Bourne Love

I just downloaded the movie scores for each Bourne movie.  It's cranked up.  Let the house cleaning commence.  (How is it that I never got these before today?  What is wrong with me?)

Well, I did it.

Today, I submitted my first scrapbook page for publication.  Why do I hate telling you that?  Because the chance that it will be picked up and published is slim.  I fear rejection.  I don't like it.  I don't want to think that I'm not good enough.  The business is competitive.  Lots of women are scrapbooking.  And there are lots of very talented women out there.  But my husband - - my amazing, supportive husband - - urged me to go for it.  He told me he's seen stuff in those magazines I look through.  He said my stuff is every bit as good as anything he's seen in those magazines.  I know - - awwwww.  It was sweet of him.  But he meant it.  He really, really meant it.  So - - I went for it.  I may have to submit a few more thousand times.  But I won't know until I try.  So, here goes.  I'm going to give this the best that I have and see where it takes me.

Here's to the first attempt!

Weekend in Review

My niece and her friend spent the weekend with us.  Long story.  Lots of drama.  But I'm hoping she is returning to her college home a little refreshed and relaxed.  She is such a sweet girl.  It KILLED me for her to call me in tears on Friday asking for a place to crash for the weekend.

We finally saw SALT this weekend.  Fantastic movie.  Kind of confusing.  For me.  I think SALT is the female version of Jason Bourne.  It was left wide open for a sequel.  Awesome.  We watched *part* of The Bourne Identity last night.  It was a CIA night I guess.  I love me some Jason Bourne.

The toilet in our bathroom broke.  So Mr. B has spent today buying a new one and installing it.  Good times.

I scrapbooked a page.  Just one.  It's for a contest and I think it turned out quite nice.  I'm happy with it.  Go look at my creative blog when you get a chance.  I'd love to hear your feedback.

Two birthday parties yesterday and one today.  That should pretty much wrap up our weekend.

I tracked my Kindle.  It shipped on Friday.  It is "on time" and scheduled to be delivered on Monday.  Woo hoo!  Just in time for the Labor Day holiday.  The brown man doesn't show up around here until 6:30 or later in the evenings.  It figures, huh?

Okay, time to prep for that last party.  I expect an early bedtime for all of us tonight.

All About Bobby

Wednesday - I went by and checked his PO Box for mail.  Junk.  Junk, junk, junk.  I did a lot of tearing up and shredding.  Well, I did nab a good coupon.  But the rest was crap.

I anticipate much of the same when I check today.

Baby Bro - rest assured, I will let you know when your items arrive.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmkay?

Big dork.

Hi. It's me. B.

How are you my lovlies?  Miss me?  I miss me.

Okay.  Not really.  I've enjoyed the solitude.  But time to start doing something productive with the time.

I started going to bed quite a bit earlier.  The alarm goes off at 7:00 in the morning.  I know, some of you are already at work at 7:00.  Blah, blah, blah.  It's early for me.  Okay?  I usually set the coffee maker the night before and so the dark roasted bean juice is ready to greet me as I stumble out of bed.  I forgot to set it last night.  Oh well.  Such is life.  I didn't have to wait long.

I cleaned like a maniac on Monday.  The place has "sort of" gone by the wayside since and could use some sprucing up.  Nothing major.  Sweeping, picking up, usual kitchen duties.  It shouldn't take long.

I've discovered something quite odd.  I really think I'm allergic to mornings.  Laugh if you will.  But - - I sneeze every morning about three times.  Every morning.  Not right away.  Usually about an hour after I get up.  Like - - now.  Oh.  God bless me.  *wipes screen off*  I wasn't quite ready.  Then my nose runs like crazy.  I blow it.  And then *voila*  I'm able to proceed with my day.  It's weird.  I'm like a cat or something.

My scrap space is a mess.  I've got to get that under control.  My plan is to work on a page or two after my real work is done around here.  I have a haircut this morning.  Other than that - - my day is wide open.  I like that.  No rushing.  No significant plans.  Just kind of a chillaxing day.  Right on.

The kids are doing well in school.  We've gotten three birthday party invitations this week.  Three.  First week of school.  FANTASTIC.  (Did any of you catch my article in the paper?  *giggle*  I whaled on birthday parties pretty hard.)  Anyway, the parties are this weekend.  Two of them at the bowling alley, which I'm actually pretty okay with.  But the other one is at Gatti's.  Kill me now.  I HATE going there.  I really, really, REALLY hate Gatti's.  It's dirty.  The food sucks.  You have to pay to get in.  It's just - - blech.  Oh, what we will endure for our children.

Well, time to get this day of mine started.

(By the way, I just sneezed two more times.  That makes five times this morning.  Two extras.  What could that mean?)

Need tissues.  Later.

I'm here!

Wow.  Did I drop off of the face of blogging world or what?

I'm good.

The kids are good.

Mr. B is good.

The cats are good.

Life is good.

The boys started school on Monday.  Today, they walked themselves to class.  *sniffle*  They are growing up entirely too fast.

I cleaned house all day on Monday.  I did it all.  Laundry.  Mopping.  Straightening.  Litter box cleaning.  I cleaned!  I rewarded myself today with a little pool time.  I was all by my lonesome and I loved it.  Now, I'm not-so-loving my sunburned face.  Ouchy.

I've been getting my craft on lately.  And after some lite house cleaning tomorrow, scrapping is in my plans.

Just wanted you to know that I'm still among the living.  Just busy.

Bed time.  7:00 will be here before I know it.

Smooches to my fans.

Somedays just suck.

And today has been one of them.

Very, very busy.  I took the boys to the barber shop to get their school haircuts.  It was, for the most part, uneventful.  Only one guy working and a few people ahead of us.  But it was all good.  I sat there in that West Texas barber shop and perused the latest edition of Guns and Ammo.  Bwahahaha!  I found a sweet handgun that I'd love to have.  I've been talking to Mr. B about getting one.  I took a picture of it with my phone and texted it to him.  *giggle*  Just embracing my inner redneck.

Went from haircut to Meet the Teacher.  Pleased with it, but felt rushed because Mr. B was with us.  I didn't get to walk Cam around like I would have liked to.  Gah.  I hate it when he rushes me.  He's not going next year.  Period.  There are very few kids from Justin's class last year in this year's class.  A few friends and he was cool with it.  He was adamant about unloading his things himself and putting them in his desk.  It was cute.  His teacher seems really nice and I think she will be perfect for him.  Cam got the same teacher Justin had last year.  She seated him right up by her desk.  She got to know him last year because of my involvement in her class.  He loves her and she loves him.  So, I feel better about sending my little dude off to that big elementary school.  He has one neighborhood buddy in his class and another good buddy in there, too.  So all should be well.

From there to lunch.

Lunch to Target to pick up a birthday present.  Crap.  Tax free weekend.  And eleventy billion moms shopping with their college bound daughters.  Not my idea of a good time.

From Target to the movie theater to a birthday party.  Sounds fun, right?  It should have been.  But a commercial was played before the movie that had a shark in it.  Justin lost. his. mind.  Seriously.  He flipped out.  He was convinced that the shark was going to jump out of the screen and get him.  He really believed it. I was frustrated beyond all imagination.  He was terrified.  The temper tantrums that followed were even worse.  Long story short, we left.  No movie.  Poor Cam was disappointed.  So I let him go over to Mom and Dad's to swim.

I'm home.  I'm frustrated.  I'm tired.  I've cried.  I'm done.

Tonight, I'm going to read.  Yoda loaned me a book that I'm actually enjoying so far.  Barely into it.  But I like it.  See, Yoda?  I'm not all dead inside.  I have a heart.  I'm just juvenile in my reading style.  :D  (I'm reading The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins)  I'm VERY ready for my Kindle to come in.  This month is dragging. I want my new toy.  Dang it.

Okay.  I gotta jet.  Mr. B is bringing Cam home in a bit.  I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.  Only three more sleeps until school starts.  Yippee!!!

Anyone remember this?

I can't find the blog post about it.  I "semi-searched" but couldn't find it.  I think it was something to the effect of: "If you were my iPod case, where would you be hiding?"

I got my answer yesterday.

In between Mr. B's desk and the cabinet next to it.

Can you believe it?  I like it better than my pink one.  It clips onto my waistband better.  It has a screen protector.

Sometimes, it's the little things in life that make me smile.

I have a complaint.

First of all, I'm quite jazzed about both boys going to school.  Quite.  The bickering has hit an all time high and I'm sick of it.  While I'm nervous about Cam starting Kindergarten, I'm kind of glad.  I hate to sound like one of those ungrateful moms, but...  I am not a home-schooler.  At all.  I have ZERO desire to do it.  I'm afraid I would lose my mind.  Let's just say that it's not my calling.

Anyway, I was looking at movies that open today (Vampires Suck) and looking at the schedule for the next week.  I had booked a massage for Monday, but she had to cancel.  (Boo.)  So I thought, shoot - - I'll go to a movie.  By myself.  I don't care.  WRONG!  The theater doesn't open until close to when school lets out.  I know, right?  The sacrifices of living in Podunk, USA where we have one theater and only teens to run it.  Where are the perks for the stay at home moms?

I know, I know.  "You ungrateful mother."  I hear ya.  Now I'll have plenty of time to stay on top of the laundry, cleaning, meal-planning and exercise.  (As much as I'd love to hire a cleaning lady, I kind of feel like that falls under *my* job description.)  So - - I shall be a total domestic goddess.  And one that does not go to the movies during the day.  I will volunteer at the boys' school and be a good wife and mommy.

But was it too much to ask for to see an occasional movie?  I guess so.  All the workers are going back to school.  Oh well.

More Gain Love!!

Of course, I am a fan of Gain on Facebook.  They've been doing give-a-ways for the past few weeks.  They are totally random when they do it.  Today, I slept WAY late and just got over to the computer for the day.  Guess what I see posted "six seconds ago" on FB?  That's right.  The give-a-way.  I clicked and finally won.

It doesn't take much to make me smile these days.

I won a travel size bottle of fabric refresher.  Awesome!

They gave away 5000 bottles in six minutes.  It was insane.  I was just happy to finally win something.  *yay*

*love*

First of all, I am all by myself.  Mr. B and Cam went to San Antonio.  Justin is sleeping over at the grandparent's house.

Since Big Brother was delayed by an hour and a half by STUPID golf, I decided to scope out the school supply aisle.  (Yes, I'm still watching BB.  I'm lame.  Don't judge me.)  I was prepared to buy tonight if it wasn't busy and wait if it was.  It wasn't busy - - so I went for it.

Uh.  Yeah.  That sucked.  I was working off of two separate lists.  I started to get confused.  And mad.  Those lists are TOO specific.  Crayola brand everything.  And Fiskars.  It was a pain in the butt.  I finally determined that they were out of watercolors.  And I gave the big "screw you" to the fine-tipped Fiskars brand scissors.  Whatever crappy brand I bought was gonna have to work.  And ten markers.  Really?  The package of 8 is washable.  Why not 8?  Ten?  Are the two "bonus" colors really that important?  Okay teacher - - just don't judge me when he still has marker on him the next day.  I refuse to scrub him until he bleeds.  And then the plastic storage boxes?  There was only one size.  Kinder said smaller.  First said regular.  What does that mean?  I finally decided "the heck with it" and bought items to the best of my ability.  Gah.

As I was headed to the check out, I thought, hmmmm.  Let's see if they ever got the Febreze Gain stuff in.  The answer to that is, "Oh heck yes they did!"  Check it out:

I was squealing with delight.  I kid you not - - I really feel as if I'm ruling the world now.  I am in control.  My house smells absolutely FANTASTIC!!!  The air freshener (on the left) is my favorite.  Instant gratification.    I went and refreshed my bedspread with the fabric spray.  I'm just so happy.  And a note to anyone who ever comes to my house:  If you don't like the smell of Gain - - don't bother coming over.  You *will* be overwhelmed.

I swear - - they should hire me.  I sing their praises and I've made so many conversions that I've lost count.  Tide?  Cheer?  *eyeroll*  Gain, baby.  Gain.

Do I need therapy?  Probably.  But when I walk in the shrink's office and he says, "Oh wow, you smell really nice."  I'm going to just giggle and say, "Yes.  I know.  Would you like to hear about it?"

*sniff, sniff, hooray*

Better Mood

I feel better about things today.  I know what needs to be done, it's more a question of "how" to do it.

Mr. B and I saw Killers last night.  It was cute and predictable.  I liked it.  It wasn't Jason Bourne.  And trust me, Ashton Kutcher is NO Jason Bourne.  I suppose he'll always be Kelso to me.

I give the movie a B-.

P.S.

I really think this "issue" of "weeding" is more about me than anything.  I know it may not make sense and I certainly don't intend on freaking anyone out.  I guess this is mostly me "thinking out loud."

I have a weird personality.  I can be very standoffish.  Very.  I take my inner circle very seriously.  VERY.

Here's the thing.  I don't just view friendships as "What's in it for me?"  I don't look at any relationship that way.  I know that we all have different things we contribute to relationships.  And, we can't all give 100% all the time.  Life just doesn't work that way.  But, and that's a big but (heh) when someone sucks the life out of you - - it's time to re-evaluate the nature of the association.

I often wonder if it's just me.  I've talked to my mom about this at length before.  I find being friends with (most) women VERY difficult.  I can't explain it.  What I know is that I've been this way for a long time.  I guess since high school.  It didn't change in college and it hasn't changed afterwards.  What I've also found is that the nature of my male friendships has changed a lot since marriage.  I don't begrudge it at all.  Mr. B is HANDS DOWN my best friend.  He's easy to be friends with.  Sure, he gets pissed off sometimes.  I'm not easy to be friends with.  He doesn't wear his feelings on his sleeve and that's a definite perk.  He also doesn't hold a grudge.  He says his piece and then we are done.  And that doesn't happen often.

The older I get, the pickier I get.  I don't have time for nonsense.  I don't have time for that which grinds on my last nerve.  It's not just a time thing.  It's that I don't want to.

My biggest fear is that I'm going to run everyone away with my crazy-ass attitude.

You want to know the irony?  I can be a very obnoxious person.  I know this.  And I can't stand it in other people.  How hypocritical is that?

I don't know.

I'm sorry if I freaked anyone out.  That certainly wasn't my plan.  A chain of things have happened over the past week that just made the branch break.  And I don't cope well with indecision.  (Especially indecision on my part.)

Gah.  I'm rambling.

I'm praying about this.  I pray that God leads me in the right direction.  That's all I know to do.

Tonight - - I plan on snuggling up with my best friend and watching a movie.  I'm going to do my best to talk him into a little Bourne love.  That'll cure anything that ails ya.

Weeding out

How is this effectively done in one's personal life?  My life's garden needs tilling and pruning.  How do you accomplish this without hurting feelings?  I just feel like my life (and that of my family, etc) have gone a different direction than some of those I associate with.  There is a branch or two that basically need sawing off.  How do you do that?

It's funny - - because if it were dating, and I was talking about a guy, I would just - - break up.  But breaking up with friends sounds so lame here.  At the same time, it seems like the obvious solution.

Gah.

This is where I would emotional eat if I had something worth eating around here.

If only it were as easy as spraying some "Weed Be Gone" and letting things just wither up and go away.  But alas, life isn't that simple.

*sigh*

Hmmmm. Which duo can I NOT stand more?

Zeke and Luther or Zach and Cody?

Both sets make me want to go shop for school supplies.

B's Movie Review

Mr. B and I saw Grownups last night.  I thought it was so funny!  I really wasn't expecting much out of it.  We'd been told that we would really "get it" because of the generational thing.  And we did.  I laughed from start to finish.  He laughed a lot, too.  Funny, funny cast.

I give it a strong "A."

Crafty Blog Reminder

For you crafty people, don't forget about my crafty blog.  I had a challenge that finished up tonight.  I'll do more. Be sure to bookmark it.  And feel free to link it on your blog if you want to.

For you non-crafty people - - I still love Darius Rucker.  Seriously.  I love him.  I think I might just have to pull the laminated list out and re-work a few things.  :D

The concert.

Was. A. Blast!

We met up with Kelli in our hotel lobby and then took the dart down to the concert area.  We did our fair share of walking.  I was wishing I had my tennis shoes on.  But you know, style before comfort...

It was well over 100 degrees outside.  It was just hot.  We walked around for a while to check out the events at the venue.  We did a Chevrolet race simulation thing.  It was a contest.  Best time got to go backstage and meet Brad Paisley.  About ten minutes before the contest was over, Mr. B was in the lead.  I guess he lost, because we never heard from them.  *sigh*  Oh well.

We finally decided to go find our seats for the concert.  They were great!  We had a great view.  We were wishing we had our better camera with us to get some better shots.  My little point and shoot didn't do too well.  We didn't expect that it would.  But - - meh.  We were there to listen.

And listen we did!  Justin Moore opened up first.  I had never heard him before.  But he surely got my attention when he busted out some ZZ Top.  He was good!

Then Darius Rucker came on stage.  *swoon*  And I mean that.  I really, really, REALLY think I'm love.  His stuff was *way* good.  He sang some of his old stuff (as Hootie) and then his new stuff.  I loved every song.  He closed with Purple Rain by Prince.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I got goosebumps.  In 100+ heat.  I had chills. It was AWESOME!  We took shots of him zoomed in and then a few of one of the screens.

Loved him.  Loved him.  LOVED him.

In the meantime, there were three VERY drunk guys without shirts on in front of us.  Very drunk.  One had "moobs"  (man boobs) that were pierced.  They were hideous.  The other dude had some serious back acne and had no business going around without a shirt on.  The other guy had his girlfriend with him, so he was somewhat tame.  Still obnoxious though.  The good part:  they were all pretty much passed out by the time Brad came on stage.  The bad part:  one of them threw up right in front of us.  Gross.  He kept standing up in his seat and nearly busted his butt a few times.  He was stumbling around and acting like a total d-bag.  One time he was real close to falling into my boobs.  I caught myself doubling up my fist to go in for a swing.  Imagine that.  Me.  Hitting someone.  The funny thing is, he was so wasted, I could have taken him.  Anyway, he was out of it, so we got to enjoy BP's portion of the concert.  Here are a few shots of him.

Isn't he pretty?  And so skinny!

While this shot isn't good (by professional standards) I love it.  Brad was singing "She's Everything" which is my favorite song of his.  Everyone sat down for this one, except these two sitting in front of us.  He had his arm around her and it was so sweet.

Our view for most of the show.  This was moobs guy.  What a tool.

No, he's not praying.  This is back acne guy passed out.  And I'm sure moments from puking again.  This is where Mr. B and the funny guys next to him decided to start yelling really loud.  This butt munch deserved it.  I hope he still feels like crap.  I'm sure he doesn't remember a thing from the concert.  By the way, Mr. Back Acne, there are treatments you can do for that.  Might I recommend one before you go out in public without your shirt on again?  I'm sure those girls you were hitting on were *real* impressed.

All in all - - the concert was a blast.  Despite the three stooges that were in front of us.

Here is what we walked past when we were leaving:

Hootie!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really.  I have a bigger thing for him now than I did before the show.

Great weekend.

Wow.

Our weekend was FANTASTIC!

We met up with our old neighbors for dinner on Friday night.  We went to Cheesecake Factory.  The food was SO good and the company was even better.  We miss them so much.  We watched their girls grow up.  Now they are both married and one of them has a beautiful baby girl of her own.  It was so nice to spend some time with them.  We agreed we would do it more often.  Definite perk to Facebook.  Reconnecting with old friends that you actually *want* to reconnect with.

Saturday, we got up and got going.  Not sure why.  But we did.  Our hotel was right by "The Dart" system in Dallas.  We bought all day tickets and rode around to check places out.  We went by West End (which is lame during the day) and we finally ended up at the site where President Kennedy was assassinated.  We walked part of the same route as the Presidential Motorcade up to the intersection of Houston and Elm.  It was my first time to be there as an adult.  And it was really, really surreal.

This is the building formerly known as the School Book Repository Building.  The sixth floor corner window (the one on top) is the room where one of the shots came from.

This is the spot in the road that marks where the shot that killed the President took place.

The grassy knoll.

The flag that flies there at the site.  It was very overwhelming.

It was a very somber experience walking through there.  Knowing that a former President of the United States of America was murdered there.  There were no words.  Just - - wow.  It was all I could say.

November 22, 1963.  I'm sure it was a day that no American alive at the time will ever forget.

I'll talk about the concert in another entry.  It just doesn't seem fitting to put that stuff in here.

Mr. Paisley and Mr. Rucker

Mr. B and I are on our way.  See you tomorrow.

Hootie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*swoon*

Weekend getaway with Mr. B.  Life doesn't get much better than this.  The kids are staying at home with our niece and her friend.  They'll have fun and we'll have fun.

Pictures on Monday.

*smooches*

A new blog to follow!

My new crafty one!

Be sure to go over there and check things out.  I'll start posting stuff throughout the day.  Keep an eye on it.  There is blog candy on the horizon.  We'll have challenges and all kinds of fun over there.  Don't forget to follow me.

*smooches*

Happy 60th Birthday Whataburger!

If you wore orange into Whataburger tonight (from 5 - 8), you got a free burger.  We bought an order of fries and onion rings.  Our family of four ate dinner for under $5.  Right on.

You were supposed to dine in.  We cheated and darted for the door.  *grin*

Justin in his hat.  He was real thrilled.

Cameron was thrilled..

Nirvana

I'm telling you.  I am this >*< close to ruling the world now.

You can smell it, can't you?

It is awesomeness in its highest form.

Another hot one today...

We are definitely paying for the milder summer we've had.  I need to run to the store.  I almost hate taking a shower first because I'll sweat my hiney off.  (Hmmmm.  If that could actually happen, I'd do it.)   Anyway, I think I'm gonna don a baseball cap and make a quick run as soon as the girls wake up.  Ahhhh.  To be 18 again and sleep until the afternoon.  I have no idea how late they were up last night, but I'm sure it was LATE!  The boys are loving having them here this week.  But they want them to get up.  Like, now.  It's so cute.

Enjoy your Monday.

I Finished It.

I finished playing Simpsons Hit & Run the other day.  I did every mission, bought every "outfit" for the characters and bought all the cars.  100% completed.

I knew you were on pins and needles about it.  So I HAD to tell you.

That's right friends, neighbors, fans and overall stalkers - - it's one of my mad skills.  I become obsessed with games and finish them.  I'm staying away from Luigi's Mansion.  Lord help me if I start playing that one again.  Luckily, it's an old GameCube game.  But we still have our little cube.  :D

So for now -- I scrap.  Time to really bust out those toys and play with them until the Kindle arrives.  It ships at the end of this month.  Yay!!  I finished putting together a mini-album from one of my ScrapScription kits today. Now I just need to add pictures to it.  I uploaded pictures for Mr. B's father's day album.  Yeah, I know it's August.  Don't judge me.

Big plans at the end of this week.  The mister and I are getting away - - childless.  Our niece and her BFF are here with us and they are going to keep the kiddos while we sneak away to a concert.  Woot!  It's going to be a FANTABULOUS weekend.  I. Can't. Wait.

Uh-oh.  I hear the children.  They are so annoying.  Time to go be "Mean-Mama."

Ciao.

It's now worse...

107?  Really?