The Joys of Parenthood

It's times like this when it's all worth it. All the bickering, trials and tribulations. These simple moments when you sigh and know. It's true that no matter what they are precious little angels when they're sleeping.

Wild Kingdom

On today's episode of Wild Kingdom.....

I am being amazed by the critters in my yard/garden this year. It's almost as if they are tame and have no problems associating with me a lowly human. While we have always have some sort of animals and insects, I am marveling at how the numbers have increased over the years. Perhaps, they have realized part of my garden is for them. I grow sunflowers, everbearing strawberries for the birds. Almost all of my flowers are perfect for hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. I have a cottage style garden not only for my pleasure but for the toads. And, I also grow certain veggies just for the rabbits.

Since it's Monday, I thought I would make this an easy blog post and acquaint you with the party that happens morning, noon, and night in my yard.

K got this shot of our "baby" rabbit. Don't know if she's actually a baby, but if you saw the size of the other one, you'd think so. Her favorite thing is to sit in my flower bed and wait to scare me by popping out when I go to plant something.



Ever wondered what toads do during the day? They dig holes. This surprise awaited me when I went to plant my new planters. Glad I put that dirt there for them. These are my attack frogs. They particularly like to attack the Mr. Man when he's walking through the yard at night.



Here's what happens the morning after a toad party. Yep. Tadpoles. In my new pond. These are the day old babies. I'm waiting for the older ones to get their legs so I can take pics of that. I'll keep you updated on my toad babies. (Btw, since this is Wild Kingdom, did you know one toad can eat approximately 3300 insects a month?)




Not the best pic of this big ol furry bee, but I like it anyway. Last year my yard was filled with bees. I could sit and weed and have bees buzzing all around not paying me any mind. Can't wait to see if they come back.



No butterflies yet, and those darn hummingbirds seem to know when I don't have my camera outside. I really want a pic of the beautiful ruby throat that visits daily.

Oh, and I'm going to start living in a cave so I can get back on schedule. I swear I'm going to have to start telling people I've moved just so I can get something done. Since the last time I blogged, the Mr. Man hit a deer with his company van(he's okay), K has been nonstop with things at school which she has so kindly volunteered me for, had to visit relatives at the bequest of the matriarch of the family-my grandmother, the riding lawnmower blew up so I'm now pushmowing all 2 acres of my yard, and the summer is only beginning. I'm not complaining but I would like 3 days back to back where something doesn't break, no one gets sick or hurt, and I'm not the only that answers the phone in my family.

I'm blogging tomorrow if it's the last, and only, thing I do. :)

Stalked by the Census Bureau

I was debating what to write today. In fact, I was even contemplating not writing when the phone rang.

Understand that I do not like phones. I don't own a cell phone, and I have been known to turn the ringer off for weeks on end. It's not that I dislike phones in general. It's the people that call. I specifically put myself on the Do Not Call list, which is a joke, because every time my phone rings it's someone trying to sell me something, donate to something, or just calling to annoy me.

Today it's the US Census Bureau. In case you did not know because you were lucky enough to not be chosen in some anonymous lottery you didn't know you had entered, there are at least 52 different Census surveys currently being conducted. We seem to have been picked for 48 of them. Oh, and this being the 21st century and all, they now send people to take GPS coordinates of your property.

This is where my tirade begins. For the last month and a half, I have been hounded my the Census people. I tell you I am being harassed by the US government and/or their representatives.

It started with the GPS person which, seriously, these people should be required to carry little badges or something. In this day and age, how do I know these people are who they say they are? Then came the like 15 page surveys in the mail.

The mail wasn't that bad. The GPS man wasn't that bad even though I did think my house was being burgarlized cause the night he showed up we lost power and I just knew he was a sophisticated burglar. What made me think the Census Bureau was stalking me, and I was going to have to file for a restraining order, were the nonstop phone calls.

Morning, noon, and night. It's ridiculous. Their favorite line is you are required by law to fill out the survey. I have. TWICE. Perhaps, it's because I don't fill out all the questions. I'm sorry I don't think you, the Census Bureau, need to know what grade my daughter is in or all aspects of her or my life for that matter. Do you really need to know where my people, as the Mr. Man puts it, are from as they are all long since dead and gone?! (Yes, that was a question.) Or how many vehicles I keep in my yard or how far I drive them? The way I see it is if my blog readers don't want to know then you don't really need to know. I mean, c'mon. How am I supposed to know you are who you say you are? I am not a truly trusting person. I pay my taxes (since I was 15) and I'm a citizen and that's all you need to know.

I'm done filling out the survey. Let them keep calling. I'm going to tell them what I told the last person. I've all ready filled it out, and I'm not doing it again. And, I hope, (I really do) they pull that required by law crap on me again. I know just what to say. Bring it on. Call the cops. I'll wait for you in the front yard, but I'll make sure the press knows about it. Does the government not have better things to do, like the economy, Iraq, nuclear weapons in North Korea, getting kickbacks from OPEC, than threatening the people who keep this country going? If it's that big of a freaking deal, then President Obama may come and ask the questions, but I'm NOT telling some nameless, faceless, idiot over the phone just cause they threaten to put me in federal prison.

Census Bureau, perhaps if you made it a good deal shorter and less invasive, people might actually fill out the darn thing.

Oh, there's the phone again. Hmmm. Wonder who it could be. You'll know where I am if I don't post for a while. Until next time. May your FBI file not get any bigger.

Where's Waldo.. Miss Jewel Version

Let's play a little game... Where's Miss Jewel. It's remarkably like Where's Waldo?.

She was spotted at the dentist's office having a wisdom tooth ripped out. This was a brave day as I am terrified of the dentist. I literally get physically ill when I have to go even when taking K. I can all ready feel my IQ dropping, and I will never do that again.

Miss Jewel was also seen in Annapolis on one of the most disorganized field trips in the history of man. Seriously. What were these people thinking?! First, we got on a boat where we had to eat our packed lunch so we saw nothing. Then we had to wait for 45 minutes for our tour guide who proceeded to take us all around Annapolis except for the two places we were actually supposed to go. I don't know why they thought we could squeeze all that in in a 2 hour span. On the plus side, I now know all the historic houses where dead bodies have been found in walls or are haunted.

Miss Jewel was also sick. (Don't you like how I keep jumping from 3rd person to 1st person?) It was one of the worst colds I've ever had. I couldn't even take medicine cause it didn't work. In fact, I'm still getting over it.

So, I have recently been recovering from my busy May by catching up on my gardening which always makes me feel better. I cannot wait to show you cause I'm so proud. It's finally coming together. Wait until you see my new pond!

No fear. I am still here. So, as long as I don't have anymore field trips, get sick, or have anymore teeth removed, I shall be posting more regularly. Well, that is if the Mr. Man can fix my computer which keeps overheating. It's cut off on me three times since I've been typing this. Thank goodness for autosave. Life. It's never dull.

Heck yeah, I'm back!

Doesn't it just figure when you get on a roll life throws one of those "15 car pileups on the highway that grinds everything to a halt" kind of moments?

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, then God love ya. But.... yep..... I see you out there nodding you head with that know it all smile. You know what I'm talking about, don't you?!

Well, it appears there is a detour involved with this particular pileup. Don't start panicking. I'm not going anywhere. No need for tears. (I'm know. I'm breaking out the shovel.) This is actually good news.

Flashback. Picture it... Just kidding. Seriously though. Back in the day, a whole other life ago it feels like, I was an avid writer. I was even published in high school a few times- and not the school newspaper.Then about 11 years ago, I got the Hoover Dam of writer's block. I went from writing6-8 hours a day even waking up in the middle of the night because I had to write something to not even being able to write a letter. It was like part of me threw a hissy fit and locked the door to sulk.

Then I discovered jewelry making. Then I started this fine specimen of a blog. But, I wasn't satisfied. If you have been a reader for some time, you may have seen this hinted at in previous posts. Well, I've made a decision. Since I can feel the dam springing a leak, you shall be subjected to my inane droning from now on. ( I blame this new found sense of self partly on my redisovering my love of books. They propel me into my fantasy world so I can "see".)

I'm just going to write like I used to, the way I want to, the way I was meant to. It may not be the best but writing for me is like breathing to other people. No longer shall this blog be what other people think it should be or the way I think it should be. It's just going to be.

I understand that when blogs change some readers leave. Hope you don't. Hope you stick around. Maybe together we can open the floodgates. Maybe I'll surprise you. Either way I'm back and I'm here to stay.

I Never Claimed to be a Coupon Diva...

but I am the equivalent of a coupon diva when it comes to clothes shopping. It's true. There are very few times when I have paid retail for anything. Sometimes it's luck. Sometimes it's not. Let's take for example my last shopping extravaganza- Kohls. I bought 5 tops, 1 pair of pants, a jacket, and two skirts which normally would have totaled $347.99, but everything I bought was on sale so it ended up totaling $142.44. Then I did some research and found a coupon for 20%OFF and free shipping which brought it down to $114.75. Then I proceeded to whip out the gift card I had to drop my final cost to 46.64. Oh, yeah!

Now you may be saying that you don't normally have gift cards, but you could. I'm going to tell you some secret sales sites, sale alerts, and places to get gift cards. So, without further adieu, Miss Jewel's lucky links to discount shopping....

First, is a fantastic sales site called ideeli. I have some amazing sales on here from people like Gucci, Michael Kors, as well as some terrific giveaways like Oscar de la Renta. Yes, some of it is going to be high priced, but others are very reasonably priced. Check it out if only for the giveaways. It is by invitation only, but just follow this link for my invite.

Next is Shopittome a sales alert site. You can pick out all the retailers or clothing companies that you would like to see sales for. Then twice a week they'll send you an email letting you know what they have on sale. If there aren't any sales, then no email. I found out about a sale at New York & Company where I got a pair of $30 shorts for $7.99. Gotta love that. I would love it if you'd use this link to sign up. After ten friends sign up, I get a gift card. You can then do the same. Email me if it doesn't work, and I'll send another.

Onto the gift card sites. My Points is a great little site where you can earn points then turn them in for gift cards. You can do searches through them or sign up to get emails for points or print coupons for groceries to earn points. I'm saving up for a big card. Not sure where yet though. You can email me for a referral, and yes, I get points, but you don't have to. No invite required.

Last, but not least is Swagbucks. It is another search engine point site. No toolbars to install or anything like that. You can go to the site and use their search bar to search for something. Sometimes you get points and sometimes you don't. If you follow them on twitter, you can find hidden swagbuck codes. Currently, I'm saving up for a QVC shopping card or a Saks fifth ave card, but they also have Iphones and Ipods and stuff.

When you're shopping online, don't forget to do a search for coupon codes. There are a lot of them on the internet, and it never hurts to save more money. See? I'm really just a fashionista at heart.

Joining the Circus

Shew! It was a crazy hectic week last week. Too many birthdays in my family in the month of March.

When I was growing up, I, like most kids, wanted to join the circus. I wanted to be on the trapeze artists then I wanted to be one of the riders on horseback. I have always loved the circus and still do.

So, when the opportunity presented itsself to go to Baltimore to see Ringling Bros. Circus, I jumped even if it is 2.5 hours drive. Shoot. I can still remember the first time I saw Ringling preform at the US Air Arena. It was a 3 ring circus, I was with my TAG group in the 4th grade, and I bought a stuffed snake.

Ringling Bros. has not let me down even after all these years. It's even better! I was a kid again. I love how they can amaze the adults as well as, if not more than, the kids. K and I sat there and oohed and aahed and giggled. It was great, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I hear they will be at Madison Square Garden in NYC soon. Let's take a quick trip to the circus. (Click on pics to enlarge.)

Here's K before the show began. She got all kinds of autographs. She loves doing that.



Part circus. Part Broadway show.



Loved this acrobat number. It was so pretty.



The horseback riders.



The mini horses. They were so cute!



A porcupine! I've never seen one before.



These looked like so much fun.



I would be seriously terrified to be her.



The cage of death as K called it. There were 7 dirtbike riders in there cruising around.



The tigers! Oh, my!




Did I mention I wanted to be an acrobatic lady?!



My favorite part!



Isn't he so cute?!



I'm going to get this one framed!



Can you tell I love elephants?!



Okay. One last elephant pic.



The finale.



As, I said, Ringling didn't let me or anyone else down. It was one of the most amazing shows ever. If you get the chance to go, go. I'll even help you along. Use the coupon code "MOM" at Ticketmaster to get 4 tickets for $44. It will work for any city Ringling Bros. goes to. I must go practice my acrobat routine now.