Christmas H2-NO!

Nothing says Christmas like family, midnight mass, presents and bottled water. Oh? You mean filling 5 gallon jugs of water from your next door neighbor's hose isn't on your regular Holiday to-do list? Well, I would definitely recommend it for next year. Christmas week isn't nearly stressful enough unless you add a little spice to it with a surgery, a kitchen demo, and most importantly - no water in the house. C'mon, you want it to be memorable, don't you?

Christmas is a wonderful time to spend with family and friends to reflect on your past year and to focus on what is really important. Although Nathan and I don't have children yet, we've noticed that some families may find it difficult to get the little ones to focus on the foundation of Christmas rather than the biggest gift wrapped under the tree. Well, problem solved!! If you need their eyes to focus on the most important lessons that Christmas brings, follow the steps below. They're a sure thing.

First, completely eliminate all of the running water in the house for an entire week. This means no showers, no dishwashers, no toilets, no brushing teeth, no ice cubes, no clean clothes. There has to be absolutely zero running water for this to work. It especially is successful if you complete this during Christmas week.

Christmas lesson #1:
Once you've eliminated all of the water, the lesson part comes in. The children will be left with a lot of free time that is normally filled with frivolous things like flushing, and cleaning dishes and changing into freshly washed clothes. This free time is perfect! It's right when you snatch their attention. At the exact moment that they've yelled at the other children, thrown something across the room, and then broken down and cried; that's when you choose to explain to them that Baby Jesus didn't have running water in the manger. Voila! Christmas lesson #1 completed: What Would Jesus Do?

Christmas lesson #2

For part two, when all of their dignity is stripped from them, have your children call every friend and family member they know and ask them to come over and dig up your front yard. Be sure that you have at least one of the aforementioned friend or family members walk all over your carpet during the digging. For this lesson to work, you have to have mud tracked all through your house. When the carpet and tile are good and muddy, ask the children to help you clean the stains before they set in. When they realize that there's no water to mop with or to dampen a cloth, explain to them the importance of the Walmart Neighborhood Market and Resolve Carpet Cleaner. TA DA! Christmas lesson #2 completed: Christmas is full of surprises; be prepared for the worst.

Christmas lesson #3

After cleaning the mud off of the carpet, ensure that your children receive news that ANOTHER plumber will have to come out and that it will cost them about $800. If they start to cry, comfort them by explaining that their body doesn't really need plasma; paying the plumber is way more important. Although they may have already spent all of their allowance on the previous $265 plumber visit, ease their pain by explaining that they will save money by forcing them to cancel their annual New Year's Eve Party. You may need to proceed with caution here. At this point, the lesson can begin to breakdown the child's soul. Although they designed, printed, sealed and hand-delivered special invitations for the big night, you must make them call all of the party attendees and tell them that there will be no party. Be sure to wait until the day before the party to call everyone. This allows the child to be exposed to many questions about what others are supposed to do at the last minute to ring in 2008. Christmas lesson #3 done: New Year's Eve is for alcoholic heathens and should only be celebrated by people with water.

Christmas lesson #4:

When your children are beginning to complain about stinky clothes or greasy hair, you've reached the point to teach them the last lesson. Make them gather all of their laundry and shampoo and stand in front of their friend's door. Once inside, have them break down in tears exclaiming that this has been the worst week of their life and then ask with a tear-stained face to use the friend's shower. This is when you explain Christmas lesson #4: Sharing is caring.

All this lesson-learning and traveling back and forth to take a shower hasn't left much time to blog, but I'll try to post pics tomorrow of what Christmas H2-NO actually looked like at the Blais' house. It definitely will go down as the most memorably frustrating Christmas ever.

I will Survive! - Hey! Hey!

It's all about the accessories, really.

I lived. That's always good. I'm doing fine and I'm glad it's all over with. Thanks to all of my well wishers by phone and comment sections. Now, I'm off for some more drugs. Huh, huh, they are awesome!

Saints in Action...

Do you think you can gain a false sense of security simply from a commercial? Well, I hope not, because this commercial is the only thing that has gotten me through the fear of going under the knife tomorrow. Oh, how I dramatize. I'm actually going under the tube.

At Noon on Thursday, I'm going to have my gall bladder and all its little stoned buddies sucked out of my stomach through a tube. Graphic huh! There's just something calming about the thought of my latex-gloved surgeon praying over my drugged body right before he goes to work. I'm definitely more confident in the praying surgeons than the hallway of dancing nurses in the other commercial. Hopefully, they will stay in the other wing of the hospital as long as I am there. Doo, doo, doo ,doo, doo, ta du, du - DO you mind?! I'm trying to recover here!!

Wish me luck. If for some reason I don't make it, the first person to comment on this post can have all of my valuables. I know a lot of you will be lined up for my collection of unmatched socks and 52 bottles of half-used hairspray. And don't worry, I'll try to resist the urge to post pics of my battle scars once it's all done.

A Whirlwind

That's exactly what this past week has been, a whirlwind. Between the ice storm extravaganza, a huge project deadline at work, and the pressure of Christmas being a week or so away, this week has me flat out exhausted.

Although our little house wasn't affected too much by the layers of ice that covered every nook of the city, I feel as though I lived the entire thing through the eyes of others. Horror stories of no hair dryers, scrolling closings across every inch of the TV and the sound of buzzing chain saws filling the air has been all too common this week. Thank goodness that our normally power-fragile house stood strong through it all. Otherwise, I just may have had to be tranquilized to stop me from running up and down the streets screaming " Don't be sour! Bring back the power! "at the top of my lungs.

As an employee for the State, many of my friends and family find it hard to believe that I do ACTUALLY work while I'm sitting at my desk. But this week has taken work to a whole new level. Even I can't believe that I have spent at least an extra 4 1/2 hours actually at work, 6 hours working from home, and every other hour of the week thinking about work beyond my usual 40. Luckily, the training program I'm working on is coming to an end and I am pretty proud of the results. I'm ready to go back to my lavish, no stress evenings again.

A couple of days ago, somewhere between thinking about how to write a training evaluation form and what color paper would be best to compliment the background of a logo, I had the scary realization that Christmas was LESS THAN 10 DAYS AWAY!! Ummm, why did no one tell me this?! Someone should really put something that important on the calendar or something. SHEESH!

Once I recovered from passing out on the bathroom floor, I remembered that I hadn't even started writing my Christmas newsletter that I've been putting off since, well, last Christmas. You'll be happy to know that I did take 1/2 of today to finish that AND put them into signed Christmas cards, WITH envelopes. Yeah, I went all out this year. So, if you're one of the lucky ones, your mailbox should be stuffed with The Blais Blizzard soon. If you're not one of the lucky ones, don't feel left out. You can be part of the other 43 people that didn't make the top 72 people on my list. It's not that those 72 are more important or that I even like them better. It really comes down to that's all the cards that came in the box and I'm already hoping to win the lottery to be able to pay to mail those.

There are a couple of people that will be guaranteed to get the Blizzard (hmmm Dairy Queen sounds good, No! Stay focused!). This chick let me babysit my favorite and only Godson on Saturday and this chick and her rooster? let Nathan and I come over to watch one of their favorite Christmas movies. Apparently, I'm way behind on the Christmas movie watching timeline. I remember something being said like, " OH MY GOSH!!!!!, You've never seen A Christmas Story?!! It's only on ALL DAY on Christmas! What are you doing all day that you haven't seen it?" Ummm... I don't know, actually celebrating Christmas?

Hopefully this week will bring back my usual "I have nothing to do; maybe I'll blog" schedule and I'll actually get to post some pictures of our decked out house soon. We'll see. The whirlwind is awfully lurky this time of year.

Spark Up A Guilt Trip

With every update from news reporters, every click on the OG+E website, and every war story from coworkers and friends about finding hotels and frigid night naps, I feel more and more guilty about having NOT lost power due to Ice Storm 2007.

At one point yesterday it was reported that 1 and 3 Oklahomans was without power. Apparently, Nathan and I are two of those three. With only a few flickers and a couple of "is it all going down" scares last night, we have managed to scathe through without losing heat or the ability to get online like so many others.

Unfortunately, my office was in full power and blazing heat today while Nathan got to stay home due to low productivity at his work while on back-up generators. It was probably a good thing because he actually was trying to produce a little heat burst of his own with a slight fever. (Insert your awes here. Despite popular belief, when a MAN gets a slight fever it truly is not the end of the world. Take it like a woman! Take 2 Tylenol, drink some OJ, move on!)

...speaking of moving on...

Although no one took us up on our offer to stay at Chateau le Blais, we're glad to be getting a few calls rolling in from friends and family that their power is coming back on and they are able to resume normal life. And let's face it, now I don't have to actually dust those high shelves in the spare bedroom, hurriedly sift through the linen closet to find towels that don't have holes or some sort of weird bleach stain on them, or pretend that I really do wear a bra under matching pajama tops and bottoms to bed.

To make myself feel a little bit less guilty for my lack of electric absence, I'm posting a few pics of the damage that we did sustain along with a few other shots for my readers outside of OK, who may not be familiar with the phenomena known as ICE STORM 2007. Also included is the Ode to My OG+E man I wrote last summer. I thought it would be fitting for a revisit here.

Chateau le Blais - We'll leave the light on for you! (No pun intended)

There's no peppermint in Ice Storm 2007!

Two of 4 Bradford Pear trees in our backyard had damage.

The evergreen in our front yard isn't so "ever" anymore.

Modified from the original post:

Whatever You Make... It's NOT Enough

An ode to my friendly neighborhood OG+E man:

Through the ice and into the night
You come to the rescue with your big noisy truck with strobing red light
Your yellow slicker, your hard hat on top
Wandering flashlight up and down the block
I peek out the window at five in the morning
Watching, scanning, waiting, neh longing.

Leftover ice, the cold, the dark
Suddenly! It happens! Your skill, your spark
I love you OG+E man, you are the best
I'll pay you whatever, anything you request

**************
I love my lights. I love my heat. I love my clothes dryer. I love my TV. I love my Internet. More importantly - I love you my OG+E man.

TOGEther we CAN make a difference.

Idiocracy is #1 in the BCS

Over the past couple of years, my friends have turned me into a college football junkie. I have always loved OU football, but other than that I have always been a little lukewarm about the sport as a whole. What irritates me most about the sport is the ridiculous BCS system. A few of my beefs are listed below.....

-How can Kansas make a BCS bowl over Missouri? Kansas' best win this year was over Tulsa Union, while Missouri BEAT Kansas and made the Big 12 Championship.

-The fact that the Coaches Poll is 33% of the BCS is beyond me. Why would you let coaches, some of which have agendas and biases, determine your National Champion? Take these votes for example:

*Bobby Bowden voted OU 7th and Missouri 5th.
*Howard "Absolut" Schnellenberger voted USC 12th.
*Mike Bellotti and Tommy Bowden voted Missouri ahead of OU.
*Bob Stoops voted LSU the lowest of any other ballot, 6th.

-The only reason Illinois, ranked 13th, is in the Rose Bowl is because that committee is insistent on getting a Big Ten, Pac 10 matchup. Get over it Rose Bowl! What was wrong with OU and Texas playing in your game? Oh wait, I guess the Big 12 kicked your precious little Pac 10. Your glory days are over......I can't wait to see USC defeat Illinois by 40-something points.

If I had it my way, there would be an 8 team playoff. The 6 big conference champions would make it, plus the next 2 highest ranked teams that aren't conference champs. If a small conference school made it into the top 12, they would also get a spot. Why shouldn't the only school who hasn't lost a game yet not get a shot? Notre Dame would have to be ranked in the top 8....we won't have to worry about them for a while. Here would be our playoff this year:

Ohio State VS Hawaii
LSU VS Georgia
Virginia Tech VS West Virginia
Oklahoma VS USC

I am certain we are going to be stuck with the current system for quite some time. It's great that OU is going to the Fiesta Bowl, but for what? To me, every single bowl game outside of the title game is meaningless. They feel like consolation games. Plus, how do we know Ohio State and LSU are the two best teams when they haven't played ANY other top ten BCS school? Easy answer: we don't know. Every other sport has figured it out. Why can't college football?

'Lil Lizzy Homemaker

That Suzy ain't got nothing on me...

Planes, Rains, and Such-a-big-deals !!

Check out the first comment in the post below. Yes folks! You saw it here.

AT is alive and well and keeping us safe while in the air. Have no fear when flying the friendly skies, Aaron is on the job.

I'm really just so excited, I can't even compose a complete thought. So, I'm heading to bed and hoping that my favorite weatherman will visit me in my dreams. And not the kind that happen when Nathan is watching Storm Stories in the bedroom as REM sets in.

Because someone asked...

Actually, I've just been waiting for an inquiry. I'll use any excuse to talk about my hot weatherman, Aaron Tuttle. The first time I mentioned him, GREAT things happened.

Many of you may have noticed that the handsome forecaster disappeared from the Channel 5 weather center a few months ago. Sadly, AT has gone far away from my home television to the FAA to be a weather stud for them. Truthfully, I don't see why he finds planes more attractive than spending time with me in my home, but whatever.

I do miss him though. I need Jessica to talk to her Ozarka-Man (AT's neighbor) at work to have him do some insider investigating to see if he will visit my little blog once again. I did track him down on another blog here though. (scroll to #13)

Audrey brought up a good point in her comment previously. AT and I were supposed to be good friends. I talked to him on the phone and then he commented on my blog. THAT in itself means that I should have at least been notified of any upcoming changes to his work status OR the availability for me to ogle over him on a daily basis. I guess I'll just have to keep my "secret lover" aware of his completely forgivable! mistake.

Come back Aaron. We miss you...

Side Dish: This post made me think of this commercial. I laugh every time I see it. Enjoy.

To Cheer or Not to Cheer?

THAT is the question!

VS

There are not many people that I severely dislike in this world. But if you were to ask me, there is one in particular that will always come to mind, Peyton freakin' Manning! I REALLY do not like that guy. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure his a nice guy. And yes he's featured in somewhat entertaining commercials. But, he really, really irritates me.

The Indianapolis Colts have always been the nemesis for my beloved Tennessee Titans; at least as long as I have been a fan. Sharing a division with the reigning Super Bowl Champions is not very fun. They always find a way to win.

Noon today marked a time that I've been dreading. The time in which I would be forced to cheer for the enemy in hopes of a loss for another wild card hopeful in the AFC South. The Titans needed the Colts to win today in order for the Jacksonville Jaguars' chance at OUR! wild card slot to be hampered. And as presumed, Peyton Manning and his entourage came through.

So the question comes to mind. Is it okay to cheer for the enemy if THEIR winning increases YOUR chances?

Is it okay to cheer for Manning? Or in the case for OU, is it okay to cheer for Texas for better scores in the BCS standings? I'd like to hear your opinions on the subject. I know you have them, so share.

And to make absolutely clear to all of my readers; this in no way hints that I am a Manning supporter. I never have been and NEVER will be. I will continue to roll my eyes at his commercials and I will continue to gag and rant at the mention of this guy's fantasy football star. These things will never change.

So I hope you saved the receipt for the Manning baby onesie, Jessica. Because in MY house, we cheer for the Titans. And ONLY the Titans!

The Obligatory 100

I've never done one of these, but have noticed it's somewhat of a blog orientation , so here goes.

A list of 100 things I've been doing this week when I should have been blogging:
In random order...

1. Listening to my Barenaked Ladies' Christmas CD.

2. Trying my hardest to make my house look like the inside of a snow globe.

3. Wishing KYIS 98.9 would play non-stop Christmas music on the radio like last year.

4. Wishing Delilah on Magic 104.1 would get a life. And a better Christmas play-list.

5. Obsessing over a way to get to see Trans Siberian Orchestra in concert w/out spending $120.

6. Falling in love with the NONFAT Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks.

7. Discovering the NONFAT Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks has 2 grams of fat.

8. Tasting the NONFAT Eggnog Latte at Starbucks.

9. Discovering the NONFAT Eggnog Latte at Starbucks has 15! grams of fat. Hmmm...

10. Considering becoming Jewish just so I could make a dreidel out of clay.

11.Realizing that all of my Church of Christ friends already think I'm going to hell for being Catholic.

12.Considering becoming Church of Christ.

13.Realizing that being Catholic is way more fun. We have wine IN church, people!

14.Considering that some of my Church of Christ readers may be offended by what I just typed.

15.Realizing that the Church of Christ readers that know the inside joke behind this comment would think it was funny.

16. Considering that I should move on from this topic.

17. Determining that one Thanksgiving dinner doesn't ruin your Weight Watcher goals.

18. Determining that 3 Thanksgiving dinners and 2 birthday celebrations in one week DOES!

19. Making green bean casserole, twice in two days.

20. Making WW pumpkin cheesecake fluff.

21. Wishing WW pumpkin cheesecake fluff tasted more like pumpkin cheesecake.

22. Getting excited over my birthday gifts.

23. Getting excited over my gifts even though I knew what they were in advance.

24. Gaining a new respect for my husband's party planning.

25. Gaining a big head thinking that I had the biggest influence on that.

26. Learning more about myself from Nathan's party game.

27. Learning more about what my family thinks of me from Nathan's party game.

28. Spending most of my birthday party looking at Black Friday ads.

29. Convincing my husband that Black Friday shopping will be fun.

30. Going to bed convinced I would go shopping alone.

31. Being shocked when I had a shopping buddy in the car with me.

32. Being shocked I made it to Kohl's at 3:30 in the morning.

33. Wishing I hadn't left my coat at my brother's house the day before.

34. Being the first to check out at Kohl's on Black Friday.

35. Hoping these people will think their gift was worth the above 3 items.

36. Not being the first to check out at JC Penny's on Black Friday.

37. Hoping my nephew will appreciate his telescope from the above item.

38. Standing in line at 4:45 a.m. for Toy's R Us to open.

39. Wishing AGAIN I hadn't left my coat at my brother's the day before.

40. Racing through cart-pushing slow pokes to get an ultra-cool Hot Wheels Radar Gun for my nephew.

41. Laughing that others started to grab the same radar gun only after they saw me get it.

42. Laughing harder that Nathan was upset that I didn't buy one for him.

43. Not laughing when I raced to an empty pallet of DVD players at WalMart at 5:20 a.m.

44. Rejoicing upon noticing a DVD player abandoned on the Battery Center at WalMart.

45. Containing my excitement and desire to call my sister at 5:25 in the morning to tell her that I did the above 2 just for her.

46. Drove past a Starbucks to be one of the first in line for Home Depot's opening on Black Friday.

47. Staying in my car until I saw someone approaching Home Depot's door.

48. Saw someone heading to H.D.'s front door.

49. Grabbed my purse and raced to H.D's door.

50. Realized that it was an associate not a shopper.

51. Stood in line anyway.

52. Handed Nathan his box at Home Depot and exclaimed, "Merry Christmas!"

53. Headed to Jimmy's Egg and waited for it to open.

54. Headed to the tile store.

55. Got disappointed that I didn't have to wait in line.

56. Went home to take a 3 hour nap.

57-78: I'm taking the liberty to skip these because I just wasted the past 45 minutes in which I could have completed these numbers arguing with my husband on the topic of requiring interviews for African American coaches in college football. I'll save both of our opinions for another post another day.

79. Preserving and admiring my cake made of flowers that my husband brought to my work for my birthday three days ago.

80. Realizing that sushi restaurants aren't open on Sundays, even if it is your birthday.

81. Skipping a chance at a new restaurant for a "sure thing" at a favorite.

82. Getting excited about buying pants that actually aren't falling off of me.

83. Cleaning out my purse.

84. Trying to arrange the entire bathroom cabinet of stuff in my old purse into my new purse.

85. Scrolling up through this post to see if I had already mentioned the purse.

86. Wishing the batteries in my digital camera were juiced so I could take a picture of my new purse.

87. Getting a new mixer with...wait for it...ejectable blades!! from the girls at work.

88. Using it the next night to make a "questionable" cake for a friend.

89. Actually jogging 4.0 miles per hour on the treadmill for an ENTIRE song.

90. Subsequently having to pull the plug on the treadmill before dying.

91. Purchasing my Christmas cards to mail out.

92. Wishing I could pay someone to write our Christmas newsletter to go in them.

93. Budgeting half my pay check to cover the cost to actually mail them.

94. Contemplating what I want to ask "Santa" for for Christmas.

95. Snarfing at the $60 limit that "Santa" put on my request.

96. Snarfing at the countertop shop that won't tell me when I get new countertops.

97. Day-dreaming about wiping down my new countertops.

98. Not day-dreaming about using all of my certification bonus from work to pay for the countertops.

99. Hoping that I will be a better blogger in the upcoming weeks.

100. Hoping that the time I spent on this blog will suffice my readers and prove that I really have been busy the past week.

NaBloPoMo Mercy post

Thought I'd check in for a moment only to selfishly point out to Jessica and Charly that my little blog has offically been visited and commented on by the renowned Friday Playdate twice now. I do believe that brings the tally to: 2 for Liz , 1 for Jess, and 0 for Charly. Just sayin'...

What A Difference A Rake Makes

Is it all for nothing to rake your leaves when all your neighbor's yards are covered in brown and orange crumblies? I think every neighborhood association should have assigned days in which all home owners should have to rake their yard on the same day. My yard shouldn't be punished for everyone else's lack of love for their yard.

I imagine a fabulous neighborhood where every weekend before Thanksgiving all neighbors celebrate the annual "Rake, Rooftop,Rub and Roast ." Everyone would rake their yard and then decorate for Christmas. After decking the lawn with red and green, the neighbors would gather together for massages to ease their sore muscles. All massages would be fully clothed ones though. Let's be honest. It's all I can handle to see you getting your morning newspaper in your robe.

After the massage, everyone could gather around a big bonfire and feast on seasonal goodies and drink egg-nog lattes. The bonfire would be an open forum for all the neighbors to apologize for the World War III that they overheard while you were "discussing" the layout for all 93 extension cords to be plugged into 2 working outlets. The best part is that The Blais' would never have to stand up to apologize for anything. We could just sit back and listen to all the other bickering neighbors and then go home and talk about them. Thank goodness Nathan and I NEVER argue about silly things like extension cords. It's much easier to stomp around the yard declaring "JESUS is the reason for the season! Merry freakin' Christmas."

Yeah, that would be a nice neighborhood. I think it would be called Lizville. Because perfect neighborhoods need perfect names.

A Note To My Book Club

Rant-let. Defined as a small, completely insignificant, mini-rant to only be used in the context of lighthearted poking fun; guilt-trip.

Dear Book Club,
How I look so fondly on our many great laughs and reads together. The times we have shared will always hold a special place in my heart. I look forward to our dinners, book conversing, and mostly the wonderful life stories we share as a group. I have gained many friendships from our gatherings and I look forward to many years of growing closer. I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to spend my time with.


Now as for the "book" part of our book club. Your behavior over the past couple of months is deplorable. I would say that I am a pretty lenient book picker and I allow plenty of time to complete the assigned book. I do believe I have allowed a good number of opportunities in which to purchase, actually read, and then discuss the last book of my choice.


I had accepted that maybe no one really wanted to read my last selection because I had not been the best book-picker in the past. But, after reading this post about our current book choice that was written by someone I would consider well-versed in literature and then subsequently receiving a phone call noting that this said post encouraged one of you to ACTUALLY start reading the book, and then subsequently informing me that "yeah this book is pretty darn good," I started to become a wee bit annoyed at your behavior.


This note, however, does not come to you by the aforementioned phone call alone. This comes to you as a combination of the phone call from one of you and this blog entry by another one of you stating that you are reading/listening to other books that have not been selected by our group. This is unacceptable behavior. Our book club comes first. No babies, work trips, incompetent spouses, holidays, or even hospital visits should come between the members and the selected reading.


Now, I am not one to hold a grudge. So I leave you with this. READ the darn book!! It's good. I promise. I'm sure that with a little time and a few homemade weight watcher treats, I can be bribed into forgiving you for your long delay of book club etiquette - reading. Now, I must be on my way. I'm only halfway through the book myself. Which is totally why I can be bribed. But, I'm still upset. But, not really. But, I'm still going to monitor your progress. But not really.

Truly yours,
Liz


P.S. For the member that stated she likes to judge a book by its cover and therefore had not picked it up, I leave you this. Another cover I found of the EXACT SAME BOOK. Read it!

=

Christmas Update #1 (and quite possibly the only)

Mission Accomplished: Ding Dong The Grinch Is Dead!!

I am super-stoked that I convinced Nathan that we absolutely HAVE to start decorating for Christmas this coming weekend. I am so ready this year. I can't wait to get all my cute color coordinated stuff from last year out.

My theory: Starbucks is decorated for Christmas, so I should be too. I should do everything Starbucks does. I should live in a Starbucks and then Britney Spears (I think that makes 6, Jess) would come over and she and I could chat about how I am so proud that she has turned so much into a complete nutcase that even my husband who obsessed over her many years ago can't even tolerate her. I figure the more I can cross off of "his list" the better.


Anyway, I can't wait to put up my Christmas tree. I can't wait to go shopping to put stuff under the tree. I can't wait to place cayenne pepper around the edges in attempt to keep my sweet Enid out of the tree. I've already purchased my first Christmas gift to be wrapped (lovingly by my freakishly perfect wrapping husband) to go under the tree first thing. One guess as to who it's for. He's small, smells like fresh laundry, and his name rhymes with "tan." Anyone who guesses incorrectly gets to come over and help Nathan put lights on the roof.

NaNoBloWhatever

I know. I failed you. I failed myself too. I tried. I really did. But, I've been busy. I've been playing host for nearly 6 days and I'm pooped. I had a great time though. It was a much needed break from the everyday. My brother-in-law, Brandon visited us from Maine and the days and nights were filled with lots of to-do's and eating. Good god! The eating! I'm so sick of eating.


The upside: I haven't cooked one meal since last Wednesday. That part was awesome. The downside: I haven't cooked one meal since last Wednesday. That means I've eaten out every meal for a week. Not exactly a Weight Watcher's shining moment. I stuck to my guns, though, and have managed to stay within acceptable scale fluctuation for being "on vacation" at home. Now my husband on the other hand, I'm pretty sure he could skip a couple six meals or so to recoup.

I decided instead of chronicling (is that a word?) all that we've done the past few days, it would be much more comical to see all that Nathan and Brandon conquered in the amazing culinary world of OKC. I would note what I ate at all these places, but listing grilled chicken and salad gets pretty boring after the first three meals.


Saturday: Pop from Pops in Arcadia, Johnnie's Charbroil, Papa Murphy's, (chips, cookies)

Sunday: Sonic, (Super Chunky Choc. hip cookie dough ice cream and popcorn), Shoguns, Starbucks

Monday: (waffles, bacon), Louie's, (veggies and dip, crackers and cheese, cookies), Old Chicago
(revisit the ice cream)

Tuesday: City Bites,(wine tasting with cheesecake Hershey Kisses),Cheesecake Factory,
(left-over Old Chicago)

Wednesday:Krispy Kreme before the plane ride home.


THAT! people, is what you call a vacation!! Luckily, I managed to have some sort of motivation to workout everyday on that list. AND! I managed to subside the urge for cheesecake with a very large cup of decaf. You can pull a Tiger Woods and pump your fist in the air if you want. I did. You can also send gifts. I like gifts.

I'm sorry I didn't keep my end of the bargain to blog everyday. But, hopefully, the extra blogging in the next couple of days will allow you to forgive me. So all the guilt-fest comments and phone calls may cease. I'm busy living my life over here!

Get a Life! ... at least an exciting one

What does it say about a couple that has an entire conversation about looking forward to walking on the moving walkway at the airport? Yeah, we need to get out more. Help Us! Invite us somewhere!

No-Harm Chicken Parm

No. No. Don't over-react! You're in the right place. This is still my blog. I know that I don't normally post about things that I have cooked; mainly because I don't usually cook anything other than spaghetti or some sort of casserole dish. But this wonder-wife keeps making me feel bad.

I used to go to her blog to day-dream about the warm chocolate chips cookies at the top of her page, but once I started actually READING versus drooling, it inspired me to maybe actually try something new. She always blogs about wonderful dishes she's made her husband for dinner. The girl threw a Halloween party for just the two of them! I just threw a bag of fun-size snickers at Nathan and told him "Happy Pumpkin Day".

So I've been taking copious notes and decided I too was going to test out a new recipe. I settled on the No-Harm Chicken-Parm I found on the Hungry-Girl website. Some WW friendly recipes are a little sketchy the first time you do them. I know that it can either turn out as a "repeat" or a disaster (i.e. fat free tuna-noodle casserole. ick.). After dinner though, I asked the required questions: " Did you like it? Is it a repeat? Did it taste like cereal?" Nathan responded with, "It's pretty good. Yeah, we could have it again. No." The last question was a little odd, I know. But the recipe was odd when I heard it at first. Who uses Fiber-One cereal as a substitute for frying something?! The answer: I do...now.

If you're in the mood for chicken parmesan but are either 1. out of WW points or 2. can't afford to go to the place with the best version, Johnny Carino's, it could be a worthy substitute. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Notes to a few of my readers:
Brooke: They have a similar recipe for cheese sticks here. I know they're your fave.
Derek: You'll eat anything...go for it.
John: This is in NO WAY a replacement for J.C. It's coated in cereal for gods sake.
Jessica: This may only be good with the sauce on top. I know you're not really into red sauce, so I would use caution. WHAT! am I talking about?! You don't cook. Ignore this whole post.
Charly: You're married now! You have to use that new food processor. Get to it girl.
Nathan: Thanks for being my food guinea pig. I love you for being supportive and trying everything at least once.
Aubrey: I hope you don't take offense. I love your blog and all the wonderful things you write about. That's why I read it E-V-E-R-Y-D-A-Y.

No-Harm Chicken Parm

Ingredients:

5 oz. boneless skinless chicken breast (raw) (Add additional chicken for each person)
1/3 cup Fiber One cereal
1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original
3/4 tsp. reduced fat grated parmesan cheese
1 oz. (approx. 1/4 cup) shredded fat-free mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup canned tomato sauce (I used some jar sauce and then used the rest to coat addtl. noodles I made)
Optional: garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt and pepper

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2.Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. 3.Add parmesan to crumbs (if desired, season crumbs with optional spices, as well).
4.Place crumbs in one small dish and Egg Beaters in another.
5.Next, pound your chicken so it's a bit flattened.
6.Coat raw chicken on both sides with Egg Beaters, and then coat with crumb mixture.
7.Place chicken on a baking pan sprayed with nonstick spray.
8.Spray a light mist of nonstick spray on top of chicken and place in oven.
9.Cook for 10 minutes, and then turn chicken over.
10.Add another light mist of nonstick spray and cook for an additional 10 - 12 minutes (or until chicken is fully cooked and coating looks crispy).
11.Meanwhile, if desired, mix tomato sauce with your seasonings of choice.
12.Remove chicken from oven, top with sauce and then cheese, and return chicken to oven until cheese is melted.

Nutritional Facts:
Serving Size: 1 chicken breast Calories: 295 Fat: 3.5g Sodium: 890mg Carbs: 27g Fiber: 11g Sugars: 3.5g Protein: 46.5g WW: 5 Points

The Comeback Kids

The announcement of one of my many favorite shows making a return to the screen after a long hiatus has sent me into a spiralling search for others making their comeback. I hate committing to new shows for fear that they will be cancelled after one or two seasons. Here's what I've found so far:

One/Two Hit Wonders No More

Show Title: Notes From the Underbelly
Who would like it: A staple for anyone thinking about getting pregnant, has friends who are pregnant, or likes to hear the word "mucus" alot.
Premier Date/Time: Monday, November 26 8:30pm on ABC

Show Title: The Real Housewives of Orange County 3
Who would like it: Anyone who loves trashy, scripted reality shows about silver-platter spoiled middle aged women. ME!
Premier Date/Time: Tuesday, November 6 9:00pm on BRAVO (if you missed it, they re-run it ALL THE TIME!)

Mega Star With A Mega Late Premier Date
(Hurry up already!)

Show Title: Project Runway Season 4
Who would like it: Anyone with any since of style, need for clothing, or really into blond bombshells. Tim Gunn is one classy man. Also entertaining for those with an obsession for the phrase "in or out."
Premier Date/Time: Wednesday, November 14 9:00pm on BRAVO

No Show for the Ti-Vo (YET!)

Show Title: Deadliest Catch Season 4

Who would like it: Any fan of crab, cold, or close quarters for weeks at a time. Anyone needing a great idea to earn a quick $30,000.

Premier Date/Time: Unknown. But Discovery Channel has a few substitutes in the mean time: Lobster Wars and Ice Road Truckers. The latter wasn't half-bad, but it's no King. Crab that is.

Show Title: Work Out Season 3

Who would like it: Anyone craving some gym drama or anyone needing a visual confirmation of what exercise really looks like.

Premier Date/Time: Unknown. But according to a BRAVO cast member's MySpace, Season 3 started filming in October. If it's on MySpace, it HAS to be true!

Call Me Columbus

A list of things I wish I would have discovered sooner...

1. Ikea has a winter collection. (Hmmm... can we say "Roadtrip!"?)
2. Kashi Oatmeal Dark Chocolate Cookies
3. The 3 pairs of smaller size jeans buried in my closet.
4. The almighty power that is the DVR.
5. The stockpile of pricey play mice for Enid under my bed.
6. The warm and fuzzy feeling that comes from an organized hair product drawer.
7. "Blackened," as in blackened chicken, actually means lightly coated then FRIED! (No wonder it's yummy.)
8. Just because you BUY a treadmill, doesn't mean you USE the treadmill.
9. The Hungry-Girl website.
10. At our age, "going on an adventure" is defined by a last minute dinner with friends at POPS on! a! work! night! Can you imagine?!
11. Burger joints may surprise you with fresh strawberries and fantastic green beans.

Yeah, the goal was at least 20 discoveries, but the Edy's Slow Churned Pumpkin Ice Cream is calling my name. 2 WW points of heaven.

BeerFest 2007...Birthday of Champions

For over seven years and for as long as we have been dating, Nathan has always noted that my family takes birthdays to a whole new level. What can I say? Bradshaws do birthdays BIG! I'm pretty partial to big birthdays. No one's special day should go by without crepe paper, cake, dinner of your choice, presents and party games. Oh yes! There are party games.

My bro-in-law, Jim, can be blamed for the elaborate expectations for party games. It's a new staple in all of our b-day celebrations. That, and our special version of the birthday song. Those lucky enough have been able to hear the song in person. Others, well, they'll have to use their imagination. To help them out here's a hint: It sounds an awful like a certain bday song at the home of THE BEST! Mexican food in OKC. Now imagine it being sung by a bunch of cake-craving, koozie-toting, party rejects. THAT is what the Bradshaws and the Faux-shaws call a birthday.

One of my favorite birthdays to celebrate is my brother's. It's not that I favor Mark over any of my other family members; I leave that to my Mom and her inconsistent declaration of the #1 child. It really comes down to the fact that once HIS birthday is over, MY birthday season is underway. I like to say that I deserve a whole month of birthday attention, since I often have to share my birthday with a wobbly-necked, giblet-producing butterball.

This year though, Mark's birthday was one for the books. It marked the first annual BraHamBla BeerFest. BraHamBla is not only funny because it has the word bra in it (I'm so mature, I know); it's funny because, I don't even drink beer. It was still a blast. And, it was very ummmm ... Mark.

We each had a sampler-cup of 21 hand selected beers from around the world. Then all 9 party-goers ranked them on a scale of 1 to 10. I don't think I gave any of them over a 5. Let's be honest, the 3 of 21 tasters that I didn't pour out into the yard, still weren't as good as my drink of choice. What can I say? I'm an Arbor-Mist type of gal. I like it sweet, cheap and as close to water as possible.

The BraHamBla Beefest 2007 lineup: The Birthday Boy and his brews:

BeerFest attendees minus one taking the picture, and two who never made it to the "beer" part of Beerfest:
Yeah, we're a pretty scary looking bunch after 21 beers. Or before, for that matter. As you can see, Nathan had a good time. The random guy in the back, B, is a neighbor who joined in on the fun. Jane and I decided that he and his wife, A (taking the picture), were very nice; but the wife is too freakin' cute to be invited to future parties.

And for those interested, the winner was:
Erdinger Hefe-Weizen Dark
AKA
Foamy motor-oil.

Nate's Sports Bites

In case you missed it, Adrian Peterson broke the single-game NFL record for rushing yards with 296.....AS A ROOKIE! I'm not ashamed to admit a tear formed in my eye as I watched the following highlight video. If he stays healthy, I think he could become one of the greatest running backs in NFL history. Enjoy the highlights!


In other news, Kelvin Sampson appears to be in trouble again for making inappropriate phone calls, only one year after getting his dream job at Indiana. You would think that getting in trouble once would be enough for him to get the point. Maybe him leaving Oklahoma was a god-send after all. He took us to a Final Four and two Elite Eights, but might have also taken us to probation if he would have stuck around. Thanks for leaving, Kelvin.

How much is that kitty in the window? ...

The Principal of the Matter

For the most part, I love my job. I love the 8-5 schedule. I love the ridiculous amount of paid holidays and vacation time. I love my coworkers. Heck, I have even gotten used to the stale air and lack of vitamin D that comes from working two floors underground. Overall, its a pretty good set up for me.

Finding jobs for people can be a very rewarding career, for both me and the person actually getting the job. But for every person who gets the job, there is a long list of people who don't. Imagine telling someone that you cannot approve their application for them to be able to have a chance at a position. Imagine having to tell a person that the college degree that they spent four years to complete, is not from an accredited college. Imagine telling someone that even though they have been unemployed for a year and a half, that their experience is not actually what you are looking for and there is nothing you can do to approve them. Imagine doing this all day -every day.

Now, imagine telling any one of these things to your elementary school principal. Seems like a great opportunity right? Stick one to the old fart! Make 'em pay for all they did to torment you! Let THEM right on the board 100 times that they are not worthy for your position! While it seemed slightly ironic at the beginning, this real-life scenario, played out today, was actually pretty uncomfortable for me.

I would have thought that it would make me feel good to be in a position of power over someone who I had no choice but to obey many (many) years ago. I guess I would have felt much more successful to have been able to actually show off what I have become and find him a job, rather than disappointing him and ending it there. I guess I can only do what my new "principals" allow me to do.

Some days, you're just thankful that YOU'RE the only half of a "couple" that remembers the other half from a time long before. Some days, you're just thankful for sloughing your maiden name from your business card.

Up For The Challenge

Apparently, November has been designated as the month for bloggers to strive to make an entry every day. E-V-E-R-Y freakin' day?! Yeah, I'm pretty sure I'm not that interesting. But, the Blais' have joined together in pinky-swear that one of us will make a new post at least once a day for the whole month. Good thing I found out about this challenge today, huh. Thanks, Jess.

November should present lots of activities for our house and therefore for our blog. Not only is November the host to my absolute favorite holiday, Turkey-day, I'm "thankful" that it's also the month of my favorite day : MY birthday!! This November also includes a visit from an out-of-town guest, Black Friday bargain hunting, and 4-count them- 4! paid holidays off work.

So strap-in! This ought to be interesting...

Take a Bath....Showers are Overrated

I was working to fix the shower in our master bath this past Saturday while Liz was watching Van. The plan was to spend a couple of hours changing out a part so that we could actually shut off the water without using a screwdriver, then help put up a new fence at Brooke and Derek's house. If you think the screwdriver line was funny, read on. The following is a humorous example of why I am not the person to consult on your next DIY home improvement project.

9:45AM- Turn off water at curb. This is fun!

10:00AM- Remove handle and screws from metal plate. Yes! This will be a breeze!

10:15AM- Try to remove metal clip holding the part I need to change. The needlenose pliers I am using are starting to leave indentations on my palms.

10:30AM- Wow, hard water deposits are a pain. Let's see if the Moen helpline has any suggestions for getting this clip out.

10:45AM- Half-vinegar and half-water doesn't work. Thanks a lot Moen helpline.

11:00AM- Call Jim. Oops, he's duck hunting, but is nice enough to suggest WD-40 or liquid wrench.

11:30AM- Home Depot. Liquid wrench. Now we're good!

NOON- I have tried to remove the stupid clip so many times now that it is beginning to disintegrate. Which gives me a good idea. How about just breaking the darn thing?

12:30PM- Breaking the clip was fun, but now requires a trip to ACE for a replacement.

1:00PM- Now all that is needed is to get the part out and replace it. Just pull it out with pliers. Pull. PULL. PULL!!!!!

1:15PM- My back hurts. I lay on the floor for a few minutes and stare at the ceiling.

1:30PM- I really don't want to spend $15 for a tool to remove the old part, but also don't want to break a plumbing line. Another trip to ACE to buy the tool.

2:00PM- I am hungry. Crispy chicken sandwich from McDonald's. Mmmmmmm.

2:30PM- Part removal tool..........$15...........thoughts going through my head when the old part that comes out looks nothing like the one I bought to replace it........PRICELESS.

3:00PM- Lowe's. Another part. Maybe this part will shrink by the time I get home, because I don't think it is going to fit either.

4:00PM- Store lights only affect paint color, not part size apparently. This one doesn't fit either. And no, pushing harder to get it to fit doesn't work.

4:30PM- Turn the water back on so Liz can go to the bathroom. Hehe.

5:00PM- See Van for 15 minutes before his loving parents pick him up.

I get to go to Locke Supply on Tuesday to try and find the right part to fix the now dripping shower. Needless to say, we WILL be shelling out the money to have someone tile our kitchen floor and backsplash. Apparently, the DIY genes that my uncles have (a few have even built their own houses) did not get translated over to my DNA. Oh well.

Committed Switch-over/Abandoned Intuition

Today was the day. I just had to do it. I woke up and it was absolutely frigid in my house. So I had to take the leap. I had to graduate into fall clothes versus my summer attire. Seemingly no big deal, but it's a HUGE deal in the life of a Weight Watcher. This was the week I had to trade my lightweight gauchos in for a pair of beefy jeans before my morning weigh in.

Oh the drama! What will the scale say?! Well it only said a gain of .2 lbs. Thank the Lord! I knew this wasn't a great week for me anyway. I didn't exercise once. And I'm pretty sure the chili cook-off at work and Johnny Carinos all in the same day before weigh-in didn't help my cause. But, I figured, I have to commit to the switchover sometime. Maybe, if I had given up pre-meal bread like Jess, I would have showed a maintain instead of a fraction gain. Nah. It was worth it. Man, I love bread.

But, I figured I have to commit to the switch-over sometime. It's not like I can go all winter wearing breezy gauchos every Saturday. For one, I'll freeze. But the real reason: I just don't want to have to keep up with my summer leg-shaving schedule all year long. Let's be realistic, it's winter. It's cold. I'm white as can be and there is absolutely NO reason for me to wear anything short anyway. As long as I'm not too furry for my husband to stand me, I'm good right? I do the test. If I start to feel a little too much like the cat, then I shave.

Don't judge me! I know I'm not the only one. I've had many a conversations with friends revolving around changing an outfit depending on whether a "ladies" arm-pits would be visible or not. So there. I know I'm not the only one.

Here's the latest Bladcoxerson Weight Loss Contest update for those curious:

Weight loss since the contest started: 14.4 lbs. for 4.6% Fear Me!

Total weight loss since starting W.W : 37.2 lbs for 11.2%

Side note: My WW meeting homework for this week is that I have to do some sort of activity/exercise this week that I've never done before. Any ideas of what I can do? Anybody want to try something new with me? Anybody...Anybody...Bueller...Bueller...

Ya'll Need a Job?

John got on an immigration soapbox recently, so I thought I would offer an opinion on an article that I ran across on the Yahoo! homepage last week. The article listed Forbes' Top Ten Cities for Jobs. Much to my surprise, Tulsa and OKC cracked the top ten for the first time, with Tulsa coming in at #6 and OKC coming in at #10. OKC ranked #4 for income growth, which was one of the main reasons for being in the top ten. I was proud of my hometown, so I went through the pictures link in the middle of the page. Each city I passed, including Salt Lake City, Raleigh, Phoenix and Jacksonville had a picture of a modern skyline. Urban setting. Substantial infrastructure. You get the picture. Even Tulsa and Wichita had respectable pictures. Then OKC's picture.

Let me first preface by saying that the bombing memorial is a beautiful and poignant place. I have been there and can understand why it is our #1 tourist attraction. However, the picture used in the article is the worst picture of the memorial I have ever seen. If you have never been you would probably have no way of knowing that the picture is from there. I found this picture in 2 seconds. Why not incorporate the chairs in the photograph?

For the people that have no idea that the picture is of the memorial, it perpetuates the image of OKC being a cow town. No skyline. No urban district. For a few others it probably reinforces the notion that our city is only known for it's disasters. When people think of Miami, do they just think of hurricanes? I would have preferred a picture of Bricktown, the canal, OUR skyline, or even the Cowboy Hall of Fame over the one that was presented. I hope we continue to host Big 12 Tournaments and can get the Sonics to come. The only way to change the city's image is to get people to visit and see for themselves.

Let me know what you think......agree or disagree with me about the picture?

Grover Goes To Neosho

"Sunny days had swept the clouds away, and we were all on our way to where the air was sweet." Well, at least where the cake was anyway. Last weekend, the Bladcox Gang loaded up and headed to Neosho,MO for our friend Charly's wedding. What seemed like an innocent ride in a car seat, turned a little risque for a blue stuffed toy. According to our good friend, Grover, "What happens in Neosho...stays in Neosho!"
And so the party began...

Grover "Gets His Freak On" with Missy Elliott before the wedding.

"Hey, Grover is mine!"

The Bride and Groom aren't the only ones taking family pics at the reception.
Maybe one day our baby won't be blue. I'm hoping for pink instead. Hmmm... Did someone say Cake?

All that cake has made Grover thirsty. Brewsky anyone?
Once the keg was tapped out, Grover made friends with good 'ole Andre. French for YUMMY!
A quick pic post-reception before Fourth Meal at "The Bell".**** Note to self: Take pics before hitting the champagne with the G-meister.

Congratulations Charly! We love ya girl.

On his way back to the hotel after the reception, Grover decided to stop in at Wyandotte's Famous Turtle Stop. Not only does it offer the finest fried burritos and caffeinated drinks galore, it was also The Bride's workplace before moving to the BIG CITY.

Mr. Suave that he is, and still livin' it large from his reception binge, Grover flirts with the cashier to get a peek behind the counter. I'm pretty sure he used his favorite line, "Hey Baby, wanna be with something warm, fuzzy, and blue all over?"
After conning his way behind the counter, Grover grabbed some quick cash out of the register and headed to the Turtle Stop Casino next door. He bet all he had ($1) on one round of the slots. With no return, Grover headed back to the hotel to crash.
After all the drinking and gambling, Grover wasn't feeling so well.
"Ugh, Big Bird has always warned me, 'Beer before liquor, never been sicker.'"After a long sick night, Grover has some coffee and aspirin at the continental buffet. He had to pass on the waffles and biscuits and gravy. Feeling better though, Grover stopped off on his way back to his home state for a quick pic.

Needing a little something in his tummy for the rest of the day, Grover stopped at the former largest McDonald's in the world, the Glasshouse in Vinita. Grover loves him some McD. Southwest Chicken Salad. He feels lucky that he lives in one of the only two states that still offers them.

After lunch, Grover needed a little recoup time. So he slept off his hangover in the van while the rest of his traveling buddies roamed around Utica Square for a non-purchasing shopping spree.A good time was had by all, including Grover. Stay tuned in the future for Grover's next adventures. Grover and his friend, Fraggle, may have to take a little trip to Vegas.

Trust and Truthiness in '08

Finally, a candidate I can get behind...

WHAT is wrong with this picture?

WHAT is wrong with this picture? I'll tell you what! My HOT weather guy is NOT in it!! It's official. My Aaron Tuttle has left the Channel 5 family and gone away to make a new set of viewers swoon. He left without even saying goodbye.

I am definitely calling THOSE people to voice my disdain. This is unacceptable. Whatever he wanted - they should have given him. His every whim should have been their next move. I am definitely tuning-in elsewhere to the next cutest weather-man on my list until I find where my number 1 has landed. Goodbye A.T.! I will miss you and all of your anti-global warming banter.

Everything AND The Kitchen Sink

Miss us? Shame on us and our non-blogging for over a week. I do have a good excuse. Fall TV. It's not really a good excuse since in my previous post I mentioned bringing a wonderful DVR into our home. It IS operational and I love it. The whole pausing feature is awesome for evening phone calls from telemarketers since Nathan and I are not totally high tech with a caller - ID. Baby steps.

No, my real excuse is the remodeling of our kitchen. That sounds awfully dramatic seeing as our kitchen is fully functional and unfortunately has not allowed me to get out of cooking dinner. We're actually just in the planning phase of our remodel. It started out as me getting very excited about getting new counter tops. That quickly diminished when it was determined that with new counter tops, comes a new tile back splash. With a new back splash, comes a matching tile floor.

Nathan and I have visited most every tile place in the OKC Metro searching for what I thought would look good; only to end with another color selection that could have been picked out at place number 1 that we started shopping. Live and learn I guess. After the tile selection came the tile contractor selection. Wow! Lemme tell you how enthralling THAT is. Multiple calls and three on-site estimates later, I've determined to suck it up and see what my husband and his side-kick can accomplish without making me just want to pack-up and move.

The contractors did fill us in on some other points to consider during their visits several evenings after work. We not only needed to pick yet another tile and tile design, but we needed to go ahead and pick out a new microwave, dishwasher, sink, and faucet. Sounds fun right? I can see how it would be if you and your husband hadn't worked retail for five years and know how to work the system to find the best deal. While saving a few bucks is always important in the Blais' household, it's consumed every evening and my laptop for a week.

My only saving grace for an end to this madness is that Nathan wants to "hurry up and buy everything Tuesday night." Yes! He wants to put this to an end because he sees that it's stressing me out and I just want a new kitchen already. NO!! The REAL reason slips with a "We're under a moderate risk for severe weather on Wednesday evening." How did my life end up this way?

You should feel sorry for me and pardon my blogger-apathy. I promise I'll make it up to you with lots of pictures about what else we were up to this past weekend. I'll give you a hint. It involves a blue baby's toy and five nimrods in a van crossing the state line. You won't want to miss it!

New To The Family

I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce you to a few of our new family members:

1. I-pod Sports Arm Band

This thing is awesome! It was definitely needed since I can no longer hold my i-pod in between my waist and workout pant's elastic. AH! Buy new workout pants you say? Nah. This makes me look like a real power-walker. It will look even cooler when I can actually wear it on the intended upper arm without cutting off the circulation to my right hand. "One size fits all." Whatever!

2. DVR

Yes folks! You saw it here. We finally broke down and got a DVR. After perusing the online TV Guide, I finally convinced Nathan that if he ever wanted to see me this fall, we would have to get one. As you can see, EVERYONE in the family is excited about our new addition. Now, I just have to figure out how to set it up.

A few of my for sures on the line up: MTV's The Hills (I hang my head in shame), Grey's Anatomy, Brothers & Sisters, Dancing with the Stars (again, head hanging), and against my will: the Weather Channel's Storm Stories and MEGA Disasters. Fill me in on what I need to add!

3. New Jeans - IN A SMALLER SIZE!

Bragging? Heck yeah! I make these jeans look gooood.