The Moores in Florida

Unemployment - Day 2 (actual)

2012-01-21T15:20:00.000-05:00

Finding being home by myself isolating and lonely. I realized going work was actually quite social, hearing about weekends, milestones in children's lives, and then being cut off from everyone and everything. Wandered around a lot in the morning and found myself talking out loud to Bailey (the dog). Finally around noon-ish I settled on cleaning K's room. Took two hours of de-whatever that is in a teenager's room but was quite satisfying once completed. Weekend is here so - PEOPLE!!

Unemployment - Day 2

2012-01-20T08:52:00.000-05:00

So having been laid off my job of over five years, today is Day 2 of unemployment. Day 1 (obviously yesterday) was a little hard to explain. I slept in until 7:00 (a full 45 minutes later than a workday) then I seem to roam around the house. Doing nothing. Looking at stuff kind of like I'd never seen it before. I sat on a bench in the backyard for a while watching the dogs. Then i decided I should actually "do something". I dusted the living room and then grabbed the vacuum. This was when I decided I needed sweatpants. If I was going to hang around the house I needed something to wear and wearing my nightie all day made me look, well, unproductive. I headed off with hot little Kohl's credit card in search of sweatpants. I found out that NOBODY is shopping at 1:30-ish in the afternoon. The store is ghost town. Meandered around there for a while - bought the pants, a shirt for Kyle, a new nightie (on sale of course) and new shoes (oops). I did try to do my "making the meals since I'm home thing" which was only a 50% failure - or 50% success. I did baked, from scratch mac and cheese but that's all. Dinner is...this side dish. Baby steps...baby steps...
Okay here comes day 2.

Happy Sunday

2011-01-09T10:10:00.000-05:00

I kind of feel like this today.

Postings

2011-01-06T20:30:00.000-05:00

This blog site has a feature that, when I post, it sends you an email usually with the whole blog in it. I am going to disable this feature (after this post) for a variety of reasons, but one being that blog comments are going into my email instead of being posted as comments on the blog. At the blog site you can "subscribe to posts" which will notify you of postings instead. (Credit: my cool friend Becky).
In the meantime, you can awwwwww over this kitten.

Orange You Glad

2011-01-06T17:35:00.000-05:00

Okay - an orange gator! I thought the pink dolphin was something, but now an ORANGE gator. Someone snapped this pic of it sunning itself. They don't know if it's albino or something in the environment changed its color, but it's ORANGE.

Ridding the House of Christmas

2011-01-01T12:28:00.000-05:00

Since it is the first Christmas in the new house, it seemed like such a fabulous idea to really decorate it up! Three trees! The big one in the living room, a little one in the doorway and a medium one in the dining room. Christmas "stuff" everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE. You know what sucks? Taking it all down. Putting it away so it doesn't break. There is always more to put away than when you started. It's brutal. Someone should start a service where they come to your house and rid it of everything Christmas while you are out at lunch. I'd so pay for that.

Happy New Year's Eve

2010-12-31T11:03:00.002-05:00

Be safe - it's New Year's Eve aka Amateur Night. I have a crockpot with a cornbeef brisket cookin' and pumper/rye combo bread (with Swiss) for heavenly sandwiches tonight. It has definitely warmed up here, we have five nights of a hard freeze but are expecting 70+ degree weather so it will be perfect to de-Christmas-ize the house. It's going to look BARE with this stuff all gets packed away.
Where ever you may be celebrating I send you love and well wishes for 2011.
xoxoxo

2011 - Back to Bloggin'

2010-12-30T09:49:00.001-05:00

I've decided for 2011 I should go back to Blogging. More adventures with the new house, more company comes over, more fun happens, not to mention the new digital/video camera! Okay.. I'm back on the 1st!!

The Weather in Jacksonville

2008-08-22T16:19:00.000-05:00

Random People

2008-08-13T09:51:00.000-05:00

Who is this you ask? No idea. We were sitting at a table at an outside bar on Duval Street and this gal literally "fell into the bar" ::man down!:: She let me take her picture as the "drunkest girl I saw on vacation". so there you go. Am I going to need a lawyer?

He Banked

2008-08-13T09:47:00.000-05:00

This guy sat on different corners every night and told "Dirty Jokes for $1.00 and Up" because he "needed beer money". See all the bills in his hand? Trust me.. he banked.

The Perfect Sunset Picture

2008-08-12T15:19:00.001-05:00

Taken by Me!

We're Back - Here's some pics!!

2008-08-12T15:14:00.003-05:00

See Ya Soon!

2008-07-25T22:08:00.002-05:00

Gone for While!!

Waited to Long For Service

2008-07-21T08:07:00.001-05:00

Brilliant - who hasn't been tempted to do this! Love the underline in mustard.

Where Are The Dogs Humping.com

Scratching my head

2008-07-17T21:25:00.002-05:00

So I was watching Larry King the other night ::ahem:: (nothing on) and it was on UFO's. Some woman from Canada called in (bless her heart, love Canada!) and her question to the panelists of UFO hunters/searchers was "So if UFO's are time travelling to come back and warn us of our mistakes, and they are from the future, how could you ever contact them?"

Love that question.

The Birthday Cake

2008-07-17T14:54:00.005-05:00

So my boss is one of those women that LOVES LOVES LOVES shoes and she LOVES LOVES LOVES the animal print pattern stuff. So.. this is the birtday cake that I had made for her.

Oh Boy....

2008-07-14T12:14:00.002-05:00

These are from Lindsey Lohan's clothing line. Leggings... with kneepads... and they cost $132.00. Insert your own comments.....

2008-07-11T07:51:00.000-05:00

Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.

Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you've got anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

July 5th

2008-07-07T07:55:00.003-05:00

So my favorite dinner is Japanese food where they cook in front of you. This was birthday night.

Warren wasn't thrilled with the strangers at our table. I think he was hoping for better conversation than "Hi, I mowed my lawn today, I haven't done it in three weeks". He decided to just pay attention to me.. my sweetie.

July 4th

2008-07-07T07:46:00.005-05:00

Steve, Heather, Catherine and little Joey.

Captain B

We were back on the Chisholm's beautiful boat where we went out on the water to see the fireworks. What fun we had! These pics below are from where Steve's friend rafted to the big boat to join us for the fireworks show. They were all trying to figure out how to work it with the tide so it didn't hit the Captain B's boat and I was the helpful one with the flash camera :)

Sandy Hickey

2008-07-07T07:42:00.002-05:00

Our friend Sandy came for a short visit. We love you Sandy!

Our Boy

2008-07-03T11:00:00.002-05:00

Kyle at the Hawaiian themed year end dance at school.

July 1st!

2008-07-01T07:36:00.003-05:00

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Fabulous!!

2008-06-30T12:14:00.003-05:00

Okay - this I totally LOVE!! It's a beer koozie and I think it should be on every beer I ever drink!

http://www.tackyfabulous.com (all things tacky in Orlando, great site)

Tissues

2008-06-24T07:56:00.004-05:00

So black tissues from Japan.
Remember when tissues and toilet paper came in all different colors, or am I the only one that remembers that? You could get toilet paper in blue, pink, patterns...
Then they decided that the blue dye #765 or whatever it was just wasn't very good for.. well.. our privates and then.. just white.
I think black tissues may rule though - except if you litter with them, then they will all be laying around and it will looked like the flue was closed on the fireplace when you were burning the Christmas wrap.

Black tissues pic from: cribcandy.com

2008-06-23T15:24:00.002-05:00

Did you know that if a Red Sharpie pen explodes in your dryer and gets all over your clothes that if you spray hairspray on the ink stains and soak it in hot water with a knock-off, generic Oxyclean that the ink comes out? Yep! I learned this on Sunday (laundry day). Did you also know that when you open the dryer and see the exploded Red Sharpie pen that you say really bad words out loud?

Look What I Saw!

2008-06-16T14:17:00.002-05:00

Click on picture for larger view.

Weekend Fun!

2008-06-16T14:04:00.003-05:00

What a Great Weekend!!

Steve & Chrystal

Captain B is up there!

Brave Kyle jumping from the top!

My Honey

Sailboat for Sale

2008-06-16T09:33:00.004-05:00

CLICK ON PHOTO FOR LARGER VIEW

2008-06-10T11:20:00.000-05:00

marriedtothesea.com

Rhianna's 2nd Birthday

2008-06-10T09:31:00.000-05:00

How Cute are They?

2008-06-09T13:32:00.001-05:00

Vicki Update (Again)

2008-06-07T20:46:00.003-05:00

So Miss Vicki had her surgery yesterday and it was a great success!! She's doing fantastic and she will probably be home by Tuesday. Thanks for the prayers everyone!
Today was Rheanna's birthday (2 years old now!) and we took her to Chuck E Cheese with Vicki's friend Amy. We LOVE Amy - she's going to be a life long friend, you can totally see why Vicki loves her so much. Amy - you are a fantastic person, thanks for being you!

Well 9:45 and we're bbqing so talk to y'all soon!

People

2008-06-06T09:09:00.003-05:00

Here's some of our JAX Friends...

I Hate To Say I Told Ya So But...

2008-06-06T09:03:00.003-05:00

Okay, so everyone knows how I feel about the elephants and the circus (let's not even get into the CLOWNS). I don't believe that a travelling circus should EVER have elephants. They are too big, they are transported in a small space of which they are in for way too long. It's also not normal to ZAP an elephant to force it to do something as unnatural as standing on his hind legs.

So, saw this story on MSN about how a hurricane blew through Kansas and the circus elephants got free and were wandering around. Can you blame them for bolting? Run! Run!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24989743

WHOA!!!

2008-06-06T08:58:00.002-05:00

MSN says that TODAY - YES TODAY - Is National Doughnut Day!!
Man, and I thought Hallmark had a card for EVERYTHING.

Okay - send me doughnuts because I'm wasting away to a ton....

Make Your Bets!

2008-06-06T08:55:00.004-05:00

Kyle thinks that a 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. skate-a-thon will be easy and fun.

Shall we all take bets as to what time he calls to get picked up?

I'm down for 2:15 a.m. Anyone?

Saturday morning update: Six bells - he called at 6:00 a.m. Guess who is asleep right now?

More Funny Natalie Dee

2008-06-05T09:05:00.002-05:00

My New Laugh Hero

2008-06-05T09:02:00.002-05:00

Natalie Dee makes me laugh so hard! She's my new laugh hero.

http://www.nataliedee.com/

Funny Girl!

Vicki Update

2008-06-04T21:18:00.002-05:00

So visited Vicki tonight at the hospital. She still is waiting for a date and time for her surgery. I think, although it's a hard way to realize, that she knows how many of us love her and her spirit. I can't begin to express what an incredible person that she is - she is loving, warming, and kind to her soul. We feel blessed to even know her. We have all rallied around her - because we love her. I met her mother today as well as her best friend Amy. Both are such wonderful people - love attracts love and that is what Vicki has in her life. Vicki talks all the time about her friend "Amy" and when we met her tonight and it was like we had known her for years. Please continue to pray and think positive thoughts for our friend. Heart surgery is so serious but we know that God is taking extra good care of our friend. Godspeed Vicki - we're all here for you honey.

JAX Sunset

2008-06-04T07:05:00.000-05:00

Jacksonville sunsets are soooo pretty.

Equal Time

2008-06-04T07:02:00.001-05:00

Edgar found out that Clawdia was on the blog so he demanded equal time. Here's Edgar..............

Ice Cubes in the Drinking Water

2008-06-03T16:14:00.001-05:00

This is our cat Clawdia - she can't figure out what ice cubes are. She did this until they melted, making it even more confusing. Stupid cat.

Kyle Graduates!!

2008-06-03T15:55:00.001-05:00

Kyle Graduated Sixth Grade!

He's off to JUNIOR HIGH!

Congratulations Son, we're proud of you!

Get Well Soon Vicki!!

2008-06-03T15:52:00.006-05:00

Our Sweet and Dear Friend Vicki has had a heart attack. She is scheduled for surgery tomorrow. Please keep her in your hearts and prayers as there is no sweeter, gentle, caring soul on this earth as her. We love you Vicki!

The BB Gun

2008-06-03T15:50:00.002-05:00

The patch on Kyle's eye after being hit in the eye with a BB gun.

Kyle's Sidewalk/Driveway Art

2008-06-03T15:46:00.003-05:00

Kyle's Chalk Drawing on the Driveway.

Some of my favorite things in random order

2008-04-29T09:35:00.002-05:00

Kyle giggling
Warren dancing when there is no music
Edgar
My sisters
Chocolate milkshakes
Judy making that cat noise - when a cat sees a bird outside
White roses
Bras that fit
The bacon at Cracker Barrell
Caesars
Good hair days
Tom collins with Tanqueray gin
My Harvard hoodie
The New Adventures of Old Christine

KT Found

2008-04-22T21:29:00.003-05:00

Phew!

KT Call Home

2008-04-22T14:21:00.005-05:00

We are looking for our friend Katherine "Kate" Tomlinson ("KT"). She was last seen in Regina, Saskatchewan and at the time of this writing she has been missing for one week. Regina Police found her daytimer in a hotel room. Katherine Tomlinson - if you see your name here - or if you have heard from her please, please call your friends or your sister in Ottawa.

katherine tomlinson, calgary, regina, saskatchewan, missing, kate tomlinson, KT, truck, tomlinson, kate, kt katherine, tomlinson, KT Tomlinson, missing, missing woman, kate tomlinson, find KT, find Kate, where's Katherine

Congrats to Mark!

2008-04-22T14:19:00.001-05:00

Warren's best friend, Mark, just won $20,000 in the lottery. Congratulations Mark, go do something nice for yourself!

The Joys of Renting

2008-04-06T21:55:00.002-05:00

So we rent our townhome. Kyle has lots of friends, is close to the school and we know all our neighbors. Never had any intention of moving until we could find the house with the pool. Every month we send our big ole rent check to our landlord so he has it by the 1st. Imagine our surprise when, this week, we got notice that the townhome is going into foreclosure. Mr. Landlord took our rent money and, well..didn't pay the mortage with it we know that for sure. No word from the bank yet on when we have to bounce. There's another one across the way that we may move into so it doesn't distrupt Kyle's life (again). Poor kid has moved too much.
Universal message to landlords - let your tenants know if there is a possibility of the Sheriff bolting the doors closed. Thank you.

Check it Out

2008-04-06T21:51:00.000-05:00

Because you should check this out

Eye Update

2008-04-06T21:38:00.004-05:00

Kyle's eye is back to normal. After sleeping at 60 degrees, wearing a metal patch for most of spring break - he can see out of it and it's clear and looks fine. We were truly blessed.

Mama's are always right... it's all fun til someone loses an eye.

BB Guns!

2008-03-30T17:40:00.004-05:00

This is a BB gun. NO CHILD should OWN A BB gun.

On Wednesday, my child Kyle was shot in the left eye by one of his friends with a BB gun. Only by the grace of God did he not lose his eye, he was lucky - many children are not. There is never a need to arm your child with a BB gun or Air Gun. This friend's mother told me "he is never allowed to use his BB guns (yes gunS) without me around." When my son was hit, she was at work.

BB Guns are NOT good toys for children.

Things That Happen After 4:20?

2007-08-06T08:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this woman in Annapolis, MD claimed to the police that she was sexually assaulted. Police suspected that "something was wrong with her story" and that the claim was unfounded. But - when they were interviewing her they saw that pieces of fudge kept spilling out of her pockets. Police head over to "Uncle Bob's Fudge Kitchen" and found the door open and shelves ransacked. Apparently while stealing the fudge, she'd take a bite and if she didn't like it she'd throw it on the floor, if she did like it she shoved it in her pockets. She ended up going into the bathroom of the police station and tried to flush a bunch of the stolen fudge down the toilet - which resulted in clogging it.

Fudge.... yepper...fudge...

August!

2007-08-04T07:51:00.000-05:00

I know - LONG LONG TIME!! But let's move on...

Freaky things in Florida I tell you. I think that strange people (not including us of course) move to Freakville because they think they should. Check out this story:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/13812785/detail.html - toads and lizards and parakeets, oh my. Now how does that scenario even come up in a conversation? "Let's go honey, grab a lizard first".
16 days until school is back in - but who's counting...

2007-05-29T20:37:00.001-05:00

I'll be back.

I'm Baaaaack

2007-04-15T15:45:00.000-05:00

Sooo long since my last post! My apologizes - hope I didn't lose you. Things have been so hectic here it's been hard to take a breath. We are having beautiful Florida weather right now (sorry to all y'all that have SNOW). Yesterday we spent the day at the beach for the first time since we moved here. What a nice beach! We had a great time, saw some beach volleyball teams that were on tour and now suffering from extreme sunburn. Yep, sunburn in April!

This week Kyle stars as the lead in his school play "The Emperor's New Clothes" - showing Thursday and Friday night this week. I'll try to take lots of pictures. Reality hit of the work he has put into it when I dropped in to Wynn Dixie earlier today and saw a big poster for the play on the front window of the store. Guess we need to really rehearse some lines this week! Kyle is the "king" and we ordered him a super cute king costume on line. Hey - where does one shop for a "COSTUME" when it's not Halloween - why on line of course!

Well have a good week! Watch for "play photos" soon!
xoxo

Don't Drop the Soap!

2007-03-18T08:47:00.000-05:00

NORTHWEST FLORIDA BUSINESSMAN SENTENCED TOFOUR YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR TAX FRAUD

Pensacola, Florida - Gregory R. Miller, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced that Roy P. Snowden was sentenced today on conviction for five counts of Evasion of Payment of Income Taxes and one count of Conspiracy to Defraud the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Snowden admitted during his November 2006 plea hearing that he was a businessman engaged in a variety of marketing and investment-type ventures, including a magazine distribution business. He had most recently been manufacturing and selling “Java Jo’z” drive-thru coffee businesses. The indictment and factual basis for pleas further proved that his wife was named president and director of the Ft. Walton Beach business, though the indictment alleges she had little to do with its operation.
Snowden admitted that he failed to file accurate and timely income tax returns from 1992 through 1997, and was subsequently assessed taxes by the IRS. After the tax assessment, Snowden admitted he transferred businesses and placed assets in others’ names, and created corporate entities which he used in part to transfer and hold money and property out of the reach of the IRS.
Senior United States District Judge Lacey A. Collier sentenced Snowden to 48 months (four years) imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and to pay a special monetary assessment of $100 per count of conviction. Judge Collier further ordered Snowden to pay $1.16 million restitution to the IRS. To date, Snowden has already paid over $900,000 of that restitution to the IRS.
The investigation was conducted by IRS Criminal Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle M. Heldmyer.

Our Bennegan's Experience

2007-02-17T21:17:00.000-05:00

So very rarely do we ever go out for dinner on a Saturday night but we made this "family date" to go out tonight. We decided on Bennigan's, which is close the house. We arrived at 6:45 p.m. and waited 20 minutes, even though we could see empty tables in there. After being seated the gal we thought that might be our waitress unfortunately had that disease where she couldn't see new people at one of her tables looking at menus. We finally after another 15 minutes or so flag down this waiter and he says "oh, you're not my table I'll tell your girl". It was the girl with the eye disease that somehow couldn't see us! So I order a glass of red wine, W a cocktail, and K orders a rootbeer float. Oops, sorry, there's no rootbeer - even though it's on the menu. He gets the "Pepsi float" which consisted of a Pepsi with a blob of ice cream steaming down the glass. Get this, our appetizer platter arrived BEFORE our drinks. That's right, 20 minutes later she brings me a glass of wine in a brandy snifter! And there was about as much wine in there as if it were brandy in there. I said "this isn't a full glass of wine" - but waited that long and needed a drink by now! Why no wine glass you ask? They were "dirty"! ::what?:::(By the way, when my next one came in a wine glass I poured it into the snifter to see the level, I was served a 1/4 of a glass of wine. Then the meal. Since K ordered mini burgers and we ordered this huge appetizer platter we decided to share the steak and shrimp platter. It comes with a baked potato but we substituted french fries since we were sharing. The expeditor throws it on our table. A plate, with a steak and some shrimp. No potato, no fries, no steak knife, no extra plate.. just this lonely platter. Waitress finally meanders by and says "oh, no steak knifes. Comes back, sorry they are dirty too, no steak knives. How about some A-1 W asks.. she comes back, sorry we're out of A-1. She gives us the bill as says we took 10% off because of the A-1. BECAUSE OF THE A-1!?! They deducted $3.25 from our bill! The manager authorizes this HUGE discount but never looks us in the eye as she passes our table a kajillion times. As we are getting up to leave some guy is yelling at the waitress out loud about how they are staying and how bad it was and what a bitch the manager was. We just kept nodding and telling people waiting - while our section was near empty.. run while you can..run.. Bad Bennegans..never again!

Update: Bennagans called us then sent us a gift certificate for $40. Todate: still unused.

The Circus - Part Deux

2007-01-23T06:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, we went to the circus. My kid loved it. I'm still mortified that they use elephants - huge, gigantic animals forced to stand with all four legs on small round stands, forced to jump onto their hind legs - I still think it's wrong. I think the tigers are wrong too. They were all hissing and swatting at the guy with the "whip" and half way through I swear I was rooting for the tigers to just swat the guy a good one. The little dogs (poodles and such) were cute. The elephants play quite a small part - one little bit where they make them do ridiculous things and then mostly people riding/parading them around - why don't they just eliminate them from the show? It's just wrong. We actually had to cross a picket line of people who felt this exact way. I'm weak..had to go in anyways. Ahh the things we do for our children. I freely admit I'm a hypocrite on this one. Never again will I go...I promise.
I'm not even gonna mention clowns....

The Circus

2007-01-19T20:02:00.000-05:00

So tomorrow we are going to the CIRCUS. Yep, I actually agreed to go to the circus! My fear of clowns should be in overdrive but I was convinced my son needs to see the circus. It should be quite the day. I'll let you know how it goes.

A New Day

2007-01-19T14:20:00.000-05:00

Today is a new day. Let's all breathe and go about our business and let the chips fall where they may.

Let's everyone do a random act of kindness and get on with life.

January 1st, 2007

2007-01-01T20:13:00.000-05:00

Wow, gotta get used to writing 2007, it's a funky reach with the finger on the keyboard.
So, six days after Christmas as we have already suffered from new toy boredom. That's right, all the cool stuff that was under the tree and all had to be opened and played with that very day, is stacked, tossed, shoved, and ignored now. :sigh: Next year it's underwear and socks, lots and lots of underwear and socks, and may a shirt.... yea a shirt or two.. and maybe pants. Every gift will feel like the dreaded clothes gift...... Got just under a year to plot........

Happy New Year

2006-12-31T12:54:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to you all! May 2007 be your best year yet. Just say no to resolutions, have the cupcake, wear your comfortable shoes, and sing along to that song!

http://www.thenumbersmovie.com/

2006-12-24T09:03:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

WHOA

2006-12-16T12:21:00.000-05:00

Where does the time go? Totally ashamed of myself that my last post is December 2nd and today is already the 13th, no 14th, no 15, NO 16th!! ARGH. Okay, so the tree is up, the outside lights make our new place Christmas-beautiful and I guess you'd say 95% of the shopping is complete. The reason I say 95% because..well.. you never seem done. For some reason there is always something that makes you go out and brave the crowds again. Not to mention that Kyle's birthday is on Wednesday the 20th which brings a whole new set of plans and problems.

Nice experience at Publix today (the grocery store) where I bought a bag of Idaho potatoes that were on sale - just grabbed a bag and threw it into the cart. I had walked away for a minute while they were scanning and bagging and the bag-boy comes up to me with the bag of potatoes in a grocery bag and says "smell this". Well, after all these years I know better! I could have kicked myself! I know better than when someone says "smell this" YOU DON'T. UGH I still can't get that smell of rotten potatoes out of my mind. He, on the other hand, had a pretty hardy laugh when I said "I even know better than to smell something that someone says smell this" (not to mention the sour look on his face).

One thing that surprises me here in Jax is how nice most of the people are. Everywhere else I have lived this time of year shopping brings out the nasty in people. You know them - the grumby people that are sighing and rolling their eyes and have nasty-icky all of their faces..
This morning I encountered the nicest, most pleasant people ever. They smiled, they apologized for being in the way, they said "excuse me", it was nice and quite the surprise. I remember when we lived in Vegas and it was the polar opposite this time of year. Jax people are quite nice I must say.

Okay, off to wrap. Kyle is at the skatepark so gotta grab the opportunity when I can! Cheers all and happy shopping and stuff...

Congrats to My Cool Friend Becky

2006-12-02T17:19:00.000-05:00

My cool friend Becky (in my blog links) completed NaBloPoMo (aka National Blog Posting Month) wherein she had to post EVERYDAY in the month of November. Now those of you who post blogs know just how darn hard that is to find something every single day to post about. Well, Becky did it. I cheered her on from afar and, when time allowed, sent off an email or two telling her how great she was doing. Now that December is here, she can breath and know the pressure is off for another year BUT GIRL... WAY TO GO!!! You "blog rock" my dear.

Giving Thanks

2006-11-26T05:44:00.000-05:00

So Thursday was Thanksgiving here (my Canadian friends and family celebrate Thanksgiving the second Monday in October). We, of course, give thanks to all the stuff we should - family, friends, health blah blah but on this post I would like to thank the hillbilly woman at Wal-Mart who found it necessary to walk past me and COUGH RIGHT IN MY FACE. Thanks! I've been sick as a dog for almost six days now and did a 3 hour wait at the walk-in clinic to get meds. It was like I could see myself inhaling her germs! I'd post more..BUT I'M TOO SICK.

November brrrrrrr

2006-11-12T20:45:00.000-05:00

So I think that we have lost sight of COLD. Having been in the South for about 12 years now I can truly say I'm cold when it's 65 degrees out. I remember chinook days in Canada where 65 was WARM AND NICE! We grab the hoodies and move from barefeet to warm fuzzy slippers. When Kyle was playing ball a week ago we actually turned the heat on in the car on the way home! I know, I know...we've become WEATHER SOFT. Anyways, if it's snowing where you are - I'm sorry. It's still a little warm and my windows are open and hoping for a cooler breeze for sleeping tonight.

This Week :phew:

2006-11-11T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hell week in Florida...but... it was my sister LAUREN'S birthday this week. In case you didn't know - the sun actually DOES rise and shine for her.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LAUREN, WE LOVE YOU!

!!

2006-11-02T13:10:00.001-05:00

Sunday

2006-10-22T17:56:00.000-05:00

Well it has been quite the week in Florida. Firstly, our weather is bizarre. Started to get a little cooler (low 70's) which was soooo nice..then it spiked back up to 90. Some mornings it was so humid that the steam coming out of the car a/c seemed like smoke and you glasses would fog up the minute you stepped outside. It's suppose to get "more reasonable" this week - we'll see.
I went from temporary to permanent a my job 45 days early which is great. My "official" first day is Monday (tomorrow) where I get my "badge" and they take that geek picture that they send out to everyone and their brother in email. Feel real bad about making fun of those people now!
Kyle is playing lots and lots of baseball and is getting better each game. He's more confident and yesteday's game he even pitched an inning and stuck a guy out! Way to go Kyle! Today he's gone fishing with his friends.
Halloween is coming up and, once again, he wants to be something REALLY REALLY scary. I think it's to make up for those ever-so-cute costumes I put him in when he was younger. :sigh:
But we all know what this means... kit kats for everyone! My mom used to take out all of the bubblegum from our bags - I, to this day, don't know why -but alas I do the same thing. Still don't know why, but it seems like the right thing to do. Not a fan of gum anyways, he seems to end up in places that I have to clean.

Well start of a new week - have a good one!

American Translation

2006-10-14T14:34:00.000-05:00

So I thought my Canadian family and friends would enjoy this one...

While the kids are playing little league baseball and when they are up to bat, they shout

"put it where they ain't!"

Translation: "Hit the ball where no person is standing".

Whoa - bad English on EVERY level......

I Know (part deux)

2006-10-13T05:41:00.000-05:00

I'm so sorry - I realize my last entry is SEPTEMBER! Trying to adapt to a new full-time job and then having such a short window of time when I'm home in the evening to spend with the family has left my poor blog neglected. As time goes by it's getting easier so bear with me!

Kyle Joins Baseball

2006-09-24T10:48:00.000-05:00

Living in Florida and so close to the beautiful baseball field (complete with batting cages and big lights) Kyle signed up for baseball. Little did we know that they are pretty serious about their little league in Florida and the kids are "drafted". Since none of the coaches were familiar with Kyle we got very lucky where the number one team and number one coach drafted him. As it turns out, Kyle is not only the youngest on the team but also the smallest. As it also turns out, this team has never lost. It has put quite the pressure on Kyle as he has really only played on one team (in Vegas) and it was just a "fun and play as you go" type team. First few practices were difficult for him and trying to make friends with team members that had known each other for years was also a challenge. Warren's due diligence paid off. After daily dates of "playing catch" and numerous trips to the batting cage, he had him ready for his first game on Friday night. There we were, under the lights for an 8:00 pm start. Kyle was tenth in the batting order. Nobody had hit when he went up to bat. Then, there he goes - a perfect connect that sailed over the shortstop and into the whole between left and center fields. Kyle hit a single and eventually got home and scored! They have a two hour time limit so his second bat he walked and again scored. Biggest news of the night??

Kyle was MVP for the night and got the game ball!!! Horray for Kyle, proving hard work and diligence pays off!!

Made Me Laugh

2006-09-23T08:58:00.000-05:00

More Sad

2006-09-11T05:16:00.000-05:00

http://annanicole.com/

To My Mom!

2006-09-10T16:41:00.000-05:00

A Huge Happy Birthday to My Mom - Betty Anne!!!

Love you lots!

xoxoxoxo

Things I Don't Care About

2006-09-10T07:35:00.000-05:00

- Paris Hilton getting a DUI - or Paris Hilton anything
- Baby Suri - or anything Tom Cruise
- Lindsey Lohan
- Who Jessica Simpson is dating - or anything Jessica Simpson
- Whether an Olsen twin is eating or not
- Whether Nicole Richie is eating or not
- The Becks
- If Tara Reid has made a fool of herself again (although her drunk episodes are amusing)
- Who wins Big Brother All Stars now (hate the two that are left)
- Britney and her baby
- Britney and her husband
- Britney and her husband and her new baby
- Britney's husband thinking he's a rapper (how sad)
- Whether Brad and Angelina get married

Need I go on.... Feel free to add on comments.....

Need I Say More?

2006-09-08T17:48:00.000-05:00

Go to this link and then fill in the blank:

The main reason I would buy one of these is because __________________.

http://www.babytoupee.com/

How Sad....

2006-09-04T14:23:00.000-05:00

Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter" died this weekend. How very, very sad. Also so bizarre that a stingray, under normal circumstances, wouldn't kill you but by some freak attack it struck his heart (he probably went into cardiac arrest).

"Experts called it a freak occurrence. They said the triangular-shaped rays are usually unobtrusive, gliding through the water, rummaging on the sea bottom for food or burrowing into the sand. But when stepped on or otherwise frightened, they deploy spines up to 10 inches long with breadknife-like serrations as a defense mechanism.

"If it's spooked by someone stepping on it or swimming too closely over it, frightening it, the tail raises involuntarily," said Victoria Brims, a marine life expert at OceanWorld, an aquarium in Sydney, Australia.

The spines emit toxins that can kill many small creatures and that cause excruciating pain in humans. Few people die from the poison, but the spines can badly tear flesh and the wounds are prone to infections, including tetanus." (The Associated Press)

Fatal if a stingray hits a vital organ of course. Of all the dangerous things he did, this you would never guess would be what would take his life. He was only 44 years old and leaves behind his wife and two small children. "Crikey". Godspeed Steve Irwin, we loved you.

Chili Plants

2006-08-27T16:25:00.000-05:00

So we FINALLY found the chili plants that I love so much. I had one in my kitchen in Calgary and have looked for one ever since but never found one. Low and behold the other day I saw them at Wynn Dixie!! W, being the sweet husband that he is, brought me two home the next day. I went out and bought two big terracotta planters for them and then painted them in the "chili pepper theme". Here's one of them. Cute huh!?

I Know, I Know!

2006-08-22T13:05:00.000-05:00

Okay! I got it! You keep checking back and it's still the oranges - nothing new! Hey, the oranges post is still about the only thing I got still! W working super hard, K at his new school, me at home answering those darn calls and sending out resumes looking for a "real" job. :::yawn::: you say.. I know!! Try it from this side! Okay, things will pick up - right now I'm mashed potatoes on white plate.

Oranges

2006-08-17T06:33:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I went to the grocery store for a few things, among them ORANGES. Now here is something that I totally do not understand. I live in Florida. Don't they grow oranges in Florida? Doesn't like, the best orange juice come from Florida? Are those not orange groves and orange trees I see everywhere? Well at Wynn Dixie all the oranges were from South Africa! I don't get it. I drive by orange trees every day but instead the oranges I bought were shipped approximately 8,100 miles across the world. Here's the worst part, they were cheaper (and very delicious I might add). I don't get it.

Dum Dee Dum..

2006-08-14T10:07:00.000-05:00

Sitting here doing that groovy job of answering this 1-800 call line allows me time to sit in this other window and type. It doesn't allow me to fold laundry, vacuum, load or unload dishes, or wash any floors or windows. That alone would make me do this job for free (not). I am still amazed at how people rant and rave on the telephone thinking that it is going to get them some kind of special treatment - like we want to help them more because they are raving lunatics. Let's send this message out to the masses: Stop yelling at people that you don't know or you can't see - we hate you when you do. There, I said it. I do believe I'm not long for this gig.

Okay so one of my sisters already knows this, but I am going to admit it to y'all now. I know I will endure humiliation, but here it is - I'm addicted to watching Big Brother. (psst: beckywatchesprojectrunway) This season - it's Big Brother All Stars which is contestants from all other seasons! Heaven for me. I have watched every one no fail, each season. I know.. shameful, but such a guilty pleasure. I'm always amazed that there are people out there that, apparently, have regular lives where they get up every morning and go to work or look after children or SOMETHING, and they can put all of that on hold for like THREE MONTHS and go in live in house - be confined in a house actually - and be told what to do for 24 hours a day. Hey don't they have places like that but without the cameras? Isn't it called Jail? These people should call their local police departments and see if sitting in this confinement can be used as credit for their parking or speeding tickets. Anyways, I digress. So this year they put these people BACK into the house for another go at winning a half a million dollars which is not tax free (note to survivor dude Richard Hatch currently in prison for not paying taxes on Survivor winnings) . These people are bizarre and they make me wonder what they would be like as real people out in the world. What I find strange is this thing they always say that is "I'm just playing a game" or "It's all a part of the game". If you're living with a bunch of strangers for three months seeing them 24 hours a day, seven days a week, I have a feeling it's no longer game play it's the real you and guess what..you're a tool. They seriously look at each other and tell blatant lies, turn on their friends, and do embarassing things on national televison. DELIGHTFUL in my world. The only thing that makes me sad about the whole thing is I don't know a single other soul that watches so I can't dish with them!!

Now What?

2006-08-13T15:23:00.000-05:00

Okay, so... all moved.. pictures hung.. everything put away - DONE IN A MAD DASH.. all settled.. now what? Seems like everything was so BUSY and full of hassles and now it's an eerie calm.

Oh yea.. the day before we moved I had the convenient experience of having my HARD DRIVE CRASH - the deadly blue screen. Circuit City does a "free" diagnostic test on your computer for $59.95 (apparently when you're at "blue screen" the test isn't free anymore). Well.. $300 later I know have a new hard drive. What does that mean? Well, it means I've lost your e-mail address. If you regularly read our blog PLEASE send me your email address because chances are..I've lost it and I'm now re-building.

We're BACK!

2006-08-10T06:25:00.000-05:00

Phew! Weeks without cable and internet is brutal but, of course, not as brutal as moving. We did the move all by ourselves. W and I loading SUPER heavy stuff, W and Kyle loading medium stuff and basically W loading everything. Poor guy did so much work! You feel the jubilation when you get the U-Haul loaded and the last floor cleaned of the old place, get in the vehicles and drive to the new place but that joy is soon gone when you realize now you have to unload it all. We were good for about 3 or 4 hours and then I don't think that any of us could lift our arms anymore. Ended up just finding the Aerobed and crashing and back up at 6:00 am to finish so as to get the truck back in time. We are so glad that is all behind us now and we are moved in, the pictures are hung, and even need to do housecleaning at this point.
Kyle loves his new school. It only opened last year so everything is new and fresh. It has a huge baseball field, basketball courts, and even little ponds riddled throughout the campus. He applied yesterday to be a safety patrol. He is going to get a bike soon so that he can ride to and from school and he is very excited about that. Well that's it for now - gotta get that little kid up to get ready for a new day!

On the Move!

2006-07-25T22:24:00.000-05:00

Here we go.... find a place on Monday..move on Thursday! Off to Jacksonville!

Things we'll do in Jacksonville:
1) go to the beach!
2) root for the Jacksonville Jaguars
3) maybe join the community theater
4) Be happy :)

New (Temporary) Job

2006-07-21T08:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, we're moving so the last few days I have been doing a "work at home" job where I answer calls to take orders when they call a 1-800 number. What I thought would be an "easy" job isn't that easy at all. Firstly, and I'm sure you already know this, People Are Rude! While some are very nice and sweet others are just plain mean and inpatient. Others seem to have nothing better to do than call a phone number from their tv screen for no apparent reason. Some case in points:
- the guy who rambled on for 8-1/2 minutes about the war, the president, Jane Fonda, and how he missed Nixon.
- the child that called to tell me he was going to Disneyworld in Florida.
- the guy that called me TWICE to tell me wanted to "lick my butt" and "was that okay?"
I guess in my sheltered existence I thought people had better things to do!

Fun With Food

2006-07-14T22:53:00.000-05:00

When we buy groceries we just put them in the fridge. No More! I'm going to start doing stuff like this!

Coulrophobia

2006-07-13T23:40:00.000-05:00

Okay - so I have Coulrophobia. What is "coulrophobia"..it's the fear of clowns. CLOWNS ARE CREEPY and icky. But hey..you don't see them every day and you get over it. However...check out this cut and paste from a website:

Consider the true cost of living with Clown Phobia.
If you are living with clown phobia, what is the real cost to your health, your career or school, and to your family life? Avoiding the issue indefinitely would mean resigning yourself to living in fear, missing out on priceless life experiences big and small, living a life that is just a shadow of what it will be when the problem is gone.

For anyone earning a living, the financial toll of this phobia is incalculable. Living with fear means you can never concentrate fully and give your best. Lost opportunities. Poor performance or grades. Promotions that pass you by. clown phobia will likely cost you tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of your lifetime, let alone the cost to your health and quality of life. Now Clown Phobia can be gone for less than the price of a round-trip airline ticket.

Treat Your Clown Phobia Call Us Today.

IT'S COSTING ME TENS OR EVEN HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS!!??!! HOLY CRAP!

and it continues....

How long & how much?
The Clown Phobia Clinic at The CTRN Phobia Clinic™ is entirely results-focused, so we charge you for the result you want: freedom from clown phobia - regardless of how long it takes.

The process usually requires no more than ten hours. In exceptional cases we can achieve a favorable result in two to three. But because we guarantee the outcome, we will work with you for as long as it takes - five minutes, five hours, five weeks. We work highly effectively by telephone. This allows our clients far more flexibility in scheduling appointments, and the results are every bit as good as meeting in person.

You'll need to play your part, of course. Usually as part of the work with us there will be some easy and enjoyable homework for you to do, and that will be a key part of your success.

Homework???? Like what, trolling the circus circuit?
OKAY - NOW I'M THINKING TELETHON. Anyone have Jerry Lewis' phone number?

Where's Doodles?

2006-07-12T22:06:00.000-05:00

Who Cares About Waldo - Where's LINDA??!

Florida's Finest

2006-07-10T13:59:00.000-05:00

On the route home today there is a road that the speed limit is only 35 miles per hour. You know those roads, 35 posted but everyone goes around 50? Well I'm zipping down there when the sweetest, kindest Florida driver going in the opposite direction flashed their headlights at me. You know the guy, he keeps flashing them his whole way because you know that he's been burned with a ticket many times before. I pull my speed right down to the exact tune of 35, okay maybe 36. Unfortunately Mr. Tourist from Nebraska in his neat blue van with crap on the roof (because he has way too much stuff to just pack it in the inside) didn't see "Sweet Florida Driver" flash his lights. Both lanes saw it (perhaps this guy was looking in the back of his van for more space for his crap) and, as a result, both lanes slowed down to 35. Mr. Tourist from Nebraska was irritated! How do I know? Well he changed from the one lane to the next and I had the pleasure of him driving behind me. Mr. Nebraska must have been getting frustrated with us slow Florida drivers because I even got the "fist beep". You know the one - make a fist and slam it down briefly on your horn so it makes just enough noise for the other drivers to look in their mirrors. I don't budge. He then decides to pull right up on my bumper. Um..No Mr. Nebraska not going to move... He finally is able to ditch to the other lane where in his anger he floors it to speed past the rest of us. Well Mr. Nebraska Tourist is one lucky guy I tell you - on his vacation he probably saw Disney, Universal, Seaworld, maybe even the space shuttle take off. But I know one thing - him and his whole family got introduced to a motorcycle cop with a radar gun in his hand. Happy summer trails guy. BOOOOYAHHHHH

Funny!

2006-07-10T09:53:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you just hit a website by pure accident and find something really funny. Well I happened upon this guy's blog and it cracked me up. It's called "You Had Me at Idiot - Deep Thoughts For a Shallow Mind". Then I started reading some of his archive posts and was laughing so hard I had tears running down my face. I have since found out his name is Paul Stoecklein and he's actually a stand-up comedian. So, if you need some cheering up or just need a good chuckle, check this guy out. (You can subscribe there too and when he updates it you get an e-mail - or so he says... I dunno). (My Favorite: Idiots Freaks and Geeks)

Enjoy: http://www.paulstoecklein.blogs.com/

Sunday

2006-07-09T15:43:00.000-05:00

So ends/begins another week. Kyle and I working on "5th grade stuff" to try and give him a bit of a jump for the new year. Saw "The Lake House" this week. Warren's review was "if Keanu and Sandra weren't it, it would have sucked". I kinda agree, but then again, you can't go wrong with those two.
Want to say thank you again to Lauren, Sandi & Barry, and Mom for such a pleasant and the sweetest ever surprise on my birthday. Thank you - I love you. xoxox
Here's so more pics - just because:

Our Sweetiepie

How to Body-Surf Instructions From Dad

"Cool Sky Picture"

Hope You Had a Great 4th (or 1st)

2006-07-05T19:25:00.000-05:00

Yes - I took this. It's the fireworks over Dodgertown!

More July 4th Stuff

2006-07-05T19:21:00.000-05:00

Look! A Jellyfish!