Book RAK

So a few months ago Nicole RAKed me a book on her blog. I promised I would pay it forward and RAK it to some one else on my blog. The thing is...I have TONS of books. Lots and lots of fun paperbacks. Summer is the perfect time for reading, right? So I figured, why not share them with my friends? It's either that or my husband is going to go crazy. He says we're swimming in books and I need to do something with them. So here's the deal-y-O: If you all are interested I'll RAK a new book, or SET of books every week this summer. yeah, I have that many books and more.
This weeks offering is Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. (raked to me by Nicole)

The story flips back from 1930's to present day. It is sad, scary, emotional and even at times funny. Very fun quick read. If you're interested, leave a comment and one of my lovely assistants will draw a name by Tuesday. If they pick you, I'll send it off, along with some other goodies!
p.s.
if you think this is a total stupid idea and you are not interested in any of my books, OH WELL. ha ha! J/K :D

Hello Wednesday.

Ah, Wednesday again. Wednesday is one of those words I really have to stop and think about when I type. That and February. You know...your fingers stop and go WED NES DAY. Don't they? Mine do.
Anyway, not much going on around here. We're back to spring out here in CA. Last week it was super duper hot, and this week it's maybe 70 degrees. I'd so much rather be hot than cold. And yes, in my opinion, 70 is sweatshirt weather.
So, since nothing exciting is going on I thought I'd do a little product plugging or maybe unplugging in one instance....Things that I've come across lately that I really like, really want or really make me angry.
Lip Gloss-I'm not a real girly-girl. I don't wear a ton of make up and I certainly don't spend a lot of money on it. You won't see me at the MAC counter at Nordstrom. Not me. Well, unless they're giving something away free! But what girl doesn't appreciate a good lip gloss? I was browsing the isles of my most Favorite Store the other day and came up on this lip gloss on an end cap. This link isn't to the exact product...I couldn't find it on their website. It's WetSlicks AmazeMINT from Cover Girl. It's both amazing and minty. :) For a $5 lip gloss, you can't really go wrong. The color looks bold in the tube, but is very stuble when you put in on. It's not sticky AT ALL. The mintyness is tingly and possibly freshens your breath a bit and lasts for a good hour. It's my new favorite thing.
Another product from Cover Girl is this mascara. Again, for about $7 you can't go wrong. It's not perfect, but I don't think a perfect mascara exists. Take a look at that brush it's crazy! Plus, how could I not like it? The tube is orange. I love orange.
Ok, on to clothes...
I may be the last person on Earth to find this website, but maybe not. Have you seen the cute stuff at Boden? They are a little clothing company from the UK. I requested a catalog from them last week. They seriously have the CUTEST stuff...in just my style. Look at this cute skirt! I love it. Very classy/casual, made for women, not girls. A teensy bit out of my price range, but I think I'm ready to start investing a little more in my wardrobe so that things will last a little longer...oh and fit right.
I bought some tank tops at Old Navy the other day and I'm not kidding, within one washing, one of them had a hole in it. I know it was only like $7. But still. It should not get a hole that quickly.
A few weeks ago I was shopping for a new bathing suit. I needed one for our trip next month. For a few days in June we will be attending our church retreat as a family and I needed a hmmm...more conservative suit that covered my booty well. I had this $25 gift card from Spiegel that I've had in my purse for over a year now. I thought this would be a great opportunity to finally use it to pay for most of the new suit. So I go to the website, find one I like, add to my cart and proceed to check out. Hmmmmm....I say.... I've entered my credit card info but there's no place to enter my gift card number. So I pick up the phone and call customer service. After several touch tone options I'm directed to a live person who tells me "don't worry, it's on the next screen" and then she hangs up. Why didn't they just offer to take my order over the phone??? Frustrated, I put down the phone and push "next" on my screen. And what do you know? It simply says "Thank you for your order!" Ahhh!!! SO, I pick up the phone again. Dial customer service. Get some other idiot on the phone who tells me my online order won't be in their system for another hour or two and to call back later. Huh?? Grrrrrr!! So, I hang up again. I go and run some errands. Come back home and call AGAIN. Go through all the touch tone HOOPLA and get this message: "Thank you for calling Spiegel. Unfortunately, we are experiencing technical difficulties. Please call back another time." Click.
ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME??
This goes on for A WEEK. A week went by before I could reach anyone at Spiegel by phone or email. I was finally able to send them a nasty email and cancel my order. Horrible, horrible customer service.
And then they go and send me a catalog in the mail. With all kinds of cute stuff in it. Of course.
I will not be tempted by you Evil Spiegel!
And I will not link you to them on my blog. I just can't do it.
And finally, one more product I like....for my scrapbook friends...Zach's Life papers from Little Yellow Bicycle. I ordered some from Memorable Seasons last week and it is just beautiful paper! It looks way better in person than on the computer or in a magazine. If you have boys, check it out.
Happy WED NES DAY.

Random bits

Have you noticed how often I post pictures of food? I think I have a problem. I really like food. My cousin Jami has complemented me several times on my food photography, and I think it's gone to my head. This picture is not the best example though.
These are some veggie kabobs that I made the other night on the Q. I'm really gettin good at the BBQ. I hardly ever burn anything anymore.
We're still trying to get some brochures made up for the ranch. Its just such PITA. That would be the new acronym for Pain In The A$$. First-I'm not a graphic artist. I can only work with what little knowledge and experience/technology I have. Which is like next to zero. I've come up with a good first prototype. It's O.K. but not the best. But the thing is...it's ridiculously expensive to get these suckers printed. We don't want to have a bizzilion of these first ones printed because we know that its going to take a while before we have good content to put in them. (better pictures, mostly) Does that even make sense? But basically we just want to have something for the guys to look at when they ask. Pete goes to two archery club "meets" every week and the guys are chomping at the bit for more info. So we needed to have something, ya know? Anyway so it's like 500 bucks at the local print shop for 1000 brochures. I don't need a thousand. I need maybe 1-200 right now. I don't see spending the mula for something that is ultimately not the finished product. So I took my design down to good ol Kinkos. That place is a crock-let me tell ya! I do not even want to tell you how much 50 colored copies on glossy paper was. And I won't tell you how effin cheap and ridiculous they look. AND I won't tell you how um...not happy my husband was at my investment decision. But I think you get the point, right?
So that's that.
I think Megan is just going to up and potty train herself. She's been bringing me her own diapers for months now...letting me know she's ready to be changed. Now, she's started whining a bit and pointing at herself "down there" and proceeds to pull down her diaper. Like "I want this thing off!". I ask her if she wants to go pee-pee on the potty. "shhhya!" she says. So I put her on the pot and nothing happens. I feel like it's just a matter of time though. I'm not ready. She's not even 2 for Pete's sake!
She's such a funny little girl though. She makes me laugh every day. Her favorite word is still NO and she'll answer NO to everything except when I ask: "do you want more milk?" and the aforementioned pee-pee question. Those two questions she always answers "shhhya!" She talks a lot but kind of has her own little "Megan language" that really, only I understand. She's never really been attached to anything except for her sippy cup, but lately she's all about her blanket and teddy bear. It's so flippin cute! It's not any one particular blanket or bear...just whatever one she sees in the moment. She tucks the blanket under one arm and the bear under the other. Did I mention how cute it is?
Jake is still working on his pool/swimming skills. After an entire afternoon at the pool whining and crying and asking to go home on Friday....Saturday came and he was a completely different kid. He jumped in without one bit of hesitation on Saturday. And don't let the kid fool you. The boy knows how to swim. At least a little. I watched him hold his breath, go all the way under the water and swim from one side of the baby pool to the other. He also got in the big pool without hesitation too. He did lose his footing a bit and got nervous. So he got right back out. But I was proud of him for trying just the same.
We are really enjoying the baby turkeys. They are just so funny. We've had them a week now, and I'm positive they have doubled in size. Today I noticed them starting to actually catch some air when they run across the cage and flap their wings. They're also starting to strut. It's the funniest thing! They puff out their chest, flair out their little tail feathers and drag their wings, just like full grown Toms do in the wild. It's crazy how fast instinct kicks in.
Well, that's about all that's going on here for now. The little munchkins have gathered around and are about to start nipping at my heels, so I better go cook some dinner!
Can you believe it's Wednesday already?

Dude...

it's hot.
it's 7:30 and it's 97* degrees.
i'm not complaining.
but it is kind of hot.
i ate carrots for dinner cuz it's too hot to cook.
i should probably turn the air on.

We went to the pool again today. Jake is still having a tough time. I don't blame the kid for being cold, but it's just so frustrating to see him sulk and whine. He would hardly get in the baby pool which is only a foot deep and was warm today. It's like each time we go we have to start all over again. See, he's really been getting more confident. He'll jump in the hot tub--no problem. Doggie paddle-he's got it. He knows when to hold his breath, he knows when to blow out. But he can't stand to be cold. Of all people I should understand. I hate to be cold. I should probably just lay off him. Finally after an hour of sulking in a lawn chair he says "mommy! I wanna go home...IT'S HOT!!" Well duh! it's only 90* degrees at 11:30am. And DUH!!! Get in the pool! That's what you do when it's hot. So he got in. And had fun. And didn't want to go home. Go figure.
I got him a little kick board at Target. It's perfect. He thinks he's surfing. :D Tomorrow, my Dad and Debbie are coming and they want to take the kids to the pool. I'm hoping Jake will just get right in and show them his tricks.
Megan, on the other hand, absolutely loves the water. Could care less if it's cold. She knows the routine now and brings me the beach bag when she wants to go to the pool. When we get there she practically jumps in without fear. She even learned how to use Jake's kick board. I guess I've got to get her one now too.
Any way...I've got a huge mess to clean up before tomorrow so I better be off.
Oh! Go check this out...we have baby turkeys!

Things that make me go hmmm...

*Why won't Megan stop crying? She's been fed, changed, watered...nothing seems to be making her happy today.
*Why does Jake continue to think he can do whatever he wants and go where ever he feels like?---despite several diciplinary actions?
*Why does my floor always have food on it?
*Is that a new stain on the carpet?
*And seriously....What in the world am I supposed to think when my very conservitive, 40 something white guy neighbor starts blasting "Pop Lock and Drop It" from his garage?

Hi, it's me again...

The blog slacker.
I feel like I've been running around like crazy lately.....And not accomplishing much in all that running around. I often wonder how in the world I got things done when I was working. Pete and I were talking about it the other day. I basically had a day and a half (Saturday and Sunday after church) to get my "chores" done...The Grocery store, Target, Costco and the laundry. And we both agreed that not much cleaning was happening. Picking up, wiping down yes..but the cleaning...yeah that wasn't happening. Anyway, now that I'm home...I'm finding myself at Target at least twice a week. Costco at least once a week and there seems to be a never ending supply of something that needs cleaning. Not only that, we now have "play dates" and I'm doing a lot of business stuff for Pete too. I've been trying to get some brochures made and finally, finally if you can believe it...actually scheduling hunts. People are coming, and they're going to pay money! Hallelujah!!
I've also discovered now that I'm a full time mom, our house is now actually being lived in...and it's beginning to show. In the 4 months I've been home we have successfully: put a hole in the wall, broke the toilet paper holder in the downstairs bathroom, put a streak of dirt hand prints all the way up and down the stairs, broke the patio table into a million pieces, broke a piece of tile off the kitchen counter and broke the shower door. But you know what? It sure beats the heck out of a pile of files and three walls of a gray cubicle. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I really do love my new job. :D
Oh! good news...In my last post I had talked about a good friend that might be really sick...remember? Well, he's a really good friend of Pete's and he's helped A LOT at the ranch. In fact, Pete is going to make him a partner. Anyway he had been complaining of a stomach ache and had gone to the doctor. They did an ultrasound and found a "dark spot" in his esophagus. Not good. He was pretty freaked out by it and so were we. Sunday, Pete put a prayer request up for him at church and of course the congregation prayed for him. Yesterday, (Monday) he had a doctor appointment where I think they did a CAT scan. There was nothing there. NOTHING. Whatever they thought they saw was gone. How cool is that? Power of prayer, people. :)
hmm..so what else? Well, today I think I'm going to fold some laundry. It's been seriously neglected. I think I'll put a photo order in at Costco (can't miss my weekly Costco trip!) and if the weather permits, we just might sneak off to the pool for a while.
Happy Tuesday!

Today I...

*Got up at 6:00
*Made coffee
*Read my favorite blogs
*Checked email
*Got dressed
*Got kids up and dressed
*Made toast
*Filled a sippy cup (about a thousand times)
*Took kids to Grandma's
*Went to the bank
*Got the oil changed in my car
*Picked up a prescription at the pharmacy
*Went to Kinkos
*Went to Best Buy...Bought a new printer because the one we've only had for a year and a half decided to crap out and it's just cheaper to buy one than to fix it.
*Went to Target
*Picked up Megan from Grandma's--left Jake there to play with his cousins
*Put Megan down for a nap
*Hooked up the new printer
*Made a brochure in Photoshop for Pete
*Printed it out 4 times before I got it right ;)
*Found out our truck is breaking down and is going to be about 2 thousand dollars to fix. *lovely*
*Found out a good friend could be really sick.
*Praying that he's not.
*Realized that some things don't turn out the way you think they will
*Made dinner while IMing with Melissa :)
*Made brownies. We needed brownies.
*Ate dinner
*Had a bite of warm aforementioned brownies. We needed warm brownies.

And right now....I'm just trying to stay positive. Trying to be the one that says "it's all gonna be alright" even though it's hard for me too. It's so hard to see someone you love and care about so much just completely stressed....almost too his breaking point. And he says "just how much more of this can I take?"....holding it in as best he can when I can see he's just ready to burst. And I have no control over it. And all I can say is...
It's all gonna be alright.
And I'll love you no matter what.
Somehow it just doesn't seem like enough.

Right now...

(Today's blog inspired by Nicole)
I love the smell of: cookies baking in the oven
I love the feel of: little tiny baby kisses on my cheek
I love the taste of: a cold mocha frapichino
I love the sound of: Pandora.com online radio right now playing Fleetwood Mac
I love the sight of: fresh hay bails lined up in perfect rows in the fields around here.

Today: meeting some friends for a walk. Just enjoying the day.
Oh! Tomorrow is National Scrapbook Day! Memorable Seasons is having an online crop. So if you've got nothin else to do...go check it out!