Hubby's new toy...

So, we've been having fun playing with hubby's new blue (to match his work uniform...Eva picked it out) IPod Nano, which is so technologically superior to my Shuffle (the white kind that is about the size and shape of a pack of gum) it's not even funny. I've been playing DJ when we've been driving (a lot recently), but on our way home tonight, I put it on shuffle, and hubby told me that he's seen blogs have lists of what was shuffled on their IPod, so I wrote down as we went. I was originally going to do the first 10 songs, but I actually wrote down 13, as that's how many it took to get home...so here they are (I wonder what this says about us!)

1)Count My Blessings
Curtis Stigers
Curtis Stigers

2)Letter Shapes
They Might Be Giants
Here Come the ABCs

3)Give It Up Or Let Me Go
Dixie Chicks
Wide Open Spaces

4)Mary, Joy Of All Who Sorrow (With Script)
Cat.Chat:The Catholic Audio Show for Kids
Mary Leads Me Closer To Jesus

5)Jesus My Faith Is In You (With Script)
Cat.Chat:The Catholic Audio Show for Kids
Cat.Chat #2 Jesus In My Heart

6)Tell Me Something Good
Rufus
Millennium Funk Party

7)Here's To Lyin'
Doug Supernaw
Deep Thoughts from a Shallow Mind

8)With Or Without You
U2
Joshua Tree

9)Just Like Anyone
Soul Asylum
Let Your Dim Light Shine

10)Your Banquet of Love
Simonetta
Keep Your Eyes On The Beloved

11)My Best Was Never Good Enough
Bruce Springsteen
The Ghost of Tom Joad

12)Nickel in the Well
Bryan White
Between Now and Forever

13)I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
U2
Joshua Tree

So, a random sampling of what we have out of 1800+ songs on hubby's IPod!

Domestically Challenged

So, I have been a housewife for the last, oh 5 years or so (full time for almost 2 years, part time for 3 years before that...not to mention the other 3 years as a student and wife...), so you'd think that I wouldn't run across that many tasks that I have NO CLUE how to do...

Don't get me wrong, I have ironed items before...I try to avoid it as much as possible after the high school trauma of melting my choir dress (we lovingly called them our blue garbage bags) by using too high of heat.

Hubby had thrown a couple of horribly wrinkled uniform shirts in with a wet load of laundry to try to get the wrinkles out. He fished them out, and they were still just as wrinkled, and I told him to throw them back in for the rest of the cycle (he thought that they might burn in the dryer...I figure, if I've never burned an article of clothing in the dryer, it is just NOT POSSIBLE!) He made the comment that he would probably need to iron them if they came out and were still wrinkled. So, they came out of the dryer, and guess what!?! STILL WRINKLED!!! So, I thought this would be a great opportunity to practice sacraficial love for my husband by doing something that I can't say that I hate (because my iron and I don't have enough of a relationship to label) but that I can say I avoid, and thus, really don't know how to do!

So, I grabbed up the three work shirts in the load of laundry, and set up the ironing board and the iron (there have been YEARS in our married life when we couldn't find/couldn't use our iron...for instance when it was covered with bits of wallpaper from trying to steam off 3 layers at our old house...), and set to work. I vaguely remember my MIL telling me of her grandmother's order of operations while ironing, so I thought I'd try that. (I am at least 2 generations away from any level of domesticity) So, I ironed and ironed...and got no where! Sadly, the shirts are made of a cotton/poly blend, which on our iron is in that ambiguous range where it might be steam iron, but it might not bother... So, now I am online not only to lament my pathetic domestic skills, but also to look up nonvideo (as our dialup and videos do not get along) instructions for ironing shirts.

I love Taxes...

Okay, so technically, I don't really LOVE taxes...I don't particularly like paying them...I'd prefer to keep our money...but I love the new year because I have 1) an excuse to buy a new piece of software every year (TurboTax...tried TaxCut once...it SUCKED!) and 2) an excuse to look at all our finances and recap the year in what we accomplished or did not accomplish to make goals for the new year.

Yes, I am a dork! I'm sure at some point I've put up a blogthings quiz to prove it...

So, I got TurboTax in the mail today, and have been playing around with it instead of accomplishing any dishes or laundry. Of course, I don't have any tax forms yet, but we just got hubby's last pay stub of the year today, so I've been figuring things out based on that. Of course, that means that I'll have to correct a bunch of numbers when the appropriate forms come in the mail, but hey, I find it fun!

I've always been a money nerd (not a math nerd, I never could do math problems unless they involved money...I just need it in practical terms I understand $$$) I used to balance people's checkbooks for them in college. I did try to get my MIL on a budget/to balance her checkbook for the first time EVER...but after about 3-4 months of it, I found that I didn't have the time to babysit her. If there ever was a lost cause in terms of financial responsibility, my MIL is it...I love her dearly, of course, but I just try not to even THINK about her finances.

Oh, we've also set a new financal goal...I'll probably work on a ticker for it (I love tickers...I'm a dork, I said it already!) but we plan to save right around $20,000 in the next 18 months to buy a new to us car for our tenth anniversary. That means ol' Bessie is gonna have to make it 18 more months...I've been expecting that car to die for about 5 years now, but it's still going strong, so what's another year and a half?

Christmas Decorations

Well, it is December 23rd, and hubby is at church serving up breakfast to all the brave souls who stayed to decorate for midnight Mass tomorrow. I brought the girls home because I am just not brave enough to let them wander free in the church with decorating going on. However, the fact that the church is getting decorated is making me think that maybe...just MAYBE...we ought to decorate our house!

Hubby pulled down the Christmas decorations he could find from the attic (a place I have never ventured, and never really intend to...) but he couldn't find the ornaments for the tree. The tree itself has been up since Thanksgiving (only because my parents sent us a new, prelit artificial tree as an early Christmas present...had it been in storage, I'm sure it would be going up today!). I am, however, proud to say that our Advent wreath (we've had it for a few years, so it had to come out of storage) has been out all of Advent, and our nativity scene (new this year) has been up for weeks.

The rest of the decorations, minus the ornaments are in our bedroom, which the girls keep going in to attempt to eat things off of our wreaths, etc. So, today when hubby gets home, he will be sent up into the attic one more time to attempt to find the ornaments (and put up some outgrown clothes and toys) and I hope to clean and decorate the house, and pack for our whirlwind trip to see my parents. We get to leave sometime after noon tomorrow, and have to be back in time for hubby to go to work at 7am on the 26th.

My mom is doing well, she had a very long named surgery on December 12th to deal with the scarring from her cancer, so she will be sore and unable to hold the kiddos, but I know she is looking forward to seeing them!

Oh yeah...I almost forgot, I have to wrap all our presents (minus the girls two, since I wrapped them immediately after I got them home so that they wouldn't find out what they are!

Merry Christmas!!!

Vacation planning...of sorts...

Well, one of the challenges of having a hubby who works 6 days a week (who likes to point out that it would be worse if he were farming with his family!) is that trips and vacations are few and far between. Hubby managed to get Monday off work (which is amazing with recent events at work including one woman out for a couple of weeks because of a brown recluse spider bite...my squash first ask questions later policy has been very much strengthened by this!) So, we can leave Saturday after work (hopefully 1 or 2 pm) and come back Monday night.

Originally the plan was to go see my mom, who just finished her last round of chemotherapy two weeks ago. However, both girls have come down with a cold (not serious for them, but VERY serious for my mom's compromised immune system) and my mom spent most of this week in the hospital with a staph infection. So, no trip to see grandma. We are trying to make the best of it though, but of course (as always) we are on a tight budget! So, I've been trying to priceline a hotel room for two nights, with no luck so far. So, hopefully we will be going to Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Denver, or Cheyenne, WY this weekend.

Also trying to find a few (very few!) fun things for the kids to do. We're all kind of hoping to get a Colorado Springs hotel so that we can go to "Boo at the Zoo" at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Eva LOVES the giraffes, and I think that Charlotte would enjoy feeding them, too.

I'm looking forward to finding some antique/thrift shops to go to, and checking out the specials at the big grocery stores (I'm such a dork!) and hubby is looking forward to relaxing a little bit. I think that I'll go do some shopping during naptime, and the kids and hubby can stay at the hotel and sleep/watch TV.

Well, better get back to priceline and see if I can do any better!

My Republican Rant of the Day (well, Month, more likely!)

Okay, so this is actually a continuation of a rant I've been having for a few weeks now...but the first time I started on it, hubby called it my "Republican Rant of the Day" so that's how I think of it now (even though, incidentally I am not in any way affiliated with the Republican or any other political party.)

So, we recently found out that hubby's new co-worker is pregnant. Which I think is great! Babies are wonderful! It would probably be better for her, her daughter (incidentally named Charlie) and her baby if she and the kid's dad were married rather than just living together...but whatever...I'm still happy about the baby.

So, I was talking with hubby about the health insurance from his work (which is AWESOME, at least the plan that we have, in regards to maternity care) and he ended up talking a little bit with this co-worker about it, and telling her how happy we were with it, and the fact that we didn't have to pay a penny for Charlotte's delivery or my prenatal care compared to our old insurance with Eva where we paid out of pocket about $8000 the year she was born.

So, hubby was expecting a happy reaction, or at least relief that this pregnancy wouldn't be too difficult for her financially, etc. What I don't think either one of us expected was confusion that you'd have to PAY for medical care with insurance!

You see, with her first kid, she was on medicaid and didn't have to pay for anything, either. (Now, don't take this the wrong way...she is a lovely women and I like her very much...I also understand how in SOME cases medicaid is a very good system) She worked a retail job, and because she wasn't married to the baby's father she qualified for medicaid (she may have qualified if they were married, but if they were married he might feel as though he needed to be responsible for his family)

So, in the end, who really got to pay for all of her medical care...people like us! The year we had Eva we made about $24,000 gross. We paid out about $8,000 in medical bills...forget that 7.5% threshold the IRS requires to deduct medical expenses...about 1/3 of our GROSS income went to medical bills...

I don't even want to think how much more went to social welfare programs like Social Security and Medicare...

It just ticks me off to think that essentially the government is REWARDING stupid behavior!

Now, I would like to say that both hubby and I are happy that is coworker had enough ambition to get a better paying job with benefits...because all the hoops to jump through to apply for the job are pretty extreme...but I just get frustrated when I think of all of the people in similar situations to her that don't work as hard to become self-sufficient someday...

Well, something pretty cool happened today. I'm a little bit of a loner, so I often deal with stuff on my own as well...

At Mass on Sunday, we had a ministry fair of sorts (donuts were provided...apparently not nearly enough of them, but we're still adjusting to this 8am Mass thing...) where we all were supposed to go down in the basement and fill out our time and talent forms for the upcoming year. I was chatting a little bit with a couple of the ladies from my bible study. They asked how Eva's destination birthday party went, and so I told them that it didn't go that well and the whole hospital saga, then I told them about my grandma, and about going up to sit with my mom at chemo the coming Friday (tomorrow). They told me that I was in their prayers, etc. which I appreciated a lot. It felt pretty good to get some of that off my chest.

So, last night I got home and noticed an e-mail that I wasn't supposed to read. The two ladies had sent out a call to make me and my mom a care package of sorts for at the hospital. So, tonight a bible study, a bunch of them brought a few things...some sympathy/thinking of you cards, a book, some magazines, an angel figurine, a few snacks and a little baggie of quarters for vending machines at the hospital.

I was so touched by these little things. It means so much to know that other people are there for you. I guess I should know by now that in a small town, when someone says "Let me know if there is anything I can do for you" they mean it (growing up, it was more of an empty phrase that people really didn't mean...)

Anyhow, that made me smile and cry a little bit, and made me grateful for friends.

Sometimes I just don't have the energy to whine about my life...

...and maybe that is a good thing!

It's been about three months since I got that phone call from my dad about my mom's cancer. Now, I've never been the biggest fan of doctors (not saying that they are bad people, or anything...I just don't really like medicine, etc.) but this really hasn't improved my view much.

So, my mom has Kaiser Permanente insurance...when this whole thing started, she ended up really sick and jaundiced. She was sent in for CT scans, MRIs, etc. She was first sent to a surgeon who told her that she had inoperable pancreatic cancer. Not a fun thing to hear...not to mention complete lack of bedside manner, and an assumption that his guess was indeed, fact.

When she was sent on to an oncologist for testing, it turned out that she has lymphoma (not sure which type...there's a reason I didn't go into nursing or anything like that!). They have competely ruled out pancreatic cancer, and her most recent CT scan did not show any tumours. So, Friday is her 5th round of chemo, and she will have one more round, but then most likely will be done.

I was supposed to go up and sit with her during her chemo, but naturally my snotty little girls gave me a cold! Obviously, it would be better for me NOT to enter into the chemo room with any sort of illness, so instead I am going to stay home and feel a little guilty about my mom having to be there all alone.

I have to admit, this has been a very trying couple of months for me...but I know that it has been so much worse for my dad. I am hoping that all of what has been happening is God's plan for my dad's salvation...

So, the whole cancer thing happens...
Good news (my aunt, uncle, hubby and I all think this first one might have been a miracle) lymphoma with a 50% survival rate (or so) instead of the less than 5% survival rate for pancreatic cancer.

My mom went back to teaching, and has ended up in the ER three times now (she still doesn't want to take time off because she is afraid that she will need sick leave later...never mind that she has been paying into a sick leave bank for 25 years...never mind that she definately has reason to used said sick leave bank if she needed to...)

Most recent ER visit was over labor day weekend. Hubby and I and the girls were going up to the mountains with his extended family (to the same town where my parents spend weekends and summers) and my mom had planned this grand 3rd birthday bash at their house. My mom ends up in the ER neutropenic (not sure if I spelled that right or not! but basically having no immune system) and needed antibiotics and a blood transfusion. It turns out that she had e. coli from the stent in her liver, and she had to stay in through Tuesday so that they could put a cathader into her because all her veins were going bad from all the chemo and the IVs from hospital stays.

My dad threw the bash by himself, took lots of pictures, and my mom was well enough after the party for us to bring the girls down to see her.

So, my mom took a week off from school after that. Last Friday, I got a call from my mom saying that my grandma (dad's mom) who was in the hospital with a broken hip had a lot of problems during a hip replacement and was bleeding internally and not likely to make it through the night. She passed away that night.

See what I mean about my poor dad?

Anyhow, that's just a short update on how things have been around here in the past few months. I'm going to try to get back in the habit of blogging (though perhaps with less whining involved!)

The C word...

Okay, so I got some pretty bad news yesterday. My mom called to let me know that she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The dreaded "c" word...worse yet, it is inoperable. Reading up on pancreatic cancer, it does not look good, but I'm still waiting to hear back on more details. So, anyone who sees this, please say a prayer for my mom, Donna...and also for my dad! My mom is at least nominally Christian, but my dad isn't at all. They really don't have anything to hold on to during this suffering.

This is sooo COOL!!!

Check out what Danielle Bean is up to! What a great idea!!! A charity raffle for St. Gianna's Maternity Home near Fargo, ND. She's raised lots of money so far...

Being technologically behind, I don't know how to link in the post, but go to my link for Danielle Bean, and you'll find plenty more info there!

Dress update...

So, the girls and I went to a doctor's appointment with my MIL up in the city, and naturally we went shopping afterwards. I tried on all sorts of outfits at Kohls, and most of them were horrible, but I did find one dress that I really liked! It was black and white, and is very similar in style to the dress I bought this winter (which is black, white and red) and the price tag read $54...so, I thought that was a little pricey, and I was sad and about to put it back when I passed a price checker thing...the dress was on clearance for $16.20!!! So, cool!

I looked around some more and found the dress in two shades of blue, and even found it in my size. So, I ended up getting the dress in blue...and I thought with that good of a deal, maybe I'd buy a necklace to go with it...just costume jewelery, nothing that fancy. I found two great necklaces that I really liked with it, and since they were buy one get one half off, I got both...the sick part? The two necklaces together cost more than double the cost of the dress!

Also, I finally got a couple of doormats for the house, and got hubby two new shirts and ties (we can BOTH look classy for the upcoming wedding! Woo hoo!!!) And grandma of course got the girls some clothes (Charlotte cute part dress onesies, and Eva a t-shirt and two sets of PJs...she has a pajama fetish...) and Eva a little sports set (with a football, 2 baseballs, a soccer ball, a bat, and a glove) with Dora all over them, so Eva has some great outdoor toys to go with our great weather!

Our First Homeschooling Project!

So, on Sunday after church and lunch, we decided to go to the hardware store to price pavers, etc. for our landscaping woes (I am adamant that this year we WILL have a sidewalk to the front door rather than old boards placed over the dirt where said pavers will go!)

So, Eva pipes up that we need to get a birdhouse. No idea where this comes from...as I really don't like birds very much...they are noisy when I try to nap and they poop all over my car...(okay, likely this is some genetic thing from my mother that SKIPPED a generation!) So, I ended up talking her into a bird feeder, because I see no purpose for bird houses (isn't that what trees are for?)

At first I thought we might get something decorative to class up our yard, but after discovering that birdhouses start in the $20 range and go UP from there (to feed birds...I just don't get it!!!) we decided to instead go with the early homeschooler's model. A kit that had a base and suction cups that you attach a platic bottle to (20 oz soda bottle is what we used!) and fill up with bird seed. So, Eva and I put together the bird feeder, and she has been enjoying watching the birds come eat at the feeder.

So, as a Future Homeschooler of America, I diligently went on line to Paperback Swap and found children's books about birds. So, Eva will be getting a field guide to 24 common bird species in the mail before too long. I'm thinking that unschooling during preschool may be the way to go!

Another one that doesn't surprise me!

Your Dominant Intelligence is Musical Intelligence

Every part of your life has a beat, and you're often tapping your fingers or toes. You enjoy sounds of all types, but you also find sound can distract you at the wrong time. You are probably a gifted musician of some sort - even if you haven't realized it. Also a music lover, you tend to appreciate artists of all kinds. You would make a great musician, disc jockey, singer, or composer.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

Okay, so we all know that I'm not normal...

You Are 30% Normal

You sure do march to your own beat... But you're so weird, people wonder if it's a beat at all You think on a totally different wavelength And it's often a chore to get people to understand you

How Normal Are You?

...but this particular quiz asked me for my views on spanking and living together before marriage, among other things that really didn't make me think one answer was normal and the other was not...oh yeah...and if I'm 30% normal and 60% weird...what's the other 10%????

Dress rant...

Okay, continuing my theme of ranting about clothing...today's topic is dresses.

So, in two weekends we are going to the wedding of a college friend who may be the world's most fashionable person...(okay, maybe I shouldn't go that far...but she is the most fashionable person either one of us knows!) Hubby is going to be a reader at the wedding, and I am having the dilemma of what I should wear...

You see, the last dress I bought was for Charlotte's baptism...I love the dress, but since I bought it to wear in DECEMBER...I'm thinking it might not work for a summer wedding. The last dress I bought before that was for my SILs wedding (and really, I just don't like the dress that much...a little more matronly than I want to look!) which was also in DECEMBER the year before...

Then my next newest dress is one that I bought before we last went to the Midwest Catholic Family Conference (which we will be attending again this year)...unfortunately, the last time we went was in 2002...the other two dresses that I have in my wardrobe were bought for me by my mom...probably in 1999 or 2000...

So, I went to every website I could think of that might sell plus sized women's clothing, and looked at every dress option...I found two "maybe" dresses...

The problem I seem to have is that dresses either scream "look at me!!! I'm a skank ho!!!" (and a FAT skank ho at that!) or "excuse me, I am on lunch break from my business casual office job."

Whatever happened to nice dresses for church or whatever?? I don't want to look like I'm in my 50s (my Catechism class this year guessed that I was almost 40...I'll be celebrating 28 this summer!) but I don't want to look like I'm trying to pick up Johns (with very bad eyesight and a thing for fat chicks, of course!)


So, still trying to figure out what to wear to above mentioned wedding...

Should I be worried about the 8%???

You Are 8% Sociopath

You're empathetic, loyal, and introspective. In other words, there's no way you're a sociopath... but you can spot one pretty easily!

Are You A Sociopath?

The GRE thought so too!

You Are Incredibly Logical

Move over Spock - you're the new master of logic You think rationally, clearly, and quickly. A seasoned problem solver, your mind is like a computer!

How Logical Are You?

MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!

Okay, the evil laugh is because I no longer have to deal with html on blogger!!! Best new feature ever!!! I hated adding links because I had to wade through all sorts of mumbo jumbo that I don't understand to put them in...but now, I just click a button, and it walks me through step by step. I really did need blogger for idiots!

I'm too tired to come up with a title, so this will have to do...

So, I've been a slacker in terms of blogging recently...but this time I have a good excuse! (Just kidding...I don't need an excuse to be a slacker, it's second nature to me!)

Hubby and I have started the South Beach Diet...though I hate to use the word diet...basically it is more like we've stopped eating our usual menu of excessive amounts of carbs. Instead, I've been making excessive amounts of salads...slightly more work than my normal "cooking" but at least it keeps the kitchen cool!

We are currently in the second week of phase 1 (which is the most restrictive part of the diet) and next week we get to start adding back in grains and fruits, which I am actually a little bit nervous about...

Other than that, not much going on! Some family get togethers, lots of housework to catch up on, trying to get Charlotte out of our bed (so far we've managed one night in the cosleeper...with any luck in a few months she'll be ready to move in with Eva!) Interviews are done for the new clerk at the post office, but no word on who the job is being offered to (still in the background check/reference stage, I'm guessing) so it may be a while before hubby isn't working so much overtime, but I'm not complaining, because we are down to the last $1020 on hubby's student loan, and after that, the only debt we will owe is our mortgage! Woo hoo!!!

This REALLY shouldn't suprise anyone!

Weird Al Shares Your Taste in Music

See his whole playlist here (iTunes required)

Which Musician (or Group) Shares Your Taste in Music?