I'm tired.

Really tired. I didn't sleep well last night. I didn't try to go to sleep until 1:30 A.M. last night because I was up reading my book. It is so good, I am going to finish it tonight. I love Sophie Kinsella. She cracks me up. Anyways, after I got done reading. I didn't fall asleep until sometime after 2. *sigh* Then Sir Jack woke up at about 3:30 wanting to eat. *double sigh* I WAS going to get to sleep in today, but Stuart got called in to do a 10 A.M. appointment, so I didn't get to. Bugger.

Today was just busy. Stressful. Today I had my first Wall Words party. It turned out to be alot of fun, but the whole day I was worried that I would buckle under pressure, I worried that no one would come. I worried that no one would like my products. I just worried. On top of being all stressed out the kids were just terrible. Drop them off at the nearest give away shelter terrible. I was SO looking forward to nap time, but you think it turned out like I wanted it to? NOPE! Sir Jack didn't want to take a nap and cried all day. Brooke fought it for an hour! She never fights nap time. Dear Chloe usually has quiet time in her room (a movie) but she came out after 45 minutes asking to come out. Then she proceeded to come out every 5 minutes asking if it was time yet. I just wanted to yell "GO AWAY FAMILY, I DON'T WANT TO BE YOUR WIFE, MOTHER, SLAVE, SERVANT, BLANKET FINDER, DRINK FETCHER, CLOTHES WASHER, TOY PICKERUPER ANYMORE!!!"

This is the first real time I've had all day to just sit. I'm tired. I am SO SO glad it's the weekend. Our church has conference all weekend so we don't even have normal church. It is bad that I'm actually happy about that?

I am going to get some sleep tonight peeps. I might not post again until Monday, so have a GREAT weekend!!

Friday Feast #1

Don't you just love your firsts??

Appetizer
What is your favorite herb or spice?

I love cinammon. I love everything baked in cinammon. Cinammon rolls, pumpkin pie...you name it!

Soup
Name a song you like but haven't heard in a long time.

Run away with you by the Cure (at least I think that is the name)

Salad
If you were to take just one minute to write down as many things as you can think of that you need (not want) to do, approximately how many things would there be?

1,245,759 oh you said one minute? I could probably write down at least 50 of them!

Main Course
Tell something interesting about one of your family members (nothing scandalous, please, just something unique).

My bother was in a major car accidentin 2002. Ejected from the car on the freeway and everything and lived to tell about it.

Dessert
What's the latest you've ever stayed awake?

Um, I just had a baby (well, 7 mo ago) but I believe there was a time in there were I was awake literally 3 or 4 days. Pure. Hell.

Thursday Thirteen #6

Thirteen ways Colleen would like to spend $20. 1. The new The Little Mermaid dvd coming out on Tuesday! 2. A bunch of credits on frugalreader.com, I'm a book addict. 3. A cheap massage from a message school. Might be crappy, but hey, it's only $20 right? 4. A pedicure. 5. new makeup colors. 6. A new shirt. 7. Jeans, I love Old Navy jeans and they are usually under $20 8. candles. some really good smelly ones. 9. SHOES! 10. Go to the movies. ALONE! 11. Dinner out with a friend. wait. I've got $20 in my wallet just for that for tonight! 12. A new diaper bad. Yeah, I know you can't get a good one for that, but I'd bargin shop. 13. a new comfy pair of fat pants! Geez, I could go on and on and on. These are just the ones that came to me as I typed. Happy TT everyone! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Twisted Cinderella pinkdiary808 Shelley's incoherent ramblings My Two Cents Queen Bee Confessions c.a. Marks Colleen Gleason Well La-De-Da Alyssa Southern Girl Snickerdoodles Life Goes On (leave a comment and I'll visit your TT in return!) Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It is easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

I feel so blessed.

As stated in my bio, I am a member of the LDS church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints). Within the church we have an organization for women called the Relief Society. It is the largest womans organization out there with our numbers hitting over 5 million. Women who participate in Relief Society support each other as they share thier faith, friendship and love.

I am so SO blessed to be a part of such an amazing group of women.

To give you a bit more background. Our church has over 11 million members. Each church is devided into sections where you leave. A bigger section is called a Stake and within the stake you have smaller sections which is called a ward. Your ward family. These people live the closest to you and you meet with them at a certain time each Sunday for your meetings and when you plan activities, normally these are the ones you "play" with.

My ward is completely amazing. It is full of other people who are within my age range (give or take 10 years) and they are the most amazing women I have ever met in my life. I am so grateful that I have these women around me. We are constantly serving each other through babysitting, dinners when people have babies or are sick, and mostly just being here for one another. It is SO SO nice to know that if I needed help with anything, there are about 30 or more people I could call and most of them would help at a moments notice.

I love my church, I love my Heavenly Father, I love my faith and everything that it brings into my life.

Today, I am just feeling blessed.

Movie Quote Monday

Here is my quote for the day:

D: You can take our phones and you can take our keys, but you cannot take away our dreams.
S: Yeah, because we're, like, sleeping when we have them.

Mr. Z: "D", did you just grab my ass?
D: Sir, from where I'm standing, that's a physichal impossibilty.
Mr. Z: Oh, I know your tricks, "D"!

Here are some more:

So... you guys wanna make out or what?

Hey, nice bulbs, Emily. Oh, and I don't mean that metaphorically.
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If you would like to join MQM, just leave your link in comments and I will link you here and check you out!

Other Movie Quote Monday participants:

Cheese & Wine

No Diet Coke for Mommy

My little girls attitude

We come into the house via the garage into the kitchen. Chloe kicks off her flip flops on the floor.

Me, "Chloe, Is that where your flip flops go?"

Chloe, "No."

Me, "Where do they go?"

Chloe, "By the front door."

Me, "That's right, can you please go put them their instead of where you just kicked them off at?"

Chloe, "Noooooooooooooooooooooooo, I'm too lazzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzy." She says this while rolling her eyes at me.

Goodness I love this motherhood stuff.

I want my laptop and nice daughter back. NOW!

So, the first of the week my laptop AC adapter went dead. It died a death that is completely and utterly devistating to me! I immediatly knew that this was going to be a problem. How was I going to be able to lay in bed and surf the net?? I spent about an hour on DELLs website (that is where I bought the dang thing in the first place) trying to find out which AC power cord adapter I needed. I tried about 2,349,724 ways to make sure that the one that I needed was the one that I was buying. When I finally placed the order, I was about 99% confident that I got the right one. I paid for next day shipping (even though I would never consider this on a normal purchace) because I wanted that dang thing NOW! I got it next day! WOO HOO! I did the happy dance and immediatly opened the box and got the laptop to plug it in. Think it fit?

Nope. Not even close. *sigh* I cursed under my breathe for about 10 minutes. Because the stupid cord died in the first place and then because Dells site is so freaken hard to figure out what you possibly need, ect ect. Called Dell and set up a return for the cord and ordered a new one over the phone. The kid that I talked to promised me this would be the right one. Even bet his job on it. So, should it be the wrong one, I think i'll call and get him fired. That was on Tuesday. He gave me 2nd day delivery. It is friday. It is not here yet. I am getting peeved. I have been almost a week without my laptop and I HATE working on the desktop. *sigh*

**Update. Called Dell. Spent 15439 minutes finding the actual order. They sent it to our old address. Come on people. We haven't lived there for over a year and have had other things sent to our new address. So, power cord 1 came to the correct address, but they couldn't send power cord 2 to the right one? IDIOTS! Tracking it down with DHL now in hopes to get it today. Wish me luck

On to other things:

I want my nice daughter back too. Chloe has been a complete brat this week. I am so sick of her. Befoer I had kids I always imagined that I would be so close with my little girls and that we would be BBF for life! I never imagined I would get stuck with a whiney, self centered, spoiled (yeah, part my fault), kid! Oh, don't get me wrong, I love her SO much and we do really have some great moments. But, this girl can be the WORST. This week she's been especially challanging. Gee, I can't wait until she's a teenager....

Thursday Thirteen #5

Thirteen Things That Colleen is Happy About These Days. 1. My husband got a job! Well, in a sense he got 2 jobs. He is going to start up a business with a friend and in the mean time he is working at a sales job to make us the most $$ since it is not permanant. A big fat WOOHOO! 2. I had Wendys for dinner. You may not think that is a reason to be happy. I guess the happy part is that I didn't have to cook! 3. I am happy that the weather is finally cooling down. Here in Texas the weather gets REALLY hot. This cooler stuff is awesome! 4. I am happy because it's only 8:30 here and my kids are all in bed. ALL of them! (yea, I wrote this the night before) 5. I am extreemly happy because I am now working from home. I am a Wall Words Consultant. You can check out my website Here and find out about the online party I am doing Here. Jeez, that wasn't a shameless plug was it? Carry on. 6. My husband just called to tell me he's on his way home from work. Sweet. 7. I am *LOVING* my life of blogging. I am so happy that I found blogging. It is one of the funnest things I have done in a while. 8. Also happy about Thursday Thirteen. It's a blast! 9. I am happy with my son. #13 is going to be about him, but that needs it's own number all on it's own. He is such a happy baby. He hardly ever gives me grief and he's doing SO much better with his sleep. 10. I am happy with our house. We've almost lived here a year and I am loving having a home to be in and a place to raise my family. 11. I am happy in my faith. It always makes me happy. 12. I get to take a small trip in October! How can that NOT make me happy? 13. My most happy moment of the week. I got to witness this: Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Twisted Cinderella It's a Raggedy Life pinkdiary808 Shelley's incoherent ramblings My Two Cents Queen Bee Confessions c.a. Marks Colleen Gleason Well La-De-Da Alyssa Southern Girl Snickerdoodles Life Goes On (leave a comment and I will add you to next weeks Thursday Thirteen!) Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It is easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Check out what I'm doing now!

Yes, this is a shameless post to promote my new business.

For a long time I have been wanting to do some kind of work. Something to do at home and on the side to make extra money. I didn't want to do Mary Kay or Pampered Chef because this area that I am in has SO many. But I have discovered a company that I am absolutely thrilled with! I signed up with them and I am now officially a Wall Words Consultant. I have never been as excited about anything in a VERY long time. If you'd like to check me out, go to

Wall Designs

I am currently hosting an online party! If you'd like more information about it, email me at cbontrager@austin.rr.com and I will send you the evite!

Examples:

Would someone pu-lease tend to thier child?

I fall asleep. It is so nice to be asleep. ahhhhhhh sleep.

I am dreaming. I am in a public place (not entirely sure where) but I am alone. NO KIDS! You all know how much you love your peace when your children are not with you. Anyways, here I am enjoying my self when this baby starts crying. The crying continues. I am thinking, wow, that baby is not happy. Glad it's not me. I am happy. I don't have my children with me. Poor mom. The crying doesn't stop and I am slowly becoming irritated. I am thinking:

Would someone pu-LEASE! tend to thier child!!!!

I slowly awake from my blissful slumber. Only to realize that the child that is crying is my son. So, I guess that someone who needs to pu-LEASE tend to thier child is me. ha-ha. Nice.

I wonder how long he was actually crying before I heard him. oh well, he got over it right?

Deal or No Deal

I now remember why I love to hate this show! haha.

I watched a little bit of it tonight while getting the kids ready for bed and folding laundry. (I am a good very good GREAT multi-tasker

The first person on there was just an idiot. I will never understand how some people can turn down 100+ thousand dollars when your odds are stacked against you. I hung my head in shame for that man.

The second man was a little funner to watch. I loved how his offer kept going higher and higher. BUT, what I don't understand is how you can turn down 400 thousand dollars. 400 THOUSAND DOLLARS! That is almost a half of a million dollars. *thud* (that is me hitting the floor). I am very happy that he managed to end with 675 thousand, but it could have wen't the other way and he could have ended with less. Idiot. I about died when he had the 3 million in his case. What are the odds of that? (Oh, I can tell you that, because I am smart. It is 1-26. HA!)

I was pretty excited that this show was in the fall line up. But, now i'm not so sure. It may just be too stressful for me to watch.

Movie Quote Monday

Here is my quote for the day:

Fraulein, is it to be at every meal, or merely at dinnertime, that you intend on leading us all through this rare and wonderful new world of... indigestion?
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If you would like to join MQM, just leave your link in comments and I will link you here and check you out!

Other Movie Quote Monday participants:

Cheese & Wine

No Diet Coke for Mommy

Fun in the Sun

I have realized that I really haven't shared to many pictures of my family. So, I am going to share some pictures of the kids playing in the pool.

Like Jacks face? He got a huge mosquito bite, then he scratched his nose. Nice huh?

A date with my husband

I can't tell you the last time I had a date with my husband. But we did last night and it was AWESOME! We didn't do anything big or fancy, but it was fun.

We dropped the girls of at the inlaws. WOOHOO! No kids. Then we went to dinner at Chili's. I love Chili's. I don't know why, but I order the exact same thing every time I go there. I always go in saying that I'm going to get something different, but I don't. I always fall back on my usual. The Mushroom Swiss Burger. YUM!! The thing is huge and I can never finish it, especially when i've just eaten my weight in chips and salsa, but it is SOOO good. yumm...

Then we went to the movies! I can't tell you the last time we went to see a movie. Wait, yes I can. We went and saw Pink Panther (which was just OK) and before that we hadn't been since we saw Mr. and Mrs. Smith! We don't get out to them often. Now, last night, I wanted to go see The Devil Wears Prada. I've been DYING to see that since it came out. Read the book and LOVED it. Stuart on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with it. For the life of me, I just can't understand why. (insert clueless smiley here). So, we went and saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It's been out for how long and we're just NOW going to see it? It was a friday night and there were about 10 people in the whole theater. LOL. The movie was OK. I liked it, but then at the same time I didn't. It was hilarious is some ways. It had a bunch of awesome one liners. Funny characters. But, it also had a dark side to the movie that I didn't care much for. I don't know if I'm getting more sensitive with age, but those "dark" moments in movies really get to me. I can't see scary movies at all. It's not that they give me nightmares, It just gets to me. Know what I mean? Anyways, it was a pretty good movie. I may watch it again and we will probably buy it on DVD just so we can have the set of them, but I wouldn't just choose to watch it over and over.

Anyways, it was a really fun night. We didn't get to pick up the kids until after 11. They were all sleeping. I didn't get to bed until after 1 and i'm now up at the crack of dawn because Stuart is out having male bonding time with his brother. Dirt bike riding and going to a car show. So, the lucky mom that I am, I get the kids all day and I'm wondering what to do to keep them entertained. Wish me luck!

A day of blog silence

The internet can be a very powerful tool for making friendships. When I was pregnant with Chloe, I found the world of parenting message boards. I had so many questions and these message boards gave me a chance to ask those questions and in the process met a wonderful group of women.

In the 5 years that I have been frequenting these boards, I stuck with one. I have been a member of it for 4 years. I have 'met' a WONDERFUL group of women. We are there for each other in so many ways. Most of it is emotional help since in reality, these are mostly online friendships. I have only met a few of them in real life. But, non the less, these friendships are amazing. I have never met more real, loving, caring, fun group of women in one place. I love my board.

Over the weekend, one of women in my flock, lost her husband. They were on vacation and it says that he fell of the balcony at thier hotel. I am completely and utterly heartbroken for this woman. In the past 24 hours that we have all known, I have wept for her, I have ached for her and I have felt a complete loss for her children who will now grow up without a father.

He was a dedicated father and husband. He was a well loved musician/stage hand in his community. I can not imagine nor do I want to, the pain that their family is going through right now.

So, I send all my prayers, my pinkvibes, my positive thoughts upward in hopes that my Father in Heaven can reach out his loving arms and help out this family that is in such need of comfort at this time. I pray and hope that she will be strengthen over time and that this next week will be bareable for her. That she will be able to get through what she needs to and that she will have all the emotional support within her family and community that she needs as well.

They are setting up a fund in the name of the children to cover upcoming expenses for them such as day care fees and the likes of those. If you would like to contribute, please email me at cbontrager AT austin DOT rr DOT com and I will give you the information that you need.

So, for the rest of the day, I am taking a day of blog silence, so if you do not see my posting on your blog, this is why.

I am in a blogger stump.

I just can't think of anything fun to blog about! I have nothing happening today or in the next while worth blogging. *sigh* I guess I will just give a family update.

Stuart still doesn't have a job yet. Well, he does have a job offer, but not in the field that he is looking for. About a year ago, he sold cars. The car business is an ugly business. It is hard to work in that industry if you have a family, because you work ALOT. He probably worked 60-80 a week and he ALWAYS worked open to close on Saturdays. Not very fun. But, we have decided that if he doesn't have a job by day X, then he will go back just so that we have income. He does not want to apply for unemployment, he is fully capable of working so there is no need for it. So, he went and talked to a dealership that has about the best reputation around town. It is about the most family oriented one and they are only open until 7 at night were as most are open until 9. The guy he talked to said most people only work 45 hours a week. So, the guy basically gave him the job there if he wants it. When Stuart was working cars before, he was the top salesman 90% of the time, so he is really good. We just hope we don't have to go that route. So, if you could say a prayer for us, or keep us in your thoughts, we could use it. He could use it more though, because if he is around here for very much longer, I think I might have to kill him! haha.

Chloe has been such a hard child this last week. She has been very mean, mouthy, rude to her sister and just not a fun child to be around. Oh, what? What is that you say? She is 4? That is typical of a 4 year old? Well, I don't want to hear that. All I want to do I get a good strong piece of duct tape and put it over her mouth. One that will stay there for oh - about 14 years. She is so funny sometimes though. Oh, and she says about the most sincere and heartfelt prayers I have ever heard a 4 year old say. She actually says them from her heart and she asks for blessings for EVERYONE she knows that needs them. It is so cute and she never ceases to amaze me in that area.

Brooklyn is getting into her very independant stage. It is not uncommon to hear her say "I do it" about 247 times a day. She loves to sing, so we sing alot. She insist to always have music playing and loves to dance to it. She has about the cutest little lisp I have ever heard. She lisps her S's. For her sake, I hope she grows out of it, but dang, it is cute. She is very strong willed and she tests her boundries alot. But she is also very loving. I think she is just about ready to start potty training. Everytime we change her diaper she asks to go pee pee on the potty, so we try, but she has yet to do anything. So, next week I think were going to plan to stay home a few days and try it out. I'm not getting my hopes up, but we will see how it goes.

Jack is Jack. He is 6 1/2 months old and he is such a good baby! He just gets better and better every day. He doesn't have any teeth yet, but he's been working on the bottom 2 for the last month. I'll be glad when they finally come in. He is starting to "crawl". It's not a hands and knees crawl, but then it's not an army crawl either. But, he gets to where he needs/wants to go. He is doing SO much better on his sleeping. We've been working with him this past week and last night he only got up once. Did you hear that ONCE! I actually felt almost well rested this morning even though I didn't go to bed until after midnight! GO JACK! Keep it up buddy.

I guess that is what is up with our family. Nothing super cool. But there it is. I am working on my thursday thirteen today, so make sure you stop by tomorrow and learn more about ME - because that is why your here right? You like me. You love me. You want to be me. Okay, maybe not that much, but hey, a woman can dream right? haha. right. Hitting post now.

A Blog Shout Out

I wanted to post a shout out to my cousins blog.

Just recently she has been diagnosed with brain cancer and so she has decided to blog about it. Her name is Jeanie and she is an incredible person. She has decided to start a blog about her journeys dealing with the disease, so it's just brand new.

If you want to stop by her blog and show some support, I am sure she would be forever greatful.

Jeanie's Blog

Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

This is by far the BEST book that I have ever read. Period. I am so glad that I had read it AFTER reading the DaVinci Code because it was SO much better. I think if I would have read it first, I wouldn't have ended up liking the DaVinci Code as much as I did.

I loved Robert Langdon's character in this book. It was interesting to see his battle within himself as the story unfolded. His love for religious symbology kept him going through each senerio even though it was difficult for him. It was neat to see him be able to experience things that in life he's always wanted to do.

I really like this piece of an editorial review listed on amazon.com:

It takes guts to write a novel that combines an ancient secret brotherhood, the Swiss Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, a papal conclave, mysterious ambigrams, a plot against the Vatican, a mad scientist in a wheelchair, particles of antimatter, jets that can travel 15,000 miles per hour, crafty assassins, a beautiful Italian physicist, and a Harvard professor of religious iconology. It takes talent to make that novel anything but ridiculous.
......

Brown seems as much juggler as author--there are lots and lots of balls in the air in this novel, yet Brown manages to hurl the reader headlong into an almost surreal suspension of disbelief. While the reader might wish for a little more sardonic humor from Langdon, and a little less bombastic philosophizing on the eternal conflict between religion and science, these are less fatal flaws than niggling annoyances--readers should have no trouble skimming past them and immersing themselves in a heck of a good read. "Brain candy" it may be, but my! It's tasty.

I am so not good at this review thing, although I will keep at it, because one day I might be able to write these really good reviews that people oooh and aaah over. Pratice makes perfect right?

But back to the subject. I know I said it before, but I will say it again. Best book ever. I would really recommend reading the special illustrated version of this book. I was fun to read it and see the pictures of things he was talking about. The locations of the different places in the Vatacin. Pictures of things that I had no idea even exsisted.

Mostly, I love that this book contained so much factual history. Reading about the different locations, the descriptions of the Catholic church and how they felt about religion vs. science.

All I can say is WOW! and uh, Read it!

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Other book reviews by me:

Shophie Kinsella - The Undomestic Goddess
Khaled Hosseini - The Kite Runner

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Have books you want to swap? Go to Frugal Reader and tell them I sent you.

Movie Quote Monday

Here is my quote for the day:

You don't frighten us, English pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called "Arthur King," you and all your silly English K-nig-hts.

I don't want to talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.

Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?

I *warned* you, but did you listen to me? Oh, no, you *knew*, didn't you? Oh, it's just a harmless little *bunny*, isn't it?

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If you would like to join MQM, just leave your link in comments and I will link you here and check you out!

Other Movie Quote Monday participants:

Cheese & Wine

No Diet Coke for Mommy

Counting Crows Concert

Break down of the best days in my life.

1) My Wedding Day
2) Birth of Chloe
3) Birth of Brooklyn
4) Birth of Jack
5) The Counting Crows Concert

First, I have to give a HUGE thank you to my BFF, Robin. She had bought me a ticket to this concert for my birthday. She flew in from Utah to go with me and everything. I am sure at the time she didn't know it was going to turn out to be the best present ever. I really don't think there will be a gift that can out do this one either.

Counting Crows is my all time FAVORITE band. I have all their albums and have been listening to them since I found them in 1997. Almost 10 years going strong & they are still the very top of my list.

Let me tell you how the evening played out.

After getting Stuart all settled with the kids, we head out to the concert. As we got closer to San Antonio it started RAINING! The concert was outside! So, we stopped at Wal-Mart and grabbed us some ponchos. Best be prepared right? So, we get there and decided that since it was raining, we would pay for premire parking. So, we go really close to the entrance. We get in and immediatly we get offered free condoms! SCORE! (literally right?) We found the booth that sells T-shirts because I really wanted one this year. As I'm paying for the T, Robin notices that the outside amplatheater is covered! We won't get rained on. What a relief. Get the T and we found our seats. So, I changed my shirt under my poncho - how talented am I??

The seats that we had were not bad seats. It was in the 205 section which isn't quite bad, but not the best. We were actually disappointed that we wern't closer. We decided to go see if we could upgrade our tickets and get down on the floor. No good. They were sold out on the floor. So, we attempted to try and trade with someone going in with the offer of our seats plus some cold hard cash. Nada. Then, there is a section in the middle with tables for the season holder tickets. We talked to the people in charge of that section to see if we could sit there but that didn't work out either. Here is where we run into some good luck. On the way back to our seats, a guy was standing there drinking a beer and had a backstage pass necklace thingy on. Jokingly (well, half jokingly) we asked if we could buy it off him. Obviously he said no, but we got talking to him. Come do find out that he is Dave (from the Counting Crows) golf teacher. He has been hitting some of the shows with the band and had access to the Crows! We beg him to get us backstage for autographs. He said that he would see what he could do. We showed him where we were sitting and he said he would be back.

Yeah right we thought. Like he will be back.

The show started with the Goo Goo Dolls. It was going pretty good. They are great live! Well, after the first song, the guy came back!!! He said he couldn't get us backstage before they played, but could possibly when they were done. He said he would come back. WOOHOO! After the next 2 songs or so he came back. Bad news. The Crows are going to get right on the bus when the show is over and leaving! CRAP. We asked him if he could get us down on the floor. He said "follow me". So, he takes us through about 5 different check points for security as his "guests" and gets us on the floor!!!!

I have to give out a HUGE HUGE shout out to Mr. Backstage pass guy. (Sorry! I don't know your real name). It is rare that you meet someone who is just genuinely nice like you were. Thank you SO SO much for getting us better seats. You will never know how much we appreciated it. YOU ROCK!

So, for the rest of the Goo Goo Dolls, we were about 4 rows from the front. AWESOME SHOW!




After the Dolls were over, the crowd broke up inbetween sets and we worked our way up to the FRONT ROW! We couldn't believe it, we were going to see the Crows front row. What a dream!



The Crows came on stage and gave an awesome concert. Better then I can even tell you about. I was almost close enough that I could touch Adam. *sigh* They sang soooo good. The band was amazing. It was an absolute dream. They sang some great songs, a few of my favorites. Wow. I am not even able to describe just how much fun I had. It was a once in a lifetime thing. I am frusterated even writing this part of the post because I can't seem to explain everything like I want to.





We left the concert very dissoriented. Our ears were ringing, our feet were hurting, our throats were SO sore from screaming and singing. It is sad that I feel so old now to where I need 2 days to recover from an event like this were as when I was a teen it wouldn't even have phased me. But, it was worth it. Oh yes, it was worth it.

Here are 2 videos that I was able to take as well! I hope they work!!




It will be great when we are 40+ and still rocking out at Crows concerts!

Busy Weekend

My friend from Utah gets in about 11 tonight, which means I need to leave here to go get her in a few minutes. It is going to be a busy weekend!

Tomorrow were checking out some outlets. Shopping! WOO HOO!

Then - OH! OH! OH! How excited am I. We are going to the Counting Crows/Goo Goo Dolls concert! We are HUGE CC fans. Huge. I've seen them twice before. We have pretty good seats to the show. Hopefully they will let me take my camera.



Then Saturday, were packing up the family and going to SeaWorld. Should be a good time.

I probably won't post again until Sunday with some weekend pictures, so check in then!!

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Things Colleen Likes To Do. 1. Sleep. I love it. I can't think of one thing that I love to do more. 2. Read. This is probably my next favorite thing to do. I could read all day every day. One of my favorite websites is frugalreader.com It is a book swapping site. Yeah, it's an obsession. 3. Take Pictures. I love to be behind the camera. I like to take all kinds of pictures. I desperatly want a bigger nicer camera, but I need to save up. I would love to take professional pictures some day. 4. Eat. But I only like to eat the foods I like. I am not very adventurous when it comes to trying new things, but give me something I like. LOOK OUT! 5. Go To Theme Parks. I used to like them more, but I still really like them. I love to ride rollercoasters. The first time up after it's been a while is pretty scary, but then I get into it and love it! 6. Taking A Long Hot Bath. It is soooooooooo relaxing. Especially in my DEEP garden tub. ahhhhhh. 7. Watch TV. Yeah, I know that sounds pathetic, but if there is a really good show on. Or one of those dumb reality shows that I get hooked on (BB7 right now) Then I love to just sit and veg! 8. Going To The Beach. Vegging, reading, sleeping. Man, what I wouldn't give for that right now! 9. Doing ANYTHING without my kids. HAHAHA! 10. Swimming. I love getting in the water and just do laps. It is a huge stress reliever! 11. Shopping! How could I forget that?!?! That should be at least #3 on my list! I love love love love to shop. 12. Go To The Spa. Anything there. Mani, Pedi, Massage, Facial. You name it. I'm game. 13. Drink and ice cold coca cola. ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! Twisted Cinderella It's a Raggedy Life pinkdiary808 Shelley's incoherent ramblings My Two Cents Queen Bee Confessions (leave a comment and I will add you to next weeks Thursday Thirteen!) Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It is easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

My PSA

Attention all you Wal-Mart shoppers. I have something that I need to say to you. This is concerning check outs. More specifically, the Self Check Out.

First things first - anyone over the age of 60 is NOT allowed to use the self check out lane. Enough said.

Second - if you notice, that when you get to the self check out, there is a sign that says FAST LANE. Meaning, if it is going to take you longer then 5 minutes to check out, then please go to a regular lane.

Third - If you have more then 20 items, this is NOT the lane for you. So, if you have a half a basket full of stuff, please go to a regular lane.

Fourth - Please, please please, don't write a check when you are using the fast lane.

Fifth - if you've never used the self check out lane before and you have a half of a cart full of stuff, don't let this be the first time you try it out.

So, if you are over 60, have a half cart full of stuff, with coupons having never used the self check out lane and you are writing a check. DON'T USE THE FAST SELF CHECK OUT LANE!

This has been a PSA brought to you by me.

I take it all back

I just re-read my last post.

I want to take it all back.

Carry on.

This mom gig

Sometimes I really really hate it. I know what your thinking...your thinking oh no you don't, you dislike it. Hate is such a strong word. yada yada yada. I say. oh no. I HATE it.

Last night was a rough go. Chloe had been SO naughty all day long. Constantly pestering/hitting/being mean to Brooke. No matter how many times she got in trouble for it, she kept going. I have been working with her about wiping herself after she goes #2. She wont do it. So, for this last week, I told her when X day came, she was going to have to do it herself. (or at least try! She's almost 5 for crying outloud!) Well, last night about 7, she wouldn't do it. Flat out refused to do it. So, this is what I hear from her all night:

"How can you do this to me??? How can you make me do everything myself!! It's not fair"

Can we say drama?? Well, she was so bad that she got put to bed early. She usually has this long drawn out bedtime routine, but it was cut to a prayer and a goodnight. She did NOT like this. Not one bit. Guess how long this went on for?? She was put to bed at 7:45 (15 minutes early) and she did not go to sleep until after 11!!!!! I did something last night that I have NEVER done to her before. I took away her beloved blankie. Sad huh? I really hope she learned.

So, I go to bed feeling like the meanest mom in the whole world and hating being a parent.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini

I loved this book. This book made me feel on so many different levels. It made me both sad and happy. I cried and I laughed. I even ached for the characters as I read it. This book has so many twists and turns, most of which you don't even see coming. You completely get emersed in the story as you read it. I have never ready anything that has to deal with the Afghanistans or their life styles or even te things that happened to them in the recent years and I have to say that I learned alot in this book even though it is fiction.

The friendship between Amir and Hassan is both beautiful yet frusterating at the same time. It is a great story about friendships, betrayal, love, jealousy and conflict between all characters. This book is real.

One review that I read on this book says this:

Hosseini deftly paints his characters as real, flawed human beings, all victims of each other's weaknesses as well as their own. It is compellingly written, I would recommend it for that alone

I completely agree with this 100%. This book is a MUST read. It is probably one of the best books that I have read in a long time. It will take you on a long rollercoaster ride of emotions, but it is SO worth the read.



Other book reviews by me:

Shophie Kinsella - The Undomestic Goddess

Movie Quote Monday

Fellow Blogger Karen aka Cheese & Wine and I are starting up Movie Quote Monday! Feel free to jump in and leave your link in my comments and her comments. When you do, I will link you here. I hope this turns out to be a fun thing!

Here is my quote for today, i'll make it an easy one.

Well I guess it all started the first time I went through the second grade. I caught my reflection in a spoon while I was eating my cereal, and I remember thinking "wow, you're ridiculously good looking, maybe you could do that for a career."

Moisture is the essence of wetness, and wetness is the essence of beauty

You is talking loco and I like it!

There's no place like home

Is what Dorothy said in the Wizard of Oz when she wanted to go home. But, my question is - WHY, why oh why, would she want to go back home to Kansas?!?!

Right now, I'm in Kansas. Were on vacation over the Labor Day weekend and of all places to end up, were in Kansas. Why on earth would you want to live in a place where a tornado can suck up your home and leave it in some strange world full of grown people who are only 3 feet tall with a witch chasing after you?

Kansas. Boy oh boy.

So, yesterday I was driving through Kansas to go meet a friend and it was a very odd experience. I felt totally out of my element.

I drove through this town by the name of Inman. If you remmeber it, I am totally surprised. You probably didn't blink. Well, you know how when you drive into a town and they have the sign that says "Welcome to....." and then it gives a small quote about the town? Well, the town of Inman has a quote that says, "The place where people choose to live". I am pretty sure that they ment, "The place where 1 person has chose to live". Inman is only a 1 person town. Seriously. It is that small.

Then a little ways up the street, I swear I saw the location where they filmed the movie Children of the Corn. How freaky is that. To be driving down the road with just you and your 6 month old son, wondering when the little children are going to come running out of the corn fields to kill us. Fa-ree-k-ee. I tell you that!

So, here I am in Kansas. The land of the Children of the Corn. Great. Tonight, I think i'll be dreaming of the same thing that Dorothy did. There is no place like home. But, i'll be dreaming of Texas.


*** My sister in law that lives in Kansas would like you all to know that she is very upset over this post and she stands behind the sign of her town that says, "We'll Share Our Space With You".

A Friday Funny