I so.....FAIL

Yeah...it has been holy hell how long since I have posted? My excuses...moved again, soccer (yes I am a soccer mom which you should know is difficult for me to admit...yes it is absolutely fantastic my kids love soccer and are pretty good at it..but to be a cliched soccer mom? Geez the things we do for our kids...) Did I mention yet another move? And there is that unpacking thing...the packing thing before the move...and the fact my parents moved a couple hours away and several weekends spent with them. Gotta catch up some how.

There have been several books to read and oh yeah there is this horrible computer game that I have become addicted to in the moments that I have free...which means the time I would normally dedicate to this blog...my own writing...and sleep. Horrible blogger award goes to me.

I am sure I can come up with several more excuses each more creative and most likely farther from the truth the more I list...so I won't even go there...instead...

Moved to a new city...shouldn't be so horrible and scary for someone like me that has moved every few years her entire life. Nope you wouldn't think so, but for some reason it has not been as much fun since leaving Georgia. Perhaps it is because of the great friends I left behind this time. All the moves before I was careful to make no lasting attachments. Nothing to look back at. Now I have no one really...well except those adoring friends that I still have here in the pixel world and those friends I wouldn't trade for anything...

I have started to learn my way around here and my comfort zone is expanding steadily yet I don't feel like I am anywhere close to being home. Perhaps I need to put more clutter things up on the wall or get some house plants...dunno. On an even scarier note nanowrimo is starting soon and I have decided to use this time to break away from the horrible torturous computer game (yeah right) and get back to the writing I have been promising myself I would do. Remember back when writing made me happy? Yeah it was awhile ago. So this is the perfect opportunity to get back into the world that I used to be absorbed in.

Alright....the soccer moms are actually kinda cool. Shhh if you repeat that I swear I will infect your computer and spread the soccer mom thing. No I will not own a mini van...yes I was the only one with a nose piercing or tattoos LOL. And I think I might have made a few friends in those moms, we will have to see how things go. They do find humor in the fact that I don't know how to drive most places and that when they say head north on such and such street they normally get a blank stare...but hey whatever I can do to make others laugh right?

It is time now to check email...and desperatly try to not logon to the game that is calling my name right now begging for attention before I crawl into bed...

A few pretty cool things...

Anyone that knows me, knows that I love to read. I have so many books that I simply can't part with that DH threatens to "lose" them accidentally when I am not home. My response of course is that I will accidentally "lose" his truck/computer/leather chair that is his favorite ever...

So onto the cool part. After a crazy drive across the country, and then two weeks of staying with the in-laws, I finally am able to move into our rental house and establish internet service. I check my email and *GASP* not one but two of my favorite authors have sent me messages! I know right? I mean c'mon now how often does that happen? And if you happen to be one of those people who have their favorite authors contact them via text message just shut up and let me bask!

First I had an email from Nancy Herkness. She was one of the first authors that I had written a review for. I absolutely love her work. And wanna know what was in that email? I am gonna tell you anyway...She wants me to review her new release! Music of the Night is the title of her new release, and I really want this book! So of course I said yes, and although I have not been reviewing lately, school, kids, moving...blah blah blah. So after a few very nice email chats back and forth I should be reading in the next few days! Her first two books that I reviewed were fantastic and sit on my bookshelf still.

Okay second but by no means lessened by Nancy, is my shock (read jaw dropping experience) when Cindy Dees' name pops into sight. And here is the really cool part...she had commented on my blog!!! Cindy Dees had been to my blog...and commented!!! If you have not been reading my blog at all then you wouldn't know that her book The Medusa Project was the very first Silhouette Bombshell I had ever read. It was her book that completely hooked me on the entire concept of the Bombshells, and being a prior army chick I was so completely thrilled to have a series that dared show the world that women are capable. Okay stepping off of soapbox before I get carried away. Cindy was kind enough to mention my move, as well as remind me of her recent releases about the Medusa team...like I hadn't already devoured every word. But in either case I was thrilled with her note and it made my email worth all the spamming I had received.

Okay, no more gushing...geez I might be taken as a fanatic or something...hehe

Another pretty cool thing is that we not only have our Christmas decor up, but Dh put two incredibly tacky blowup Christmas decoration out front for me. LOL we have a snowman as well as a polar bear. They are huge and they have lights inside. They are so adorable!

Our house is about 80-85% unpacked. The living room, dining room (card table in place of a real table...a completely different rant...I mean post), kitchen and guest bathroom is finished. The girls' bedroom is pretty much there and their play room is coming along nicely...our bedroom however is going to take forever I'm afraid.

For now that is all from this peanut gallery. I need to get to bed since I ave had a bad cold for the last week, and I was just about spent over an hour ago. Yay I made it to a grown up 10pm!!!

G'night all, oh and Happy Holidays to all!

I admit I am blog stupid!

I am so tired of being non computer savvy. I tried today to find a different layout. I looked all over the place for a holiday type theme...didn't find anything. So then I decided to instead find a tutorial to teach me how to do it myself...yeah as you can see (or not if this is your first visit) I didn't get far.

I was able to change one item's color to red. But it wasn't where I wanted it nor was I able to figure out how to do what I wanted. I really wish that I was able to change my blog backgrounds but I can't. So eventually when I find a page I like from the genius people all over the internet I will change my blog to incorporate their layout into this blog...and until I figure this crap out I hate all of you really smart computer crafty people that have these wonderful blog layouts that I will never be able to possess unless I pay someone to create it for me...and they would have to be willing to change it as the seasons change
. And because I am too cheap and know that DH will not think that the expense is soooo completely worth the money...I am stuck.

It was a long trip...

We have arrived in Washington State. We took four days and a lot of pit stops to get here. We arrived a few days before Thanksgiving. We would have made it in 3 days, however it started snowing in Idaho, and the weather was not very nice to us the rest of our journey. So instead of navigating the snow covered mountains at night we stayed in one more night in a hotel.

We felt a little like Goldilocks did as we stayed in different cities on our trek. The first hotel was nice but the beds were rock hard. The next night the beds were too short...our feet hung off the bottom of the beds! The last place we stopped though was pretty good. We had to get a roll away bed for the girls because they didn't have any doubles left, but overall we all slept well.

We had hoped that our rental application would be finished by the time we got here, but sadly the company that was taking care of it dropped the ball. They wanted us to wait forever to rent from them. We ended up not renting that house and looked at a really nice apartment. Just after we applied to the apartment we saw a house next to Tay's school and called. Of course it had been rented already but right down the street he had another that would be available soon. I gave him a brief run down of our references and he said he would draw up a lease and get us inside to check it out. Then he mentioned his business name...it was the same company that said they needed proof of our dogs spaying, shots...blah blah blah. I told him that I had spoken to a lady and she said we couldn't rent from them because my dogs are not spayed. He is the owner of the company and said he didn't care about all of that if we still wanted the house!

We have been in the house since the 7th, and are very happy to be in here. Our movers came the following Monday with all of our things. Oh and yeah the movers are an entirely different rant let me tell you! Not the movers that dropped off our things but the ones that packed and drove it here!

Here is a list of things we have found so far that is broken:

3 of my grandma's cross stitching frames. Not only the glass, but the frames are broken. My grandma spends a lot of time and money on getting these framed and matted, not to mention the cross stitch itself.

4 snow globes of mine. Not the cheap ones...one from the Disney Store, an hour glass one from the San Fransisco Music Box Co that is a limited addition and they have no replacements for. A Wizard of Oz one from SFMB also. And a fairy princess one from there as well. Like I said they couldn't have broken the cheap replaceable ones!

They broke a hole through the top of our oak filing cabinet.

Our computer desk is in several pieces....more pieces that originally came in the box.

The zipper on our leather chair is broken and now has to be replaced.

The bottom of our couch has been cut...not torn but cut!

The handle of my favorite skillet was broken off.

The front of our keyboard...its one of the really big ones...has huge gouges in the screen.

The bed frames for the girls' beds were all bent.

Sissy's bed has huge gouges all over the wood. HUGE!!!

There have also been little things here and there that aren't as important...So we so far have a large claim that will need to be addressed by the movers...

A little later I will come back and talk more about our new adventure...and my excitement over the fact that one of my absolute favorite authors (Cindy Dees) commented on my blog!!! Yeah instant good day in the midst of a lot of bad days!!!

So long Georgia...

As we draw closer to our good bye to Georgia, I can't help but go over all the things about this place that I will miss, and things I won't.

Things I Won't Miss:

The humidity. Yes dry heat is still hot, but add humidity to heat and it really is hell here.

The way the paper mill rotting smell lingers in the thick air. The humidity just keeps the stench around longer.

I won't miss the traffic laws. It is illegal for police officers to run radar in residential areas. Meaning people speed on the streets our children play. They have no regard for the safety of anyone. Georgia law says the road has to be so many feet wide for the cops to run radar. WHAT? Residential areas should be the one place that speed limits are enforced!

How the weather is in the high 80s one day and in the 40s-50s the next day!

I can't stand the bugs here! Waterbugs are these creatures that look like overgrown roaches. They come in houses when it is really rainy or really hot...hhmmm that covers each and everyday here in Georgia. They are mostly outside insects...that is except during the above mentioned weather.

N a s c a r...

I also hate the fact that on certain days of the week several radio stations replace music and news for church sermons. If I wanted to hear the church's teachings I would go to the service.

I hate that in certain counties I can't buy clothes or other items on Sundays. Not that the stores are closed...but that it is illegal to buy a shirt at Wally World until after a certain time, because you shouldn't be shopping for clothes when you can be at church...

Oh you can't buy alcohol on Sunday either...so everyone buys it all on Saturday so they can still drink on Sunday...

I hate that you have to worry about snakes (cotton mouths as they call em around these here parts) when you go swimming in the lakes, and when walking by the river.

ok...this list is getting a bit long. How about we move onto things I will miss before I start to list more negative things...

Things I Will Miss:

Really good sweet tea served in mason jars.

The people that have become good friends.

The smell of the flowering trees. The Mimosa trees are very sweet smelling. I love the flowers here. There are several that bloom all year.

The Augusta Canal and River walk.

The old beautiful houses. I am going to be looking like a stalker this next week as I take pictures of my favorites.

Ok...other than that I can't think of much more. Is that bad?

We have waaay to much crap...

Okay, well really if I am being honest I have too much crap. It is good stuff though! I have been spending the majority of the last couple of days...since Sunday...working on our spare room (catch all storage chaotic clutter space). We will be moving next month. Good bye Augusta, it has been a very long and arduous journey... Hello Washington State!

Cross country drive with two kids, two dogs, two vehicles...and since we are going two by two I suppose it will have to be two partridges in two pear trees...I am trying to get DH to agree to stop over in Texas so we can visit our bestest friends in the entire world. Okay so she is MY bestest friend, but that doesn't matter...it would only add an extra 4 hours in driving time...and then a few more for visiting time... He still has yet to agree though. I hope he will because then since we will be going through New Mexico maybe I can swing it so we will pass through the hometown of another bestest friend that so far has only been the typing on the screen voice on the phone friend. Yep its Christa. I don't think he will go for the detour to Texas though...jerk!

Ok back to the overflow of crap. I literally have enough supplies to make at least 10 scrapbooks...and make enough cards so that my grandchildren will not have to pay Hallmark, ever! I never realized how much I have until I have been forced to organize everything. We will have movers to pack it all up, but I don't trust that they will be careful enough, so I have to make sure it is all ready to be boxed up. This means to use all those nifty storage containers I have and actually put stuff into them. I did attempt this last year right before Christmas and it was coming along nicely. That is until Christmas came and after we re-boxed all of the decorations they were set in the middle of the spare room...and so the chaos took over and I couldn't finish the little organizing trip I was on...

Why wait this long after Christmas you might ask...or you might not but I will tell you anyway...I have a million excuses. None of them are really all that valid though. Like I had surgery, and I had school, and summer vacation this year was crazy. I was so busy with the girls that the shut door made me not think of all the chaos that awaited me...I have more but like I said they are all excuses!

I do have to say though, that I am not the only one with a ton to go through. DH has already filled one giant tote with his army stuff, and he has a lot more to go. He has stuff still at work that needs to come home and be packed away. He probably will need at least one more GIANT tote if not two...I am thinking packing boxes though, all these totes are starting to add up. The only good thing about them is that when we have to store these things we won't have to worry about them falling apart.

We have been looking for places to live in Washington...so far it is looking like we will have to get an apartment somewhere. We won't know where we will be settling so we will need a 6 month lease...so far no one that rents houses wants to do that. And if they do they have issues with our dogs. One realtor told us that we would have to provide proof that our dogs are spayed before they would allow them. They apparently take breeding very seriously at that realty company. They also require that we show proof that our dogs have been state registered and locally registered within 30 days...doggy Hitlers if you ask me. Since Myka (black lab) just turned 6 we are going to have her spayed...but she has to get blood tests to make sure she would be okay under anesthesia. That is not happening before our move next month.

My dining room looks horrible. This is where all of the chaos that was in the spare room is going. We do have a valid reason for this one...Since we will be driving and taking some things with us, we are going to put all of those items into the spare room so we can lock it and tell the movers to stay out of there. That way we don't have to worry too much that we won't have clothes when we get to Washington.

The girls have a lot of mixed feelings about the move. They are thrilled that we are about to have another adventure, but they of course don't want to leave their friends. Tay is worried about fitting in at her new school, and Sissy has the same fears because Tay has them of course. Sissy doesn't remember moving so this is all very new to her. Tay can still describe the house we lived in when she was 2 in Colorado! We lived in two separate houses and she remembers both!

I know this post is a whole lot of nothin, but this is our world at this moment in time and as crazy and scattered as this post is....I can only hope that you get a small sense of what it is like to be moving...again

I just HAVE to share!!!

Last year Kirkland's had a contest for new artists. They are having the same contest this year and I hope it goes well. I voted last year on what turned out to be the winner.

I am the type of person that has to LOVE something to want to buy it for myself. And this I fell so in love with! It was a few weeks ago that I received an email from Kirkland's...okay yes I am on their email list because I have an addiction to this store! I can't help it I have tried...(ahem this is also the store where I bought my plaque...) Anyway. I received and email and the winner of the artist contest was announced!!! And what is even better was Kirkland's was going to be selling the pieces that finaled and also the winning entry!

You can see what it looks like HERE and a also read a bit about the artist Brooke Boyer. I would have posted a picture but I can't figure it out without taking a picture of mine and then posting it...but it is well worth the time to visit the site!

The only thing I don't like about Kirkland's is the fact you can't order anything off of their site. That is a bummer...well except the fact that not being able to order makes it a little more difficult for me to spend money. I actually have to go to the store. Is anyone else more apt to buy things offline? When I am at the store I make it harder on myself to LOVE anything. Today I went there with the sole purpose of buying "Frosted Crabapple." And now this wonderful piece is hanging on my wall!!!

More of the animals...

Here are more of the zoo pictures. I can't wait to go back, we didn't see all that we wanted to because it is so hot around these here parts...now go back and say that last line with a southern drawl...lol

I really really really want this...

Dyson now has a pink vacuum...Not only is it not an ugly pink but it is also for a good cause!

Dyson is donating money to Cancer research with each purchase. The ladies over at

5 Minutes for Mom are giving one away!!! You can find the details HERE. Go over there and leave a comment and even though there is over a thousand comments you never know. Hurry though because they are drawing the lucky winner on the 1st of October. Go! Go Now! You can always come back here later and read whatever it was that you came to read! I won't even be offended that you left me for someone else...well as long as you come right back, and that you don't make it a habit...

I love the zoo...

No I am not talking about my house. LOL

Here are some pictures of the animals at the zoo. We went last month and I have just now gotten around to looking at the pictures. I decided to post a couple of my favorites. LOL and when I say animals I am not talking about my children. All of the pictures were taken with my video camera. It does pretty well!

These are only a few of my favorites...I will post the elephants and giraffes later! I love taking pictures.