I'm up for the challenge !

So Darcy (aka the Fairy Blogmother) over at LWM3B has posted a challenge for those who may be in the market for are desperately seeking additional comments. For those of us who may need crave more cyber traffic on our blogs. For those of us who aren't the popular girls in blogville. Sigh.

She suggested that weI remove the word verification on my blog therefore making the peeps more likely to leave some comment love. Okay, I can do that. So, I did it and I'm waiting to see if anyone of the bajillions of you who read my blog will now leave a comment. Because I'm absolutely certain that there are just lots of you who stalk my blog every day, waiting on the next entry - right? I know I'm that interesting and my life is that interesting too. I'm really certain of it. I really am.

Let the Swappin' Begin!

So Kat's Favorite Things swap is officially under way. I have received my partner's name and her list of favorites and I was surprised to see how many similarities there are. This might not actually be as hard as I first imagined. I was fearing that my partner would have multiple dislikes and/or allergies which included my favorites. But as it turns out, my favorites might actually be welcomed by my partner.

Gee, now I'm wondering who received MY name???

Face Swapping?

So one of my fav bloggers and not-too-far-from-home neighbors, Kat, is hosting a swap. I love swaps yet I hesitated before signing up for Kat's swap. Her swap is not of the normal variety, you see. No, it's not wife swapping or even face swapping. Face swapping, you ask? See for yourself...



No, Kat's swap is a little Oprah-ish, if you will. You know how Oprah gives her audience members her favorite things twice a year? Well, Kat is hosting her annual



So, I signed up and have spent a great part of the day wondering what my favorite things are. Of course, NO ONE should know better than me, right? I can't think of one SINGLE thing that is a favorite of mine. So I am slightly nervous very freaked out that I signed up. I feel like I'm in the midst of a self-study now. I'm analyzing my every move. I walked around smelling my soaps, perfume and wallflowers in an attempt to discover my favorite scent. I looked through my books, searching for my favorite reads. I thumbed through my music,attempting to narrow down my huge selection of favorites. The only thing I have discovered is that I have no idea what my favorites are.

Anyone else want to join the swap? Who knows, you might be lucky enough to get me as your partner!

What year do you belong in?

So we just got back from Florida yesterday. I've spent the weekend doing laundry, doing laundry and doing laundry. I'm almost done doing laundry. How 'bout that? Anyway, I ran across this on another blog and thought I'd give it a shot. I'm not surprised by the result. I'm a child of the 70's and all that it was.

You Belong in 1977

Bold and brash, you take life by the horns. Whether you're partying or protesting, you give it your all!

What Year Do You Belong In?

a week of R & R

The Tiaras and I are going to Florida for a week. Four moms and 8 kids are staying in a 5 bedroom house with a pool. We are going on a field trip to the Space Center. We are going on a Pirate Cruise. We are going to spend a day shopping and playing at downtown Disney. And we are going to the beach. Ahhhh, the beach. Growing up in Indiana, I never experienced the beach as a child. I was 18 before I ever saw the ocean in all it's glory. T-Bone and I have dreamed of taking the Tiaras to the beach forever. And the Tiaras, now 8 and 5 1/2, have not been to the beach yet as T-Bone's work schedule has always been so hectic. When my friend first invited us to go with them, I was hesitant as I really want T-Bone to be a part of the Tiaras' first beach experience. But T-Bone insisted that we go, telling me that the girls are getting older and they NEED to feel the sand between their toes, they NEED to be knocked over by a wave, they NEED to build a sand castle. So, in less than 48 hours we are leaving to experience all that and more.

We will miss you very much and we will take lots of pictures! We WILL call you the moment we get there. And I'm sure there will be many other calls to you as well. You WILL be missed. But we want to thank you also. Thank you for making us go.

Trying to move forward...

September 24, 1995 - August 20, 2008

Exactly two weeks ago today, our family experienced a tragedy that will remain with my Tiaras forever. We had to put our 13 year old kitty cat, Weenie, to rest. She was in acute renal failure and I helped her until I could help her no more. She was not in pain and continued to purr until her heart beat for the last time.

This cat, accused by many as being an attack cat, was the purest source of unconditional love that you could ever hope for. I bought her (and her sister) from a pet store in 1995 when they were a mere 3 weeks old. I bottle fed them both but Itsy Bitsy (her sister) did not survive beyond a week at home while (Teeny) Weenie continued to thrive until she was a healthy 21 pounds. I had her longer than I've had T-Bone. In fact, I had to warn him about her the first time he came to my apartment as she was known to attack.

She traveled with me in the car from Indiana to Las Vegas (staying at the Mirage), on to California to live, back to Indiana to live, on to New York to live, back to Indiana to live and then finally to Georgia to live. She LOVED riding in the car and she LOVED drive-thru's! She would get right up to my driver's side window and stretch her neck out, hoping that the worker at the fast food window would give her something to eat. She was truly a mess!

She greeted us at the door every time we came home. She didn't like laps but loved to give kisses. She loved getting baths every morning with a sopping wet washcloth. She was an avid tuna lover and would wake me each and every morning as she only had tuna for breakfast. When T-Bone and I went away for short trips, I had friends who would come over every morning to feed Weenie her tuna. And Weenie, being the sweet and gracious kitty that she was, managed to trap one of our friends in the bathroom. Our friend, Alison, could not get Weenie to move from the threshold of the bathroom. Weenie had this horrible hiss and scream that she would let out when she was upset (which was usually any time someone was in our home other than us). Alison, not knowing what to do, grabbed the hand towel from the towel rack and began swatting it at Weenie. As you can guess, that was not effective and Weenie only became more mad. Now Weenie didn't have front claws but she honestly did appear vicious when she was upset. So Alison used her cell phone to call another friend to our apartment. He arrived, distracted Weenie when he opened the front door and Alison was able to escape.

When I was pregnant with Tiara 1, everyone kept telling me that we needed to get rid of Weenie. They were certain she would be mean to the baby. But I knew she would love and accept the baby just as she did. When I was pregnant with both Tiaras, Weenie would lay against my huge belly and wait on the babies to kick. When the babies kicked, Weenie would paw at my belly playfully. She truly loved the Tiaras.

As the girls have grown, Weenie spent more time with them in their rooms. She would take turns sleeping on their beds during the night. She would wait on Tiara 2's pillow every night for the bedtime story. She really loved them. And they loved her.

Weenie loved to get into paper bags or the smallest boxes she could find. Remember, she was 20+ pounds so she really had to work to get her many rolls into small spaces. But she always managed. She gave us so many good laughs.

And two weeks ago today, we had to say goodbye. I'm still grieving but holding it inside as much as possible for the girls. Tiara 1 was rather matter of fact about the situation after the first day but in the last few days, she has really finally faced the reality that Weenie won't be back. She has cried so much in the past few days that her eyes are swollen. Tiara 2 grieved heavily for the first week. Then I found a stuffed animal cat in her closet that looks nothing like Weenie BUT Tiara 2 has named it Weenie anyway and it goes EVERYWHERE with her now. Tiara 1 tonight, between the tears, asked if she too could have a stuffed animal cat for her room. So if any of you know where I can purchase a stuffed animal cat that is a dark gray tabby color, please let me know. Tiara 1 would really appreciate it. And if it's overstuffed and comes in a box too small for it, that's even better.

And Weenie, thanks for the unconditional love and the wonderful memories. We'll always miss you, Beans.....

Camp Rock - 24/7

The Tiaras are both totally crazy about anything related to Camp Rock at this time. We saw the movie when Disney first ran it, we DVR'd it and watched it at least another 5 times in that first week after it was originally aired. When the soundtrack appeared in stores, we snatched it up immediately and the few songs that were not previously memorized were then added to the Tiaras' repertoire of memorized songs from Camp Rock. We then bought the DVD as SOON as it was released. The Tiaras both insisted that we purchase it because one of our DVRs burned up and we lost all recorded shows a few months ago. Sooooo, we absolutely HAD to purchase the DVD in case this DVR melted as the last did. Point made, DVD purchased.

Where am I going with this? Well, the Jonas Brothers came to town a few weeks ago (yes, I'm a few weeks behind) and as much as we would have liked to take the Tiaras to the concert, they are probably not yet old enough to appreciate how loud it would be. Or how small the Jonas Brothers would look from way, far away where our seats would have more than likely been located. Again, my point? Well, Demi Lovato (Mitchie from Camp Rock) was opening for the Jonas Brothers and she did an autograph signing session at one of the local Verizon stores that just happened to be minutes from our house. So, I took the girls there, we stood in the (really long) line in the parking lot in the 90+ degree sun (with NO shade) for 2+ hours to see Demi and get her autograph.



Was it worth it????



It was worth every second!!!!