Haven't been here in forever...

Gosh, I haven't even framed an experience with a blogger's mind for so long now, I feel kinda rusty. Not that I am a pro at this. Darn it, I didn't win the Wii. I finally got the checkbook in the computer (2005 thru current) and have it balanced. Now hubby just has to make enough money to cover everything. If you thought of our finances as an outfit, it would look like something close to this: an expensive nice pair of shoes paired with a mini-skirt and crop top. Not as bad as pasties, but trust me - they're under the crop top if things get worse. Still have to figure out how we send a kid to college abroad in the fall. We make too much to qualify for federal loans but have no cash to speak of. Got all kinds of equity tied up in various places. I can't stand it. Oh, and not an option not to send the kid to college abroad, even though she got into a good in-state school. The half-full side of that is I'll just commandeer her bedroom for the two little kids about a month after she takes off. I want to put them in bunk beds. (There are four of us in the master bedroom right now.) Anyway, so I have been trying to get the checkbook all figured out and in before we leave on our trip on Monday. He wants to pay bills and then figure out how much he has to put in the account and I would rather work with a budget with the funds in the account and send them off from there. Hate joint checking too. Would rather not have him access the account other than to put money into it. He was mad at me because I took the IRS refund and stuck it in the account to pay bills and didn't say anything to him about it. I swear, if he had known there was that kind of money in the account he would have bought the latest computer for one of the older kids (none of the 3 computers between the 2 of them is very old) and funneled more money towards some baseball invention he is involved in. I think we should pay bills first, ya know? Oh, and eat. So that's done, but of course it will be a mess when I get home because he doesn't record checks in the register - hence the carbon copy checks. He spends money like he has it. Just wish we did.
I finally went to Urgent Care and got myself a check-up. Bronchitis and Sinusitis. So I am on Amoxicillin: 2 pills 3 times a day. I also got myself a little prescription for Diflucan for the unfortunate side effect of the other antibiotics. Ladies, you with me on this? I'll take that pill tomorrow. I remember the first time I ended up with a yeast infection because I went to the Doctor. It was in college and had gotten myself a pretty good cold, good ol' chest infection so got some antibiotics for that one and a week later had my very first yeast infection. I was pretty steamed up that no one warned me that I might end up with a little problem elsewhere. So I was proactive with this sets of drugs. Don't want that hassle ever, never mind the week I am due for my period, traveling for 3 days in the car and attending a wedding a week from now.
Let's see, last week I was also really pissed off at my husband. It all boils down to priorities. The pie chart is huge in the favor of one kid. Totally uncool. I wanted to attend a baby shower. I thought I had worked it out with him that he was going to look after the little ones while I went. The day before he informs me that he never actually gave me an answer and to call my mom to see if she could do it. (She jumped at the chance to spend time with the little ones. I love my mom. She is always there for me.) He told me that when he watches them he can't get anything done. (It means they actually want him to play with them instead of on his computer on the couch.) He is actually standing in the doorway telling me this as he is headed out to the baseball field for a friggin' double header. What the hell are you getting done while sitting on your ass for 6 hours on a bleacher? Gosh, what is that gushing sound in my ears? It's my hubby, winning the Hoover Award for Dad of the Year.


I made him a Father's Day card anyway. Because my kids love their dad. I'll have the kids sign it and stash it for F's D and have him open it then. All supplies are Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted. Base card is Real Red, with a layer of Basic Black and Whisper White. I put the Black where I wanted it on the Red and placed it down on the cutter to slice away. Same with the next layer of White. My friend Toni asked if I had glued it down and then cut it. It was a great idea I didn't think of. The Red "Father" from the All Holidays set is on pop dots. A little bit of gingham to just add a touch and there you have a bold masculine Father's Day card. He also actually remembered my birthday so I went ahead and got him a replacement pocket knife for the one he lost a couple of months ago. His pocket knife is just part of his daily personal toolkit. He has his wedding band, watch, wallet, and belt that he carries on his person every day. The sound his watch makes - the links that hold the band together - are part of his music that he makes when he moves. His pocket knife usually clips onto his jeans and he uses it for all kinds of things. It isn't one of those Swiss Army knives, but he uses as if it were. It disappeared and I know he is missing it, because I miss it too. It is always handy to have him around if he has his knife on him.

I also made a card for my nephew who will be turning 9 while we are in Colorado with him. I had originally set aside a card for him that has this cute little frog on it: "Have I toad you how much I love you lately?" (Stampin' Up!) But I found out today how much he loves camouflage. I am thinking that if he likes camo, he might not be into little toadies. So I made him this card: The base card is Kraft. The other layers are Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip, Close to Cocoa, and Mellow Moss. The layers on top of the Always Artichoke are on pop dots. The sentiment is also from All Holidays and is stamped in Close to Cocoa on twill tape. Love that stuff! Aged copper brads from the Hodgepodge Hardware. Used the Mat Pack and piercer from Making Memories Crafter's Toolkit to pierce around the edges of the paper. I think I would like to make this card again but tear the paper into strips and then place the layers and see how that camo turns out. I'll cut off that little bit of tape fringe off before I give it to him.

It will be forever before I get to make another card again! We leave on Monday, wedding is next Saturday and not sure when we will be heading back here. I am not in a rush to return. Can I tell you how much I am looking forward to my vacation? I won't have to cook dinner for at least six people who won't show up or like what I have fixed. I will not have to put up with any one's dirty dishes in the sink or the counter or where ever, even when the dishwasher is empty. It will all just accumulate until maybe the folks around here actually notice that they are messy and expect someone else to clean up after them. They will run out of dishes until they remember to actually load the dishwasher. After they scrape the mold out of the drinking glasses left on the computer table and bedside shelf. They will run out of room to leave dirty dishes in the sink and on counters. They will run out of clean pots and pans to cook in. They will run out of towels because a new one everyday is dropped on the bathroom floor or left to mold in the corner of a smelly bedroom. They will run out of toilet paper because no one bothers to put anything on a shopping list. They will have to look for their shoes at the front door in the massive pile that will accumulate there in a matter of days. They will be unable to tell which pile of laundry is clean because as each new person does laundry they empty the previous load to the floor. Do you think they are going to mop the floor of the laundry room? They will run out of space in the garbage can because they don't bother to recycle. The last bulb will burn out in the living room and leave them in total darkness because the lights will not turn off by themselves any other way. Hopefully no one will break, well.... just open the front door and steal stuff because the door is always left unlocked, even when no one is home. And if it does get locked then dad will have to drive 20 minutes back home to let someone in because this person can't remember to carry the house key on his person. Somehow remembers the cell phone, tho. But school will be out and really, someone is always at home and on the computer or watching TV and bonus, there will likely be friends over while no adult is at home. The personal trainer will have to let himself in the house to wakey wakey his student. PT is strong enough to open the door despite the layer of crap that impedes its progress. My guess is that the lawn will be about 1 foot tall, not that I mow it now, but that the house will be unpleasant to reside in so the only one who does mow it will spend more time at the hangar. I hope he has fun doing it all by himself because that is what he asks of them now. Ahhhh, Vacation. I just hope Fishy survives. I'll call Merry Maids or Terminex to hit the house before I return.

I should be able to post from CO because I'll have access to the computers while we are there. Where I am going it might actually act like summer instead of mid-February.