Lucky Me

My husband is one of the sweetest men ever. I don't think I ever give him the full credit he deserves for being such an awesome guy. We've been married for 12 years this month and he is still with me. (Yeah, wow, I know, right?) I've never really given him an easy time of anything since we first met.

Just yesterday he went and surprised me with a painting I've been wanting from a local thrift store. Nothing big, just wouldn't splurge the $5 to get it! He does the little things that women always talk about and want. He cries at romantic comedies and feel-good movies (ie, "Son-in-Law" with Paulie Shore). Family and his kids are his top priorities. He works 10+ hours a day, sometimes 6 days a week, then still comes home and makes dinner if I have school work or am sick. He doesn't complain about it, either.

He is so super-supportive. He lets me gets the books, materials, and take the classes that I need to keep my business going. He takes the kids while I study or work. If I do something as a result of this - any little thing - he is my cheer captain. He listens to me and my opinions, even if he doesn't always take my advice, and really hears what I have to say.

So in honor of my superman, here is my little blog post. He is the love of my life, my soul mate, super dad and husband, and the hero of all my short stories. He is the vampire in my novel, the werewolf of my obsession, the prince of my fairy tales. He is every movie star and singing sensation. He is intelligent, wonderful, beautiful, and my best friend. I am a lucky girl.

Photos courtest of Magic Moonlight - Free Images Blog

Are you one?

My mom sent me this lovely email this morning. I hope no one takes offense to the language, but for background reference, my mother has been called this throughout my life. Not by me, but by friends and people that thought they knew her. If only they had really known what they were saying when they said it!

BITCHOLOGY



When I stand up for

myself and my beliefs,

they call me a

bitch.



When I stand up for

those I love,

they call me a

bitch.



When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts

or do things my own way, they call me a

bitch.



Being a bitch

means I won't

compromise what's

in my heart.

It means I live my life MY way.

It means I won't allow anyone to step on me.



When I refuse to

tolerate injustice and

speak against it, I am

defined as a

bitch.



The same thing happens when I take time for

myself instead of being everyone's maid, or when I act a

little selfish.





It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to

be who I truly am and won't become anyone else's idea of

what they think I 'should' be.



I am outspoken, opinionated and determined. I want what I

want and there is nothing wrong with that!

So try to stomp on me, just try to douse my inner flame,

try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me.

You won't succeed.



And if that makes me a bitch, so be it.

I embrace the title and am proud to bear it.



B - Babe

I - In

T - Total

C - Control of

H - Herself



B = Beautiful

I = Intelligent

T = Talented

C = Charming

H = Hell of a Woman



B = Beautiful

I = Individual

T = That

C = Can

H = Handle 'anything'


'If you can't do something right, get a woman to do it.'

Dusting the House

One of those dreaded household chores that becomes more of a dreaded must during heavy pollen months is dusting. I was reading through some suggestions one the Today's Parent website and I had to giggle at one that I saw. Andrea Neblett, author of Housework Shortcuts from same site suggested that we "always dust from top to bottom and then vacuum." Not that I don't see the logic in this, but what I found funny is that my dusting usually involves the vacuum. Most of the surfaces in my home aren't of the wooden, beautifying type. They are of the plastic and/or faux-wood-over- chipboard types. I can't spray the crap on my television that I use for everything else and it's the dirtiest thing in the house. Sooo...I found out what that funny little brush attachment is useful for on the vacuum. Not only do I save time, but money AND the environment without using household chemicals and paper towels. Smart me, huh?

Here's the plan:

A. Walk into the living room and decide that it finally time to clean the goldfish/pretzel/potato chip crumbs up from the living room carpet and off the couch. Whatever that wet, blue stuff was is finally dry, too, and we can now scrape and vacuum IT up at the same time.

B. Go get a long, cold drink of ice tea and look across the other room at the vacuum.

C. Finish iced tea and go get vacuum from other room.

D. Decide that dogs need to be walked, leave vacuum in the middle of the kitchen floor, and walk the dogs for approximately one half hour.

E. Now, I need other glass of tea.

F. Okay, finally get that vacuum into the living room. Look up at the fan and decide it must be cleaned also.

G. Shut fan off. Put the extension hoses together, plug in vacuum, and put brush attachment on end.

H. Proceed to vacuum fan. Yes, this works.

I. Move on to vacuum the cobwebs from corners and dust particles stuck to walls, drapes, picture frames (I suggest holding them with the other hand so they don't fall off the wall and break. Trust me.), tv, and whatever and wherever else vacuum will fit.

J. Once surface areas are clean, trade brush for long skinny thing that will fit between cushions. Vac cushions and listen for money and large things going into vacuum. (Sorry, I am NOT sticking my hands in there first. I figure long skinny thing will prevent most important items from being sucked up.)

K. Finally, detach all the extensions and vacuum the floor. Avoid shoe strings and cats.

L. Put vacuum and extensions away, light the candle on the oil burner, and have a glass of iced tea. Your house smells and looks better, and the vac did most of the work. You can assign one of the kids to empty the vacuum later on. ;-)

Hope this helped you with your shortcuts for the day. Have fun dusting. Oh, and don't forget to celebrate your accomplishments with a great tank top to wear outside once the housework is complete:

Introductions

For the 12 years of my married life I have been an off and on stay-at-home mom. While this is one of those oxymoronic phrases you hear so often, that is my classification. I have five children ranging in ages from 2 to 12 years old. Two of these five are twin girls that just turned nine. My children are the light of my life, and to some extent that life revolves around them. I adore my husband and I guess in some respects that makes me pretty unusual too. I'm not a typical mommy/housewife, though.

I like to have fun. Baking bread at 5 a.m. is NOT FUN! Going to the store at 3 PM is a little more fun. Going without the kids is even better. But I will probably get lost in the arts and crafts section of Walmart before I get the shopping done, in all honesty. I love knitting, too. And crocheting. And tatting. I love most needlework. Does that make me common? Depends. Do most needleworkers have a fetish for underwear and bras, nighties and other, ahem, "naughty wear"? My opinion is if they don't, they should. Just because I knit doesn't mean I'm working on an afghan. In fact, I think I've only ever created one afghan in my entire lifetime of needlework. Baby blankets for each of my babies, but that was once each. After that, I don't really care to knit much baby stuff. I'd rather take a look at Naughty Needles Knitting or Knitting Lingerie Stlye


















I also hate housework. I'd rather do something exciting or learn something new than vacuum. I hate dishes, laundry, bathrooms, floors, windows - most anything classified as housework. However, if I get the inkling to decorate something, then I'll probably clean it first. My house isn't a wreck, I do clean. Just not passionately. And you may find that some day when you come over I'm setting at the computer chatting with my Twitter friends, reading a book, or searching Etsy or Artfire for some really cool things.

So these are my confessions. I am a work in progress, but I'll change as quickly as the winds. One day I'll bake up a storm and the next we're eating cold cereal and making ham sandwiches. So don't expect consistency. You just won't find it. I'll bring you some really great household items, books I'm reading, and hints and tips to take cleaning short cuts. I found out I'm really good at that. More confessions will be forthcoming.

And if you're wondering, this awesome background is from my beloved blogger, Plumrose Lane. You can find the best backgrounds, tags, and much more there. And they're free. So that's my two cents for today. Have fun and write often. I'm still working on setting up the blog with tags and links and such. So join with me and follow me, I'm curious to see if others are out there that agree with me.