Domestic Extraordinaire

I Dream of Moosh In Indy

2012-02-13T10:16:00.004-05:00

In Dreamland Cleveland and Indianapolis are only separated by a river and a huge bridge. No, it isn't the Ohio River, I asked many people in my dream but I kept being told that the name of the river wasn't relevant to the plot line.

Clearly my dreams are crazy and don't know that I am a blogger because knowing the name of the river that separated Cleveland from Indianapolis is clearly relevant to this post.

Also in Dreamland I have a list of blogging friends who make cameo appearances from time to time, but Casey has decided to turn her cameo performances into a full time gig because she just won't get out of my head.

Last night she invited me over for a night of making crafts that we could in turn share on Pinterest. I gathered up my children, in Dreamland I have 5, and we cross over the bridge to get to Indy.

We get to Casey's house and are greeted by a man claiming to be her father and he wants to know if we have reservations. I tell him we are here for the crafts and in a hushed tone he tells me that I have to go around to the back of the house, knock on the door six times and watch out for the monkey.

I tried to ask him about the monkey, but alas he was gone and I was left all alone with my 5 children in the dark with my craft supplies now worrying about a monkey.

We finally reach the back door and knock six times and Casey throws open the door and snaps my picture. "How did you like the secret knock?" She asks and before I can answer, "I'm putting it on Pinterest!" she exclaims.

"Casey, a secret knock isn't a craft. I thought we were doing crafts for Pinterest," I reply.

"Secret knocks are super crafty. Don't you get it?" she retorts back.

All night long there were a series of disagreements between the two of us as to what was a craft and what wasn't. Casey tried to argue that pouring milk into a glass with one eye shut was a craft, that changing baby diapers was a craft, throwing cherries at our children crawling around on the floor was a craft....and on and on and on.

When I tried to have us do a legit craft she decided that the children all needed to paint wooden ornaments for her dad's Etsy business* while we did some sort of work out program. I don't remember exactly what the workout entailed but I do know that I wasn't happy to be doing it.

It finally got late enough that I wanted to pack up the 5 children and head home but I was stopped at the door by her husband who told me that the bridge was shut down for routine maintenance and that it would reopen the fall of 2015 and I was welcome to hang out until I could get home.

So we prepared their carrier pigeon to send my husband the news that the children and I wouldn't be home until 2015 and if would please water the plants and if he had time to feed the dog.

Suddenly there was an alarm going on and I couldn't figure out what it was. Casey was so excited that our Pinterest page was getting so many comments and repins and when I opened up the laptop to look, I woke up.

******

Dearest Casey, I am not sure why you have been making regular appearances in my dreams, but I welcome the craziness. Although next time we are so meeting at my house because I've decided that I don't want to cross the bridge anymore.

* I'm pretty positive that Casey's dad doesn't use child labor to make his beautiful wooden creations. But they are really nice so you should check them out.

How Katy Perry will help you on your journey to Bliss{dom}

2012-02-10T16:57:00.003-05:00

I can't believe that this will be my fourth year at Blissdom. I mean it seems like just yesterday Casey and I were rocking it out with Guitar Hero at the Hotel Preston. And Christina and I were so glad we took the stairs when those 13 gals, two of which were our roommates) got stuck on the elevator.

You can read all my posts about Blissdom here or here or here or even here.

Every time I think of that last here I always smile because I truly had no clue who George Duran was, but she did.

Why yes I did ditch my husband on our 15th wedding anniversary to go to Nash Vegas and then the following year when they changed things up and had Blissdom on The Chicken's 13th birthday, I was there as well.

Thankfully I am not missing any important days this year.

Whether this is your first blogging conference or you are a seasoned veteran, I can guarantee you will have a blast as long as you put yourself out there and realize that everyone there wants to get to know other people and wants to try to capture some of their bliss.

You may be a little uneasy about leaving your kids for the extended weekend. Even though my girls are 14 and 17 I totally get it. I still make a list for each person and I make arrangements for meals and rides before I leave.

The Chicken, my 14 year old, guilts me each and every time I leave for a blogging conference. What?!? You are having a case of the mommy guilt too? Well, I may just have a solution for you and with just 12 days left before Blissdom there is no time to delay.

The following video was inspired by Heather who made this video for Ellie {with the help of some other aweseome ladies} and let me just tell you now Heather, The Chicken did not laugh or smile when I decided lip sync for the span of 20 minutes in the car and even when I broke out my mad car dancing while still driving safely mad skillz she kept....well you will just have to see for yourself.

Prepping for Bliss from Heather Durdil on Vimeo.

Dear Katy Perry, I am so sorry about what my daughter said, while I admit I really didn't like you much until the gals with Blissdom made this video you have worked your way into my heart to stay, but please for the love all that is good put some more clothes on in your videos. xo, Me

I am pretty sure that I am allergic to putting away Christmas

2012-02-07T16:36:00.004-05:00

If you follow me on facebook or instagram or even twitter you may know that I have been sacked out by two back to back viruses in the span of seven days. I am pretty sure that there is a law against that somewhere.

Thankfully I was feeling well enough on Saturday (which also happened to be my 17th wedding anniversary) to throw Chicken's 14th birthday party. Why yes her birthday was in January, why do you ask?

I could ramble on and tell you of the crazy thoughts that my fever addled mind thinking; for instance, I wasn't sick until I started using the Ivory body wash that I have had in the cabinet for months or the fact that I was feeling fine until I took down the Christmas decorations.

Or how a Children's Advil commercial keeps coming on whatever station I am happening to watch and it shows how even with a fever this little girl can build a fort with the help of Children's Advil. Her parents are beaming with pride and all I can see is that this kid is making a huge mess and if she is sick that poor mother must have to do all of this laundry lest she contaminate the rest of the family with whatever is ailing this fort building little girl, which then led into this huge discussion with Giggles about how I need to let them do more when they are sick and not banish them to their room and I am was all "Sure you can do some chores, I am sure they are less tiring than building a fort in the living room." And before you all get upset I'm not talking Saturday chores, I'm talking of the quick after school variety. Needless to say, Giggles was not amused.

I could tell of The Chicken's thoughts on Bieber Fever and how there should be some sort of immunization to take care of that. Or that her level of Bieber hate is at an all time high since her sister decided to get her Bieber stickers and put them all over her room for her birthday. Those things won't come off and she is ticked. Which makes me really glad that I decided against the Bieber paper to wrap her presents in because holy batman does she hate Bieber.

I could welcome all of the people that are coming here from The BlissDom Conference site where I am going to be a Community Leader. I am super excited to meet all of you and I swear that it will be loads of fun, I won't make you do chores. Or I could tell you that each and every time I type BissDom, I put an 'e' on the end of the word and I have no idea why.

Or I could tell you about how I am currently driving a rental around because Giggles totaled our car. Everyone involved was fine, you know, except the Rio. What makes it even more ironic, sad...I don't know; is that she just bought a nice used car but had asked to use The Husband's car because it was at the end of the driveway.

But instead I will send you here to read a post that I wrote and while you are there please look around there are some mighty fine writers that I am proud to call friends.

And I will leave you with this photo of me back in healthier times; you know like a week ago.

linking up with Just Write

My guilt over hair dye

2012-01-31T15:24:00.002-05:00

You mentioned the hair dye again and a wave of guilt washes over me because you have had the boxes for nearly a week and we haven't had a chance to make your hair darker. I thought that getting them for you for your birthday last week would be enough to get you to stop chattering about them, but I was wrong.

I know you don't understand, even if you are 14, but these past couple of weeks have been so hard for me. Going through Grandma's things hasn't been easy. To see how easily bits of her life can get tossed away because one wants to start life with someone new breaks my heart in ways that I can't even explain.

You and your sister constantly ask me why I help if it is so hard for me and I can't explain why. I have to do it. I can't just let someone else come in there and pitch away all that she worked for, created and did without careful consideration of what we should keep and preserve to remember her always.

Finding Christmas gifts that she carefully picked out only have them promptly taken way hurts me in ways that I never knew towels could. Finding her little bits of meticulous organization in the chaos that became her home in the last year of her life and the three and a half years since rattles me to my soul.

All the while I feel like I am teetering on this edge about to drop over at any minute. I have faith that if I do drop over the edge that my landing will be soft. I no longer question why I have a mental illness; questioning never helps. I live by faith and believe that in the end everything will work out.

This guilt I feel can be all consuming and I am sorry if it causes me to react instead of respond. I need to take a step back and realize that this is something important to you, even if I just think of it as a couple boxes of hair dye.

Linking up with Just Write

Happy in my own skin

2011-12-29T13:16:00.004-05:00

Maybe it's the red lipstick that I have always wanted to wear but never had the courage to.

Maybe it's the encouraging of like-minded friends from all across the country.

Maybe it's the glasses or the vintage clothes that I like to wear.

I am sure that it's all of these things and none of these things; all at the same time.

One thing is for certain, in my 34 and a half years in this world I am finally accepting who I am and the beauty that was created in me. We don't all have to fit into some cookie cutter mold to be beautiful. We are all beautiful in our own ways and when you feel that beauty way down in the depths of your heart. It radiates.

There once was a time when I hated to have my photo taken. I would put myself down and pick out each and every one of my flaws. I longed to look like other women, never like myself.

Then I had these girls and they changed me, especially as they have grown into beautiful young women. I never want them to doubt the beauty that they have deep down in their heart. I want them to be happy with who they are and confident in the choices that they make; whether it be to confidently rock the red lipstick, some vintage wears or an over sized pair of frames.

Now I smile confidently and happily know that I am the daughter of a King.

Now I challenge each one of you to be confident with who you are, even if you aren't even sure who that is yet. I think of this quote by Albert Einstein and nod my head every single time I recite it.

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

Are you up for the challenge? Please let me know. I want to encourage you just as much as all of you have encouraged me.

Wishing you much Joy on this day and beyond

2011-12-25T18:23:00.005-05:00

From our house to yours we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

My cards have not gone out in the mail yet, so if you get one, act totally surprised!!

If you are up for a good chuckle and have three minutes of free time, check out the big package opening with the girls. I should note that this was after they had opened 16 really boring gifts that really weren't gifts at all. (Toothbrushes, hair brushes, soap, underwear.....)

Christmas 2011 from Heather Durdil on Vimeo.

I Serve-d Up a much needed girls night out

2011-12-24T23:24:00.005-05:00

Updated to add that this contest will be going on until 12/30!!

This post is sponsored by Serve from American Express. Sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below by 12/27 for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account!

Last night in the hustle and bustle of last minute Christmas shopping a few of us got together for a girls night out at a local pub and bistro in my hometown. The girls were excited to hear about Serve and this new way to spending & sharing money and of course all the catching up we had to do.

We started the evening off with some drinks and had an interesting conversation with another patron who had tied a bit too much Christmas spirit on before coming to our table asking us for lotion. yes seriously. So the whole rest of the night in between bites of food we would toss out a random Silence of the Lambs reference.

Please tell me odd things like this happen at all of your girls night outs.

One of the things that I found interesting about Serve that I shared with my friends is how secure it really is. After three failed attempts of trying to log into your account, your account is locked down. There is an 800 number for you to call and each time (why yes I locked myself out of my account more than once) I spoke to a very friendly representative who gladly helped me get my account unlocked and walked me through changing my PIN so it would happen again.

I think that customer service is so important with a company and when you are dealing with money, especially my money, even more so.

I think The Bestie's favorite part of the meal was her huge plate of nachos.

While D. had heard great things about the fried pickles from people that had been there before.

Clearly I was starving and couldn't get my mussels into my face fast enough.

Why no I didn't get ~~many~~ looks for that face.

When it came time for the meal to end, splitting the bill was a breeze with the Split the Bill feature on Serve. No more trying to figure out who needs to pay what or the famous 'I have no cash.' Serve lets you sent and request money with ease.

Are you excited to try Serve? If you win the $100 you could have a nice girls night out or just buy yourself something pretty; either way one commenter on my blog will win.

Remember to sign up for Serve and receive $10 credit towards your first use. Comment below by 12/27 for your chance to win an extra $100 credit to your account! Official sweepstakes rules and regulations may be found by clicking here. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Gluten Free Tassies on InstaFriday

2011-12-23T13:21:00.004-05:00

Feel free to go here to help win me a much need bed

This week was filled with many things like fixing up my kitchen with vintage trim, hanging photos, watching Giggles create awesome things in the name of schoolwork, becoming a finalist to win a bed, and having fun with some acrylic paint.

But today, today, I want to talk to you about these

Gluten Free Tassies!

I am known for my tassies. Seriously, ask my husband or my kids or anyone that has had the pleasure of tasting one....they are ah-mazing!

This summer when I went gluten free I was most saddened about the treats that I would miss as I had heard that gluten free baking wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I have done a bit here and there, but always followed a recipe, never trying to convert something myself.

Well, I have done it. My tassies taste just like my tassies and I am here to share my secret recipe with you. And to let you know why they are so good.

Seriously it was a mistake I made about 17 years ago and I have just gone with it

Items needed
mini muffin pan
cooling rack
mini tart shaper (I have this kind)
2 8 oz packages of cream cheese
2 sticks of butter
2 tsp of xantham gum
1 cup of rice flour (I used the rice flour because I had it on hand, not sure I like the texture, need to experiment with other flours)
1 bag of shelled walnuts (8 oz)
1 cup of margarine
2 cups of brown sugar
2 eggs

Cream together the butter and cream cheese with you mixer. I just set mine up in the stand mixer and let it get good and fluffy. When it is all mixed up add in the xatham gum and the flour while mixing on low speed. The xantham gum really binds it up quick so as soon as it is dough like take it off of the mixer as it will make the dough tough. Cover and put in fridge for at least an hour, I do mine overnight.

When the dough is chilled preheat your oven to 325 degrees and grease your muffin pan. Make sure your rack is in the middle of your oven as over the years I have learned that the tassies bake best there.

In a microwave safe bowl melt your margarine and your brown sugar together. Chop your walnuts until they are almost powder-y and then mix in with your melted sugar margarine mixture. Beat the eggs and mix in to the sugar, margarine, walnut mixture taking care to make sure that it isn't too hot, because you don't want to scramble your eggs.

I use a mini scoop to get the dough out, but you can roll the dough into 1 1/2 inch balls. Drop a ball in each muffin cup or scoop if you are doing it my way. Take your mini tart shaper and make sure it is floured, push it down on the dough ball so it lines the inside of your mini muffin pan. (So glad that I don't write recipes for a living...this is harder to write out than I thought, but I am committed!)

You may have to put the pan in the fridge a few times as as the dough warms up it gets to sticky to work with. Cold dough is key.

Using a large spoon (the bigger one in your silverware set), spoon the mixture into the dough shells, not quite all the way up.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes. They are done with they are goldeny brown and bubbling.
Place pan on cooling rack to cool, then take a spoon and pop them out after they cool. (That part takes practice)

Enjoy! And try not to eat in one sitting!

Whatever is left, store in airtight container.

Linking up with Life Rearranged for InstaFriday.

Help me Win the Bed!

2011-12-20T11:22:00.003-05:00

Oh my goodness you guys my entry made it to the finals!!

I am one of seven finalists to win the bed.

Please help me out by going here and voting for me Finalist #4.

You must comment on the post and your comment must say (word for word)

I want Heather to win the Tempur-Pedic bed.

If it doesn't say that it won't count.

And I really need this bed.

Thank you so much!!!

I want to win a Tempurpedic bed, seriously!

2011-12-16T20:02:00.002-05:00

Remember when I talked about the great bed dilemma.

Yeah, well I talked to my husband about your answers and he told me that in all honestly it isn't the blankets that are hindering him from coming to bed. It's our mattress.

Doing the job he does, he comes home so very sore every.single.night and our mattress (of unknown age) doesn't make it better. In fact, the couch is comfier for him to sleep on.

Then my darling friend, Carmen, announced to the world that she is giving away a bed, and I just had to enter. For him. For me. For us.

Why I need to win a Tempurpedic Bed from Heather Durdil on Vimeo.

On her Seventeenth Birthday I received Joy & Peace

2011-12-13T02:29:00.003-05:00

It took me seventeen years, but I enjoyed a birthday.

On Friday we had a private family affair after both Giggles and the Husband got off of work and we worked our way through her seventeen surprises.

My eyes were brimming with tears but they were of joy, not sadness.

I was savoring each and every moment of our little family all together in our living room joking about how Giggles mistakenly thought key drop read backwards on a door meant to try to open it. You had to be there.

Saturday was filled up with so many things; breakfast, shopping, and our Christmas party at church.

Sunday had people coming over and a house that needed cleaning and a lasagna that needed baking.

The house got cleaned and what didn't get done, just didn't matter. People weren't coming over to see how clean or not clean my house was, they were coming to celebrate with Giggles.

My best friend called me several times after church to make sure I was okay, asking if she could do anything, bring anything. I calmly told her I had everything under control.

I don't know what happened when she turned seventeen but it was like a switch was flipping in my brain and I realized that everything is going to be alright.

My house was full with family and friends. There were children laughing and playing, adults chattering and a baby being passed around for everyone to hold.

We ate, we sang, we celebrated. I did it with ease.

I am not sure of this feeling I am having, or rather not. This peace I have fills me with such joy. I am content to just be and to savor the moment. I don't feel like I am waiting for the world to swallow me up.

I'm not saying that it will always feel like this, but I will savor this joy, this peace. I will hold it close to my heart so that when I look back I know that it was all worth it.

I will always cherish #celebrating17

Linking up with Just Write

#CelebratingSeventeen

2011-12-09T19:52:00.003-05:00

Remember when I wrote about birthdays and how they made me feel?

I can honestly say that I didn't cherish and celebrate like I thought I could. It just wasn't in me.

But this year, seventeen, I don't know what has happened. I have been looking forward to #CelebratingSeventeen for weeks now. I have been counting down the days. Reminding Giggles each and every day that her birthday was coming up soon. Preparing seventeen special surprises for her special day.

I am genuinely excited about a birthday and I can honestly say that this is the first time in seventeen years that it has happened. It was like seventeen was some huge hurdle that I needed to overcome and I sort of held my breath until I got us here.

She is surfing in uncharted waters right now. When I was seventeen I was expecting her and preparing to get married and move to Orlando to be with her dad. One of her biggest concerns right is the fact that colleges keep misspelling our last name when they send her stuff and for whatever reason it makes her really really mad.

It could be worse honey, you could be Bill Clinton, Jr....embrace that people will always misspell our last name

Soon I will leave to pick her up from work and we will open up 16 special gifts (as she opened her cheesecake from Aladdin's right after school.) Thanks Stacy!! And you know what I can't wait.

She and I have come a long way and I couldn't be happier with the young woman she has become. Not only am I proud to call her my daughter, but also my friend.

Happy Birthday Giggles! May your head always be smaller than mine!

And if you want a good cry, you can check out this video I made two years ago for her 15th birthday. I bawl every.single.time.

Year Fifteen from Heather Durdil on Vimeo.

Seventeen years ago

2011-12-06T11:22:00.004-05:00

Seventeen years ago I dropped off my fiance to our small bus station in town so that he could fulfill his commitment to join the Navy.

Seventeen years ago I was very much overdue and felt like I would be pregnant forever.

I remember longing looking at the bus station as I was driving home from my classes that afternoon, wondering if he was still inside. I wanted to pull the car in the parking lot and run, well as fast a 45 week girl runs with a very large baby pushing her hip out of socket and messing with her sciatica can, and rush into his arms.

I looked at the time and realized that I couldn't pull into the lot, I had to get to the hospital for what would be the last of my twice a week NSTs.

The baby stretched as she did everyday. It felt as if she was going to rip out of my stomach. You could see her nose and her arms. You could count her toes.

I couldn't breathe. Partly from the stretching babe inside my belly, but partly because I just didn't know if I could do it on my own. Maybe everyone was right, maybe I was too young, too foolish, maybe I wasn't ready.

My rock had left on that bus and I wouldn't see him again until February. I knew that if he could give up his dreams for us that I could do it. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I knew it was the right thing for me to do.

I had no expectations of how he would be involved when I found out I was pregnant. And seventeen years later he is still by my side sacrificing his life for the rest of us. He works so hard and puts himself last because he says that is just what a man does.

He is my rock. He is always there for me. I pray that I can be the same support for him that he is for me.

Seventeen years is a long time looking forward, but looking back, it is just a blip on the radar.

Linking up with Just Write

Reflecting on my week via Insta-Friday

2011-12-02T17:21:00.012-05:00

Last weekend started off early with me meeting an old friend (which coincidentally is a friend of another friend, such a small world.) for breakfast in Oberlin. We ate at the Fresh Start Cafe, if you are ever in the area it is yummy, inexpensive, AND they have gluten free options including bread!!

*******

After breakfast I decided to head over to the new Oberlin Goodwill to check out what new stuff they have since it's been a while since I was in there. I was bummed that I wasn't the person that spent the first dollar in the store so I could be on the plaque until I looked at the photo.

Yes, that is me & my mama in the background of the photo. Just so you know I had found a brand new thirty-one bag on the racks for $2! I said "Look, Ma, it's a thirty-one bag!" She examined it, agreed and then tossed it into her cart and walked away!

When I saw the photo I ~~may have probably~~ squealed and ~~maybe~~ the whole store just kind of looked at me like I was crazy.

*******

After returning home from my adventures in Oberlin, I finished off the blanket for my new nephew.

It is super soft and I love it so much. Many thanks to my instagram pal, Joni, for sharing her Granny Stripe blanket with us so often that I had to make one myself.

********

After dropping off the blanket to my nephew the girls & I headed to the store to pick up some things we needed and we got a couple bags of these.

They are seriously the best things ever. The Husband even commented on how good they were and he doesn't even like sweet potatoes. My only complaint to Terra about them would be the whole 'limited edition' thing. Seriously these are a year round staple!

*********

The Husband had a couple of days off in the middle of the week (I know!) and so this was my resulting view because he needed to rid the online gaming world of zombies.

I am pretty sure in the event of a Zombiepocolypse we will be okay as long as everything plays out the same as it did on the PS3.

*********

On Thursday a post of mine went live at Miss Unlimited on being Sixteen and Pregnant.

I am seriously overwhelmed by the support & love that so many people gave there and on facebook & twitter.

**********

Today my baby got contacts and I was banished to the waiting room while she had contact lens class. Thankfully I had my crochet to keep me company.

Linking up with Life Rearranged for InstaFriday. You should totally play along, it's awesome. And speaking of awesome, so is this giveaway I am doing right now-GO ENTER!!

An Easy Print Canvas for me & one for you too!! {Giveaway!!}

2011-11-30T13:02:00.009-05:00

Remember when I asked you to help pick out my family photo?

I am not sure why I even asked because I was pretty confident on which photo I was going to be picking out to get print onto a canvas for my living room. And to be completely honest, when I asked the husband to pick out photos that he liked so that I could share them with you all and get your honest opinions....well, I sort of didn't like the outtake that he chose, so I picked another one. shhhh, this will be our little secret

Not long ago Megan from Easy Print Canvas contacted me and asked me if I would like to review a canvas from one of my photos or prints for my website. I told her I would, but wouldn't it be great if I could give one to my readers as well.

Guess what? She thought it would be a great idea as well!

Let me just tell you that I L-O-V-E my canvas. It makes my heart smile each and every time I walk into the room & see it. The photo I tried to take of it doesn't even do it justice, but I wanted to show you how great it looks against the red in my living room.

My canvas is 16x20 in size and when I finally get it on the wall (we are going to be doing some rearranging of furniture so I didn't want to just hang it for a minute to snap a photo of it) I will be sure to share a photo with you. We opted for the image wrap for the side, but you could also pick the mirror image side or a solid colored one instead.

The website is super easy to navigate and uploading and customizing your canvas is really a breeze. One of the things that I like most is that they put a hanger for the canvas on the back so we don't have to worry about doing that later and messing it up.

The only cons that I found were that it was hard to pick the photo I wanted to use and the fact that Easy Print Canvas doesn't use Paypal as a form of payment. Hopefully they will remedy that soon.

Now onto the Giveaway for Y-O-U!

Would you like to win an 11" x 14" canvas for your home or as a wonderful gift? (Or you can upgrade like I did and get a larger canvas for a killer price!) leave a comment below telling me what photo you would have enlarged and put an Easy Print Canvas.

Want extra entries? (I know you do!!)
For each extra entry come back here and leave a separate comment.

1. Like Easy Print Canvas on Facebook and leave them a note on the wall letting them know that Domestic Extraordinaire sent you!

2. Follow Easy Print Canvas on Twitter.

3. Follow me, @DExtraordinaire on Twitter

4. Post about this giveaway on your Facebook wall.

5. Tweet about this giveaway making sure to include @DExtraordinaire and @EasyCanvas in the tweet

6. Follow Domestic Extraordinaire or sign up for my feed over in the right hand column there.

7. Blog about this giveaway on your blog.

There you have it eight chances to win a canvas just in time for the holidays.

Now for the legal stuff.
This contest runs from today,11-30-2011 through Monday, 12-05-2011 at 8 AM EST. This contest is only open to residents of the U.S. (excluding Hawaii and Alaska) Winner will be selected at random and will have 48 hours to respond before I pick another winner so make sure I can get a hold of you! I was given a canvas to facilitate my review but all opinions expressed here are my own.

If you want to read other stuff (and this isn't mandatory to enter the contest my boss just likes people to read the articles I write over there so she can justify doing things like paying me) I wrote check out the time I didn't work out with Bob Barker and my reflections on being sixteen and pregnant

The Post in which I ask you to help me pick my family photo

2011-11-09T08:48:00.006-05:00

This year was a great year for our family photos. In fact, I think we are going to go out and do some more with different outfits on and possibly props. It should be lots of fun.

No one ended up crying or upset when the photos were done and honestly the only reason that I don't have more is that Giggles had to go to work. Way to break up a good time there, Giggles. I kid.

For those of you who are unaware, I take pictures of other people and I really enjoy what I do. Somehow I could never get those same shots with my tripod that I did with other families until this year. Do you want to know how I did it?

I relaxed and just had fun.

I had no expectations and I let my family decide what kind of poses we were going to do. I love the results. So much so that I just can't decide what photo I want to use for a canvas in my living room. Okay I pretty much know what one I want to use in my living room, but I my husband has other ones that he likes as well.

Oh wise and powerful internets, help us decide. Once we decide on a photo I can get it printed and that will lead to awesome things for you, my wonderful readers.

On the tracks

Then a train came by and they decided we needed to do one with the train rushing by

This outtake makes me smile lots.

My husband really liked the sign with our town on it so we incorporated that into a photo

A photo shoot wouldn't be complete without my husband doing some sort of crazy stunt that has me shaking my head

So leave me a comment letting me know which one you like the best. I will reveal which one we picked next week when I host a give away that you won't want to miss!!!

Cough Drops are Not a Food

2011-11-06T22:58:00.005-05:00

This afternoon Giggles and I set out on an adventure. It was very Survior-esque, I think, you know seeings how I have never watched one episode of Survivor. When it all ended though, I am pretty sure that my van got voted off the island.

Twenty minutes into our adventure and just 15 minutes from our destination my van started to pull and make a weird noise. I pulled off to the side of the highway, which technically was the ramp for a major interstate in our area, to find this.

No worries, I thought, I have changed tires before and thankfully this was on the side of the van away from the traffic.

Giggles & I work to get the spare out from under the van only to realize that NTB did not put one of my old tires in the spare compartment like I asked them to when I got new tires, they left my old one that happened to be flat on the spare tire rack.

Since The Husband is out of town I decided to call my mom & step dad, they decide to bring the air compressor out to fill up the flat spare tire in hopes that it will take air.

I get on twitter and facebook and instagram and share my plight with the world.

My parents show up and we realize that we can't get the lug nuts off of the van, so we have to call AAA to have them come out.

I update twitter and facebook and instagram of our plight.

Giggles has to pee. My step dad takes her off somewhere to do her business since there aren't any bushes or trees or......who are we kidding, she wouldn't go outside, she probably would have burst first. Momma stays with me & they head out to find a bathroom that isn't out of doors.

The cops show up. They ask us why AAA isn't here yet if we called them 35 minutes ago. Clearly they have never dealt with AAA in their lives.

I update twitter and instagram and facebook about our plight and come up with a hashtag #thepartycontinuesonI71

I start to get hungry. Then I wonder what kind of jerk throws a party and doesn't bring snacks. Oh right....me.

Giggles and my step dad get back. We wait some more.

I decide to pass the time by taking eleventy billion photos of me and my momma. No, seriously.

We laugh and laugh and get this.

I love it.

AAA finally gets there. AAA busted off two of my lug nuts trying to get the lug nuts off of the van. He needs to call a tow truck.

I update facebook and twitter and instagram of our plight and take more pictures.

I start to tell my momma that I am hungry, that my stomach is twisting inside of itself. I begin to rummage around in the van for food.

My momma, that wonderfully crazy woman asks me if I would like cough drops.

"Cough drops are not a food, " I reply.

She tells me that clearly I am not hungry enough. Gee I wonder where I get that from.

I tell Twitter of her craziness, I get no replies.

Finally over four hours after the whole ordeal began, the tow truck came after passing us by twice. My van left with a man named Tiny, I am pretty sure I will see her tomorrow.

Rest well, Old Lady Beige, I am pretty sure I can get you back on the island.

Oh and if you are wondering who put my lug nuts on so tight that they couldn't come off...that would be NTB.

I'm pretty sure that my marriage is going to end over a bed

2011-11-04T17:20:00.006-04:00

This is our bed. Why yes those are stuffed bears on it, my husband gave them to me when we were dating, they are both named Steve. Don't ask me why...teenagers are crazy.

We're going to pretend for the photos sake that there was actually decent lighting and that I did some sort of editing to this picture. We're also going to envision a soft creamy yellow on the walls, I have no idea what I was thinking when I picked out the purple, I was just giddy with paint picking out power when The Husband said I could paint the walls.

Everything on this bed is soft and comfy. Probably to make up for the actually bed being an unknown age.

I know, you are asking yourself, "How can she not know how old her bed is?" The answer is that we adopted this bed. It has lived with us for the last ten years and before that it lived at my parents' house for an unknown amount of years. My best guess would be that this bed is older than Giggles, probably closer in age to me. The 'frame' is an old water bed frame that now is basically a platform with plywood nailed to the top.

Fancy, no? But I digress......

Growing up in a house where your parents didn't like the gas company you learn to bundle up on those cold nights in Northern Ohio. Now as an adult, I have to have a lot of weight on me to help me sleep, unless my husband is there and then I can just cuddle up to him and fall right asleep.

The problem is that we have two entirely different sleep schedules and he doesn't come to bed with me every night until well after I am asleep. He gets frustrated because he has to literally unwrap me from my blanket cocoon so that he can get in bed. He hates it.

Where I see comfort and ease of sleep, he sees this.

1. my pillows
2. His pillow hiding under another of my pillows that gets tossed onto the floor sometime during the night because I don't actually sleep on it, it just rests next to me.
3. My blanket is tucked away under there. It has to lay across my shoulders and wrap around me in a way that I can't really describe.
4. Quilt his grandmother made that he's afraid we will tear up when he moves around in his sleep.
5. Thin cotton woven blanket. I love this blanket as it is light weight but keep in the heat, he sees it as some sort of scratchy worthless blanket that doesn't do much but add bulk to the bed.
6. My afghan that I scored at Goodwill for $1. It fits our queen bed and for the nights in which I don't need it on top of the blankets it keeps my foot nice and warm. Yes I said foot, the other one is never under the covers....tell me I am not the only one who does this.
7. Yep there is another blanket under there. My friend Judy gave it to me for Christmas one year and while it is perfect for snuggling with while watching TV, it is also perfectly fits around my head and is super soft.

In short...he hates my bed. And yes, he calls it my bed because if it were his bed there would only be one blanket and we wouldn't suffocate under the mass of things I need to sleep.

In an effort to help with the number of blankets on the bed he got me this.

I love it. It has a constant blowing noise so that I can fall asleep easy and it does make getting out of bed so much easier in the mornings. However, it doesn't help with the blanket situation at all. While it does keep me warm, I have found that I just don't need to layer up as much when I get into bed, you know, unless I want to wake up in a sweat.

I keep telling my husband that I will happily give up all of the blankets on the bed if he came to bed with me at night. But unless he doesn't, I need to go to sleep and I have found in my 34 years that if I don't have each one of those things with me in my bed I have a very hard time getting to sleep and staying asleep. He thinks that separate beds might be in order and has asked me to ask you, the oh so wise & powerful internets, what to do.

Am I right? Is he Wrong? Also, how many blankets do you have on your bed?

Because She is My Child

2011-11-02T09:13:00.004-04:00

If you follow me on twitter or instagrm you may have seen my hashtag #poorchicken.

About ten minutes after this photo was taken at a Youth Event we attended this past weekend....

And because of some crazed teenager wanting to high five the lead singer of Hawk Nelson when he jumped off the stage, she will be needing these.....

for the next 4-6 weeks.

I don't blame Jason (although I keep wanting to call him Jimmie or Johnnie) (and yes with an 'ie').

I don't even blame the crazed teenagers who rushed the stage and knocked her knee in such a way to tear the ligament.

I blame this squarely on myself. I mean when you have a mother who is scolding the dog and goes to go back up the stairs and whacks her temple of the wall that has been there for the last six years so hard that she saw stars and this isn't the first time she has done this.....

Clearly you can see my point.

So today while I nurse my wounded child and my lump on my temple check out the other places you can find me around the interwebs.

Where I tell you where you can find the mythical lipstick that stays on all day.

Where you see that I am up to something with a bunch of other lovely ladies.

Where you can get ideas for your next year's couple's costume, because it's never too early to start planning.

It is well with my soul.

2011-09-29T09:55:00.002-04:00

So the last week has been full of ups and downs.

I was clinging to the ladder of life and then suddenly it was like the clouds opened up and the sun shone down on me and I felt better again.

I get an email that smacks me in the face and suddenly I feel like I am falling.

Then I read a post from a friend and I cry a lot during that one minute and forty nine seconds. I needed to hear that.

Then I google different words and a stumble upon a blog that I got lost in a long time ago. These words that she writes resonate with my soul. While she was here, throughout her trials, she chose Joy.

And then wherever I turn I keep hearing this version of one of my favorite hymns & as tears stream down my face I decide that whatever my fate is, it is well with my soul.

It Is Well with My Soul by subpop

I need to remember that even in the darkest of shadows that there is light on the other side. Sometimes I can see it and while I don't know how long it will take before I get there, I will get there. And that is well with my soul.

A life filled with booby traps and splintery ladders

2011-09-22T18:50:00.006-04:00

I've sat down three times to do my What I wore Wednesday post. The one that has two weeks of daily fashions in there, but I just can't.

It just all seems so trivial and useless, even though I know it's not.

Life is just zipping by with so much that needs to get done, but all I really want to do is curl up in my Father's lap.

I have been praying a lot to my Father lately. I have poured out my soul to him, even though he knows all what is in it.

I have shed countless tears for others, as I feel helpless to help them in their situations.

Do they believe them when I tell them I am praying for them?

Do they feel it?

Is it wrong to wonder these things aloud or even in my heart.

I am sure that this funk will pass, it always does, but how far down the ladder it takes me is any one's guess.

I cling tight to the rungs, splinters wedging in my hands and blisters forming on my palms.

I don't want to give in, I don't want to tumble down.

I want to be strong for my girls, provide the perfect house for my husband.

I know I can't do that all of the time, that nothing is perfect, but those words sting my heart like the cold winter rain that is coming stings my face.

So I delve into His word and try to fill up my cup so that it is overflowing and try to remember that He is enough. He is all I need.

I try not to question this path that has been laid out for me, full of booby traps and well disguised holes.

I know that I am not alone. Whether it be with others who have these booby traps on their paths or knowing that He is always with me.

So now I pick up my devotional and I get back to the task of making my home a sanctuary and remember that mission statement I made for myself & my house.

"Our home is a place of peace and contentment. A place where we can relax & celebrate our life. A place that we can just be."

"Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into this world and we cannot take anything out of this world. But if we have food & clothing, with these we will be content."
1 Timothy 6:6-8

Like sands through the hourglass so are the days of our lives

2011-09-20T13:29:00.006-04:00

If I close my eyes I can hear her stories and I can feel the softness of the blanket contrasting the scratchiness of the grass surrounding it. The blanket that was situated in the middle of her backyard, the perfect balance of sun and shade.

It was peaceful back there, you would never know that there were cars zooming by in the front of the house on the street.

I chuckle as I remember how she would know exactly when I set a toe off of that blanket and she would holler and call me Heather Ann, she always did. No matter how sneaky I thought I was she would continue to watch her stories and with those eyes in the back of her head she would always remind me that if I wanted to remain outside I had to stay on the blanket.

I longed to run around the backyard. To touch all of Mrs. Love's Cati that sat on the other side of the fence. To breathe in the smell that was a mixture of freshly cut grass, various blooming things from The Love's house and the scent of Charlie that seemed to always flow out of her window.

Sometimes when Mrs. Love was outside and she would holler over and say, "Mildred, Heather Ann is going to help me water the plants," and I would be released from my blanket confinement.

Not that blanket confinement was bad, it wasn't. It was full of snacks and library books. Of laying on your back watching the clouds float by, swearing that that particular cloud looks just like Abe Lincoln. It was peace and contentment.

Yesterday I drove past that house on the very busy road and I longed to pull in the driveway and escape to that backyard on the blanket. A feeling of anxiety washed over me as I realized that there is so much on my plate, the list of things that I need to do is never ending.

I need to feel the softness of the blanket on my skin. To run my fingers along the grass. To escape to that place of peace and contentment.

To just be.

***

This post was written because a friend reminded me that another friend invited us to Just Write.

Join us

edited to add-after reading this friend's post I was then sent to this friend (gee I think I have a think for cute accents when picking my friends) where I am sharing my awesome. Join us there too!

What I Wore Wednesday

2011-09-07T11:13:00.004-04:00

Dressing in cute clothes is not always something that I have done. I love cute and funky stuff and well sometimes, in days past, I have worried what others thought about what I wore. I tried to fit in and wear what all the other moms were wearing, but it never felt right. A few years ago I threw caution to the wind and embraced "my style." Last year I decided to challenge myself and only wear dresses or skirt (you may remember my year without pants)

Thanks to Lisa who directed me to Lindsey and What I Wore Wednesday, I decided to share with you my style. I am also sharing where I get the stuff from, because 90% of my wardrobe is 2nd hand. Most days I pay more for my under garments than I do for my whole outfit. I hope you have as much fun learning about me and what I love as I do putting my outfits together. And please, do play along.

Monday

I had my daughter straighten my hair today, I think its fun!
Sweater is Merona brand, bought at a yard sale with tags on for 25 cents
Belt is from Goodwill and I paid $1 for it
Skirt is without a tag but I got it at Salvation Army for 50 cents on Half off Wednesdays
Necklace is from Premiere Designs that I got free for having a party
Shoes are from Toms, paid full price for those
Total Cost of Outfit without shoes $1.75, with shoes $55.75

Tuesday

I love this dress, I wore it a lot in the summer and it is heavy enough to transition into fall as well.
Dress is from Target, bought new at Goodwill for 5.99
Cami is from ModBod when they were having some super sale at Costco years ago
Cardigan is from Target where I scored it off the clearance rack for 4.97
Belt is from New York & Company, its leather and I got it at Goodwill for 3.00
Necklace is a gift from a friend
Moccasins are by Minnetonka and I got them off Zappos (most of my shoes are new because they are rather large and hard to find newer shoes 2nd hand)
Total Cost of outfit $13.96 without shoes. With shoes approximately $46.96

Wednesday

I have been dreaming of wearing these boots all summer long!!
Shirt length dress is from Forever 21 off the clearance rack for $6
Belt came with the dress
Skinny Jeans Sweetheart Skinny jeans from Old Navy. I did splurge because I was ill equipped for fall weather last week in NY state and paid 22.50 for them, but since I don't typically wear jeans because I can't find any to fit and these do....well it's a good investment.
Necklace is much longer but shortened in the back with a rubber band and I scored it a Goodwill for $2
Boots are from Target, they are all leather and I got them on Clearance last January for $9
Total cost of outfit without shoes $30.50. With shoes 39.50

Also linking up at Momma Go Round, a new blog find through What I Wore Wednesday. Yay, new friends!!

Groan along with me as it's yet another first day of school post

2011-09-06T13:35:00.003-04:00

It seems like just yesterday we were posing for the first time in our new front yard so that The Chicken could start the 2nd grade. I mean it was loads of fun as we may not have technically owned the house yet and so the neighbors might have stared at us as we were taking pictures in the house in which we wouldn't legally take possession of for the next 21 days, but whatever, I needed that picture in front of the house in which my girls would be living at the rest of their school career.

There have been many pictures since then and some years (*cough* last year *cough*) in which I totally forgot to take a photo at all. They have always been in that same spot more or less and it cracks me up because through gritted teeth they always tell me to take the photo already because people are staring at them.

She was confident this morning. In her new school clothes that fit with the whole new 'Campus Wear' thing they are doing. (Which means they can't wear jeans or t-shirts but they don't have uniforms either. I know...fun, right)

I hope that when she bounds through that door at 2:30 she will be happy with her classes and her lunch table assignment. I also hope that she comes home at 2:30 as The Chicken has been known to make the four block walk home last nearly an hour. (Why yes I did nearly lose my mind, especially when she didn't answer her cell phone because she forgot to turn it on.)

So here's to a year in which she has fun, adheres to the new dress code, and always remembers to turn on her phone when she leaves the school.

Dress- H & M

Squeezing in some fun in the last of the summertime while wearing a dress

2011-09-03T11:06:00.005-04:00

When your husband works six days a week and you have two teenagers on the go, getting some fun, quality family time in isn't always easy. The husband gets two weeks of vacations a year, but when you are working six out of the seven days in a week, it's nice to schedule yourself some extra "weekends" here and there. It doesn't leave time for any big vacations.

So when Cedar Point asked my family if they would like to come and visit the park for the day, I jumped on it.

I have to admit for something that is pretty much in my backyard, I knew very little about it. Like the fact that Cedar Point has been around since 1870 and the road that we take to get to the park wasn't even there until 1914. Up until 1914 you had to take a ferry to get there and it cost you 25 cents. My grandparents would talk about the ballrooms and beaches and how it was the happening place back in the day. If they saw it now, I am sure they wouldn't recognize it. Heck, I barely recognize it as the park that I went to as kid.

My husband went to the park much more than I did as a kid. Each year they would play hookie after opening day in May and their dad would take them to the park. Combined with the fact that Giggles has a season pass, we had two built in tour guides that may or may not of butted heads when it came to where we needed to go next in the park and exactly how to get there.

Our day started out with the Sky Ride, gondolas that travel from one end of the Midway to the other end. We got to get a game plan going for the day, wave to other gondola riders, and miss out on the running full force to the back of the park like my husband insisted we do so we could get to the rides in the back before anyone else.

The weather was perfect and the crowds were moderate. The most we waited for any ride was about 15 minutes(which isn't always typical) and that is only because we were waiting for the front car. (which is well worth the wait for most rides according to a roller coaster expert that we chatted with for a bit that came to Cedar Point all the way from the West Coast)

While we didn't chose to eat our meals in the park, I was very happy to learn that they have an extensive overview of each restaurant in the park, so you can see just what you can get where and while they don't have special menus with those with food allergies/special needs there is this page on their website you can check out.

Our meals were consumed in the picnic area just outside of the entrance to the park. Here you will find an abundance of picnic tables to eat your meal on, along with many charcoal grills in which you can opt to grill something up (charcoal not provided). After lunch you can let your kids feed the many birds hanging around the picnic area scraps of stuff that you didn't eat. Please note that while seagulls will take Twizzlers from you, they won't eat them and will just squawk at you while tossing this useless piece of candy around in the air.

Mid day we stopped to have some fun in the arcade with one of the largest pinball machines I have ever seen. In fact, I don't think I have ever seen so many "old school" pin ball machines in one place ever. With most of them being 25 cents a game and Hercules (the masssive pinball machine) only being 50 cents, we had fun playing a game or two after taking some photos in the photo booth.

While we didn't get to ride every single ride in the park (hello Windseeker and Top Thrill Dragster) we rode almost all of them. have to admit that I did miss The Demon Drop and still don't understand why they had to take it away, but if it were there we probably would have never finished off our day watching the fireworks while on The Giant Wheel, one of the largest ferris wheels in North America. I was disappointed because one of it's claims is how many lights it has on it and Cedar Point declares it a must see at night. While it was beautiful, many people were commenting about how many lights were out on it.

At the end of the day we had a wonderful time and were very happy to do something with our teenagers that they both really enjoyed. There is talk of hopefully getting Season Passes for Christmas and The Husband is hankering to get there to see Halloweekends for the first time in our lives.

Disclosure-Cedar Point provided passes for my family to enjoy the park for the day. No other compensation was given. The opinions expressed here are my own. Oh and I wore my dress all day long and had no incidents of flashing anyone, at all. I think.

The post in which I tell you about how I would never let my dog loose in Victoria's Secret or the Jockey factory

2011-08-22T06:23:00.000-04:00

Barney is now eight months old. I can't believe that in one point in her life (since we've owned her) that she was smaller than her head and all of her plush toys. I am pretty sure that the husband tires of me telling him this everytime Barney brings me over her bear or her lobster.

It has been neat to watch her grow and see how the whole family bonded with her. Unlike Oscar, Barney loves everyone, is very outgoing, and super independant. I have grown accustomed to not having a dog thisclosetomybody every single second of the day. It has been nice & refreshing, and well; expensive.

Barney loves to explore and loves to hang out downstairs in our master bedroom that is adjacent to our laundry room. (See that honey, see how I made our house seem all fancy by using the words master and adjacent? They will never know that our basement is just one really big room with an open doorway to separate the finished half from the non finished half.)

While downstairs she likes to root through the laundry. She prefers clean laundry, but dirty will do as well if someone hasn't put stuff in the hamper where she can't reach it. She has been known to nose around in the dryer if it is left open. All looking for her favorite snack, underwear cro.tches.

I have bought more underwear in the last six months than I have probably the last sixteen years. Do you know how expensive underwear is and how useless it is without the cro.tch? I mean I have heard that there is a whole market for cro.tchless pan.ties, but I really don't think that dog chewed ones really fit the bill.

I have limited her access to the parts of the house that house her precious, precious cro.tches and have had limited success. You see the cat is a trouble maker and knows how to unlatch the upstairs door if it isn't latched just so and the girls always forget to close their bedroom doors.

One such occassion, not long ago, Barney gained access to Giggles room for about 5 minutes and caused about $80 worth of damange. She ate about 8 cro.tches out of underwear, the cro.tch to her swimsuit bottoms, and for good measure she ate the cro.tch out of a pair of her new jeans. I know, I know, you don't have to tell me the dangers of her eating cro.tches out of things. Thankfully she passes everything and it is more of a PITA than anything else.

On such occassions that I have to plunk over what is the equivelant to about 3 hours of work pay for the husband for new underwear and such I try to remember the days when she was a cute, little puppy bouncing around in the snow. So innocent and not the cro.tch eating fiend she is today.

So this, my friends, is why we could never take Barney into Vi.ctoria's Secret or even let her loose in the Jockey store (which by the way; Hai Jockey, I just love your stay cool underwear and your money back guarantee. Although Giggles wishes your underwear wasn't so 'old fashioned' and by that she means 'I'm a crazy teenager who has no clue what the heck I am talkiing about because hello, they keep you three degrees cooler and was developed for NASA!')

Barney my dear, please try to channel your inner non cro.tch eater. She's in there somewhere, I swear. And she really loves the snow.

Disclosure-I received one pair of Jockey underwear way back in January as part of my swag from Blissdom, those underwear have long since lost their cro.tch. All subsequent underwear and other cro.tchle.ss items have been bought using my ~~husband's~~ hard earned money. All opinions are of my own, but honestly wouldn't everyone want a non cro.tch eating dog?

Paula Deen is my BFF thanks to Lodi Station Outlets

2011-08-20T10:02:00.006-04:00

Not long ago my family and I were invited the the first ever VIP Blogger event at Lodi Staion Outlets(note if you do open that link it has sound that starts automatically).

This is the part where I admit to you that it was two months ago, clearly I am a PR's persons worst nightmare when it comes to timely posts about things....sorry Nichole!!

I had gone to Lodi Station Outlets many times before as it is the closest outlet mall to my house. I admit that I wasn't too excited about going because I really loved it when it was the Prime Outlet mall and all the construction that I encountered when it turned into Lodi Station Outlets; well, let's just say I was plotting how close I was to other outlets.

My husband & Giggles were both working that day so The Chicken, my mother & I set out to check out the new & hopefully improved outlet mall.

The afternoon started out with me getting to meet up with a friend of mine who is the social media maven behind Lodi Station Outlets. We actually met at Blissdom this past year and realized that we grew up in the same town, went to the same school and when she and her family were moving to the country my husband and I actually looked at the house they were selling several times before we decided to go with our current home. Crazy small world.

I introduced my mom to Nichole and she gave us our goodie bag, our lunch tickets, and a $100 card to use in the outlet mall as we saw fit. I was beyond excited as I knew exactly what I needed to get and my mom & daughter were excited; you know until they realized that I knew exactly what I needed to get and it wasn't anything for them. Sorry Mom & Chicken

Mom & I decided to take a photo to kick off our day of shopping together so I could instagram it to the masses. You're on instagram-you don't follow me? You should I am hdurdil. I decided to use the hashtag that Nichole suggested we use #shopLodiStation except my phone decided to autocorrect #ShopLodiStation to #Shoplifting. Nothing like proclaiming what we don't want to be doing on my instagram, twitter and facebook feed with my mother thanks to autocorrect. After a good laugh we decided to get lunch.

Sadly I don't remember the name of the place where we ate. I think it was the Steam Cafe (I will fix this as soon as I find out because we are going there today on my dime to do some school shopping for the girls, more specifically shoe shopping) But the food was WONDERFUL!! The staff at the Cafe were very friendly and everything tasted homemade (which I am pretty sure it was) the prices were great and the food court itself was very clean (with many choices on food) It was a great start to our shopping adventures.

Now I will admit here that I knew exactly what I wanted before I set out for our little trip. I needed to get a new pot and pan set as mine was not working so well and I am not a fan of Teflon flavored flecks in my food. So I headed over to Kitchen Collection to scope out my Paula Deen pot and pan set. When I priced it online I knew I was going to have to spend a little extra than the $100 I had been given, but not only was it on sale but because I signed up to be a Preferred Member (which is free) I got an extra discount coupon to use as well.

My super awesome pot & pan set ended up being less than $90!! I was so excited, as was The Chicken because that meant that she was able to get some adorable headbands at The Children's Place after Grandma took her over to The Gap to get some great deals on outfits for her and her sister.

I would love to go on and on about the wonderful day I had, but I am rushing out the door to head back for some great deals on shoes for the girls, and I am sure that I will spend less than what I thought and get them (or me) and little some else too!

Photos will be added later as they are on the other computer that my girls have hijacked.

Disclosure-Lodi Station Outlets invited my family out for a day of shopping. I was provided with a $100 gift card and lunch and ice cream (as well as other assorted goodies from various stores) to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and I am happily going back to the outlet mall today to spend my ~~husband's~~ hard earned cash to get my girls school gear.

Conference Menstruation Syndrome

2011-08-18T18:11:00.004-04:00

I know, I know, you are reading the title and are all "what?!!?" or you are nodding your head in agreement that you, too, suffer from the deplorable condition.

I am sure that you have read one million and one recaps of people and their BlogHer experience, which is funny because I am pretty sure that one million and one people didn't attend, but whatever. (Also this is run on sentence day in Domestic Extraordinaire land, so after you read this, go forth and celebrate....you know with incorrect usage of commas, dots, and parenthesis)

About two weeks before the conference I checked my phone to see when I was due for my "monthly visitor." (Also you have to totally say "monthly visitor" in hushed tones because that is how our school nurse said it.) (And yes I totally use my phone to keep track of my cycles-doesn't everyone?) When the app opened a box was there greeting me in the middle of the screen (you know after the screen where they tell you to upgrade to the non free version so you can have access to charts, graphs, and other feelings) that told me that I was 67 days late.

Yes, you read that right sixty seven.

I quickly closed down the app and opened it back up again. That number was still there. 67.

I may have freaked out a bit at the freak out my husband was going to do when he found out that I may be carrying his next heir. Men seem to get testy about "scares" when they have had their manly bits (okay okay they aren't bits, I totally didn't say bits) ripped open, cut apart, burned, stitched and then put back together again. I also may have gone out to buy a pregnancy test or four to confirm the fact that I was with or without child.

After ~~wasting~~ supporting pregnancy testing companies and realizing that they were all false and also learning just how long I could hold my pee (Let's just say I am so very proud of my bladder at this point), I realized what was up. Yet again I was suffering from Conference Menstruation Syndrome.

Now I don't usually mind if I am late, but 67 days and a conference in which I was going to be working, wasn't really making me too happy. I sat down (possibly on the toilet) and had a long talk with my "monthly visitor," except I refer to her as Aunt Flo.

"Aunt Flo, you really need to show up before I board the plane for San Diego. It's not fair to other family members that want to go along with me on this trip. Family members that will be helpful, not leave me bloaty, or possibly stain my clothes. It's not like you can help me schlep my camera equipment around or contribute to the cost of taxis. Plus, I am pretty sure that all of the other bloggers would make fun of me because I couldn't leave my aunt at home. So either pony up some dough so you can get your own hotel room, or make your visit before I have to go."

And friends, I am happy to report that Aunt Flo decided not to follow me to the conference. I am so thankful because it would have been awkward. "Oh hai so and so I'm Heather....have you met my Aunt Flo?" Also I am pretty sure that by my Aunt getting attention it would cause other Aunts to think that they could attend and well that wouldn't be cool. Although we could start a support group for those suffering from Conference Menstruation Syndrome and possibly work through some of the anger that we hold towards our Aunts who don't send birthday cards, but sometimes show up on our birthdays.

Plus, if my Aunt came with me I might be too embarrassed to have captured this

or this

and possibly this

So in conclusion, many thanks to my dear Aunt Flo for actually listening to me and arriving 68 days late and I am sure that the husband thanks you for many other reasons.

Disclosure-I was contracted by the Clever Girls Collective to photograph some events for them in San Diego in exchange for attending BlogHer & the expenses that were associated with it. They did not, however, spring for the numerous pregnancy tests that I took pre conference and all opinions expressed in this post are my own. You didn't really think that a company would really want a Lady Gaga look alike in that pose of the photo above be representative of their company would you?

All photos were taken by me at the I'm with the Brand Party in San Diego at the Hotel Solamar in the Gas Lamp District. It was bomb, yo!

Grace in Small Things-Edition Two

2011-08-13T14:09:00.004-04:00

I know I said that I would do this every Saturday. Now I will leave it with, I will try.

Last week I went to San Diego-so this is the BlogHer edition.

Enjoy!

United getting me on a flight 8 minutes after my original flight left because we overslept.

Getting in trouble with security with one of the sweetest people I know.

Finding my shoe twin vacationing with her family in San Diego.

Cuddling with one of the cutest babies I ever did see and visiting with her lovely mama many times over the week.

Taking photos with characters that make me smile.

Learning that Gluten free can be some of the best things you have ever eaten in your life.

Seeing friends I haven't seen in 15 years and feeling like no time has passed at all.

Even though it made me itch terribly, eating a California burrito with a great friend.

Standing on the front stoop of your condo that you haven't stood on for almost 14 years and talking with the new owner and not realizing that 45 minutes have passed and you being as happy that a new family with two little girls is in one of the first places you called home and he being just as happy that 'good & happy people' were there before him.

Grace in Small Things-Edition One

2011-07-16T15:21:00.002-04:00
On Saturdays I am going to go over my life and post little things that give me joy.

Saturday morning breakfast with our best china

A dog that will rid my house of creepy crawlies no matter how long it takes her.

Lunch dates after church with The Chicken.

My "firecracker" ring that my FIL had made for me out of his mother's mother's ring.

A sixteen year old that still loves to make chalk drawings and then pose next to them with funny faces.

Want to join along-Feel free to do so Here

InstaFriday-The Rediscover PIB Edition

2011-07-08T10:24:00.003-04:00
Fifteen steps on how to have a fabulous day at Put-in-Bay with your thirteen year old daughter.

Step One-Realize that she has three days left of school and therefore can afford to miss one day having a great time playing tourist on an island that she has been going to all of her life. Make the mistake of calling it a "Mental Health Day" when you call her off of school so on the 60 minute trip out to the ferry you have to explain to her that no she isn't dying and no I don't think you are going to have some sort of breakdown before school lets out.

Step Two-Get to Miller Boat Line to acquire your tickets for the ferry trip. Watch as she tells other about her family and the cottage on the island. Then when the nice man from Lake Erie Shores & Islands asks you if you are related to 'The Chicken's middle name' 'Our very uncommon last name that I didn't realize anyone has' that works in his office, you spend the next ten minutes explaining to your 13 year old that no, she isn't named for some relative that you didn't know you had because she probably isn't your relative.

Step Three-Let out a huge sigh of relief when the ferry pulls into dock and The Chicken gets distracted by getting on the ferry.

She has made this trip hundreds of times but has never been as excited as she was that day.

Step Four-After the twenty minute ferry ride take the short walk up the hill and over to E's Carts where The Chicken proclaims that getting this cart is indeed a Put in Bay miracle.

Although truth be told upon leaving the cart shop Lady Gaga died and we ended up with Joe Dirt. Hopefully The Chicken learns to not proclaim miracles when there aren't miracles and no more golf carts will be smited because of it

Step Five-Once you mourn the loss of Lady Gaga and get acclimated to Joe Dirt, head into town to Isola Day Spa to get your nail polish changed out. Making sure that you carefully consider all of the ~~crazy~~ options that your daughter lays out before you. Also, remember these key words in helping her pick out a color, "But how do you like that color dear?"

Isola was lovely and the staff was super friendly. While they do take walk-ins I would highly recommend an appointment.

Step Six-While your nails are still drying head over to Del Sol Gifts where you can verify for your daughter over and over that no they didn't paint your nails with color changing nail polish and why yes that would be an excellent cross promotional idea for these businesses. Then you will wonder how your thirteen year old knows about such things as cross promotional ideas and realize that you may have been blogging too long. Get your color changing bag and chuckle when your daughter asks for one as well. Enjoy the biggest smile ever when they hand her her very own bag.

Step Seven-With your newly painted nails & your color changing bag, put the pedal to the metal in the golf cart to get yourself over to the Put-in-Bay Butterfly House to see all of the butterflies and flowers inside. After an hour make sure that you tell your daughter that you are hot and tired and would like to visit other things on the island. Those additional 64 minutes that she makes you stay in there because she rescued a drowning butterfly will seem to breeze right by.

Step Eight-Realize that you both are starving and head over to The Boardwalk for their famous lobster bisque. Decide while you are there that you need some seasoned fries to enjoy as well.

While I loved the lobster bisque-the fries were a great deal at $4 and were super tasty-the bird that The Chicken kept giving them too probably agreed

Step Nine-After lunch drag your teenager over to the Perry's Monument and Visitor Center so that she can use the "cleanest bathrooms on the island."According to the park ranger. Afterwards convince her to look around in the museum where we find that she has a schooner with her name that fought in the Battle of 1812. Argue that it wasn't named after her because in 1812 I wasn't even a blip on the radar, no matter how old you think I am at times, then give up when you realize that you aren't going to win this argument because she will tell you about she remembers when her older sister was born. Go outside to listen to the demonstrations where your thirteen year old will learn that she was probably more educated than a lot of the doctors that worked on the military back in 1812. Make ash cakes and then eat them. Then after chatting it up with the reinactors drag your teenager away so you can see more stuff, although stopping to take a really cool iPhone photo with the monument in the background first.

Step Ten-Head over to Heineman's Winery & Crystal Cave to take the Crystal Cave tour. Transcend down the 40 feet to a much cooler temperature and oooh and ahhhh over the crystals. Offer to take some random strangers photo in the largest geode in the world and then happily let them take your iPhone so you can get a photo of you and your daughter. Try to push those thoughts of Are they doing to drop it on the ground and smile.

Step Eleven-Go across the street to Perry's Cave because your daughter tells you she wants to pan for gold, have some fun in the gift shop, then get drug back into The Butterfly house for another 40 minutes.

Just two girls having a purr-fectly good time.

Step Twelve-Head over to Big Man's Burrito to get the sampler plate. Enjoy the time in the back patio area, realize that you can't get the wifi to work, get frustrated, leave happy and full.

Step Thirteen-Drive Joe Dirt over to the Museum to get the tour, realize that because you have spent nearly three hours of your life in the Butterfly House that day that the tours are over. Let your daughter convince you to drive around back to see if the Museum's Thrift store is open and sing a happy song when you get to walk away with all of these glasses for $2.00.

Step Fourteen-Realize that you need to get Joe Dirt back by 6 PM and you really want to make the 6 PM ferry back to the mainland so you pay no attention to the fact that your daughter is taking photos of you while you are driving behind the people who thought it a good idea to shake out their sandy beach blankets while we were driving down the road and thank goodness you have glasses on because there is no windshield on the golf cart.

Step Fifteen-Relax. You made it on the boat. Enjoy the twenty minute ride back to the mainland and realize that your daughter, who hasn't stopped talking all day long, is finally quiet and enjoying the sights on the way back.

********

Playing along at InstFridays over at Life Arranged-even if you don't have an iPhone or Instagram I suggest you check it out-great posts and such fun photos!!

Disclosure-my family & I were invited by Miller Boat Lines to come and #RediscoverPIB for the day. While they did supply ferry passes and got all of the businesses to let us play tourist for free all of the opinions are of my own. Many thanks to Julene Market and staff from Miller Boat Line and to all of the businesses listed above. We had an excellent time and next time we are at the island we will make sure to play tourist again...you know on our dime.

While we are here on this earth

2011-06-16T19:31:00.003-04:00
For such a long time I couldn't imagine going a month or two or nearly five with out updating this site regularly.

To not read up on my friends and friends of theirs and countless strangers whose blog I happened to stumble upon, let alone not even turn on a computer.

I know that I am not going to stop posting here, I just needed some time to step away.

To be able to dodge all the of shit balls life has been trying to toss our way lately.

And just when I think things are back to normal and I can update you about how Giggles is driving and The Chicken is nearly as tall as I am, my world unravels just a bit more and makes me want to spend more time with my family letting them know just how important they are to me.

To put it mildly. This stinks.

I know that there is a life after this one & if anyone deserved eternal happiness there Tammy & Tommy surely do.

While I haven't talked with Tammy in years, I knew that someday we would run into each other and give kid updates and talk about how it's been forever and then maybe go to lunch or something.

That's not going to happen now.

Now I think of Tom & Danielle as they fight for their lives not knowing that a huge chunk of their lives aren't on this earth anymore.

I pray.

I wonder.

It's all we can do.

Well and this if you are able.

Please call that friend you haven't talked to in ages, let them know that you care. You may not get another chance.

To Casey with Love

2011-05-05T20:15:00.002-04:00
Many months ago I was contacted by Emily to participate in the celebration of Mozzi {due in May} for dear Casey.

I was excited to participate with all of Casey's lovely other friends.

There was to be a super secret mission to Indy to watch movies, clean fridges, watch Mooshes, and have a wonderful time with my dear friend. Life, however, had other plans.

As much as Casey said she missed me, she was happier that we kept our plaque to ourselves, so I decided to just post my love for Casey on April 4th. Again, life had other plans.

I could say that I overdue on this post so that Miss Mozzi wouldn't be overdue for dear Casey.

I could say that but I would probably be lying and lying isn't nice.

I could say that I didn't want to post because I have yet to send MIss Mozzi her prezzie from her auntie Domestic Extraordinaire, but it has been done for quite sometime.

I truly hope that she loves vintage green and not so square baby blankets.

What?!!? Casey can read italics? Why didn't she tell me? Isn't that some special skill like reading hieroglyphics? And she's still reading now?

Okay, well Casey act surprised.

Casey gets me. She understands this weight I wear that we call depression. So often I find myself nodding along with her posts, knowing those feelings, yet not knowing them at all.

She gave me confidence to wear red lipstick and rock it! To wear pretty dresses and love how pretty they make me feel. To embrace who I, no matter what state my mind is in. She also helped me to keep my mid-western status even though I microwave my corn on the cob.

I am over the moon excited for her and her new little one. I am sure that she will be one of the most loved babies north of the Mason Dixon Line.

Someday soon, when life permits, I will come and visit you & your newest bundle of joy, Casey. You can show me around Indy, I can finally know the joy of Lush bath bombs, and we will watch When Harry met Sally and shove our faces full of your tasty tasty cake (because I hear it's amazing)

With love,
Heather

photo credit Mishelle Lane

Don't fret the sweat....seriously.

2011-04-26T09:05:00.005-04:00

I will admit that the first time one of my girls told me that they needed to get some deodorant it took me by surprise. It was a day after P.E. class and as I hugged her to tell her that when the P.E. teacher was referring to the smelly kids and that she couldn't point them out by name, I realized that my kid was one of the smelly kids.

Gone were the days of inhaling their scent deeply while they slept. Now we were in a world of training bras, deodorant, forcing showers on them every.single.day, shaving, and dealing with their ever changing bodies.

I admit that it was overwhelming not only to them, but for me as well. I don't remember having to deal with all of these "smelly kid" issues until I was a teenager, but then again my house growing up was a bit more ventilated than ours was.

Thankfully the folks at Unilever have made it a bit more easier for you to navigate the tween highway by sponsoring the Don't Fret the Sweat Facebook page where you can learn from experts and parents who have been in your shoes. And coupons...did I mention the coupons?!?

While the tween years are scary for you both, rest assured that one day they will remember to put on their deodorant every day without you asking, they will shower more often than you think necessary, and change into this wonderful (not so smelly) young adult.

http://vimeo.com/22632884">Bliss TV - Don't Fret The Sweat - Episode 2 from http://vimeo.com/blissdom">Blissful Media Group on Vimeo.

Disclosure-I am being compensated for participating in the Don't Fret the Sweat Campaign

Crazy how time flies.

2011-04-05T09:15:00.001-04:00
Things here have been flying lightening speed and I can't believe it has been a month since I last updated.

I promise an update tomorrow, but for now, if you feel so compelled, go here and help out.

No one should have to suffer through this. No one.

Sorry, your browser does not support iframes.

My Anxiety Caused by Tunnels

2011-03-02T11:40:00.004-05:00
After you get over the initial shock that I am 33 years old and I have a 16 year old and a 13 year old you laugh and tell me about how smart i was to start so young. I will then in turn chuckle and reply with some trite cliche that I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Let me set something straight. I hate that stupid tunnel, with its light shining bright. Who said that I wanted to go anywhere near that god forsaken tunnel, isn't there a door or a fence or a big rock to put up so that I can't see it anymore?

That tunnel gives me more anxiety than I care to admit. It makes me wallow in self pity wondering where all the time went and just like that more time is gone.

I need more time.

Before I was even an adult I became a mother and then a wife. I have two beautiful daughters, a loss that haunts me more than I care to admit and a wonderful & supportive husband. Most days I think my family is complete, but there are days when I beg, plead, and make deals with God for just one more babe to carry in my womb, to suckle at my breast, to cradle in my arms.

Being a mother has defined me. I have been a mother for nearly half of my life and even through the trying days I never once regret being a mother to my girls. Sure, it's hard work, but it is something that I know I was made for. It just flies by so damn fast.

I'm not scared for my girls going out into the world. I have raised two beautiful, smart and confident young ladies. I have no doubt that when they get into the world it won't swallow them up but will be conquered in ways that only they can imagine. My biggest fear, my greatest source of anxiety is myself.

Who are you Heather and exactly what are you going to do with yourself once these girls fly from the nest? It scares me because I don't know who am I without them. Becoming a mother before you even know what you are becoming yourself makes these last few years scary. Sure I had fleeting thoughts of who I was or what I wanted to do, but they never came to fruition and to be honest I can't even remember what those thoughts were about anyways.

I am a photographer and writer and I love what I do, but they are my muses and without them I just don't know if I will see the world the same way.

I know, I know when they leave the nest they aren't going to disappear and never be heard from again, but they won't be here consuming my every moment with their bad TV, crazy YouTube videos, and fights over whose turn it is to wear the blue sweater or the salt stains on some one's boots that someone else put there.

I can't imagine a life in which I don't have to make lunches, drive them here or there, do massive amounts of laundry that I complain about, or wonder which girl took my tweezers no matter how many times I tell them not to take them out of the bathroom.

So many people are scared to become parents. They don't know what to expect, how will their lives change, will they lose all of their friends? I have those same fears for myself and I don't know how to squelch those fears, to reassure myself that everything will be alright, that I will survive.

But while I am figuring it all out, if you are on the other side of that tunnel will you please turn off that light?

My Friend FireMom-Alternately titled How Jenna doesn't really want the Steelers to Win Super Bowl XLV

2011-02-06T11:09:00.006-05:00
I would like to introduce you to my friend and fellow Ohioan, Jenna.

I am not sure exactly how I met Jenna, but I am pretty sure that it was through our mutual ~~obsession~~ love of Photography.

At first it started with comments on each others blogs, then tweets on twitter, then emails and somewhere in the middle of all that we met up at an event hosted by Cheryl & Co in Columbus.

She is witty and kind.

She rocks my socks off with some of the amazing photos that she takes.

In one words she is Awesome, except for her one little problem.

She claims to love the Steelers.

Now I guess I can accept this fact because she is from PA, but for her husband, a native Ohioan, this is just not okay.

I know what you are thinking, how can I discriminate against someone based on the color of their jersey, it is the 21st century and all.

The answer is simple my friends, history.

I live on the outskirts of Cleveland. Home to the Cleveland Browns.

The fans here are so loyal that we actually sued Art Modell so that we could keep our name when he took the team and moved it to Baltimore, so that we could use the name again three years later when our team was "reactivated."

In some fan's eyes the Browns-Steelers rivalry is equal to, if not worse than, the Ohio State-Michigan Rivalry that has been going on since the late 1800s.

Given the history you have to understand that I closely examine my Steelers (and Michigan) friends well. I need to make sure that they are worthy of the looks I may get or the names I could get called because of my befriending the 'enemy.'

My first glaringly obvious clue came about when I took their family photos.

Exhibit A.

Her family is donning the great orange & brown.

They were fall photos though, so maybe I was reading too much into things.

Then there was this.

Exhibit B

Clearly her husband and boys are trying to represent their Steelers while Jenna clearly is rooting for the Brownies.

I mean, look how she totally upstaged that photo and really let the Brown & Orange shine.

I am sure that she will defend herself in the comments, saying it was a fluke or that the clothes were super on sale.

She might even claim that I made her jump in the foreground* of the photo.

But my whole world was turned upside down when I found this.

Clearly she wants the Packers to take the win today and she has since late 2009.

*I did in fact ask Jenna to jump in that photo and the end result is something that is full of awesome.

I did steal these photos from her flickr stream, although the ones with my watermark on them are photos that Jenna paid me to take of her family-so in a word I didn't exchange awesome photos for an awesome post about her. (feel free to hire my awesomeness)

Jenna knows that I love her and that this post was brewing as it was going to be written for the Browns-Steelers game in December but there was just too much going on and clearly it is much funner to harass your friends when their team in playing in the Super Bowl with the possibility of becoming *cough*not gonna happen*cough* this year's champs

Lastly...Blissdom posts are coming this week, you know if you were waiting on those.

Flashback Friday-The Jetson car edition

2011-01-28T18:37:00.003-05:00
I know, I know it's been a while since I last wrote a Flashback Friday post.

Excuses? I have none.

But rejoice here is another segment of my crazy childhood so that you can laugh along with me.

My dad knew a guy that sold used cars. Used cars that you purchase on lay-a-way.

I know, crazy.

I paid $400 for this car over the course of a few months. I was so proud of that little red Chevette.

No that isn't the song that Prince sang, although would have my car so much cooler

I had the car for about six months when my thought it would be a good idea to sell it and get a better car.

My dad put it in the paper for $200 or best offer.

A woman came to look at the car and offered my dad $250 for it.

He was shocked and told the woman how it was $200 or best offer.

She offered him $275.

He told her of the balding tires, the heat that wouldn't shut off, and the driver's side door that didn't always stay shut.

She offered him $300.

He opened the hood and told the lady how he could stick his head in the shock towers.

She counted up her money and told my dad that the most she could pay was $425.

she still had groceries to buy, you know

Months later I saw my car driving through downtown and I swear it sounded just like the car from The Jetson's.

Writing Prompts from the Wisdom Workshop at Blissdom 2011

2011-01-26T11:48:00.007-05:00
Yesterday I attended a writing prompts workshop hosted by a lovely group of ladies (please click the link to get their info). One of the prompts was living a day in your life free of your greatest fear & since today I am in the midst of a major flare up this feels fitting.
*******

I can't remember what it is to not feel pain.

I try to not let it consume.

I fail lots.

If I could just wake up one day and be without pain.

To not worry about what side of the bed I woke up on. To not worry about if I remembered to decaf. I just don't know what I would do with that kind of freedom.

The pain shackles me most days.

As I have gotten more used to my life being this way it has gotten easier.

What was once an 8 might be a 4 now.

It isn't fair.

They say that fibromyalgia isn't hereditary. Can I believe them?

What if tomorrow one of my girls woke up and couldn't walk or lift her hand above her head.

The guilt would consume me.

Some days I look at them and their freedom to move around and not have this intense pain in their lives and I get jealous.

For a brief flash of a second I wish that they could feel my pain. They could just soak it all in and understand the depth of it all.

I want them to understand that I am not lazy or out of shape. I know that they know but what if they look back and just wonder if it was real.

Do they feel cheated?

There are so many things that I have given them that are annoyances and sometimes life threatening.

hello asthma

But those things can be fixed.

While I wouldn't wish for them to have my mental health issues, with the proper care and medication....those hurdles can be overcome as well.

But this pain......there is nothing for it.

It's here. It radiates. it consumes.

What would I do if I gave this to them.

that would cause a whole new pain that I would have to carry.

This burden around my neck weighs me down. It leaves me breathless carrying it around.

I am tired of being breathless.

I am tired of this burden, but it is one I carry.

always.

Thirteen

2011-01-26T11:09:00.005-05:00
Dear Chicken,

Do you know how much the mommy guilt is consuming me because I wasn't there this morning to push the hair out of your face and just stare at your sleeping eyes for a few moments before I started to rub your back to wake you up.

In those moments in the morning when the light from the hallway is streaming through the slats on the top bunk I see glimpses of the small child you once were and the woman that you are rapidly becoming.

You would grumble and roll over and I would remind you that it was your thirteenth birthday. You may have asked for a few more minutes or you may have shot right up excited to start your day.

I will never know.

I can't believe that you are thirteen.

13.

I just can't wrap my head around it.

I can't wait for next week when we can start planning your birthday bash. I remember the excitement on your face when you figured out what theme you wanted to do.

I think it will be sweet.

And soon I will be home & I will let your rifle through my bag of stuff. You will show me what new things your puppy can do and tell me all about your concert and your game and all the fun things that you did with your dad to make your day oh so special.

Thank you for understanding. Thank you for letting me follow my dreams. Thank you for just being you.

I love you my Chicken.

Mom

Top Ten Ramblings on a Tuesday morning

2011-01-25T07:02:00.004-05:00
1. I have been up for seven hours and it is 9:45 AM CST.

2. No I am not crazy

3. I am here as an official photographer for the conference.

4. I am super excited about that & representing them while I am here.

5. Last year I missed my 15th wedding anniversary to be here.

6. This year I will miss The Chicken's 13th birthday because I am here.

7. If I am not there for her birthday, does that mean she can't turn into a teenager?

8. My family think that Alli & Barbara have it in for them since out of the 365 days in a year they have picked 2 out of the 5 significant days in a year to my family.

9. The Mommy guilt is something fierce because I am missing this day, but thankfully my husband randomly has the day off.

10. But I am sure I won't be missed much because she will spend her time playing with this.

Please come back tomorrow & bring your friends to wish The Chicken a very happy 13th birthday, although I totally think that if I am not there that she shouldn't be able to get older. Kind of like if I wasn't there she couldn't be born. I know....it doesn't work that way

To check out other Top Ten Tuesday posts check out this sweet lady's place (who is going to be here & I am super excited to see her again)

You Capture-Doorways

2011-01-14T11:35:00.002-05:00
This week over at Beth's place the challenge word was Doorways.

About Tuesday I realized that I hadn't really given any thought to the challenge and so I went around my house looking at the doorways.

We live in a turn of the century house and I love that we have the original doors and the beautiful glass knobs. I never thought to take a photo of the doorknob before, but I am glad that I did because this shot makes me so happy.

I took many photos of the glass door knobs from different angles, but that one right there was my favorite.

Then just by happen chance I was at my best friend's the next morning keeping an eye on her younger kiddos for her when I looked out the backdoor to see the most glorious puffy snowflakes falling from the sky. I immediately grabbed my camera.

When shooting snowflakes you have to have your focus on manual so you can focus on the snowflakes and not the tree behind them. Catching snowflakes falling while focusing on manual can be a bit tricky, but I am so in love with this shot.

This shot is also straight out of the camera (SOOC)

By thinking outside of the box a little bit I know have two beautiful shots that I love and are now part of my Project 365 in 2011.

So how about you? Did you capture any great things from doorways this week?

Beauty comes from the Heart

2011-01-12T20:09:00.004-05:00
Every morning I get up, I wake the girls, I brew some coffee & I turn on the news.

I remember last year when they were talking about the devastation that was in Haiti.

I remember my heart sinking when I knew that there was so little I could do from here.

I remember my husband telling me that the places that they were showing on the news were the nicer places there. That most people would love to live in those shacks that they filming the news reports in front of.

He has been to Haiti, to build houses; though not houses of American standards, but houses that the people there were so grateful to have.

In a flash it was all gone. I can't even begin to imagine.

A few weeks ago I found out about the Heart of Haiti campaign at Macy's.

Haitian artisans making beautiful things out of unlikely resources.

I love this video from the site showing the artisans at work, it's less than a minute so please check it out.
Brandaid Video

I think my favorite pieces are the ones that are made from recycled metal, whether it be from scraps or oil drums, it is just amazing what they can create.

From the website;

Purchasing one of these handcrafted masterpieces directly benefits Haitian artisans by allowing them to support their families with dignity and purpose. Artisans receive 22 percent of the retail price for each item in the collection.
This initiative offers the first sustainable income since the earthquake, enabling artisans to repair homes, pay school fees and feed and clothe their families. With steady income comes better nutrition, improved education and access to health care.
Heart of Haiti also offers new opportunities for artists to collaborate with US designers, strengthening artisan associations and inspiring and energizing their communities. Men and women are working together, gaining confidence and hope for the future. Master artisans who planned to leave the country are now staying behind to train the next generation. The tradition of rich and unique Haitian art lives on...through the generosity of many like you.

Not only are they beautiful, but they are getting back so much in return. So if you are thinking of adding a little something to your home, why not make it something that was hand made and will do so much in return? I know I will.

I was selected for this very special “CleverHaiti” opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are my own.

Embracing myself

2011-01-11T14:02:00.006-05:00
As I sit here at the dining room table, still in my pajamas with unbrushed hair, I ponder.

I don't know if ponder is the right word, but I know that struggle isn't the right word either.

This time of year sort of sucker punches me in the gut and in the heart. It stinks.

I take my pills and I put little x's on the calendar to remind me of this fact.

I think that maybe if I take my pills every.single.day that I can learn to dodge the feelings creeping up inside of me.

I can't.

I lean to the right or to the left to get around them, but then I lose my balance and I fall to the ground.

Sometimes the falling feels worse than the sucker punching.

sometimes

******************************

Because of a friend or two I decided to chose a word of the year for my life.

I struggled and thought and struggled some more.

Embrace.

I need to embrace myself.

I struggle. I will always struggle. It is who I am.

I know that embracing myself won't fix me, but it surely can't hurt.

And when I embrace my bright days and my dark ones perhaps my life will seem more uniform, woven together.

Because sometimes when you weave together brights and darks you come up with the most beautiful things.

Death and Taxes

2011-01-04T19:39:00.003-05:00
They say that there are only two things that are for certain, death and taxes.

I just wish that my girls had to deal with taxes first and long, long before they had to deal with death.

I can count on one hand how many weddings my girls have been to in their lifetimes. Well, maybe two.

As for funerals or memorial services; well, there have been too many.

We have buried grandparents, great grandparents, and friends.

Children shouldn't have to die, at least not before they pay taxes.

Death and Taxes is the only thing certain in life.

It keeps ringing in my ears.

It just isn't fair.

My daughter shouldn't be so accepting of death because she has seen it so many times before.

She shouldn't tell her friends that even though it is sad that we should celebrate Marissa's life.

She shouldn't feel the need to want to support her past teacher whose only daughter passed away this past weekend.

She should be distraught & upset, not speaking rationally about how life goes on.

Death and Taxes

A mother shouldn't be grieving the loss of her teenage daughter tonight.

A school shouldn't be planning silent vigil.

A basketball team shouldn't be playing their games for a girl that is no longer with us.

Stupid death, doesn't it realize that she never got a chance to pay her taxes.

Project 102

2010-12-31T19:15:00.002-05:00
So this past year my Project 365 kind of fizzled out and now it shall forever be known as Project 102.

While I didn't take a photo a day for the whole year, I am satisfied with the end result.

This year I am challenging myself yet again, even if I don't get to 365, I do hope to get to at least 102.

Thank you so much for being here this year with me. Being there through the good and the bad.

I am truly looking forward to 2011 and all that it holds.

Here are 12 of my favorite photos from Project 102. Won't you join along with me in 2011?

A Christmas Trip

2010-12-28T13:20:00.003-05:00

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Christmases are pretty low key at our house.

The girls always get a pair of pajamas.

They always get something handmade from me.

They always end up with gum in their stockings.

This year, the whole year through, The Chicken has been harassing us for a pet of her own.

More specifically, a puppy.

If any of you have met the husband you would know that he is not an animal lover. If another pet never graced our home he wouldn't shed a tear. It's just the kind of person that he is.

We had talked lately of The Chicken's need for an animal of her own. A lot.

He was actually pondering the idea of getting her a puppy and that made me pretty excited.

Last Thursday, after much planning with a friend of mine who lives over an hour away, we set out on a super secret trip with The Chicken being the only member of our family who was in the dark about our destination.

It was snowing that light, fluffy, storybook snow and we were listening to Christmas carols as we navigated the country roads.

The Chicken kept asking question after question about our destination.

How long would it take to get there?
Would she know the place where we were going?
Were we going to look at hybrids? We did answer yes to that one
Were we going to buy a boat?
Did we notify others of our trip to the middle of no where?
Why were we taking cookies with us that we weren't allowed to eat?

There were breaks in the interrogation when her sister entertained her and they tried to get a good picture of her awesome skills.

Clearly my daughter has talent

The look of confusion on her face was priceless when we pulled into the driveway of a small white house in the outskirts of a small town she had never been to before.

She tenatively walked into the house with us as I gave my friend the cookies and a big hug. She then realized that we were at the house where the puppies that her father and sister had told her about were. Her voice was so high. She was so excited that she got to pick out her puppy when it was a wee two weeks old.

I forgot the real camera at home, thank goodness for my iPhone

We were there for a couple of hours while The Chicken cuddled her little Barney and her sisters and brother.

It was hard pulling her away from her little pup, but finally we got her back in the van.

The whole ride home we got to hear of purple and pink puppy accessories and all of the tricks she was going to teach her.

It made my heart happy to see how my whole family oohed and ahhed over this little tiny thing.

So while it may not be her best Christmas present ever, to me it was priceless. To have my family together for one day, so happy and so joyful. It is a day I will never forget.

Learn more about the coolest new app that revolutionizes the whole shopping, gifting, and gift card-organizing experience and Download the SWAGG app to your iPhone or Droid. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity.

On this Day

2010-12-25T09:25:00.004-05:00

No matter what the day holds for you may peace be with you the whole day through

The Christmas Forrest

2010-12-24T10:46:00.002-05:00
For years the husband and children insisted that we get a real tree.

There is something about a real tree. Something almost magical about it. Going out and finding the perfect tree, the one you can picture in your home, adorned with your precious ornaments.

The magic soon dies when we bring the tree home. The sap, the needles, the welts and itchiness it causes me, the wheezing. The watering, the cat going bonkers from the outside tree in the house, and did I mention the needles?

With the husband working so much this year with the weather being so cold led to me to an idea. We already had the trees in the house, why not try something new.

A Christmas Forrest.

There is something magical about several trees in the corner of your room flickering and shimmering with their lights and precious ornaments. There is something beautiful in faux snow.

As I sit here this morning, coffee in hand, I smile and let the magic of the season envelop me. And it feels good, better than I could have ever expected and I am glad.

The family loves our little forrest and I love that when it is all said and done I can tuck our magical forrest upstairs until we need it again next year.

Christmas Cookie Anxiety

2010-12-22T07:55:00.005-05:00
Years ago I was a cookie baking machine.

Our house was festive.

Presents were wrapped.

Christmas Carols played on a continuous loop.

Then one year it all changed and I never could put my finger on why.

Last night while talking with The Chicken about how festive and merry my best friend's house was, I realized it.

Seven years ago today I had just finished up all of the holiday baking. The plan was to box it all up and deliver it on Christmas like I had every year before. After hours of feeling like I should go to my dad's house and deliver him his cookies right this very second, I finally did.

It was late and he worked early, but the lights were on inside his house. Getting up to answer the door winded him and caused him so much pain, but he was so happy to chat with me and eat the cookies that I brought him.

We stayed up later than I normally stayed up. Talking of things of little importance and watching Las Vegas on T.V. (Dad loved him some James Caan) We talked of plans for Christmas, him joking that I didn't need to stop by now as he had his cookies and the fact that he hadn't had a chance to get out to get the girls anything due to 'this damn cold.'

Two days later, on Christmas eve, he would go to the ER having trouble breathing from what he thought was that damn cold, only to find out that he had a severe case of pneumonia. He would hold on for eight days, but finally his body gave up the fight. He was only 49.

Christmas and New Year's hasn't been the same since dad died. Sure I think of him often throughout the year, but when I am out in the cold driving around my mind flashes back to those days I spent by his bedside praying that he would open his eyes and ask what the hell he was doing in this bed, hooked up to all these machines.

For seven years our holidays were sufficient. Things got done, but the magic of the season just wasn't there. I see that now.

You can clutch the past so tightly to your chest that it leaves your arms too full to embrace the present. ~Jan Glidewell

So this year I embrace the cookies, the decorating, the trees, and the lists for me and for them.

Now where to start. Also...what cookies do you make every year?

I can't believe it's that time of the year again.

2010-12-21T09:30:00.006-05:00
While our stockings are not hung, the halls are not decked and the tree is definitely not trimmed I am happy to report that our cards have been sent and well received.

As much as I would love to send each and every one of you a snail mail card (because seriously who doesn't love getting Christmas cards in the mail) I can't. But as soon as I win the lottery.......

Many thanks to Shutterfly & Clever Girls Collective for the beautiful cards

As beautiful as the card is the thing that drew in the most compliments was the stamps I used to send them.

Years ago when the postage went up I was in Walgreens and noticed that the Photo Stamps were being sold a considerable discount on clearance. I immediatly called PhotoStamps to find out if I would be able to use the stamps and I was assured that indeed I could because I was buying a gift certificate for a set amount of stamps and not the stamps themselves. I was beyond excited and snatched up the last four boxes they had left.

Fast forward four years when I found the boxes of Photostamps. Lo and behold they worked! Not only did they work, but I was able to get all 100 of the stamps I needed because when you buy more than one sheet you get a discount. I was so excited!

The only sad thing about the whole photostamp process was the fact that I forgot to save one myself as they are so neat!

Photostamps has no clue I am writing this post as the stamps were paid for years ago at reduced rate, but I would use them again at full price

So head on over to Meghan's and see all of the neat holiday cards that other bloggers are sending out and feel free to add your's too! And just in case you missed them, below are cards from previous years!

Our 2009 card (that didn't get sent out...whoops) can be found here.

Our 2008 card (that I did send out thankyouverymuch) can be found here.

Many thanks to Meghan for organizing this again this year. Meghan...You rock!!

Disclosure-please check link under card photo for original disclosure on the cards & as with the stamps....I mentioned it above, Photostamps has no clue I am writing this and I paid for the stamps with my own money about 4 years ago

The State of Christmas in My Living Room & other such stuff

2010-12-20T15:43:00.002-05:00
Currently my living room looks a lot like this.

You know probably because that is my living room

I won't tell you how long those trees have been propped up in the corner of the living room, but I will tell you that I thought I was going to rock out all of December with my happily decorated house.

It's now one week until Christmas and I am now realizing why our decorations are up until nearly February each year.

Also I know that Christmas is on Saturday, I was talking business week people.

I have great excuses why I haven't been doing important things like decorating and updating this space here.

For Example:

One of my posts is syndicated over here.

Here I talk about ~~how I like to peek into your house in a totally non creepy way~~ the first Capture It over at Aiming Low.

I tell you about why Roxanne is my favorite Christmas Carol here.

Please help me come up with more excuses as to why she shouldn't be driving here.

So if you feel so inclined please check out a link or four!

And check back tomorrow when I post our family's Christmas card for the Third Annual Bloggy Holiday Card Exchange!

Heather Durdil

2010-12-20T12:00:00.000-05:00

This Year

2010-12-11T10:20:00.002-05:00
On your birthday this year, there wasn't a lot of hub-bub. Your little sister wanted to throw you a surprise party because you were turning sixteen, but you hate surprises. You actually pulled me aside some time ago and told me that you didn't want a big party, just a nice dinner out with us as a family.

I thought about planning that surprise party, but unlike your sister and her many friends, you have a core group of people that mean something to you and while you didn't want to order pizza and watch movies, when I did get home from your sister's basketball game on your birthday you were sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor eating buttered noodles with one of your best friends.

Sadly you didn't get the snow day that you were hoping for, but like I told you last year, that isn't going to happen every year. But you did get that footlong sub you were wanting after I picked you up from school.

I want you to know that I love you dear girl. That you will always have a special place in my heart for being the oldest and making me the one others call Mom. Looking at you makes me so proud of what your dad & I created and have instilled in you.

I love you so much dear Alexis, I hope your sixteenth year is one of the best yet!

Much love, Mom

Pineapples aren't just a fruit

2010-11-24T09:56:00.005-05:00
I don't quite remember how I met Alicia.

She is one of those friends that once they are there they always feel like they have been there.

And if we can be friends with this photo floating around the Internet we can be friends forever. (Remember Alicia that Maggie posted it first, I got it from her!!)

Conversations are easy and laughs are plentiful. No matter how long it has been since we last talked with each other.

She is what I like to call a low maintenance friend.

And nearly two years ago when I knew she was thinking of having one more babe to add to her family, I have to admit I thought she was a bit nuts.

She laughed and said she knew, but she didn't think this feeling was going to go away.

Last year right before Thanksgiving I got an email telling me of little Pineapple's arrival into the world.

And when I met her the first time, well it was love at first sight. There is just something special about knowing a babe when they were only a thought in their mommas head.

Yesterday Pineapple celebrated her first birthday. I got to love on the birthday girl and munch on her wonderful cheeks and make faces that only babies laugh at.

I can't believe that I got to see her transform from this tiny little bit.

Into this beautiful One Year Old.

Thank you so much Alicia, for being my friend, for loving me, and for letting me be in your life celebrating the moments that you will want to remember forever.

Looking in from the Outside

2010-11-18T20:29:00.003-05:00
There is this cat in our neighborhood that has adopted our porch as his home.

I know where he lives, at least where he used to live. I am not sure if he really lives there anymore.

Each morning Rex, the outside cat, and Carli, our inside cat, have a ritual. It's almost like a game of Simon, but not really.

You do remember that game, right? I'm not the only one

They take turns pawing at the windows, almost scratching at it. First she does it, then he does it. It goes back and forth at different intervals. And then when they are done they sit on the backs of their respective couches and stare at each other through the window.

I sometimes wonder what is going through Rex's mind when he is staring inside of our house. Is he jealous? Does he wonder how Carli got so lucky? Does he really enjoy it outside?

I go out and pet him and give him some food. He purrs the loudest purrs as he munches happily. He likes when I scratch him behind his ears.

When his belly is full and he is sufficiently petted he will wander away visiting his other friends in the neighborhood.

But everyday when the sun is shining through the windows in streams across my living room he comes back to look in from the outside.

So what about you, do you have anyone looking in from the outside?

What's your Super Power?

2010-11-17T16:01:00.004-05:00
In order to use up stuff I have had forever and make things more sentimental and intentional I have been making more handmade gifts.

At first it was hard, but now I enjoy it. I look forward to that time in my craft room, being creative with what I have so that I don't have to go out and buy more things.

Last month was my nephew's 5th birthday, I made him a super hero cape and mask. My then three year old niece ran her fingers along the back of the cape and traced the letter A that I had sewn on the back.

"Aunt Heather, I will be four soon and I really like the cape you made for Bubbie."

She continued on while I listened. "I would like if you could make me a cape like that for my birthday. Except if you could find the letter L instead of the A that would be good. Also instead of the red, could you make mine with purple and some sparkles, you know if it isn't too much trouble."

I chuckled and agreed that maybe, just maybe I could make her this special cape.

"Because when I am four I am sure to have my superpowers, Aunt Heather."

So this Sunday we all met up for lunch at my mother's house and the newly four year old girl ran up into my arms when she saw me in the dining room.

"Aunt Heather!!!"she exclaimed, "Did you know that today is my very special day. Today I am four years old and its my birthday! Don't you want to say Happy Birthday to me?"

I wished her a happy birthday and took her over to her purple package that I had just for her.

I let her shake it and sniff it and she had a big smile on her face while telling me she didn't know what was inside.

We opened the bag together and she exclaimed, "My Cape!!" before it was even out of the bag.

She asked to put it on and I happily tied it on her.

"My super powers are here and now I can jump and twirl so fast that the bad guys can't get me!" She says as she is literally bouncing all over the place.

"You have super powers too, Aunt Heather," she tells me.

"Really sweetie, what are they?"

"You don't know?" she inquired.

"I am not sure sweets" I replied back.

"Love, Aunt Heather. Your super powers are love," and she sped off to see her great uncle and the pretty package that he brought her for her special day.

Now that I know what my super powers are I need to use them more often, to not let things get me down and to remember that everything will be okay with Love.

And maybe, just maybe I will do some jumping and twirling too.

So what's your Super Power?

I think they are up to something

2010-11-16T12:20:00.002-05:00
I can't believe that it has been nearly three weeks since I last updated my blog.

Things have been a bit crazy around here and we had another bout with some sort of intestinal bug.

Like I said before, I think my chidren are trying to kill me.

They try to convince me that they really aren't up to anything by laughing at my jokes.

Or by asking me to take specific photos of them because they will 'look great on the photo wall in the living room'

By hiking through the woods when it was 40 degrees out and looking like they truly enjoyed it.

And now I have my doubts to whether or not the husband is involved too, because clearly they are up to something.

But whatever it is, I don't mind.....as long as they keep letting me take their pictures.

Flashback Friday-Get Your Mind Out of the Gutter Edition

2010-10-29T09:13:00.004-04:00
October is a really rough month for me as my dad's birthday is smack in the middle of it, so today I am taking a break for the dad stories to bring you a flashback from my days as a Navy wife.

I am pretty sure you all know, but if you don't, my husband served six years in the Navy.

Which means I served six years as a Navy wife, which is no small feat.

Jeremy's ship was gone more days than it was home and so the community of wives from his ship was something that was needed.

You become friends with people that in any other life you probably wouldn't be friends with. These women are your lifeline. You knew that you could count on them no matter what because they got it, they understood, and they were always there.

When the ship was on one of its deployments, a group of us gals decided to have weekly dinners together to ~~drink lots of wine~~ let the kids play and have some laughs.

One particular dinner we were at my friend Sally's* house for pasta night.

The jar of sauce was stubborn. We smacked it, ran it under hot water, tapped the top of it with a butter knife.

No matter what we did that stupid jar of sauce would not open.

All of the sudden a lightbulb went off and I asked Sally if she had a rubber husband.

All of the room just stopped and everyone looked at Sally.

Sally's face was red. Her jaw had dropped. She started to stammer out words that we couldn't quite understand.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity she said very sternly to me, "Heather, I just don't see how that is any of your business and how this relates to this at all!" as she gestures to the whole kitchen filled with women.

I was shocked and I am sure that my jaw hit the floor, you know after I realized what she was talking about.

I happened to look down into the open drawer next to me and lo and behold.....the rubber husband!

I grabbed it out of the drawer, snatched the jar of sauce from another friend's hand, opened the jar and proclaimed, "THIS is a rubber husband!" and walked out of the kitchen laughing so hard.

As I walked out of the room I heard a roar of laughter and poor Sally defending herself.

You learn lots of things when you are lumped together with people from all over the country, but none was ever as funny as learning that little tidbit of information.

P.S. This is a rubber husband

*Sally's name really wasn't Sally, you had to know that when I put the * next to it...right?

Christmas Cards for Me and You Too!!!

2010-10-27T12:10:00.006-04:00
I admit that I don't faithfully send out Christmas cards each year. I try to get one sent out every couple of years so I don't become black listed on some friends and families list because I really love getting all those cards in the mail.

The past couple of years we have sent out photo cards because it was just so much easier to go that route and my hope was that all my hard work wasn't just going to get tossed in the recycling bin when the holidays were all said and done.

I have always had a couple of issues with sending photo cards though. One being my husband who had some very strong feelings about not sending out glossy photo cards like everyone else and Two being that even though I am a photographer, getting a great family photo of us is no small feat.

I finally got the husband on board by agreeing to send out a 5x7 card that was not glossy and so it wouldn't look like "everybody else's" card, I designed them myself.

They aren't too bad, you can see them here and here.

But there are little things about them that bug me. Like the text the one year was a bit too small so the following year I made the text bigger only to have the husband complain that there was too much black space because the photos were too small.

In short I had pretty much decided against sending cards out this year.

Enter Shutterfly and their holiday cards.

When I was contacted to give a review of the cards, I wasn't expecting to be impressed or wow'ed in anyway. I figured the choice would be easy and I would probably just settle because free cards are free cards.

I was totally wrong!

I was amazed at their selection. Along with having Christmas cards, they also have Hanukkah cards and even New Year’s cards!

Now I am not sure what card I am going to pick as we haven't done our photo yet & it will need the husband's seal of approval, but for now I am leaning towards these three.

I love that they don't look like traditional photo cards and they are designed by designing professionals so everything will hopefully be up to my ~~ratio crazed~~ loving husbands standards.

But wait there is more!

Do you want 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly? Click here to go to Shutterfly for information on how you can get 50 free cards this holiday season, and make sure to select Clever 1000 as the referral source.

This post is part of a series sponsored by Shutterfly. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

Twelve Weeks of Christmas-Travel Time

2010-10-23T06:10:00.004-04:00
During the holidays we do seem to spend more time in the car than normal.

Those long trips to see the family that we don't live so close to or just traveling places that we don't normally go.

Having an organized vehicle will make those trips oh so much easier for this holiday season and beyond.

First make sure that you always have small, quiet things that you can do in the car with the kids. I used to get the shoe boxes from the dollar store and fill them up with things I thought each girl would like to play with. Also make sure these are new to them toys. Nothing is going to get the "I'm bored" quicker than toys that they play with all the time.

Also, invest in some headphones and a splitter for each child. That way if they are playing video games or watching a movie they can do with out you having to hear what they are doing. Trust me, they may seem very far off in that third row but when the movie starts blaring you will feel like they are watching it inside your head.

Batteries. Make sure you bring them. Because no matter how well the battery life is on that toy or game at home, when you hit the road and are in the middle of no where, they will run out. And they will run out quick.

Trash bags. Have lots of them. I like to make sure that I have some plastic bags available for the girls to throw stuff away. I always keep extras so that we can toss out the bags often.

Drinks and Snacks are a great thing to have in the car. It is cheaper in the long run and you won't have to worry about the dreaded "I'm hungries" or the infamous "I'm thirstys." My only hint here is to make sure that whatever it is is non staining and won't make your kiddo hyper.

Plan your trip out so that you get to stop at least every couple hours to stretch out. You will be amazed at how much better everyone will be with each other if they just get 10-15 minutes of down time out of the car when traveling.

First aid kits are a must when traveling around town and on the road. You will be amazed at how often I have to replace the stuff in that little kit as my girls get at it whenever they need something. You don't have to buy a kit, although this is pretty nice because you can replace as needed, but you can make up your own and keep it in a plastic container in the car.

And lastly always make sure that you are prepared for the emergency. Make sure your phones are charged, that you know the names of the highways you will be traveling on, and that you have an Emergency Road Assistance Kit.

What? You don't have a kit? Well you are in luck. One lucky commenter will win this 42 piece AAA Roadside Emergency Kit

Product Features
Flashlight with batteries
Keep in your car
8 gauge heavy duty booster cable
Compact storage bag with handles
Most trusted name in travel

To enter just leave a comment with a travel tip or suggestion of your own and I will use random.org to draw a winner on Friday October 30th. That's it!!

Good luck and Happy Traveling!!

Disclosure I was provided one Emergency Roadside Kit to giveaway on my blog.

Flashback Friday-No I certainly was not playing charades edition

2010-10-21T23:02:00.002-04:00
Growing up I was a Girl Scout. Like my entire childhood was me being a Girl Scout & my mom being our scout leader.

Cookies....I sold them. Patches....I had them.

But this post isn't about scouting or patches but about something I learned when our troop got first aid certified at the American Red Cross one Saturday morning.

One of the things that we learned was what the universal sign for choking is.

Do you know it?

Fast forward to the next day and a picnic at my parent's friend's house.

The parents were inside laughing, talking, drinking...you know things that parents do at these sorts of things.

The kids, and boy howdy was there a lot of us, were in the backyard. Running, playing, shoving chips into our pie holes.....you know doing what kids do at these sorts of things.

I was generally dorking around and eating chips when all of the sudden I couldn't breathe.

I tried to ask for help, but no sound would come out.

I used that universal sign for choking but all the of the kids were so busy dorking around that no one was paying attention to me.

I decided since I was starting to get light headed that I should go into the kitchen where the adults were and let them know I was choking.

I walked into the kitchen and all of the adults stopped talking and looked at me.

"What do you need, Heather?" "Boy, she's quieter than usual." "What is she doing with her hands around her neck like that?" were all things that I heard from different adults.

"Wait!" my dad exclaimed, "I think she wants to play charades!"

Let me be clear in the fact that we had NEVER played charades in our house or anyone elses like ever

"Larry why is her face turning blue?" another person in the room asked.

"Holy shit! I think she is choking!!" someone else exclaimed.

In a matter of miliseconds my ten year old body was being flipped upside down as someone grabbed a hold of my ankles and my dad started feverishly whacking on my back while I tried to keep my head from hitting the kitchen floor.

In what seemed like an eternity, finally coughed up that chip.

"You know, Heather, if you were choking you really should have said something. Things could have turned for the worse pretty quick," my dad told me after I was placed back on my feet.

"Dad, this is supposed to be the universal sign for choking. I did tell you," I told him as I demonstrated the sign once more.

My dad chuckled, patted me on the back and asked me if I wanted some more chips which made all the adults in the room roar with laughter.

I left the room, totally pissed off that the lady at the American Red Cross and vowing to never play Charades.

Girls Night Out

2010-10-21T13:50:00.002-04:00
While there was a brief break in the plague that was running a muck in my house I was contacted to see if I would like to preview the latest Katherine Heigl move "Life As We Know It" before it actually came to the theatres.

We hardly ever go to movies and since it seemed age appropriate for both of my girls (ages 12.5 and 15.5) and they both expressed an interest in seeing the movie, we decided to trek to the theatre that they were showing it at in our area.

We laughed.

We cried.

We laughed some more.

As far as movies go I can see us watching it again when it comes to DVD as it was that good.

The story line flowed well and both girls understood what was going on.

There was a sex scene but aside from the kissing most of it was implied and I felt comfortable with my twelve and a half year old watching it.

The movie dealt with some big issues that we talked about on the ride home, like where are we going to go if something should happen to you and dad.

It also brought up other issues with the girls, like how come she can have a bouncy house at her first birthday party and I haven't had one at all.

But I think the biggest issue of all was that the girls didn't get any popcorn. There was mention of it when I was contacted, but because we got there late (just in time to see the movie) I didn't ask about the popcorn.

I would highly recommend going to see this movie. The tears you shed will be perfectly balanced with the laughs you enjoy.

So let me know have you seen it?

If so, let me know if you enjoyed it!

Disclosure

I was given complimentary passes to see Life As We Know It but the opinions that I have shared about this movie & the experience are completely my own.

Overwhelmed

2010-10-19T16:29:00.004-04:00
I know that when I last left you I claimed that the children were trying to kill me.

When they didn't succeed in the typical sharing of the germ fashion, they conspired to bring back our wonderful friend Mono.

Because killing your mother with worrying is much more funner than colds, creeping crud in the lungs or the flu.

I can't remember if I blogged about Giggles having it back in July and honestly I am too exhausted to check if I did.

But The Chicken then came down with it the day after my little sister's wedding.

You know because doing this looked like a lot of fun....or something.

Her fever was very high for nearly two weeks. I couldn't leave her side.

Having a feverish, clingy twelve year old is not unlike having a colicky baby.

She was both

Then I decided to forget to refill my meds last week because subconsciously I must have thought I would enjoy an adventure.

Thankfully I remembered today after over a week of no meds.

Here's hoping the roller coaster that is my brain lets me off soon.

So bear with me as I get back 'into the game' so to speak. It truly feels like I have been gone forever.

You all have been on my mind lots and I am thankful for each one of you.

So tell me, what have you been doing since I've been gone.

And just like that I have a Kelly Clarkson song stuck in my head, if it happens to you....I'm sorry

I think my children are trying to kill me

2010-09-23T09:30:00.003-04:00
I am happy to report that there were no pantless air marshals on either of my flights.

The trip was fabulous and I will go into more details in my next post.

My return home was great. I came home to a clean house and happy children.

Then I woke on Tuesday with a fever.

Then I lost my voice.

The creeping crud that my kids had the week before dropped into my chest.

It hurt to breathe.

So doctors were called, meds were started.

I still have no voice and I can still feel my chest rattling when I breathe, but I am feeling a bit better.

Then this morning as I peed for the eleventy millionth time because I have to drink lots of fluids Giggles comes busting into the bathroom because she had to vomit.

Yeah, I am pretty sure that the girls are trying to kill me.

One overlapping illness at a time.

Disclosure-The trip that was taken to NYC was paid for by Unilever because of my ambassadorship in their Family Dish Program

Anxiety & Airports Totally Go Together, Right?

2010-09-16T12:34:00.001-04:00
I haven't been in an airport in nearly fourteen years.

Not that I was a frequent flyer or anything because counting today I will have flown 3 times (round trip)

I will be going to New York City for a Unilever event with The Family Dish gals.

I thought my heart was going to beat right out if my chest when I was waiting to check in.

The gal from American seemed to sense my stress and told me that it's really not too bad and I should just breeze through everything.

I could feel my anxiety build as I handed my luggage to the security guys.

I was physically shaking when I went through the security checkpoint and was relieved to not need a pat down.

As I sit here people watching and waiting for boarding to start I finally have a calm about me.

A peace in which I know that everything should be okay.

Although I did have a crazy dream about getting in trouble with an Air Marshall over a Fruit Roll Up. It was crazy and unbelievable and he wasn't wearing pants.

So if there is a pantless Air Marshall named Dave, I am so outta there.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

I Believe in Signs

2010-09-09T14:09:00.002-04:00
My mother in law loved to garden.

When she was well her garden thrived and was just so beautiful.

I remember commenting about how lovely her garden was and how I could never have a beautiful garden like hers.

The next Christmas I got a book. The Encyclopedia of Gardening or something like that. That book still sits on my shelf and from time to time I thumb through it, pondering the garden I will never have.

It's not that I don't want a garden, it's just the fact that no matter how hard I try I can never keep one alive. Add to that the toll it takes on my body being outside digging, pulling, and lugging and it's just not worth it.

But I did love her garden.

All too soon she became ill and her garden was a distant memory.

We all tried to help out, but it was just no use. Weeds were choking it out and slowly killing that garden that she loved so much. Much like her liver was slowly killing her.

Three years ago on Saturday she passed away after years of fighting for her life. A new liver was found, but not before her body was too weak and sick to accept it.

For years the guilt has riddled me because of the plea I made the day that she went into the hospital to never return.

You see, I was helping to take care of her. I was splitting my time between my house and hers during the day to make sure she ate, took her medicine, got to the bathroom, and any other things that needed to be done while my father in law was at work.

I wasn't forced to do it. I happily helped because I loved my mother in law so very much.

The day that they got the call about the liver being available for her I was exhausted. My mind and spirit were spent and I lay down on the floor in my bedroom and I wept. I cried out to God to do whatever He must but I just couldn't go on like this any longer.

I was too tired. The burden seemed too much.

When we got the call that they were on their way to the hospital I rejoiced as I thought my prayers had been answered. Only to have my heart feel like it was crashing onto the floor when we later got the call that the liver wouldn't help.

I never told anyone that I blamed myself for her passing. But it was there. A big ugly elephant in the room whenever I would go over to her house.

She was never there, but the guilt always was.

Last year my father in law had work done in the backyard. He wanted to make it something of beauty that my mother in law would have been proud of. Something like she would have done.

The garden had to be removed so that it could be restored. The landscapers tried to save what they could and replant, but to no avail as it all perished.

This past Sunday we got together to celebrate her life and spread her ashes in her garden with the hopes that someday it will look like it once did, for her.

My father in law doesn't know how it survived, as he is sure that the landscapers had dug everything up and it hasn't bloomed in years.

It is one of the last clematis that she bought, I remember her showing it to me as it started to bloom. She loved that flowering vine and I know she wants us to know that everything is okay.

This post is part of You Capture; Signs

Summer's End

2010-09-06T18:15:00.003-04:00
It seems like just yesterday the girls were getting out of school and we were wondering what we were going to do with this summer.

There were plenty of sleepovers, trips to the barn, trips to drop off Giggles at work.

Lots of late nights, laughing, bug bites and playing video games.

Confession; The Chicken plays Little Big Planet lots & I still don't get it

There weren't enough trips to the beach, s'mores, cook-outs, or camp-outs.

I look at my girls and I wonder just where the time went.

Sooner than I think we will be sending Giggles off to college and then The Chicken and well my heart just can't think much further than that.

I am thankful for school. The routine. The knowing exactly what day of the week it is.

I pray that my girls stay true to who they are and remain individuals. I pray that they surround themselves with people who lift them up. I pray that they will know peace, love, and happiness even more abundantly that I have known them.

I look forward to see what this school year holds.

And I look forward to next summer when we can spend our time lazing around staring up at the sky to see this.

Helping to Power A Bright Future with a Giveaway

2010-09-02T16:39:00.005-04:00

Sometimes I walk up to the playground and I just sit and stare at the school from the bench next to the playground. It seems so long ago that my girls ran out of those double doors and into my arms after the bell rang.

Its amazing to me that with school closings in our area, making the student size bigger, that the feeling can be the same.

McKinley is one of the elementary schools in my town. The one that I went to for my Kindergarten year and then my girls attended when we moved to this area in 2005. It was a school that I was confident for my girls to go to after talking with the secretary (who now happens to be a good friend) on the phone for 15 minutes when calling & getting information about registering.

I remember how she stayed later than she would have normally stayed so I could get a chance to get up to the school to register them and how she wasn't upset when I didn't have all the paperwork. How each member of the staff that we encountered that day was so very friendly and asked the girls about themselves and welcomed them to their school.

How when I visit I can always count on a hug from Mrs. Sullivan and I am always able to pop my head into Mrs. Ward's classroom and say hello to all My First Grade Friends.

How teachers that didn't even have my girls in their class will ask about them by name and sigh when I tell them that Giggles will be a sophomore and that she is driving.

"She can't be big enough for that." they always say. And I always agree.

In some ways the school is very much the same, but in other ways it is different.

Last year it was rumored that grades K-3 were going to lose their PE, Music, and Art classes. The teachers could just do that stuff in the classroom and the kids always get out for recces.

Thankfully by some miracle we were able to hold onto PE, Music, and Art Classes for the little ones, but sadly something else had to go.

The Band & Orchestra Programs for kids in elementary school is no longer there. Sure, they can pick up band or orchestra when they get to one of the middle schools, but I just don't think its the same.

I remember when my girls were entering 5th grade and how they were excited to be able to play in Band for the first time. How each week they would tell me about the day that they got to be excused from class with their fellow band-mates so they could go practice.

I knew that if I had a question about something, Mrs. Brawley would happily answer it, even when she was in another school that day. The kids loved her and we loved that when she said that the concert would be 30 minutes long, it was 30 minutes long.

Each year in May they have a huge Band Concert at the end of the year and all of the 5th and 6th grade bands from the entire school district get together to play the same songs. The kids get all excited as they get to play in the High School Gym and its really something that so many of them look forward to.

I remember the difference in what just one year made in how they sounded. It was phenomenal.

When Clorox and The Motherhood contacted me to ask if I wanted to be part of The Power a Bright Future Campaign I knew what school I wanted to share with you.

Now many may ask why wouldn't I pick the middle school or even the high school to submit for this grant. The answer is simple. Elementary school is the foundation, the building blocks of a child's education. So many times they are at the bottom of the list because the needs of the older kids come first.

We could have lost football or track or some other thing associated with the middle or high schools, but we didn't.

I know that McKinley would benefit from a grant of $50,000. Couldn't a school in your area benefit too?

Now a little something from Clorox

· Music, art and sports offer some of childhood’s most memorable experiences, but recently, budget cuts in schools nationwide mean many of these programs are being cut. We know these programs can be critical to a child’s educational experience, and can be just plain fun.

· Each year parents hold fundraisers to keep enrichment programs in schools. Now there’s another way to raise money for your child’s school: Power A Bright Future, created by the Clorox Company, will help brighten kids’ futures with school grants to help fund critical programs. Parents and teachers can help kids continue to learn and play by nominating their school programs for a Power A Bright Future grant from the Clorox Company.

· Since 1980, Clorox has donated $80 million to non-profit organizations and community programs with a focus on schools. This year, the company is awarding four grants, totaling $110,000, to help fund school programs that will brighten and enrich the lives of kids.

· There are multiple ways to participate and win. In addition to nominating your school and voting, participants have the chance to win a variety of daily prizes including supplies for your school and coupons for Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, Clorox® Regular-Bleach and Clorox2.

· As part of the Power A Bright Future grant program, Clorox is seeking nominations for school programs for a chance to win a $50,000 grand-prize grant or one of three $20,000 grants to help provide critically needed resources to school programs that enrich kids’ lives and create brighter futures. In November, four schools will be chosen to receive grants and the opportunity to impact the lives of children in their communities.

· For more than six generations, Clorox has been a trusted stain remover and disinfectant, ultimately helping to keep families healthier, cleaner and happier. Clorox wants to continue to celebrate these activities that help kids continue to learn, play and create. To nominate a new or existing school program, visit www.Clorox.com from August 12 to September 27, 2010 and choose the category that best represents your idea. The three categories include: Learn, Play or Create.

· Nominators will receive exclusive Clorox classroom tools and the chance to win coupons for Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, Clorox® Regular-Bleach and other great prize packs daily.

· Once the nomination period has closed, we will leave the voting up to you. Between October 4 and November 1, be sure to vote for your favorite nominee. To encourage votes for their entries, nominators will receive a “Promote-it!” kit with tips on how to encourage votes, like sharing on Facebook and an e-mail for friends and family members.

· For official rules and to nominate a school program, visit www.Clorox.com.

And if you got through all of that I have a surprise for you!

I will be giving away one Clorox Back to School Goodie Bag if you comment and tell me what program you would most like to see your school get if they were awarded $50,000 from Clorox.

Included in this pack will be:

Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
Dr. Harley Rotbart’s book Germ Proof Your Kids
Clorox Hand Sanitizer
Tissues
Fun stickers
Crazy cutting scissors
Markets/pencils/crayons

Now for the rules (because there always has to be rules you know!)

This giveaway is open to US residents only. (I know, I know my Canadian friends it is upsetting but you should be used to this by now).
This giveaway will end on September 7, 2010 and the winner will be randomly drawn the good old fashioned way of pen, paper and a big bowl.
Make sure you have a valid email attached to your profile or you can leave it in the comments.
If I don't hear from you by September 8, 2010 I will have to pick a new winner on September 9, 2010.
If you would like an extra entry to the contest you can tweet about it using the hash tag #cloroxbrightfuture (make sure you leave the link to your tweet.

FTC disclosure-I was compensated for my time of writing this post and hosting this giveaway through Clorox and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own and I really do love my girls elementary school

Around My Neck

2010-08-31T18:17:00.004-04:00
I wear a certain necklace around my neck each day.

Recently I have been wearing two necklaces thanks to her, but that is a story for another day

"Is it Lisa Leonard?" I get asked.

Nope.

"Oh right, its The Vintage Pearl" they always reply.

Wrong again.

My necklace, one that I put around my neck each day, even on days in which it feels like a weight due to my fibromyalgia was lovingly made by my friend Melissa of Cascade Custom Crafts.

She blames me for getting her into all of this.

I admit to only getting her started in scrapbooking.

If you have never seen my necklace, I would like to introduce you to her.

Why yes I said her, the only guy coming this close to my girls on a regular basis is my husband.

I know that your first thought is "Wow that is a beautiful necklace!" with a close second being "Why is it laying among those business cards?" with a possible third thought being "Hey look there's my business card!"

Well friends, today I am happy to tell you that you can win a $25 credit to Melissa's shop by participating in a little contest.

I swear it's not hard and it should be fun.

See this photo?

These are the business cards that I collected from BlogHer, less one because my husband needed to write down a number and for whatever reason I let him use a business card out of my purse to do so, ~~you know so he wouldn't write on his hand again~~ because I am so nice and gracious like that.

All you have to do is guess how many business cards are in that pile and you can win yourself a necklace of your very own.

Note my necklace isn't pictured because I designed it myself and truth be told that isn't the 'bling' it came with I just recently switched it out because I spilled ice cream on my necklace...you know while it was around my neck. True Story

Let me give you two hints.

1. I didn't really ask for anyone's business card unless I was talking to them for a good while.

2. For me going to a conference with 2,399 of my closest friends I was seriously disappointed when I counted how many cards I actually got. It is sad and pathetic and I probably shouldn't be allowed to exchange business cards at another conference ever.

Now for the details

~This contest ends on Friday September 3, 2010 at 5 p.m. EST.
~You may only enter once.
~In the event that two people pick the correct amount, I will randomly draw a name.
~But people this is an open comment form so try to check what others have guessed before you put your guess in.
~If no one picks the correct amount it will go to the person that was closest & if there are more than one of those that are equally far away from the unsaid number of cards I will randomly draw a name.
~The winner will have until Monday September 6, 2010 to contact me if not I will randomly draw a winner on Tuesday, September 7, 2010. So make sure your email is connected to your blogger account or you leave me a valid email in your comment.

FTC disclosure The original necklace was purchased by me (well techinally the husband as it was my mother's day gift). I was not compensated in any way and the opinions expressed are solely my own except for the ones that I shared that others shared with me and I am pretty sure they weren't paid for their opinions as well but I can't be sure because people are tricky like that. Also I didn't steal any of the business cards, not that I would steal business cards and if I did steal them I would probably steal way more of them so that the number would be higher, because FTC the number is sad and low

Seven and Three

2010-08-29T11:22:00.004-04:00
Giggles is learning how to drive.

The Husband and I had an understanding and that understanding was that he was teaching the girls how to drive.

He took her out once or so.

Its not his fault due to his crazy work schedule, but due to his crazy schedule I started to feel bad that she wasn't driving.

Because is all honesty if we waited for him to be able to take her out to get her required driving time in she may be able to get her licence by the time she graduated high school.

At first we drove the car that she will be driving once she gets her licence.

The car is small and the backseat is cramped.

The Chicken is so long and her knees uncomfortably hit the back of the seats.

The Chicken's doubts and fears were right in my ear, as well as her sister's.

You know the one learning to drive

It started as a one time thing, her driving my van.

Then she started driving it more and more.

I admit when she first started driving it I had to take my motion sickness medication because she seemed to be all over the road.

She scared me when she would turn to quickly, or when she would accelerate my V6 too fast.

I have since stopped taking my medication when she drives and I find myself having to correct her less and less.

She has confidence behind the wheel, but not too much.

She constantly amazes me at the things she can do.

I can't believe that my baby is driving on the road, in my van, without much direction.

But no matter how many times I tell her that her hands need to be at Ten and Two they always end up at Seven and Three.

Photo taken with the Hipstamatic App on my iPhone while she was driving down the road

Giving a Face to Fibromyalgia

2010-08-27T21:59:00.003-04:00
My name is Heather.

I am in constant pain.

The days in which I have been in pain far outweigh the ability of my brain to remember those days that I have not been in pain.

For years I would wonder if I was slowly losing my mind to the pain.

This is me.

Most days anyways.

I won't let the fibromyalgia define me.

I can't let it win.

In some ways I think I have become a better person since the pain has started.

I smile more. I talk to strangers.

I want my interactions with people to be positive, something that would be a bright point in their day.

But there are days like today when its even a struggle for me to smile because the pain runs deep.

The days where I have to grit my teeth and push through the pain. No matter how deep the pain burns.

I hate these days.

I hate that I can't remember what it feels like to be completely pain free.

I hate knowing that one day my pain free days will be outnumbered by the pain filled ones.

I hate that there is no cure and that so many doctors don't recognize it as a problem.

Even though its "all in my head" I can't change that I have it no more than an asthmatic chooses to have asthma attacks.

I admit that when I am in severe pain and someone mentions to me that they have a 'touch of fibromyalgia' it takes all that I have to not laugh in their face and mock their so called pain.

I don't like the person I become when I am in this much pain.

She can be bitter and angry and short with her children.

She lets the pain consume her and she sometimes stops the fight, letting the pain take over.

She isn't me.

So I fight and I get frustrated and people think I am angry.

All because I am waging this internal war with myself over something I can never control.

But still I fight, because she is worth fighting for.

Top photo credit my good friend Dawn
Bottom Photo my good friend Mishelle Lane

Flashback Friday-The Geauga Lake Edition plus a deal for YOU!

2010-08-27T19:43:00.003-04:00
Growing up my parents had businesses. Lots of businesses. Specifically businesses that worked well without snow.

So growing up in Ohio with my parents and their seasonal businesses, well, the money flowed a lot easier in the summertime when the work flowed as well. And in the wintertime things like hating the gas company became a bit standard.

But the summertime was pure bliss and sadly I don't remember much of it.

I remember always going to Sea World when it was in Aurora, Ohio and also to Geauga Lake, which was right next to Sea World.

Dad said he always liked going because it made us kids happy, kept us out of his ~~thinning~~ hair, and they served beer. What more could a guy ask for.

I remember the drive was long but we would stay at either of the parks well beyond dusk and would get home sometime around midnight sometimes asleep or sometimes still high off of our cotton candy buzzes.

The last time I was at Geuaga Lake, well....I honestly couldn't tell you.

The last time I was at Sea World was when I was about seven months pregnant with Giggles. My mom would decide every now and again that we needed to go and off we went. I remember getting the little cups full of fish to feed to the dolphins and how once I lost a watch feeding the said dolphins. (Although I didn't lose the watch on my very pregnant trip there)

I always thought that I would be able to go back there someday with my family and enjoy the same sights and smells as I did in my youth. But, alas that wasn't part of the plan.

Sea World closed, as did Geauga Lake. It seemed like they re-opened a time or two but before I could get the girls there it seemed like they were closed again. In 2008 Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom opened soley as a waterpark.

Imagine my surprise when I was contacted by Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kingdom asking if I would like to bring my family to the park to enjoy a day seeing what they had to offer.

We jumped on it! I was so excited to take my girls to Geauga Lake to see what they had to offer.

We went this past Sunday and coincendally my best friend and her family were going that day as well.

The boys (her husband and mine) were excited to tackle the water park together.

We arrived shortly after the park had opened and made our way to the gate. It was a bit cool that day with light sprinkles here and there, but since the sun kept peeking out, we decided to brave it and enjoy ourselves.

The first thing I noticed was how friendly each staff person was that we encountered. They were all smiling and helpful. The lifeguards were amazing. I could probably go on and on about how diligent they were and how they took their job so seriously. (I later found out that the training that the Lifeguards receive is the highest standard of care in the industry)

Here we are in the Kiddie Area of the Park enjoying a big of a swim.

Another amazing thing is that the water always seemed like the perfect tempature. I seriously was not cold until I stopped riding on the slides.

The food seemed reasonably priced and was quite tasty, well the stuff that we tried.

I do have to say that my girls did become a bit bored after the day went on because while the attractions are great, there aren't that many of them. But the kiddie part of the Park was AMAZING!! My best friend said she could hang out there all day with the kids and enjoy it (and she pretty much did!)

She enjoyed it so much that she is thinking of getting a season pass for her family next year.

I could see coming back, especially with their Platinum Passes as they are good at any Cedar Fair Park.

The one depressing thing was that you could see the old Geauga Lake. Now I know that it isn't any fault of the new Wildwater Kingdom but it was depressing for me to look across the lake to see some of the old rides and other things basically overgrown and wasting away. But like I said, that is just me.

All in all I think that it was great fun to go and if you have younger ones that would enjoy their Kiddie Park then its a wonderful place to go.

For those of you who are local you only have 5 more days before the park closes (this weekend and next) so if you decide to go please take advantage of the coupon below to get $5 off your admission to the park.

Disclosure: I was contacted by Geauga Lake's Wildwater Kindgom and given tickets for my family as well as $40 in Beagle Bucks to enjoy the concessions. The opinions expressed in this post are my own and that of my family (and my best friend who was not compensated and had to buy her tickets on her own!)

Fifteen years

2010-08-22T08:46:00.005-04:00
Fifteen years ago our graduation was nearly rained out, the same thing happened to our reunion.

It seems like I have lived a lifetime or two since high school.

Seeing all of those faces, most of whom I couldn't place at first was a different experience for me.

Sure I knew some of them through the wonders of Facebook, but how much can you really know a person from facebook?

People put out the information that they want you to know. (some too much, but that is to be expected)

Some of the photos that are used may be years old or taken from unique angles to get just the "right" look.

Some people haven't changed a bit.

Some people have changed a lot.

It was like the ultimate people watching experience.

And because I am 70 or something I wished it was a bit quieter and had more lights turned on.

I know that I am not the same girl that I used to be, although I felt myself at times wanting to shut down.

A couple of people asked if I had kids, which is funny since I was crazy pregnant at the beginning of senior year.

You could see people wondering what to say. A couple people asked how that was possible because we were only at our 15 year reunion.

At one point in the night my best friend told someone jokingly it was because I was a whore in high school. Ahhh, drunk bestie how I love you so

I admit I was shocked because while I have jokingly said that about myself to hear those words come from another mouth to someone else's ears. Well I was a bit embarrassed.

But really it doesn't matter. Most of these folks I won't see for another 5 years.

And those who I do see, they get me. They are my people.

My drunk bestie who doesn't remember posing like that, our short friend and me

And I love them.

And yes I am totally looking forward to my twenty year, you know when my one daughter will be graduating and the other in college

I will always look forward to BlogHer.

2010-08-16T18:55:00.003-04:00
I am not the same girl I was last year going to BlogHer.

Going to a conference over your anniversary changes you.

Because the greatest gift my husband could have ever given me on our 15 year anniversary was confidence.

He didn't intentionally give it to me, it just happened as a result of me not wanting to let him down.

I never introduced myself as Domestic Extraordinaire, well not at first.

Hopefully I greeted you with a smile and if I gave you a compliment, it was geniune.

I was excited when people knew who I was, because when you are in a city that is the size of New York City and you are attending a conference with 2,399 other attendees....well, I think you get the idea.

My travel companion and I saw each other during the conference some, but we knew we would have 14 nearly 20 hours to catch up on the way home. (Again thank you Amtrak!!) So we didn't sweat it.

I had the most amazing roommate anyone could ask for. We got to spend some quality time together on Sunday morning before we checked out of the hotel and it was amazing.

I took my Canon to the Nikon party & caused a "situation" in which I was issued a Nikon for a few minutes. (Nikon I was totally serious if you want me to give you a trial run against my Canon)

I met.

I ate.

I drank lots of water.

I walked.

I saw.

I may had my picture taken with a "celebrity" or three.

I stood among so many strong and powerful women.

I am proud to call many of you that I hugged friend.

Words can not express how amazing you each are. (She said it so perfectly.)

So thank you for meeting me. For hugging me. For letting me be me.

For understanding me. For not making me explain why I love blogging.

You know me. I know you.

And this my friends, is why I will always look forward to BlogHer.

The Universe Hates Me or Rather Hates that I am Online

2010-08-14T16:48:00.003-04:00
So, the plan was that after I decompressed from going to BlogHer & my horrible train ride home (Hello Amtrak you still haven't connected with me on Twitter yet) that I would do a BlogHer re-cap.

I am here to say that The Universe has other plans about me ever doing a BlogHer re-cap.

Remember last year when we came home only to play Amish.

This year wasn't so dramatic.

Well, the nearly 20 hour train ride home in a meat locker almost did me in, but I survived.

This year my modem decided to crash on me. But not in a way in which the phone company could tell for sure it was dead until we spent several hours on the phone going over everything because my modem assured them from their end that it was working.

Thankfully we didn't have to do all the simple things that we normally would have to do. I think part of it had to do with the fact that she was a fellow Mac user who also loves Safari and doesn't like Firefox just because it isn't Safari.

She was a kindred spirit indeed.

So, long story short I am at a coffee shop getting my contract work done, updating my photography site, and saying hello to all of you lovelies out there.

While you are here please look at the photos that I took in Times Square on Friday night, they were inspired by Beth's photo challenge at You Capture "Everyday Things" (not for me but those that are always in NYC-I am still in awe!!)

I promise I will be back soon!!

with the exception of the black and white shot these are all shot in manual straight out of the camera

My body may be in Ohio but I think my brain is somewhere between here and New York City

2010-08-11T19:29:00.002-04:00
I am home.

Sort of.

But not really.

My brain is still somewhere between here and New York City.

I am pretty sure that part of it is still in Buffalo, NY. (But more on the Amtrak train incident another day)

I am so thankful to be with my family.

To have my husband's arms wrapped firmly around me each night and then in the morning have him whisper into my ear that this is the best part of his day.

But I miss my friends.

I miss the freedom of New York City.

The Lights. The Sounds. The Street Meat.

I need to decompress my thoughts and feelings.

I want what I have to say mean something.

I want to reflect on the positives (not that there were many negatives)

I think I just need another day.

So until then, feel free to enjoy as I crossed something off of my list.

Seeing Radio City Music Hall all lit up.

The Big Apple

2010-08-05T17:49:00.001-04:00
All of my life I have wanted to go to New York City.

Some people have life goals, things they want to accomplish.

My 'Life' list has destinations on it. Sure I have things I want to accomplish, but most if those things have something to do with some far off destination.

I wasn't sure if I would be going to BlogHer this year.

The expense. The time away. The whole 'going out of your comfort zone and making yourself sound legit' business.

Then they announced the location and I was sold.

I can't believe it, I am here in The Big Apple, The City that never Sleeps (seriously never sleeps) all because of this space and you reading it. Making me all legit and stuff.

Are you going to be here? If so, I would live to meet you.

Some places I will be are (in no particular order) The People's Party, The Social Fiesta, CheeseburgHer, Sparklecorn, Blogalicious, The Aiming Low EzPz Party, and The Serenity
Suite.

If you haven't heard what the Serenity Suite is you can click on the button in my sidebar there and it will tell you all about it (I hope because I am typing this out on my phone because time escaped me before leaving my family for nearly a week.)

Simply put, it's a quiet place you can come to relax and enjoy some quiet conversation and eat cupcakes. If you would like to eat some cupcakes with me.....errrr, I mean enjoy the suite please come to Room 4307. I will be there on Friday from 10-10:30 am and from 8-9 pm. Saturday I will be there from 10-10:30 am and from 3-3:30 pm.

I am sure that I will be stopping in some other times as well because I can not resist the lure of free cupcakes.

And if you aren't in NYC, no worries you can live vicariously through me and my photos.

Remembering

2010-07-31T14:27:00.003-04:00
We met her on Saturday.

She came to our house.

She ate my chicken salad.

She commented on its awesomeness.

She knew the things the girls were into.

She knew which was which.

She has a big heart and she makes him Oh.So.Happy.

We went to his house for dinner last night.

An impromptu BBQ so we could say good-bye.

When I walked into the back door into the kitchen, she greeted me.

She was standing at the cutting board that my mother in law stood at for so many years before.

She was in her kitchen, looking very at home, using her things.

It was more than my heart could bear.

I think that had she been anywhere else in the house I could have handled it better.

But in that bright orange kitchen, painted that color because it made my mother-in-law so so happy. A place where we all stood around when she was alive, chatting about this or that, watching her cook amazing things and getting yelled at by her because we weren't sitting in the living room where there was more space, it broke my heart.

The evening went on and things got better.

I laughed. I smiled. I enjoyed the food.

But the void in my heart was still there. Screaming louder than it had in a long time.

I am happy for my father in law. Happy to see him moving on.

But my heart, it feels that much more empty. In her kitchen.

Flashback Friday-The You're not used to the smell of luxury Edition

2010-07-30T15:35:00.005-04:00
I know, I know I have tons of stories about the vehicles that my dad drove around. (Okay well 2 really isn't a ton, but its working its way up there.)

When I was 9 or 10 we inherited my grandfather's Cadillac. Not just any Cadillac, but a fully loaded El Dorado.

I have no idea what year it was, but it was HUGE and all white and well....it smelled of death.

When we would go and visit my grandfather, before we inherited this behemoth of a vehicle, we weren't allowed to touch it in his driveway. In fact, if we even glanced at the car in a way that would hurt the car in some way (yes, Cadillacs have feelings.) we would get yelled at.

My dad would always stand back in the street and admire the "beauty and class" of my grandfather's car.

"Someday I am going to have a car just like that," he would sigh.

Someday turned into quicker than we thought when my grandfather's alzheimer's got to a point where he couldn't drive the car anymore.

At first dad didn't want to drive the car. It sat in our driveway for what seemed like forever, but winter feels like that in Ohio sometime.

After everything thawed we went to go for a ride in the Cadillac and I was about knocked down from the stench.

Simply put, it was awful. It was the 'Let's Check the Trunk for Bodies because its big enough to house at least Six' kind of awful.

I refused to get into the car. I gagged. I thought I was going to throw up (which as this point might have actually improved the stench in the car).

My dad tried to woo me in the car. Show me its beauty. The leg room. The ALL!LEATHER!INTERIOR!

I crossed my arms and cried that I couldn't get in there. That smell, that horrible smell.

And that my friends, is when my dad turned to me and told me "You're just not used to the smell of luxury."

My Apologies in Advance

2010-07-24T10:50:00.002-04:00
To the woman that is making my step father-in-law's life a lot happier since my mother-in-law passed away,

I am sorry in advance if I seem a bit 'off'

That I have a huge chip on my shoulder.

I am sorry if my comments are quick, yet not witty at all.

I will try my best to smile and get to know you, even though there is a huge part of me that doesn't want to.

It's not you. Truly it's not. I swear.

You took a week of your vacation to come and visit us.

You had delay upon delay while flying here yesterday due to the weather and other circumstances.

And yet you are still excited to see us, even after a few hours of sleep.

You see my mother-in-law was an amazing person, not one of those 'typical' mother-in-laws you hear about so often.

She was supportive and kind and always doing little things to show that she cared but she was careful to not overstep her bounds.

She was so good with my girls. The little treats she would get for them. The special wine glasses that they got to drink chocolate milk in at her house. The notes and cards she would send their way even though we only lived a few blocks from her.

So truly its not you I am upset with, its the Universe because she should still be here, even though I know that she is in a better place.

Sincerley, Me

Flashback Friday-TV Shows of my youth edition

2010-07-23T09:30:00.003-04:00
Growing up I didn't get to watch The Muppet Show because it was on the same time as M*A*S*H. At least that is what my dad would tell me when I would whine about not getting to see it when like everyone else in the world was watching.

I also didn't get to watch the Cosby Show when it was first on the air, due the fact that Magnum P.I. was on and in my dad's eyes far superior than a doctor & a lawyer and all their pesky kids. We watched Thomas Magnum and his insert sarcastic tone here oh so realistic lifestyle in Hawaii solving mysteries while living the life at some millionaire's place.

I mean, based on my dad's TV choices most of the time it is clear that he wanted to be some sort of detective, whether it be medically or otherwise. He wanted to solve problems or at least he liked to watch people solve problems on TV.

He had his favorites. He loved Alan Alda, well he loved him until he saw Betsy's Wedding. All throughout the movie Dad would comment "I can't see Hawkeye doing that." or "Hawkeye Pierce would never say such a thing!"

"Dad you do realize that Alan Alda is playing Eddie Hopper and not Hawkeye Pierce in this movie, right?" I would ask him after each outburst.

On one occasion he looked over at me and said, "You know what would make this movie better, Heather? B.J. Hunicutt!"

Clearly he didn't feel there was a problem with typecasting. Well, as long as they were typecast in a character to his liking.

He also didn't understand or just plain out refused to accept the fact that shows that are shown in syndication can stop being shown in syndication. You know, at any time.

I remember coming home from school one day with my dad sitting in his recliner just flipping through the stations over and over again with this look on his face. A look that said 'I watched my dog and my best friend get run over by a truck just five minutes ago.'

"Dad, what's wrong?" I anxiously asked.

He sputtered, "Hawaii, Five, O, looking, TBS, it's 4 o'clock"

"What?!!" I reply. Because clearly he was making no sense.

"I can't find my damn show, okay?" he snapped back at me.

"What show Dad?" I ask.

"Hawaii Five-O, its always on TBS at 4 o'clock each day. I can't find it and I am sitting here and I want to watch it. Did they take it off the air?"

"Um, Dad, they took Hawaii Five-O off the air years ago, you've been watching it in syndication." I replied back, stifling laughter because I knew that he would just get more upset if I laughed about the loss of his precious show.

I finally ripped the controller out of his hand and I went to the TV guide channel and watched it scroll through until I saw something that might make him a bit happier.

"Look Dad, Kojak is coming on in like five minutes on this channel," as I flip to whatever channel that happened to be.

His face lit up with a big smile and he thanked me.

I only wish that all of our problems could be solved with a bald man sucking on a lolly pop.

You Capture-The Magical Landing Edition

2010-07-22T20:41:00.004-04:00
The landing going to the upstairs in a magical place mid morning.

Everything seems to just radiantly glow.

This is part of the reason why I haven't put a curtain on the window the said landing.

Well that and and my laziness.

So the other morning when I noticed the cat hanging out there I had to snap a couple of quick shots.

But totally ignore the shredded up carpet to the left of the cat, it is something that she just won't leave alone.

And since I am really wanting to rip that carpet off the stairs, I sort of don't mind. ~~Much~~

Here is the cat in a private moment.

And the glare I got when she noticed I was interupting her private moment.

And Oscar, because what post would this be about the landing if it didn't have him peeking around the corner of it.

Head on over to Beth's place to see more great black and white shots.

Send me to BlogHer

2010-07-15T00:21:00.002-04:00
Dear Girls,

I am sure that you were unaware but there was a contest to see who could be a smart ChargeHer at BlogHer and get $2,000 for their trip to BlogHer. I also a sure that there are eleventy million posts out there why 'they' should get the 2K schloarship to BlogHer this year. Eleventy million people that are telling you how great Energizer batteries are and how they can't wait to try them.

I am positve that I decided to make the most awesome dress that represented a battery and wear it everywhere that Engergizer didn't have me wearing their t-shirt that you then decided to make the "crazy" happen.

For instance, Chicken, I am sure that you didn't mean to pick really stupid fights with your cousin while he was here or insist I do your hair multiple times a day so that I couldn't get started on the dress.

And, Giggles I had glorious plans to make myself an Energizer cocktail dress. I was going to start the day that I had to take you to the doctor for your scratchy throat that wasn't strep like I had hoped but mono. You know that they call that the kissing disease right? I am sure that your boyfriend ~~had everything~~ had nothing to do with it.

I am sure that it should count for something that I recharged you all this weekend like I would have recharged that material and like I would recharge those at BlogHer.

But now people may not see me this cocktail dress. It would have been awesome and people would stop in their tracks to ~~wonder what the hell was wrong with me~~ notice the beauty that was the battery.

And I would smile and wave and hand them their USB drive with the hopes that they would win the $500 giftcard to Target.
I would share my personal experience about Energizer batteries with them and how I can charge up the batteries for my flash before a wedding and not have to worry for the rest of the night.

So really, no big deal. But remember if there was a few grand less in your accounts after BlogHer.....its only because I really felt I needed this reward!

xoxo,

MOM

She's got some Keys to Safe Driving Now

2010-07-08T11:02:00.003-04:00
Exactly two weeks ago Giggles and I set out for the college so that she could participate in the Key to Safe Teen Driving Course sponsored by KeyBank, Mid-Ohio Driving School and Kumho Tires.

This free program is a much appreciated version of the Mid-Ohio Driving Course, but sadly it isn't very well advertised

I admit I was a bit apprehensive of the fact that I had to sign a bunch of waivers, waivers that said that my car or my child could be seriously injured. I was a bit leery when they told me that I needed to have the car and trunk free of things that could fly around and cause injury and that they had to wear closed toed shoes (because Giggles lives in her flip flops all summer long)

But really, anytime anyone leaves home there is a chance that they or their vehicle will become seriously injured/damaged. You just don't think about things like that because how many of us would drive as much as we do if we had to sign a waiver each and every time we wanted to leave the house with our cars?

First up was the 'classroom' portion of the event. They talked to them about different driving techniques, about your tires, and about statistics that you just don't hear about.

Twenty Teenagers die EVERY day in a motor vehicle accident and most of those accidents are single car accidents.

The softer your tires are the quicker you are going to stop. Tires that are rated with less mileage on them are going to be softer than ones that are rated to last longer.

After the classroom portion they showed them what they were going to do with instructors from the school. I have to admit that I was a bit freaked out when I realized that aside from the Skid Car there were not going to be instructors in the vehicles with the students. Especially since Giggles is driving a stick shift and hadn't had a lot of experience with it to date.

After they showed them what they were going to do they broke them up into two groups. Giggles group (who also had her good friend J. in it) got to get in the skid car first. The instructor told them it would be the most fun they would have driving 10 miles per hour.

(This is where I admit that I thought they were going way faster than 10 MPH but the instructor assured me it was only 10)

Next up was the quick lane change. They drove through the middle lane and there was a light with arrows in front of them, the light would indicate which lane they needed to get into, while they were driving through the first lane. The told us to expect squeals from tires, smoke, and the occasional cone to get run over.

(Giggles did not disappoint...see the cone coming out from behind her car?)

(And the smoke coming out of the front of J's tires on his car?)

Lastly was the water course, I admit that this one scared me the most. I thought someone was going to hydroplane their way right out of the parking lot and take someone out. (Most of the time I am a glass full kind of gal but when it comes to accidents)

Not only would they tell them when to stop, as you can see from above the instructor would talk to them about what they did wrong or right and give them pointers on better do it their next turn. And it wasn't just the water course instructor, all the of the instructors talked with the kids, encouraged them, and really made them feel comfortable and didn't expect them to know how to drive or how to handle certain situations.

Would I recommend this course to others? Not only would I recommend it, I think our teens should be required to take a course like this. I am definitely looking into where I am sending Giggles for Driver's Ed and Mid-Ohio is definitely at the top of our list.

Now the course free course for the Cleveland area is done for this year but it is still traveling around to Columbus, Toledo and Indianapolis.

They will be in Columbus on July 14 and 15
They will be in Toledo on July 21 and 22
They will be in Indianapolis July 28 and 29

If the course is sold out in your area PLEASE call the 1800 number to get on the wait list and if you can still sign up, it is WELL worth it! She is already much more confident behind the wheel after those 3 hours of instruction with Mid-Ohio. And I am much more confident with her on the road as well.

FCC Disclosure: This was a free program that I was asked to participate in by Key Bank and give my honest review. I was not compensated for my time and aside from the extra goodie bag that we got because there were extras I got nothing but peace of mind and great instruction for my learning to drive daughter in return. But if its a problem I can totally give back the red hat and lanyard, because red totally isn't my color anyways.

A Wise Man Once Said

2010-07-04T00:30:00.004-04:00

Use this day to not only celebrate our freedoms but know that someday when we all want it enough, that there will be peace.

p.s. My FIL made the peace light and he lites it up every single nite. I am thinking of having him make us one.

Saturday Solutions-shooting through a fence

2010-07-03T16:47:00.004-04:00
I often get asked questions when I take photos as to how I did this or that, so I decided that I would just randomly start giving you advice about topics dealing with photography. If you have any questions that you would specifically like answered please either ask in the comments or email me at domesticextraordinaire at gmail dot com.

I admit that I don't know much about point and shoot cameras. In fact, when asked to take a picture with a point and shoot I cringe. Not because I am some sort of dSLR snob, but I can not for the life of me take a decent photo with a point and shoot camera. It takes many tries and they are blurry and I get frustrated, because most of the time I was thrust the camera with the person telling me "You're a photographer, you can take a great picture."

So without further blabbering on my part...

A lot of times when I am looking through friend's photos of baseball/softball season I see a lot of this.

Or varying degrees of the same shot. The fence may be blown out a bit from the flash and the player may not be so blurry, but you get the idea.

Now unless you are wanting to capture those priceless moments of the fence standing there separating you from your subject, you have to make some adjustments.

You may have to break out your manual for some of this, but its okay, your manual is like your camera's BFF, keep them together at all times in case you have a question as you can reference it. Also Canon has a 1800 number you can call to ask someone at Canon about your camera. With settings, general info, it doesn't matter. They are there all the time and I have called them from shoots if I was having an issue.

Get as close to the fence as you can. I am normally about an inch or so away from the fence and my lens is looking through a hole in the fence.

sidenote- I normally get to softball games early so I can get a prime spot right near home plate. I know that when I stand up or squat down for photos I won't be getting in anyone's way.

I pick my focal point on the camera to focus on the person at bat (or where ever they happen to be on the field) If you have your manual (and you should because that manual is your camera's BFF) you should look up picking your focal point. It may not be available to you, so if you don't have that feature you can hold the shutter button down halfway and your camera will focus on what is closest to it (thus the reason for the crazy fence photo above) I should note that you don't have to pick your focal point you can also push down the button halfway with any camera to get it to focus.

sidenote-I think that I am sort of sucking at the whole tutorial thingie

So where was I....you are close and when you (or your camera) pick the correct focal point the fence will magically melt away and you will be left with a photo like this.

Flashback Friday-The Amish Country Edition

2010-07-02T13:49:00.004-04:00
If you live in Ohio at some point in your life you go to Amish Country. Its like some sort of rite of passage or something.

We didn't take many vacations when I was a kid due to my parents working all the time schedule.

Well, that and we had other issues, I mean remember when I told you we didn't like the gas company.

I am not sure what day of the week it was, I know it was the summer and I was probably 8 or 9. We actually had a car at the time so it was nice to not cram into a truck or the El Camino or you know ride on buckets in the van.

(you know you are totally jealous of my childhood methods of transportation...I know)

So we all get in the car and we head out on the highway.

The "Where are We Going's?" and The "How Long Til We Get There's?" started up not long after we left.

After the usual answers of "You'll find out when we get there," "Crazy," and "If you don't stop asking I am going to turn this car around I swear" didn't stop us from asking Dad told us.

"We figured it was time to take you kids to Amish Country."

Now at this point I had never really heard of Amish Country so I thought we were going to another country, like Canada...but maybe cooler. (No offense to my Canadian friends, I was 8 or 9 and I had been to your country quite a few times by this point in my life)

So when my parents were arguing about what route to take and we passed a sign that said 'Welcome to Indiana' I didn't give it much thought. Because you know, we were heading to another country and all.

After a while my mom started to tell my dad that we should probably stop for directions as she was sure that we weren't headed the right way, she knew none of the signs they were seeing and she was pretty sure we all had to use the bathroom.

Dad huffed and grumbled and talked about how some punk kid working at a 7-11 isn't going to be able to tell us how to get to Amish Country and so we kept on.

We complained of being hungry and thirsty and couldn't we just get out of the car for five minutes and stretch our legs.

Dad's reply was "We will do all that when we get to Amish Country"

That's when I asked "How far past Indiana is this country that we are going to?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Heather, we aren't going to Indiana, Amish Country is in Ohio"

"Oh, well why did we pass a sign that said Welcome to Indiana?"

"We aren't in Indiana, we aren't going to Indiana, if we had passed a sign that said so I would have seen it," Dad told me.

So we kept going and soon it was getting dark and we were on some strange country road, and according to my Dad most assuredly NOT in Indiana.

Finally my mom convinces him to stop because we are getting low on gas and she goes in to get a map.

She comes out laughing and talks to Dad while he is pumping gas into the car.

Dad looks flustered and shoots his head in through the open window in the car "Why the hell didn't you kids tell us we were in Indiana!!?!"

Oh and I never did get to see Amish Country.

You Capture-The Green Edition

2010-07-01T13:09:00.003-04:00
This week Beth gave us a choice over at You Capture. We could chose Green, Chairs or Hands.

I seriously wasn't sure what I was going to do until we got over to Put in Bay for the weekend.

Immediatly my eye was drawn to all the green that surrounded us. Last time I was there things were just beginning to bloom and now there was color and green in every direction that I looked.

I love that Black Eyed Susans start off with green eyes.

I love the afternoon glow in the apple orchard.

I love how playing with depth of field and shutter speed can result in this.

I loved playing a game of pool with my younger daughter. For not really playing by the rules it was so much fun!

I loved stepping out of my box and shooting from the hip and forever cherishing the results.

You Capture-The I Really Can't Read but Somehow Play a Writer on the Interwebs Edition

2010-06-24T18:09:00.002-04:00
This week's theme is 'Get Down Low'

I read really fast, and if you don't know a lot of fast reading is really just skimming and letting your mind fill in the rest. It gets me in trouble more often than I care to admit. It shows me that I really have the mind of teenager that is always thinking in the gutter. It messes me up when I am trying to play along with weekly photo themes.

What is really sad is I went to Beth's place like three times this past week to check the theme for this week to make sure I was right. I thought the theme was 'From Below' and seriously folks...I thought wrong.

So while they aren't exactly with the theme, they were inspired by reading what I thought I was reading. Aren't you glad that my mind wasn't in the gutter when I was reading Beth's post. Beth probably is. Or at least relieved not to have gotten the 'Are you seriously out of your mind, what kind of sick weirdo asks people to post photos like that' Email.

Okay, maybe I am glad, because I like Beth. I met her once and while it wasn't long I would like to meet her again and not have her running away and calling hotel security on me to boot.

So without any further babbling on my part....my 'From Below' Photos.

Wordless Wednesday-Shots Through A Chainlink Fence Edition

2010-06-23T19:43:00.003-04:00

More Wordless Wedneday can be found at 5 Minutes for Mom

You Capture-Water

2010-06-17T11:36:00.002-04:00
We have had a lot of rain this week. Not the torrential downpours that we had last week, but sweet mists here and there.

I love taking photos of the rain drops clinging to things and boy do we have a lot of ~~weeds~~ things for the rain drops to cling to in our backyard.

I took Oscar outside and there were millions of drip and drops of water everywhere. But amongst the water I noticed him.

I shall forever call him Steve.

I knew I would never get close enough to him with the 50mm lens, so I went in the house and grabbed my 30D that had my 75-300 lens attached to it.

Adjusted the settings for being outside and got this one perfect shot. I told Steve I thought we had captured a perfect shot and he must have clicked the button on his transporter because not only did I not see him leave, he didn't disturb any of the water on the leaves around him.

So while the focal point isn't exactly water in this shot, water inspired it and made me jump out of my comfort zone a bit because I rarely use my 30D and I used it in Manual to boot (which is totally different than my xSi on Manual...trust me)

Want more eye candy? Head on over to Beth's place and check out the water inspiration.

Fifteen and a Half

2010-06-11T22:34:00.001-04:00
It seems like just yesterday I was celebrating her birthday and now Giggles is celebrating a whole new milestone.

She is now a Learner's Permit Holder.

Things are different than when I got my learner's permit. For one thing, you didn't get a fancy smancy license, you just got a piece of paper. You also had to wait until you were 16 years old, instead of the 15 years 6 months.

Back when I learned to drive, Driver's Ed wasn't mandatory. Today it is mandatory, along with 50 hours of behind the wheel time.

So not only will she be taking Driver's Ed, which also costs A LOT more than it used to. She will be taking an online course through our insurance agency to get the good rates and any other safe driving courses we can fit in there.

Which is why when Key Bank emailed me and asked if I would like to have Alexis participate in their Key to Safe Teen Driving Course, I was all over it!

From the Website
Teens will participate in a condensed version of The Mid-Ohio School’s popular Honda Teen Defensive Driving Program. Each student will receive classroom instruction and the chance to practice wet braking and emergency lane change maneuvers in their own vehicles under the guidance of The Mid-Ohio School’s expert instructors. The highlight of the day will be driving the Honda Civic Skid Car, which simulates driving in wet or icy conditions.

While this course is free and open to the public, slots are limited. I am giving away one slot to a winner (in case you don't register before they fill up) for their teen driver to take this course. But please do not hesitate to sign up as I am sure that it will be a very educational day and who wouldn't want to drive the Honda Civic Skid Car.

Disclosure: I was approached by Key Bank to see if I was interested in registering my daughter for this free class and promoting it through my blog. There was no monetary compensation given, I am just sharing the information so that we can have as many safe drivers on the road as possible. You do like when the roads are safer, don't you FCC?

Georgia will always be on my mind

2010-06-03T12:52:00.002-04:00
I can't believe that in 2 days I will be saying good bye to this wonderful family.

In some ways it feels like I have been here forever and in other instances like I just arrived.

I miss my girls fiercely but at the thought of leaving the girls (and boy) here, I start to get misty eyed.

Maybe I shouldn't have asked him who was helping next week, because I winced when he said 'No one'

In the beginning I wasn't sure what to expect. Would she remember me? Would things be awkward? Would she be the same?

The family welcomed me with open arms, with the girls quite literally.

We have laughed and talked and played. We have sat in comfortable silence, she at her computer, me at mine.

There have been milestones met, altho some were met months ago but no one was aware.

She said at lunch the other day that she hates Canada because it is stealing her away from here.

But I have decided that I don't really like Georgia much anymore because its so far away from some of those that are closest to my heart.

Nothing short of Amazing

2010-06-01T22:24:00.003-04:00
This week has been all sorts of awesome and amazing and it is only Tuesday night.

I swear that after I take it all in I will update here, with photos.

Because the week isn't over yet and I am positive there is more amazingness to come.

Why?

Because she is one amazing woman & I am happy to call her friend.

The Nineteenth of May

2010-05-19T06:34:00.003-04:00
This past week I have been thinking lots of my Grandma Billie.

Sitting in my neighbor's backyard chatting with her the other day was bliss as the memories washed over me.

The metal patio chairs, the flowers, the dogs, and the bitter sweet smell of black coffee that was drank all day long.

Last week at the grocery store a jar of dried meat caught my eye.

My grandmother had a whole set of these jars that we used as glasses.

Although I had no clue they were jars from meat she used to make us Shit on a Shingle.

I would trace my fingers along the rim of the glass, feeling those raised stars under my finger tips.

I found myself doing the same thing with it yesterday while I drank my tea from that glass. Its now my favorite.

Today is her birthday. My birthday is next week. We would always celebrate our birthdays by going to Higbee's & getting me some new summer clothes and going to Woolworth's for their Strawberry Shortcakes that were Fresh! and For a Limited Time Only! according to the banners in the mall.

I remember the yellowish lighting inside the cafe. The plastic seats that my little short clad legs stuck to. I remember feeling so special that she took me out all by myself.

I am not sure what today holds, but I will be sure to stop and smell the roses, as they were her favorite.

Flashback Friday-The Bucket Seat Edition

2010-05-14T09:50:00.004-04:00
Remember last week when I told you about the flurry of vehicles that we had during my childhood?

My sister made a comment on my facebook page about how I should share the fun of the bucket seats in the vans.

I am sure that most of you are thinking, why Heather, most van have bucket seats. Its called the driver and passenger seats.

And I (and probably my siblings) would laugh hysterically at you, for hours.

My dad had a power washing business and so the box vans were used so that he could house the power washer and the
needed supplies, along with the water tank.

I have no idea how many gallons that water tank held, but I do know that it took hours to fill up.

Also, it didn't have a lid and wasn't bolted down. Just a giant water tank using the powers of its weight and gravity to stay in place.

If you hit the brakes too hard the tank would sometimes shift a bit. The water would slosh around and you would get soaked
in a way that would rival the splash zone at Sea World.

In fact, I do believe once that I went to Sea World and sat in the splash zone & came away drier than I did when I was on my way to work one time sitting on the bucket seats in the van.

Ah, yes....the Bucket Seats.

The chemicals & supplies my dad got for the power washing business came in 5 gallon buckets. We had stacks of them all
over the house and more importantly all over the inside of the van.

You see on big jobs you didn't just take two people to the job, most of the time it was three to five people going to the job site.

So instead of getting another vehicle that would be able to carry us all safely to our destination with you know, the little
luxuries of things like seats and perhaps seat belts, we got a bucket flipped upside down in the back of the van between the water tank that wasn't bolted down and the front seats of the van.

There is a certain way to sit on the bucket seat so you wouldn't slide around. It was almost like an art form.

Your feet had to be firmly planted and your legs had to be spread apart just so. You had to have your arms ready to brace yourself on turns.

And of course, you had to be ready for the icy cold splash of the water from the tank.

Complaining got you nowhere quickly. If you told Dad about how your butt was sore or you were tired of sliding around on the bucket he would regale you with tales of his childhood. Possibly the fact that he had to carry the giant water tank up hill in the snow both ways. He would tell us how good us kids had it. And if we didn't like the bucket we could always sit on the floor.

I can't remember any of us giving up our bucket, although I do remember one of the employees doing it once.

He was always on a bucket after that drive. Always.

Would you like to play along? Do you have a story from your childhood that you would like to share?
Feel free to post a link at your place and link up here, or share your story in the comments.