Our Tattoos.

Cory and I have found an incredible tattoo artist.  Also, he is a great guy.  So if you are in our area and are looking to get an amazing piece of body art, we know your guy.  :o)  He specializes in realism and celtic design.

A special song

This one is special because I have wanted to learn this since the first time I heard this fabulous song!!  I couldn't find any tabs on it and I couldn't figure it out myself.  Cory spent all night last night tabbing it out for me.  He did a super job.  It's perfect and so much fun to play!

Mercy by Matt Nathanson

An end to an era. Or something. So I am closing up shop. The end of my blog. I don't think anyone will notice? On the off chance that someone will go, where the hell did Mandy go?, I am giving a heads up that this blog will be closed in the next couple of days. There is no purpose. I jumped off all my soap boxes long ago to focus on my family. Jokes on me.

Who knows how long it will take me to figure out how to close up shop. In the meantime, what's a post without some music? :) One of the best fucking songs ever.

Very MERRY CHRISTMAS to all!

I sincerely hope that all of you out there in cyberland have a blessed holiday season. Today I leave you with a song that came to me at just the right time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_6JQDsbtlM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Uplifting music! ? ! ?

Music is vital to me. Whenever my mind wanders to the blog, I always think of music posts. So here is another one!

As everyone knows, music can be so uplifting and inspirational. I have heard comments about not listening to negative music, so as not to bring yourself down. What is negative music? I thought I would post some examples of songs I find comforting, yet different styles.



These first two are similar, I guess. What makes them different to me is the Switchfoot song can relate to two different types of love.



And now to a different music feel...



How about one more?



I know some very precious people who need some comfort right now. This is for you. I hope you can find something to hold on to in this post.

I *heart* iVillage!!

I just screamed. Could you hear me? My kids did. They came running into the room asking me what was wrong and if I was ok. Then...they got confused as I stared at my computer screen with a bemused yet ecstatic look on my face. I'm going to see Eclipse. For free. With four friends. On Monday. That would be two days before it releases. I have many reasons to love iVillage already and this is just one more great reason.

Hahahaha!

We just got back from Avery's 5 year well check and getting ready for Kindergarten. There were the usual arguments and eye rolling and "you are such a bad mom" moments. I got home, settled in and checked my Facebook. Oh my gosh! What a perfect sentiment to how I feel!!! Any questions? If you just have to have this necklace, and have the cohones to wear it, you can get it at Woman Uncensored.

Pomplamoose - If You Think You Need Some Lovin

We love these people! In honor of Father's Day, I am posting The Hubby's favorite song of theirs. We were dancing in the kitchen this morning to their song. :o)

Happy Father's Day!

I wish all of the father's out there a wonderful day. The Hubby is working at the church today but later we will celebrate with a good meal and an early birthday celebration for Baby Doll.

Have you met my new passion?

Some morning, very early, if you drive through my neighborhood you might get a glimpse of me.

A friend suggested that one of my least favorite forms of exercise might be just the thing for me. How do I lose weight? How do I build tone but not bulk up, especially when bulking up is my body's natural response? Running! Wait..whaa...what?! So I have started running. Do you know how hard it is to drag yourself out of bed a full hour earlier than necessary...to RUN?! It's hard, but I did it. Now, two months later I am enjoying the routine of getting up extra early and starting my day out right!

I started out just a bit too eager though. Running too fast, too far, too soon = shin splints. Those don't just go away easily. So now I am on "active rest" and walking every morning instead. I am also finishing up the second half of the p90x workout. I am so excited to get back into running! See, that right there...is a complete 180 of my stand on running at any other point in my life. My kids are so in awe that I wake up super early (and if it's super early to them, then wow is it early!) to exercise and take care of my body. This is at least half the reason why I am doing this. My kids will fight the genetic battle of the bulge, and I want to help them start out healthy and with healthy habits. I want them to see me making that effort and enjoying it. If I end up losing 30 pounds and looking fabulous in my jeans, that is just a consequence I will have to endure. ;o)

People, take care of your eyes.

Do you wear contacts? Do you dispose of them within the given time frame? Am I the only one out there that doesn't? I try to make them stretch. I admit it. I also don't always wear them every day and often lose track of how old the contacts are. What do you think will happen if you keep wearing them? I had a vague idea that it was bad for me, but didn't have a clue. Guess what. Apparently you can go blind? And I'm halfway there. Because of drastically changing vision and a family history of diabetes I went to see the eye doctor. I have managed to damage my eyes so badly that I might never be able to wear contacts again. The damage is permanent and I am darn lucky that I didn't put that office visit off for another couple of months. I am so surprised and chagrined at my experience that I wanted to share with anyone who is listening. Take care of your eyes and toss the lenses after two weeks.

The real deal.

Well, the Hubby is now permanently inked. Here is his artwork. :)

Henna

The Hubby got a henna tattoo this last weekend. This is a dry run for the real thing. What do you think?

I have a headache.

I have a headache, so this post will be quick. I have had a very hard time maintaining "perky" lately. When I am not my usual perky self, I really don't feel like updating. I wish I had a great excuse for you, but that's it. I finally changed the background though. Aren't you glad? :o) P.S. I got to see Muse!

Taxes...naah. Birthdays...yeah!

Wishing my beautiful, fun and spunky niece a very Happy Birthday! Love you, Isa!

Bon Jovi

I can now seriously cross something off my bucketlist. I saw Bon Jovi live! I could listen to them all day every day and be deliriously happy. They are not just one of my all time favorite bands, they have been one of my most favorites for a long time.

In the first picture, that is Jon singing Bed or Roses. He was singing right to me. I swear. My friends even saw him point in my general direction. Never mind that I was in the farthest seat away from the stage in the arena. He was singing to me. *sigh*

This next picture was taken during the same set. This was the time he was in the audience. The rest of the time he was dancing that good lookin' bod of his around the stage with the rest of the band, including Richie Sambora.





Thanks to Summer, Jenn, Mike and Kristin (both not pictured) I got to see them perform Wednesday night! So my brain has been pretty much mush while I come to terms with the awesomeness of this. That's my update. :)

My mission.

I am strong. I am smart. I am willing. I am capable. I will succeed.

Another fad diet. Another New Year's resolution that we give up on. Another failure. Right? Wrong! I am a born clutter bug. I have the hardest time making sure everything is put away in it's rightful spot, if it even has one. It's like that part of my brain is missing. We have always had a messy home. Now I don't mean that something is going to reach up and grab you when you sit down to pee messy. Someone recently pointed out to me that clean and tidy are different things. So just to clarify...there is no danger of the dust bunnies eating you at my house. Throughout my 10 years as a homemaker, I have always battled the clutter. I want things put away. I want things nice and tidy and pleasant to look at. I want a peaceful and calm atmosphere to my home for my family to enjoy. Instead, we live in CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). Have you ever met the Flylady? If you are like me and live in CHAOS, she is a great place to start. I am determined to get this homemaking thing right. I try and try to organize and reorganize, but with little to no lasting effects. This time will be different! This time I am approaching this as a lifestyle change. I need to live differently to pull this off. And with four kids tearing up the house on top of my clutter problem, I need to pull this off. I am putting myself out there. I am being accountable to you. Who knows, there could be hundreds of readers checking on my progress daily?! LOL..*snort* So today's post is to just let you know to expect more updates on my progress. I will triumph!

Happy Birthday X2!

to our beautiful, bright, FUN niece. Rylee, you are great girlie!
to The Hubby. Today is your day, baby. Hope you have a good one.

Z-Man...what a cool dude!

We wanted to share our news that Z-Man got his first pair of glasses! He didn't realize that he even needed any, but come to find out he really did! He and I have almost the same prescription and I couldn't read anything more than 3 feet away from me. This answers the question why he keeps "forgetting" to copy down his vocabulary words from the board. He says now it's a whole new world! It is so neat to see how excited he is to see things!

I love my friends!

Friday, January 8, I was surprised by my wonderful friends and hubby with a surprise birthday party. I was completely clueless to the moment I saw them and heard "Surprise!" If you want tips on how to throw the absolute best birthday bash, sending them my way and I will get you answers!

The night was awesome. So many laughs my abs hurt the next day! I have gotten my hands on some of the pictures taken that night. I would love to share with you all of the pictures that show what a great time we were having. I haven't had time to ask my friends about posting their pictures, so I will make this post all about me and show myself off.

I did enjoy this fabulous red wine that the Hubby got for me and in some of the pictures I am looking quite silly. I will try not to embarrass myself too bad. Right here, I am enjoying a chocolate martini. Yep, that's right. A chocolate martini. Fantastic, lovely friends. Check. Incredible food (italian garden salad, shrimp pasta, lasagna, french bread and appetizers). Check. So many laughs I was in pain the next day. Check. The best red wine out there and chocolate martinis. Check. What more could a girl possibly ask for? :o)