Blog Vomit

Wow, I just realized that I didn't blog during the entire month of February. I know it's a short month, but still. Bad me. Between birthday, Valentine's, family visits, Uppercase Living, and the normal day to day stuff that comes with a busy household (not to mention the OctoMom), it seems my blog got neglected. Not that anyone noticed (other than my mom).

So here's a quick rundown to catch you up. I'll spare you the promises of more frequent blogging; we both know that's a crapshoot. If it makes you feel better, know that I miss this and if I thought anyone was reading it, I'd feel awfully guilty.

• My baby turned 3. I can't believe it, but the potty training battles assure me that it's true. We had a Spongebob Squarepants party complete with kelp shakes and Krabby Patties. Photos to come. Someday.
• I'm now in the planning stages of a Mario Kart party. It seems that my days of sparkly princess parties are behind me. Boo!
• Speaking of birthdays, Ray turned 40. He seems to have survived it! Sadly, there was no big trip or party (Thanks, Economy) but we had a nice celebration and he's gotten over the trauma.
• Softball season is underway. Softball practice is at the exact same time as dance. This sucks. Softball doesn't. It's fun to be back in the bleachers, watching the girls who have improved so much since last year, and the younger ones just starting out. I love that Julia loves this stuff so much. The reality is that the practices and games are quite a pain to manage, but it's totally worth it.
• I backed my minivan into a parked truck yesterday and smashed a taillight. SO ANNOYED.
• The bad news: my old piece of crap cell phone finally died. The good news: I got a new BlackBerry Storm. The bad news: I haven't figured out all its idiosyncrasies yet. Like why I only get some of my email. I'm fearful that this will warrant a call to the call center in Bangladesh or the Philippines.
• I expect Ray to have a new job by the beginning of next week. Of course, this is wonderful news and it'll be nice to have an income again. But it's been SO nice having him around these last few months. The kids and I have loved it. The new job will be close to home (except for when he's traveling) and I expect it to be good for our family in the long run. It'll be a while before we dig out from under the financial impact of his being out of work but we'll be fine eventually. I'm proud of us for not getting on each other's nerves (much) the entire time he was home and am already trying to figure out how to minimize his office time and maximize our family time.
• UL continues to be fun and rewarding. I am excited to have a new team member who also happens to be a friend. Great products and great promotions have made this a good time to be in this business.

There you have it. I would love to post some pictures of the Spongebob Party here soon. If nothing else, it'll maybe discourage some poor misdirected mom from endeavoring to punch enough holes out of yellow cardstock to make it look like a sponge. And you wonder why I haven't been blogging?

The Witch Is In

Any guesses what the "T" stands for?

Rants and Raves

Rave: My friend, Laura, who is always so nice and supportive.

Rant: People who can't be bothered to return a phone call (or 10).

Rave: The pediatric optician who finally found frames that Julia would concede to consider wearing.

Rant: Not having her on our vision plan. Ouch!

Rave: My new Uppercase Living website, and people who are as into the product as I am!

Rant: Not being able to choose what goes on my wall next!

Rave: Mommy group therapy.

Rave: Mommy wars.

Rave: It's finally fall! Hooray for changing leaves and Halloween decorations.

Rant: The 30 degree difference in temperature from the morning to the afternoon. How am I supposed to dress my kids?

Rave: The election is less than 3 weeks away...the campaigning is about to end.

Rant: I'm not overly thrilled with our choices and the one proposition I feel strongly about has a good chance of losing.

Rave: Pumpkin Spice Lattes and Pumpkin Cream Cheese muffins are back at Starbucks!

Rant: Still no drive-through Starbucks anywhere near here.

Rave: The Amazing Race. How cute was Phil's dad?

Rant: Desperate Housewives. I need No-Doz just to get through an episode.

Rave: Being back in Mommy & Me with Brady, a few nice moms and an awesome teacher.

Rant: Listening to "I go to school today?" a thousand times each day that we don't go to school.

Rave: Julia's soccer team is doing great, they made the playoffs, she scored a goal last week (!!!!) and Ethan finally seemed to get it together in his last game.

Rant: Too many of their games are scheduled simultaneously and I hate missing one. Plus his games are WAY TOO EARLY.

Rave: Sweet 3rd grade girls who hold hands and giggle and don't even know why.

Rant: Mean 3rd graders who shove, threaten and bully, and then break the rules knowing that the other kids are too scared to tell. It's too early for this stuff.

Fun Fall

I figured it was time for a good, mindless post about what we've been up to lately, not that it's particularly exciting.

• School is going great. Both kids have great teachers and love going. E still has a hard time getting up in the morning but he loves being a kindergartener. I absolutely love working in their classes. Kindergarten is way more fun than 3rd grade, however. I continue to be impressed with my kids' school and the teachers there. Educating children is a hard business to be in and I admire those who do it well despite countless challenges.
  
• Julia is turning back into a human being. I'm not talking perfection, but she has become noticeably more sweet, polite and responsible. The backtalk and arguing have decreased dramatically and she's much more pleasant to be with. I will remember this when she turns into a teenage troll.
  
• I think I've gotten my election ranting out of my system. There's nothing left to do but sit back and wait for Election Day. Is it too late to put Tina Fey on the ticket?
• Bunch and I are having a great time in Mommy & Me. Our teacher, who is a friend and was also Ethan's teacher, rocks. I love the time I get to spend in class with him, especially since it brings back so many memories of being there with Ethan three years ago. Brady was with us then too, but he was just a belly baby, raising hell from the inside.
  
• I'm busier than I would like with school activities, but I enjoy being involved with all the happenings at school. I like selling ads for our newsletter and raising money in that way. I like the school administration and staff knowing that I am around and involved in my children's school. I like having my younger kids practically grow up at our school. Brady is quite a hit with the office ladies who hug him and kiss him and give him chocolate. It's like having 3 extra grandmas.
• We are a soccer family and we love it. Between the two kids, we have 3 practices and two games each week. Both teams are coming along nicely, but they can both be so frustrating to watch. It is a big commitment for our whole family, and can be a big pain at times, especially when Bunch isn't cooperating. But this is so good for our kids. They are learning about trying hard and teamwork and listening and working for a common goal. And they're running their tails off and loving it. Ray is coaching Julia's team and refereeing for Ethan. We're both surprised by how much he's enjoying it. And I got to make puple, white, and black ribbon ponytail holders for the team. Soccer is a good thing.
  
• I'm having a great time with Uppercase Living. I've gotten a lot of exposure lately and am waiting for some of my prospects to start panning out. I have high, high hopes for this business, especially in the coming months.
  

Still with me? That's pretty much all that is going on here. Sounds mundane, but I actually like that now and then. I like my routines and I like the everyday things that make our lives feel cozy and safe. Maybe it's the fall weather that is (finally) starting to come around. But I'm feeling like I just want to hole up in my house with my family, light a cinnamon candle and make soup. Although I'm not a fan of the cold weather (such as it is in these parts) I'll begrudgingly trade in my flip flops for shoes-that-must-be-worn-with-socks if it means I get to make soup.

Thank you arbreed for the gorgeous photo which is proof that we really do get fall in southern California.

Go Shopping. Again.

If you haven't already visited Today's Creative Blog to support the Nie Recovery (and even if you have), now would be a good time to do so. I have a package of Uppercase Living items up for auction and it's all for a great cause. Go bid it up! And send your friends.

Open House Weekend!

Hello faithful readers. I owe you a nice long post about summer. Don't hold your breath. I'm currently working on my Uppercase Living Open House Weekend which will be next Friday and Sunday. Between finishing display items (fun!), finalizing the menu (also fun) and cleaning my house (most definitely not fun), who has time for blog-writing?

If you or a friend are in the area, please stop by Friday evening or Sunday afternoon. For more info, times and my address just email me. Hope to see you!

Also, big thanks to Kim who gave my products a try and then a shout out on her blog. I can't wait to see the finished projects. While her personal blog is great, her Today's Creative Blog is beyond awesome: so inspiring and addictive. Go tell her Hi from me.

A Very Nice Summer and other stuff

For those of you who still check in despite my sadly sporadic posting, thank you. I'll try to do better, really I will.

It seems strange to be posting about summer on what is the coldest Memorial Day weekend I can remember since we moved back to southern California from Seattle. It has actually rained (I think most of the rest of the country would call it drizzling) for the last few days. News directors all across the Southland had a very difficult decision for last night's evening newscast: do I lead with the high speed chase du jour (which was made all the more dramatic by the slick streets, spraying water and fishtailing. Boo YA!) or Storm Watch 2008? Decisions, decisions. Of course the live feed of the chase won, and the bastards had the nerve to go to commercial and make us miss the end, which is usually the best part, and have to watch a replay. Amateurs.

Regardless of the weather, signs abound that summer is almost here, and as sad as I am to see Julia's awesome year in 2nd grade end, I'm ready for a break from frantic mornings and busy schedules. Those of you have been with me a while might recall that for the last couple of years, I and some others declared it would be The Best Summer Ever. The first time we did this, the summer really lived up to it. There was ice cream, a new swing set, more ice cream, trips to Disneyland and Legoland and fun and relaxation all over the place. Last year, I thought, it would most definitely be the BSE. I mean, how could it it not? We had a new house with a pool for the first time ever and we couldn't wait to spend every waking minute in it. Well, I'll tell you how: start the summer by literally losing your mind to the point that you don't want to get out of bed or even know which end is up. Add a flood to the entire downstairs of said house that takes 2 months to clean up from, hole up in your steaming hot upstairs (in the dark for most of a week, as it turned out) and add a half-assed air conditioner and asbestos in your ducting. That's how.

While we've recovered from the effects of last year's summer fiasco, I'm not thinking I want to jinx things this year by setting up some crazy unrealistic expectations. So, my friends, I hereby declare the summer of 2008 A Very Nice Summer. That's it. I still plan to send my kids to camp, do a lot of fun things, go to the beach, grill, swim a ton, and eat a lot of Shave Ice. But I think I'll be a lot more content hoping to just have a nice time than to pressure all of us to make things the BEST EVER. I'm all about baby steps right now and this seems to be a good one to take. Maybe in a couple of years I won't be as gun shy. For now, let's make it a nice summer.

In other news, I'm having a great time with my Uppercase Living business so far. Every day I think of new ways to use the expressions and lettering. The possibilities are endless. I had a party at a friend's the other night and it was nice to see the positive response I got across the board. I have some high hopes for this company.

In other other news, Ray's mom is coming to spend next weekend with the kids so he and I can spend a couple of nights away. Even though we're just staying at a hotel down the street, we have a massage and a nice dinner scheduled and we plan on just relaxing for a couple of days. We so need this.

The following weekend, I'm going to my hear Stacy Julian speak at my scrapbook store, Treasured Memories. I'm really excited to hear her talk and hope to get motivated inject some sanity into my overwhelming pile of to-be-scrapped photos. Treasured Memories is a great store and the owner, Christine, is lovely and generous. Definitely good people. If you're ever in the area, stop by and spend lots of money.

Hope the weather is sunny where you are and that you have a great weekend.

A New (ad)Venture

You know when you're not looking for something and something kind of finds you? Anyone who knows me knows that the last thing I need is a new job or to spend money. But a couple of weeks ago I was invited to a friend's Uppercase Living open house. You know the story: eat some food, drink some wine, buy some obligatory stuff to support your friend. The end.

Only problem was, I fell totally in love with these products. I'd been looking for something like this to decorate my sad bare walls with that was not expensive and easy to install. Besides, this totally appeals to my scrappy side, too. I love the idea of making my home warm and personal and basically, I love words. Plus it's all customizable with a variety of colors, sizes and fonts. And you know I love fonts. So after some thought and market research, I've decided to become an Uppercase Living Demonstrator. I'm really excited to see where this leads.

I'd love it if you guys would look around the website, check out the catalog and tell me what you think. You can access the entire site with the following information:

Go to: www.uppercaseliving.com
Click on: Customer Corner Login
Demonstrator's ID: 157487
Registration Token: tsp

Of course, feel free to share my ID & registration token with anyone you think is interested. If you're in Southern California and would like to host your own Open House, it's an easy & fun way for you to earn some half-price and free products. You can also host a show online if you're not local. I've promised I won't become that friend. The one who is always trying to get her friends to buy stuff, host parties, sign up for every little thing. If I start acting that way, you are hereby permitted to smack me up side my head and say "What the hell is wrong with you?" Otherwise, thanks for looking and thanks to all of you who've been so supportive so far. This should be a fun ride!

P.S. As I get some of the Expressions in my home and clients' homes, look for a new blog from me showcasing pictures and ideas. More to come on this.