Nails Nails Nails!

I love it. LOVE IT! I'm so glad I decided to go through with it. The eight hour days are just flying by.

I never thought I'd enjoy it so much. The amazing change in a client's demeanor and body language is so wonderful.

School starts tomorrow

OMG. I haven't been in school for ANYTHING in 13 years. What was I thinking?!

Ian is concerned that the routine will be changing. He's never had me unavailable before. J's afraid that all my carefully laid childcare plans will come crumbling down into a pile of rubble. Lily, well, she's just Lily.

Wish me luck.

Big news

I'm going back to school. Very soon. I start on January 9th.

I'm going to attend the Jerrylee Beauty College and prepare for my state license in manicuring with the required 400 hour course. There are several motives for this new direction. Firstly, it would be nice to have some skill that I can use part time and pay for the kid's schooling. Secondly, nails are a lot of fun. What really got me motivated was seeing J's grandparent's feet. They have been so woefully neglected and thus really uncomfortable for them both.

I have a crazy idea about trying to start a nonprofit group to provide nail care for seniors. But, I need my license first. Wish me well, and send all the good luck vibes you can spare.

30 days results

It's actually been closer to 45 days now and it's gone very well. I've definitely noticed an increase in my energy level and I just feel better overall. I haven't had any RA flareups which is a great improvement. I plan to keep up the five servings of fruit or vegetables a day indefinitely.

I talk big...

but when push came to shove, I went back to Best Buy for Ian's present.

Since I forgot to mention this last night

Best Buy is like hell with fewer preschoolers.

I've never been inside one before but I was trying to find a cd player for Lily. She lives for music. Thus, we ventured to Best Buy.

Never. Ever. Again.

Mountains of lameness

We went out to Taco Bell for dinner. I ordered my usual spicy chicken burrito and shared Lily's nacho cheese and chips. Completely spaced on needing to have two servings of veggies or fruits. Doh! I had to come home and eat oranges since they were the only thing really handy.

Now, I'm trying to remember if they even *sell* fruits or veggies at Taco Bell. According to the Taco Bell website my choices include:

Caramel Apple Empanada
290 cal
15g fat

Cheesy Fiesta Potatoes
290 cal
18g fat

Fiesta Taco Salad
810 cal
46g fat

I think I'll stick with my oranges.

Day Four

The fruit and veggie thing is going reasonably well. The only downside so far is that I don't have time to eat junk food much and I've gained 4 pounds. The weight gain is especially strange since my clothes seem to still fit the same. Overall, I am feeling like I have much more energy.

Funny things Lilys say

"Mom! There's a weed in my soup!"

Oh, that was priceless.

30 days

Anyone a Morgan Spurlock fan?

My brother got me started on the 30 days series a few months back. Very interesting, excepting the Binge Drinking Mom episode which was just awful and had no closure at all for that poor mom and her daughter.

But, I've been considering doing my own 30 days. I suppose it's fairly pedestrian but I've been on a Spark People team for a while now and have been tracking what I've been eating regularly. I seem to do just fine with the whole grains and beans and all that, but I'm definitely lacking in the veggies and fruits category. So, off I go onto my adventure of 30 days of 5 a day with the veggies and fruits.

Wish me luck.

Score at the Salvation Army!

J and I have been wanting to try making Turkish coffee for a while. I saw an ibrik a few months back at the SA and didn't buy it because I it looked familiar but I wasn't sure it was what I was looking for. I haven't seen any since then until today when I found a brass one for a dollar! It just made my day.

It's gonna be a long year

Lily is three.

Anyone who has/had a three year old daughter knows a secret. They are *insane*. Bossy. Obnoxious. Know-it-alls. To top it off, she's also a brute. Perhaps, though, that comes from being little sister to a big brother. It would be so nice if we could just mute all the screaming parts for the next year.

I've heard crazy talk coming out of her mouth. Crazy talk that came out of Ian's mouth when he was three. Verbatim. I kid you, not. She wasn't even a gleam in my eye then, so she can't possibly have learned it from him. It's even more unlikely considering the fact that all that crazy talk magically disappeared when he turned four.

Highlights of the last 2 days

Today:

scrubbed the disgusting shower out
vacuumed
cleaned the carpets
made pizza dough and pizza
made breadsticks for later in the month
made cereal packets to speed the mornings
found a brown nugget on the kitchen table (Yes, it was what you're thinking it was. Potty training sucks.)
neighborhood stray cat attempted to gain asylum from the rain in the house by means of the open door
aforementioned cat perched upon the a/c unit by the window and let me know what it thought of me since I wouldn't let it in

Yesterday:

Lily screamed and whined most of the day
bills got paid
mom came to visit
mom didn't leave to go to work
had to ask mom to go home so i could get some peace and quiet
Ian forgot half of his homework

I'm ready for the weekend. I still need to clean the bathrooms and the mess in the garage.

Halloween goodness!

Lily gets it this year. The getting candy part. She was hilarious with the trick or treating.

We're all watching It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. There are large bags of candy on the counter just waiting for the "parent tax" to be assessed.

Life is good.

Cracking me up

Picture Lily, in the tub, playing with her Hello Kitty bath toys. She's walking them down her leg when she suddenly lets go and they sink to the bottom. Turning to me, she deadpans, "Oh. The kitties are drowned."

Maybe you had to be there...

Overheard at Costco today

Me: Another baby would be so sweet and cute. Can't we have another one?

DH: No.

Me: Can I have an iPod instead?

DH: Yes.

(Editor's Note: I didn't get an iPod. I bought a new North Face vest and jacket and ear warmers instead.)

Good times, good times

My brother flew in from North Carolina to surprize the kids for their birthdays. Ian turns seven today and Lily turns three on Thursday. They were so surprised. :)

We had a nice party for them with all the family on Saturday and TWO cakes! We decorated Lily's side of the dining room with Hello Kitty and Ian's side was Star Wars. My brother did the decorations and they turned out really well. It was wonderful to have a full house of family.

So, it's been busy busy busy around here for the last bit. Mom and I almost blew the surprise several times by slipping up in front of the kids but they never caught on. I can't believe that we've known since September and managed to keep it quiet. Ray will be here all day tomorrow and then he leaves on the morning of Halloween. I think that will be for the best since it will keep Ian distracted.

We're off to the parish Halloween festival tonight. How funny is that?

Out of the mouths of babes

Overheard in the car on the way to REI today:

"Lily! You can't see germs because they're *MICROSCOPIC*!"

Doing the new fridge dance

J and I finally committed and bought a new refrigerator today. Woo HOO!

The one we have is 16 years old and the water and ice dispenser is broken and one of the shelves just bit the dust this week. It's started making strange and disturbing noises on occasion, as well. So I've done weeks of research and narrowed it down to two models, a side-by-side (which is what we've always had) and a new french door model. Ultimately, we went with the Kenmore Elite Trio with the water dispenser in the door but the ice in the freezer since none of us use ice much anyway. I was a little concerned about losing freezer space but then I noticed that if we need more, you can get a 5 cu. ft. one for $160. I don't think it's really an issue, though.

Interestingly, I was doing some math last night. I cook just about all our meals here at home. If we go out for dinner, we usually end up spending at least $25 or so. Multiply that out by 52 weeks. Voila! There's the money to pay for the new fridge. See, math *is* useful.

Blond haired, blue eyed devil

That's our Lily. I forgot how wretched age three is with kids. Ian was a nightmare at this age and Lily is quickly morphing into a biting, screaming, tantruming, rude little beastie. She's so cute and so evil. She and Ian are devoted to each other and they bicker as though they are the same age. I'm glad they adore each other, though. My brother and I are that way, too.

Poor Ian is sick and feverish. He came home from school yesterday feeling crummy. He briefly perked up this morning but I can see him wilting on the sofa now while watching Star Wars.

Time to head back out to the ivy jungle in the backyard and do some work.