Pink Flamingo Paradise

Dust off the ol' blog...

2009-11-21T22:20:00.002-05:00

I've decided that since I've left a few of the websites I used to chat on, I miss journaling & I never send pictures or updates out as often as I should, it was time to revive the old family blog. Hopefully I will be able to update a little more often than I have in the past, and with silly day-to-day activities as well as big events like birthdays and Christmas as well.

Crossing my fingers!!

NKOTB overload...

2009-04-08T21:49:00.002-04:00

As requested, a few (read: a lot) of pictures from the concert. I'll keep it minimal -- when you get tired of looking, just remember we took almost 200. :)

Waiting for NKOTB to take the stage -- our shirts said "Too late Joey/Donnie, I'm married now!"

From NKOTB

Apparently there were a lot of women there...imagine our surprise when we walked into a bathroom labeled "Womens" and saw this!

From NKOTB

Grand Entrance

From NKOTB

Picture of the big screen, but SWOON anyway!

From NKOTB

They ran out at the entrance area next to our section, and sang several songs at the piano back near us!

From NKOTB

Realistic picture of how close they were

From NKOTB

Lookin' good Jordan!

From NKOTB

And the best one -- Donnie meeting the fans!!

From NKOTB

Newfound Obsession

2009-04-01T22:32:00.003-04:00

Well, it's about time I visited this ol' thing again, wiped the dust off of the sign in page and sit for a spell. I was going to update in February, we had some great stuff happening, like getting back our stacked tax refund that included that lovely "first-time homebuyer's credit". We managed to pay off our car loan, pay off our only credit card, AND pay off my student loans! Now our only outstanding debt is our mortgage and wow, is that a good feeling. Then we got some 'fun' money for ourselves, which Chuck used to get a few cabinets from Ikea for his Star Wars collectibles and I used my portion to get a dSLR that I have been coveting for at least a year.So much fun to play with, the pictures are crisp and clear, and now I just really need to learn all of the functionality of it.

In March, I got hit with a nasty cold, leaving my ribs aching like I'd be hit with an aluminum baseball bat from all the coughing. Lasted about 1 and 1/2 weeks, and now at the beginning of April I am finally getting over the second string (or maybe the first that never left) of this mess, which sent me to the walk-in medical clinic and left there with 4 medications, then the ER two days later for the rib pain and left there with 2 medications and a recommendation to get some Mucinex as well. Diagnosed as bronchitis, possible allergy relations as the meds from the clinic were Zyrtec, Benadryl, Nasonex and a z-pac.

Amongst all of the sickies, I was hit with my Newfound Obsession. It's actually an old obsession that, once revisited, is just as strong as it was almost 20 years ago. My best friend Trish and I went to see NKOTB in concert. Yes, THOSE NKOTB. Hanging' Tough, Covergirl, The Right Stuff (go ahead, sing it. We both know you know all the words, and I'm the last person that will tease you -- it's playing on my Itunes right now). These guys know how to rock a concert, and they are all pushing 40!! That was seriously the most pumped up concert I have ever been to, and the arena wasn't even completely packed. They sang a lot of the old stuff because they know as well as we do that was what all us 20 - 30somethings wanted to hear. And they played their new stuff too, from their new album "The Block" which is actually really good. I love "Dirty Dancing"

"Oh, it's so crazy, she's like Baby, I'm like Swayze
I'm said, oh, and I'm burning up
So, let's turn it up, I said TURN IT UP NOW!!"

Since it was a girl's weekend (she flew down from VA as part of her bday present from her hubby) we went all out and hung out by the tour buses and actually got to shake hands/take pics of Donnie Walberg. We had so much fun, and NKOTB just released their summer dates, so even though she will be in VA and I will be in FL, we will be together in spirit and are both going to the summer show in our respective location!! My NKOTB partner in crime will be my loving husband, who has volunteered to go the concert with me, not sure if he is excited about the music or the ratio of men to women, but I am excited I get to go nonetheless. The concert is in Tampa on May 30th. And I just have to say, the guys (especially my fave, Joey) have all grown up VERY nicely.

I am Your Father...or am I?

2009-02-01T12:27:00.004-05:00

My husband knows my obsession for one of my favorite blogs, Cake Wrecks. I have to check out the new cake wrecks on almost a daily basis. Today Jen topped all of the cakes she has posted before. A Darth Vader Baby Shower cake.

Seriously, this is so cool.

Who else is ready for 2010??

2009-01-12T05:04:00.004-05:00

To say 2009 hasn't started off the best would be an understatement. My husband got sick on Dec. 30, 2008 and he was nice enough to share, so I got sick Dec. 31st, 2008. Went to the Dr. and was told it was viral. "Let it run it's course, and take tylenol for the pain." Here we are, January 12, 2009 and I am still sick. Granted, the sore throat/want to sleep all day fog has lifted and now I'm just coughing like a smoker, but still. Not really how I wanted to ring in 2009. It did turn into a sinus infection for me, but since I used sick time at work to go to the Dr. the first time, I didn't really have time to kill for another trip, and the Dr. wouldn't call in some ammox. for me. So I've been dealing. The good news is, Delaney never got it! Not sure how, but I am so thankful I didn't have to take care of a sick kid on top of being sick myself. We have been pretty lax in doing anything so far in the new year, seeing as how we both felt like crap, but I had Monday the 5th off, and my Sea World pass doesn't expire until Feb 24th (which we are renewing -- YAY!!) so I packed up and took Delaney to her favorite place in the world -- "See Shamu!"

We started by going to see the main man himself, but even though the park wasn't busy at all, the shows were packed since they scaled back the number of shows due to less visitors. Since it was so full, we took the opportunity to have the park to ourselves.

From January Sea World

Shamu's Happy Harbor was empty, except for about 5 other kids.

From January Sea World

A panoramic of the park -- you can see the new coaster, Manta, to the left, and Kraaken on the right.

From January Sea World

We also took advantage of the light crowds to see a lot of animals, we saw the penguins, sea lions, sharks, and of course, the birds that wanted to share our lunch. Delaney was fascinated, I told her the birds had to get their own lunch, so she started saying "No, no no birds!" anytime one would get near us. Silly kid.

Funny kid...

2009-01-04T13:12:00.002-05:00

Last night our TV blew. Our big screen Magnavox. Delaney tells Chuck she wants to watch TV and he told her it was broken. She said, "Daddy, I have idea." He said, "What's your idea?" Delaney replied, "Fix it."

I have tomorrow off work, and decided that maybe I'll take Delaney to Sea World one last time before our tickets expire. I got my ticket out and called them, to make sure it was still valid -- Delaney loves Sea World so much I couldn't even fathom taking her and not being able to get in. She saw my ticket while I was on the phone and started saying "Shamu on it. Shamu on it." Then she asked to hold it, so I let her, hoping she would be quiet long enough for me to finish my conversation with the representative. Sure enough, as I'm telling the lady goodbye, Delaney is screaming in excitement, "SHAMU ON IT!" Needless to say, the rep. was cracking up as she was saying goodbye, and I'm sure shared her story with all her co-workers.

Merry Christmas!!

2008-12-28T21:34:00.004-05:00

Santa made his stop at our house after we were all tucked snugly in our beds, with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.

Cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer

From December 2008

The tree Christmas morning

From December 2008

The first thing Delaney went to, and kept going back to, and back to, and back....

From December 2008

Chuck with his Star Wars toys

From December 2008

At Weemaw & Poppy's house with the kitchen they got her

From December 2008

Wes & Chuck playing Guitar Hero

From December 2008

Very cool Little People Circus

From December 2008

My fave gifts -- end tables my dad made to match the entertainment stand he made last Christmas!

From December 2008

All in all, we had a great day! Hope everyone else did too!

'Twas the Week Before Christmas...

2008-12-28T21:27:00.005-05:00

I was getting ready to post Christmas pictures, but decided to start with a few other fun pics of the week before Santa made his much anticipated debut. The Monday before Christmas, Delaney went with my mom to visit the Head Elf and got some great pictures....expect something similar for your Christmas cards next year!

From December 2008

Then I did a little holiday baking-- (just let me know if you want either of these, there is also a really cute reindeer one I didn't get to this year.)

Jolly Old Elves

From December 2008

Santa Hats (meringue)

From December 2008

Our awesome Santa and reindeer Christmas lights we got from my aunt Janice.

From December 2008

Delaney's 2nd birthday party

2008-12-13T13:04:00.002-05:00

We had Delaney's 2nd birthday party last Sunday, December 7th. Her actual birthday is December 9th, but we wanted to have a little time to recover before Christmas, hence the reason for picking the weekend prior. When we ask her how old she is, she knows that she is 2. And usually "birthday cake" is somewhere in the sentence before or after that information.

We had a really nice time. Got to see Chuck's mom and her husband, and they brought a friend of theirs along. My parents came as well, we had burgers, baked beans and macaroni salad for lunch and cake for dessert. Delaney made out like a bandit, which really makes me concerned for the amount of persents we will have for Christmas morning. I even put 2 gifts from us back in the closet because it looked too overwhelming.

The "theme" was Backyardigans. The cake decoration --

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Ready for some fun

From Delaneys birthday 2008

With Grandma and Daddy

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Checking out the inchworm...what exactly do I do with this?

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Oh...I get it!

From Delaneys birthday 2008

The rest of the loot..

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Cool computer

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Daddy got a surprise too...I bought this on Etsy

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Let us eat cake!

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Fun Little People camping set from Uncle Wesley

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Her "me-tar" (not sure where that came from intead of guitar)

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Finally -- something to stop the action!

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Weemaw helping open gifts

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Daddy lost in the B52's....

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Oohh -- I can make lots of soup with these!

From Delaneys birthday 2008

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells

2008-12-04T23:50:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-12-01T22:22:00.003-05:00

Ok, I feel like I should really post Thanksgiving pictures. We had a lot of fun, got to see a lot of family (more so than usual these days with everyone getting a little more spread apart), & ate some delicious food. Of course, now that we are into December, all that I can think about is a combination of Delaney's 2nd birthday and then Christmas a mere 2 1/2 weeks later. It's enough to make your head spin like that sweet little girl in The Exorcist. Moving on....

Aunt, Mom & Grandma in the kitchen

From Thanksgiving 2008

Outside, playing with the go-cart my uncle built

From Thanksgiving 2008

On my way back from a fast, bumpy trek

From Thanksgiving 2008

Delaney wanted a turn -- much slower!

From Thanksgiving 2008

Chuck & Delaney playing kick ball

From Thanksgiving 2008

Even my mom gave the go-cart a try!

From Thanksgiving 2008

Playing with her cousins before she tripped

From Thanksgiving 2008

Snuggling with her Uncle Wesley after she tripped

From Thanksgiving 2008

All better!

From Thanksgiving 2008

Proof that the seasons DO change in Florida!

From Thanksgiving 2008

Birthday Pictures

2008-11-16T19:59:00.002-05:00

We went to Target today (not the one we work at, sadly we do not have a portrait studio) and got Delaney's 2 year pictures done. Even though her birthday isn't for 3 weeks, I am cheap and wanted them in time to send out with Christmas cards! I will give you the preview once my online order is up, but from what we saw on the order screen, the pictures are amazing!! I highly recommend Target portrait studios for your picture occasions. The photographer we had was wonderful, and she even managed to get some great shots of a 2 year old that didn't want to sit on the stool, didn't want to lay on the ground, didn't want to stand on the dot, and had to hug mommy or daddy in between every picture. I am really excited to share them once they come in, and the turn around time is great -- they will be ready on Friday!

We then came home, changed clothes and went to my parents to get some pictures taken for family pictures in Christmas cards this year.

And on top of all that, because we will be working the entire weekend after Thanksgiving, we put up the Christmas tree yesterday.

Christmas Time!

2008-11-13T22:50:00.003-05:00

Decided it was time for a quick update for the holidays on the blog layout...nothing too fancy, just threw together some candy canes to make things feel a little more festive!

Sea World Halloween Spooktacular!

2008-11-03T20:37:00.002-05:00

I considered backdating this entry a little closer to when we actually attended Sea World's Spooktacular, but I doubt I'll have time for more than 1 update tonight, and then it won't really matter!

Back on October 18th, we used our Sea World passes to go to Sea World's Halloween Spooktacular. I'd never been before, but definetely a cool event, if not just a little overcrowded. Basically, Sea World gets different companies to sponsor the event, Sea World employees dress up like crazy sea characters, others hand out candy to trick' or 'treaters, everyone has fun. We did the TOT'ing route (Sea World has a special map pointing out candy spots) and then got to see the Shamu show, I don't think we did anything else. Delaney was in need of a nap, and I was getting tired too! Pics from the day:

Ready to trick or treat!

From Sea World Halloween

In the bubble area with my mom

From Sea World Halloween

Checking out some of the pumpkin fish decorations

From Sea World Halloween

Not a big fan of the school of fish

From Sea World Halloween

Or the catfish & dogfish

From Sea World Halloween

She actually seemed to really like the mermaid, and even looked up and talked to her at one point

From Sea World Halloween

Umm...where did Delaney go??

From Sea World Halloween

There she is!

From Sea World Halloween

She wasn't sure how she felt about the butterfly...I'm not sure how I felt either. I mean, why was she hanging out with the guy carrying a butterfly net??

From Sea World Halloween

More fishy pumpkins

From Sea World Halloween

We rode a dolphin on the carousel

From Sea World Halloween

Contrary to the look on her face, she did enjoy it

From Sea World Halloween

Delaney really liked Shamu and even asked to hug him after we had walked away

From Sea World Halloween

And we got to check out a bald eagle on our way out of the park.

From Sea World Halloween

All in all, not a bad day.

Spidery Story Time

2008-10-08T21:06:00.006-04:00

Last week on Thursday I took Delaney to her first ever story time at the Tavares Library. She is always so obsessed with other kids, and we don't have any other kids we really play with on a regular basis, so I decided this would be good. She was super shy, and didn't want to sing any of the songs or anything, but for her first story time I didn't really expect anything more. There was about 15 - 20 other kids there, so I know it must have felt really overwhelming. By craft time (the whole event was only about 30-35 minutes) she was ready to go. I made her stay and we finished her spider hat, put it on and then we left. She kept telling me "all through" and "home." We are going back tomorrow for "dinosaur" story time, hopefully it will get easier for her if we make it routine every week. Luckily it's always on Thursdays and I'm off work so it's easy to stay on schedule with it. I also signed her up for the Pumpkin Decorating/Costume Parade on the 30th.

Ready to go to story time

From Story Time

Smiling in her shades

From Story Time

Her spider hat

From Story Time

Sea World with Trish & Roy

2008-09-26T13:40:00.012-04:00

On Thursday, Chuck took the day off and we headed down to Sea World to meet up with some of our favorite people. Trish & Roy were down from Virginia for the week for their annual Disney/Sea World vacation, and brought along Roy's daughter Brittany. We headed out and got to Seal World around 10:30am and met the gang at the dolphin nursery. We decided to go towards the Dolphin Feeding area so Trish, Roy & Brittany went in there and we headed to the other end to watch the dolphins swim around. They were jumping all around and we got splashed pretty good! We stopped for lunch at Mama's Kitchen & Smoky Creek BBQ. Sat and talked for a while, then decided to head out so we could do a few things before the dolphin show at 2:30pm. One of Chuck's friends, Nick, is a trainer and we talked to him that morning and knew he would be in the 2:30pm show so we wanted to see that one. Headed off to wander through the Penguin Encounter, and waited for Roy & Brittany to go on Kraaken & then Journey to Atlantis. We were right next to the Dolphin stadium, so we went in and got good seats. The show was spectacular, definetely the best one I've seen since they changed the show to Blue Horizons. Nick said they souped it up some because of the whole Anheiser-Busch being bought, and I guess the company that bought it is selling the parks, and some potential buyers were in the crowd. Either way, amazing show. After we saw the dolphin show, we hung out and said hi to Nick, who took us backstage to see the false killer whales.

Left the dolphin show and went to see the Sea Lion & Otter feeding area, walked through Shark Encounter, and then got our seats at the Clyde & Seamore show before the mime came out -- I hate walking past him!! By that time, Delaney was getting cranky (no nap) so we finished the show (probably ended around 5pm), walked over to see the pictures from Trish, Roy & Brittany feeding the dolphins & headed out. We went to Wendy's to get dinner & sat around for a while talking, while they got a taste of what dinner is like at my house (Delaney -- "Hi Trish. Hi Roy. Hi Brittany.") Finally left Wendy's around 7:30pm. I was definetely sad to say goodbye, I hate that we only get to see each other once a year. Talked about taking a trip that way to visit, so we might have to plan something like that. We definetely had a great time, I love hanging out with Trish! Roy's a great guy too, and Brittany was very nice & Delaney loved her.
And here is a crazy amount of pictures!!!!

Sting Ray Cove

The whole gang - Chuck with Delaney, Brittany, Roy & Trish
Roy & Trish
Chuck & Delaney
Dolphin Cove

Trish, Roy & Brittany after they fed the dolphins
Penguin Encounter

Taking some pretty pictures while we waited

Delaney & Trish

Roy & Brittany in the front!
Panoramic of the Dolphin Stadium
Blue Horizons Show

Our friend, Nick
Nick again

Bird Lady

Trish, Chuck must've taken this one especially for us!
Mid-air
Vulture Guys
False Killer Whales

Loved these pics!!

Backstage, Brittany, Roy & Trish with Nick & a false killer whale
Delaney wearing Brittany's shades

Sea Lion feeding area

Baby sea lion! Panoramic of the Clyde & Seamore show

Chuck & Delaney playing drums

Dinner at Wendy's
Trish, Brittany & Roy
Brittany & Delaney

That's all I have, once I get the pictures Trish took I will probably post a "Part 2" because a lot of good pics are on her camera. & her camera is better than mine. lol!

mmmm, cake!!

2008-09-18T21:29:00.003-04:00

This afternoon I had a few errands I wanted to run, one of them being to JoAnn's to get some more page protectors for my wedding scrapbook. We went inside, did our shopping and left. In the parking lot is an old (but still open) Twisty Treat. Delaney, of course, spots it in the distance and starts saying something. It was windy out, so I had to stop walking and say "What?" a few times. Finally, I realized she was saying "Cake!!" and pointing at the Twisty Treat. Hrm. It's 4pm, looks like rain, and I'm sure as heck not trying to wrangle a 2 year old in the parking lot while I attempt to feed her a soft serve ice cream cone at one of the 2 tables in a 12' square concrete "patio". She gave me an idea before I had time to think of one. She makes the "I'm crushing your head" thing at the top of the ice cream, pinches, and brings her empty fingers to her mouth. "mmmm, cake!" Then, "Mommy!" repeats motions, and feeds me some "cake." I make sure to repeat "mmmm, cake!" We proceed to do this, now using my free hand for my own cake, all the way to the car. I'm sure we looked so weird, but she was happy and I didn't have to deal with a meltdown from no cake. :)

I got so lucky because this is stuff we do when we draw in her coloring books. She always wants me to draw houses on the blank pages in her coloring books. I've gotten tired of houses and add on all sorts of things -- pools, trees, cats, dogs, swings, cars, etc. When I first did the tree I asked her what kind of fruit grew on our tree. As I drew red apples, she responded with "bananas". The Apple Banana Tree was born. After the apples and bananas are drawn, we both proceed to stuff ourselves silly by picking apples and bananas off the trees and eating them, followed by "mmm, bananas!" We're so goofy.

Also updated my 1001, I've added a link in the sidebar for easier access.

Counting

2008-09-15T23:23:00.002-04:00

Today's post is brought to you by the number one. Or should I say uno? A little backstory -- my daughter loves to count things. Sometimes she counts 1 straight through to 10, (at 21 months -- maybe I'm just impressed because I'm her mom) sometimes it's "1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 7, more!" etc.

For dinner tonight we had burgers and tater tots. Delaney's never been a fan of anything with ground beef, so she had green beans, yogurt and tater tots. I kept the tater tots on my plate, broken in 1/2 to cool down, then transferred them to her plate. She had to, of course, count the tater tots. Pointing to each piece as she said a number, she recited, "one, dos, tres, wato, cinco!"

Um, what just happened?????

Chuck and I are laughing out of sheer amazement. Delaney thinks that's cool.

We ask her, specifically, to count her tater tots IN SPANISH. Points at each piece, and says "one, dos, tres, wato (which I can only assume is quatro), cinco!"

Seriously, that is cool.

The only other Spanish word we've ever heard her speak is "sube", which my minimal spanish tells me (i.e. the spanish to english translator from yahoo search) means climb/rises. A popular word on "Go, Diego, Go" when Linda the Llama is going up a hill. Delaney uses it when she climbs onto the couches, somedays she says "climb" others she says "sube." I don't have any doubts she knows we speak English, but I think it's pretty neat she's learned that on "Dora the Explorer" and Go, Diego, Go!"

We went to see the dolphins

2008-09-08T14:11:00.006-04:00

The weather was gorgeous this weekend, so we took a day and went to Sea World with our annual passes. Made the mistake of telling Delaney we were going to see the dolphins and paid for it dearly by listening to a 45 minute car ride of "dolphins, dolphins, dolphins, dolphins, dolphins, dolphins"....you get the idea. Even though it was disgustingly hot, we did have fun!

Checking out the turtles

Then we had a very short visit with the stingrays
Is it Jaws???
Nope, just the dolphins!
Delaney's favorite part -- the underwater viewing of the dolphins!
Cool picture!!

Off to see Clyde & Seamore

Back to the dolphins

101 in 1001

2008-09-05T13:41:00.009-04:00

The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.

The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).

Why 1001 Days? Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year's resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organizing and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.

Some common goal setting tips:1. Be decisive. Know exactly what you want, why you want it, and how you plan to achieve it.2. Stay Focused. Any goal requires sustained focus from beginning to end. Constantly evaluate your progress.3. Welcome Failure. Frequently, very little is learned from a venture that did not experience failure in some form. Failure presents the opportunity to learn and makes the success more worthy.4. Write down your goals. It clarifies your thinking and reinforces your commitment.5. Keep your goals in sight. Review them frequently, and ensure that they are always at the forefront of your thinking.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I've jumped on the bandwagon, spent last night and nap time today making my list, and I am actually really, really excited about some of the things on my list!! I'll put a quick link in my side tab to this post for easy reference to my full list, and of course will be updating as items are crossed off. Some will make mention in my posts as accomplishments (i.e. #25, #29), others will be mentioned in a regular blog entry (i.e. #62) and others will probably only be updated on the list (i.e. #90). I hope I can maintain my excitement for this project throughout it's duration! Completed tasks will be changed to purple font, tasks in progress will be green.

Start date: September 5, 2008
End date: June 3, 2011

Home

1. Buy an external hard drive for pictures.
2. Purge file cabinet every 6 months. (1/6)
3. Buy a full-length mirror for the master bathroom.
4. Buy rugs for the master bathroom.
5. Put curtains over master bath windows.
6. Tile master bathroom.
7. Paint Delaney’s bathroom.
8. Tile Delaney’s bathroom.
9. Paint master bedroom.
10. Get a master bedroom set.
11. Put curtains in master bedroom.
12. Buy Delaney a big girl bedroom set.
13. Buy Delaney big girl bedding.
14. Lay new flooring in the dining room.
15. Replace trim in dining room.
16. Buy a hutch for the dining room.
17. Purchase frames for the dining room.
18. Order pictures for dining room frames, fill and hang.
19. Tile kitchen.
20. Buy or build 2 end tables for the living room. (xmas gift from my parents -- dad built!)
21.Hang “star” lights on the porch.
22. Build a shelf in the shed.
23. Organize the shed.
24. Get rid of the weeds in our lawn.
25. Fence in the backyard.
26. Have/participate in a garage sale.
27. Weed flowerbeds around the house 2 times a year. (1/6)
28. Mulch around the house.

Hobbies

29. Finish sand castle cross-stitch.
30. Mat, frame & hang sand castle cross-stitch.
31. Finish 2 copies of “Darcy/Nadia” scrapbook. (0/2)
32. Buy 2 new scrapbooks to separate wedding scrapbook into.
33. Scrapbook Delaney’s 1st year.
34. Organize and sell scrapbook clutter.
35. Set up Etsy shop in spare bedroom.
36. Buy a photo album and fill with Darcy/Chuck pictures.
37. Order prints from Winkflash 2 times a year. (0/6)
38. Organize prints into albums 2 times a year. (0/6)
39. Read 50 new books. (6/50)
40. Maintain my blog.
41. Turn a bowl or vase on the lathe.
42. Help Aunt Janice transfer VHS onto DVD’s and make copies for the family.
43. Have a booth at 2 craft shows. (0/2)
44. Buy a digital SLR.
45. Take a photography class.
46. Sew 2 dresses/ outfits for Delaney. (0/2)
47. Sew myself a purse or tote using my old shower curtain.

Financial

48. Pay off credit card.
49. Switch to credit card with better rewards.
50. Build up our savings to 10% of our annual income.

Marriage

51. See a movie in the theatre 3 x a year. (0/9)
52. Instill “Date Night at Home” 1 time a month. (3/34) -- died over Christmas
53. Play Wii with Chuck 1 hour a week. (5/143) -- died over Christmas
54. Say “I love you” 1 x a day. (129/1001)
55. *private*

Travel

56. Travel somewhere neither Chuck or I have visited before.
57. Take a trip to celebrate our 5-year wedding anniversary.
58. Take a mini-vacation once a year. (0/3)
59. Take a trip to Key West.
60. Take a trip to visit Nadia.

Family

61. Cook 1 new meal a month. (4/34)
62. Go to the beach at least 4 times a year. (0/12)
63. Spend 2 days a month doing what Delaney wants to do all day long. (5/68)
64. Get Delaney’s pictures taken for her birthday every year. (1/3)
65. Take family pictures every year. (1/3)
66. Go to the zoo.
67. Take Delaney to the park once a month. (3/34)
68. Go to the county fair.
69. Send my brother a care package.
70. Take Delaney to Disney World before she turns 3.
71. Go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas.
72. Go to “Light Up Mount Dora” at Christmas. did in 2008
73. Attend a Christmas parade every year. (0/3)
74. Send Christmas cards to family and friends with pictures and a newsletter every year. (1/3)
75. Cook “Christmas Casserole” each year on Christmas morning. (1/3)
76. Create a copy of the family tree book from my dad.
77. Go strawberry picking.
78. Go orange picking.
79. Make fresh squeezed orange juice.
80. Go on a hay ride.
81. Grow & use fresh herbs.

Personal Health

82. Stop biting my fingernails.
83. Get a pedicure yearly. (0/3)
84. Get a massage.
85. Relax in the tub 1 x a week. (16/143)
86. Paint my toenails once a month. (4/34)
87. Work only 1 weeknight a week, or reduce my work schedule to 4 days a week.
88. Drink 2 glasses of water a day for a month.
89. Take multivitamin daily. (77/1001)
90. Floss 2 x a week. (5/143)
91. Visit the dentist 2 times a year. (1/6)
92. Make an eye appointment.

Be Good to Others

93. Start using reusable grocery bags when I shop.
94. Participate in the “March for Babies” annually. (0/3)
95. Bake cookies and deliver to Winnie Palmer NICU on December 11th annually. (0/3)
96. Donate unsold items to Goodwill.
97. Knit 10 hats for NICU babies. (0/10)

Friends

98. Participate in a cookie swap.
99. Attend 10 “Girls Night Out”. (0/10)
100. Attend 10 year high school reunion.
101. Meet 2 new OLU girls. (0/2)

It's gonna be a long weekend...

2008-08-29T13:39:00.004-04:00

Closing manager tonight, opening Saturday and Sunday (thankfully not manager though) and then opening manager on Monday because well, it's a holiday, they're salary and I'm not. I will be so thankful for when I get rid of my building keys.

I think (hope) that Delaney is getting a few more teeth. This kid is so slow when it comes to getting all of her teeth, but when she does get them, it's business--usually 4 or more at a time! She is still missing a total of 8 teeth from her "baby teeth" set, one more set of molars and then her canines. She went to bed great last night, then woke up at 11:30pm, Chuck and I could hear her talking over the monitor. At first, I thought maybe she was just 1/2 awake and looking for her binkie or something. Then we heard very distinctive "up, down" so I decided to check on her. She was burning up! Even her legs were hot to the touch, so I took her into the rocker and took her temperature. We just do under-the-arm temp, but the mere sight of that thermometer brings her to tears. We did get a reading though, 100.8 I think, and under the arm is usually a degree lower than actual. I gave her some tylenol and we rocked for a bit to see if the fever would drop. She still felt a little warm, but was acting ok so we put her to bed. She woke again at 2am, not as warm but fussy, and I ended up bringing her into the spare bed with me where she slept and I dozed for about 20 minutes, then put her back in her room.

Got up and did breakfast this morning (she only ate 1/2 of her banana, a food she never turns down) then we headed to Target for our grocery run. Once we got home, I gave her an early lunch since breakfast was small and took her temp amidst tears again. Took it first thing this morning and it was 98.3, this time it was 100 again. More tylenol, and I asked her if she wanted to take a nap. She said yes but cried when I put her in her room so I just let her lay on the couch with a pillow, a lightweight blanket and her binkies. Put her down for a nap about 30 min later and she is still sleeping. I really hope this is just teeth related, we haven't been sick recently, and she hasn't really been around anyone else.

And to leave you with this for the weekend....I am a Calvin & Hobbes fan, and recently rediscovered a plethora of saved comics on the computer ---

I'm Blue

2008-08-26T10:20:00.005-04:00

At least, this past weekend I was. We finally got around to painting/redecorating the master bathroom. It was our first BIG house project, and I wanted to be able to mark one entire room off of the "to-do" list. First, pictures of the "before" bathroom...

Pictures of the work going on....

Priming the walls

Look -- a giant!
Starting with the blue paint
1/2 way there!

And now, the finished product!!!

Took this picture today, I managed to tie back the curtain panels yesterday. Looks much better!! And then I took a nice, hot bath.

Family photoshoot

2008-08-14T22:27:00.005-04:00

Last weekend while we were off work was pretty nice. I honestly don't recall what we actually did, other than I know I went to Wal-Mart and got the oil changed while I was off Friday, Saturday we ran errands, and Sunday we went to my parents for a "photoshoot". My mom got some new frames in her dining room and needed 3 vertical pictures to fill them. So I decided to take the opportunity to take some photos of myself, Chuck and Delaney as well.

Her trademark "smile"

The whole reason for the photo shoot, to get a good picture of mom and dad

Wardrobe change!

She ripped the leaf in half, then exclaimed, "Oh no! Broke it!"
My mom thought this one was cute
Awww

And a pretty sunset to end the day

The important thing is not to stop questioning. - Albert Einstein

2008-08-06T21:39:00.003-04:00

Delaney is learning so much, so quickly!! I love watching her, but just want her to always stay this age. It's so much fun!! The new phrase she has learned is "Wassat?" which is said whenever she hears a different noise, picks up something she doesn't know what to call, or isn't sure what you are doing, i.e. "What's that?" Point-in-case, we went to the park a few blocks over yesterday morning and on the way home, we drove past the concrete plant. She could hear one of the trucks leaving as it drove past us, so she looked out the window and said, "Wassat?" So cute!

She is also trying to make sentences, by just putting together words of what she wants or needs. She always wants to sit in my lap if I am at the computer (note: she is getting some sort of computer for birthday/Christmas, feel free to post your recommendations. It must have a screen and keyboard, not the kind you plug into your TV. ) so today she was tugging on my left knee saying "Open (meaning turn this way). Chair. Sit. Me."

A few other phrases --

"I got it!"
"Dropped it"
"Broke it" (anything that Chuck or myself drop to the floor, or something she 'breaks', like today she tore a hole in her coloring book and ran out of her bedroom to get me to tell me she broke it.)
"Thank you" (we've had this one since before 16 months probably)

I'm so excited -- I'm off work for the next 4 days!!! Tomorrow Delaney and I are going to the library to pick up my library card, then to have lunch with my mom. We may swing into Target afterwards, we are in desperate need of batteries around this house, all of the toys seem to be dying at the same time. Friday will probably be a day spent outside and at the pool, then Chuck will be home with us Saturday and Sunday. One of those days will be spent at my parents, Chuck read up on how to recharge the a/c in the Focus and it is overdue. With the heat index, it's up in the triple digits most days in the afternoon.

More pics to come after the weekend, I'm sure!

Beach Day!

2008-07-31T20:33:00.005-04:00

So we ended up at the beach! It was such a great time, I really needed it and Delaney had a blast. My mom came over to our house, we packed up and were on our way. The drive left something to be desired -- back in H.S. the beach was 20 - 30 minutes away, today it took almost 1hr, 30min. We were almost there, and I had to really pee and didn't want to go in the little beach porta potties so we stopped at BK and went in. Delaney had been getting restless in her carseat so she needed a break, even though the beach was only 10 more minutes away. It was about 10am, and we walked out of the bathroom and my daughter starts up with "Fries?" I was cracking up. Of course then my mom feels bad and we get hash browns & milk (cokes for us) and sit for 20 minutes while Delaney scarfs down some hash browns. To be fair, she probably was hungry, she doesn't like to eat breakfast as soon as she gets up, and I gave her a waffle straight out of bed.

Anyway -- on to the beach, we drove down to 27th Ave. and drove on the beach, no way were we trying to carry stuff on with a toddler. Went about a mile north and parked. Low tide was at 2pm, so we were in good shape, since we knew we wouldn't stay much past lunch time. Delaney got so excited when she saw the water...since she'd never been to the beach, she kept saying "POOL!" and giggling. Once we got out of the car and got her suit on her, etc. we walked to the water. It was a little cold, but she walked right in -- no fear at all. We put our stuff up and dug a mini hole for her, she sat there and played 95% of the time we were at the beach! We played with her, then my mom and I would take turns going out into the water to cool off. We had filled Delaney's hole with water, so she was doing good. Sprinkled about 20 minutes after we got there, but we stayed put and it cleared up...the day was so gorgeous! Headed out around 12pm, stopped at the same BK's and had lunch (unless we went to McD's or a local place we would have had to go out of the way, and it had been a while since I went to a local place) then got home around 3:30pm I think. All in all it was a great day -- we took loads of pics!

Went straight into the water...she loved it! Gorgeous Atlantic Ocean, as always!
Cutie, playing in her "sandhole"

Mommy & Delaney

Hopefully we'll be planning more beach ventures in the near future!

We-ah-you?

2008-07-26T08:31:00.003-04:00

Yet another cute "Delaney-ism". Whenever she loses her pacifier, we cup our hands around our mouth and call "Binkie! Binkie! Where are you?" She followed suit, because a lost binkie is a serious problem. It's become routine, if we don't know where her binkie is, she wanders the house calling "Binkie! Binkie!" This morning, she was sitting in her booster chair having breakfast (on a side note, this kid would eat fruit all day, every day if I let her...she had bananas and blueberries for breakfast today & yesterday) and out of nowhere started saying "Binkie! Weahyou." I had to think on that one for a second, because we were up at 4am with a soaken through diaper and it was only 6:30am when we sat down to eat and well, I don't function much before at least 7am. So I asked her, "What?" She responded, "Binkie! Weahyou." Lightbulb! Where Are You. Now to turn that into three words. She also has "I got it" and "here you go" down pretty good.

Delaney is finally back down for a nap...now off to do some house cleaning, even though my bed looks so inviting.

Time for a big girl bed?

2008-07-24T10:03:00.000-04:00

My dad made my daughter's crib. He read tons of articles, magazines, etc. before doing it, and he is an amazing woodworker. This is a picture of the crib

Today Delaney figured out how to open it. On each side is a slide lock that you just push in place to lock it. After changing a dirty diaper, I locked it quickly so I could go throw the diaper out and wash my hands. By the time I got back in the room (from the bathroom across the hall) she had one side unlocked and was working on the second side. I think we might have to remove the front railings (my dad also made it so we could use it as a toddler bed) and go get a bedrail. I don't know if I'm ready for a kid that can climb out of bed when she pleases!

new words

2008-07-23T22:00:00.000-04:00

I just can't seem to figure out a solid place to put/post all of my important dates and memories for when my daughter grows up, so hopefully this journal will be the winner. Maybe I'll add more backstory/pictures, and tales from everyday life, but for now it will just serve as a memory storage.

My daughter is 20 months old. How she got to be that big I have no idea. She is so much fun (except when those terrible 2's kick in...I dread next year) and learns new things every day. She has always called my dad "Poppy" but she took forever to call my mom by name. I think that was partly because my mom was wishy-washy about what she wanted to be called, so we changed it around a few times, probably only confusing my daughter in the process. So one day we were naming people. We pointed at my husband. "Daddy." Me - "Mommy." Grandpa - "Poppy." Grandma - "House...?" Um, what? We had to ask her a few times, at the risk of my mother being forever known as "House" to make sure we heard correctly. We did. No idea where that came from, except whenever we would go to visit (we live 10 minutes away, so often) as we pulled in the driveway I would say "Whose house are we at? Is this Grammy's house?" Drop the Grammy, and you've got yourself a House. Now the house bit only lasted for a week or so, and that turned into MeeMaw. My mom was ok with that, she had only insisted on not being "Nanny" because when we were younger, something yucky was 'nanny-ca-ca'. Can't say I blame her. Now MeeMaw has turned into "WeeMaw" and seems to be sticking. My mom thinks it's so cute, and encourages it. I have to say it's not too bad myself.

Other cute words --

Banana - Bee-a. When I first taught her this one, I would sit close and let her watch how I made the "na" sound with my tongue. That turned into 'ba-la-la-la-la-la-ee-a'

Blueberries - Rappies. No IDEA where this came from. We had blueberry pancakes at my parents last weekend. Delaney wasn't real fond of the pancake part, she was more interested in the bowl of bee-a's in the middle of the table. So, sitting in Poppy's lap, she had banana slices for breakfast. We threw some plain blueberries in there and she grabbed one which was amazing in itself since this kid passes up bananas for nothing. Then she grabbed the other one. Pretty soon she had eaten a dozen blueberries. Every time we gave her a few more, it was sheer excitement and a squeal of "Rappies!!"

I'll have to come up with a general list of all of her words at 20 months, I'll start that in a new post so I can edit and add when I remember/hear more.