My recent project

I sometimes find myself in a creative mood and take on different projects that I find interesting. Lately it has been home improvement projects. I redecorated Marin’s room back in November in a kind of fairy forest theme. She has some Tinkerbell decor but it is not specifically designed around the character. The other day I was just browsing through Lowes (yes, I have a lot of time on my hands) and I saw a chandelier on clearance that I thought would look good in Marin’s room. The only problem was it was an antique white color and would clash with the colors in her room. So I decided to paint it. When we first moved in our house it was very hard to find black chandeliers for my formal dining room and breakfast room so I bought silver ones and spray painted them black. Those were easy but this one I wanted to paint purple and it has some metal leaves on it that I wanted to paint green. So since I was going with 2 colors it was a little more tedious but I think it was worth it. I’ll get Eric to install it in her room tomorrow and take pictures of the finished product. In the pic below its missing some of the shades because I didn’t have enough chandelier bulbs. So I get to make a Walmart run tomorrow.

Southwest is awesome!

Southwest is awesome! I hate their whole method for boarding their passengers onto the plane (no one wants to stand in line by a pole and be herded like cattle into the plane) however I love their cancellation policy. I had to cancel Marin's flight to New Orleans as she is no longer going with us and it was so simple to get a full credit on her flight. The next time we fly Southwest then that money will be applied to our purchase. So easy. In the past I have had depressing outcomes in trying to cancel a flight. I had to cancel a flight to Vegas a couple of years

Easter Pics

This blog is past due since it has the Easter photos. But better late than never. There are a couple of photos of a trick we played on my mom. We had confetti eggs again this year and she conveniently walked away when everyone was breaking them on top of each other. Well, later we found an extra one and waited until she wasn't expecting it and got her over the head. She was a good sport about it. Marin was very adamant about wearing the bunny ears. Every time they would fall off she would get upset and and throw a fit until someone helped her put them back on. She is all about wearing hats lately. She has a little mermaid hat I bought her last summer and I didn't even realize where I had stored it until she came out of her room wearing it the other day. So I ordered her a couple of hats from the Children's Place and I hope she likes wearing those because they are pretty cute.

We've got a pretty busy month in May. We have two weddings to go to (one is in New Orleans!) and Jason and Jackie will be in town for a fews days mid month. So right now I am getting bored easily with not much to do on the weekends but that will all change next month. By June I will be happy for a quite weekend again! I have been pondering where to go on vacation this year in October. We usually take a trip for our anniversary. I really would like to go to Europe, particulary London or Ireland but it could get pretty pricey. I also thought about going to the Bahamas but my mom keeps telling me that isn't such a good idea since hurricane season lasts through October. I am kind of burned out on going to Mexico. I want to go somewhere different this year. Any suggestions?

Decisions, Decisions…

Marin has two car seats. One for my car and one for Eric's car. The one in Eric's car is a less expensive brand and it is starting to show. The cover is just awful and will hardly stay on the seat. So I looked up when she can switch to a booster seat and the recommended age is four. I saw some web sites that say they switched at three but the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) states from age four to eight. Safety is important so I think now we should look into getting another new convertible toddler seat for Eric's car. I know Britax is good but there is a brand called Sunshine Kids and it can fold up for traveling which is very appealing. Those brands are both very expensive so I am not sure what we will do. Is it worth the money for 22 months? It would be if we were planning on another child...but let's not get into that discussion!!

The Weekend Is Here

Marin helped me clean some of my cd’s that had scratches on them.  Then she practiced on the drums a little.  The weekend is here!  Although it feels like it was already here since I did not work on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I kept fairly busy.  Yesterday I saw I Love You Man by myself.  Pretty funny movie.  Today I saw Adventureland, it was okay.  I little slow at times, but had some funny parts.

I didn’t get to clean my office as much as I would have liked to, but I did work out everyday that I was off…so I don’t feel so bad.  I can handle 30 minutes on the elliptical now!  When I first started working out the elliptical machine would kick my ass only after a few minutes!  I could really tell that I have never really worked out.  I wouldn’t say that I am losing any weight, but it does make me feel better at least and I feel more energized. 

While we were eating dinner Angela noticed that Marin’s shirt was on backwards!  Oops!  I swear some of her shirts have the buttons in the back.  I am a little surprised daycare didn’t even notice.  You could hardly tell, it was the shirt that she is wearing laying with me in the bed above.

I am probably going to shop for a new office chair this weekend.  I sat in a few at OfficeMax, but I am going to look at a few other places before I make a decision.  The one I have now is okay. It is your typical $50 chair from Wal-Mart.  It does get a little uncomfortable after a couple of hours sitting in it.

Passing the Time

Yesterday was my last day at Southwest Solutions Group.  I don’t start my new job until next Monday, so I have 5 days to kill.  Today was fairly unproductive.  I watched a little TV, checked some emails, worked out, went to the grocery store, and cooked dinner.  It is a little weird not having anything to do even though it is for a short period of time.  I think I may go to the movies tomorrow by myself.

You have probably notice the site looks a little different.  I previously had this site hosted at my old job, so I had to move it.  The previous site utilized a SQL database.  SQL databases are rather pricey and since I am footing the bill now…it had to go.  This site saves everything in XML files, so no database needed!  It can be configured for SQL, but for the amount of traffic at this site it should fine the way it is.

So far I have not had to mow this year.  It needs it, but I just plain dislike mowing the grass.  I suppose I will get around to it this weekend.  There are several other household chores that I need to do like fixing the fence.  It is starting to lean a little in one spot.

There needs to be a website where you can post events to a public calendar.  I wonder if Facebook has an application like that.  Lets say I was in town this weekend and wanted to know if some of my friends where in town or if they were doing something.  Instead of emailing or calling everyone, it would be nice to be able to look on one calendar and see everyone’s schedule.  I guess it would only be handy if everyone actually used it.

Marin is watching Elmo and I think it is almost over…laters!

First fun filled day in fabulous Las Vegas

We arrived in Vegas yesterday morning...early morning...we flew out of Dallas at 7:30am and because of the time difference we arrived around 8:30. We got to the Flamingo and checked in. We decided to upgrade to a GO room since it was only $30 more a night. It is pretty cool. Built into the bathroom mirror there is a TV that you can watch while taking a shower or getting ready or while you are...you know. [;)]

We met up with our friends and went over to Caesar's Palace. Eric played the $5 Wheel of Fortune slot machine and was turning red when the money was dwindling down. He finally asked me to spin the reels and I actually got a Free Spin and won his money back plus $20. So of course he cashed out and walked away. Then we decided to hang out at O'Sheas for a while where I tried the "Hundred or Nothing" machine and lost...shocking, I know. I played a few slots but I think I am luckier at roulette. Last night we went over to Bill's Casino next door to the Flamingo and I played a little and hit 2 of my numbers...8 and 23, they always hit at some point so I play those a lot. I went away with $20 more than I sat down with, Not much but I had fun playing. Eric is doing well on blackjack. I am not sure how much he is up but he had a winning streak last night and had a good time.

We ate at Toby Keith's Bar and Grill last night. Pretty fun place. The drinks are served in mason jars. So even though I am several states away I felt at home!

Well, I am about to get ready for another exciting day of gambling and good times. Wish us luck!

I swear I am not addicted to TV…I am however addicted to VEGAS

Well we have decided to go to Vegas...AGAIN. I swear we are addicted to that town. A whole group of friends are going in a few weeks and we didn't want to miss the fun. We are going to New Orleans in May for a wedding and we want to go to Chicago in July so we were trying to space out the vacations but we just couldn't pass up a trip to Vegas. We tried fighting the temptation but lost the battle.

My mom had surgery last week and she is doing really well. She has been staying with us for the past week since her doctor is in Dallas and should anything go wrong or start hurting she would be here instead of Diboll which is 3 hours away.

Marin is still doing her ballet classes although she still doesn't do all the moves. But she loves going since they always get some kind of candy or trinket at the end of the class. She finally got her uniform in which is just a black leotard, pink tights and a pink tutu but it is adorable.

I told myself a long time ago I would not watch the Bachelor anymore but I found myself getting sucked in this season. The other night when he dumped that girl on national TV it was the last straw for me. I cannot in good faith watch a TV show that would allow that type of humiliation be put onto someone. I know she signed up for the show and blah blah blah BUT noone deserves to be put through that. SHAME ON YOU ABC!!

Has anyone been watching American Idol? I am ready for the wild card show tonight. I hope Anoop does well. I don't normally vote. I just enjoy watching the show but I might pick up the phone if Anoop rocks it tonight!

Flu season is a drag!

Marin's birthday party went great. I think everyone had a fantastic time. Then she got the flu. [:(] She had been congested all week and then she started to have a fever so I took her to the pediatrician who told us she tested positive for both the A and the B strain. So we had to get medication to treat both. I drove to Walgreens to drop off the prescriptions. The pharmacist said they were out of Amantadine and the only pharmacy in town that had it was the one inside Albertsons. So she asked if I would like them to fill the Tamiflu or if I wanted to take them both over to Albertsons and have them filled together. I decided to take them both to get filled at the same location. When I got to Albertsons the pharmacist there said they had the Amantadine but no Tamiflu. At this point I wanted to throw my hands in the air but my sick daughter needs her meds so I got the Amantadine and drove back to Walgreens to get the Tamiflu filled. Apparently flu season is in full effect and supply for medication is in demand. Luckily, I did not catch it. (KNOCK ON WOOD) I was taking Airborne like crazy while I was staying home with her since she could not go to daycare. Eric felt a little sick for about a day but it seemed to go away (probably just a hangover [;)])

Marin had her first ballet class on Monday night. I didn't know if she was too young or not but the Dance Company of Wylie takes 2-3 year olds in their Intro to Ballet class. So I let Marin do a trial class to see if she liked it. She kind of just stood there the entire time watching the instructor. She didn't cry...she didn't play around...she just stared. The

BIRTHDAY PARTY (CLAP-CLAP..clapclapclap)

Marin's birthday party is this weekend and I am trying to get her excited about it so I came up with a chant I've been using the past few days. Actually, I didn't make it up...it is