My Look-Alike

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I found my long lost sister. Can you believe it?

Now if I could only get Brad back!

Look A-Likes?

I am a big fan of singer Michael Buble. And he's not too bad on the eyes either.

Hubba-hubba!

Well, I have always thought that he resembled my husband, even though Jason doesn't seem to think so.

Tonight I had on our Music Choice Christmas channel and a Michael Buble song came on. During the song it shows different pictures of the hottie. Carson walks into the room and I asked him who that guy was on the TV. And he looked at him and said, "Is that my Daddy?"

So, I am not the only one after all who sees the similarity.

I also think at one time he resembled our favorite singer Edwin McCain. We actually got to meet Edwin on a few different occasions. One in particular was the Rock Boat in 2002 at the artist meet and greet. When it was our turn to talk to Edwin he even greeted us and said, "Is this my long lost brother?" It was so cool!

Thursday Ramblings

Here's the updated picture from my haircut today.

And here's a picture of me around this time last year.

I look forward to Thursdays. Why? Because it is the only day of the week that I don't have to go anywhere if I choose not to. We can enjoy a slower pace in the mornings not having to worry about running out the door to make it to school or bible study on time. I usually just lounge around in my pj's until the afternoon. Call me lazy, but for me it is a nice change of pace.

Today I actually do have one thing planned. I am getting my hair trimmed and my eyebrows waxed. Yes, I am treating myself to an hour of alone time, with the exception of my hairdresser being there, but that's kinda necessary, ya know? I haven't had my hair cut in months. I am attempting to let it grow and am happy with where it's gotten this far. I went in for an eyebrow wax a month ago and my hairdresser couldn't believe how long my hair had gotten. She said she has never seen any one's hair grow as fast as mine does. What an honor! I have no idea why it grows fast since I don't regularly take vitamins or supplements and don't even come close to drinking the amount of water I should. Can hair growth be related to genetics or excess coffee intake? Who knows? When I get back I will update with some pictures of where my hair length was last year at this time and then the newest cut.

I also need to go grocery shopping, but I usually save that for Monday, Wednesday, or Friday while Carson is at preschool. It is nice to only have to take one child to the store. Maybe after my haircut I'll venture out alone to Wal-Mart, although I hate going anywhere after my eyebrows have been waxed since they are very red. I always feel like I have to explain myself to anyone I encounter on why it looks like my brows are on fire. I don't want to freak anyone out.

So enough about my boring day ahead. Updated pictures to come.

Wordless Wednesday

Don't you just love the free suckers the bank gives to your kids?

For more Wordless Wednesday participants click here.

A Milestone of a Day

Today my 4 year old hit a milestone.

He lost his first tooth.

I really didn't even see it coming. His bottom teeth have always been a little crooked. But the last few days I noticed one was slightly more crooked than the the other. Carson pointed out to me just 2 days ago that his tooth was loose and here we are today with it out.

Jason had just gotten home from being out of town for a few days and Carson showed him his loose tooth. Well, daddy gets a paper towel out to see "how loose it really is" and a few seconds later out comes the tooth much to my and Carson's surprise.

And Carson's reaction was priceless. He pretty much freaked out, not that it hurt, but because he didn't expect it. His response through all the tears was, "I want it back in!"

Oh the drama!

Looks like the tooth fairy will be making a visit to our house tonight.

Wordless Wednesday

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I Need That!

I was reading Sunday's paper in the Parade insert and was very amused at the new gadgets out on the market. They were titled Gadgets That Work For You. Some were in my mind ridiculous, such as the gloves with the silicon pads implanted in the thumb and forefinger so you can dial your cell phone without having to take your gloves off. To me that's just being down right lazy.


But the one that stood out to me was the SmartShopper. It is an electronic gadget that will record your voice and print your grocery list. It even organizes it by aisle. That is genius! I always imagined how great it would be if I could download my thoughts (and grocery list items) directly from my brain to be printed out and ready to go. I think this is pretty darn close.

Now if they could invent a way to magically bring the groceries home to me, life would be peachy.

I'm So Confused

What holiday are we supposed to be celebrating right now? Well, by the looks of it I'd say it's a combination of Halloween with the lighted pumpkin, look closely and it's Thanksgiving by the scarecrow in the back, and then we have Christmas by the freshly set up artificial Christmas tree, of which we plan on decorating tonight. To say I am confused would be a huge understatement.

My hubby thought it would be nice to have our tree set up before Thanksgiving since we are hosting this year. And I said, why not. Normally it gets put up the day after Thanksgiving, but we made an exception this year. As long as we keep the Christmas tunes at bay until November 23rd I can manage this. I will just have to wear ear plugs in every store I go to until then. So what are your Thanksgiving plans? Are you cooking, hosting, or going out of town? Do you have a special tradition this time of year?

The only way I agreed to be the host this year was if everyone brought a dish. I do not consider myself to be a great cook of any sort. I manage to feed my family whether or not they enjoy eating casseroles the majority of the time. They're such good sports. Or should I say my hubby is the good sport. The four year old will tell me straight out if he likes it or not and then the 10 year old will just moan, but the 2 year old will let the dog taste test it first. I seem to try out many different recipes a lot of the time. Cause I'm brave like that and get bored making the same stuff.

This one time I made a casserole (can you believe it?) and added a bit too much of a certain spice (of which I don't recall at the time what it was). We begin to eat it and I glance over at my husband who has a strange look on his face. He asked what the dish was called and said they should rename it Pine Tree Casserole. It seriously tasted like we were eating an evergreen tree. Not a great taste at all, but it smelled really good. Needless to say, I have not made that dish again. And yet another example of why I should not be allowed to create an entire Thanksgiving feast.

What's for dinner tonight? I haven't a clue. Guess I better go figure it out. But I can tell you it won't involve any unknown spices. I can hear my family giving a sigh of relief.

Wordless Wednesday

Our very own two headed monster. For more Wordless Wednesday's go here.

Shuffle Mode

I am a creature of habit. I like to keep track on schedules and have a plan for the day. Nothing extreme, but enough planned out ahead of time so that I know what to expect throughout the day. When my “schedule” gets shuffled for any reason everyone can feel the effects whether it be in a good or bad way. But I am learning to embrace change and see it as a positive adventure.

For instance, the next few weeks I am not going to the gym to workout, but instead I am going to take a break and take it easy. As hard as that is to imagine, and yes it is killing me, but the time I have gained from this I am using to spend with my boys, one on one time with my boys. And they love it, as am I, and I can really see a change in their demeanor. Another example, instead of searching around mindlessly on the computer, I am using that time to sit and snuggle with my boys while they are watching TV. While I could be running around my house doing laundry, washing dishes, vacuuming, and organizing (things of which I all love to do, cause I am crazy like that), I am helping my two younger boys enjoy playing together nicely, practicing how to share, and working on using nice language. It’s not always fun and games, but its important stuff that I am striving to make time for and the benefits are going to make a lasting impression.

I am enjoying life at the moment on shuffle.

Dead and Dry - Don't You Just Love Fall!

The change of the season is upon us. That means pulling out the extra blanket for the bed, cranking on the furnace, and bringing out the flannel pj's at night. I do love the chill that's in the air. It feels refreshing. BUT,

The big issue I have is that every year when we get our first frost and up until the spring returns, I have such dry skin. My hair seems like it has an electric current running through it and my nails are brittle (which isn't anything new, but it is magnified when it's cold outside). The worst part is my chronic dry lips. It is very irritating and I feel as if I have tried all the different chap sticks and lip ointments that are on the market from exfoliators to lip oils. They are a temporary fix as in 15 minutes tops where I then must reapply it for further relief. So I have looked into home remedies and there are some scary ones out there. For instance (and I kid you not) one person submitted the remedy of using your index finger, wiping it on the outside of your nose and using those natural oils on your lips. I am sorry, but that is just sick! No thanks.

If any of you have any suggestions I would love to hear them as long as they don't involve using my other body productions. I know I also need to drink a lot more water than I currently do, and I am sure that consistently taking a multi-vitamin couldn't hurt either. One home remedy that I just started using yesterday is hydrocortisone 1% ointment covered with Aquaphor ointment. That really does soften my lips and last a bit longer. I recalled my son's doctor prescribing this for his diaper rash. So from butts to lips I am going to give it a try.

I really am a winner!

Well, how about that. I actually am a winner. Last night, the gym I work out at hosted a Halloween Party. I wasn't really sure what I was going to dress up as. I headed out to a party store to see if there were any good costumes on clearance and had no luck. But as I headed down an aisle getting ready to leave the store a hat stood out to me. It was a golf themed hat which got me thinking I could be a golf course. I bought a plastic tablecloth that resembled the greens and fashioned a dress out of it with the help of some packaging tape.

I never thought I would ever make a dress out of plastic. When I was younger I used to make clothes out of paper. Why I never ended up in the fashion industry will always be a mystery to me.

But, back to the costume. I thought it would be clever to have the front of the costume be the "front 9" where I taped flags numbered 1 through 9 and then I labeled the back of the costume the "back 9" and taped flags numbered 10 - 18. My hat had flag 19 on it and I made earrings with golf tees hanging from them along with a plastic golf ball necklace. And to finish off the costume I carried around a putting golf club.

The funny thing about it all is that people thought I really was a golf fan, but in all honesty this past summer was the very first time I have ever tried my hand at 9 holes of golf. I did like it and wasn't too bad at it.

The time came at the end of the night to choose a winner for best costume and guess who won? Yep, it was me! I couldn't believe it! And I was very pleased with my prize. It was a Starbucks gift basket. Rock on mama! I also was adorned with a badge that said winner. That makes me feel so special. It really was a good night after all.