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Friday, December 29, 2006

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Kyle and I celebrated our 9th Anniversary on the 27th. Well, we didn't really celebrate...we said "Happy Anniversary" and hugged and kissed, I fell asleep on the couch about 10 and Kyle played Sims until 3 am. LOL So, tonight we are going out to celebrate. We are going to see We Are Marshall and then going to dinner at Olive Garden. I got a gift card to Olive Garden for Christmas and won a movie ticket on Blingo. so we're having a REALLY cheap date!! I'm so excited!!

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Loving HP along with PPP

PayPerPost and the Postie Patrol is at it again..this time with the help of HP! What could be MORE FUN than going on a scavenger hunt in the COLD, in Chicago, with Ted, and Britt (I think that was her) and the dude from HP?? NOTHING, that's what!! The prize was a complete HP camera Digital Photo Printing package (camera, memory card, printer, etc) and $1,000!! THAT ROCKS!! Look see...



Robyn was such a GREAT sport don't ya think?? You gotta love a girl that would write "I heart HP" on her forehead. LOL I was kinda thinking she would use eyeliner or something..but nope I think she did it with magic marker. wonder if it has washed off yet?!? LOL Looks like she got a lot of help from "strangers" that kind of stuff is nice to see...renews your hope in mankind...for all the creeps out there, there are a lot of really nice people too.

I hope I get Postie Patrol-ed and I hope HP comes along for the ride..come on, you KNOW they want to check out the Air Force Museum!! *grin*

~This post was brought to you by HP.

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Santa Claus is coming to town....

It's finally here..Christmas Eve. My babies are nestled all snug in their beds and I am waiting on Kyle to get home from Kmart (a late night battery and kool aid run). I am fighting sleep BIG time..I am SO tired. I have been going non- stop since 8:30 this morning cleaning and cooking!

Dad and him family and mom and tony came to eat and exchange gifts. We had a really nice time and I got lots and lots of compliments on the food. We got some great gifts...I'll list them tomorrow in my "loot report".

We need to bring the Santa gifts up from the basement and straighten the house a little and head to bed. K just got home..so I guess I better go..OH! I have to fill the stockings too.

Saturday, December 23, 2006

The Move-In

I'm so excited. I just saw episode 3 of the PPP reality show, RockStartUp!! In this episode they are moving in to their new offices. They look so nice and I wish I could visit in person...no chance of me getting past that fancy shmancy fingerprint reader though!! Here..check it out for yourself so you know what I'm talking about!



Pretty cool, huh? I definitely think they should have hired a cleaning company to come in and clean up after the construction/painter people left. I mean who wants to clean AND move all their stuff in?!? LOL Speaking of the construction people..what was up with the guy using the chair?? Dude...get a ladder!! good grief!!

Did you see the size of some of the monitors there?? YOWZA! That's what I need...and one of those $700 chairs!!

Freaky little kids

OH MY GOSH! My kids are making me nuts!! Logan has been awake for 20 minutes and I'm seriously ready to run away! thank god I have grocery shopping to do today!! I better go make them some breakfast..maybe that will occupy the little freaks for a few minutes. whew...it's gonna be a looooonnnnggg day!! What was I saying about time slowing down?? LOL

Blog Awareness

One of my favorite places to go for PayPerPost news is to the PPP blog. I don't check it daily and wish I would, whenever I have a question about something new on the site or something one of my PPP friends has on their blog...I wonder about it for a bit and then think, "OH! I haven't read the blog in a few days!" and I hop on over there and low and behold...the question I had or thing I was wondering about is right there. I wish I would stay more on top of it, because it is the best source for updates, PPP news and videos. I'm just forgetful and occasionally forget it's even there. You know, I'm all into ME and making MY money, and am so focused on all the open opportunities that the blog tends to fade in comparison I suppose. Which is unfortunate since I tend to get so much info from the blog. So, from here on out...I'm gonna be a dedicated PPP blog reader.

Slow down

Christmas is almost here and now I just want everything to SLOW down. I LOVE Christmas..LOVE IT..and there is so much preperation with the shopping and decorating and wrapping and baking and then it gets here and it's over before you know it. I have to be very careful or I get really really depressed after Christmas. I'm trying to think of things to be excited about after Christmas to help with that. My anniversary is the 27th (9 years), so that's kinda exciting...not that we have any money to do anything after Christmas. LOL and then there's new years...which means another day off work. woohoo!!

The plan for today is to finish candy making, go to the grocery to get more food for our christmas eve party, clean the house, finish wrapping gifts. (I swore to myself I would not wait to wrap everything on christmas eve like I usually do!)

Friday, December 22, 2006

Winner #1

PPP has been having a "contest" to give away several HP cameras and printers. I posted about it a few weeks ago I believe. I was wondering when payperpost was going to start announcing winners...and when I would be notified!! *wink wink* I was cruising around youtube checking out the PPP videos there, which by the way..I didn't realize how many PPP videos there were on youtube. It was such a nice surprise to scan through them and see my little PPP family....got to see Brit "all hemmed up" and everything!! LOL ANYWAY...back to the subject at hand, (remember I was wondering when the winners of the cameras would be announced) I saw THIS:



So, winner #1 has been selected! Congratulations Anna Maria!!

Just as a side note..how cute is Veronique??

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Stupid Name

I hate this Elf name.... Everyone else has these really cute elf names on their blogs and mine is so stupid. And I think it's a boy elf. Why would the elf namer thingy think that "Tricia" is a boy?? Stupid elf namer. I wanted to be something like "Sexy Peppermint Sucker" *wink.

Your Elf Name Is...

Fuzzy Sticky Fingers

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

The Tones that RING the Phones

One of the things I love about my cell phone is having a different ring tone and avatar for each person in my address book. It gives me a little thrill when I hear my phone "ring" a tune I haven't heard for awhile! I came across a site that lets you build ringtones with matching avatars. You can Check it out here. It's pretty neat AND it's FREE for the first 60 days, so you can really try it out before commiting...gotta love that.


~this post sponsored by U-DOO

Monday, December 18, 2006

The celebration

On SAturday we met my parents and their spouses and my brother at Logan's Roadhouse for dinner. We ate and Logan opened presents. It was really yummy and we had a good time. We left there and headed into the zoo at the mall. It was NUTS. We had to wait in ine at Build a Bear for Logan to make his bear...it was crazy. We finally got Kody the Koala made, dressed, named and paid for and got out of there. I was SO glad! I honestly didn't think it would be that busy...I thought people might be there buying gifts and gift cards..but not making bears..I mean, who takes their kid to make a bear a week before christmas (aside from the birthday kids LOL)? They are having a promotion right now that when you spend $35 you can purchase a $10 gift card for $5. So, we got that..I had intended to keep it for future use..maybe Dylan's b-day. Then I remembered I still needed a gift for one of my nieces, so I am giving it to her for christmas.

Later on that day I started feeling guilty that Logan didn't have a cake or candles, so I went to Kroger and bought a cake so he could blow out candles and have a piece of b-day cake. I don't think it mattered to him in the slightest..but it took care of my mommy guilt!!

He took brownies to school for his celebration at school today.

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Sponsored Posts

Well, Well, Well, wonders never cease. It seems that PPP's good "friend" Mike has finally given PPP and the posties some good publicity. While he doesn't come out and say he thinks PPP is a good idea or apologize for his negativity. He does say that PayPerPost has finally done something right. I guess his whole "issue" with PPP has something to do with the fact that Posties are paid to partake in blog advertising. for some reason that irks him to no end and he is glad that on Monday, all posties will be required to disclose that the paid posts they post...are paid posts and if not disclosed in the post itself, the blog needs to have a disclosure statment. (Which I took care of a few weeks ago).

~This post sponsored by PayPerPost~

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Happy Birthday to Logan!

Happy Birthday to my Little Boy! You're not so little anymore...you're getting so grown up and I am amazed at how fast time has flown. You have brought me more joy than you will ever know. You can make me laugh, cry, and yell in frustration in a 15 minute span of time, but I love you more than life itself and wouldn't change one thing about you. (Welllll...maybe that screamy, jump up and down, fit throwing thing you do sometimes!! ;)) You are definitely a gift from God and I am so so lucky and BLESSED to be your mom. Happy Birthday my baby...I love you!!!

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Oh Tannenbaum!

The tree got here monday, we put it up and then started decorating it. We decided that our new 6.5 ft tree is not going to be able to use the same garland, etc that we used on the 4 ft. tree. So we stopped. and yesterday it sat empty. This morning I ran to Kmart and bought some new garland and ribbon to put on it and we decorated tonight. it's GORGEOUS! I LOVE it. I am actually sitting in the dark right now, typing by the light of the christmas tree. I need to take pictures and share. i HOPE I can get the boysies to cooperate and take a NICE picture in front of the tree. I'm not holding my breath though.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Make TODAY YOUR Sign-Up Day!

I know I talk about PayPerPost all the time...but I just can't help it!! To date, I have been paid $258 and have $138 headed my way. Not too bad for making 53 posts in 2 months!! I am so excited because they have launched a new affiliate program. In this new program I will be paid $15 for each person that signs up under me to become a PayPerPost member and starts blogging. If you haven't signed up...please click on my link and start making all that blog money TODAY!! You'll be so glad you did and wish you had started sooner...PROMISE!! :) I'm adding my link in my sidebar so it will always be there.
Feel free to ask me any questions!!

The tree is coming, the tree is coming!

I'm so excited!! Our christmas tree will be delivered tomorrow!! YAY! of course I have to work all day...so that sucks. But we'll put it up as soon as I get off work. We'll have to work fast so the boys can help before going to bed...plus we'll have to do dinner too. Maybe we should put it up tomorrow and decorate it Tuesday night. Working sucks. LOL

I am going to try to take a day off while the kids are off school so we can make cookies and candy...weekends are just too short with all the other stuff I have to take care of.

The gift of Space

I have almost all my christmas shopping done with the exception of gifts for my boys. I am at a standstill waiting for my paycheck. So, in the meantime..I am surfing the 'net looking for ideas, making wishlists, etc etc so I'll be ready once my check gets here (tomorrow I hope).

One of the things I am looking at is, telescopes. My boys LOVE anything to do with space (and volcanos--but that's another post LOL). They love looking at the stars and the moon...and noticing when the moon is full, etc. I know they would love to see everything a little closer and I'm thinking a telescope might be a really good and educational gift for them. I have fond memories of my dads telescope when I was about Logan's age. We would go out and look through it and then come back in and get the encyclopedias out and try to get info on what we were seeing.

If you are looking for something along the same lines...even binoculars,etc. you might want to check out www.OpticsPlanet.net they have so much there AND shipping is FREE on orders over $29.95!! I LOVE to find free shipping deals!!

Friday, December 08, 2006

I'll be Home for Christmas...

We have made the decision to not meet Tammy in TN for Christmas. We really wanted to, but the truth of the matter is, we don't have the money to fix the car AND do that...no matter how much the car fix is...we just don't have the money. AND, I would need to take 2 days off work and with one of the part time girls taking a trip at that time, it's just not going to work. I am very sad, as I really wanted to go. But, oh well. I need to finish their shopping and get it shipped this week. Oh Joy!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Monopoly--Love Style

Kyle and I are celebrating our 9th anniversary in 20 days. I have the hardest time coming up with cute, clever, romantic gifts that are not too cheesy or supid. LOL I used to get Kyle something engraved every year. It started with zippo lighters and one year was a watch. One year I even got a picture of the sky in Gatlinburg on the night we were married (it's still in the box behind the TV--it was a neat idea though. LOL) Scouring the internet tonight I came across the Lovopoly Website - the perfect personalized gift. It's such a neat idea. It's a monopoly board that you can personalize with your own photos and places that are important to you (or the person you are personalizing it for).

I am going to make a list of places we went and things we did while dating and get some pictures together. This is going to be the cutest anniversary present EVER!!

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Busy Busy busy

Work has been so busy the last 2 days. We had a record breaking sales day yesterday and I am curious if today wasn't close. I answered e-mail non stop from 10 am - 6 pm and answered the phones periodically during that time. usually on tuesdays I don't have much phone time because there is always someone else working with me....NOT the case today. As soon as I would start answering an e-mail, the phone would ring. I didn't eat lunch or anything. Hopefully, tomorrow is a tinge slower...just so I can catch my breath and eat lunch at my desk!

Monday, December 04, 2006

Coupons--a girls best friend

Continuing with my obsession of never leaving my house and doing as much as I can at home, in my jammies, I do almost all of my shopping online. I buy almost everything, except groceries, online. Christmas gifts and even the Christmas Tree, no exception.
When I shop at a particular store online, I browse, add items to my cart and immediately open a new window so I can start scouting for online coupons. Just this weekend I bought some bras and was able to get a GREAT deal by using a Lane Bryant coupon on top of their buy one get one free offer. 4 bras for $50 shipped...can't beat that!!!

Christmas Plans

My sister told us that they can no longer come here for Christmas. They are going to nashville/memphis ish area that weekend to meet her hubbys parents. I had hoped we could go and see them as well, but with the stupid car problems I am not sure that is going to happen. It makes me sad, but you can only do what you have the money to do, you know...and we HAVE to have a car..so it's not like I can blow that off. Stupid Car. It's still up in the air as to what we will do..we need to get the car taken in and diagnosed...I am crossing my fingers that it will be an "easy" fix and maybe we can still go.

People that make me shake my head

It is beyond me why people have a problem with PayPerPost. What I choose to blog about should be up to me. If I choose to have "commercials", if you will, on my blog that should be fine...what's it to the nay-sayers anyway? The content of my blog has NO effect on them.

The reason I am posting about this again, is because there is this guy, Mike,who is badmouthing PayPerPost (again, from what I understand) and the newly launched rockstartup.com He even goes so far as to call PPP ethically challenged and to say he can't wait for the episode where Ted goes to jail. nice. mature. Can you SEE why I a shaking my head at this guy?

I am guessing he never learned "if you have nothing nice to say keep your mouth shut" and I am guessing the reason behind his anger is nothing more than a text book case of jealousy. I know people like him...they can't stand the fact that they weren't smart enough to think up something so brilliant/wonderful/fantastic and it irks them to NO end. So, bad mouth they will...and I'll just keep shaking my head (and raking in the money!!).

Sunday, December 03, 2006

Lights of Christmas

We got our porch all decorated for Christmas today. It is SOOO pretty. I LOVE it!! It was cold and took a lot of work, but the end result is so nice. AND..we got the porch cleaned off and things thrown away, given away etc. It was looking pretty junky out there. (leftover yard sale stuff) I can't wait until my new tree gets here and we can decorate the inside!! yippee!!

A company after my own heart!

Once again, I am going to post about PayPerPost. I am SO excited because something new has launched and I am in HEAVEN. 2 of my LOVES have come together in one nice little package and made me so Happy!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE Reality TV...it all started with Survivor several years ago and the love has never died. The folks at PPP have launched their very own Reality Show, RockStartup. You can check it out for yourself at www.rockstartup.com.

I just got done watching the first 2 episodes and thoroughly enjoyed it. I had a little trouble hearing everything Ted was saying...but that's alright..he's fun to look at. *grin* I'm excited to learn about everyone behind the scenes and get a little glimpse into their lives...yeah, I'm nosy that way. I hope we get to see in someones medicine cabinet or under their bathroom sink...I ALWAYS look in those place if I use someone's potty. (all my friends that are reading this are appalled. LOL)

The episodes are shot entirely as HD content and PPP is currently shopping their show to tv networks. I HOPE someone picks it up so I can watch the episodes on my BIG screen TV instead of on my laptop. LOL

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Wing zone

We have this awesome restaurant here called Wing Zone, they have REALLY yummy wings, fries and burgers. (other things too but I haven't tried them). The best part is..they DELIVER! woohoo...gotta love staying home in your jammies and having food brought to the door. That's what K an I are having for dinner tonight...the babies had hot dogs and french fries..now they are all nestled in their beddy byes and K and I are gonna chow down on wings and fries and watch some tv..maybe even a movie. I love saturday nights!! :)

Accounting: the easy way out

When a person works from home as an "independent contractor" like I do, you are considered a "small business" for tax purposes, insurance, etc. Having my small business and keeping up with the accounting side of it all is a royal pain in the rear. Mostly because I am lazy. Plus, I don't even balance my own checkbook or anything. I know, I know...that's AWFUL. My mom is in the same boat as I am since she is considered a "small business" since she gets paid to care for my mentally handicapped brother. I asked her for some advice on dealing with the ins and outs of small business accounting and she told me the best thing to do is to find an accountant and let them deal with the whole mess. Sounds like a plan to me!! So, to the internet I went! After doing some research online I found www.accountingparadise.com they have a great site and offer some really great services at great prices (great as in wonderful..not as in BIG! LOL) If you are in the "small business" business...thi is a great site for all your accounting needs.

Nerve Problem

I have something weird going on with a nerve or something in my back. it started yesterday...anytime I would bend over it would feel like there was a hot poker sticking me in the heel and now today it hurts all down my leg..tingles in spots and burns in others. It's very uncomfortable...I'm thinking a visit to the dr is defintely in my future.

It's worth HOW much??

I am such a nosy person..I always want to know what peoples houses are worth. C'mon...you know you do it too!! LOL It's just amazing how much house value varies from state to state and even city to city, neighborhood to neighborhood!



I'm not just nosy about other people's houses..I'm nosy about mine too. I want to know how much I could get for it if I decide to sell it fast and head for the hills. LOL Or if I wanted to do something more responsible like refinance or take out a home equity loan..because you know, sometimes heading for the hills isn't an option! ;)

Ordered the Tree

So, I went ahead and ordered the half christmas tree I wanted today. On a whim, I decided to try the "friends & family" coupon code that was supposed to be valid tomorrow only. It ended up being valid and took 20% off the tree. So, I got it for $89 including tax and shipping...not too bad considering the original price was $129.99!! I hope it doesn't take too long to get here!!

Friday, December 01, 2006

Aliens ALIVE!!



Have you seen these things? My kids would absolutely LOVE to get these in their stockings..and I'm seriously considering it. Check out the video...



See??? Cool, huh?

Yes, I am the mom of 2 litle boys that think things like Alien Adoption World Collectors Kits are fun...and one big boy too!! :) I can just see them on Christmas morning...everything stopping so we can all "birth" a couple of aliens.



It's actually kind of weirding me out because I have been reading this series of books about a guy that grows "people" in test tubes. I don't know that I could with one of these test tube aliens in my house. LOL Wonder if Jack and the Cat would be interested in it at all...Can you iamgine the terror my kids would have if the aliens they birthed got eaten by one of the animals?!?! ROFL



I'm really a little curious about them myself..so I am guessing I am going to end actually purchasing these just so I can check them out in person.

Half Christmas Tree

Have you ever heard of a half christmas tree? I never had until the other night when my mom told me she saw one. The front is very full and the back is flat so it can be up against a wall. Definitely something I need in this house....there just isn't enough rooom to have a tree...well, there is..but we have big furniture and blah blah blah. LOL So, I decided I needed one...found one at JC Penney and Kyle said we should be responsible and make do with the tree we have, and buy this one after christmas when it is on sale. HMPH! I told my mom he said that and she said, "doesn't he understand that's not the way we do things?!?" ROFL I know JCP is having a sale on Sunday..and I SHOULD be able to get 20% off...and MAYBE with that...he would give the thumbs up. hmmmm. He told me last night I cold go ahead and order it...but I know that he is right about the money thing...I just want a pretty tree and the crappy tree we have is...BLECK and I dread putting it up. But I told the kids we would put a tree up this weekend..and if I order it...it'll be at least a week before we get it. decisions, decisions.....

Change of Decor?

I think that I might be getting bored with the decor in my home. It's pretty, um....country I guess and I have a lot of american flag type stuff and baskets. I love it..and it took me a long time to get it this way...but I think I might be getting antsy to make some changes. LOL yes, isn't it JUST LIKE a woman to take forever to get things perfect and then she decides she needs a change?? LOL Good thing I'm only feeling that way about my house decor and not my life or husband!! *wink*

In looking around online, dreaming, playing, pretending...I have seen some wrought iron wall decor that I really like. I like the substantialness (is that even a word) of it...the way it almost looks like it belongs in a castle or something equally romantic. I love the window boxes too...for the outside of the house of course. I had considered getting wrought iron window boxes a year or so ago and then decided that the aluminum siding wouldn't offer enough support...besides the fact that wrought iron doesn't necessarily GO with aluminum siding. LOL It's definitely on my list of things to consider when we get our siding replaced.

Maybe I'll buy a sconce or candle holder of some sort for now and see how I feel about adding it to my decor.

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Christmas Lights

In years past our street hasn't been a big one to put up lights and chrismtas decorations. This year something has happened and almost everyone has some type of lights up. So..I am going to clean off my front porch and get some kind of lights/decorations up this weekend. I'm so excited...Kyle is not. LOL We're also going to put the tree up this weekend. I can't WAIT!!

Meet new people/Make new friends



One of the bad things about not being in high school anymore (yeah, for like 13 years now!! GOD..I'm OLD!!) is I don't have access to all the people that I could get to do stuff with me. There are a lot of things/activites that I would like to be involved in but don't wanna go it alone, ya know?



Lifeknot's Google Gadget makes it so easy to Meet new friends with the same interests. It's really kinda fun to play with and check out profiles of people that live in your area and also want a "playmate". Check it out...make a new friend.

Alayna Jane

My very good friend Rita had her baby girl last night. Miss Alayna Jane was born around 11 pm at 31 weeks. She weighed 2 lbs 3 oz and was born screaming (like a little bird). Mommy and Baby are doing well...please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The Transformation of Antonio

This video of Ted from PayPerPost cracks me right up!! I keep doing my own impression of AnTONIo when no one else is around. LOL If I wasn't so afraid of the germs that are probably lurking on my shower doors...I might try a catfeesh transformation myself!! I showed this video to Kyle...he was less amused, oh well. Check it out and see what you think....



I love the part where he talks about previous transformations..."a jar and a corn cob" LOL

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Pizza Night

Work was hellacious today. I am tired. We have no food and I NEED to go to the grocery..but guess what? SO NOT gonna happen. I am declaring it "pizza night". I'll do the grocery shopping in the morning after I drop off Logan.

That's All! :)

Monday, November 27, 2006

Momma needs a brand new Camera

Where is MY Camera, Ted? *sob* *sob* I'm working my fingers to the bone, not only supporting my family but making money on the side to be YOUR Postie...I ask you, WHERE is MY Camera (and printer)???

My current digital camera was purchased 8 maybe 9 years ago for $1,000...yeah, we were cool and newly married and had lots of interesting things to take pictures of *wink wink*. We were gonna be digital photography buffs!! This was life before kids...we had money to burn....new gadgets to buy...Fun was to be had and we were having it darn it!!! We lovingly toted it around (the camera..not the fun!!) in a rubbermaid box, nestled atop a hand towel with 4 extra sets of batteries and a memory card. (Ok, so we were cool enough for the $1,000 digital camera but not cool enough for a camera bag. because, that's the way we roll!!)

It was a great camera...it captured pictures of family and friends, our first apartment and house, my first BIG pregnant belly, the birth of that baby, that babys first b-day, my second BIG pregnant belly...that baby's birth---you get the idea. And while that camera is a good one, it is time for it to move on. It's big and clunky and the rubbermaid "case" HA! has been cast aside to make room for other things we need for these little creatures we call our children.

It now has a broken rubbery thingie next to the eye thingie you look through...there are exposed wires there..I could get shocked in the cheek!! (can you get shocked by things run on battery power?) It needs to be put to rest...it's done it's job, it's put up the good fight...it's time for it to move on to the big camera land in the sky.

~~This post was brought to you by HP.

Home again

We are home again. We had a wonderful time at the in-laws. I worked M-W and the days DRAGGED...I took a 4 day weekend and the time FLEW, go figure!! Highlights of the week were having a YUMMY dinner prepared and waiting for me everynight after work..good yummy comfort food too!! MMMM and going out with Kyles cousins to a Mexican restaurant on Saturday night...we had SO much fun..I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time!! LOL We were supposed to come home SAturday so I would have a day to grocery shop, etc before starting school and work again, but we ended up staying until yesterday...BIG mistake. Now, I have to grocery shop tonight when I get off work. UGH!!! Oh..and I left all the christmas presents I bought on Friday down there...smart huh? *rolleyes*

The Reason for the Season

I love this time of year...first Thanksgiving and then Christmas. It's this time of year that I think the most about what I am thankful for and reflect on my relationship with God. I haven't belonged to a church in quite awhile and ache to belong to one again. I know that so many of us feel a little "lost" regarding the church sometimes. If you are Catholic, or interested in the Catholic faith, you may find the Catholic Show of interest to you. It is a podcast so you can load it on your ipod and listen at your leisure. In this wonderful time of Year, let us ALL remember that HE is the reason for the Season.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Stupid Car

We're at the inlaws, got here about 7:30 Sunday night. It was a huge to-do just getting out of town. We finally got all packed and the car loaded and headed out..we got about 10 miles away and the car started acting weird and K was scared to drive it for fear we would blow the engine or soemthing. SO...back home we came...stopped and moms and asked if we could borrow our car...she said that was fine (she is SO good to us), so we unloaded and reloaded the car, got the kids back in and were FINALLY on our way. WHEW! SO now, I am stressed about the car and how much it is going to cost to fix it...right at Christmas-time. Sometimes..life really sucks. I know I know..I should be counting my blessings blah blah blah. For now..I wanna be a baby brat face. ;-)

Saturday, November 18, 2006

No Nails

Darn it!! I wonder why I never listen to myself? I KNEW that I should have made a nail appt, but I thought I could stop by the nail place..put my name in and go run another errand and come back. WRONG! My nail girl, Tee, wasn't there today! They said she was out sick...she was sick LAST Saturday too...I wonder if she is PG?? LOL So, I have to go to TN with ugly nails...and they are SO ugly since I pulled off my fake nails and removed my nail polish. UGH!!!

Credit Cards R Us

A couple years ago we had cut up all of our credit cards and had NONE. Then Kyle got approved for one and we had just that one. I have been wanting to build my credit score up, so I applied for a couple and got those. Sometimes, credit cards get a bad rap because irresponsibilty can get you in a bad place with them. (Which is why ours were cut up a couple years ago!) But honestly, Credit Cards have really helped us out of binds more often than not. In hindsight, I wish I had shopped around a little for the BEST credit card for us. I had no idea that there were sites that helped with that kind of thing. No matter what your credit or what you are looking for in your Credit Cards...you can find them there.

Friday, November 17, 2006

FRIDAY!!

So glad today is Friday. Byt the ned of the week, I am so tired and so ready to not work for a couple days. I have a busy weekend planned though since we are heading to the in-laws on Sunday. We'll be there for a week and I will work from there M-W I am off on Thursday and took the day off on Friday..so I can shop!! woohoo. My goal is to get Kyles family finished...that way I don't have to ship their gifts to them. Not sure if I am going to have a "black Friday" shopping partner though, and not sure I wanna go alone. I'm still trying to get Kyle to agree to go with me, he's no fun to take shopping though...better than nothing I guess. ROFL

Cornucopia of Info...and little gossip

So we all know I am addicted to PayPerPost right? and we all know that my favorite form of info, etc. is through forums/message boards right? Well, the forums at PayPerPost are no exception to that. When I first joined PPP and needed help getting my blog approved for posting and wasn't sure what to do...where did I find help? PPP forums. When I needed to know what PR3 was, where did I find the answer? PPP forums!! When I was bored and just wanted to surf some meaningless conversation..where did I become un-bored?? That's right!!! The PPP FORUMS!!! Because of my knowledge of the forums, when my friend, Jenelle joined PPP and had questions I was able to say, "I don't know..check out the PPP forums, I'm SURE you'll find your answer there!!" Guess what?? She did..and she DID!!

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Perm??

I'm thinking about getting a perm. Just to add a little curl and more body to my hair. I always wear my hair up in a twist with the ends out and if I had a perm it would look nicer I think. Of course I don't have the money to get a perm right now...so it doesn't really matter. LOL Wonder why hair stuff has to be so darn expensive??

His Collection...

Several years ago, Kyle's sister lived in England..her husband is in the Air Force and they were stationed there. The nice thing about having family or friends stationed somewhere overseas is the cool gifts they buy you while they are there. LOL She bought Kyle a couple swords and that started his "collection". Of course those are the only two he has..so it's not much of a collection, but he is quite proud of it. He wants to hang them over the bed, but I'm too scared they will fall off and hit me in the head in the middle of the night. LOL On occasion, he has mentioned that he would like to add another sword to his collection and I have toyed with the idea of trying to find one for him. I'm not exactly sure what he wants or what would go with his collection, or if I should try to find something like what he already has..or get something completely different. I believe what he has now is a martial arts type sword, I think the pirate cutlasses look really cool. I'll have to do some more research before making a decision..guys are SO hard to shop for!!

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Here a cough, there a cough.....

Dylan is home from school today. Kyle and I both have colds and Dylan has developed a gross sounding cough. He went to the dr. on MOnday for a re-check and the ear infection is FINALLY gone..she said there was still a little fluid..but the infection was gone...and she wants to see him in a month. While they were there, K asked her to listen to his chest (Dylans..not Kyles. LOL) she did and she said he sounded wheezy, they did the pulse ox and it was 98. They gave him a breathing treatment, did the pulse ox again and it was 96!! She said that is something that CAN happen and that it was normal. ok..whatever. LOL So..we have had 2 Coughy McCoughersons using the nebulizer this week. fun fun!!

What's for Dinner??



I don't know if you're like me...but I'm usually trying to figure out what we can have for dinner. If I'm not making "menus" so I can do my grocery shopping, I have my head stuck in the fridge/freezer trying to figure out what I can make so I DON'T have to go to the grocery. It's not an easy job and I am forver asking Kyle for his help...which is NO help. His typical answer is, "make something easy..whatever's easy is fine with me" *roll eyes*



What I NEED is something like BigOven Recipe Software - 160,000 Recipes to take the guess work out of dinner. I could enter in a few ingredients I have on hand...the software does it's magic and Voila! a recipe!! And more often than not..that recipe is going to be completely different than whatever idea I had brewing in my head for the food on hand!



You can try the software out for free...go ahead..give it a try...play around with the website (that leftover wizard is FUN!), and check out the message boards. You really can't go wrong with this!!

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Unexpected bills

Never make the mistake of thinking you are going to have "extra" money. I thought that I would have a quite a bit of money from this months check to do christmas shopping...then I got my car insurance bill and water bill....2 bills that happen every 3months...and I forgot about. Darn it!! So, some of my shopping is going to have to be done about 2 weeks before christmas when I get my next check. Humbug!!!

How do I love thee......?

I am SOOOO in love with PayPerPost!! WHY you ask?!?! Because I get paid to simply do a little blog advertising. It's easy and fun! I don't post about anything I don't want to. It's all completely up to me..I am the master of my domain!! HA! This week my PayPerPost income has started rolling in..little by little..day by day. It's awesome. It's such a thrill to see my paypal account increase everyday..and it has been SO easy..and here's the thing...It will CONTINUE to increase as long as I continue to delve into the world of blog advertising. It doesn't get much easier than that!!

Seriously, Kyle hasn't worked in almost 2 years and yes I am blessed to have gotten a job that I can do from home and allows us to survive. PayPerPost is making it so we can do a little more than "just" survive. I am able to make my family a little bit happier all because of PayPerPost and dammit! that feels GOOD!!!

Saturday, November 11, 2006

It's over!

OMG..that was the worst experience of my life!!

They gave me a dose of darvocet and then a dose of versed, I got drowsy and they did the endoscopy, the only thing I remember about that is them talking about my pretty wedding ring and I tried to talk and they told me not to talk that only they could talk to me. and then I remember doing some major gagging when they pulled it out.

The colonoscopy was AWFUL..I felt every second of it and they gave me 2 more doses of versed because I was in so much pain, there were 2 nurses presing on my stomach and then they were having me turn this way and that way and I was crying and I was trying SO hard to no be a baby, they were so nice and telling me how good I was doing...I even tried deep breathing..like with labor...I swear this pain was worse than labor...it was AWFUL. They ended up calling the anesthesiologist in and giving me gen. anesthesia...then I was out and don't remember anything until I was back in recovery where I opened my eyes and thankfully saw my wonderful husband and immediately started crying.

Come to find out..I have a very loopy colon with lots of curves and that was the reason for all the pushing and pain...lucky me. She wrote on the report that I need to have another one in 5 years WITH gen. anesthesia. thank god.

Everything looked good, she said. They took some samples and sent them to the lab and she gave me a prescription to help with some pain and stuff I have been having. She feels like everything will come back from the lab fine.

When we left we stopped and picked up chinese for dinner..I don't think anything has ever tasted so good.

I am SO glad it's done now.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Lover of Dolls, Designer of Many



I'm such a girly girl and love all things girly. I wish I had a girl just for the purely selfish reason of dressing her up and putting cute bows on her head and frilly socks on her feet!! LOL I get a little of the dress up need out of my system by playing around with Dress Up Games and Dollmakers. Once they are made you can use them as avatars in chats, forums, etc. It's so fun to do and can be so addictive. So many options, so little time.



I wish I was one of those graphic designer type people that could make my own dolls just by drawing them with some type of groovy graphics program. But, I'm not so the Dress Up Games and Dollmakers that take all the work out for you and let you just play ROCK.



Procedure day

Todays the day. The prep wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Once I got past the nauseous feeling, I was ok. Didn't even end up with a sore bum. All good things. I will be SOOO glad to come home and eat. The plan is to pick up chinese food on the way home. I am so excited. LOL I hope my throat isn't sore and I am able to enjoy it. I'll update once I get home this evening.

Tablet PC for the boys??

I wish I had it in me to stand in line for 24 hours to get one of the cheap tablet PCs circuit city or Best Buy will have on Black Friday. I would love to get one for the kids. They love to play on mine..but I love to play on mine and don't really want to share!! LOL They do have a computer in their playroom but will never go in there to play it. I think they like being out here where we are. I guess we could move it out here, but it's a big older computer and so cumbersone and takes a lot of room...plus, they wanna turn the volume up and then we can't hear the tv. If I got them their own tablet PC they could stick some headphones in it. Hmmm. Of course I don't want to make a bad decision in purchasing one, should I decide to do so, so I have been checking out Tablet PC Reviews and the forum there. I'm not sure which way I will go in the decision but I do like being informed about what I may or may not buy.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

Clear Liquid Diet

I'm having a colonoscopy and a upper endoscopy tomorrow and therefore, am on a clear liquid diet today. it sucks. I had a popscicle for breakfast..it was depressing. LOL I am NOT looking forward to all the laxative stuff I have to drink tonight and all the time I will be spending in the bathroom. I hear the preperation is the worst part though..so hopefully I can get through that and will be a-ok.

June Wedding

When my dad took me and my aunt to dinner for our birthdays the other night, my aunt told me that my cousin, Brandy is engaged and is knee deep in wedding stuff. She is getting married June 15 and my aunt told us to save the date that she was expecting to see us there. I asked where she was getting married and she said Atlanta. I would really like to go and told my dad and Lola that maybe I would ride with them...then my dad said maybe they would take the motorcycle down. Gee thanks! LOL My mother in law lives about 3 hours from Atlanta so feasibly Kyle and I and the kids could head down to see her and I could go to the wedding. It's on a Friday night...maybe I could get Cindy to let me crash there once the wedding is over. I don't know it's something to think about.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Slickdeals

I have been obsessed with www.slickdeals.net lately, I was last Christmas shopping season too. Since money is so tight here and we have 22 people (not including ourselves or our kids) to shop for, I need the best deals I can find. So far I have gotten a great deal on a gift for my BIl, my niece, and Kyle. so, I visit the site non stop hoping for a great price on something.

The other day someone posted about a rugs, so I went and purchased FOUR 3'x5' rugs for my kitchen..I was SO excited..they were red and white..perfect for my cherry kitchen!! I got the confirmation e-mail telling me they were discontinued and I would not be receiving them!! I was SOOOO bummed.

Last Sunday someone posted that their K-Mart had an evenflo triumph convertible car seat on clearance for $24!! This was orig priced at $119!! I ran down to my K-mart and was thrilled to see 5 on the shelf. The sticker on them said $96, but when scanned rang up for $24! I immediately got one for Rita. I know she needs one because when the new baby comes Avery will need to move to a big boy seat so the new baby girl can have his. I called and told her and she is thrilled. I'm thrilled I got such a great deal and can help them out. Yay, slickdeals!!

Churn--a new meaning

You know when you get mad at your cable, telephone, etc company and threaten to leave and go with a different company if they don't do XYZ? I learned this week that the term for that is Churn. Now, I don't know if the threat is the churn, or the leaving and going somewhere else is the churn. Regardless, it's an interesting term, huh?

My story about my own Churn is when my DSL modem went out and the phone company was going to charge me an arm and a leg for a new one! I was SOOO angry. We had our phone, internet, and satellite service through the company..we had been a customer for 7 years and the LEAST they could do is replace the modem darn it!! I called the customer service dept and they were no help. Just gave me the run around about their policy blah blah blah. So, I called the actual DSL problem dept and was able to talk to a really nice lady who not only replaced our modem, but replaced it with a wireless one so we could use it for our laptop as well!! I was thrilled. I didn't even have to be a B*, I just stated my case and she agreed and was willing go above and beyond to keep me as a customer.

I remember several years ago when long distance companies would offer you $$ to switch to their carrier and I knew some people that would switch every couple of months for the money...I think that kind of Churn is just plain wrong. That's the kind of stuff that makes companies not want to work with you and ends up causing problems for everyone. If you are happy with your company, just be happy, on the same note if your company is making you wanna pull your hair out you should by all means talk to someone and give them a chance to make it right.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Coughy McCougherson

Logan has a cold and it has made his asthma flair up big time. Kyle took him to the dr today and his pulse/ox level was 96 when he got there. They immediately gave him a dose of steroids and a breathing treatment. Pulse/ox after was 100. So, they sent him home with a steroid scrip and a new face mask for his nebulizer. Last winter we switched from the nebulizer to an inhaler with a spacer...now we are thinking that maybe he wasn't getting enough medicine with the inhaler..so back to the nebulizer. She told us we could give him benadryl to help him sleep at night..hopefully he will sleep better tonight than he did last night!!

Once a Sniper....

With Christmas coming up and all the shopping that goes along with it. I have started looking around on Ebay. I have to make it off limits to myself every once in awhile because I buy too much. LOL But, permission has now been granted to do the Ebaying thing once again. One of the things I hate about Ebay is having to watch the auctions you want to win so close. Most people tend to wait until the last second to bid, myself included. LOL So, I have become quite the sniper!! I love it. It is so easy and I don't have to constantly watch the clock and the auction and then be so mad at myself when I forget. (talk about MADDENING!! LOL) Plus, I got to try it out for free for 15 days. My way to Ebay has been changed forever!!!

Monday, November 06, 2006

Another Birthday Dinner

My dad took me to dinner Sunday night for my birthday. We took my aunt too..since we share a birthday..I'm also named after her. we had a really nice time and the food was wonderful. It was nice to get out and spend some time with my dad and his wife and my aunt...something I don't do enough of. I was actually gone so long Kyle called to make sure I was ok. LOL He kept telling me it was "fine" that I was still gone..he was just worried. I guess he wanted to check on me without making me feel like he was CHECKING UP on me. ROFL

Keep this in a safe place

I've been meaning to buy a fire proof safe or lock box for awhile now...for all of our important papers, etc. Then I decided maybe I should just get a safe deposit box at the bank. But you know how I hate to leave the house and anything that can be done online SHOULD be done online?? Well, wonders never cease...I found an Online Safe Deposit Box!! Can you believe that?? It doesn't get much more convenient than that, huh? Users of this feature get a small save deposit box to use FREE for a year, after that you can upgrade to a bigger, permanent box for like $3/month! Definitely worth checking and trying out.

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Nail Break

I pulled off all my nails. They needed to be filled in and I had broken one and didn't have time to go and get them done, so I decided to pull them all off and give my nails some time to breathe and then I would get another set. The nail lady had told me that the next time I came, I needed to start over with new tips anyway as these were starting to lift. She didn't put the original set on and I guess the guy that did did a sucky job. Everytime I go for a fill she will look at them and say, "I put these on for you?"...like she is shocked she would so such an awful job. I'm actually kind of excited to have her put them on and start fresh. It's kinda nice having them off..I can type easier and quieter. LOL I'm sure I'll be ready for them again in a couple weeks.

Banks..who needs 'em??

A few months ago I came across a post on a message board about peer to peer lending. I thought the concept was really neat and definitely a cool option for someone looking into online loans. The way it works is that you "join" a network of people...and these people are either in the network to borrow money or to invest/lend it. Basically it just cuts out the need for a bank and the huge profit they make from your need. The whole process is really simple and definitely worth checking out. It's like borrowing from a friend without worrying about hurting your friendship...the terms are all laid out and no one gets hurt. You gotta love that....

Saturday, November 04, 2006

It was a good one!!

Last night was SO nice. We went to moms and had cake (my favorite cake that she HATES to make and ONLY makes for my birthday) and opened my gifts. The kids got me 2 pair of slipper socks, a calendar, and the game trouble...so I can play with them. LOL Mom, Tony, and my step-father got me 3 sweaters and a long sleeved t-shirt. I'm so excited I really needed them.

We left the kids there and went to eat, we had no idea where we wanted to go and drove around the mall area trying to decide..there were a couple new restaraunts we have never been to so we were thinking maybe we would try one of those. We decided not to go to Logan's Roadhouse because Logan REALLY wants to eat there LOL, and we started to go to Cadillac Jacks walked inside and decided it was too "sports bar" for what we were in the mood for, then we went to Longhorn (even though we had been there before) and the wait was 60-70 mins!! No thanks! So then we went to The Fox and the Hound, and I am SOOO glad we did. it was really really good. I ended up having 3 drinks. I NEVER drink that much. I started with a really strong apple martini and ended up with 2 touchdown teas. Yummy I tell ya. then I came home and CRASHED! LOL

It was a really good birthday!! :)

Wanna Race?

I have to admit I'm not a HUGE Drag Racing Fan...not like my dad and friend, Rick anyway. Rick actually used to have a mustang that he raced at the local speedway on weekends. This post is for my readers who are like my dad and Rick..the drag racing enthusiasts..the ones that love to watch Drag Racing and seeing a video of Drag Racing Clips will stop them in their tracks....and for Speed Tv, since they are paying me to post it!! *big grin*



If that piques your interest....there is an all day marathon of PINKS followed by a premiere of PINKS All Out on Speedtv on Nov 23rd.

**This Post sponsored by SpeedTV.com**

Friday, November 03, 2006

It's my Birthday!!

I'm 32 today. Thirty-Two...wasn't it just yesterday I was depressed about turning 30 and let Kyle dye my hair?? LOL Time fies, the kids are growing up and I am getting old. *sigh* No, really..I don't mind it too much. We'll discuss that again in 8 years when I hit 40..k??

So, I am working all day and then going to moms for cake and gifts. Then Kyle and I are leaving the kids with her while we go to dinner. Yes, we are having cake before dinner! LOL Kyle is taking the kids shopping after school...I'm interested to see what they pick out.

My big gift (from me and Kyle) is going to be a Creative Zen Vision W media player..when we can find one at a good price. Which is hopefully before we take our trip to TN in 2 weeks!

Who's goin' to the Chapel??

So, remember this post?? You know, telling you all about the PayPerPost Wedding in Vegas?? Well, the 3 finalists have been chosen and the voting is on!! You can read all about the 3 finalists at www.payperpostwedding.com and vote for your favorite couple. I voted this morning and it was a really hard decision. Doesn't EVERYONE deserve a paid for wedding in Vegas PayPerPost style?!?! I think so!! The stories are all very charming and sweet and does NOT make the decision easy. In the end I voted for Mike and Corrin, instead of doing eeny meeny minie moe, I let my heartstrings be pulled by the super cute dachshund (that got snipped with PPP money, by the way! LOL) and the fiance' that looks a little like David Arquette. *wink*
Which couple will get your vote?!? Hurry...voting ends November 8 at midnight.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Ear Issues all around

Dylan went for his ear infection check up yesterday and his ear is still infected so he got another shot. He was NOT happy about that! Thank God Kyle took him. He has to go back on Monday for another re-check and shot, IF it's not better. I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will be. Bless his heart.

When Logan went to bed last night he said his ear hurt so I gave him tylenol and sent him to bed. 3 hours later he was awake and crying because it was hurting so bad. We gave him so Ibuprofen and put numbing drops in and he eventually went back to sleep. He woke up this morning feeling fine, I am hoping it was "just" and ear ache rather than an infection.

Vegas Wedding--PayPerPost Style!

Going to Vegas and we're gonna get maaaarrrriieed... Never been married before, WANNA get married?? PayPerPost is looking for a couple posties to go to Vegas for a payperpost wedding. The opportunity comes with some great perks...you know aside from the wedded bliss and all!!

To announce this newest adventure in the land of PayPerPost, Brit, Veronique, and the new girl (karen??) got dressed in "wedding finery" and made a video. Tell me this isn't the funnest (most fun?) job ever!! LOL

I, for one and am so excited about seeing how this wedding pans out. Of course it will be recorded so we can all watch it and share the happy couples joyous event. I wish I wasn't married so I could do it! LOL I'm sure my husband will be thrilled to read this.

Spread the word...someone is getting married in Vegas...PayPerPost style!!! woohoo!!

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Happy Birthday Chelsea & Lindsay

My twin nieces turned 14 today. I just got off the phone with them and neither one sounds like they had a wonderful day..which makes me sad. At THAT age getting older is fun.

Chelsea broke my heart, she was crying so hard because about 3 weeks ago she got an early b-day present, a puppy she named Stella. apparently stella has been sick the last couple days and pottied on the carpet. My sister and her husband are freaks about that kind of stuff (well HE is, my sister plays along like she is the cleanest person in the world *rolleyes*) so, they made Chelsea give the dog back to whoever she got it from...ON her birthday. She was so heartbroken. My sister makes me so mad. I swear she has no sense sometimes. If you make a commitment to an animal..you take the good with the bad..and if the dog is sick it's not her fault and carpet DOES come clean.

They are supposed to come for Christmas and Lindsay is talking about going to Alabama with her dad, I hope all the girls don't decide to go with him instead of coming with their mom. I am really looking forward to seeing them.

Fat Confessions

PayPerPost is continuing with their "confessional series". Today's episode is Ted...he talks about being the fat kid and gaining some weight recently. Personally, I think he looks fine..but, a big desk can hide a multitude of sins so to speak. Ha!



I understand too well the "fat thing"..losing weight is hard...really hard and it's NO fun. I have considered the idea of going to the gym...I was thinking of joining the Y, to do it as a family thing..but really I have no time to do that. I bought exercise videos and did them at home during the summer when I was dieting and that worked kinda well, but I resented my computer/me time being "wasted" on exercise. How's that for warped thinking?? LOL Isn't someone supposed to be inventing a miracle pill?? Come ON already!!!!

Tuesday, October 31, 2006

Trick or Treat!!

It rained all day and I was SO scared the kids were going to have to trick or treat in the rain..I don't even know how you DO that. LOL After school, Logan told me that he prayed it would stop raining, so he knew it would be ok. I thought that was so sweet and really hoped it would stop for fear if it didn't his faith would be crushed forever. Kyle said he told him that he didn't know how God felt about Halloween so he wasn't sure if that prayer would be answered or not. LOL No worries though, the rain stopped and we had a wonderful time--raincoat and umbrella free. It was a teensy bit cold..but not terrible by any means.

The kids got their faces painted and looked so cute. Dylan in his big long tail was a RIOT. I made a picture show of the pics I took. I'll have to post it later since I am on the wrong computer. We went around the block, same as we do every year, and stopped in to chat with my mom for a couple mins before heading home. They were both showered, pajama-ed, had eaten 2 pieces of candy, and in bed by 8:00 not too bad for Trick or Treat night. I imagined it to be much later when I finally got them settled.

It was a great night..can't wait to do it again next year!! :)

Mortgage Refinancing 101

My friend told me the other day that they just closed on a refinance on their house. I was a little jealous..I would LOVE to do a mortgage refinance on our house. I would LOVE to have some extra money to do some home repairs. Right now, we wouldn't get approved just because of our financial situation with Kyle not working...at least I can't imagine we would. Maybe it's something I will check into. hmmm.

We had attempted to refinance our mortgage at one point, we went through all the steps including, appraisal, application fee, etc. They called us on a Saturday on our cell phone to congratulate us and tell us we were approved, on MOnday they called back and said there was a mistake and because we had been late on one mtg payment they couldn't approve us!! We were SOOOO mad!! I demanded that our appraisal and application fees be returned, which took a lot of, um convincing. *wink* Then they gave us the run around about when the check was sent. It was a really awful experience and I will NEVER use that company again.

If and when I am ready to attempt it again I'll definitely be doing more research through places like www.personalhomeloanmortgages.com the info you find there is really geared toward helping you make intelligent borrowing decisions. They even have my favorite source for finding out information...forums!!

Monday, October 30, 2006

Halloween

Dylan wants to be a cat for Halloween and I was going to attempt to make a tail and ears for his costume. I am SO NOT crafty and was a little concerned how it was going to turn it. It looked great in my head...but in real life??? Dylan's teacher was talking about it with me and so nicely offered to make the tail and ears for me. I took her all the stuff on Friday and she brought it back to school this morning. It looks SOOO cute. I can't wait to see him in it. I'll be sure to post pictures!!

Disclosure Statement

It has been brought to my attention that posting a disclosure policy on my blog might be a good idea since I "do" payperpost and make money for some of my posts about specific products or websites. Personally, I think it's MY blog and I can post whatever I want. BUT..since it seems to be an issue for some people and I trust the people that recommended I do it, a disclosure statement has been posted. I have also included a link in my sidebar so it's always available for anyone interested.

I used a Disclosure Policy Generator to make said Disclosure Statement and it was super easy, in case anyone else is interested in making one.


This policy is valid from 30 October 2006


This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me. For questions about this blog, please contact tricia1103@gmail.com.


This blog accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions or other forms of compensation.

The compensation received may influence the advertising content, topics or posts made in this blog. That content, advertising space or post may not always be identified as paid or sponsored content.

The owner(s) of this blog is compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. Even though the owner(s) of this blog receives compensation for our posts or advertisements, we always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences on those topics or products. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely the bloggers' own. Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer, provider or party in question.

The owner(s) of this blog would like to disclose the following existing relationships. These are companies, organizations or individuals that may have a significant impact on the content of this blog. We are employed by or consult with: PayPerPost and Payu2blog.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Computer ZZZ's

Have you ever fallen asleep sitting up at the computer?? I swear I do that all the time. I don't have enough sense to go to bed when I am tired. I wait until I am smashing my face on the keyboard before I will call it a night. Pitiful....that's what it is. I remember my friend Krista telling me that she was on the computer and was falling asleep between pages loading while she was surfing...and I could SOO relate. Nice to know I'm not the only dumb one! LOL I'm going to play it smart tonight though...GOODNIGHT!

Paycheck to Paycheck

I get paid once a month and since K isn't working right now...it's the ONLY money coming in and let me tell you, 30 days between paycheck is a LOOONNNNGGG time. Especially when you are living paycheck to paycheck, like we are. I would be lying if I said I had never thought about using an Instant Payday Loan Company, so far I haven't had to do that, but it is nice to know the option is out there if we are ever decide we need to take advantage of it. It's especially handy that it can be done online...you know, since I rarely leave my house and all. LOL

Sick Mama???

Darn it...I guess I am getting sick now. My nose is running, I'm sneezing, my sinuses feel all blecky and my throat is sore. I took my temp and it was 95.8!! I'm half way dead. LOL It's a new thermometer....I bought it last night at Kroger when I ran there for Ibuprofen for the sick boy. It's awful..not accurate at all and I'm taking it back, so there. Stupid Kroger brand thermometer!! I REALLY don't want to be sick...it's no fun being sick if you have to work anyway. Hopefully, I can take some sinus meds and sleep it away.

It's time to "fall back" 1 hour tonight. I am dreading the 6 am wake up call my kids are SURE to give me. MAYBE I'll get lucky and they will sleep in...ya think??? I'm not holding my breath on that one..that's for sure!!

Confession is good for the Soul

You know what? Working is stressful..no matter what the job is..or how much better or "funner" *grin* it SEEMS than your job, they all equal the same thing...STRESS!! LOL I would think that working for payperpost and being part of the team that allows me to get paid to blog would be an awesome job and lots of fun. I found out this week, that this cool job does NOT come without stress. The team has started making video confessionals and the first one was from Flaming Tamale, it was quite enjoyable and made me laugh out loud more than once. She's a trip and I can tell she would be SO fun to work with..and I BET she brings the stress level for everyone else she works with down just a bit. Check it out...

On the Mend

 

Dylan wasn't feeling much better this morning although he didn't seem to be in as much pain. He was still running a fever and was just laying around so I took him to Urgent Care. they opened at 12 and we were the 2nd people there..so we had like a 10 minute wait!! woohoo!! He has fluid behind his right ear and the left is really really infected, per the Dr. I told him that Dylan just got off a 10 day dose of antibiotics for an ear infection about a week or so ago, so he gave him a shot leg) (which ended up being 1 shot in each of antibiotics this time. Dylan was SUCH a trooper I was so proud of him...and the nurses were impressed to. They had us wait for 20 mins after the shot to make sure he didn't have an allergic reaction. In that time, he fell asleep in my lap. When he woke up to leave, he was whimpering and limping and saying his leg hurt..so I carried him all the way out to the car, 50 pounds is really heavy!! LOL My back was KILLING me.

So, we are home now and he has been in bed watching TV since we got home. he has eaten a little..so I'm pretty sure he's on the mend. He has to go to the Ped on Monday for a follow up..I hope he doesn't need another shot...he'll be devastated!!

Online Shopping--perks a plenty

I do all of my shopping on-line, it is VERY rare that I leave my house and shop. One of the perks of online shopping (besides sitting at home in your jammies to do it and saving gas) is that you can usually find some sort of coupon code to the store you are you shopping at. I recently bought the boys some clothes from Old Navy and was able to find an Old Navy coupon code at Coupon Chief for $10 off and one for free shipping..and I was able to use both!! Gotta love a deal like that!!!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Sick Boy

When I got off work Dylan was complaining of an ear ache which got progressively worse and is making him very very miserable. I have put numbing drops in it, and that's not helping much, he has taken tylenol and that's not helping either. I ran to the store and got some Ibuprofen and when Kyle tried to give it to him, he sat up and threw up. So we got his bed all changed, got him showered, tried to give him the meds then..and again he threw up. So back into the shower. When he got out I gave him a phenergan suppository and he is resting now. Hopefully he will sleep ok, he keeps waking up and whining/crying. Bless his heart. I hate that this stuff happens on the weekends. I imagine we will end up at Urgent care or ER tomorrow. *sigh*

10 year anniversary vacation decision

In December we will celebrate our 9th anniversary, which has me thinking a LOT about the BIG 10 year anniversary. I would really LOVE to go someplace warm and tropical and stay right on the beach so that I can open the doors and hear the waves crashing against the beach and smell the ocean...aaaahh!!

In thinking about all that, of course I have done some research on taking a Caribbean vacation and have come across some really great information.  This site includes reviews of different island vacations as well as cruising and has literally hundreds of articles that tell you where to stay, what to eat, see, and do!!   Now, with all that great information it just makes the decision process that much harder!  LOL  everyplace I read about sounds wonderful.  I am toying with the idea of a cruise too.  I would also LOVE to do Hawaii.

I do have a dilemma in planning anything though and that is that Kyle doesn't like to fly...he has control issues.  *eye roll*.  he did tell me that he would go to Vegas for our anniversary though.  So, I started thinking that if I was going to get him on a plane..maybe we should go someplace else...somewhere more romantic since I may NEVER get him on a plane again.  If we were to go on a cruise we could feasibly drive down to Florida and avoid the plane altogether.  And if we went on a cruise we could take the kids because I hear most of the cruise lines are pretty family friendly, having things for the kids to do etc. hmm. 

You know that one of my favorite sources of info is the good ol' message board.  This site has a great forum set up for travel talk and advice.  If you are thinking of a tropical vacation or cruise in your future it's definitely worth registering and checking out.

While the decision is not going to be an easy one I am glad I have found such an informative site to help me through the process.

Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Happy Birthday, Tony!!!

Today is my brother's birthday. He is 36. He has mental retardation, so mentally, he is about 5 or so....in some areas he seems to be a little older and in others a little younger. Anyway, birthdays and holidays are a HUGE deal to him..so we'll be going to my moms for cake and ice cream and presents tonight. HIs birthday dinner request was spaghetti and meatballs...but we are skipping dinner. My kids don't like spaghetti (I know they are little weird ones) and I hate meatballs PLUS I have to work until 6 and mom wants to eat about 5. So, cake and ice cream it is. Kyle is making dinner for the kids (porkchops, mashed potatos and peas) before I get off work so we can head over there at 6:30. When I get off at 6 I need to make a mad dash down to K-mart to get him a gift. I would just wait and go to a different store and give it to him this weekend, but like I said..birthdays are a HUGE deal to him...so I'll go pick something up. Plus my kids would have a coniption if they don't have a gift for him.

Trivia Buff Wannabe

I love Trivia games, LOVE them. The problem? I'm not really trivia savvy, which makes winning said games just a little hard...and I LOVE to win a game. I found this blog with all kinds of trivia info. It's just chock full of information about things that you never knew you wanted to know, you know what I mean? You read it and think, "huh, that's interesting" and can't wait to read the next entry. I have added it to my favorites and plan to read it often. One of the entries I read today was The History of the Jack O Lantern. I have big plans to spout off some of this new found knowledge when we carve our pumpkins this weekend!!!

Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Christmas Thoughts

I am starting to look SO forward to Christmas. I really can't wait. Christmas is probably my favorite holiday. My sister and her girls will be here (and her husband) and I am SO excited about that...I just can't wait to see them and spend time with them. I'm also looking forward to christmas shopping. This will be the 1st year in about 3 that I will actually have money to shop with and I just can't wait to put it to good use on "Black Friday". YAY! I need to start working on a list of what I would like to buy for who, etc. only 2 months to go!!!

I'm in the money...

I am SO blessed to have found PayPerPost, well actually, I am blessed to have Cindy as my friend since she is the one that shared this wonderful way of making money with me!! I made my first PayPerPost post on 10/11. Today is 10/24 and I have made $122. The exciting thing is, is that it hardly took any effort to make and it's not even the most I COULD HAVE made and that amount will keep growing and growing..daily!!! woohoo!! I have already "earmarked" my PayPerPost money as "Disney World money" and am very excited to make that dream come true for our family. At this rate I should have NO PROBLEM making enough money for a disney vacation next year around this time. I can't wait!!! Thanks PayPerPost!!!

Sunday, October 22, 2006

To be lazy, or to shop??

I had planned to go shopping today, Old navy and JC Penney to look for some pants for Logan (he has no uniforms week this week and not enought pants to wear) and Wal-mart Halloween stuff. Then I got lazy. The weather is cold and gloomy and I thought I would just skip it and go tomorrow night ater work. Then I "heard" that Old navy is having a sale...so now, I feel obligated to go. *sigh* I'd rather be lazy, but I know I will be glad I went when I DON'T have to go tomorrow after work. Best to just get it done with I suppose.

We are watching Ghost Hunters right now and then I am going to go. I hope I find some good deals and I don't end up aggravated.

Another Piece

If you are loking for another payperpostbluemonster puzzle piece, here is one. I had intended to play...but I think I am too behind now, so I'm not even going to attempt it. But watch out...because I am DEFINITELY playing next time!! woohoo!!

In case you don't know..the first person to find all 192 pieces (which are posted in various blogs) and arrange them in order and post them on their blog, will receive a $500 opportunity fee.

So, here is piece # 121

If you aren't a fellow postie and want to know what payperpost.com is all about you can read about it here. If you should decide to join the wonderful world of payperpost, I would be SO thrilled if you would use my e-mail tricia1103@gmail.com when you sign up!! :-)

Dylan Issues

I posted this on Friday on the message board I belong to and wanted to put it here also...just to make sure I know where it is so I can look back on it when this phase passes. (PLEASE God let it pass soon)


Dylan is going to end up being kicked out of pre-school. No joke. The teacher just called me to come and pick him up. I am so frustrated and feel like such a bad mom and I have all this damn guilt because I am working...and somehow that makes HIS issues MY fault you know???

He is SUCH a good boy, and he's funny and he's cute as hell and I love him SOOO much, but he is his own person and wants to do his own thing and has a really hard time listening and following directions SOME days. Other days he is wonderful, plays nicely, follows all directions and is SO good. those are the days we get GLOWING reports from school. But days like today, we get calls and "bad reports" that he won't listen, he wants to sit on the floor and cry over everything, he won't participate in music, he won't help clean up and just wants to slide around on the floor. UGH.

I have started this reward system for good behavior, playing nicely, good listening, cleaning up, etc. For every one of those things they do they get a star, at the end of the week they get 1 marble per star and put the marbles in a container and if they got enough marbles they get to put their hand in a grab bag of toys and pull something out...at the end of the month they can cash in the marbles for money and buy something or do something special. It is working great on Logan, we can usually remind him that he won't get his star that night if he doesn't do such and such and he does it and it's over. Dylan on the other hand doesn't care whether he loses a star or not, probably because he hasn't missed out on the grab bag yet since this is only the 2nd week. I just don't know what to do. I added an "extra" star for good reports from school. Before school everyday we tell him how to behave, and to listen, etc etc and he says ok and yes, he understands, blah blah blah. But it's like he just doesn't care.

I don't know what to try now, I don't know how to handle this. And I don't know if it's normal...and he's just socially immature or what. (and is the social immaturity my fault because I have babied him??) I know at this rate, there is NO way he will be ready for Kindy next year.

Kyle went to pick him up. Kyle is worried that bringing him home is going to set a precedent that he gets to come home whenever he acts this way. But I told him that if D gets sent hom from school he needs to sit in his bedroom with no toys and no tv so that he knows if he comes home...home is boring and he gets to do nothing. (until school would be over). Kyle is thinking maybe he just needs to be at the school with him and correct the stuff he is doing...but then what if Dylan thinks he only needs to listen to K and not the teachers. Is K going to have to go to preschool for the rest of the year and sit in those little tiny chairs??

I'm sorry this is so long I am just so frustrated and worried and confused and guilt-ridden and just needed to talk about it. Give me some words of wisdom, please?

update:

Dylan came home bawling his little head off saying he was never going back to school. Kyle took him straight to his room and put him in bed explaining that if he couldn't behave at school he was going to sit on his bed and do nothing. So he creid a while longer, and then laid quietly in bed and eventually fell asleep and took a 1 1/2 hour nap. He and Kyle had a talk when he got up and then he an I had a talk. I am HOPING the "trauma" of leaving school when he REALLY didn't want to (they were making a bat) will help next week be better. I'm really really hoping that this did the "trick".

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Weddings: Planning the Easy Way

9 years ago I was in the midst of planning a wedding. A wedding that would happen in 2 months. I had spent all summer planning and not being the computer savvy person I am now *big grin* I had at least 100 bridal magazines sitting in my living room. I POURED over these magazines religiously trying to have the best wedding and reception we could as cost effective as possible. Not easy. And for some reason, I didn't think to tear pages out of the magazines as I read something helpful or of interest. So, I would be laying bed at night..with my wedding thoughts swirling and remember something neat I read in one of the 100 magazines I had sitting around. I would jump up and frantically try to find the particular article I was looking for. SO NOT easy and 9 times out 10 I couldn't even find what I was looking for in the first place. UGH. So there I am at 2 am, stressed, tired, sitting on the floor surrounded by wedding magazines that I am franticaly flipping through trying to find some article that probably doesn't exist anyway! Yeah, it was SO FUN to be me, then!!! In hindsight, it would have been SOOOO much easier if I would have just been smart enough to type weddings into a search engine. I could have researched everything I needed to know with the single click of the mouse. Decorations? Click. Flowers? Click. Vows & Poetry? Click. How easy is that?



After getting pregnant with my 1st baby, I found something else that I wish I would have had while planning my wedding...the wonderful world of online support in the way of forums. Other people that are going through what you are...are just a plethora of information. And it works out great because you are all after the same goal and they may have researched something you haven't and vice versa. And these people are "strangers" and they aren't tired of hearing about your wedding like all your in real life friends and even fiance' are. LOL And you can even "borrow" the ideas your online friends used at their wedding with the assurance that your friends and family will think you were smart enough to come up with that idea all by yourself. Impressing the friends, family and especially in-laws?? Priceless!!

Live and Learn...that's what I always say. When I get married the next time, I'll know what to do. ;-)

Kids Movie Weekend

We watched Over the Hedge and Garfield: Tale of Two Kitties with the boys this weekend. They were both really cute...I think I liked Over the Hedge better though. Definitely stick them on the must see list if you have kids.

Seeing in the Dark

My inlaws live in a small town in Tennessee. It's basically on top of a mountain in the middle of no where surrounded by lots and lots and lots of trees. The boys LOVE to go there and be what my mother in law calls "country boys". They run and explore and get dirty. Kyle took them in July when I went to TX and while they were there they went out one night and had a "nature hike" in the dark. I guess it was a huge hit and they went to bed thinking their dad was the coolest dad ever. Since then, I have been wondering if night vision binoculars would be a good thing to have at their house, I could give them to Kyle or my Mother in law as a gift? I don't know a whole lot about that kind of stuff, besides what you see on tv and movies. LOL But it seems to me that living in the complete darkness like that having night vision would HAVE to be a good thing, right? My thinking is that it would be exciting, fun, interesting to see what kind of animals are lurking in the woods at night...and it would be nice for my mother in law (who is scared when she is alone) to be able to look out and see what's going around here in the areas her porch light doesn't reach. I don't know..it's definitely an idea I'm keeping in mind.

Old Maid

Logan won Old Maid in his grab bag pull last night. He was less than thrilled. LOL but we played it today and and he had so much fun...unless he thought he was going to get stuck with the old maid. He really needs to learn how to be a better sport. We did have a good time thought and I am excited for someone to get Crazy Eights or Go Fish in the coming weeks!!

PPP Puzzle Piece #138



This is #138 of the payperpostbluemonster puzzle. All of the pieces will be released by sunday evening and there are a total of 192 pieces to be found. The first person to find all the pieces posted in blog ads , and assemble them correctly on their blog, will win a $500 opportunity fee.

This is piece #138...happy Puzzle Piece Pursuing!! :-)

Thursday, October 19, 2006

What day is it?? DENTIST day!!!

Dylan has a thing where he will say "guess what day it is?" and you guess, or say "I don't know" and then he says it's *whatever* day--which is something he wants to do. usually it's McDonalds Day, sometimes it's car wash day, sometimes it's aquarium day. of course we don't usually do those things...but it's cute to hear him say!! :)

Today I asked him what day it is and he said "what?" and I said "Dentist Day", he asked if he needed to take his lunch with him. LOL My kids have NEVER been to the dentist before. That's good parenting, huh? hopefully, they do well and we get good teeth reports!! :)

Pack Rat: ISO Storage

One of the things about being a home owner with a basement is that I have WAY too much stuff. I have a hard time getting rid of anything and it all ends up in the basement stacked on top of each other. It's nonsense really. If we ever had to move to a basement-less house, we would have to rent a storage facility just for all the STUFF we keep hanging around for whatever reason.

Speaking of storage, my dad has been trying to sell his house for forever now...on and off the market it goes and never sells. Their house is relatively small and cluttery do to his wifes love of antiques. The recently were looking for a storage unit to store alot of the extras in to get a more streamlined/clean look in their home. A good site to find and compare storage sites is Self Storage Directory - Moving.bz. Is informative and allows you to search by zip code so you can find the closest places to you. You can also find a lot of other moving info there as well. Definitely worth checking out for your storage/moving needs.

Tree Damage

I never updated about the tree situation. Kyle decided not to go after talking to his mom, he thought it might be a little more than he could handle alone and she would have to end up hiring someone anyway. She said there was damage to the roof and the deck and even to her car which was inside the carport! She made it sound like the there were just limbs, not THAT big of adeal, etc. So, last night she sends up pictures and OMG! There is a TREE ON HER HOUSE...Like the whole top of the tree is on the roof and deck. The roof is severly damaged and the deck is like lopsided. good thing Kyle didn't go and with his 18" chainsaw. LOL Needless to say, she got a company to come out that day and get the tree removed..she said it was quite a "to-do" 5 men and a bucket truck. What a mess. She has also decided not to turn it into insurance because last year, to het her pymnt down, she increased her deductible to $5,000!!! So, she is just going to fix what she can as she goes. At least I think that is still the plan. Kyle might try to change her mind after seeing all the damage.

Comparing Health Care Options

Since my mom is "self-employed" (she gets paid by the state to care for my mentally handicapped brother) she has no health insurance. It is a HUGE burden on her because doctors and prescriptions are SO expensive. She doesn't qualify for any type of health care assistance because she makes too much money. So, whenever I hear or read about something having to do with insurance I always check it out. This morning I came across Vimo. It is ALL KINDS of informative...it's basically comparison shopping for insurance, doctors, health savings accounts, etc. I even checked out my dr. on their list of doctor reviews, left my own review (and got a free t-shirt for it!!). Go ahead...check it out!!

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

TIMBERRRR!!

Kyles mom called this morning and said she has a(nother) tree down. This one is on the roof, deck, and covering some of the driveway/carport. She called to see if Kyle wanted to come down and cut it up and move it before she called someone else. So, he is trying to decide if he wants to do that or not. He would have to take Dylan with him and Logan would have to stay here to go to school and then mom would have to help watch Logan and pick him up from school so I can work. So, it might be too big of a pain to really even consider. But...that's what we are doing this morning...figuring out what what he/we should do.

PPP Postie Patrol

So, I'm LOVING being a "postie" for payperpost. Not just all the $$$ I am making, but the idea itself, the atmosphere of the website/forums/blog. It's just FUN!! The newest fun idea they have is the Postie Patrol. Ted and Brit were in the great city of San Francisco and dropped in on Victor, a fellow postie, and offered him the chance to win some money!! He had 3 "challenge choices", he chose challenge #3 which was a scavenger hunt (I LOVE scavenger hunts) and ended up winning $400!! You can't beat that!!

I wonder if Victor had a "heads up" that they were coming? His house was so clean and he had no problem finding some of the items. I would have had to tear my house apart to find a flashlight!! While I LOVE the idea of surprising posties and would LOVE to be chosen for a visit, the thought of being surprised scares me since my house would be dirty and I would probably be in PJ's with messy hair. Now THAT would make an exciting video!!!

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Learning to Read

Oh my gosh. Logan is learning to read and it's kinda driving me nuts. It's like he has a block and can't get it right. He sounds everything out correctly and then says a completely different word with a question in his voice. he sounds it out and then guesses!! here's an example:

Bbbb....Aaaa....Ttttt. Bbb..Aaa..Ttt. TIT??? (wth?? TIT??!!)

He has a huge desire to learn and he is trying SO hard to get it right, bless his heart. He has letter cards that he got at school, each card has a letter and a picture of an object that starts with that sound. So, we have been putting the cards together to make words. He plays with them all the times and goes through the stack saying the sounds. He just can't put all the sounds together for some reason. I hope he figures it out soon, as annoying as it is..it breaks my heart that he's having trouble.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Tickle Me

Remember when Tickle Me Elmo was first introduced 10 years ago? It was all the rage and all the kids had to have it. I remember my sister in law freaking out because she couldn't find it for my niece. We didn't have kids then, but when Emily got "too old" for Elmo, he was lovingly stored and when Logan was 1, it became his. He LOVED it.

Here we are 10 years later and (tickle me) Elmo has made a comeback. It's called elmo tmx and it's even cuter than the older version and just watching him MAKES you laugh. You just need to tickle one of his "tickle spots" (chin, tummy, or toe) to get him started. He starts laughing, slaps his leg, falls down, and stands back up. If you tickle him again, he does it all over again and this time falls on his back and starts kicking his feet, all the while laughing his little head off. He stands up again, asks for another tickle and this time..he just LOSES it!! He repeats everything he has done before and then he (and this is SOOO cute) he rolls over to his tummy and bangs the floor with his little "hand" just cracking up!! (I dare you to not laugh at THAT!) He then stands back up and finishes with a sweet sigh of contentment. I swear, it's too precious!!

Kids computer

Our kids used to use our OLD..OLD computer until it freaked out and wouldn't work anymore. Did I mention it was OLD? So, they have been using the laptop when they want some computer time. For Christmas, I was considering trying to get one of the laptops that Best Buy has on sale for some low ridiculous price and only has 10 in every store and you have to stand in line for like 10 hours to even get a chance at it. yeah.

My mom and her husband got a new laptop and offered us their old computer for the kids. I'm so excited. It's a desktop and it's older..but not SCARY old and definitely good enough for what the kids want to do on it...and it's FREE!! So, the plan for tomorrow is to go through the play room and weed out some old toys, etc...organize things in there and then set up the computer for the boys. They can't wait!! They get very tired of mom and dad monopolozing the laptop all the time. (poor picked on kids. ;) )