Meeting Selena Gomez

On Saturday afternoon we told the kids that we were going to go to Nebraska Furniture Mart to look at dishwashers. (I had to come up with something or they would question why we were headed out to Kansas - especially "that" area) Of course we got some groans and they even asked if they could stay home. Which we never let our kids stay home so I am not sure why they even asked that in the first place. When we got to the exit of the ballpark/soccer stadium and Dave and Buster's we spilled the beans of what was actually going to take place. They were all excited!

I had called Community America Ballpark on Friday and asked questions about the Selena Gomez Meet and Greet. They had told me I needed to get to the ballpark by 4:00PM to get in line because Selena was only going to sign 300 autographs. They also told me they were giving out a free door hanger that could be signed or I could buy a Tshirt for $10 - and those were the ONLY two things Selena was going to be able to sign.

So we got to the ballpark at promptly 4:00PM and were probably around number 30 in line. We waited an hour for the gates to open in which we were told we had to walk to the back of the ballpark to get into ANOTHER line to wait to get Selena's autograph. We get back to that line and now are like number 150 in line!! The people in front of us told us that they had not been at the ballpark even 5 minutes......yet they were in front of us who waited an hour!!! As we got in line K was handed the door hanger. We were told the door hanger was the ticket to get into the tent to get Selena's autograph - which means they had 300 door hangers and once they handed them all out no one else was getting in to get a door hanger. Thank goodness we got ours! Then this man gets on a microphone and announces that the door hanger can get signed but that since it was so hot the signature will probably just run off of it. Oh no! What do we do? Yes, Community American Ballpark will save the day and sell you a wand (significant because Selena is an actress on the Wizards of Waverly Place) for $15 or a Tshirt for $25 .....what happened to the $10 Tshirt? He repeats this over and over as we stand in line all the while a lady is walking through the line selling the wands and Tshirts. After about 30 minutes in that line and everyone had purchased their wand or Tshirt they announce Selena had arrived. Then they announce that if you were not able to purchase a wand or Tshirt that Selena has some pictures FOR FREE in the tent that she will sign. I thought that was pretty crappy of them to make parents believe they had to buy the $15 wand or the $25 Tshirt in order for their child to get the autograph when all the while they knew there was a free picture in the tent. I had already got K the Tshirt which I had told her I would get her anyway......since I was originally told they would only be $10. Either here nor there.

Once Selena began signing autographs the line moved very quickly. K was nervous as she entered the tent but excited. I snapped several pictures of Selena but was not able to get a good one of K and Selena together. They had announced that you could not pose with her although many people did it anyway - we played by the rules.

Once we got the autograph we called my husband who met us close by so that we could head home. K was sooooooooo excited about the autograph and the pictures. The boys had a great time at Dave and Buster's and even had some time to spare in order to go get some ice cream at Coldstone.

Our priceless commercial:

Soccer tickets.............$35
$10 Tshirt..................$25
K's memories of meeting her favorite celebrity...........PRICELESS!

Who's your momma???

I am soooo excited I can hardly sit here. My daughter is a HUGE Selena Gomez fan and I found out this morning that she is going to be signing autographs and singing the National Anthem at a soccer venue tomorrow night. Once I got to work I called my hubby (because the adult day care worker in his department, who is nothing more than a peon, doesn't like me calling before 8:00AM) and worked out all the details so that we can go. Now, my daughter and I could care less about soccer so we basically bought some grass seat tickets just so that we can stand in line to get the autograph and picture and then we are going to leave. It cost a little over $40 but is well worth how excited she is going to be about it. My husband is going to drop K and I off at the stadium so that we can get in line for the picture and autograph and then he is going to take the boys to Dave and Buster's to play video games. (The boys are going to love that as much as K is going to love seeing Selena) Then I will call him when we are done and he will come back to pick us up and we will go home. I am not going to tell K what we are doing until after we get out of the car and are walking up to stand in line. It is going to be hard for me to not say anything but I want to surprise the heck out of her. She is going to be blown away!!! She talks about Selena non-stop. Selena's birthday is one day after hers which she thinks is way cool.

So, so, so exciting.

Take that!!!

From time to time I have trouble falling asleep. It mostly has to do with I am completely restless - some has to do with I think sleeping is a waste of time - and the other has to do with I drink so much Diet Coke that I am super pumped up on caffeine. Well, last night was no different. The problem I was having was my legs felt very restless especially my right leg, which is the ankle I sprang *twice* in May. I am sure there is some cartilage and/or tendon damage because it cracks all the time. When I finally go to bed at night time I usually have to roll it around a bit to loosen it up or it feels real tight. I did my normal routine of rotating my ankle and stretching it but nothing was working. It kept aching and I couldn't get comfortable. After nearly what seemed two hours I was still laying there trying to doze off to sleep. I began thinking about how before my husband was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea I used to sleep down at the end of the bed so that the fan would be blowing right into my face and I would focus on that and not his snoring and would be able to go to sleep. I figured I would give that a try. I grabbed my pillow and set up sleep shop at the end of the bed and within no time I began to dose off. However, with in a little bit I was awake again by my leg aching and I was completely frustrated. Half asleep I started to think maybe if I kick my leg that will stretch out whatever is tight and then that muscle or whatever it is will relax. So I get on my back to prepare to kick my leg out to the side of the bed where there is open space *except* I forget that I had went to the end of the bed (so I am laying the opposite way that I think I am) and as I kick my leg out I hall off and kick my husband instead!!!! Thank goodness he wears the CPAP machine and is out like a light.....he didn't feel a thing. I slowly pull my leg back and fall to sleep. I asked him about it in the morning and he told me he didn't feel anything.

My July Full Plate

As I was driving into work this morning I was thinking about all the things I need to do and realized what a full plate I have going on through the month of July. My husband's birthday is July 3, then of course we have July 4th and all its festivities, we (our family) is on vacation the week of July 7-11 (which there are many details to nail down for that week), my high school reunion is July 12 (which means get hair highlighted and cut and purchase a new outfit), Kay's birthday is the 21st so need to get all that planned out, invites sent, etc., then there is the school clothes and supplies shopping, posters that need to be made for PTA, dog needs yearly shots. They's a lot going on!!!!!!

Well, our "stimulus check" should be in the mail this weekend. Since it has taken so long for us to get it I am hardly excited about it anymore. The one thing I know I want to buy is a a new digital camera. When we found out about getting the stimulus check I started researching cameras and got my heart set on a Kodak; however, it was a model that was being discontinued. I have kept tabs on it since then and found a few places that still offered it for sale. Well, I went out and checked this weekend and none of my sources still carry it. I can't even find it on Amazon.com!!! Fooey! I have picked out a backup camera that I will buy instead.

I kind of want to make a crazy purchase of an Ed Hardy tshirt but not sure if I will do it or not. If you follow celebrities at all I am sure you have seen one of these tshirts. Ed Hardy is a famous tattoo artist from California. The tshirts have his tattoo art work on it. Pretty ingenious! Some of the tshirts are a little "too" much for me - graphic wise. They ALL are too expensive for me. If I did buy one I would get one on the lower end. This is my favorite one, it is actually a men's Tshirt, but there is NO WAY I am going to spend $121 for a Tshirt!!!!!!!

http://www.edhardyshop.com/Men-s-Multicolor-Aged-Tee-Skull-Butterflies-in-p/m142-m144_s8211mc8.htm

If you want to check out all the line click here: http://www.edhardyshop.com/?Click=92564

Well....I better go get some work done. Have a great day!

Reflecting and realizing.....all the good I have

I think I have been going through a mini-mid life crisis as of late. I believe it was brought on by my upcoming high school reunion and reading all the profiles of what my classmates have been doing for the past twenty years. As I read through them I started thinking that I really haven't done anything that exciting since graduation....... or have I?

For starters I didn't go to college and get a degree. I did go to community college but only took a few classes. Having a career has never meant anything to me as I knew I would be fulfilled being a wife and mother. So, to not have a two or four year degree is not something I regret.

I have not traveled the world which is something that is not missing in my life either. I don't travel well - especially by car - and I don't like big crowds at the touristy places. If I do travel I prefer to go see historical sites or just sit on the beach by the ocean. It doesn't take much to impress me but I can find all I really need in my own backyard.

I have been married twice in which I wish I had only been married once. I have alot of regret about that but have come to peace with it with God. I am happily married in my second marriage although I know I put alot of expectation on my husband. I often want him to be more romantic, more generous, more loving, more husbandly, more fatherly, more pet lover friendly, more Mr. Fix It around the house (I could go on) - when I really need to be the one that is MORE thankful for what he is to me and our children.

I am the proud mother of one daughter and three stepsons. Wow! These kids have made me who I am today. I couldn't imagine life without them. I thank God for them everyday and tell Him how thankful I am that they are healthy and thriving. I also tell Him how I know they are actually His children but that I am incredibly selfish and I want to have them here on earth until after my departure. I think I need to learn to enjoy our children more than I do currently. I am incredibly protective of them and I try to "do" too much for them. I need to learn to let go some and have a different type of relationship with them than trying to always be the Super Hero Mom.

I have worked for the same company for 17 years. This is not my dream job but I don't know if I could even come up with one other than being an at home wife/mom. I did stay home with Kay from her birth until she was 2 and absolutely loved that time. I wish I didn't have to work now but financially for the time being I have to. I am very thankful for my boss and company that I work for as they are incredibly flexible with my time which allows me to be at school events, sports games, doctor appointments, leave to go get a sick kid from school, etc., with no repercussions. I haven't had to miss a thing! EXTREMELY thankful for that! And even though I do not want to work it has offered me the benefit of putting money towards 401k (with my employer matching my contribution) so there will be a nice little nest egg for my hubby and I to enjoy someday when we are older. And the best part is in under a decade I will be able to retire. (Retiring in my mid-40's is something I am extremely appreciative of) My husband and I are working towards a goal of once our kids all graduate (and not need all our $$$$) that we will buy a new house and I can retire from my job where I can stay home or do something part time that I would rather do.

All in all, I have turned out pretty darn well! I have ALOT to be proud of. It is all about attitude. I am thankful for what I have and am no longer going to focus on what I don't have.

Me! Me! Me!

Last night I had two and a half hours all to myself. I rarely get time alone and treasure it when it comes along. My husband was with A at basketball camp and would not be home until 8:30PM so we decided that we would have a good old fashion cereal dinner. So, once I got home I changed out of my work clothes, made me a diabetic size bowl of rice flakes (with lil bit of Equal on it) and hit the couch. It was now Wednesday night and 24 hours past the premiere of Tori and Dean Sweet Home Hollywood. I had been counting down the days for the new season to start and was eager to watch the first episode. I wasn't a big Tori fan until I started watching Tori and Dean Inn Love. Then I read her book and now I am hooked. The first episode was really good and at the end we got to see a glimpse of what would be coming up throughout the season. I am looking forward in watching all of the episodes. On a sad note, the same day that the new season premiered Tori's beloved pug, Mimi La Rue passed away.

After the Tori show was over I flipped through the channels and all I could find on that caught my attention was Coyote Ugly. Imagine that....we pay nearly $200 a month for cable TV and all I can find to watch is a show I have seen 100 times and also have the DVD!!! I left that on for background noise and decided I would go clean our upstairs bathroom. I honestly do not know what is wrong with me but I love to clean! I should have chosen a profession as a maid. I got everything squeaky clean and steam mopped the floors. Shortly after I was done my husband got home and I made him a bowl of cereal and we watched the Royals game.

Hypocritical Sap

If you ever read this blog for some time you will soon learn about my frustrations with my husband and his obsession with sports. Who knows... I may have already posted about it before. EVERYTHING in our life revolves around the daily game that my husband must watch, track, listen to, or attend. When I say everything I mean everything! I don't mind watching a game here and there with him but I am an on-the-go kind of person that I don't have 3 hours a day or 16+ hours over a weekend to watch sports. With that being said....I am a HUGE sucker for championship games. I don't know what it is but when there is a championship game on I get drawn into them like a trance. Doesn't matter if it is the Superbowl, World Series, NBA, or college sports - I watch it - and most of the time I don't even know the teams that are playing.

So, the NBA Championships were recently being played. It was the LA Lakers vs. the Boston Celtics. Of course, we all know about the LA Lakers but to be honest up until last week I didn't even know Boston had a basketball team. I know my husband has watched some of Boston's games in the past because he would bring to my attention that Paul Pierce was playing. Paul Pierce used to play KU basketball in which my husband and I are both big KU fans. (And I have to add that KU is the current reining College Basketball Champions!!!!) So, I have been staying up late watching the Lakers/Celtics basketball games over the past week. My husband, of all people, would go onto bed when he was tired as he was not as into the games as I was. Who would have thunk it? I decided to root for Boston since Paul Pierce plays on their team. The LA Lakers have Kobe Bryant as their star player. I really do not know much about Kobe Bryant except for the sex scandal he had going on a few years back. I have really not paid much attention about him but did notice during these games that he is a very nice looking man.

I didn't get in on the game last night until around the beginning of the third quarter because my husband was watching the Royals game. (Yes, we have other TV's but I really don't have to catch the whole game to get the full effect - just need to really watch the last 5 minutes or so to see who wins.) As of Tuesday's night game Boston had won 3 games and LA had won 2. If Boston won one more game they would take the championship. When we turned the game on Boston was up nearly 30 points so we knew they had it in the bag. My husband went onto to bed but I stayed up to watch. There was a game last week where Boston was down like 24 points and came back and won the game. And of course the emotions are high for LA because they know if they loose this one they are done so they were going to give it a fighting chance. Well it ended up that Boston smoked LA and won the championship.

After the game was over tears were running down my face. Now wait a minute. Let me explain! For one I am a softy....everything makes me cry! For two...I am the stepmom of 3 boys who play sports and I know how sad they are when they put their all into the game and end up loosing. Even though I am happy for the winner I always feel bad for the ones who have to take the loss. The LA Lakers showed so much class by going around and hugging each Celtic player. Usually at the end of a championship game you will see the loosing team sitting in their chairs with their heads held down. Not these guys. They were celebrating the win of their opponents. They knew they played their hearts out and deserved the win. Even the Celtics coach went over and hugged Kobe Bryant before he joined his team in the middle of the court. Boston has had 16 NBA Championships but has not had one since 1986.

Enough of sports from me....I am moving onto something else.....

A note to Mother Nature

Dearest Mother Nature,

While we thank you kindly for ALL the rain and storms you have been giving us it is time now for it to come to a stop. Selfishly I will tell you I am tired of sleeping with my dog on the couch because she is terrified of your thunder claps. Each time you sound one I have a 50 pound dog standing on my hair and it really hurts! I also miss the cloud like cushioning of my bed - the couch is hard on my back and I am not getting the quality sleep I need.

Our lakes, rivers, streams, and ponds are busting at the seams and in many other states they have already ran over flooding peoples homes, businesses, and lives. The tornados have damaged more cities and property this year to set an all time record high. So it is now time to put up all the spring time weather into the closet until next year. Please send us an abundance of sun rays and let us dry up and enjoy our summer. Lord knows we have waited long enough for it as you extended winter well beyond the time you should have.

We will all be kind to the flowers and trees and will be sure to water them daily.

We have heard enough from you, you old hag, now go to sleep and we will wake you up when summer is over.

Thank you kindly!

I Am Going!!!

Several months ago I started hearing the "buzz" about our 20 year class reunion this summer. When I first heard about it I was stoked and was sure I was going. As a few more months went by and there was an actual date set for the reunion I started getting jittery about it and wasn't sure if I wanted to go or not. Of course you dream about your 20 year class reunion and how you will go to it 40 pounds lighter and be some sort of bombshell and knock every ones socks off. But we live in the real world and it just doesn't end up that way. We are 20+ pounds heavier, some have gray hair, some have wrinkles, some you can't even recognize and sadly, even some have already passed away.

I was fortunate enough to go through the same school system from Kindergarten through my senior year. The people I truly want to see at my reunion are those that I have known since day one of my education career. I have chatted with a few through email and really look forward to a face to face meeting again.

Our reunion is set for July 12 at a hotel ball room. We will meet that same morning for a tour of our high school which has gone through some remodeling since we once roamed the hallways. We get to bring our family with us to the school tour which will be exciting. My husband and I both graduated from the same high school although we did not know each other at the time. I think it will be really neat to see our children inside our high school. I know I will take lots of pictures.

A couple of days ago I paid for the dinner fee so now I am locked into going. I don't feel as jittery but am nervous but excited. I do plan on going out and getting a new outfit. I also want to get my hair highlighted and cut. I have never had a pedicure before and thought I may do that for myself as a special treat a day or two before the reunion.

Will let you know how it all goes!

My Weekend

Painting is almost done and my calves (boy are they sore!) are ready for it to be over. The only thing I have left to do is to paint the brown up to the corners where it meets a pink wall. I had a little change in plans and ended up painting two parallel walls brown and the other two pink. I am happy with the way it turned out. My goal is to have it all done by Tuesday night - including having the new bedding put on the bed. Wish me luck!

My husband got the new railing system installed on our front porch and it looks wonderful! Bless his heart he worked outside all day Friday and Saturday in the intense heat. It is really going to be hard to move from this house some day after all the hard work we put into it.

I came back to work today to a wonderful surprise. I knew a co-worker of mine was looking for a Wiemeriner (not sure on that spelling) dog and I also knew of a co-worker of my husbands who was giving one away so I hooked the two up. Well, my co-worker's wife works with David Cook's (American Idol) mom and she got a Tshirt from his mother that the family had printed up and gave it to me as a "thank you" for finding them the dog. I absolutely LOVE the Tshirt. I can't wait to get home and put it on!

Yesterday my friend Pam came over and we scrapbooked the entire day long. It was alot of fun. Pam is incredibly talented and I wish I could do half the work she does in her books and mine would be amazing! Her scrapbooking abilities are to die for! If and when I ever get my stimulus check I think I am going to take a little bit of it and go get me some more exciting scrapbooking "stuff" so that I can put a little more excitement into my pages.

Well I must go see what I need to catch up on since I was out on Friday. Have a great day!

Let the painting begin

I am getting started on painting K's room. Will take some breaks and update how it is all going.....

Update #1: Painting is going much slower than I thought it would. It is my fault because I thought I had more new paint rollers at home than I had. I started out using some old paint rollers and it wasn't doing the job. I finally switched out to the new roller and it is going faster. Another obstacle I am having is K did alot of "stuffing" things under the bed, dresser, etc. when she cleaned her room. I am having to pick (throw away) those things. I also just saw a spider which I am deathly afraid of. I am staying away from that part of the room for now. When my husband comes inside I am going to have him try to find it and kill it. (Sorry PETA!) Off to do more painting.....

Update #2: At 1:00 my husband came in and asked if I wanted to break with him to go get some lunch. That sounded really good because I was getting hungry and I knew I had to run by the hardware store to get some more paint rollers and edging pads and he needed to get a drill bit. We ate lunch and then went to Sears since we knew we could get both of our items there. I got my paint supplies and my husband got his drill bit and then decided he needed (wanted) a new drill. So, then we had to hunt down a drill expert and talk to him for 20 minutes about the best drill to get. My husband also needed to get a can of canned air and since there was an electronics store in the parking lot of Sears I told him that I would just run him up there. But instead my husband asked that we go to Walmart so that he could buy a new fan for our living room. So, you see what I mean about not wanting to take the day off with him because he will come up with all these other things to do and my tasks sits idle? We make it through Walmart and are now back home. I started at roughly 10:00 this morning and it is now 2:30PM and I am only about 50% down with the Kilzing!!! I haven't even touched a wall with the actual paint colors yet!!! So instead of blogging I am off to painting.....

Last update: I finally finished getting the Kilz up and have about 90% of one of the pink walls done. I hurt (muscles), am exhausted and am headed to the shower. Until tomorrow.....

How does Friday look for you?

Well, I opened my big mouth and told my husband about wanting to take today off in which he replied "why don't you just wait until Friday and I will take the day off with you?" Don't get me wrong - I love spending time with my husband. It is just when I take a day off with a task in mind to get completed and he takes the day off with me he always seems to come up with other things to do and my task does not get done. Case in point. On Friday he is going to be working on installing new railing on our front porch. Now normally when he works on a project I am his gopher girl, helper, and someone to talk to. I asked him if he was going to be pulling me away from painting on Friday in order to help him install the railing in which he replied "I don't plan on it but I won't know until I am working on the project." So in my mind I am planning on doing 50% painting and 50% being the helper of the railing project.

Last night was pretty uneventful. We had a storm roll through which took the cable and internet connection out in spurts. My husband was trying to watch the ball game and I was on the internet looking for some windchimes (I never realized how incredibly expensive windchimes were!). We live in tornado alley and we don't play when there is a possibility of a tornado. Just about a month ago we had an Arby's restaurant that is half a mile from our back yard be reduced to a pile of rubble. The meterologists said it was caused by a straight line wind but I don't buy it. If you seen the damage you would know it was more than wind that took the building down. We had 100 year old trees in our area uprooted and thrown to the ground. That doesn't just happen with wind. So, at a time when the internet and cable went out I went into the bathroom to do some tweezing (what else could I do?) as I was standing there plucking away I hear my husband yell out "Here it is!!!!" I about dropped my mirror, my heart sank and I began to trimble. So we are in the middle of a storm while under a tornado watch and the neighboring city to our south is under a tornado warning and my husband is yelling "here it is!!!" I am thinking a tornado is right outside of our house. OH NO! My husband was replying to the fact that the cable came back on and he was able to watch the baseball game! What a dork!

Since the storm continued into the night I had to sleep on the couch with the dog because she was freaking out from the thunder. Can't say I slept all the well but at least she was comforted knowing momma was there with her. I love my pooch!

Move Over Trading Spaces

If I get everything done at work that I want to today I am going to take tomorrow off. I have been wanting to get K's room painted and since she is away at her dad's for 12 days no time is better than now. I had bought her a new comforter set and sheets several months ago and told her when she cleaned her room I would paint it and put the new bedding on her bed. Well, she is your typical teenager and a clean room is not at the top of her priority list. Last Friday she finally cleaned her room so I need to follow through with my word. This is the comforter set. We are going to paint the wall her bed sits up againsts a dark brown and the other four walls are going to be a real pale pink. K loves acting so I found a company where I can purchase items like a movie clapboard, an academy award, a walk of fame personalized star, a directors megaphone, etc., that I will buy to accessorize her room with. She also loves polka dots so the comforter set will be perfect. I also found a large paper mache letter "K" that I am going to paint brown (and if I get brave I may paint a few pink polka dots on it) and put it on one of the pink walls.

I don't want to tell my husband I am taking off or he will take the day off too. (Does that sound bad?) The thing is he always takes off when I do and then wants to go places with me in tote and I don't get done what I had planned to.

I plan on sleeping in a little bit as well. I know that I am incredibly tired and need the rest. When I start putting the milk in the cupboard or go to throw my toothbrush in the trash after I am down brushing I know it is time to take a siesta!

Have a great day!

Our Weekend

K and A had quite the social calendar this weekend. K went to a birthday party which ended up turning into a sleep over. A went to the baseball game with a friend so B got alot of alone time with us this weekend. We decided the three of us would go out to dinner. B is a very simple child - doesn't ask for alot and does what you ask him to do. So we asked him where he wanted to out to dinner and his choice of all places was Burger King. I was craving me some Mexican food but there was no changing his mind. A or K would have picked somewhere expensive if the choice was given to them but B still only wants fast food. So Burger King it was.

Then Sunday the 5 of us went to see Iron Man. A and my husband had already seen it and they both talked it up that it was such a great movie to see. I am not a big movie buff so it takes alot to impress me at a movie. I guess, I should say, a movie that is anything other than a chick flick - because I LOVE those. About an hour into the two hour movie I am tapping my husband on the shoulder and whispering "Is it almost over?" K was on the other side of me and she kept giving me the I am bored eyes, that I had myself. I seriously thought about having her and I pick up our purses and run next door to Barnes and Noble - at least we would have been entertained there. But we hung in there and finished out the movie. The next time the men in our lives are going to see a pink, fufu, frilly, girly girl movie! It is now our turn!

We took K out Sunday evening after the boys went back to their moms to get more shorts for the summer. That girl drives me absolutely insane when I take her clothes shopping. I don't dare buy her something that does not have her stamp of approval on it or she won't wear it. She does not like to try clothes on but if we get them home and they don't fit she won't wear them. So I am then having to take them back to exchange them for the correct size. When I had her I HAD to have a girl. I love her to pieces but she is a piece of work compared to the boys who are all so simple. We feed, clothe and have video games available and they are happy. K will challenge anything and everything. But momma loves her!

In closing I will tell you how lucky one of my co-workers wife is. She works for the same company that David Cook's (American Idol) mom works for. Well, guess who just happened to come into the office with his momma today??? David Cook! I so wanted to go to their office when my co-worker told me about the text his wife sent him. It is good to know he is in KC - perhaps if I go out and about tonight I just might run into him. Wishful thinking!