Dare I say it?

It's back to the grind tomorrow.

We had a fabulous vacation and I feel like it was a perfect combination of rest, relaxation, family time, and good food!

I also like that we were able to leave early Friday and draw out the drive by staying with Rachel Friday night.

Let's just say that the ride back today was HELL! Emmy was crazy bad and then Graem started up. At one point they were both crying and we threatened to leave them both on the side of the road.

Back to work?

It's hard to believe that Shawna has been out of work and home with the kids for over four years now! WOW!

I'm not sure that she'll look at jobs in health care when she's ready to go back to work.

We've talked a little bit about it and it might make sense for her to get a job with the school district. That way she can have the summers off and all of the school holidays and hours.

Did I mention the awesome benefits?

With the budget cuts hitting education who knows what the future holds.

Me so tired.

I swear Friday comes around and I'm POOPED~!

We have a dvd to watch tonight but I don't know if I can even stay awake! It's been a long week and I have to wake up early tomorrow to get things ready for workers to help me with the deck.

SO TIRED.

Years ago...

When we were in our early 20's we thought that we would love living in San Francisco. So we both went out there, got jobs, found housing, and started looking for cross country movers.

We figured it'd cost us around $4,000 to move, and then we'd also have to pay $2,000 a month to live in a studio apartment in Berkeley. We were game for it.

Things then took a turn for the worst. The dot com industry flopped, my job got rescended.

So we decided to take a detour. We always knew we'd end up back in Ithaca.

We bought a house, started having babies, and the rest is history!

Another one?

So we keep going back and forth on whether we want to have another kid. We both really love the time we get to spend with the girls. If money were no problem I would totally be on board.

Then there's the whole trying to conceive issue. I can't get into the situation we were in last time. We were both depressed, our relationship was on the rocks, we spent tons of money...

Maybe I'd consider it if it were covered under insurance and if the kids were a little bit older.

HOWEVER, Shawna makes some pretty bad babies and I'm not sure I could deal with another Emmy!

Doctor's appointment...

Next week Shawna is going to the doctor to try and get some diet pills. She was on them before and lost around 75 pounds.

Now that she's had the baby and getting to the point of weaning little Emmy she's thinking about starting back up on the pills to lose the unwanted weight.

It's always such a battle.

Why can't we all be blessed with very active metabolisms?

This 7:30 bedtime thing...

totally friggin' rocks.

I swear. I feel like a dumbass for not listening to other parents and putting our kids to bed earlier!

We have a decent routine these days and it's nice to have our evenings to ourselves. Of course, most of my nights have been spent doing the damn deck...

Stay with me...

It's amazing to see all of the places that have AED 's. That's short for Automated External Defibrillators.

The last time I went to Cornell I noticed that they had one located on every floor of the building. I'm sure that staff probably has to go to training on how to use the machines.

Since Shawna has a pacemaker I know she's covered! But it's nice to know that more and more places are spending the extra money to be safe and possibly save a life.

The biter.

So it looks like we have a baby biter on our hands.

Emmy has started biting Shawna after nursing. The other day I was holding her and she bit my arm and left a bruise.

We've started putting her in timeout but I'm not sure that's doing a thing. After she bites us she gets a smile and thinks it's hilarious.

I have a feeling that nursing is going to be shortlived...

Disney here we come!

In October we're heading to the west coast to see Alex and Dominic. While we're out there we figure we'll take the kids to Disneyland. Dominic gets free tickets and I think Graem is at the age where she'll appreciate the scary characters and enjoy the rides.

When Emmy gets older we'll have to check out Orlando vacations! You can get a great deal flying out of Syracuse and there's nothing better than a sunny place in the middle of an upstate New York winter!

Vacation...

is right around the corner.

The countdown has begun....14 days.

This time two Fridays from now we'll be in Boston drinking something delicious and eating tasty ethnic food.

Or we'll be in complete hell with two overly tired children and a dumpy hotel.

The possibilities are endless, really....

*meow*

We're leaving in a few weeks for Cape Cod and we're so excited. It's a very well deserved vacation!

While we're gone we're going to set Murphy up with wet food, dry food, cat snacks, and a fresh kitty box. The girl's going to have all of the cat supplies she could ever dream of!

We'll also ask our snoopy neighbor to come in and check in on her a few times and make sure she's okay.

We almost have a deck...

Well, what can I say.... but I'm more than 1/2 way through our deck. It's been a total bitch and hasn't really turned out like planned.

I've only had a few domestic disputes with Shawna and despite everyone quitting the job I've been able to recruit different friends to help me finish it up this weekend!

Being informed...

is really important when it comes to important topics like mesothelioma.

I never knew much about cancer until my dad was diagnosed. I tried to become as educated as much and as quickly as possible.

Having kids I've also tried to be as safe and cautious as possible for their health and for my own.

Peter Pan!

Tonight we're going to Graem's school performance of "Peter Pan". She's really excited about the play. We're leaving Emmy with L&L and we're just hoping there won't be too much crying!

At least Little E is taking her second nap now!

Speaking of getting older...

I've noticed that each night I go to bed and my body just aches! I've learned to take ibuprofen on a daily basis.

This morning I woke up and couldn't help but notice that my face is looking older. Maybe I should look into getting some of the best wrinkle cream on the market!

I have a feeling Shawna's going to have really pruny skin since she's had so much sun exposure and burns easily.

SO TIRED.

Seriously need more sleep!

WE've been staying up late playing rock band and although we're kicking some major ass when the kids go to bed. I'm friggin' exhausted.

I think it has to do with getting old.

Another week goes by...

without starting my diet.

Each week we talk about how fat we've gotten and then pledge to start our diet. Maybe I should look into a good appetite suppressant. It seems like I'm constantly hungry and even after I eat a meal I'm always looking for something more!

Help!

Fucking local business.

So we decided to go local for our air conditioner and can I just say how much the whole process has sucked?!?

Literally, they just wanted to make the sale on a Friday afternoon and after that the service has been horrible, installation was full of issues, and now we have NO working air upstairs.

I've called, complained, and now I've told them to take their fucking a/c out of my house because it's worthless.

We'll see what happens... and if they'll do the duct work that supposedly needed to be put in before we had the a/c installeD!

RAISE!

The good news is that yesterday when I was working late and asking my boss a question she mentioned that I was going to get a raise.

Hell yeah, bitches.

So glad to see that my hard work is paying off. LIterally.

Crashed.

So as many of you know our computer back up crashed. I've been so paranoid over the years to back it up regularly.

Now I'm thinking of going with sd flash memory so that I can keep it in yet another place.

Pictures and videos of the kids are truly priceless and it'd be devastating if they were gone forever.

On the go go go go go....

This weekend we did so much!

But it's what we had to do in order to prepare to be out of town starting Thursday. We're heading to NYC and we needed to clean the cars, clean the house, do the yard, and put the garden in!

This all reminds me that I'm going to have to tell G's school that she'll be gone for a few days.

Yikes...school is almost over!

Get the scale away!

Even though we've been really busy lately I feel like I've been eating a ton! The dangerous part is going to fast food and ordering burgers and fries to eat because it's easy, fast, and cheap!

I should probably just call it quits now and go on diet pill so that I can at least fit in my bathing suit in a few months!

So much for a weekend...

I swear it went way too fast.

We got everything done with the exception of one more stain coat on the bookcase shelves. Next week we're going to be in NYC for my brother's graduation.

Can't I just have one more day in the weekend?

So much better!

I have wanted a wedge pillow for YEARS.

Just a few months ago Shawna purchased one for me and I've been in heaven. It is the type that you put between your knees so that you can sleep on your side and have perfect posture.

Allegromedical.com has a great website with just about every kind of personal care item you can imagine.

I wish I would have known of this place when Shawna worked with seniors. They have some great aids that would have been perfect for her residents.

Plus, right now they are offering free shipping on orders over $25. That's absolutely unheard of in this day and time!

A few trips to the city.

It looks like we're going to be in New York City a few times this summer. My brother is graduating in May and so we're going to leave Thursday and stay through Sunday.

Then we're back again in August for his wedding.

I've got to write my uncle and make sure that he can hook us up with a place to stay.

It's kind of weird being homeless in New York and feeling like we don't have a "home".

LOST.

So excited that we're actually catching up on television tonight. Since our DVR is on the shits we're trying to watch all of the saved television we have taped!

We're watching "Lost" now and I want to watch "24" next.

Oh the life of mamas past 7:30pm.

Of course you didn't hear about the laundry, cleaning up of kitchen, and putting toys away that we did before we were able to sit down!

Get me out of here!

I was quite excited to walk outside today and see the sun shining and perfect weather! We spent most of the afternoon outside playing and enjoying the day.

We have been talking about going on a sunny beach vacation for a while. We looked at cancun vacations and they are so tempting. Beautiful beaches, amazing resorts....take me away!

Karisma Hotels look absolutely AMAZING. They offer inclusive dining from top notch chefs. The rooms look amazing and they are situated on beautiful beaches.

The last time we went to Cancun we had such an amazing time and it seven days was way too short!!

My next sunny vacation has to be at least ten days!

Oh BUFFALO.

Well, I did a 12 hour day the other day and it was a killer. This was followed by three ten hour days. I've put in 50 hours total for the week.

I'm bushed. (Not a lesbian pun either!)

I think I just have to work on having a balance between home and work. I know Shawna's been going crazy dropping off Graem in the morning and then coming back home and picking her up in the afternoon.

HOpefully, it will just be temporary and we'll be back to normal soon!

No more Bailey.

I'm not sure if I've posted this on the website or not...but Bailey is no longer with us.

We ended up taking her to the SPCA after she jumped on and scratched the baby AND pooped in Graem's bed. All in the same week.

It was SO hard to do and to say the least...the family was in tears.

However, it was the right decision and there's no doubt that we made the right decision.

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I didn’t realize this but Monex Deposit Company (MDC) is an industry leader. They sell gold in two forms: coin or ingot. The world demand now exceeds the supply demand for gold - which makes it a pretty smart investment.

Especially with the economy doing so poorly and people losing all of their investments with the stock market!

Speaking of broke...

Something is wrong with Emm. I really don't know if it's the combination of her missing nap time two days in a row, her teeth coming in or if something else is going on.

She's been screaming like it's almost painful and she literally isn't happy with anything. We keep hoping this is just a phase.

Maybe when she starts being mobile she'll be a happier camper.

Broke.

Our cat has been sleeping on top of the DVR and it looks like it has died a sudden death. We tried to watch some untaped television this afternoon and every 20 seconds it becomes scrambled.

God damn cat.

I can see the SPCA in her near future too if she doesn't behave!

A little gay goes a long way.

So we've finally made our gay travel arrangements for vacation this year.

We were trying to schedule something in Cancun or a nice blue water, sandy beach destination but it looks like we're heading to P-Town with Alex and Dom!

We're scheduled for July 11th-18th and we're staying at a friend's timeshare that's kid friendly, has a pool, and is essentially a one bedroom apartment a short walk from the beach and strand.

We just got an email from the boys a few hours ago telling us that the week we're scheduled in p-town is "bears" week.

Fun! Fun! Fun!

WE HAD SUN.

Yes it's amazing. The day we thought would never get here --- SPRING. We went to the Farmer's Market today and had such a wonderful time! Graem was well behaved and Emmy was...well Emmy.

We enjoyed great food with friends and for dinner Lyd and Baby F came over and enjoyed a grill out.

Maybe, just maybe...summer will be around the corner!

Fun!

We've been looking into cool things for Graem to do when she's off on summer break. Shawna's purchased a few different craft kits.

One that seems to be really popular is rubber stamps that have animals and letters! She is able to make birthday cards, and even spell words!

PLUS, it's easy clean up and she can get it out by herself.

Seperation.

Emmy's been going through some major seperation. So much that the second we walk out of the room she goes ballistic.

Shawna has been having a heck of a time during the day because she can't even go to the bathroom without Emmy arching her back and throwing a tantrum.

Anyone want a bad baby?

I've got to move it, move it.

Shawna started her diet today and I think she did pretty good with the exception of some tortilla chips at the Mexican restaurant.

She talked about looking for the most effective diet pill but will more than likely hold off until she's stopped nursing.

She's also doing the unthinkable - going to the gym next week!

Dude.

Work's been kicking me in the balls lately. Shawna's been taking Graem to school and I've been doing some major time. We've been "stimulated" at work and to say the least we're excited about. However, the deadline for all of the work is the last week in June.

Too bad that was our scheduled vacation time...

Something to do?

Shawna's been wondering what she's going to do when Emmy goes to daycare. She's looked into grad school and even considered getting her teaching certificate.

However, we just looked at an online Project Management certificate that might be the perfect thing for her.

Since she has a B.S. in Business Management and Economics an updated PM certificate might be the updated education that she needs to get back in the job market.

With this tough market it's important to try and put yourself ahead of other candidates.

St. Joseph University online offers courses at your own pace and schedule and would be perfect for someone like Shawna who has a flexible schedule.

Overtime.

So we just got hooked up with stimulus work and I've been asked to put in mad hours to get the job done. I'm glad that I don't have to worry about my job...BUT...I'm tired. I want a vacation and it looks like I might have to reschedule my June vacation since the deadline will be around that time.

Losin' it.

It's been almost a year later and I have yet to lose my "baby weight". I thought that the nursing diet might have done the trick but I'm not convinced. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I eat more because I'm constantly hungry!

Once the nursing stops I might consider weight loss pills. My friend Erica also offered to join the YMCA with me and work out.

A combo of both might do the trick...

LOST.

Can I just say that I love this shot. It's been so much better this year and now that we hve our home theatre up and running the HD channels look amazing!

Just sit back and watch.

It's up!

After much planning and saving we finally have our home theatre up and running! It looks and sounds awesome and we enjoy it on a nightly basis!

We installed it all ourselves and despite not having to put KVM switches in we ended up running all of the wires through the wall.

Next time I have a feeling that we'll probably just pay the $300 and have it done professionally!

Sleep?

We thought Emmy was sleeping really good...but then we realized taht her monitor was unplugged.

For all we know she was howling all night in her crib and noone was there to hear her!

Shoppin'

Lately, I've been checking out online auctions for cables for our television and home theatre. I've been shocked that I can find them almost 75% off what they are at our local electronics store!

Plus they get delivered to our house within a few days and I don't have to leave the couch!

Leave us sickies!

It seems like Emmy's getting over pneumonia. However, Graem started coughing at the dinner table this morning!

We're hoping it's just some fluky thing and starting to think that she might be doing some of this for attention.

Last night she had a fit because she didn't want to go to bed in the dark. So we ended up keeping the hallway light on.

Hopefully, it's just a stage and she'll get over it soon.

D-A-N-G-E-R!

This morning I stepped on the scale and couldn't believe the mad weight gain! I've been trying to do Wii Fit but haven't been very consistent about it.

Maybe I'll look into getting some diet pill information. Even though I need to lose about 20 pounds it sure would be nice to have a little help!

Again.

That's right, folks. We have a sick baby!

We went in yesterday for her 9 month appointment and it seems like she got a cold overnight. She woke up with boogies and overall not feeling good.

In other news...we're getting our new couch today!

I'm not sure I realized

what goes into starting and maintaining a business.

My profession holds business insurance because there could be a situation where someone gets hurt with one of our designs and the person decides to sue. Just one lawsuit could bring down any firm.

In order to protect the business - we purchase insurance.

There must be insurance for anything and everything these days.

Good ole password protect.

I can't believe how many people have written requesting our password for the new private posts that we're doing.

We decided to go private because we're posting more and more personal entries - plus, we aren't so sure about having all of our pictures posted out there for the world to see.

Losing weight?

I've been on a roll when it comes to losing weight. Shawna bought me Wii Fit for Valentine's Day and I've been trying to keep up when I get home from work.

She does it too but is absolutely horrible and I keep waiting for the day when she falls on her face or twists her ankle!

Maybe she just needs to stick with the diet pills!

Wii Fit.

Shawna got me Wii Fit for Valentine's day in hopes that we might actually do it and lose some weight.

We did it for the first two nights then we were too sore and Shawna left for Houston.

Now I'm feeling somewhat inspired to pop the game on again. I'm just not sure that I want to see the weight gain!

Is it spring yet?

This weekend we're going to get some seeds and start planting and growing seedlings in our basement.

We've decided to start with Blackberry plants, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peas.

It seems like each year we try to take on too much and it becomes a disorganized mess.

Typically, the only thing that we actually see are the tomatoes since we have a very hungry rodent that breaks into our garden!

I'm so proud ..

Fuck...I've tried to write three different posts and each time blogger seems to get stuck.

Maybe this one will work?

Getting it together...

Today Shawna spent half of the day looking for a stereo cabinet. We went to the local furniture store and found NOTHING.

We figure that we really just need something for the components and we don't want to spend a fortune.

What we might just do is wait until we have the new television, cable, and surround sound installed and then figure out what kind of stand we need.

Unbelieveable.

Maybe I'll just leave this post at that.

Shawna had an awful trip in Texas and to say the least...I'm not letting her go back there again.

Too much heartbreak and pain.

Always going up...

I'm so sick and tired of seeing all of our bills increase and my paycheck staying the same. In fact, I just got our home insurance bill and realized that it's gone up 10%.

We've never made a claim and the value of our house even went down. It seems like the companies are trying to make up their losses by overcharging their very loyal customers.

Sick kids.

Last night we were driving home and Shawna was in the van. All of a sudden she started spewing vomit EVERYWHERE. When we got home it didn't stop. Throughout the night there she kept vomiting.

She's still running a fever and we were told by the pediatrician that this should last for 24 hours or less.

Arachnids!

Our basement has serious spider issues. On a monthly basis we have to vacuum the raftors because we have some many spider webs.

Since we've cleaned it up I might consider looking into spider traps. That way we could get rid of those spiders and it will make my life easier!

The time has come...

and my girls are going to head out of town Monday.

I don't know what I"m going to do with myself.

Actually, I have a honeydew list a mile long! Including putting up a microwave and doing household chores.

I guess when I look at it...they're only going to be gone 3.5 days.

Creating new spaces...

We talked last night and we're going to try to add a bathroom upstairs in our bedroom space. I'd like to create different space throughout the house.

In fact, I might even look at office furniture to change the look of my home office.

Another option is to move the home office to the basement and refinish it to include an office, and an extra bedroom.

I'm not sure...

That I can believe what's going on with the economy. This was totally unpredictable. I'm starting to stress out because we saw the first layoff last week and I think they might be laying someone else off too at work.

As far as home goes..we're at a standstill. We're not moving and have decided to do some things around the house to change the space. I figure putting a good $5,000 into the house won't be a big deal considering $50,000 extra into a new house!

The never ending...

credit card bill!

It seems like each month I pay off our credit card bills only to see that the following month we owe $1,500!

I'm looking for a good card that either gives cash back, has no interest rate, or offers some benefits.

What's shocking is that even though I don't maintain a balance on our cards I still tend to get plenty of offers. However, the credit limits on the cards are only going up to $2,500.

I think it's the economy and people have used their credit cards to float them during struggling times...

Thank God...

that tomorrow is the last day of work before I get a nice 4 days off!

These holidays have been going way too fast.

MUST.SCHEDULE.VACATION.SOON!

Get me out of here.

This is the time of year when I start craving a nice, sunny, beachy, vacation!

We talked about going to St. Thomas or St. Maarten's last night with C and L. Of course, we couldn't really agree on a destination and they only want to go to certain areas.

I might want to look into travel insurance because you never know when you might need it!

Out and about.

I've got to get out of the house. It seems like we've been spending tons of time at home. Emmy hasn't been sleeping good and we're just trying to get her back into the swing of things and also get her back on track with NAPS!

Today she's working on a 5 hour nap. WHy she can't sleep during the night time is beyond me?!

Almost 4.

I can't believe that this day four years ago my water broke and within 24 hours our little girl made her appearance.

It's really gone fast and there are so many things that I still can't wait to share and teach her.

Today we're off to the library to see the dollhouse exhibit. Tomorrow we're going to do sushi and another kid's birthday party.

Our girl's getting big!

Fatness.

I should have gone with the flow when I lost about ten pounds. I figured the momentum would help me to drop a few more pounds. Not so.

I'm at the point of looking for diet and medication alternatives and I've even looked at Leptovox.

It's a fat burner and it might just be the little bit that I need to get myself started to a thinner me!

Seven fish dinner.

I'm pretty psyched that tonight we're going over to Amy and Christine's house for a seven fish dinner. The past few years we've gone over every year and enjoyed delicious food and met up with really great people.

This year I'm sure will be no different.

I'm making my lox platter and I'm hoping that it will be done by this evening. Eek!

Move.

I've got to move it, move it.

When January 1st rolls around you can bet your bottom dollar that I'm going to get on a diet to lose these unwanted pounds.

It seems like the weight that I lost when my father passed away has somehow been gained back!

Maybe I'll look at a good diet pill to help me get a jumpstart!

The countdown...

has started til Christmas! I have two - half days left and then I'm off for a few days! Woo Woo.

To say the least...I'm exhausted and tired of work.

Plus, I really want to spend some time with my girls.

Maybe a little getaway?

Maybe the perfect gift this holiday would be to take Shawna away to the Westgate Planet Hollywood Tours. This would be our first getaway after Emmy was born and honestly a night away might make all the difference!

God knows we could both use a good night sleep and an adult conversation!

Christmas already?

I have absolutely no idea what to get Shawna. I asked her again this morning and she just replied clothes. Of course, we don't have the same taste and I'm a little scared that I'm going to pick something out and she's going to hate it.

I guess it's the thought that counts and anything I get her will be better than the dumpy flax and maternity clothing that she's wearing now!

I know we're paying too much...

but I've been too lazy to look around for a different car insurance.

When I was looking at my dad's finances I realized that on life, car, and house insurance he was getting better deals than me! We currently go through one of the big companies and it's been years since I've shopped around.

I used to think we got great deals because we purchased it all together...but now I'm not so sure.

Freaking out?

Okay, so we just put our house up for sale and we don't have another house?!

WTF are we thinking?

We are going to probably put in another offer to the house in Northeast and maybe this time their bitchy attorney will accept our offer!

Bugs.

It seems like our house always has spiders! The basement has become a safe haven for spiders everywhere and we have tons of cobwebs running in the beams.

At our last apartment we had terrible grain moths. I wish we would have purchased a pantry moth trap.

We found out after searching for weeks that they had been feeding on our rice. Eww.

To say the least we stayed away from rice for a long while.

Yikes.

I just looked at my timesheet and it looks like I need to put in more time. Of course, I'm royally screwed because it seems like there just isn't enough time in the day.

Tomorrow I'm dropping off G and then we have our adoption tomorrow afternoon.

Maybe I'll just stay late and work til our Christmas Party at 6:30.

Augh...why can't I be independently wealthy again?

Time off?

I've thought about going down to four days a week of work. Of course, I'm not sure how we'd be able to pay our bills but figure we'd manage somehow.

Now I'm considering doing some online trading! Of course, I wouldn't invest too much because the market is so unpredictable.

It would be fun to take the day off and stay at home doing some day trading!

Out of commission...

Sorry I've been away for a while. Work's been kicking my ass everywhere and now I have just a few minutes to update this blog.

So much has changed.

Emmy and Graem are getting big and...


My father passed away a few days ago.

Of course, now I'm just trying to make sense of all of it...

We need more.

I've looked everywhere for the perfect table lamp for our living room.

Instead of buying a new one we just revamped our old one and even purchased a new lamp shade! Of course, that was an ordeal and took three months to find a decent one that didn't look like our grandmothers!

YES!

Tomorrow is my first day off of work since maternity leave! I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to going to Grammy's field trip and seeing her and all of her classmates interact.

Then we're going to Kyushu! After that we're going to do some geocaching and plan on going to L,C, and J's house for Halloween trick or treating and dinner!!

Let the fun begin!

Trimming the fat?

With the holidays approaching I don't know if I should try now or wait til January 1st to start my new diet!

Heck, I'm scared that with the holidays I might even put on more weight. God knows I love my food and I'd rather work on losing it than just cutting out goodies.

Maybe I should try orovo diet pills and see if they can help me out during the upcoming months!

Exhausted.

I'm so tired. Emmy was up quite a bit last night and she's been pretty grumpy the past day.

I hope she's not getting sick.

There's nothing worst than a sick baby!

Work less. Play more.

At some point Shawna's going to go back to work. However, I'm not really sure what line of work she's going to get into.

Ideally, she'd have a part-time job or something where she can make her own hours and then with the rest of her time tend to home stuff and kids.

Maybe we should look at franchise opportunities. That way she'd be able to make her own schedule and still contribute financially!

Let's vote!

I really can't wait to vote this year. I feel like things have got to change.

God knows I come home every day and curse out the computer because I see my savings and investments go to an all time low. Let's not even talk about the kid's college fund.

Augh.

So memorable.

I'm so glad that we purchased a camcorder when I was pregnant.

We've been able to capture both births of our daughters and all of those precious things that happen when kids are young.

The ongoing joke is when people come over we ask them if they want to see our birth video!

Rain or snow?

It's nasty outside!

The past few days it's been so dark when I get up. I can't wait for daylight savings so that I can wake up and know that it's time to start my day!

I just watched the news and it's reported that we might get snow showers.

WTF??

I guess it is October though!

Must move more.

I keep saying every few weeks how I need to trim down. I'm finally down from our trip to Philly but I feel like my clothes just don't fit like they used to.

Not to mention, I've spent a lot of money on my wardrobe and so I can't afford to buy a new one!

Maybe we should get an elliptical machine so that I can workout from home.

It seems like the hardest part of working out is actually getting out of the house.

All work...

These past few weeks at work have been so busy. My boss has talked about bringing on another employee but I'm not sure that's the right answer with the economy being in shambles and noone knowing where all of this is going to go.

So far I've been able to keep up with everything and just put a few extra hours in here and there.

What kills me is when I'm on the road and don't have access to phone or email. Typically I check in and make calls throughout the day.

I just need more time in the day!

They worked for Shawna!

Maybe I should try diet pills too!

When Shawna resigned to stay home with Graem she was prescribed a few diet pills. To say the least they were what jumpstarted her weight loss and she was able to get down to an all time low.

The good thing was that after she had lost some of the weight it was much easier to lose more.

Let the diet begin!

Yesterday as we were driving home we decided that we should start our diet. It was nice because after having delicious food all week in Philly it was easy to have a light meal last night!

Of course, it's lunch time now and I'm STARVING!

Maybe I should just go to the treadmills at the local gym instead of McDonalds.

We don't have a thing!

I swear office supplies in our house are pretty scarce.

When Shawna was working she always used to bring nice pens home since she did some work from home. We had collected quite the number of pharmaceutical pens.

However, just the other day I realized that we didn't have *any* pens at all! So for the first time in about 10 years we had to go out and buy a few packs.

I can't wait til we get to go school shopping with the kids. FUN FUN FUN.

Flab.

Well, at least I've been able to get back to my 150 pound mark. I was exceeding my limits for a while there and I contributed it to extensive maternity leave and the fact that we were eating way too much and too often!

Of course, I might be interested in reading weight loss pill reviews if I want to start on a fat pill any time soon!

*gulp*

Our friend, L, mentioned the other day that she was down $30,000 for the year. Now that's a lot of money! Right now I have a pretty large amount of money in savings and I've been looking at ways to invest.

I've thought about futures trading but I'm not sure I want to take the risk right now.

At this point I have some ability to go risky and I know I should just take the plunge in order to diversify my portfolio.

Nice.

When we were in New York I tinkered around with all of my dad's cameras. He has the Leica, Canon, Nikon D90, Samsung, and Olympus digital SLRs.

It was a lot of fun but somewhat overwhelming because there were tons of settings and it reminded me how much I love my Canon Powershot point and shoot!

What can I say...

I pick Shawna's blackheads.

The reality is we all need someone to help us out and instead of them getting infected in her skin I pop them.

I've noticed that I have some blackheads on my nose and try to pick them but they aren't as fulfilling as hers and many times I don't get anything out.

I suppose at some point if they really bothered me I could start washing my face more or using cleanser.

Where's my money?

Years ago Shawna used to be an accountant. She had a decent job and was constantly looking at spreadsheets all day. Her best friend worked in collections and always said that the company would be better off with commercial collection agencies because they had so much outstanding and she could only do so much.

Another flipside of going through an outside agency is that the company that is owed is not seen as the bad guy and it's more of a routine process.

Dumb computer.

Our computer is a serious piece of crap.

It dies once every week and each week I think that we're going to have to take the plunge and buy a new one!

Of course, we could just do the quick fix and purchase more memory!

My dad mentioned when we were in Houston that it takes quite a bit of memory to run Windows Vista and we have about half of what's needed.

Duh. User error?

Behind the times.

We ended up taping the birth of little Emmy. Kim showed up at just the right time and got every minute of the action.

However, now that I think about it...I wish we had a new camcorder.

They have some great ones now that allow you to tape directly to a DVD. Our old school camcorder takes the cassettes and you have to buy something for your VCR in order to play from the cassette. Or you can just plug it into the television.

What a pain.