Reusable Bag Etiquette

I'm so not green. I don't even recycle and I still ask for plastic grocery bags......*gasp*......oh the horror! I do, I do, it's true. But if it's any consolation I feel like a heathen every time I go grocery shopping or throw away an empty milk container.

So I've been thinking about taking baby steps to change my ways. Thinking about evolving into a more eco-minded, eco-conscious or eco- friendly family.

So, this morning I found out about Chile's Quit Now challenge through Kristin H's blog. You can visit her for the details. But the challenge starts June 1st. I'm already ahead of schedule with the smoking as I'm now on day #5 of "breathing free"..... *patting my self on the back*......

But I'm also going to try to give up plastic grocery bags. I gotta tell you that this may be even more difficult than giving up the smokes. I love plastic grocery bags. They're easy to carry......I use them for garbage under my kitchen sink.....I even have a cute little doll plastic bag holder that I sewed my self....hanging in my laundry room. This will be tough.....REALLY tough!

OK....I have a question for all you eco conscious people out there. In light of my recent "I'm not green" enlightenment....I went out a couple weeks ago and purchased, from Walmart, their reusable bags. I bought these with the best of intentions. I unloaded the groceries from my van and then put the 5 reusable bags back in my van. I figured if I kept them in my van I'd then have them when I next go shopping.

The next time I went to Walmart.....I forgot the bags in the van and ended up getting plastic bags again. UGH! Then, later in the week, I went to Target and thought maybe I'd use my reusable bags but then realized that they actually say "Walmart" on them.

So....my question is....is it OK to use Walmart's reusable bags in Target or Meijers or do I have to purchase reusable bags at every damn different store I visit? I went to Costco this past week and purchased three of their reusable bags also (they're HUGE)....but they ALSO say Costco all over them.

I realize how ridiculous it is that I'm actually asking a "reusable bag etiquette" question here....but....there you have it....I'm ridiculous!

Fitness Friday

That's it! I'm officially out of control. So this is my way of trying to regain some control of my life. I don't want to fail at my attempts to quit smoking but if I keep eating like this I will. I'm going to start weight watchers again! My sister-in-law and Busy Dad are my inspirations. My SIL has lost 22 pounds so far. And Busy Dad has been tracking his Weight Loss Wednesday's for several weeks now. So you, my trusted bloggy friends, will be my weekly weigh-in meeting. I did weight watchers several years ago after having Smurfette and lost 15 pounds....I'm a life time member dontcha know! So every Friday will become my weigh in day and I will post my weight loss progress for the week. I would love to lose 15 pounds again. So that's my goal.

My weigh-in this morning was 145 pounds. So, I'm allowed 22 points. And I think I'm allowed a couple more points if I run but I'm not sure what the allowance for working out is so until I find out...I'll just stick to the 22 points. The food in the picture to the right is my allowance for the day and totals 14 points which gives me another 8 points for 1 piece of pizza and a salad when I go out scrapbooking with my friends tonight.

I'm also failing miserably at posting my marathon training progress in my other blog so I'm going to also use my Friday post as my marathon training updates. I just can't keep up with two blogs. AND I'll post about my "breathing free" progress.

So, this past week I slacked in my training because of the holiday weekend and all the puppy drama.

Tuesday - I Ran 3.47 miles in 42:21. Averaged 12:13 mile pace. Still alternating 4 min running/2 minutes walking. Felt great. Lungs are finally on the mend from last chest cold.

Wednesday - I Ran 5 miles in exactly 1 hour. 12:17 mile average pace. Felt awesome. Still alternating run/walk intervals. But I think after next week I'll be able to bump it up a notch....maybe 5 minutes running/2 minutes walking. Weather was gorgeous! Sunshine and 67. Saw a mama deer. Tried to get a picture but she was gone by the time I pulled out my camera. YES! I take my camera with me! I ran around this lake......gorgeous views! Very enjoyable run!

Was hoping to get a run in on Thursday while Smurfette was at school but had 2 different landscaper guys come by in the morning to give me some quotes for some work we need done in the yard. And then at night we had the boys' gymnastics banquet. So I couldn't get one in.

And now it's not gonna happen today because today is Smurfette's preschool graduation day and then I'm going out for the evening with a couple friends to do some scrapbooking. Hopefully, I'll be able to get back on track this coming week.

And today is day #4 without smoking for both my husband and I.

Feel free to join in on Fitness Friday....if anyone else is interested in being accountable to bloggy land I'll post a mister linky.

My Ugliest Year!

It Was an UGLY Ugly Year!

My second week participating in Kristen's weekly Fro Me To You carnival.

I'm getting brave.....VERY brave.....

Saying that 1985 was a REALLY ugly year for me is a HUGE understatement! It's like saying the desert is pretty dry.....or....or......Planet Earth is pretty big.....or......I don't know, I'm obviously struggling to come up with an appropriate comparison here....just take my word for it....or better yet....take a look at THESE treasures below.

Pictures from 1985. I was 13 in this picture below. This was the year I was allowed to start wearing make-up. (Note to self and other mothers of girls....PLEASE teach your darling daughter how to apply make-up before letting her walk out of your house!)

It is an absolute crime that my mother let me walk out of the house looking like that....SOMEone should have informed me that bright blue eyeshadow on someone with black hair and olive skin just DOES NOT WORK! HeLLO! And would you CHECK. OUT. THOSE. BROWS! This was before my mother introduced me to tweezers! That's my baby brother Ryan I'm holding there btw.....and my other brother Tom, and my Mom.

The picture below has been edited to protect the identity of two girls I no longer keep in touch with. They were friends at the time. We used to have sleep overs and do each other's hair and make up and get all dressed up like fashion models and then pose for pictures. We were delusional.

On Another Note....

Wanna know what happens when you quit smoking?

You eat!

Wanna know what happens when you eat?

You gain weight!

Wanna know what happens when you start to gain weight because you quit smoking?

You wanna smoke again!

It's a vicious cycle.

It's been approximately 62 hours and 23 minutes since my last cigarette and I've already gained 2 pounds.

I need to stop eating.

I made brownies for breakfast....

And for lunch I ate leftovers from breakfast....

I need to replace this Freudian "oral fixation" with a more constructive fixation....like sit-ups, or push-ups....something....

Keep praying for me....

New Dos, New Puppies, and New Lungs!

So how do y'all like my new do?! (says with left hand on hip and right hand bouncing the bottom of hair). I LOVE IT!!! Man, I tell you that Shauna is one talented chic! Click on over to My Designs By Shauna (her button is on the left) and check her stuff out. I got all this for the bargain price of $45.00. I had been looking around for awhile for a new layout....searching for someone to do this for me....saw several that I liked but Shauna was the cheapest. Most other's were charging at least $75 for the work she did. I gave her a couple pictures that I wanted as the "inspiration", gave her a general idea of what I wanted, and she came up with all this in like a day. Then, I woke up this morning and *POOF* my blog is magically transformed into this gorgeousness!! It's perfect! Talented I tell you!

On another note I've found our puppy! And I, devil that I am, talked Kelly & Randy into getting our puppy's brother. She's a Havanese/Shitzu mix....aka. Havashu. We're driving down to Indiana together Saturday to pick them up. The puppy in the first two photos is our little girl and the last two photos is her brother and will be Kelly and Randy's little boy.

We lost power for a couple hours last night so I decided to go through the naming process the same way we did when we named Gracie. I googled "puppy names" (on my Voyager phone...we had no computer) and found several sites and just started jotting down all the girl puppy names that I liked. I ended up with about 30-40 names. Then, We (the 5 of us) all sat down and started taking turns, youngest to oldest, eliminating names one by one until we were left with our last two favorites. Now we'll wait until she's here to decide on the final name. The last two names left were Rosie and Foxie. Most of us were partial to Rosie but my daughter had a fit cause she wants Foxie. What do YOU think?

My wonderful husband is having a difficult time with all this. He feels we're being disrespectful to Gracie's memory by getting another dog so soon after Gracie's death. He feels the least we can do for Gracie is mourn her for a couple weeks before "replacing her." Don't get me wrong, he wants a new puppy too, he's just having a hard time because it's so soon after we lost Gracie. I keep trying to explain to him that we're not "replacing" Gracie....we're just trying to fill that void in our home with a little joy. So what are your thoughts on this? Is there a proper mourning time for dogs?

And now on another note. I'm making myself accountable to blog land. My hubby and I are trying to quit smoking again. I haven't smoked since Monday evening. It's been a whole 34 hours since our last cigarette. I'm not doing pills this time....we're doing the lozenges instead. Say a prayer!

I haven't had much time lately to catch up on my favorite bloggers' lives. I've been stuck in a puppy fevered frenzy since Saturday. I've spent the last 2 days on the internet searching for another puppy. And let me tell you....Malshis are not easy to find. We had my family over for a barbecue yesterday and the second they walked out the door I ran to two different pet stores. I didn't fall in love with any there but found out that they are getting more puppies in this Thursday. So I plan to go back then.

In the meantime, I found several out of state on line. But I've never purchased a dog without seeing it first and that makes me a little nervous. So do I wait till Thursday and check out the pups here in the store or do I wing it and purchase one of these puppies below.

Jazzy

Tawny

Brady

Brianna

And last but not least....

Linsey.

Update: Tawny, Brady, and Brianna are no longer available ~ UGH! I was really wanting Tawny.

Moment for Me ~ Week 6

Thank you for the well wishes and prayers. It's been a difficult weekend as there's such a void in our home. The whole family is very sad and I'm having a difficult time getting over the guilt factor as I feel partially responsible for the collar not being on her. So.....anyway.....We've been a little preoccupied this weekend so I'm a little late in getting this posted. Instead of sharing what I did for myself this week I wanted to share a piece of a book I recently read.

I bought Maria Shriver's latest book, Just Who Will You Be, nearly 3 weeks ago and it's been sitting on my kitchen counter collecting dust ever since. I've been putsing around with finishing my last book, Good In Bed, and FINALLY finished it Saturday night. Great book btw. So, Saturday night I curled up in bed with Maria Shrivers latest. It's such a quick read I read it in like 2 hours....if that. It was OK. Nothing Earth shattering. To be honest, I kinda expected more for the $15.00 I paid for it. But it does have a powerful message. "We are all works in progress. That means it's never too late to become the person you want to be." And she says that who you are is not defined by what you do for a living or what your roles in life are. Again, nothing Earth shattering, but a good reminder non-the-less.

But just when the book was about to end and my disappointment in the book was peaking I came to the last 2 pages of the book. It touched me. I want to share it with you.

"Not too long ago, I came up with a list of Ten Things I Pledge to Myself, in order to keep myself focused and centered on just who I want to be...(skipping stuff)......I'm sharing it with you with the hope you may enjoy coming up with your own pledge to yourself. But please write it in pencil ~because just like you, it's bound to change."

The following is Maria Shriver's list of 10 things she pledges to her self.

1) I pledge to "show up" in my life as myself, not as an imitation of anyone else.

2) I pledge to avoid using the word "just" to describe myself. For example, I won't say, "I'm just a mother," "I'm just a student," or "I'm just an ordinary person."

3) I pledge to give myself ten minutes of silence and stillness every day to get in touch with my heart and hear my own voice.

4) I pledge to use my voice to connect my dreams to my actions.

5) I pledge to use my voice to empower myself and others.

6) I pledge to serve my community at least once a year in a way that will benefit other people.

7) I pledge to ask myself, "Who am I? What do I believe in? What am I grateful for? What do I want my life to stand for?"

8) I pledge to sit down and write my own mission statement.

9) I pledge to live my own legacy.

10) And I pledge to pass it on.

If nothing else this book inspired me to try to come up with my own pledge to myself (hope she doesn't mind if I borrow a few of hers). That'll be next weeks M4M post. I will have a "ten things I pledge to myself" list ready for next week. I would love to see what your pledges would be. Play along next Monday if you're interested.

It's a sad sad day.....

....in the Smurf household.

Our little Gracie was hit by a car and killed today.

We only had her for a very short year but she was loved as a member of our family.

She was a very good dog and will be very missed.

Rest In Peace Gracie Girl

born: April 9, 2007

died: May 24, 2008

Tiny Black Square Nipple Boobies?

So, I was in the kitchen making dinner last night. I had the TV on and a pre-recorded episode of Oprah was playing in the great room. It was an episode that I found a little disturbing so I wasn't paying full attention.

For those who didn't see it...the episode was about people with OCD and a camp for OCDness that they went to .....apparently to OCDify themselves. As part of the camp therapy they spend all day for three days subjected to those things that are their biggest fears.

Most of them were OCD about germs in one form or another. One guy hadn't sat on a toilet in years because he was afraid the germs would kill him.... he relieved himself in his yard instead. Another woman spent 5 hours every day disinfecting her house. I really wish I could relate.... I think I could use a touch of OCD in my life.

Anyway, they spent their three days in camp doing nasty things to get them over their germophobia.... Touching... no, I'm sorry, not just touching, but RUBBING their hands along the inside rim of the toilet and then licking their fingers. K. That's just gross. I don't have OCD and there is no way in hell they'd get me to do that. Or rubbing their hands in the inside of trash dumpsters and then licking their fingers. I know drastic times call for drastic measures....but....there just HAS to be a better way!

Anyway, that wasn't the purpose of this post.....

So I'm done making dinner and had forgotten about the TV. The recording was over and had stopped on the playback status screen and I hadn't realize it because I was only half watching it to begin with. So I called everyone to the table for dinner. And was talking to the kids about their day at school when out of no-where Hefty Smurf (my 11 year old) says.....

"ummm...mom....EW!.....can we please change the channel on the TV?"

HUH?.......I turn around and this......







.....is what was on the TV.

A couple of square nippled boobies advertising breast enlargements for the bargain price of $2488.

Even Oprah isn't safe...Oprah commercials have turned rated R. Oh, I'm sorry, My mistake..... it's not rated R because they thought to put black squares in place of the brown circled nipples.....that makes all the difference ya know.

Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not freaking out because my kids saw a couple boobies. I'm not from the breed of mothers who freak out because my kids saw a little boobie on TV.....or saw two adults kissing on TV......I'm from the breed that thinks if you make a big deal out of that stuff then it will beCOME a big deal.

.....but......my point is.....Seriously?.......what's up with the little black squares? They show an entire boobie on the screen but because they put a tiny black square over the tiny brown circle....it's ok? I mean who makes these rules?! Of course my kids thought this hilarious and gross and intriguing all in the same breath.... laughing, staring, and EWing for the next 10 minutes before it occurred to me to shut the TV off. I'm a good mom like that.

On another note.

My daughter came across the photo I scanned and posted in yesterday's post of her and Dreamy Smurf playing in the grass. She brings the photo to me and says...

"Mama, is this when Dreamy used to like me?"

How sad is that ya'll. It broke my heart that my little girl thinks her big brothers don't like her. Sometimes (most of the time) they are the best big brothers in the world ....but there are times....and apparently those are the times that stick in her brain.....that they are quite intolerant and mean. I told her that Dreamy and Hefty LOVE her and showed her pictures of when she was born and her brothers were holding her and loving her and SMILING at this new member of our family. But she wasn't buying it.

Then, shortly after this, she had a little play date with her friend from pre-school. This is the first play date with this particular friend. This was yesterday afternoon while the boys were still at school. They were sitting at the kitchen table and playing dolls and Smurfette asks me "Mom, when will the boys be home?"....."In about an hour" I answered. "And when is A going home?" Again, I answered "In about an hour". I then overheard her tell her friend...

"I really hope you get to meet my boys....they are SO cute and REALLY funny."

She's oozing with pride for "her boys" but thinks they don't like her!

That. just. breaks. my. heart.

I'm gonna have to have a long talk with "her boys"!

4 things meme

I'm killing three birds with one stone in this post.

I've been tagged by Lisa ( from Domestic Accident) for another meme. I love these. I'm a dork. And I'm OK with that.....

And participating in Kristen's (from THAT family) weekly carnival.....

AND answering a question that Marni (from Marni's Organized Mess) asked me.

4 things I was doing 10 years ago...

lets see...that was May of 98....

1. I had been married to hubby for 2 1/2 years.

2. Dreamy Smurf (son #2) was conceived in May after 6 months of trying. And Hefty Smurf (son #1) was 18 months old.

Dreamy Smurf in my tummy....

boy have maternity clothes come a long way in the last 10 years!

3. I switched from full time to part time on the step-down/telemetry unit I was working on.

4. We went in September of that year to California with my Grandparents to visit family outside of LA. We also spent some time in Palm Springs and went on a 4 day Carnival Cruise to Encenada. Hefty (son #1) was 22 months old and with us. That was his first trip to Disney. When we left for Cali he had a vocabulary of maybe 10 words....and by the time we returned he was speaking in full sentences. He went through his big language boom during that 2 week vacation.

The following pictures are from our day at Disney

Peek-A-Boo

Dig'n Mickey's crib


Palm Springs


This photo was taken on our cruise

4 things I was doing 5 years ago...

and that would bring us to 2003

1. This brings me to answering your question, Marni....When my daughter was approximately 5 weeks old (end of January 2003) I found out I had these nasty little things growing on my ovaries.

They are Teratomas (AKA Dermoid Cysts). Rare little fatty tumors filled with calcified body parts....hair, nails, teeth.....it was explained to me that for whatever reason a cell becomes confused (not fertilized) and will just start to proliferate into these calcified body parts. I was a rare case indeed.....my doctor explained to me that it's extremely rare to even have ONE of these....but I had TWO...one on each ovary! Apparently, I was special.......I could'a been cast in a freak show! I was so freaked out by this that when my doctor removed them I demanded that he take pictures for me so I could see what they looked like. And he did. Sorry for grossing you out....but you asked!

2. In May 2003 my daughter was 5 months old and colicky as hell and I was borderline suicidal and on the verge of running far far away. I was crying 24/7 along with my daughter because I hadn't slept in 5 months. Hefty was 6, Dreamy was 4, and Smurfette was 5 months old. My daughter would not sleep....would not eat more than 2 ounces of formula at a time....was not gaining weight....cried screamed for 23 hours of every single day....had to be held at all times ....and I was losing. my. mind.

This...

Is what I was dealing with for SIX STRAIGHT MONTHS........

This was quite possibly the WORST time of my life. And I finally could partially empathize and understand how a person who wasn't dealing with a full deck of cards could lose control and shake their baby to the point of harming them.

No, of course I didn't harm her....so don't go calling social services....I'm just saying that I certainly can see now how it happens.

Her pediatrician wouldn't listen to me and kept telling me that she was just colicky and I'd just have to learn how to deal with it until she outgrew it.

UNTIL....

One day when she was 6 months old she developed a goopy eye infection and I had to bring her in to see the doc. But her doc wasn't working that day so we had to see his associate. So, I thought, I'd bring up the colicky thing again....this time to a different doc to see what a 2nd opinion would say about the situation.

I think he knew I was at the end of my rope....my baby girl was in pain.....my baby girl was in a LOT of pain....there was nothing I could do to soothe my baby girl.....and this baby girl's mother hadn't slept in SIX. MONTHS.

I started crying right there in the office and couldn't stop. He asked some basic questions and then listened as I explained what was going on and he said "well, it sounds like she might have a simple case of reflux....aka. heartburn....lets try some Zantac".

OMG ya'll.

Within the first 24 hours of her first dose of Zantac she drank her first full 6 oz bottle....AND she slept through the night for the first time.

My daughter was born. My happy, sweet, smiley & bubbly little girl was born at 6 months of age.

Zantac......the miracle drug......"ALL HALE ZANTAC".

I then went and bought a pistol and shot her pediatrician right between the eye balls......well........ummm......not really....but, you know what I mean....

My sweet baby girl at 6 months old...just look at that beautiful smile!....who knew?!

Smurfette and her big brother Dreamy Smurf loving each other....This was taken in September of 2003....this is one of my all time favorite pictures.

3. That year in August we went on a family trip to Myrtle Beach.

The 3 handsome men in my life...Dreamy Smurf, Papa Smurf, and Hefty Smurf

Hefty and Dreamy

Dreamy

Hefty

Me....I can't believe I'm posting this picture....

And little baby Smurfette....and her beautiful smile....

4. I switched from part-time to contingent at work. I was working 2 weekends/month so we could avoid the cost of putting 3 kids in day-care.

4 things I did yesterday...(Tuesday)

1. Smurfette and I went grocery shopping.

2. I helped load 2 book cases (the last of our Craigslist furniture) into a very strange woman's car. Could she have PUT any more perfume on? (Accenting the word "PUT" Chandler Bing style). I started breaking out in hives as soon as I smelled her. And I couldn't quite tell if she was looking at me or the bookcases to her left as her eyes were pointing in two different directions. She....by the way....in case you were wondering....got a divorce after 26 years of marriage with her first husband and is working on the 5th year of marriage to the 2nd husband but really isn't too sure how much more she can take it and may be getting a divorce soon because she doesn't get along with his kids and thinks they just don't like her because they want ALL the inheritance money to themselves but she has rights too and she deserves SOMEthing after putting up with his sorry ass for 5 long years....he's not dead yet by-the-way and isn't even sick but....you know....it's important to think ahead....and her coming home with two book cases was NOT going to go over so well as her husband specifically told her NOT to come home with two book cases..... I learned all this in the 5 minutes that she was in my garage.....OMG where do these people COME from? And I mean that..... of course...... in the most non-judgemental or opinionated way.....

3. I sat on hold on the phone for almost an hour with the Creative Memories digital help desk trying to figure out why a portion of the recently purchased program didn't download. Problem is now (finally) solved.

4. Took all three kids to gymnastics and then took my daughter to her dance class.

4 shows I like to watch...

1. So You think You Can Dance! STARTS AGAIN TOMORROW!!!! I already have it set to record! YEAY!

2. Oprah

3. Gray's Anatomy

4. Jon & Kate + 8

4 things I love to do....(besides being with my kids)

1. Scrapbooking on paper and now digitally on the computer.

2. blogging....I think that goes without saying....

3. Going on adult nights out with my husband and our group of friends....doesn't happen nearly enough.

4. Reading. Although, I gotta say that this blogging obsession has put a little kink in the reading time. I've had that book posted on the left as "the book I'm currently reading" for, like, a month. It's a very good book..... don't get me wrong....I'm thoroughly enjoying it. BUT.....I'd rather be blogging. So I put it down for awhile and just recently picked it back up. I WILL finish it!

So I'm tagging Kelly (at Mom of the Year), Marni (at Marni's Organized Mess), Kristen (at Jilli Java), and my cuz Lisa (at Little Painted Polka Dots), and Katie (at Happy2bme).

Tackle it Tuesday

I'm still in the basement for this week's tackle.
Remember this photo?
This was the before picture from last week.

This was the after. Still couldn't stand all the clutter surrounding the TV so I made a trip to IKEA to find something to solve that problem.

Here's the after picture. I Love my IKEA purchase but I wish that piece were sold in an oak color. Oh well.

I also bought one for the kitchen areal.

Another part of my tackle was listing all the miscellaneous pieces of furniture in my basement on Craigslist. I listed all 5 pieces on Sunday afternoon and the last of them are leaving my home today.

I can't believe how fast they go on Craigslist. The stove was gone within 2 hours of listing it. The ugly cheap computer desk was picked up a few hours later by a man who I think could quite possibly be the world's happiest man. He was entirely too happy to have purchased this ugly computer desk of mine....

I half expected him to start jumping up and down and clapping his hands. And when he called to inquire about the desk he asked if it was still available....I said "yep"....and he then says..."OMG I'm so in love with you".....those were his EXACT WORDS! Followed by a few awkward moments as I'm sure he realized what just came out of his mouth. I'm sorry have we met? What a freak! He picked the computer desk up driving an old Impala. My husband was trying to help this man force this computer desk into his car....the drawer falls out and slams on the concrete. "No problem, no problem man....I got it".... Cling cling pling,.....more metal of unknown purpose clangs to the concrete. "No problem at all I'll fix that right up...Gosh I just LOVE Craigslist you find the coolest treasures on there?" OMG are you high? This man just called this ugly computer desk a treasure? Hey, who am I to argue. A treasure it is. Where's my $10.00.

The book cases and TV stand will be making their way out this morning. It took less than 48 hours to get my junk sold. I'm done with garage sales and ebay! Craigslist is much easier.

Moments for Me Monday - week 5

It's Monday again already!? Time sure is flying by. It must be all the fun..... All my Moments for Me!

Moment #1

I'm slowly trying to ease my way back into the running routine. I had hoped to get four runs in this week but only ended up doing two. Partly because I ended up back at the doc's office Friday with ANOTHER sinus infection. So I'm BACK on antibiotics....this would be the fifth round of antibiotics for me since December. UGH! So...I only got in two runs....it's better than nothing. I'll tell you, the hardest thing about running is getting out my door. Once I get out the door I'm fine. I'm always grateful that I didn't talk myself out of it. I love to sweat! I love to be outdoors! I love to push myself! But getting out the door is a challenge. I ran 3 miles both days which took me about 40 minutes. Which translates into 40 minutes of time by myself. Time to enjoy my music. Time to organize my thoughts. Time to enjoy the sunshine. And time to enjoy this....

Moment #2

Friday evening I went to a friends house to do some scrapbooking and got hooked on Creative Memories Digital Scrapbooking program. I spent a lovely evening (6 blissful hours) with lovely ladies doing one of my favorite hobbies.....scrapbooking. It's kinda funny, me and my friends enjoy our scrapbooking evenings out because it gives us a chance to get out of the house and away from the parental duties for a few hours but then we usually end up spending the entire evening talking about our kids and getting very little done.

Moment #3

I drove to IKEA on Saturday (a 50 minute drive) ALL. BY. MYSELF! I jammed Eminem and Eagles Greatest hits all the way there and jammed AC/DC all the way home....ALL BY MYSELF! And spent ninety glorious minutes in between wandering aimlessly around the 8th Wonder of the World ....IKEA. "O" how I love that place. I then spent the rest of the day putting together my purchase(s). I'll share my purchase(s) with you on "Tackle it Tuesday". I still have to take pictures and I'm still working on getting some stuff out of the basement to prepare for the pictures. On a side note....I gotta say....I LOVE Craigslist. I just listed a stove and 4 pieces of furniture yesterday afternoon (it was my first time listing on Craigslist) and already have the stove and one piece of furniture outta here. YEAY!

"When from our better selves we have too long

been parted by the hurrying world, and droop,

sick of its business, of its pleasures tired

How gracious, how benign, is Solitude."

- William Wordsworth

So how did you spend your Moments for YOU?! Link up and share!