fighting over toys. Sally's youngest, whom I will now refer to as "chompers" is trying to bite kids...truly, all hell has broken loose. Oh, and Shorty kicked a little girl...not sure what that was all about.

After about twenty minutes of this the party starts to break up (thank god!). We finally leave and Shorty opens her gifty bag in the car. She starts blowing her blow toy (after I asked her to be quiet due to my pounding head). I ask her to stop and warn her if she does it again I'll throw it away. Can you guess what she did like ten seconds later? Yup...blew the damn toy. I took it. She bawled. The. Whole. Way. Home. We live 15 minutes from Sally's.

It had to be the sugar....or maybe it was just the tipping point of them getting along and Shorty's nice manners. I don't know, but all I know is I wish I had a xanax (not that I've had one, but certain friends have told me how relaxing these babies can be), because I was pretty wound up and my head was pounding by the time we left. Went home and sent Shorty to her room for some "quiet time".

I sat down and relaxed and felt much better after rehashing it with Mr. Tall Man. Then I ran some errands and did some Target-Therapy. I bought a new crock pot...mine has a crack and one just like it was on sale for 20 bucks. Can't beat a deal like that. The Cadillac version was also on sale for 40 bucks. Shockingly, I made a good decision. I also bought Jen's gifty for my PIF giveaway. If she hates it she can return it, since I was with-it enough to request a gift receipt. Yahoo me!

So, today I'm off to staff development and then to Astoria to visit some good friends and enjoy yet another birthday party. Please God, let this one be quieter.

Weekly Winners

November 2-8, 2008

Sweet girls I work with and our monthly cocktails...just happened to fall on the same day as the election...another reason to celebrate! The girl on the right is noneother than my gal pal Jen, also the winner of my PIF giveaway.

Okay, could these girls be any cuter?

Mom! Take my picture!!!

Welcome home iRobot, I love you already. (you work hard while I sit on my butt and read...do you have a cousin that can do what you do with the laundry and dishes?)

That's it...not much this week. Click here to see more weekly winners.