Aw man :p

I did it again. I had every intention of wishing my big sister a happy birthday yesterday, but here I am a day late with her post. :(

Happy birthday Robin! I hope you had a blast celebrating this weekend! (36?! You old woman you... ha!) One of these days I'll actually catch you on your birthday. I thought of you bunches yesterday though. I really did.

Vern's little sister Kori turned 17 on Friday too. We had a little birthday party for her yesterday.

I went to bed wayyy early last night with a horrid headache. I only meant to nap the thing away but didn't wake up until this morning. It took two days to kick but it's finally gone.

Well, I'm off to make some digital negatives for Vern's little brother. As usual I took enough pictures that this will take me all day to finish up.
Have a great day!

The best kisses

...happen when Elijah wraps his little arms around my neck. Yummy.

Much thanks to Sophia who did my thinking for me today by providing such a fabulous meme idea. :) Scattergories with your first inital as the letter:

Your name: April

1. Famous Singer/Band: Aerosmith, Avril Lavigne
2. 4 letter word: Amen
3. Color: Amber
4. Street: Armstrong Ave.
5. Gifts/Presents: Anklets! Sparkly ones. :)
6. Vehicle: Acura? Audi? I don’t drive ><
7. Things in a Souvenir Shop: ummm… Ashtrays? :p
8. Boy Name: Adam
9. Girl Name: Angela
10. Movie Title: About A Boy
11. Drink: Absolut Trouble
12. Occupation: Artistic director
13. Flower: Acacia
14. Celebrity: Ashton Kutcher
15. Magazine: American Photo
16. U.S. City: Austin TX
17. Pro Sports Teams: Argonauts (sp? Had to get Toronto in somehow!)
18. Fruit: Apples!
19. Reason for Being Late for Work: Accident on the freeway! Dude…
20. Something You Throw Away: Already soiled diapers? ABC gum?
21. Things You Shout: ARGH!
22. Cartoon Character: Aladdin

huh

It's midnight and I just asked what day of the week it was today. I'm not sure I ever woke up today. :p Elijah was up late last night and was being his usual monkey self tonight. It's safe to say I'm exhausted and am not sure how I made it through the blur that was my Thursday. I guess I should get me some sleep so that maybe I can be awake for a portion of my Friday. lol
Have a great weekend!

Hmmmm....

I love waking up with a backache every single day. There's no surprises that way, right? I always blast the heating pad that Vern bought me and have it working on my daily soreness while I read here in the mornings.
It took me a bit longer than usual to reach that part of my morning routine today, because when I went to make me some oatmeal I decided that my microwave needed immediate attention. Eeeeew, I hate a dirty microwave. Thanks to kiddos who don't always cover stuff it was rather disgusting in there.
Anyhow, how did I get talking about that? lol

I wanted to say that I enjoyed AI last night. It was a good show, with mostly good performances. The only one I really didn't like was Lakisha. I'm thinking it's her turn to leave tonight. We shall see. As far as who's left I'd say that Melinda has great talent, but I don't think I'd buy her album. Blake will do his thing and be just fine, but again - I don't see me buying his stuff after the fact. Chris is the one who'll put out an album I can see myself buying, but I don't see him winning. Phil - he's likable enough and I prefer him to Lakisha. I'd say he's running in third place for the guys though, which means his AI days may be numbered. I think I'm rooting for Jordin for the win. Then in a year or so I'll buy Chris' album. Sounds like a plan.
Kirsten & I voted a bunch last night. In sliding order the voting went like this: Chris, Jordin, Blake, Melinda, Phil.

Ahhh... back to real life. Elijah is desperately needing a nap but wanting to play outside. I think I'll let him run around a bit in the yard - maybe it'll help knock him out. lol

Have a great day!

Monday

This has been a stellar day so far. I slept in, had me some yummy cran-vanilla crunch for breakfast and so far my kiddos have been behaving. It's even sunny again - it looks like the rainy grayness has passed. Hooray! I think I'll celebrate by playing with Elijah and watching Cars with all three of my kiddos who are home today. Maybe we'll even venture to the park. Then I can take some more Spring pictures! This is Kirsten's last week off track - she goes back next week. Ooooh, we should make a treat too. No-bake cookies I think. I'm wanting chocolate. :p
Have a great day!

Let go.

I woke up early today (for me) after an emotional sort of dream. I'm not going to share the entire dream here, just thought I'd mention the fact that I woke up on a less than happy note. Okay, so I was actually crying. Why is it that situations and people who are long gone and a part of my past can stir emotion in me still? The bulk of the people in this dream were from my childhood. One of them had perfected the art of hurting me. She did so in this dream. Again. Mixed in there was someone who represented a much newer friend. (One of those things about dreams, sometimes you have a nameless someone and you know who they represent in real life, even though they remain nameless in your dream.) This is a person who in his own way ended up hurting me. With him it was a much less intentional form of hurt. (Still painful, but less blame and more acceptance on my part.)
For some reason my mind put these two people together in this dream, and once again I found myself hurting. Enough so that I was actually crying upon waking up.
Why am I sharing this?
Because it's dominating my thoughts at the moment. Because I learned something from this. I think I need to learn to let go. The girl from this dream is a person from my childhood that I've never been able to fully forgive. Maybe it's time I figure out how to do that once and for all. I mean, I'm giving people the power to hurt me by not letting go.
Worse yet, I'm hurting myself.
Something to work on. Letting go.

One Day

Being without the internet yesterday meant that I finished the book I've been reading. Hooray! That one took forever. Whenever I'm without access to the internet I realize just how much I depend on it for a lot of things on a daily basis. One day without it isn't a big deal, but any longer and I'd have to start doing things like read the newspaper, make phone calls and play some other type of game. Or I could read instead of playing, like yesterday. lol Anyhow, we made it through a day without it, and I must say I was happy to be able to read my news online during breakfast and to poke my head in here to say hi. It's the little things in life, right?

Oh, if I had blogged yesterday I would have shared my excitement about Sanjaya leaving Idol. Hooray! This means that the competition can be that much more serious between those who are left. It's interesting to see who likes whom. Almost everone I know likes Jordin and Melinda in the girls dept. (As do I.) Blake has a lot of fans. I think he's okay. My friend Micki can't stand Chris R. and asked why people like him - she finds him nasally. He's still my favorite! I went to youtube and watched all of his performances to see if I could come up with something to tell her. After watching all of his stuff so far all I can say is that yep, I like him. Sometimes he is a little nasally, but I don't care. Compared to everyone else there he's my favorite. I tend to like his song choices, and he's had some really great performances. I picked him early and still stand by it. I'll share his performance video from the night I first declared he was my #1 pick. Singing Jason Mraz's Geek in the Pink: Another good performance was from the Tony Bennet/oldies week.
And I'll say - when he sang Don't Speak when Gwen Stefani was there I was disappointed that he didn't just sing it as-is (since it's an all-time favorite of mine) and that he messed up the lyrics at the end (which the judges didn't catch) but you know what - going back and watching it I actually like it. It wasn't that it was bad, just different than the original. (He didn't massacre it like Sanjaya did with Bathwater.) Nobody is going to come even close to matching Gwen's ability to put emotion into those lyrics. He did okay though. He just isn't Gwen. lol

His performance this past week is one where I can see what people are saying about the nasal thing, which Simon & Randy called him on - fair enough. You know what though? I liked it. The lead singer from Rascall Flats must have a tendancy to sound nasally then too, because I thought it was a good cover of the song. :p

Fill in the _____ Wednesday.

First of all, I must admit - I voted like a maniac after AI last night. Not for one particular person so much as an "if you weren't Sanjaya and didn't suck" kind of vote-fest. I figured I'd do my part and try to offset the stupid vftw voters. :p

Second of all, I have a headache today and wasn't coming up with any bright ideas on what to blog about so we have ourselves a Wednesday meme. Time to fill in the blanks!

I need a ______!
I need a chocolate shake!
I believe in _______.
I belive in God, miracles, love and the power of kindness.
I want to go to ______.
I want to go to Toronto baby!
My ______ is _______.
My tummy is grumbling. I haven't had lunch yet. :p
_________ makes me happy.
Pepsi, kisses and kiddos make me happy.
If you're happy and you know it________!
If you're happy and you know it share a smile!

Have a great day!

Off track

Kirsten is off track again. I'm hoping that means that her room will be perfectly clean soon. We shall see.
We have Vern home today too, which makes for a fun Monday! I like having him home. He spent the morning cleaning our bathroom. He got some points there. Now to convince him that a sub and chocolate malt sound like a yummy lunch. :p

I'm watching Elijah watch a movie. Do other moms watch their kids like that? I'm sure they do. He's just so cute - especially when he gets into a movie. His expressions are priceless.

Well, I'm off to enjoy having more of my family home today than usual. I think I'll have Kirsten help me make some cupcakes. Maybe I can convince Vern to watch the Pursuit of Happiness with me. (I'll have to tear him away from his computer, but I think I can.)

Have a great day!

Weekend Meme

Four reasons I blog.

1. To connect with people. Family & friends are definately reason #1. I've connected with old friends, made new ones and kept in contact with far-away family members through this blog.

2. It's a journal of sorts. A place to write about whatever's on my mind. Sometimes I don't have much to say, but I update it regularly anyway.

3. Sharing! I share pictures of my family - the latest news about whatever's going on in our lives. This is where to get the most up to date info & pictures of my family. Whatever we're up to, whatever is on my mind - I share it here.

4. Giving something back. I get so much from the internet. News, music - information about everything. The internet has such a wealth of thoughts, ideas, information and entertainment. By putting my little blog out there I'm contributing. True, I often just put up little blips of nothingness, but I have had people tell me they learned something here, or were inspired by a photo or had a much needed laugh when visiting. I've had people searching for lyrics & videos come across my blog & fellow bloggers looking for meme ideas. Back to the connecting, I've had long lost friends search my name and find me here.
It's a little thing, but it's something. It's my blog.
Yep, that's why I do it.

lol, a question and AI

I have something to tell you...

...I am not flat-chested. (Said in my best Inigo Montoya voice)

"April, you run around WoW /hugging everyone. Everyone. You don't do that so much in real life what's the difference?"
Well, it has to do with having actual breasts. I mean really, for girls who have something there, mushing them against other people isn't necessarily a favorite pasttime. I'm an affectionate person though, and everyone deserves a hug! Online I do it without even thinking. In person there's a weighing in of whether or not to. There's always the polite from-the-side version that I learned from Vern's brothers. It sort of works. :p

So there, that's why. Really. lol

Question: Does anyone who reads this blog of mine take bp meds? What kinds of side affects are normal? I stopped taking mine awhile after they were prescribed because I had a hard time breathing, felt super lightheaded and had a tendancy to pass out when I first started taking them. With all of my headaches lately Vern suggested I start taking those meds again. (high bp can cause headaches) I felt so sick all day yesterday. Breathing issues and lightheadedness again, along with something I've had off and on for months - a pins & needles type feeling in my head. Imagine the top of your head falling asleep instead of your foot or whatever - it's freaky. I realllly don't like it. Anyhow, now I'm afraid to take it again today, and am making an appointment to go back and see about changing prescriptions. Really, my bp has been fine I'd rather not take anything at all but we shall see.

American Idol. What is there to say? It was a rough week performance-wise. When the rest of the candidates do badly enough that Sanjaya's so-so little song sounded okay in comparison we're in trouble. I still like Chris R., but he has got to stop wrecking good songs. I always love his song choices, but he's ruined a few of my faves now. Yet I still like him. Go figure. Vern's rooting for Blake. I feel sorry for Haley. I really don't care who wins at this point. Well, as long as it isn't Sanjaya. :p

Sleepy

I was up really late last night and am definately dragging today. I have nobody to blame but myself - I was playing WoW. ;) At least it's a quiet kind of day. My school-aged kiddos are done with their Spring break. I'm hoping that they have fun and don't get rained on while walking home. brrrrr...

I just downloaded some of my pictures from the weekend. I love how my father-in-law gets all of his grandchildren together to color eggs. They have so much fun, and my kiddos love hard boiled eggs at Easter almost as much as the candy thanks to this fun tradition.

Well, I think I'm going to try to convince Elijah to nap with me. Wish me luck!

Easter weekend

My kiddos dyed eggs & hunted for candy-filled eggs. We had fun with Vern's family on Saturday & Sunday and I took pictures of it all. Sadly, I don't have time to upload the pictures, so just saying that we had a great Easter will have to do for now.

Today is the last day of Spring break for my kiddos. It's looking like a rainy sort of day so I'm thinking we'll do a bunch of cleaning and watch movies.

I got to talk to Robin yesterday & we did a 3-way call to wish my dad a happy birthday. Thanks Robin! It was fun talking to you big sis!

I'm off to fold laudry. Exciting, I know.

Have a great day!

Late again.

Well, since it' s not technically the 5th at this hour of night, I'm sending belated birthday wishes yet again. April 5th is Vivian's birthday. She's one of the sweetest most caring people I've ever known. I haven't seen her for years, but still & always will consider her one of my bestest friends. I love you Viv! I hope that you had an awesome birthday. Miss you!
(Oh man I wish I had a working scanner, my pics of Viv are all fun ones from Toronto. Such good times.)

This isn't quite as pretty as a picture of Vivian, but I was excited about how these printed. I've been experimenting with ps, creating actions for various painting-type looks for some of my pictures.I just did a test print of this one to see how it'd work & was so happy with how it looks in person. Not quite as cool online, but I'll share anyhow just as a "look what I've been up to when I'm not chasing Elijah or playing WoW" type thing.

Ooh, and another share. Especially since I've been less impressed with this season of AI. I mean come on, Sanjaya is still there? Well, from last year we've got Chris rocking his new album, Katherine's out there too and most recently, Elliott. So score #3 for last season! He looks different with his little fro going on, but not a bad first release. I like it. :)
Elliott Yamin - Wait For You

Seriously - go season 5 contestants! lol Season 6 has been, ummm, okay I guess. I still say the best part was having Gwen Stefani come and coach them. :)

'Night! Happy Friday!

beautiful

Today has been a perfect Spring day. It's absolutely gorgeous outside and my kiddos and I have been busy enjoying it. What a nice way to start our Spring break.

Things are a little more green out there too. My tulips haven't bloomed yet. They're still just thinking about it.
They will soon though! I love spring flowers. I love photographing them. It's so much fun. We'll have to head to the International Peace Gardens or some park this weekend for a photo outing. I haven't done that in forever. It sounds like a great way to spend a day!

I do love me a beautiful sunny day. I hope that yours was too!

Very Very Very

I've been having headaches a lot lately. Yesterday's was a particularly bad one. None of my pain meds touched it. As you might guess, a bad headache = a grumpy mommy.

During a frustrating moment where the volume in my house was louder than I wanted and my kiddos were moving slower than molasses on their chores I finally yelled "Look, I have a really bad headache and I need you all to be quiet and just do what you were told! Do not make me yell again - you don't want to deal with me. When my head wants to explode it makes me just a little grumpy."
Kirsten's response: "Sorry mom. Your head must really hurt, because you're very very very grumpy."
:p

Another something from last night - Arinne joined Quorum. (The guild Vern's mage is in. I finally made a decision there.) I recieved the sweetest, warmest welcome from so many familiar faces, it almost felt like going home. I think it was the right thing to do with her. I just hope that the new guild name appearing under her name doesn't affect any of my other friendships. I recently moved Arrie too - to Brian & Brooks' guild. A hard thing to do, since it means that I no longer have an officer in Steel and Claw. (The guild we started with Kyle and Julie so very long ago.) Arrie's been the only active character in that guild for a long time, and still - it was really hard to let go. I'm excited about the new homes for my girls, even though it partly meant the end of an era. Julie & Kyle are the people who made WoW look fun. They were why I started playing. It's been a long time since the four of us laughed our way through an instance and I miss them still.

Well, it's time to go find the Tylenol & pour me some diet Pepsi to try to get rid of today's headache before my kiddos get home from school. It's looking pretty outside. Maybe some sunshine will help too. :)

Have a great day!