Sitting in the concert last night I was loving it, but sitting there with a bit of melancholy. First off, music plays a very small role in my life right now–mostly I’m an “Enjoy The Silence” kinda gal–but there are some songs that throw me back to different stages in life. Some happy, and some not so happy. Last night was all happy–but the sadness sprang from the fact that so much has happened in the past 25 years, good and bad. I’m one of those people who would give anything to take what I know now–and go back in time and start over. I made so many DUMB mistakes since I was 13–mistakes that although they shaped who I am now, still make me kick myself for. Some of the dumb ones…being boy crazy. I’m trying to teach my kids that boy/girl friends are not important during high school. I’m not sure they are listening, but that is one thing I would get rid of. Another, I would do well in school. I was capable of it, but with problem number 1 hanging around…I didn’t really try. Habits–I would love to overcome some dumb habits that I had, even then! I still bite my nails, and I’m 37 years old!!! College–I would stay in (again, problem number one sneaked in there too)–I would have finished college, if for no other reason than you just need a bachelors degree (in anything) to be a substitute teacher. That’s a job I could have while my kids are in school!! So instead of thinking about going back to school (online) at 37 to finish up before my baby hits 2nd grade (I’m taking 1st grade off)–I would be done already, and ready to work! And one of the biggies…Temple Marriage. Yes, I still want the same hubby—and it’s still possible, but I should have pushed much harder for it, the first time!
There’s more of course! I remember feeling the need to write to my aunt who was very ill but didn’t have enough time left to send a letter to, but then she emailed me and I was so excited that I could email her everything I wanted to say (pretty lame, eh). I sobbed writing that letter–how do you say goodbye to someone that you love so much! Anyway, the one thing I said to her was that I wish we had never moved here to Chicago. I was surrounded by such dysfunction and chaos, and even though I thought I had the rest of my life to spend with my family at home–I wouldn’t get to spend them with her, and I had wasted all of that time here, with crazy people! That is still true–I do wish we didn’t live here–BUT, I’m going to try to learn from the past——-Just find a way to be happy where you are!! So…my new quest for me…happiness! Changing the things that make me unhappy–and being thankful for what I do have! I hope it will come quickly–but if not, hey, this life is a journey anyway!
And one thing that needs to be said—REALLY loud…I LOVE YOU, MOM!!
My Mom is my best friend, and always has been…and that’s one thing I wouldn’t change at all!
I enjoy birthdays much more the older I get. I know, I’m a bit out of norm with the rest of society–but I require far more enthusiasm and celebration than I used to! In fact, being the cake person that I am, I’m making cake (in my new baby) and letting my kids decorate it. The hubby and I celebrated last night with dinner and the Duran Duran concert. He was such a good sport, and dinner was soooooo good! We love the kids, but it is so rare that we don’t have them with us, that it was just nice to get out alone together and enjoy the evening.
I think I’ll have the kids help me make my favorite dinner. Don’t worry–I’m thinking “Pigs In A Blanket”–no they aren’t really my favorite dinner to eat-but one of my favorite to make–or, um, let the kids make!! I remember when I was younger my favorite consisted of hamburger stroganoff and strawberry colada. I do have a fabulous pina colada cake recipe I keep meaning to put on my cake blog…maybe we’ll have that instead!!
Yep, totally stole that line from a STYX song! But it is indeed fitting! It’s been 25 years coming–and it’s finally here! Yes, I’m weird! No, I don’t know any of Duran Duran’s new songs! Yes, I will still cry like a baby tonight–and life will be good!
The man and I are heading out for dinner tonight and then off to the show. His parents are watching the kids at our house…so I may just make him buy me dessert too! We get so little time all alone together, that I think that is actually what will be the most fun part of the evening! Plus—imagine the fun watching my ACDC/Metallica loving husband “grooving” to 80’s Pop music that he won’t be able to find the beat with. Hee Hee, I’m so excited!!
Have you heard of this great fund raising option? Schoolpop.com? I just signed up. I am not a fan of sending my kids door to door to collect donations or to sell things. I remember hating it when I was younger, and vowed that my kids wouldn’t have to ever do it. Little did I know that earlier this year when I volunteered to pay Jake’s fees for the field trip to Springfield, he was mad at me. He WANTED to go door to door selling candy bars. So NOT my child!! Anyway, with Schoolpop you get to shop with all of your favorite merchants and school fundraising supporters and buy what you normally would buy anyway, and a portion of your sale goes to the school of your choice. I was disappointed to find out that our school isn’t listed, but I will definitely be forwarding this information onto the PTO Treasurer to see if it’s something they would be interested in implementing. Anyone can join, anyone can shop, and any school can earn extra money! Check the list for your child’s school, and if it’s not listed, let your PTO officers know as well. It really is a great idea!
My birthday is coming up in the next 48 hours! I’m really excited, tomorrow we start our festivities with the Duran Duran concert. Tonight at the Cubs game, Simon LeBon (lead singer) threw out the first pitch and sang the 7th Inning Stretch. Too bad we had tickets for last nights baseball game instead of tonights–that would have been awesome!!
Tonight my sweet husband gave me my Mother’s Day/Birthday/Anniversary gift early. It’s what I really wanted, and about the only thing I really asked for–and it’s beautiful! I keep staring at it, and I have this really bizarre urge to bake something! This isn’t too bad, except that while he was out shopping, I made him a homemade batch of his favorite peanut butter cookies…oh, to have waited 2 hours for that one!! Anyway–take a look at my new baby…he’s AWESOME!!
We have spent a fortune the past few months getting the house we moved out of fixed up and ready to put on the market. I have purchased new paint, supplies, carpet, laminate flooring and window shades. It’s amazing what a difference it’s all made. The house is so much nicer than when we lived there, and since it’s empty it looks a lot bigger. Now I’m trying to find some easy ways to make this house look really nice. We have some old aluminum blinds and I would like to either get the updated faux wood blinds or the new, really cool looking roller shades. If you look at JustBlinds.com, you will get an idea of what I’m looking for. My husbands restaurant currently has the dark brown roller shades, and I have to tell you–they’ve come a long way since I was little and roller shades were made with those long plastic reeds. These ones are beautiful, and the price is really reasonable for the quality you get. I was looking at something like this…
for the family room. Currently there are just really flimsy curtains and when you watch TV at night, there is nothing really bringing privacy to the room at all. I like the faux wood verticals too–there are just so many to choose from! I’m going to have to get my ideas together and figure out which ones I want finished first!
This is my little three year old making his own sandwich! Mind you, he’s not a seasoned pro at it, and there is jelly on his tummy–but still, I’m just not ready for this little man to grow up so quickly!
Does anyone watch Deal Or No Deal? I don’t get to watch much “grown up” TV due to the four kids in the house, but I did find this clip on YouTube. I don’t know why I like it so much, but honestly, I find it hysterical! It just shows you how you get Tunnel Vision in these types of cases.
Well, the dust has settled and the theme looks a bit…pompous! That just isn’t me! The original Hobbit theme is simple and really pretty, but with no sidebars it’s just not an option. Transforming it into the TulipTime works with the sidebars it’s just too ‘frilly’ for me. So I will keep my eyes open for new looks that fit me a bit better…till then, we’ll see how long this one lasts!
I have only ever made one other wedding cake, and it was multi-level–it looked like this…(please note…the following cake was NOT made by me. The one I made was awesome…but this is out of a magazine)
The one I made today turned out pretty good. If it were ever to be used for a wedding I would want to double each layer with a filling in the middle. Just to make them thicker. I haven’t put the step by step up on the cake blog yet. Hopefully, I can get them up later this evening. It was a fun endeavor…but we can’t wait to eat it! I used Buttercream frosting and then used a faux fondant technique–but it is all yummy buttercream!
As you can probably tell…we are going through a little revamp! The dust will clear hopefully tomorrow. My problem is this…I LOVE the Hobbit theme, but there is no sidebar. So I’m using the Tulip Time theme and making it as close to the Hobbit as possible. Note the pictures below!!
This is what I want…but with a sidebar!!
This is what I’m tweaking to get as close to it as possible…
You’ll have to stay tuned to see how it turns out!!
This is my next cake! In fact, I plan on making it tomorrow. The only thing I don’t have are the purple flowers. But I figured out that I can use the amazing blossoms from the tree out front in place of the purple ones on this cake. I’m excited to try it! I have several people asking about wedding cakes, and I would like to have a couple in my portfolio as well as taking the time to figure out the support this type of cake will need. Do I smell power tools in my near future??? I’ll post the finished photo’s tomorrow or Thursday on my cake blog if you’re curious!! Cross your fingers!
I have loved the month of May my whole life, but it’s only been the past decade that it’s truly my favorite month of the year. With May I get Mother’s Day, my Birthday and our Anniversary. Can you say PRESENTS?? Most Mother’s Days, the Chef makes me homemade chocolate dipped strawberries. This year I’m hoping is no different, but I love Chocolate of any kind.
This Mother’s Day will be a little lame for me. There is a huge Mother’s Day Brunch at the restaurant that my hubby will hang out all day for. Then the in laws were invited to a family dinner with a relative who’s coming to town from London. I’m invited, but the kids aren’t and I can guarantee there won’t be a sitter available for Mother’s Day! So it will just be the kids and I for the day. So let’s just say…there better be some flowers and some fabulous chocolate delivered to my door as well!!
The 4th graders had the opportunity to take a day long field trip to the State Capitol in Springfield. Jake LOVED it, and can’t wait to go back again. I let him take my camera, and although he erased 1/2 of his photo’s, he did manage to get a few!
I was talking to my mom yesterday. We are really chatty and in our hours long conversations we cover every topic under the sun. Whether it be politics, religion, reality TV or just talking about the kids…we cover it all! Yesterday we got on to debt. Because of the way our loan was originally written, we are stuck in an interest only loan for one year with a balloon payment coming up in September. Because of this we are in the midst of a refinance. It’s going really slowly due to all of the foreclosures the lenders out here are being particularly picky about the loans they cover. So we talked about how we wished the liberals would get off of their “Global Warming” sidetrack because everything we use daily has nearly doubled in price. All because of the Ethanol going to find a cleaner burning fuel! But then they scream that we are in a recession, which makes me wonder if they even know what one is! You have to have a negative profit for two consecutive quarters to be in a recession, and the United States hasn’t been. We keep posting growth. It’s small, but it’s growth! Even the housing market isn’t considered in a slump because only 9 out of 50 states are having problems. Of course my state–it’s a Blue state–is in the red. Whereas most of the Red states aren’t in the red, in fact, they are showing great profits! Utah is the most conservative state in the country, and they have one of the best economies! hmmmmmmm, makes you wonder what they are doing differently!
It hasn’t always been so peachy in Utah. They led the nation in bankruptcy filings several years ago. People getting into debt way over their heads. Many sought out Credit Card Counseling, but were still unable to live within their means, and many lost their homes. In this house, we don’t carry credit card debt. In fact, we only have one credit card–and it only has a $500 limit! This is our “emergency” card. It sits with an empty balance until something comes up that we need a little help with. Other than that, we are a cash only family! I love this because even if you happen to splurge a little on one paycheck, a few months later it isn’t affecting my budget at all. Which has saved many a sleepless night!
Right now with our property taxes looming over our head, I’m wishing we could sell our house and pack up and move to Utah. Their property taxes are only $1200 a year for the same size house as ours, and I’m paying $7000! What’s up with that??
