Starting with a Bang

So, yesterday began my 30th week of pregnancy. In honor of this momentous occasion I decided to end my day with a bang. You know like the bang that the front of my jeep makes when it hits the back of a very large dodge truck.

What's that? That expression is not supposed to be taken so literally? Well now you tell me!!

Yes, you read that right, at 30 weeks I rear ended someone. You know at this rate I might be able to catch up to Jake in the worlds worst driver category. What is my excuse? I have none. Call it a case of Monday head up ass syndrome.

I was coming down a hill about 5 miles from my house and at the bottom of the hill was a car turning to go into a workout place. There were several vehicles lined up behind the car and I just didn't see that they were stopped until it was too late.

As for damages, my jeep is obviously worse off than his truck. I think there are some scratches on his bumper. The truck sits so high that I ended up going right into his tow package. So my bumper is cracked, my grille is cracked and something funky is going on with my horn.

When I push the button to lock my doors it makes this sad sort of whimper. About how I feel each time I look at the front of the jeep so maybe it's a sympathy whimper. It is drivable but Progressive has this quick fix program that I fully intend to take advantage of so that hopefully it will be fixed within a week or so.

Then the problem? Coming up with the $500 deductible to fix it. I just paid my $330 deductible to the doctors office today for the delivery fee. (His website is updated if you are interested in how the appointment went)

Oh yes, and last but certainly not least... the little man. As far as I can tell he is fine. I am obsessive about pushing my seat belt down below my belly about 10 times on my way home so from what I can tell it was appropriately positioned. Of course when I got home he was not bouncing around so all sorts of things were running through my head.

Luckily we rented a fetal doppler at the beginning of the pregnancy so I immediately pulled that out and let me tell you, any thoughts I had of sending that back before the end of the pregnancy were quickly thrown out the window. I called the doctor just for good measure but he said as long as the baby is moving and I don't have any regular contractions, bleeding or loss of fluid he should be fine.

It's amazing that while I know he is probably safe in his fluid home right now I so wanted him to be here so I could look him over, check for cuts and bruises and watch him breath. One of the worst parts of the whole thing is knowing that I just have to trust that he is fine, I can't see him to know.

So anyhow, one damaged vehicle, one fine little man... I think I'll take that outcome over anything worse any day.

Ummm.... yeah...

Police search for a wanted Warren County Man

That's him... they still haven't caught him yet so I'm not going to give you the whole story just yet... but um.. yeah...

Unleashing Your Inner Packrat

So, less than three months to go and we are finally getting the last of our junk into the attic to make room for this little man. Throughout the entire process I have continually been amazed by how much CRAP we managed to pack into that closet. Granted it is about three feet wide by nine feet long... but still...

The other thing that has amazed me about packing up all of this junk is the difference of opinion that Jake and I have about what should and should not be packed away and stored. After high school I moved to the dorms, then to an apartment, then to my trailer and then to here. Somewhere in all of that I realized that no... I don't need that old swing choir costume or those old syllabuses from English 101.

So, what I have kept are pictures and major projects or papers from classes I have taken. Scattered in there are a few odd items of clothing that meant something to me, like the three toned leather jacket covered in stains that I saved from my mom's junk/goodwill pile more than once and wore from junior high through high school, much to her dismay.

Jake, however, has moved once and only once in his adult life. He came from his parents house straight to the house we live in and all the junk from his closet there came with him here. NONE of which he seems willing to part with. Now I realize that one persons junk is another man's treasure but I think we crossed the line when we packed up his old wrestling shoes and "protective" gear into one of those totes.

Oh yes, you read that right. His reasoning was one day my son might want to... no hunny, your son is NEVER going to want to see your old "protective gear" or your old shoes. Yet still... into a tote they went. I suppose in the grand scheme of things since his parents didn't keep any of his old school papers or anything from vacations that I could find these are probably his only memories of his high school days so a few totes of crap won't kill us.

However, what might kill us is his incessant need to keep EVERYTHING that may one day be needed for something. While cleaning there were a few things that I managed to wrestle from his grubby little hands and convince him that he REALLY didn't need to keep. The problem then becomes the time between when I throw it away and when the garbage man gets to our house.

Case in point. He has an old cloth portable CD player case. We do not own a portable CD player. We have no plans of purchasing a portable CD player. Yet, after the trash man came I noticed, stached away on the back porch, the portable CD player case.

His theory is someday we might need this. My theory, if we need it we will buy it!! So for now, I will just continue to sneak meaningless items into the garbage and play the no hunny... I have no idea where that went card. However, if he decides to start packing away food items.... I'm drawing the line!!

A Lesson in Trust

So.. where have I been?

Trying to find my identity....

Oh wait no that's right... I've been trying to KEEP my identity!!

I'm unsure how much more I should put on this blog right now while our case is open, although I don't think the perpetrator (who probably doesn't even know what that word means) even knows how to use the internet let alone find this blog.

However, let me just say for now that I have had a HELL of a week and I'm hoping it all goes away VERY soon!!

Shameless Plug

Okay girls. This is a shameless plug to try to save all of us with little butts to diaper some money. I just discovered this website called 1800diapers. Maybe I'm behind the times here and you all know about this already, who knows. However, I think this will probably be where I order all of my diapers from.

I went to Sam's Club in our area and wrote down prices of diapers and all of the prices are the same as they are there. HOWEVER, if you order over $45 worth of stuff, they will ship it to your house for free. Well in most cases a large case of diapers can be around $35 so if you order two it comes right to your door. No lugging the little ones out into the cold to attempt to buy diapers!! (YEAH!!)

Anyhow, I figured since you a lot of you have little ones, I knew some of you might be able to benefit from this. They also have formula and wipes but I'm not sure how the prices compare. If they are the same as what you are spending now some diapers and formula will get you over the limit and then you can have them shipped for free. (Woo Hoo!!)

So, if you go there, use my referral code would ya? I could use the extra savings and it saves you $2.00 off your first order. HEHA8288

A shopping we will go...

A shopping we will go...

A shopping we will go...

Hi ho the dairy oh...

A shopping we will go...

And what did I buy on my little adventure you ask...


Tomatoes
Sugar Cookies
Ham
Powdered Donuts
Turkey
cinnamon Rolls
Milk
Brownies
Salad
Frozen Pizza
Pears

Jake's only comment... um yeah... she's pregnant...

Belly Pictures

Okay, so I was looking back and it has been eight weeks since I last gave you belly pictures. Can you believe how quickly time flies? Eight weeks!! So, I figured it was just about time to give you some more. (Still hoping to buy some good will from my sketchy blogging :-)

First up, the ever popular side view... Oh... and no wise cracks about the pants. They happen to be VERY comfortable!!

Next up... we remove the shirt... (Okay... get your minds out of the gutters... just the part that covers the belly!!) Please don't be blinded... yes... the belly does need some sun. No, it's not likely to get any between now and January. A couple of shade lighter and I'll just blend right into that door won't I?
Finally.... someone mentioned to me that maybe I should take some pictures from the front since most people never carry the same way twice. So, starting this week I will begin with the front shots.

And yes.... I'm AWARE that this picture makes me look HUGE!! But thanks for thinking it too!! Nothing like making a girl paranoid! :-)

I also did the comparison shot again with me at 17w3d and me at 25w2d. I don't think it's as dramatic as the last one but it does show a little bit of an outward trend...
So... there you have it. It's a good thing I'm not shy huh?

Theme for the room

Do I have a theme you ask? Ha... do I have a theme... we have had a theme for over a year now. Yeah... I'm a little over prepared. The theme is jungle animals. We picked it when we didn't know if we were going to be able to find out the sex of the baby. Also, we wanted something that could grow with the child.

Originally our idea was to do a mural with jungle animals on the walls BUT now that the developers are getting closer and closer and we don't know how long we are going to be in our house we have decided not to put a bunch of money into a room in a house that may or may not be standing in five years. Good plan huh?

So the colors, even though it's hard to tell in the pictures are actually a dark khaki with a green stripe. MUCH better than the lavender!! The green is sort of "jungly" according to my sister, but the color is called tree tops and since the theme is jungle animals, I guess we picked well.

As for the bedding, it is a set that I found last year on ebay. Unfortunately for us, it is now discontinued so that is the only place to get pieces. Luckily I was prepared and I have all of the essential pieces already. Here is a picture of part of the comforter....

For the walls we are framing these in black frames with white backgrounds and hanging them. They are basically 4.5" tall wall paper stickers.

We also have these

which will be hung on the walls somewhere..... I'm leaving that decision up to the decorator. But let me tell you they are absolutely ADORABLE!!

Now all that we need is to finish with baby showers and get everything put together. Oh yeah... and about a million other things that have nothing to do with his room!! :-)

Baby's Room

Okay, so we've established that I'm a horrible blogger lately. Can I pacify you with pictures? Well let's just see shall we?? First up... the baby's room.

I didn't take before pictures of the baby's room because... well.... I'm a bad mom and all of such things. However, I do have a picture that was taken in that room about a year ago and that room did not change much over that year, so that will have to do. Notice the large accumulation of baby crap to the right and the junk stacks to the left. All of that junk to the left along with much, much, much more is what I have been putting into totes over the last couple of months and hauling up to the attic. Someday soon I hope to write about that experience....

Do you also notice the lovely color of the walls? See I told you, not a very manly shade of purple... so it had to go!!

And here is the room now.

Obviously the room is no where near finished, which is why I have not posted pictures up until now. The stripe and the woodwork still need some touching up, if I was really ambitious I could have taken a close up picture of that... but that would require me to show off my flaws, and we really don't need that... now do we?

As of right now our last shower is scheduled for November 12th, so our plan is to put the baby's room together sometime after that. We figure waiting till all of the showers are over will let us know what we are working with and that way we will not have to move things around or take things down. I am all about doing things once and only once!! :-)

SO... look for actual nursery pictures sometime in early December. I know it seems like a long ways off... but trust me, 5 months ago I found out I was pregnant and now that seems like yesterday, so it will be here before you know it.

So...Um... Yeah...

HELLO?? Is anyone still out there?? I think I may here an echo.....

I guess if no one is there I wouldn't entirely blame you. I, myself, have been pretty much non-existent on all of your sites as well. In fact as it is I am SO far behind on reading that I may just have to scrap the idea of getting caught up and just read from this point forward. Which is really a shame because some of you have some very interesting things going on in your lives that I would love to read about.

As for me and where I have been... um... yeah... that's a good question. I'd kind of like to know the answer to that myself so let me know if you figure it out okay?

No really, I have lots of reasons for being gone but I'm not sure that any of them really add up to a "good" excuse. I can pretty much sum up my absence in one word... overwhelmed.

First and foremost work has been crazy. I really under estimated how hard it would be to keep my personal life at home. In the past I have never really had a problem with it but since I carry this little man everywhere I go, he is sort of hard to not think about. Consequently my work performance has sort of slipped.

Basically I'm behind, REALLY behind. I tried to be a hero this summer by sticking it out and being here but I wasn't really doing any chargeable work since I was so sick. So, that angered a few people because they think that if I'm not going to be doing anything I should be taking personal time instead of just spacing off. I see their point, really I do, but if I had done that I probably would have been gone for 6 weeks this summer!!

So, since I didn't really get anything done this summer I am finding these last two tax deadlines to be rather taxing. (HeHe... see I can still joke!!) My main place to blog has always been in the mornings or at lunch here at work. However, since I'm behind taking 30 minutes or an hour to do nothing but play on the internet just doesn't seem feasible.

Then there is my next issue. I'm TIRED. Like most of the time I'm just barely keeping my eyes open when I get out of here. Consequently I'm lucky if I am EVER here on time because I have so much trouble getting out of bed in the mornings. So that compounds problem number one even further.

Once I get home from here I mostly just want to sleep or relax on the couch. Last week I spent most of my evenings getting things ready so we could paint last weekend. Yes I painted, no I don't anticipate the little one to come out with 12 fingers... but I will let you know.

So, I can't blog at work, and when I get home I'm either running around trying to get things ready for the baby or I'm lying motionless on the couch. So, you ask... why not go to bed earlier. Oh... if only it were that easy. See... I don't sleep. At least not well.

My mind does not shut down until 9:00 or 10:00 at the earliest. So even though my body feels like it has been hit by a truck, my mind is still going 100 miles a minute. Then... once I do fall asleep I only get to sleep for about 2 or 3 hours before I have to get up and pee. AND... yes, I have tried limiting my intake of fluids in the evenings, it doesn't help.

So, once I get up then it is a complete crapshoot as to whether I will be able to fall back asleep or not. Sometimes it takes 5 minutes, sometimes it takes an hour or more. Oh, and did I mention that when I am asleep it's not really a restful sleep? My sleep is filled with all of these really strange dreams. Which leads me to believe that I am not getting the deep sleep that I obviously so desperately need.

Finally, lets tack on the stress. I am a highstrug person by nature and lately I have been feeling EXTREMELY overwhelmed. I feel like there is still so much to get ready for the baby and so I'm thinking about that constantly. So, I find myself thinking about that when I should be working, and then I stress about whether I'm going to make my bosses angry and they are going to fire me and people we are NOT a one income type of family right now.

Add to that all of the stress I have with Jake and I think I really need a few tranquilizers. What about Jake you say? Well, it's nothing and it is everything all in one. We are just approaching this from two very different angles. He thinks that the baby will get here and we will just fall into our lives and adjust. I on the other hand want our lives to be adjusted right now. And god damn it... I'm the pregnant one... adjust already!!

Basically it boils down to things I don't really want to happen when the baby is here. Like all night fishing trips (yes I realize the fish bite better in the later hours... no... I don't care), and drinking during the week, and the occasional smoking he does (he's in construction... EVERYONE smokes in construction), and the lying around on Sundays. I want everything to be fixed right now and he thinks that once the little one is here it will fall into place.

I don't know who is right but I do know that these same things happened before I was pregnant, so it's not that he's changed anything... it's just that I've changed how I look at them.

So... let's recap shall we?

1) I'm behind at work
2) I don't sleep and when I do it's not well
3) If I'm not too exhausted at night I'm trying to get stuff ready for the baby
4) I'm stressing myself out about LOTS of stuff

So... there you have it. That is where I've been. And this post has just taken be 30 minutes to write and I'm at work. SHIT... falling behind again... gotta go....

Mistake?

Have any of you been following or heard anything about this story?

Third preemie dies after drug mistake

I heard about this for the first time on the news last night and I can not get it out of my head. Maybe I'm just overly hormonal but this story makes me angry beyond belief. It makes me angry and it makes me terribly sad. How do you call what this hospital did a mistake?

In exchange for killing these peoples children the hospital is offering to pay for counseling and provide restitution. How do you put a monetary price on these people's little miracles?

What angers me even more is that this has happened before at this very same hospital. In 2001 they did this same thing to two other patients, their only saving grace there was that they both lived.

Now I know shutting down the hospital is probably not the answer, but SOMETHING drastic needs to happen. They are killing people's children!!

The only thing further I can think to say is that my heart aches for these families and it makes me want to keep this little man inside of me just a little while longer to know he's safe.

3 years

Isn't it amazing what a difference three years can make? Three years ago on this day I was nervously running around like a crazy woman getting makeup and hair done. Taking pictures and eventually walking down the isle to start my new life.

This year on our anniversary we have just that much more to celebrate. In just under four short months (as long as he's on time... PLEASE don't be late) we will welcome our little boy into our lives. So this year for our anniversary, even though he's not here yet, the little one wanted to give his daddy something special.

Happy Anniversary Jake!! I know that we've had our moments, but I can't think of anyone else I'd rather have those moments with!!

Future Cowboy?

And last night makes four....

Yes that's right, at one fifteen last night (or rather this morning) we once again chased livestock.

Have I mentioned to anyone that during the previous FOUR years that we have lived at this address we have not ONCE chased livestock and now since I have been pregnant we have done it four times? I have? Okay... just checking.

Last night it was cows. Lots and lots of black cows. In the dark, on a busy road. Makes for a great combination doesn't it? I awoke to hear them making a lot of noise and imagine my surprise when I looked out the window and saw a cow standing in my front yard. I believe my exact phrase was, "Holy Shit!!"

No you can no use that word, yes mommy is sorry, I'll have to do better next time.

So, at one fifteen Jake jumped out of bed and ran downstairs and I immediately called my parents. After all, they are their cows and if I have to be awake to chase them, so do they!! Of course my dad's response was, well open the gate and put them in. Gee thanks dad!!

Sorry, 2 of us 21 of them, you're going to have to get out of bed!! By the time I made it downstairs the cows were gone. I know this sounds unlikely but trust me, it's not all that hard to loose black cows in the pitch black night.

While Jake stood in the yard shining the spot light around I jumped in my jeep. He found one cow by our garage and for a minute I thought maybe I was loosing my mind and I had panicked for nothing. Did I just wake my parents up for one cow?

I drove across the street and down the lane and didn't see any more. Then I drove down towards the neighbor's house and was greeted by 20 sets of beety little eyes. These cows are not nearly as tame as the others so I wasn't entirely sure what to do. I parked across the road in an effort to sort of head them off and block anyone from flying down our road and making a cow/car sandwich.

At this point luck must have been on our side because the cows immediately turned around and started heading back towards home. (Which if you know anything about cows... NEVER happens!!) I turned around and followed in my jeep with my brights shining on them, hoping that anyone who came from the other direction would see me and slow down before they had 800 lbs of cow in their grill.

In another stroke of what I can only call pure luck they all stayed together and walked the fence row back towards our house in an orderly fashion and not ONE car came down the road while they were doing it. Once Jake realized what I was doing he quickly went to open the gate to the pasture only to discover that it was already open and that is how they escaped.

He shook a bucket of corn and then hid behind their feed bunk so they would come into the pasture. By the time my parents arrived all but one of the cows was safely back into the pasture. At this point I felt sort of bad waking them up but looking back I know if I wouldn't have called them the cows would have ended up on the highway or 3 miles away!! :-)

As it turns out, their hired man had come down to check on the cows yesterday afternoon and had apparently not gotten the gate latched properly. So when they came up last night to eat they saw an open gate and took the opportunity to explore.

Needless to say, their adventure has turned into my VERY, VERY long night!! It was around 2:00 when my parents left and close to 3:30 before I was able to fall asleep again.

Do you think maybe this boy is destined to be a cowboy?

Still Here...

I would like to apologize for my extended absence. Things here are just a little hectic and will probably continue to be so for another week. But hey... all the more time for you to gaze lovingly at my little man (oh wait... maybe that's just me that does that).

Anyhow, on Friday we have a big tax deadline so my days have been full of last minute tax returns and changes to tax returns. On Saturday Jake's dad got married, so all last week we spent our evenings preparing for that and then all weekend we had company and wedding stuff going on.

As for the rest of this week, I will be trying to finish about 5 different returns and in the evenings there is lots of family stuff since his sister is leaving on Friday. AND... somewhere in all of that we need to pick a theme for the little man's room so that we can paint (hopefully next weekend and not this weekend!!)

SO... rest assured we are all alive, just VERY, VERY busy!!

Ultrasound Friday

This morning we had our 20 week ultrasound. They are not common practice in our doctors office but since we wanted one they obliged. They also told me today that they are going to try to get the insurance company to pay for it, since I'm not gaining any weight, so that would be a double bonus.

Luckily they got us right in at 8:00 and as soon as she put the ultrasound wand to my stomach my eyes started to tear up. I think I cried for the entire 20 minutes that they baby was on the screen. First they started up at the head and starting measuring to make sure everything was the right size and shape.

What? What's that? You're glad that everything looked great but tell you the sex already? Well Geez... just for that.... maybe I won't tell you at all!!

Let's see... Profile picture #1. The head is at the bottom left and the legs are tucked up top to the right.

Profile Picture #2... much the same as #1
Would you stop scrolling down madly. I will tell you when I get around to it!! You're as bad as Jake!!

Is that the boy parts?
No sir that's the cord.
What about that? Is that boy parts?
No sir... still the cord. I'll let you know when we get there...

Here's the face. The head is in the upper left and the one hand is by his head. The body is diagonally down to the right and if you look really close you can see the ribs.
This is supposed to be another picture of the face, but I think it just sort of looks like an alien baby.

The baby did not feel the need to cooperate with this woman's measurements this morning and kept moving all over. At one point the baby was practically standing on its head.

Here are the feet. Yes, that is two feet. The one on the left is a side view of a foot and the one on the right is the bottom of the other foot.

And this sir...

Yes, THAT would be the boy parts!!

So... we are having a wonderful, adorable, little boy!! Whom I'm pretty convinced is practically perfect in every way!! (But I might be a little biased!!)

We got to see him moving all over and we got to see his feet, and his frog legs and his heart just a beating away. 158 beats per minute this morning. We also got to see him swallow and wave his arms around!! I am just smitten!! I'm overwhelmed with emotion right now as I never knew I could love some one SOO much whom I have never met!!

Today, is DEFINITELY a good day!!

Is the world ending?

This morning on the way in I passed three gas stations selling gas for $2.35 per gallon. (well technically 2.36.. why is everything 2.359, 2.589??? Do they think we don't notice the 9/10 of a cent??)

Anyhow, since I filled up on Saturday when it was 2.49 and I thought that was a good deal a 15 cent drop in one week makes me think something is up.

Is an asteroid headed for the earth and no one has told me yet?

And the OCD sets in....

My morning....

Up at 5:52 to pee. No, I can't wait any longer, yes I know my alarm goes off in less than 1/2 an hour. Yes, this pisses me off...

Alarm goes off at 6:21, hit snooze (I was just out of bed after all...)

Alarm goes off at 6:30, hit snooze

Alarm goes off at 6:39, hit snooze

6:42, alright... I'm getting up already. Stumble down stairs. Undress, weigh self, notice that I have gained a pound. Ponder whether I am okay with this as I get in the shower....

Turn on the water, pull lever to move water to pull down shower head, attempt to drown the gnat, then the other gnat, oh yeah... and that one over there too. (Where the hell did all these little winged creatures come from?)

Put shower head back in holder, begin to wash hair when I notice a moth on the back wall. Ponder for a few seconds whether I am okay with this. Decide I am not as it starts to crawl towards me... attempt to drown the moth.

7:02... finally make it out of the shower, 3 out of 4 bugs successfully annihilated. Head upstairs. While picking out clothes notice that Jake has left a glass and a container from his frozen dinner on the headboard. Pretty sure I'm not okay with this. Decide to empty dishwasher and then come back for them.

Head downstairs. While applying toner and moisturizer to my face solve problem at work. So that account is used for this... and that's why we don't make an adjustment... Ahhh...

Head to kitchen. Get distracted by grocery sacks lying on floor from grocery trip on Saturday. Put away remaining groceries husband promised to put away and has obviously not gotten to. Grab plastic sack to put pop cans in that I had rinsed out. Begin to rinse out the rest of the pop & beer cans that are sitting on the table.

7:20 Jake gets out of the shower. "So what have you accomplished this morning?"

Receive stare of death as he, in his half awake condition, shoves food into a sack for lunch.

7:25.. start emptying dishwasher as Jake enters our ONE bathroom. (Yes, there may have to be a port-a-potty invested in come November or so!!)

7:30... Jake... I need to go to work.... he exits bathroom as I begin to make my lunch. Pack lunch then head to bathroom to curl bangs. Remember that I need to grab my computer, head to living room to get computer. Shut off TV, shut off lamp, feed fish, grab pizza box off of stove to take outside and throw away.

Remember that I didn't brush my teeth. Put computer down, brush teeth, feed other fish, remember that the glass and plastic container are still upstairs on the headboard. Fight HUGE urge to go upstairs and get them as it is now 7:40 and I will be late enough as it is.

Grab lunch, keys, computer, and pizza box. Slip on shoes and notice that there is a cupboard in the kitchen that did not get shut. Head into kitchen, shut cupboard and head to car.

So, how was your morning?

Luxury or Necessity?

The following is an e-mail conversation I had with a friend on Monday:

"So, how was shopping on Saturday?"

"Well, I ended up spending $150 on Saturday. But I bought a lot for that (I think). I bought: 1 pair of Tommy capri’s, 1 pair of Tommy shorts, 1 pair of Jones New York capri’s, 1 long sleeve zip up, 1 pair of jean capri’s, 2 jean skirts: one long and one short, 1 pair of khaki pants, 1 plain red shirt, and some gap khaki shorts for my husband. I think I am going to go back and buy these khaki capri’s that I saw but didn’t buy. I am pretty happy with my buy’s. I bought a purse a couple of weeks ago and then I decided I just didn’t need it so I returned it and decided I needed all of these clothes instead and I even had over $100.00 left over."

Gasping for air and almost falling out of my chair....

"YOU SPENT OVER $250 ON A PURSE???"

"The one I am carrying right now is a $250+ purse and you went bonkers when I bought it too. You think I am bad, my mom is carrying a Louis Vuitton that was $1000 and no I didn’t accidentally add one to many zero’s. The only up side to that is my uncle bought it for her as a gift because he knows that she has wanted one for a long time. My husband spends an assload on his golf clubs and golf and his truck accessories so my thing is purses. Besides, I don’t spend money on things that most woman do, like salon visits or manicure’s and pedicure’s and my vehicle is paid off. $250.00 isn’t even a car payment. I told you I am a purse snob! You can’t say that you weren’t warned."

"Dear lord... you are giving me heart palpations just thinking about it!!!"

"Oh come on! I am sure that you have let Jake spend that kind of money on something similar because I know that you wouldn’t! Well maybe you would for 50 movies or something."

"Jake has spent that kind of money on two things. A gun and a bow and arrow. ONE time purchases. Not re-occurring like you need a purse every year type of things. I think once... a long time ago... my mom bought me a purse for $70 and I about shit a brick...

This one I think I got for $30 or $40 and I thought that was EXPENSIVE!! I need a new one... but I just can't justify it..."

"Well deary guns and bows are not always so “one time purchases” they break, or get lost/stolen, and they need all of these accessories to make them work. I spend a little more on a purse and it could last me years. Although it never does because I am sick of it way before then.

I don’t think that I spend money foolishly on things I see my friends spending money on. I don’t have hobbies or other expensive likings so I justify it. Although I am becoming a Pottery Barn snob too."

So, in the effort of fairness, I went back and looked. I did a search for everything that we have spent more than $200 on in the last 4 years. (Yes, I'm a geek and I have all of my finances in Quickbooks. It comes in handy for situations like this!! :-)

A Lawn Mower.... Um... not thinking that counts....

Movies... see... she was right about the movies. Although I bought about 50 movies last Christmas, so individually... not even close to the $200 mark

Jake's Bow...

Jake's Gun...

Power Tools...

Jake's Scent Blocker Suit...

Shall I continue?? I'm back to 2004... I know, we are boring people...

So, what is your weakness? (Or are you cheap like me?) Designer Shoes? Name brand clothing? Expensive toys (that would be Jake's)? French perfume?

Mine? I pay $100 every year for a new pair of tennis shoes. Living dangerously aren't I?

Old McDonald... I am not...

I have come to the regrettable decision that I am just not cut out to be a farmer. In fact, I fear for the safety of livestock were they to permanently live at my house. Why is this you ask?

Last night I got up at 12:45 and I could hear the cows making all kinds of noise. Wanting to avoid a repeat roundup situation I slipped on my sandals and traipsed outside to see what the problem was.

You want to know what the problem was?

Huh?

Huh?

Do ya?

Well join the club because I'm still wondering the same damn thing!! All that tromping through wet grass at 1:00 in the morning and the only thing I could find was a bunch of cows screaming at each other from different sides of the fence.

Makes you want to throw objects at their heads doesn't it?? (See, I told you I would fear for their safety!)

So back inside I went to remove my wet socks and stumble through our darkened bedroom trying not to wake up Jake in my quest for new, dry socks all the while cursing those stupid cows and their stupid noise making.

This morning when I got up there were still four or five of them standing on the feeder cow side of the fence bawling at the other cows. So, I counted. All 14 that belong with the bull are with him. So, best I can figure these feeder cows are in heat and were calling to the bull for some sweet midnight loving. (Crap... family site... kids, that just means.. well hell.. I don't know, ask your parents!!)

Speaking of parents, hey Mom & Dad, you can come get your #$^& cows now!!

Skywalk ramblings...

When I got into work today after my doctor's appointment (I'll post about it on the baby's site..) I rode down in the elevator with some woman. She seemed normal enough when I got into the elevator. Here's the conversation that followed...

"Hi, how are you today?"

"Good"

"So how did you decide to wear that heart necklace today?"

Noticing that she is also wearing a heart necklace it seems like a normal enough question, "I have warn it every day for 10 years. My husband gave it to me."

"Oh really. So, are you from Iowa."

"Yes."

"Is your husband from Iowa?"

"Yes"

"So, does he beat you?"

What?? Huh?? Did I just hear her right?? "Um... no."

"Oh really, because I've noticed that there seems to be a trend of violence among Iowa men."

"Well, I guess that depends on where you are in the state. We do have some hicks here..."

"No, I think it's pretty much all men here. So how did you get so lucky not to have yours beat you in 10 years."

Thinking maybe I can just joke with her to lighten the mood I try out this line, "Well, I started early. Beat some sense into him starting when he was 15."

She didn't laugh. I think she thought I was serious. "And he didn't beat you back?"

"Um... no." By this point I was beginning to be very uncomfortable. I just wanted to get away from her but she kept walking right beside me.

"Well you must have gotten really lucky. I've just been really un-impressed with the quality of Iowa men. They seem to all be very violent here. Maybe it's your culture."

"Um... maybe."

By this point maybe she got the hint that I didn't really want to talk to her so she started to speed up. As she walked away this was her parting comment, "Well, have a nice day. Good luck not getting beaten by your Iowa husband!!"

As soon as she was out of earshot I called my friend Katie. "So did you say anything back to her."

"I couldn't. She was OBVIOUSLY crazy. I was afraid if I angered her she would attack me!!"

So.... how was your morning??

What is the strangest random comment or conversation you have ever had from a total stranger?