My plan to make a bazillion dollars.

Sell food at the airport.

Why?
Because I just paid $8 for a breakfast made entirely in a microwave. Nothing fancy. So easy, even a cave man can do it. Your customers are held captive by their fears of the long security lines, fear of having to remove their shoes AGAIN, and the lack of COST-EFFECTIVE options in the general vicinity.

I should sell food at the airport and make a bazillion dollars.
I'm just saying'.....

Indoor Swimming Party!

A few weeks ago, Gage was invited to an indoor swimming party for one of his little classmates.
It was AWESOME!

Pics before the party, of my Too-Cool-For-You son. {Yes, he lets me know just how much cooler he is than me on a regular basis.}



At the onset of the party, they do a swimming test for each child. Though Gage passed the swimming test, he felt more comfortable wearing a life jacket when jumping off the diving boards....

Pics from the party...






I was SOOOO proud of Gage ultimately trying out the high-dive. He wasn't so sure about it at the start of the party, but he braved it, and LOVED it!
My baby's first high-dive experience:




{Yes, we immediately had a conversation about making sure that there is ABSOLUTELY nobody below you in the water when you venture off the end of the diving board. Ooops. Probably should have have that conversation sooner, but luckily, Gage didn't land on top of anyone! He didn't have a problem remembering that on the lower diving board, so I guess he just had so much on his mind waaaaaay up there that he forgot to look down!}

After that, there was no stopping him.
:)




Gage had a BLAST at the indoor swimming party!
:)

The 2WW is over.

For those who have ever been (or currently are) TTC (trying to conceive), then you understand that WW = "week wait" as opposed to Weight Watchers.
The 2WW refers to the 14 days post ovulation.

Well, our current 2WW is over, and we're not pregnant.


I haven't really blogged about this much, and I'm not going to give a play-by-play here... It's just something we are working on here in 2012.

Hubby is *very* optimistic.
Me? This whole process makes me completely neurotic.
I know this.

Things that prove I'm completely neurotic, yet I continue to do them during the 2WW, and shamelessly now, I am confessing all this on my blog:
1. Look up "early pregnancy symptoms" online; assess myself head to toe.
2. Follow that up with "very early pregnancy symptoms" online; reassess head to toe.
3. Look at this month's cycle chart vs. previous/failed months of cycle charts: Is there a hidden picture? Is there a hidden message? Is there a sign?? Please, God, let this be a sign!
4. Pray {beg}, and promise everything under the sun.
5. Secretly question if I'm somehow being punished and question what is "meant to be."
6. Reassure myself that I'm not being punished, and that my timing is not always God's timing.
7. Calculate my anticipated due date and imagine what our life is going to be like around whatever the nearest holiday will be.
8. Read about creative pregnancy announcements and decide how the big reveal is going to happen this go-round.
9. Look at the latest trends in baby gear {Hello! Have you seen the stroller that charges your ipod/iphone as you propel the wheels? Completely unnecessary, but it exists.}
10. Rinse & Repeat Daily...or more frequently.


See?
I'm completely neurotic.

Don't say "relax and you'll get pregnant" or I'll reach through this computer & smack you. {And so will my friend (S).}
It's a bit more complicated than that for us.

And so----today is disappointing.

...on the flip-side: today marks the start of a whole new cycle and a chance to try again. So, I have to consciously decide to be hopeful.

And what nourishes my soul? My devotional book! Today's words: Keep on asking and you will receive, so that your gladness may be full & complete!

9 shifts left; and faxing woes.

I would just like to say that FAXING IS SOOO) OBSOLETE!



Granted, there are SOME who still do it, and I'm sure it has to be more than just me (as a job requirement) and those who receive my faxes. I can't stand it. It's such a collossal waste of time & paper.

It's just...obsolete!
...like typewriters.
...and cell phones with buttons.
...and using a paper map.
...and sending news via pigeon.
...and travelling by stagecoach.

There are so many amazing technological advances, and FAXING makes me crazy.
I'm just saying....

Hello, Domino!!!!

Domino Magazine used to be my absolute favorite magazine.
LOVED it!

Conde Nast shut it down.

I just read the following about it coming back:

Conde Nast is bringing its much-missed shelter magazine, Domino, back to print. It won't be a full-fledged relaunch in the style of Conde siblings Vanity Fair, which quit print in 1936 and came back in 1983, or House & Garden, which shut down in 1993, returned in 1996 and closed again in 2007. Rather, Domino is coming back as a newsstand-only special called "Domino Quick Fixes," a thick $10.99 standalone that Conde plans to sell on newsstands from mid-April through mid-July, the company said today. A second special edition of Domino is slated for next fall.

Augh! I can't wait!!!!

Valentine's Day 2012

Gage got his candy & card from Mommy the morning of Valentine's Day. Why? Because it was just a little something, and he walked into the kitchen while I was trying to leave them out. I was trying to leave them so that when Daddy & Gage walked into the house after school & work (they get home before me) that they would get them then. Gage saw & just neeeeeeeeded to open his card.

Ok....




The little something that Mommy left for Daddy....


Baking Valentine's cookies with Mommy....



:)

Today I am excited because...

I just ordered these shoes!
I actually tried to get them at the store, but they weren't in stock. I should have just bought them that day and had them shipped to me, but I didn't.
I have been thinking about them ever since, so I went ahead & bought them online.
:)

I's sooooo excited!

Redneck Roots

Well, here recently, Hubby & I decided to get in touch with our redneck side, and we took our son to our first Monster Truck Rally! {Yes, this was a first for each of us!} And actually, it was a monster truck rally and tractor pull. I learned some things about myself: (1) the monster truck rally was sooooo much fun! I loved it! Maybe I am a little redneck! (2) the tractor pull was BOR-ING.

Before the show began, you could go down on the arena floor to see all of the tractors and a couple of the trucks....


The indoor arena got VERY loud when the show started. So, we wore earplugs and these ear muffler things. Hubby just wore earplugs. Gage & I went all out.



Pics from the show....
(Gage took several of these!)






Who's getting into that SARGEANT SMASH???
Why, it's Gage & Daddy!!!!






We had a little down time before the tractor pull started. Gage filled his down time with cotton candy, popcorn, and soda. Ahhhh, a kid's junk-food dream!





The tractor pull....




We had a BLAST! Thanks Daddy, for taking us to the Monster Truck Rally!
And next time, because we know there WILL be a next time, Mommy says we will get trucker hats from a gas station before we go in! She can't wait!


Of course, the fun didn't end there!
Back at home, Gage got ready for bed...but then he had to play with his monster trucks at the foot of my bed. It was so cute! He was so excited to replay the events he'd just seen!






The whole night was just a lot of fun.
A whole lotta redneck fun!

Valentine's Party!!!

The Friday before Valentine's Day, I was lucky enough to go into work late after attending Gage's Valentine's party at school. It was a pancake party....




They had a fun race-type game...



Then there was a nice game of freeze-dance.
What does my son's face say?
"I don't dance." (in public, that is)


...and then they opened their little valentines....


I am soooooo glad that I got to go!