November 1

Hi there !  Long time no post...sorry.  Guess I just needed a break for a little bit.

Since today is November 1st, that means I start blogging again....every day for a month!  I have done this now for 3 or 4 years and today is as good a day as any to start writing again.


It has been a BUSY few months...

* Teen started college
* Tween started at a performing arts school
* Tween auditioned and received a part in the play
* Little S has real homework this year (2nd grade is tough)
* All of us adjusting to different work/school schedules
* Lots of new and exciting things going on at church

I am sure there are a lot more things, but that is all I can really come up with right now.

But stay tuned as I share some of the details of the last few months.  Lots of fun to share!

Stacy

November 30

Whew....I made it! This is at least 3 years in a row, maybe 4 now! WooHoo. I was kind of burnt out for a while and only posted every couple days, but this month has gotten me back in the swing of things. I can't promise I will continue to post every day, but I am going to post more often now.

When I first started blogging many moons ago, I would look for things each day to write about. Then I thought maybe I was getting a little boring. Last year I liked the theme that NaBloPoMo had for the month and I followed along with that. This year, I just tried to think of things each day. There were a couple of days that I struggled, but for the most part it just flowed right out.

So who wants to join me for another month of posting. I know there are several of you out there that used to do November NaBloPoMo every year and you didn't this year. Why don't we all band together and go for it in December? We can take weekends off if you'd like.

Let me a comment if you are willing to take on December with me. And no weekends, mean not having to worry about posting on Christmas or New Years!


One more last note: Happy Birthday Tony!

Stacy

November 29

Finally an extended warranty that pays off. Thank you Best Buy!

In August 2008 I got a new computer. At that time my dad got the 3 year extended warranty on it. He had problems with a computer once and he was able to get a complete replacement when they were unable to repair it.

I have always been a little leery of extended warranties as many times they seem like nothing but a racket. You pay a little extra and then when something happens, there is always some excuse as to why this or that isn't covered.

In August of this year, I started to have some problems with the computer. I took it over to Best Buy and they stated at that time that it was a software problem. That I would need to get the restore disc's from Dell, back up all of my information and then restore the computer back to factory settings. They offered to handle all of this for me, but naturally it was for a price.

Since I wasn't working at the time, I had a friend back everything up and then I restored it. But something still wasn't quite right. It was still slow and locked up at times, but I blamed it on a slow internet connection.

Then about a month ago, I shut it down and when I tried to bring it back up, it would come up to the "Safe Mode" settings but as soon as you would pick a setting, the screen would go black. I finally got it to come up and told everyone not to turn it off and to limit using it until I could figure out what was wrong with it.

Well, last Monday, Hubby came home at lunch time and it was locked up. He didn't remember anything about not shutting it off and once it was off, it was done. It wouldn't come back on at all.

I took it back to Best Buy and they determined that the Hard Drive went out in it. Unfortunately they were unable to recover any of my information, but on the bright side, I have everything up until 3 months ago.

I picked it back up today and I am so impressed with how fast this computer is and all that I can now do on it. I forgot what it was like when I got it brand new.

Thanks Tony for getting the extended warranty and thanks Best Buy for honoring it and fixing it so quickly.

Stacy

November 28

Thanksgiving is over, it's back to reality tomorrow. I have enjoyed my nice long weekend. We did a lot of nothing and a little of nada and a LOT of driving.

Friday afternoon I drove into Pittsburgh to pick up Teen's girlfriend from college for a few days. It's a long story but basically her parents weren't going to get her. She worked Black Friday morning since she wasn't going home and then I picked her up after work.

Teen slept out in the living room on the blow up mattress while Hubby slept on the couch beside him and GF stayed in Teen's room. Teen had to work for a few hours on Saturday so she just hung out in his room and played online until he came home.

She left a little while ago to head home. Her roommate was home for the holiday so she road back with her.

We went out for a little bit Friday morning and I got a new Christmas Tree. Our old one was a pre-lit and several of the rows of lights no longer worked. It is now up and decorated. The last one was all white lights and this one is colored. I also bought some new decorations and we got it all decorated. It is taking me a while to get used to it. I have had the same theme for the past 6 or 7 years so it looks so different. I may have to rearrange some things yet.

We bought a few other things that morning as well, but not too much. I don't like the big crowds. My sister-in-law is one of the nuts that stands in line all night waiting for something. CRAZY! I would never do that.

So what about you? Are you a Black Friday up at 3:00 am to stand in line type person, a get there right after it opens and if you get a deal you get a deal type person, or do you just say forget it and sleep in? I'm the second type. Although I may get up a little early tomorrow and see if there are any good deals online. I am dying to get my hands on a Kindle!

Stacy

The holidays are upon us. Every year I wait for this commercial to come on tv. Eat 'n Park is a family restaurant chain that started in the Pittsburgh area. You can click on their link here to check them out. All three of my boyz grew up going Eat 'n Park with their grandparents before they started school.

They are famous for their Smiley Cookies and each child gets one at the end of the meal.

So without further adieu, here is my all time favorite Christmas commercial:

I don't even know what it is that makes me love this commercial, but it just touches me for some reason. I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I do. And if you are in the Pittsburgh area and have not gone to Eat 'n Park, you need to eat there. The great service, family friendly atmosphere and food are all worth it.

Stacy

November 26

My boss at work is from Greece. He came here a little of 15 years ago for college and then stayed here. He speaks English well but has an accent that sometimes confuses me. I know, not hard right...lol He has called into the office asking for Keith and I have transferred him to Kim as a result of his accent and me not hearing him right. Sometimes it is funny, sometimes he doesn't find it amusing.

When I first started there my hand were dry one day and I didn't have any lotion but i noticed a bottle of Bath and Body Works in the drawer that the intern had left behind. Not thinking anything of it, I used a little after checking with the other girls. One of the girls commented that it made the whole room smell really good. And after lunch I put a little more on and went about the day.

Then the boss comes out and asks me: "What are you wearing?"
I was a little confused and said: "Excuse me?"
He asked again: "What are you wearing?"

I had no idea what he was talking about and seriously thought that something I was wearing was not allowed, such as my shoes, shirt, etc. I had only been there about 2 weeks so I thought maybe I had somehow unintentionally violated the dress code.

Then one of the of girls got this look on her face and she realized what he was talking about. The smell of the lotion was bothering him. During this HR happened to walk through the office and wanted to know if everything was ok. So I told her that the boss had just asked me what I was wearing.

Oh, my, goodness...she pulled him aside and told him that he cannot ask a female worker a question like that. It was a huge hilarious misunderstanding on every one's part and we all laughed about it afterwards.

Fast forward to this past Monday. Our office got to be 79* in the afternoon and we asked if the air could be turned on as it was awful stuffy also. So the boss turned the air on and came out and was talking to us and one of the other girls said she was just fine and cozy. I said if it got much cozier they were going to find me asleep on my desk. She also said that she had long underwear on and was still a little chilly.

So they started talking about long underwear and how he once bought a pair a long time ago to go pheasant hunting and they were scratching and uncomfortable to him. But when he went home to Greece he had bought some UnderArmor to wear. Then they talked about how a couple of the other girls were long underwear through the winter as well.

And without even thinking he turns to me and says: "Do you wear underwear?"
Now I knew what he was talking about but I couldn't resist: "What did you just ask me?"
I swear he turned red on the spot. And he made me swear that I wouldn't tell HR what happened as in his words: "I don't need HR on my a$$ again."

It was so funny and we all laughed about it forever. All except HR that is...lol

Stacy

November 25

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went to Hubby's brothers for the day and had a day filled with food and laughter.

We played the White Elephant Game. My sister-in-law and myself each bought a bunch of small gifts and gag gifts and wrapped them up. Then you all sit around the table and roll the dice. If you get doubles you get to take a present off of the table. Once all of the presents are claimed you continue to roll for a set amount of time, we chose 10 minutes, and if you roll doubles you steal a gift from someone else. It gets to be a riot as you have no idea what you are stealing.

Usually there is one gift that everyone thinks has to be the best gift and it gets taken again and again. This time it was a bag of pretzels that were wrapped up in a shoe box. Everyone wanted the shoe box.

Here are some of the presents that were unwrapped this year:
A pringles container full of dum-dums and smarties.
Lottery scratch off tickets
Candle
Mancala Game
Box of Tissues
Calendar
Pez dispenser
Silly striped toe socks
Baseball cap

There were about 20 gifts in all and it was so much fun. If you are ever looking for just a fun little game to make everyone laugh and have a good time, this is it. My SIL and I decided at the last minute to play the game this year so we got all of the gifts but you can always just have everyone bring a wrapped present that day for a game later.

And I have no idea why it is called the White Elephant Game, but it just means you are supposed to bring something that you already have laying around. You know that awful mug that someone gave you and you refuse to drink out of? That is a great one to use. Or those photo frames you got one year from Aunt Jane that are pink and you have all boys? That is a great gift to wrap up as well.

Maybe you can sneak this game into your holiday season this year. And if you do, please let me know how it worked out for you and if you had as much fun as we do.

Stacy

November 23

Why does it seem like those 3 days before a long holiday weekend are longer than 5 regular work days?

It is only a little after 10PM now but it seems as if this day has gone on for at least 2 days. 6am seems so long ago.

The kids are done now until Tuesday. Monday here is an 'un'official holiday in PA. It is the first day of Buck Season and I believe most of the state shuts down that day.

Teen & Tween are at the Sadie Hawkins dance tonight. Little S is watching Disney or something in his room.

am getting ready to settle in and watch Biggest Loser and hopefully not fall asleep.

Stacy

November 21

Today I am taking advantage of the little rule in this years NaBloPoMo and using a Wordless Weekend post option. <---well, i guess it isn't completely wordless now is it?

I love this picture. It is the first day of kindergarten 2009 for Little S.

Stacy

November 20

The B.E.S.T. Robotics competition is done and over. Teen will be traveling home at 6am tomorrow and should arrive here somewhere around 11pm. Yes they have school on Monday. Sure hope he doesn't have to work Monday as that will make a very long day for him.

The placed somewhere in the 40's out of 61 teams. They are a little disappointed but here are some facts.

This is the very first year that our school has had a team compete. This program was started in 1993. Therefore some of these teams that he competed against have been doing this for 17 years. I think just the fact that this is their first year and they were able to beat out 18 regional teams to make it to Auburn, Alabama. There were only 60 other teams that made it.

There were 8 rounds and each of the 13 students had to take turns playing or cheering/sitting out. Teen was in 3 rounds. During the final round that he was in, he had to start with a 20 second penalty from an error the prior students made. When it was time for him to start he somehow jumped the robot backwards and it went out of bounds therefore disqualifying them from that round.

Teen took his error pretty hard and when they walked off the stage he walked out of the arena for some air. I knew he was upset and called him. He would kill me for telling you this but he walked outside because he was crying. See he did the programming on the robot and in his mind two things happened. First the team was counting on him being able to make up for that 10 second penalty and second he had no idea what happened that the robot jumped and went out of bounds. So instead of gaining points for the team he lost them.

I talked to him and tried to explain to him that there were 8 rounds. He didn't make them lose points for the other 7 rounds so one error in one round that he was involved in did not make the whole team fail. The whole competition was a group effort and shouldn't fall on his shoulders alone.

I wish that I would have been able to be there and to give him a big old hug, dry his tears and make him feel better. It broke my heart knowing that I couldn't do anything to make it right or better.

But after I got off of the phone with him, I realized that this is about to happen more and more in his life. He will soon be graduating and living at college. I won't be right there to pick up the pieces. All I can do is talk to him, give him encouragement, listen to him and love him. And above all of that pray for him.

Stacy

November 19

Five Things I'm Doing This Weekend

1. Watching a Movie with Hubby - Grown Ups is on the top of our list

2. Trying to catch Teen's B.E.S.T. team online

3. Going to Thanksgiving Dinner at church Saturday evening

4. Finish reading 'The Help' so I can return it on Wednesday

5. Giving Teen a big ole hug when he gets home from his trip

What are your plans this weekend?

Stacy

November 18

First off I want to say that the Robotics Team made it to Alabama. They had a slight delay as the bus radiator blew but they were able to make a temporary fix so they could get back on the road and to the hotel. After dropping the kids off there the driver took the bus over for repairs so they could make it back home.

Tonight my niece and I went to card making class at my church. It is a small group of us girls who like to get together and make greeting cards and such. We always have a nice time and great conversations as well.

I have always loved to have conversations with my kids in the car. Sometimes though when I pick up Madison she is quiet in the car and other times she is a little chatter box.

Tonight we were talking away and she called someone a 'd-bag'. I looked over and asked her if her mother allowed her to talk like that and she said she didn't even realize it was a bad word.

So we were laughing about it and then I asked her if she even knew what that word meant. To which she replied that she had no clue. And the whole time she is laughing and giggling. I thought she maybe knew but didn't want to tell me she did.

But I soon realized that I was used to boys and they don't giggle when they are embarrassed or confused. My boys look at me with a blank expression on their faces and wait for me to tell them the answer. We have talked about everything from books to sex and they never seem to blink an eye.

So I then proceeded to explain when the word really meant and I think if I could have seen her face in the light she would have been 15 shades of red.

I am pretty sure it will be a while before she uses that term again...lol

I am so very thankful for my boyz, but hanging with my niece sometimes is so much fun.

Stacy

November 17

Well we just got back from seeing off Teen for his trip to B.E.S.T. in Auburn, Alabama. Please pray for safe travels. And if you click on the link above they will be streaming the competition live on Saturday!

On another note, my baby (Little S) will be 7 in a month. SEVEN! Where the heck did that time go?

On yet another note, Laurel got a good report last week from her doctor. Her cancer counts are down and the chemo seems to be making her less sick with each treatment. YEAH! Sometimes things happen for a reason. Not too long ago the FDA pulled the meds that Laurel had been on and she had to start a new chemo regime. And now the counts are down. I believe that God is performing a great work in her body and she will be in remission soon!

And on a final note at church this evening the kids finished packing boxes for Operation Christmas Child. They drew pictures and wrote notes to insert in the boxes. If you have never heard of this program, check it out. It is a wonderful ministry headed up by Franklin Graham, Billy Graham's son.

Stacy

November 15

I recently borrowed 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett from the library.

It is her first book and it sucks you right in. I am not very far but when I sit down with it, I can't stop myself from reading. It is the early 60's and is the story of 3 women and their life back then. Two of them are black maids and one is a white daughter of a cotton farmer.

If you are looking for a new book to read I highly recommend getting this one.

Stacy

November 14

Lazy days here. Football season is over and this is the first year for the soccer program at the school so there aren't a lot of games for them.

Yesterday Teen went to Pittsburgh to visit his girlfriend with her parents and made it back in time to go to work so he wasn't around.

The rest of us did absolutely nothing and it nice for a change.

Tween recently borrowed Glee Season 1 from the library so we watched a bunch of those episodes.

Little S played on the PS2 and read some books to the cat. He borrowed a book from the library that was titled "Stories to Read to Your Cat" so he did and it was cute.

Hubby watched football and napped.

I can't remember the last time I did nothing all day but look forward to the next time I can do it!

Stacy

November 13

The last time I was at my Mum's we went through a bunch of old photo's so I could get them copied and ready for Teen's Scrapbook. This has to be one of my all time favorites of him.

Yes he stillh as those pretty blue eyes.

Stacy

November 12

Hubby and I are headed out to dinner and maybe some Christmas shopping. We haven't been able to do anything alone together since before school started due to the kids schedules. No one has anything tonight so we are finally getting to go out.

I know this is a sucky post, but according to NaBloPoMo rules I needed to put something up.

Have a great night!

Stacy

November 11

Last week was the Scholastic Book Fair at the elementary school. Little S was so excited as this was the first one that he would be able to go to alone and pick out books.

So I put some money in an envelope and told Little S that he would be able to get 2 or 3 books depending on how much each book cost. Then I went on to say my typical speech before I sent him off to spend 'his' money:

"Remember you can get as many books as you have money for but" and he stopped me in my tracks and he finishes with:

"I know Mum, no pencils, posters or other crap!"

Guess the third child really picks up on what is continuously said to the older two.

Stacy

November 9

I started reading the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich this summer when we joined the library. I read through books 1-3 pretty quickly and then I started working. It took me almost a month to get through book 4 between work and the kids fall activities getting started.

Then I found out that I can borrow books on tape from the library. My new job is about a 20-30 minute drive depending on the traffic and time of day. I love that I can now listen to a book in about 2 weeks, just when they are due back to the library.

This also gives me a little down time and relaxation before I get in the door from work and all the chaos starts.

I am so glad that Teen can now drive as he has been a great help in getting the other two where they need to be if I am running late or Hubby gets called out or has something else going on that night. I sure am going to miss that next fall when he is gone off to college.

The boys got their report cards this week as well and have all done really great. I am so proud of the work that they do in school.

Stacy

November 8

We recently started a book club/Bible study at our church.

Our new selection is:

What an eye opener. I am seeing some of these women of the Bible in a whole new light. And I am also realizing that even if we have made stupid mistakes, God still loves us.

If you have a group of women and are looking for a great Bible study, I would highly recommend this series by Liz Curtis Higgs.

I was privilege enough to hear her speak in person at a women's weekend with my church 2 years ago. And believe me if any one is a 'Bad Girl' turned good and can tell about it, it would be her.

One thing that really stuck out to me about her background was that she used to be a co-star on a radio show you may have heard of: Howard Stern. Yes, Liz Curtis Higgs knows what a bad girl is and she knows what God can do for us and how He can use bad girls for good.

If you get a chance to check her out, please let me know what you think.

Stacy