Fairytopia
When I was a kid I always wanted to believe in fairies. But, I was too much of a tomboy to really do anything about it. It would have severely damaged my rough and tumble image. I tossed all fairy-ish things to the side.
Then I grew up. Got married. And felt too old for fairies. So, again, I just kind of shoved those thoughts to the side.
Enter Baby Girl. I have said before that she is the perfect mix of girlie girl and tom boy. She puts on her plastic high heels, some jewelry, a crown and her princess dress to go out and dig in the dirt. She wants her toenails painted, but she wants bugs on them. She is able to blend the girl stuff with the rough and tumble. Except... I didn't know what to do with the girlie side of her. I tried to get into the princess thing. It's just not in me to be a princess... but then I remembered fairies.
At Christmas time I got Baby Girl a book called "The Midnight Fairies". It is a cute little story and it came with a necklace. She fell in love with the story. And what little girl doesn't love a little bling with their books?

Then, the other day Tracey at Just Another Mommy Blog put up a link to create your own fairy. We tried it out. We are both hooked on this site. We make a fairy or two in the morning. Then we make one or two in the afternoon. And she insists on making one before bed.
Then I told her about making fairy houses... another thing Tracey mentioned on her blog... the thought was intoxicating to her. She had to build one! So, we went out and found a piece of palm tree bark for the frame. Hibiscus leaves around the doorway, Bougainvillea flowers for chairs and decor, leaves for the bed, moss for the pillow, another piece of palm bark for the table, and twigs and tall grasses for the sidewalk. She was excited for a fairy to move into our little home. On Sunday, I stayed home with my boys (who were still sick but are now ALMOST better). I looked around online for some other fairy items that might interest her. I had a hard time finding dolls that I really liked or that were within my price range. So, I pulled out the felt, ribbon and yarn... I finished it yesterday afternoon. She's not the most beautiful doll in the world, but Baby Girl seems to like her. She has already requested a friend for her doll. We'll see what I can come up with....
I think she will be getting this...in her Spring Bunny basket this year! (More about the Spring Bunny in an upcoming post...)
It has been so much fun to have something that we are both interested in! In a way, it's like entering an unexplored part of my childhood and I can't wait to see what comes next!
***Update*** If you live in a rental home and someone else takes care of the garden, they will think your fairy house is just branches and dead leaves. They will remove it and throw it away... sigh...

A Book Review
I have a question... have any of you ever ready any of these books?

I'm thinking of getting the first one for Red, but I was wondering if any of you had read them. Can you give me any info on them? Also... if you have any other ideas for books for 9 year old boys? Red is a voracious reader - over 1,000 pages last month. He's starting to reread a lot of his books and is getting bored... any suggestions?

Bug Off!
Baby Girl has been feeling a lot better. I would even venture to declare that she is "well"! Unfortunately, at the moment, she is a tad on the neglected side. When Little Bug gets sick, he gets really sick. His immune system just doesn't fight things off like it should. And so, when he gets ill, we know it will be for a few weeks. He is doing better, but not great. Red is also still sick. His fever seems to be gone, but that lingering cough is still.... well... lingering.
And so, with her new found wellness has come a never ending supply of energy... which, of course, has turned her into even MORE of a little mischievous imp than usual! She wants attention RIGHT NOW and is willing to do whatever it takes to get it. And so, being the extremely wise being that I am, I decided to spend a little time with her before she decided to express herself with hieroglyphs on my walls or something clever like that.
We did pedicures again - okay, well, to be honest, we just painted toes. This time I'm going to post pictures... she wanted butterflies. Then she wanted bumble bees. Then flowers. She just couldn't make up her mind. So, we did this instead:

Big toes - butterflies
Next toes - bees
Middle toes - flower - that didn't turn out so well because she wanted the glitter polish...
Next toes - dragon flies
Baby toes - caterpillars
The only thing we didn't get on there that she wanted was "swirly whirls". We'll do that next time.
The really amazing thing was that she calmed down. She got some one on one time with Mom and she was very pleasant for the rest of the day. It was a good reminder for me. I need to take time one on one with each of my kids. They get a lot of "group" time. But it's just not the same.
It only took about half an hour of my time. The boys survived. And she was a happy girl... which, in turn, translated into a happy mom!

Lights, Camera, ACTION!
We don't get out to see a lot of movies that don't have talking animals, vegetables or minerals... okay, so maybe I've never actually seen a movie with talking minerals, but that's not the point here.
We did see the National Treasure movie when my in-laws were here. It was okay. Felt a lot like the first one... and that annoyed me a bit... before that we saw the last Harry Potter movie... I think that was in November. And before that... um... before that was.... uh... yeah. Actually, it may have been the 4th Harry Potter movie. We just don't go see movies very much. But this year... THIS YEAR there are TONS of movies that I want to see! Let's start with this one that opens tonight... Penelope

I would love to see this movie! It looks cute AND clean! Who knew you could make a romantic comedy that wasn't all about sleeping around!
I have no idea when these next movies will be released... so, in no particular order...we have the new Narnia movie...and watching this trailer just makes me GIDDY!!

Moving right along we have the new Batman movie... loved the last one, can't wait for this one!

I'm also looking forward to the new Indiana Jones movie...

And then... this fall is the new Harry Potter movie...

I know there are some I am missing, but those are the ones I am most excited about. Do you think they will just rent me a seat for the year??
Tell me... what movies are you looking forward to this year?

Allrecipes.com
Some of you requested the brownie recipe I used for the Great Brownie Experiment. I have to tell you, it's not my recipe. It's one that I got from allrecipes.com. Have you ever been to that site? It's fantastic! Anyone can submit a recipe and then people can come back, after trying the recipe and review it, explain any substitutes or variations they tried, and then rate it.
So, when I was looking for a brownie recipe, I looked for one with more than 4 stars and that had lots of reviews. This one has 4 1/2 stars and has been rated almost 2,000 times! And a lot of the reviews were very positive. So we gave it a shot and everyone loves these brownies. Here is the recipe, just in case the links don't work, but I would suggest going to the site if you want to print the recipe up. They have different formats for printing...
Best Brownies
1/2 cup butter (I use margarine)
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour (I only grease) an 8" square pan.
In a large saucepan melt 1/2 cup butter. Remove from heat and stir in sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat in cocoa, flour, salt and baking powder. Spread batter into prepared pan.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes - do not overcook
There is a frosting recipe, but I'm not going to put it on here because I've never used it and so I have no idea how it will turn out. If you do try the frosting, let me know how it turns out!

I will say that when I'm melting the butter, I throw in a handful of milk chocolate chips. It makes them a little fudgier and chewier. If you decide to do it in the mini muffin pans, reduce the heat to 325 and then cook for 15-20 minutes. But, honestly, we probably won't do it in the mini muffin tins again. They just didn't cook up the same...
Let me know if you try the recipe out and what you think of it!

This Is The Song That Doesn't End
I think I'm going to lose my mind. My kids are sick. Red is getting worse. Little Bug is still very ill.... and now Baby Girl looks like she is getting it. She and Hubby had something else about a week ago - bad sore throat and a cough. The rest of us have had this upper respiratory infection. And now... well, I think she's getting it. Do you know how long it's been since everyone in this house has been healthy??? BLAHGRRRWAAAAAAAAH! (That's one of my new words. It means I'm so frustrated with this crap that just one word won't cover how I feel)
I have wiped every surface known to man. I have washed bedding and clothes and towels and every other item they could possibly come in contact with. Repeatedly. I bought stock in Lysol and then bought a few hundred cases to fumigate my home. You know, the stuff that is supposed to kill 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and germs? Apparently this virus is one of the .1% not covered. It won't die. I am waging a war and I am losing. Badly.
I'm not ready to wave the white flag of defeat just yet. We are replacing toothbrushes and possibly pillows. I'm going to take the kids outside tomorrow (it was in the 80's today, supposed to be about the same tomorrow... no harm in going out and eating lunch or something) and then I'm going to set of a nuclear Lysol bomb in my house.
As soon as the fallout has dissipated, we will return to our home. And maybe, just maybe we can get healthy again. Now, where did I put that gas mask?

La La La La Lemon
Do any of you remember that song? Bert and Ernie sing it on Sesame Street. I tried to add it to my play list, but they don't have it. I found a YouTube video... and I'm going to go ahead and post it. It's not Bert and Ernie singing it... it's someone who has taken some anime and put it together. They did a good job...

Okay, the whole point of that was to tell you that my post today is going to be just as random as that song. What an intro! Do you think I could have been any more long winded? Wait... is it "long fingered" when you're typing?? MOVIN ON!!
I showed my blog to the women last night at our Creative Ladies night and I think it went really well! Some were very interested and I was pleased to hear that a couple of them have blogs themselves! It was fun to share stories and swap blog ideas and thoughts with them. Who knows, maybe there will be some new bloggers because of it :) And it was fun to get out of the house. I've felt a little cabin feverish the last little while because of illness. It was good to get out. And speaking of cabin fever....
Little Bug is sick. HORRIBLY sick. I got home last night and he was asleep. He started coughing, but was still asleep. I decided to try and rub some Vicks menthol stuff on him. Woke him up. He didn't go back to sleep till 3:00 - which means I didn't go to sleep till 3:00 either.
Red is coughing a lot this morning. Enough said.
My Grandma is in Salt Lake City today to see an eye specialist. They found something called a "freckle" in her eye and her regular doctor was concerned because it can be cancerous. Would you mind saying a quick prayer for her today? I talked to her yesterday and I know she's worried. She's an AMAZING woman! I could write post after post about the memories I have of her... hmm... maybe I will write about her in the next few days!
I didn't get to watch most of American Idol last night... but I did see the last one - David something or other. And I've decided he's going to win. They should just end the contest now. The boy is A-MA-ZING! Loved his performance last night!
By the way, I won the duel. And the prize was a pat on the back. So, here I go... pat pat pat. That was a lot less satisfying than I thought it would be... perhaps I'll reward myself with a brownie breakfast. Yeah. That would work!
Well, I'm off... I have two schools to call, a bus to cancel, medicine to administer, movies to put in for one kid and throw two others back into bed. I wish I could throw myself back in bed...
LA LA LA LINOLEUM!!
**Update** I found the Sesame Street version of the song... just had to post it to... in case we have any SS purists out there... although, I like the BNL version in the other video :)

The Great Brownie Experiment Yes. Yes, I did lick the spatula.

ANYWAY, yesterday I FINALLY got to make my brownies. And I think they turned out really well. I have a recipe that is soooo good! To me, they taste like brownies you get in a box. The only trouble I had was that I mixed them entirely by hand. So, when you see little white bits in the photos, it's flour that I didn't get stirred in all the way. But that didn't stop us from eating a bunch of them last night!
I did a little research before popping them in the oven and found that they needed to be baked at a little lower temperature than what you would normally use - 325 instead of 350. One pan of brownies baked for 15 minutes and the other for 17. I don't know why... they went in at the same time, same size of pan, same amount of batter in each cup... I think it's just my oven.
Another thing I learned in my research is that you shouldn't fully bake your brownies because they will keep baking in the pan! Which is why my brownies usually end up like rocks.... So, you should pull them out just before they are really finished. For the mini muffin tins I baked them till they were done and then popped them out of the pan so that they could release the heat faster. Again, the little white spots are flour... sigh... and all the little holes on top? That just seems to be how this recipe is. It's done that every time I've made these.

The brownies were a big hit! The edges aren't as chewy as normal brownies though, so, in that respect, I was a little disappointed. I was hoping for a bite of all edge and I just didn't get it. Perhaps I'll have to get the wonder pan after all!

Interesting
I was wondering, for those parents out there that have kids with some form of autism, have you ever experienced this?? All day today Little Bug has been saying things. He's not stimming as much. He's calmer.
And then Hubby showed me the article about fevers improving symptoms of autism. I had never heard that. But we witnessed it today! He had a fever awhile ago and when I asked him if he wanted to play with "Buzz toys or animals" he said, "animals". He wanted to watch "Lion King" today and I wouldn't let him. It makes him mad. He screams and cries at certain parts that are intense. Usually, when I won't let him watch it he bangs his head. Today he just picked a different movie and it was no big deal.
I'm curious if any of you other mom's who have kids with autism have ever noticed this?? The article I linked to is very interesting... it really made me think...

Doing the Happy Dance
I know... I'm a blogging fool today... but I just had to share this! Little Bug is home sick today... (no, that's not what I'm happy about!) He wanted to play with his dinosaurs - they are located in a big box in his closet... on the top shelf. So, he has to find someone to help him. Today I asked him to say "dinosaurs" before I got the box down. He scrunched up his face in concentration and then said "diah.....sore... dinah.... sar.... diahsar... dinahsar". WOOHOO!! He was so pleased with himself for saying it! We had a happy dance party!
After the "dinahsars" he wanted the Magnetix down... I tried to get him to say "magnet", but he just stared at me. So, I asked him to sign "help please" and he did!!!
Moving on in our morning... he wanted another bowl of cereal. I asked him to say "cereal" and he wouldn't. But, after much prompting, and hand over hand example, he did finally sign it. Then I wanted him to say or sign milk. He was frustrated. I don't usually make him work this hard for the things he wants (I'm a super huge pushover when it comes to him... bad, I know). He slapped his leg in frustration. But I kept asking. Eventually he signed it and then he said in a rather annoyed voice "EAT NOW! EAT!!" Not many parents would take that kind of attitude from their young kids, but I was THRILLED!! He was letting me know that my little games were NOT ACCEPTABLE! He was done and was going to eat without further delay thankyouverymuch!
I have a smile on my face a mile wide!! What a fantastic day!

We're Sorry, The Number You Have Called Has Been Disconnected or is No Longer In Service
Sometimes I am tempted to disconnect the phone... at least for a little while. You see, Red has a friend that calls all. the. time. I'm not exaggerating. He will call, talk to Red for 20 minutes, get off the phone and call again 10 minutes later. He called at 8:00 yesterday morning and talked for about 5 minutes before we made Red get off to go to church.
I stayed home from church yesterday (Baby Girl is almost better, but Little Bug is now getting worse... up all night with a cough :P) and he tried to call every 10 minutes. I didn't answer. When Red and Hubby got home from church, we wanted to play a few games with the family. The phone started ringing again. I checked the caller ID and then we didn't answer. To me, the phone is a convenience in my home. Just because someone calls, does not mean I have to answer. After we were done playing games, he called again and we let Red talk.
Fast forward to 5:12 this morning... we got a phone call. Now, most early morning phone calls have either been people wanting into our community (we're gated) or family, calling with bad news. But today... well, today it was the friend. Hubby answered and whoever it was tried to hang up and start dialing again. Didn't work. Then they hung up. We checked the caller ID - it was Red's friend's home. GRRR! I know this kid's Dad works nights - and so they may have accidentally hit redial trying to call him, but it called us... and it woke Little Bug. Which means that I'm annoyed. Once Little Bug is awake - he won't go back to sleep. And he's sick... he needed those extra two hours...
We have set down rules about the phone. If we didn't, this kid would keep Red on the phone for hours... normally I would say, "Why don't you just ask him to come play?" But we just can't seem to shake this illness... hopefully Little Bug will get through it and all will be well.
Anyway, we've told Red that he can only accept two phone calls a day, 15 minutes each time. I think that's plenty for a 9 year old boy...
What would you do? Would you continue to screen calls? Or do you think we are overreacting? Should we just let them talk as long as they would like? I like this kid - but I think these boys need to be outside playing, not inside on the phone. Thoughts??

Money Doesn't Grow on Trees
There are so many places to see, people to visit, things to do in this world. Too bad money always seems to get in the way of most of these things. For example: I would love to go to Hawaii tomorrow. But, Hubby has to work, so that we can pay bills, so that the collectors don't show up on the door demanding our first born child... wait... there are days when I just might take them up on that... hmmmm.... MOVING ON!
We decided to make a Family Fun Money bucket. It's just an old plastic jar, but we have decided to use it for all our loose change. Tonight, as a family, we took a vote as to what to save our money for. It was unanimous.

Everyone is eager to save our money to get passes to Disneyland! It's going to take us awhile to get all the money saved up, but we think we can have it by September or mid October. After we sat down and figured out how much we needed to reach our goal, the kids ran for their banks. Baby Girl gave me everything in her bank but the pennies (she loves those the best) and Red contributed the last of his birthday money. I insisted that they had a choice - they didn't have to put all of it in, but they are excited and wanted to do it. Red even asked if he could do extra chores around the house to earn money to put in the fund! It's going to be a great experience for my kids. They will learn about setting goals, saving money and then the sweet joy of reward! Wish us luck!

I Love My Mom
I had saved that story about Red and the military for a day when I didn't have anything to blog about. I got up this morning, listed of a bunch of things I wanted to get done today (all of them very boring) and decided that today would be a good day to share that story because I couldn't think of anything else but my to-do list. And now I'm back. Because I thought of something that I would really love to share with you today...
It's my Mom's birthday today! I was going to put up a bunch of pictures of her, but almost all of the ones I could find had the kids in them! (And Hubby still doesn't want their pictures up... so I'm honoring that :P) She loves my kids! She will sit and play games or dolls or read stories... whatever they would like to do, she's willing. She has even offered to take all three of them for a week this summer!
She's always been someone that I could talk to. She is one of those amazing listeners who will hear you out without interrupting or changing the subject. She would wait up for me when I went out with friends or on dates. It wasn't so much to make sure that I got home on time (although, I'm sure that was part of it), but she loved (or at least pretended to love) to hear about the things I did. And I really treasured those times.
I remember seeing my Mom read a lot when I was a kid and she used to read to us all the time. I think that this is where I get my great love of reading. She has also always been a spiritual giant in my life. Whenever I've had a problem, she has given spiritual advice first. I know she prays for us. I can feel it.
She hates the fact that we live in California. She's pretty sure that we will all die from:
a - earthquakes
b - air pollution
c - gang violence
d - any other bad thing you may have ever heard about Southern California!
Some might get really annoyed by this, but for me, it's just another way that she shows that she cares!
One thing that I have always loved about my Mom is that she not only listens to, but asks for my opinions. She values my thoughts. Even though some of my thoughts gave her a pretty rough time during my teen years (Sorry Mom!), I think she still tried to pull good things out of it... if there WAS anything good to pull.
She's caring and compassionate, but, she doesn't take things too seriously. She likes to laugh and be silly and have a great time.
My parents are planning to come this fall for Little Bug's Birthday. They know that this is going to be a hard time for me. They have already asked for the time off and they want us to all go to Disneyland together (I'm game!). They want to be here to support my family and to celebrate a wonderful little boy!
Oh, and did I mention that she loves Jon Schmidt? First few songs on the playlist are his... (just for you Mom!!)
I am so blessed to have her as my Mom and my friend! (Thanks for everything Mom - I love you!)

Military Service
When my in-laws were here, my FIL spoke a few times of his service in the military. He was stationed in this area for a few years and would make comments about how it had or hadn't changed.
Red was pretty enthralled with the whole thing. He asked me "How old do you have to be to join the military?" I wanted to tell him 50... because the whole idea of my baby going to war at any point in time scares the crud out of me. I would be proud of him, yet terrified. But, ya know, that whole honesty thing kicked in and I responded with the truth, "18" - which, even as I type it, knowing my 9 year old is HALF WAY to 18, it sounds SO YOUNG.
Red replied, "When I turn 18 I'm going to join the Air Force. And when I'm done in the Air Force I'm going to join the Ground Force." Makes sense to me...

Red Light, Green Light
Wahoo! I got the green light to show my blog at the meeting. I'm trying to think if I've ever said anything snarky about anyone from church on here. I don't think I have... I guess it would serve me right if they read it, eh? That would teach me to only speak kindly of others! But I can't think of a time when I would have... hmmm... maybe I should take my Hubby's advice and dig through the archives just to be sure! Not that anyone would sit and read all 10 billion of my posts... that's kind of an arrogant thought, isn't it? ANYWAY, I will have access to a computer and Internet for my blog reveal. We'll see how it goes. I know there are some who think blogging is a huge waste of time. And, maybe it is. But for me, it's an outlet to be creative and keep a weird kind of journal. A borderline obnoxious journal, but still! Something is better than nothing, right?
WAIT!! STOP THE PRESSES! I just hit the spell check key to just see if it MIGHT be working and guess what! Lots and lots of yellow highlighted words! HURRAH! You will no longer have to suffer through my inability to spell things correctly! You can all breathe a collective sigh of relief!

Trying Again...
Okay... I made the bricks darker... does that help at all? It looks better to me... but I'm not sure if that's just me WANTING it to be okay (I like the bricks) or if it really does look better... help!!

Changes -
Okay... is it too hard to read on the bricks backdrop??

Wanna Help?
I'm hoping to get the green light to share my blog at a meeting called "Creative Ladies" next week. We meet once a month, share a creative project we've been working on and then we learn a new skill. This month we will learn how to make soap! I'm really excited!
But, I need your help with the whole blog look. I have tons of headers. TONS!! Would you mind going through (this isn't even a 10th of what I have) and just voting in the comments? Just leave a little description of the one you like best... the winner will be the one that I use. I know there are tons to look at... but if you have a moment, I would sure appreciate it!

**Update - I started this post last night so that I could have time to download all of the headers... I finished this post this morning, but forgot to change the time stamp... for those of you who are watching the duel... I don't want anyone to think I'm trying to pull a fast one :)

I Wonder...
... do you ever get cofused when you come to my blog? I change the look so often... does it ever throw you off?
... how do people find my blog anyway? And why do y'all keep coming back? (Not that I'm complaining... just curious)
... who in the world is staying on my blog for more than an hour? (I have STAT counter) Do you enjoy the play list or what?
... will Blogger EVER fix spell check??
... how many times a day do you think I can change the look of my blog? I just might try that one of these days...
... if I were to show my blog at a meeting about creativity (to show the look of the blog as my "talent") would you all write some wonderful things about me and make me look good?
I was just wondering....

OH, Give Me a Home....
Okay, I don't want a home where the buffalo roam, but I would like an illness free zone somewhere. Baby Girl was better, but she's sick again. The main symptoms are cough, fevers and a desire to be awake. At unholy hours... like 4 a.m. She was up for the day at 4. I’m just a tad on the tired side.
Little Bug came home with a note from his teacher saying that he had thrown up... and they didn’t call me! They changed his shirt and kept on going. He doesn’t have a fever and he isn’t acting sick. And honestly, he is really sensitive to smells and has a gag reflex you wouldn’t believe! So, he may have just smelled something gross and lost it. But, shouldn’t they have called me? They couldn’t get him to change his shorts, so he had to wear his puke-y ones for the rest of the day... is it just me, or is that wrong on many levels?
Sigh... anyway, Hubby has a sore throat and a cough. My cough is coming back... I think it may be from a lack of sleep. Go figure. Red is the only healthy one in the family and last night I threatened to ground him if he got sick. He stared at me and said, "I don’t know how to not get sick! Mom!! That’s not fair!" Well, life isn’t fair, is it? What can I say? I'm a mean mom... and I'm tired of sickness!

I Yell At Everything
I noticed something rather odd about myself today. I talk to everything - including inanimate objects.
This morning I dropped a plastic bowl and "shhhh"-ed it.
The other day I spilled some water and I yelled "NO! STOP!" I don’t know why. Maybe I thought the water might feel badly about making such a mess and quit flowing all over the floor.
I slammed my finger in the door and said, "Stupid door!" as if it had closed itself ON PURPOSE, instead of ME being the stupid one in this instance.
I was folding laundry and a pair of socks rolled away from me... to which I instantly proclaimed "Get back here!" Because, ya know, socks do that. They come when called.
I think I have a problem. Does anyone else do this? Or is it just me?

Clever
Some of you may remember when I blogged about this:

The wonder pan that makes all edge brownies. I have been coveting this pan ever since that day. But then I got on Amazon to read some reviews... they were all positive, but one person had written in and asked "Why don't you just use muffin tins?"
And I sat.
And stared.
And thought to myself... "Brilliant!"
So, as an edge lover, I am going to make brownies using my mini muffin tins! I'll let you know how they turn out!

Cheap Skate
Baby Girl and I headed out for our little Girly Adventure yesterday. I called around to a few nail places to ask about pedicures.... um... $20 was the lowest price. So it would have been $40 for the two of us... and I just couldn't do it! I couldn't spend $40 for something that was going to take 20 minutes. Just call me Ebenezer. So, we changed plans. I told Baby Girl that if she would be really good during her hair cut, then we would buy some polish (that's the only thing she cares about anyway) and go home and paint our toes. It worked. She sat really still, kept her head straight (for the most part) and didn't fuss or cry. I love bribing my kids! We went to one of the little jewelry stores in the mall and found some polish that was buy one get one 50% off. So we bought a few and came home and painted toes! Her's are blue with pink flowers and mine are red with black swirls. I would show you pictures, but, um, I'm no artist! And they don't really look that great... maybe if I perfect my technique, then I'll share some photos!
In other news... Baby Girl had fevers last night, started coughing, and is fairly miserable this morning. Little Bug is coughing, but seems to feel okay. Hubby has a sore throat and seems to feel pretty nasty. I've always been good at sharing... and I love my family enough to share the very best with them! Including all viruses and bacteria. BLAH!

Updates
1st update: So... it's 8:27 and I'm still at home. Hubby got a call last night and there is a couple in our ward that is separating. She needs help moving a few things out. So, he's going to go and help. And stuff. Sigh. I'm glad he is able and willing to help when and where he can. But you have no idea how many times these service days have come on days that I've been out and about enjoying the day.
I will still get out... it just might not be till Monday. And I'm taking Baby Girl. I think we are going to have a girly girl day. You see, I have a cousin (Hi Mandy!) who takes her girls out for pedicures! It looks like so much fun... and Baby Girl loves to have her toes painted. So, we are going to get hair cuts and pedicures! I hope it will be fun... I'll let you know how it goes....
2nd update: The Pinewood Derby... sigh. It's a good thing I didn't go. I guess one of the leaders was a little... um... overzealous about a few things. I know it would have made me mad. ANYWAY, Red's car did not win a single race. Not one. Apparently we have NO IDEA how to make a good Derby car. I guess he got a little sad, but really, overall did okay. And he did win a couple of prizes! He won "Most Realistic" and "Judges Favorite"! I guess that both of the judges were teachers :) They made the comment that they just HAD to pick Red's car because of their profession! He was pretty tickled about that.
3rd update: I think we're going to start planning another trip to DisneyLand. We got online and found out that there is a Southern California annual pass that we can get. It's a little bit less money than the 3 day park hopper ticket. There are a lot of blackout dates, but we wouldn't want to go during any of those times anyway! It probably won't be till this fall, but we're already plotting and planning our way back!
Well, that's about it for us today. I'll give another update if Baby Girl and I end up going out later today or if we wait till Monday. Have a wonderful weekend!

Banished
I have just been informed that I will not be allowed to be at home tomorrow, as long as I'm feeling better. I need to do whatever it takes to get well in 12 hours.
I am to go garage sale shopping and then out and about to do whatever I'd like to do! Anyone want to come along??
I want to do this so bad... I feel like I've been in prison for a couple of weeks now... my cough has gotten better as the day has gone on. I'm still not going to go to the Pinewood Derby though. But garage sales... those would be outside. I wouldn't be exposing everyone to my germy germs. That would be okay... right??

Get The Lead Out
Tonight is the Pinewood Derby. I’m a little nervous for Red... last year he didn’t win one race. Not one. He was a pretty darn good sport about the whole thing!
He and Hubby worked hard on the car this year. Last year was a little... um... rushed. They may have put it off till the last minute and stuff... but this year they did great. They started working on it last week and did a little bit here and there till they were able to finish last night. Red and I worked on the paint stuff and I think it turned out pretty good!
Unfortunately, I won’t be there tonight. Who knew that standing in the misty, foggy, windy, cold weather at DisneyLand was bad for someone recovering from an upper respiratory infection? My cough is back and I don’t intend on sharing it with others. So, I won't be able to see if there are any victories this evening... I hope that there are!
But, win or lose, the car looks awesome!
(The little humpty-dumpty guy is one of the lead weights that Red painted and decorated!)

The Rundown
Really, our trip was good. Just frustrating... I had the thought to check the weather again yesterday morning and didn't do it. :P Anyway, besides the cold temperatures, it was a good day! We got there and spent all of the morning in TomorrowLand. We didn't have to stand in line for very long for any of the rides. I think that 15 minutes was our longest wait!
Baby Girl and I rode on the rockets right as you come in. Then Red and Hubby rode Space Tours. Then Baby Girl and I jumped on Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters. While we were there we got to see Buzz Lightyear and Little Bug was pretty excited about that! Then Red and I got on Space Mountain... he was not happy and almost burst into tears a time or two. He was scared stiff... but I kept asking him to just try... when we got off the ride he was laughing and was really having a lot of fun. Then we went to the Jedi Training. None of my kids got picked, but they still had a good time. After that we went to FantasyLand and everyone rode Dumbo - Little Bug didn't love it, but he didn't cry the whole time - so that was progress! Then Red, Baby Girl and I jumped on the tea cups. After that, Baby Girl wanted to see the Princesses. So, we found the place and got in line. Red, Little Bug and Hubby headed to Toon Town. We waited. And waited. And this is where the cold really set in. We froze our tails off because we were no longer moving. Hubby, Red and Little Bug came back after riding the Toon Town roller coaster. Now, please remember our version of Princesses....

The boys came back with Red talking about how cool the little roller coaster was and Baby Girl was done. She didn't want to wait in the line any more. She was EXTREMELY annoyed that they had gone on a ride without her. We had been waiting in line for half an hour and probably had another 15 minutes till we got to the Princesses. She hopped out of line and took off for Toon Town. We tried to talk her into waiting, but she wanted to ride the rides. So, we left. As we walked away Cinderella walked past and we called out to her. She blew Baby Girl a kiss and that was it. Baby Girl was completely content with her Princess experience. She, Red and I went and rode the roller coaster in Toon Town. Then we went and ate at Pizza Port back in TomorrowLand. We got everyone a small souvenir and looked at getting sweatshirts so that we could stay a little longer. We could have come back to the park again for the price we would have paid for sweatshirts... so that was a no go. We all rode the Astro Blaster again - and Little Bug did okay. Covered his ears most of the time, but no crying! Then the sun started to set. And Baby Girl's lips started to turn blue... so, Hubby took her and Little Bug to the car so that Red and I could ride Star Tours. Baby Girl was not happy. She wanted to stay and ride more rides. But we got her a lollipop, so she calmed down quite a bit! Red and I finished our ride and met the others at the car. Then we were off.
We didn't get to see the parade and about half of the park! We didn't step foot in FrontierLand or New Orleans Square or anything on that side of the park. We just didn't have time. But, now we know how to get there. We know that Little Bug has fun and will tolerate the rides. We know we can go to DisneyLand and be outnumbered (3 kids vs. 2 adults) and still make it out of the park alive. We also know that we should pack for any and every kind of weather! And now that we know these things, we can't wait to go back!

Stupid Weatherman
So... the weather said it was supposed to be "72 with a light breeze". Try "completely foggy, overcast, never hit 60 and windy". We were in shorts and short sleeves. Did you know you could get hypothermia at DisneyLand? It's true... well, maybe not really, but it felt true. I'll have to give you a complete run down tomorrow. Right now, I'm exhausted. It's 9:13 PM and I am going to bed!!

Maybe... Just Maybe....
If the stars and moon line up just right... I think we will be able to go to DisneyLand! Hurrah! I wanted to surprise the kids completely... as in, they won't know we are going to DisneyLand till we pull in the parking lot, kind of surprise! But, I'm starting to rethink that. We will only have one day in the park. I want to plan things out to some degree. And that will require their input. I am pretty sure that Red will want to do Star Tours and Jedi Training. Little Bug is good with just about anything Pixar, but I'm not sure if he will get on any of the rides (the one I was SURE he would love, Jungle Cruise, is closed for the time being, of course). At first I thought that Baby Girl would want to see every Princess possible. But then I started to think about it... she only REALLY knows ONE Disney Princess. She has never seen "Aladdin"

She's seen "Sleeping Beauty".... once

Malificent scared her pretty darn good...

She's seen "Beauty and the Beast"... um... once, a couple of years ago, I think...

And I can't remember ever watching "Snow White" with her

Then we have "The Little Mermaid"... and we didn't watch the whole thing...

because along with Ariel came this lovely little lady...

And that leaves us with "Cinderella" - the ONLY DISNEY PRINCESS BABY GIRL KNOWS!!

Yep - the only one. And then I realized: we just aren't princess-y kind of girls! Our princesses look more like this:

She likes to dress up as a princess sometimes, but she would rather be out riding her bike and playing in the dirt. I know she'll still want to see the Princesses, but I don't think it will be as big of a deal as I had first thought. I think she'll enjoy seeing characters from Toy Story or Winnie the Pooh just as much - if not more since those are the characters she will recognize!
So, wish us good luck (and good health!) as we head out on our trip... it's going to be quite an adventure!

Why Oh Why?
My kids have this Monday off to observe "Lincoln's Birthday". They have next Monday off to observe "Washington's Birthday".
WHY??
Who in the world thought this would be a good idea? Don't you think the other Presidents will feel a little left out? Don't you think that we should go back to just "President's Day"? And we will honor ALL of them on JUST ONE DAY! And then... well, then I could be happy. My children wouldn't be home making me crazy. They would be at school making their teachers crazy. And I'm okay with that. So, please - PLEASE! Can we just go back to one holiday? My children's lives and my sanity depend on it...
***Update... I just saw a commercial for a Casino that is a little ways from our home... they have proclaimed it "President's Month". I'm so glad my kids don't go to school THERE!

The Defender
Okay - I did not realize how HARD it would be for me to stay away from the computer yesterday! So. Let me explain... yesterday Hubby was going to fast (it's something we do in our church - we don't eat food and try to focus on our prayers and spiritual things) but I didn't feel that I could go without food because I still wasn't feeling well (I'm feeling TONS better today). So I asked him, jokingly, what he thought I should fast from... and he said the computer. Then he laughed and said something to the effect of "No, you should fast from something you CAN DO!" :[ That's supposed to be an angry face...it looks kind of like a vampire... ANYWAY, I accepted his challenge on one condition... he had to blog for me. I'm still trying to decide if that was a good idea or not. And now, it's time for me to CLARIFY almost everything he said! Are you ready??

1. a shy and devilishly handsome young man - okay - so that part was true! I thought he was SOOOO cute the first time I saw him and he wasn't just shy... he was completely and totally terrified of girls. Didn't like to talk to them for the first few weeks. Eventually all the girls at church wore him down!
2. When all of a sudden Mejojac, or Mejoly as she was then known, peeks out of the room across the hall and yells "Come on, get a spine you wimp and just ask her out!!". -partially true - I did peek my head out the hall and call him names. But he forgot to mention that I called him yellow and a chicken too. He also forgot to mention that when he called me to ask me out, he asked if I remembered who he was and I said, "Yeah, you're the yellow chicken" (honestly, I thought he was going to ask me if I would ask the girl across the hall out for him). Of course, he being the very sweet young man that he was said, "Yeah... the chicken wants to know if you'd like to go to dinner". Embarrassed? Heck yeah...
3. We commenced dating and I was soon introduced to this underworld of strange music and mosh pits in run down houses on the bad side of town. Although I still like some of that old music I will always have a problem with the 'Skankin Pickle' - again, a partial truth... we went to a concert in Pocatello, Idaho. It was supposed to be at the University there. But, when we got there, a sign was up directing us to a new location... it ended up in a little shack under one of the over passes. And the group that we had gone to see, The Aquabats, had van trouble and didn't make it. Skankin Pickle is just the name of a ska band.
4. they used to call her 'Moose' - they did call me 'Moose'. They also called me Missy Jo, Miss, Miss Lissa, My Lissa, Lissa, Jo, Joey, and Pancho. Just a few of the nick names from high school and college
5. she has a certain affinity for motorcycle gangs. There was a time when she used to hang out with bikers and all sorts of transient types. She would just stop them in the middle of the road and chat - okay - so this is the most MISLEADING of all the statements... but, technically true. I did, at one point, really like motorcycles... Hubby rode one for a job one summer. I belonged to HIS motorcycle gang. And I was a flagger for road construction... so yes, I stopped travelers in the middle of the road all of the time.

The rest is fairly accurate. Although I'm not sure that 3 kids constitutes "a bunch" and I wouldn't say that he "domesticated me". I'm not a wild animal... I don't think...
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Hubby's blog post yesterday... I know I did! I'm hoping that he will do it again... maybe... someday....

Guest Post

So this is what happens when you tease your wife about how much time she spends blogging. You end up writing a post so that she doesn't lose some big challenge about posting every day while she "sufferingly" takes a day off. She said I should just write about whatever. Her mistake.

So it all started about 11 years ago with a shy and devilishly handsome young man standing outside a college dorm room trying to muster the courage to ask a certain young lady out on a date. When all of a sudden Mejojac, or Mejoly as she was then known, peeks out of the room across the hall and yells "Come on, get a spine you wimp and just ask her out!!". Well as you can imagine I was immediately endeared to Mejoly's charm, not to mention she was pretty easy on the eyes. So I decided to ask her out instead, after all she had already broken the ice.

We commenced dating and I was soon introduced to this underworld of strange music and mosh pits in run down houses on the bad side of town. Although I still like some of that old music I will always have a problem with the 'Skankin Pickle'. You might think she is this sweet innocent thing but back in the day they used to call her 'Moose' and she has a certain affinity for motorcycle gangs. There was a time when she used to hang out with bikers and all sorts of transient types. She would just stop them in the middle of the road and chat! Anyway, I rescued her from all that nonsense and domesticated her. She may never forgive me.

One thing you must understand about me is that I'm hopelessly dull. I try to be more exciting but I always get distracted along the way. Simple minds, simple pleasures. So after we got married I decided to surprise her by decorating our apartment. Well she was a good sport about it but I could tell it just didn't cut the mustard. I had all of our pictures hanging at the same height all around the room equidistant from one another. It was very orderly but not "fun" enough. So I decided that the only other way to get more excitement in her life was to have a bunch of kids. Again, not the excitement she was probably looking for but as always she's been a trooper.

Getting desperate to add more excitement to her life I've decided that every few months we should pack up and move. Sometimes it's for a new job, others it's just for the heck of it. Strike three, and hence this blog. She seems to have found her needed excitement in sharing our life experiences with a bunch of total strangers. This distresses me to no end, but she enjoys it so I try to bite my lip and go along with it. And as you can see she has devised a clever new plan to stop me from complaining too much. So it is likely that when she is finally fed up with my griping again you'll probably see another post from me. In the mean time Moose Junior is begging me to come and watch her blow bubbles. "Please daddy, please, please, please, please . . ." When did I become such a softy.

Calling All Disney-ites
I need advice from anyone who has ever been to Disneyland! If you only had one day in the park, what would you see? Where would you eat? What rides would you HAVE to get on? Please keep in mind that my kids are 9,7 and 4 years old. I'm trying to think positively and start planning things out... maybe it's a little premature, but I'm just going to go for it. We will be healthy. We are going to the park!
I visited Daring Young Mom's blog because she asked some similar questions just a few days ago. But now I'm asking you guys... give me the low down on all things from the Magic Kingdom! What are your best Disney tips?

The One Sound
There is no other noise in the world that gets me moving faster than the sound of a child coughing like they are going to puke. Doesn't matter how sick I am. I will run to that child to try and avert disaster. Hubby is the same way. Unfortunately, we weren't fast enough this morning... sigh. Baby Girl is sick. I'm not sure if it's the same thing that I have... she has a fever, but I never had the upset stomach... not even nausea. So, either the virus has different effects on different people, or it's mutating and changing (they can do that... it's their super power), or this is a completely NEW virus in my home. Wouldn't that be fun?
Stomach flu+ upper respitory infection = anguish, pain, suffering... the list goes on.
I was hoping that the kids would not get this crap. Red coughed for most of the night and now Baby Girl is ill.... hopefully Little Bug won't get it. When he gets sick, he's down and out for weeks. His immune system just can't seem to take it. Hopefully everyone will be better before Thursday. That's our last day to use our tickets to DisneyLand ... anyone have any amazing home remedies they'd like to share that just might help us get better faster?

Diagnosis
So, I caved and went to the doctor this morning. Upper respitory infection - viral. Meaning: we can't give you anything to relieve your suffering, but we will gladly take your money! Thanks for stopping by!
Sigh... I do feel a little bit better, but not much. Hubby stayed home for part of the day again today. He took me to the doctor, ran some errands, and then he went to a meeting to set education goals for Little Bug (IEP). A friend took Baby Girl for the day and another gal from church brought dinner tonight. I always feel silly having others help me out, but it was so appreciated! Baby Girl finally had someone pay attention to her and my poor little family finally got some real food. Tonight they feasted on roast chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls and Oreo Klondike bars for dessert. Heaven!
And now I'm off! The doctors orders were "bed rest and fluids". So I spent the day watching "Miss Potter" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie" and sipping and hot Tang - I know it sounds weird, but it soothes my throat. I'm tired, but every time I lay down I burst into a fit of coughing. So, I'm resting upright. Now I just have to decide what movie will keep me company this evening. Any suggestions?

Blah Blah Blah
Still sick. I won't be getting around to anyone's blogs today... sorry. Red has a performance tonight that I'm going to miss. I hate that. Anyway, I'm going to lurk around the house and try to sleep. That got me thinking... does anyone lurk here on my blog? Perhaps it's a bit presumptious to think that there are people reading, but not commenting, but I've always been curious. So, if you're a lurker, why don't you come on out and play? I promise not to breathe on you. If you're not a lurker, I just want to say thanks for all the wonderful comments you leave. They always brighten my day and stuff :)
Now, I'm off to live in my cave of blankets. And to those of you who are also sick - I hope you're feeling better today. Let's have a race to see who can be healthy the fastest.. on your mark, get set, go!

Who Needs Flowers?

The man in this picture....

is the most wonderful man on the planet. I was so sick today... I'm thinking it's a flu bug... my joints hurt and I can barely move (I'm at the computer right now because I'm doped up on drugs thankyouverymuch). He called me this morning while he was at work to check on me. I told him I was "Oday" because my head is really stuffy. He came home.

He came home and got Little Bug off to school. Did the dishes. Grabbed the grocery list and went to town. And waited on me hand and foot. He made sure I stayed in bed all day(he's at a Young Men's activity right now, so I'm being sneaky). He brought me the mini DVD player so that I could watch "Persuasion" (thank you Ally!). He made sure I was medicated and had plenty of fluids. He had to go back to work this afternoon, but he stayed a few extra minutes so that I could soak in the tub just a little bit longer.
He's so good to me. And I totally deserve it!

Okay, maybe I don't deserve it... but I'll take it anyway...

Breathe In, Breathe Out
My chest feels like I have cinder blocks sitting on it. I slept under 4 blankets last night and was still cold. When I cough, I feel like someone is lighting a fire in my lungs. My throat is raw and swollen. I felt fine most of the day yesterday. And then last night it slammed into me...Red appears to be having some of the same symptoms.
This can't happen - not now! We can't get sick!! I won't allow it. We are supposed to go to DisneyLand next week! WE CAN'T BE SICK. :( I'm so frustrated by the thought of having to cancel our trip. I know it's petty and silly, but I've been kind of an emotional basketcase in the last month and a half (see, here, here, here and here - man, I've been really whiney this year). This trip was a kind of bright spot on the horizon. We haven't told the kids about it, so there won't be any disappointment on their part, but there would be on mine. BIG FAT SIGH! The thing that annoys me the most? I just finished an antibiotic. Yesterday. You'd think that would have killed off any crazy viruses or bacteria or whatever decided to enter my body.
I feel like I'm falling apart at the ripe old age of 31. Emotionally - I feel like I've hit a brick wall. There is no moving forward at this point. Physicall - I'm obviously ill and rather annoyed about it. Mentally - well, I didn't have much mental capability to begin with, but what I did have feels like it's being sucked out of me by some vampire who won't be satisfied till my brain resembles silly putty.
Okay - I'm done now... I'm going to put a movie on for the kids and crawl back into bed. Hope your day is TONS better than mine!

X-Ray Vision
I now know what I would want my super power to be. At first I thought I'd love to fly, then I thought I'd like to be able to be in two places at once, then I wanted to be able to read minds. But, I soon realized that those super powers would probably just cause me more headaches and stress. If I could fly, people would always be asking me to zip them around the globe or deliver messages or packages or some sort of nonsense. If I could be in two places at once that means I'd have to do twice as much work. If I could read minds I would know what Little Bug is thinking, but really, I think that just might be a double edged sword.
So, now, I'd like to have x-ray vision - and I only want to be able to use my power when there is great need. For example: if you've got a child who decides to freak out when asked to hold still for an x-ray - that would be considered "great need".
We tried to get x-rays today on the injured foot. Little Bug kicked so hard that he moved the table across the room. I burst into tears and the poor x-ray tech didn't know what to do with either of us. I REALLY don't think it's broken, but I called the doctor to see what she wanted us to do. She wants us to go to urgent care at one of the hospitals, have him sedated, and then take the x-ray. This is the ABSOLUTE last thing I want to do. We've decided to give him a few days and see. I know. I'm terrible. But you have to understand how much Little Bug hates doctors. He cries when we drive past hospitals. If you take him into a room that even remotely looks like a doctors office he will go crazy. Meltdown doesn't even begin to cover what happens to that boy when doctors are involved. And having a doctor or nurse stick needles into him really won't help his fears. I can guarantee it.
I really really REALLY believe that it is a sprain. I don't think it's broken. The doctor doesn't think it's broken. She just wants to make sure... and I do too, but I'm not sure that the sacrifice is worth it. It's not swollen, discolored, or tender to touch. He walks and runs on it - just with a little bit of a limp.
So, hand over that "Bad Mom of the Year" award. I'm going to make him wait a few more days and then we'll see what happens... please don't lecture me on "sometimes we have to make our kids do things that they don't want to". I've beaten myself up on this one just fine on my own.

The Hinckley Challenge
I just wanted to pass this info onto you wonderful blogging buddies. A new website has been created called "The Hinckley Challenge". They are challenging everyone to read the Book of Mormon in 97 days. Starting today. President Hinckley had a great love for the Book of Mormon and gave us a challenge to read it a few years ago. I think it's a great way to honor his memory. There is a great tracking device that you can use to help follow your progress. Just thought I'd pass the info along in case anyone else was interested!

Parenting 101
Some people should have to take classes before they have children. Why is it that some parents just don't seem to care what their kids do? They just stand there and watch as their child harms another. I just don't get it.
Little Bug's school teacher arranged for us to go to a special music class yesterday. It's a class just for kids with autism and their families. There aren't a lot of activities where my kids get to interact together, so, I thought this would be good.
We show up and there is one other little boy there. You need to know that this kid is built like a tank. Solid from head to toe. Little Bug is a stick. He's as skinny as they come. He's strong and wiry, but no match for this other boy. Now, I know that both boys have autism. And with that comes a lack of understanding social boundaries. But I have an understanding of social boundaries. And you'd think that his mom, who, coincidentally, is a special ed teacher, would know these things.
So, when her son came running at Little Bug as hard as he could and then tackled him, I was surprised that she looked over, watched for a minute, but did nothing. Then this kid proceeded to try and wrestle with Bug and kept stepping on him. I was very nicely saying, "Get off of him please! You are hurting him." Trying to remain calm and all that jazz. He smashed Bug's face into the mat and stepped on his foot as he tried to get a better position. More polite pleading from me more distant watching from his mom. Finally, one of the teachers came over and helped. The mom looked over several times as this teacher pried her son off and she did nothing. Not a darn thing! She didn't come over to see what was going on or to stop her son.
Little Bug is limping. He doesn't want to put weight on that foot and he didn't want to put shoes on this morning. I don't think it's broken because when I move his foot around and put pressure on it, he doesn't flinch or cry. It just seems to bother him when he walks. I'm so annoyed. Again, I realize that this kid wasn't trying to hurt, he was playing. He was giggling and laughing - and not in a mean way like some kids might. Probably tackles and wrestles with his dad at home and he just doesn't understand not to do it to others. You should have seen Baby Girl run when this kid ran after her next! And again, mom did nothing. Good thing my girl is fast! He couldn't catch her and soon lost interest. I think the thing that bothered me the most is that the mom came over and tried to make small talk while I was comforting Little Bug. Never asked if he was okay or anything. He cried and cried and she asked me stupid questions about how long we'd lived in the area. Grrr....
So, how would you have dealt with this? I didn't say anything to her, but wish now that I had mentioned it - in a VERY polite way, of course. Would you have done anything??

I'll Cover Ya...
Does anyone out there know how to recover furniture? I bought two chairs last summer at a yard sale for $1 each. I now have the fabric that I want to use to recover one of them... not sure if I'll do both in the same fabric. They are going to be in different rooms and each room has a different color scheme. I don't want to make slip covers... They were only a dollar, so I'm not too worried about messing them up, but they are great chairs. They are comfortable and still in good condition. So, anyone out there know how to do this? Would I be better off to have a professional do it since the backs are curved? Any and all opinions and thoughts are welcome. I'm totally clueless on this...
P.S. One other thing... is anyone else having trouble with their spell check on Blogger? Mine hasn't worked for a few days now... I'm afraid y'all are learning just how horrid my spelling actually is. I depend on that back-up to cover my mistakes! Any ideas?

Stressed is Just Desserts Spelled Backwards...
I am not sure exactly how it works, but this is amazingly accurate. Read the full description before looking at the picture.
The picture below has 2 identical dolphins in it. It was used in a case study on stress levels at St. Mary's Hospital. Look at both dolphins jumping out of the water. The dolphins are identical. A closely monitored, scientific study revealed that in spite of the fact that the dolphins are identical , a person under stress would find differences in the two dolphins . The more differences a person finds between the dolphins, the more stress that person is experiencing.
Look at the photograph and if you find more than one or two differences you may want to take a vacation. I've already booked my flight to Hawaii...
(I promise I won't start posting all the emails I get... I'm sleep deprived right now. And to me, this was funny. Besides, I need a blog post for the duel today and I'm too tired to come up with something on my own!)