Totally Thrown Off

I don't know what it is about this week, but I am totally thrown off. I keep thinking today is Wednesday and it is so clearly not. I'm so off that I forgot to link up for So What Wednesday yesterday and was going to do it tonight. I guess it's good that I'm a full day off, that way I get surprised when I wake up tomorrow and realize it's Friday.

I think part of the reason I am so off is because of the huge home improvement project Gabe has started on and that we had to prepare for. He started yesterday. We emptied out our living room and he textured the ceiling and parts of the walls and then repainted the entire room. Today we emptied out our office/media room and he did the same thing to it and the bathroom. By this point the majority of our furniture was in the kitchen. The couch we got rid of, kind of. It's sitting out front in the rain with a free sign on it, but it will get taken to the dump soon. Gabe's desk stayed in the office/media room since it's so big and we would have had to take it apart to move it. Tomorrow we will move all the office/media room furniture into the living room and the office/media room will once again become mine & Gabe's bedroom. Lincoln will stay in what is currently our bedroom and all of his toys will be moved in here. We are currently confined to the bedroom and very crowded kitchen. This is due to the fact that we decided to get our carpets shampooed while everything was moved out of them and we desperately needed it.

So, here I sit on my bed next to my husband. We each have our laptops and we have moved the television in here. It's on the floor next to our bed and at the foot of Lincoln's bed. It's going to be an interesting night when it comes time for Lincoln's bed time. Seeing as Gabe & I usually stay up until about midnight/1 am. I'm sure we'll just put a movie on for Lincoln and put him in bed and see what happens. He's already getting tired. He is currently curled up at the foot of our bed watching TV with his head hanging over the side. I'm so happy that we get to go to the farm tomorrow and get out of the house for a bit. Lincoln & I got out for a little bit yesterday when we went to Rite Aid to get him more play-doh and I got myself some nail polish. This morning we went out for a little bit and took Gabe to the farm so he could do some work there before he started on work here. But tomorrow we are going to spend quite a bit of time out of the house and away from screens, it should be nice.

I hope you all are having a lovely week and are not thinking it's a different day then it actually is, like me. Even after writing about it I still feel like it's Wednesday and have to keep reminding myself that it's Thursday and tomorrow is Friday.

Blogly Question(s):

Do you ever have weeks where you're totally thrown off and think it's a different day than it actually is?

This Momma Doesn't Need Coffee

While I do enjoy it from time to time, I tend to make sure I order decaff when I do get coffee. Seeing as I'm an extremely anxious person, caffeine does not help that in any way. But today's post is more so about how many parents I notice post on Facebook about how they need their coffee or Starbucks to function. I realize that I'm a stay-at-home mother to one child, which is much easier than being a working mom or a stay-at-home mom to 2+ children. But, I have had nights with Lincoln where I got barely any sleep and Gabe was right there with me. The next morning we got up and went about with our day. Sometimes if it was an especially rough night Gabe would stay home from work. But we didn't need to drink any coffee or any sort of caffeinated drink to continue on with our day and take care of our needs and Lincoln's needs. Gabe and I have also had nights where we just decided to stay up especially late and get only about 4 or so hours of sleep. We still didn't need any caffeine to function.

I don't know. I guess I just don't get it. I understand being tired and not getting a good nights sleep, but does that mean you have to turn to stimulants in order to feel more awake? I understand being woken up by your baby multiple times during the night. I totally get that. But I'm pretty sure that we don't need drugs in order to feel like a "normal" functioning human being. When I was a kid my parents where both coffee drinkers, I think they may still be. But I thought they drank it because they liked how it tasted. Gabe's mom enjoys coffee, but she drinks decaff. Although, I have been told that even decaff has a small amount of caffeine in it...I'm not sure if this is true or not, though.

I guess what I really don't understand is how parents can be such hypocrites when it comes to something like this. We talk with our children about how bad drugs are and yet so many of us are willing to consume a drug on a daily basis, caffeine. It is a drug and it is highly addictive. I believe that caffeine is the most consumed drug. When I was a kid so many adults told us not to drink coffee and that it would stunt our growth if we did drink it on a regular basis while we were still growing. I drank coffee on a fairly regular basis for a short time in my senior year of high school. I even consumed caffeinated soda for quite awhile up until recently. I have decided to do my darnedest not to consume caffeine or alcohol. I do understand it's hard to completely avoid caffeine, but I will avoid it to the best of my ability. I have also decided to stop drinking alcohol, because I just don't feel it's appropriate to drink when I have a young child to care for. When I have had alcoholic beverages I have not done it in front of Lincoln or while he was awake. But when I drink, I usually do it to excess and I would rather not feel sick the next morning when I need to take care of my son. I'm sure some day I will have an alcoholic beverage again, but for now I prefer to keep it out of my system.

It's strange, I didn't mean to mention alcohol in this post but it seems that caffeine and alcohol go hand in hand. They are both legal substances and they are both things that people use in excess. Whether they use caffeine in order to feel like they can function better through their day or they use alcohol to make themselves feel good and relaxed. They seem to go hand in hand because they balance each other out. You're all hyped up on caffeine, so you drink alcohol to calm yourself down. There are people who do just that. Have coffee through out the day and then come home from a long day at work and have a few beers to relax. It's a vicious circle and it can certainly be deadly, I mean I'm not a doctor or anything but I don't think all that caffeine and alcohol is good for anyone's heart.

I guess what I'm really getting at is that I don't understand how parents talk about how they need a coffee to function after having a rough night with their child or children and look for sympathy from other parents because of it. I'm sorry for other parents that have a rough night with their children, I'm completely sympathetic to that fact because I've been there. I am not sympathetic to the fact that you need coffee in order to feel like you can function the next morning. You know what will help you function better the next morning? A nice well balanced breakfast. That's what I have almost every morning and I feel more awake after eating breakfast. I have never really been big on eating breakfast, especially when I had to be up early for school or work. But now I see how much it helps you feel better through out the day and just overall when it comes to your diet. I have a bowl of oatmeal almost every morning. On Mondays when I work if I don't feel like eating before I head out the door to work I will grab something on the way because I know I'll get hungry at work and eating something will help me feel better. And my drink of choice for mornings? it's water. Seriously. I'm a proud caffeine-free momma and I'm going to stay that way.

Blogly Question(s):

How do you feel about coffee drinking? Do you drink coffee?

Thanksgiving Festivities and It's Sunday & I'm Getting Ready For...

I know it's been a few days since I've posted. We were very busy with Thanksgiving festivities. Wednesday morning I got up, washed dishes, and made 5 dozen pumpkin cupcakes. In the afternoon, after they had all cooled, I made cream cheese frosting and frosted all 5 dozen. I was so tired of cooking and had a craving for Chinese food that we went and got some. Thursday morning we all got up, I washed all my baking dishes, and I made waffles for breakfast. Around 2:30pm we headed over to our friend Chris's house and had Thanksgiving (or what some deem "Friendsgiving") at his place with some mutual friends and we met some new people, as well. It was really nice and stress free and relaxing. We had a lovely time. Lincoln got to play with his friend Jackson who he hasn't seen in forever and he made friends with a little girl named Riley. We all had a wonderful time. Friday morning we all got up, I washed dishes, and I made bacon & eggs for breakfast. A little after 2pm we headed over to the farm to have Thanksgiving Part II with Gabe's family. It was nice and low-key. We all had a nice time and Lincoln had tons of fun playing with his auntie and uncle. Yesterday morning the three of us went for a nice walk and then got lunch and spent the rest of the day relaxing. Today we did pretty much nothing. I spent the entire day in my pajamas, we all watched various shows, and Lincoln spent the majority of the day playing with his play dough and with the board game Life. It was a nice relaxing and lazy day after having some very busy and eventful days. Overall, we had a wonderful holiday. I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving, as well.

And now it's time for:



This week I'm getting ready for:

• Work tomorrow, as usual. It will be my 3rd week taking Lincoln with me. So far he has been absolutely wonderful and so well behaved. Of course, there aren't many times when he isn't well behaved.
• Our weekly trip to the library. I've been putting Christmas books and snow books on hold for Lincoln. He loves this time of year and wants to go see snow so badly. I'm hoping we can take him to see the snow this year, but we will see.
• Some research on how to start my cupcake business. I really want to do it and now I just have to sit down and figure out exactly what I have to do in order to get things going.
• A new diet. This one has nothing to do with losing weight, although I am still working on that. My stomach has just been really off lately, so I have decided that we will be eating pretty much the same thing every day. I'll be having the same thing for breakfast every day (oatmeal) and the same thing for lunch every day (quesadilla) and then dinner will rotate. Like Wednesday is Pizza night and Saturday night is Chicken night. That sort of thing. I figure if I start eating a more regular balanced diet I will start feeling a lot better. 
• Getting back into going on a walk every day. It doesn't matter how long or short it is, as long as we all get out for a walk at least once a day.
• Watching some more of The Big Bang Theory. I just started watching it about a week or so ago and I've really gotten into it. I think it's hilarious and as I'm writing this out all I can hear is the character of Sheldon narrating it in my head...
• Teaching Lincoln how to play the board game Life tomorrow afternoon. He wanted to play it tonight, but it was too late. Even though it's a more complex board game and way above his age range, I still think it's good to teach him. He likes trying to play Scrabble, of course he thinks the point of that game is to match the letters. But it doesn't matter, as long as he's having fun.
• A possible family outing on Saturday. We had talked about going to the California Academy of Sciences, but I think that will be a bit too expensive. So, I'm trying to figure out something we can do and include my dad in, as well. Lincoln wants to go to the zoo, but my dad is not a fan of the zoo. He never has been and I fully understand why.
• Finishing up of Christmas shopping, which includes a possible Costco run this week and proceeding to check out on Amazon with the 6 items waiting in my shopping cart. 

and that's what I'm getting ready for this week.
What are you getting ready for this week?

 

So What Wednesday

This week I'm saying So What if....

• I've completely given up on NaNoWriMo. I just wasn't feeling it this year and have so many other things going on in my life right now. 
• I made 5 dozen pumpkin cupcakes today. They for the two Thanksgivings we have this week and I have no doubt in my mind that they will all get eaten and not by me.
• I have been totally slacking on my weight loss and exercise and dieting and all that. I know I need to get back into the swing of things, especially if I want to get a whole new wardrobe courtesy of Gabe in March. 
• If we let Lincoln stay up late on Friday & Saturday nights and that he gets to stay up late tonight, tomorrow night, Friday night, and Saturday night this week. I think it's fun to let him stay up late and watch a movie. We make sure to run him around in the living room before movie time. Plus, it usually guarantees he'll sleep in some on the weekends.
• We went out to eat last night and tonight. I'm PMSing (I know, I know, TMI) and I've been having cravings and sometimes I just can't curb them. So we ordered out last night and got sandwiches from a great local Italian restaurant and tonight we had Chinese food. My cravings have been satisfied.
•  Lincoln & I haven't had a playdate with his friends in almost a month. I really would love to get together with my mom friends and have our kids play, but it's the holiday season. So, a lot of people are busy with family and a lot of the kids from group that are Lincoln's age are in preschool. Also, the weather has been pretty lousy here. 
• I watched the entire first season of The Big Bang Theory in like 2 days and am half way through the 2nd season. It is a hilarious show and laughing is good for me or any human for that matter. 
• We still haven't take Lincoln to the movies. We figure he's still not quite ready to go see a movie in the theater yet. As much as I would like to take him, I do not want to have to deal with a possible tantrum because he gets bored of the movie half way through and I can't change it to something he does want to watch. Gabe says we can always just tire him out really good that day so that he'll be relaxed at the movie, but I don't want to take him to the movies with the strong possibility of him falling asleep during the movie. So, I think we'll just wait for now.
• I skipped linking up for So What Wednesday last week. I had good reason to. I usually only publish one post a day and last Wednesday I decided to do my 100th post about the story of Gabe & I's wedding.
• This is only my 3rd post since that 100th post. That post was a lot of work and took a lot out of me. 
• It's not even December and we've already got our family Christmas present for ourselves and ordered Lincoln's gifts. I like getting the Christmas shopping out of the way early, that way I'm sure that it'll arrive in time.
• I broke my own rule and listened to Christmas music before Thanksgiving had even come and gone. I was baking and I was in the mood to hear some holiday music.
• I'm more excited for "Friendsgiving" tomorrow than the Thanksgiving meal with family on Friday. I haven't seen these friends in awhile and it'll be really nice to spend time with family and not be stressed out by family drama. 

and that's what I'm saying So What to this week.
What are you saying So What to this week?

 

Stop Complaining and Be Thankful

Thanksgiving is in a few short days and I still can't believe it. I enjoy Thanksgiving, but I have noticed one thing and maybe some of you have noticed this as well. I swear every year Thanksgiving causes some sort of rift/argument in the family. Almost every year this is always some sort of stressful aura that seems to surround us all. We all seem to be on edge for one reason or another. I get that cooking a large meal for lots of guests can be stressful and maybe that's where all these Thanksgiving arguments branch from. People are so stressed out from cooking a big piece of meat all day and having to spend the entire day with extended family. Honestly, I really don't get why we celebrate Thanksgiving.

I mean Americans are already fat enough as it is, do we really need a holiday the centers around food? I know that's not what Thanksgiving is supposed to be about, but that's what it's ended up being about. That and shopping. Don't even get me started on Black Friday, I think it's a disgrace and disgusting. I think this entire four day weekend has turned into a big excuse for people to stuff their faces full of food and then go out shopping for things they don't need.

Thanksgiving is supposed to be a day that we give thanks. A day that we are thankful for all the wonderful things we have in life. Like our families and our children. We, as Americans, should be thankful that we even have food. There are so many people around the world that would give anything to have what we have. It makes me sick how greedy and wasteful Americans, as a whole, are. I'm guilty of being greedy and wasteful at times. Every time I throw out food that's gone bad or that we haven't eaten for whatever reason I think of the starving people in other countries and how they would eat all the things we throw out. We should be thankful for having jobs (at least most of us, I know this economy is tough right now and not everyone has a job). But even if we don't have a job we have services in our country to help us make ends meet. We should be thankful for all the freedoms we have. That we can say pretty much anything we want and not get in trouble for it. We don't have to worry about the horrors of genocide or rebel forces coming into our cities and killing innocent civilians. We have it pretty damn (excuse my language) good here in America and we take it all for granted. We have everything we could ever possibly need or want and it's still not good enough for us.

Not everyone in the world has a roof over their head or clothes on their back or food in their bellies. We're so focused on helping ourselves here in America, when there are so many families out there in the world that could use a lot of help and care. So, this Thanksgiving lets not argue because we're stressed out about making all the food and spending time with family that drives us crazy. Let's be thankful for all the things we have and maybe find a way to help those in other countries that are in desperate need.

Blogly Question(s):

What are you thankful for this year? 

It's Sunday & I'm Getting Ready For...

Here's what I'm Getting Ready For this week:

• Work tomorrow as usual. It'll be my first day taking Lincoln while my boss is there. Last week went well, but it was just me & Lincoln there. I'm hoping tomorrow and all the weeks to come go just as well.
• A trip to the dentist. I don't much care for the dentist, but I know it's good for me and I'm setting a good example for Lincoln. Thankfully, it's just a cleaning.
• Our weekly trip to the library. I have been requesting Christmas books for Lincoln, we've already picked up a few but I have about 4 more waiting for us.
• Thanksgiving. Seriously? I cannot believe that Thanksgiving is this week already. We're doing Thanksgiving on Thursday at a friends house, so I guess it's what people are now calling "Friends-giving". On Friday we're doing Thanksgiving with Gabe's family. It should be nice.
• Some time outside if the weather gets nicer. It's been raining the past few days, so if the weather clears up Lincoln & I may spend some time in the backyard or going on some walks.
• Baking. I'm making cupcakes for both of our Thanksgivings. So, Wednesday I will be baking cupcakes and making our cornbread stuffing for both Thanksgivings, as well.

And that's what I'm getting ready for this week.
What are you getting ready for this week?

 

The Story of Our Wedding

the original dress I wanted.

This is my 100th post. Wow. I thought I would celebrate with a special post. Tonight I want to share with you all the story about mine and Gabe's wedding. I figured it's only right, since I've shared the stories of how we met and our engagement. I figure the next step is telling you all about how we got married.

Gabe and I chose to get married on May 12, 2007.We wanted to have an outdoor wedding and we figured this would be a good date because we were guaranteed to have good weather in our area. It wouldn't be too hot or too cold. It only took us about a month to set the date. The next thing we had to do was put together a guest list and figure out a location. Gabe's grandma said that if we wanted to have it on the grounds of the clubhouse in her 55+ community then she would pay for it. We said yes and found out the maximum occupancy was about 60 people. This was fine with us, we didn't need a big wedding. So we sat down and figured out our guest list. We got some flack from both of our parents for not inviting some members of our extended family. But we had to remind them that this was our wedding and we could only invite a little over 60 people. We figured going over our allotted amount was fine because there were bound to be people that would say no. Once we had our guest list all figured out I talked to my dad about putting together and printing our save the date cards and invitations. We got a design all put together and the save the dates were mailed out in November 2006. Later that month I went dressing shopping with my mom. I had found a dress I wanted and it was within the budget I was comfortable spending. I tried on the dress at a nearby bridal shop, I liked it a lot. But I wasn't sure how I was going to pay for it and I felt weird asking a family member or Gabe to help me out to pay for it. I also realized that I wanted to get a dress I could wear again and that would be comfortable to wear all afternoon and evening at the wedding and reception. I eventually found a dress online at Victoria's Secret that was affordable and that I could definitely wear again.

Reina, me, Jenna, and Lizzy. My wonderful bridesmaids.

Before Gabe and I had even put together a guest list and sent out save the dates we had already figured out who our bridesmaids and groomsmen would be. Gabe chose his 3 closest friends for his groomsmen. I knew his friends, Chris & Paul, very well. We hung out with them at least once a week or so while Gabe and I were dating. Gabe's other friend, Tim, I had only met once or twice before the wedding, but we had chatted online a few times. I chose 3 of my closest friends at the time. Gabe had never met any of them. They had never come down to visit since I moved down to California and we had never been back up to Seattle. Gabe, Chris, and I went and picked out shirts for Gabe and his groomsmen. Gabe refuses to wear a suit or tuxedo to any event, he told me this well before we were engaged and I was always fine with it. We found some really nice casual Hawaiian themed shirts for the guys. They were off white and beige with some palm leaf and flower embossing/detailing up the left and right front sides. The groomsmens' shirts were opposite of Gabe's so they looked great. All the guys wore black slacks and shoes. I picked out a red strapless dress for my bridesmaids and said that they would have to pay for them since they were dresses they could easily wear to other events. They were all fine with this. Then two months before the wedding my maid of honor informed me by email that she would be unable to attend our wedding due to a scheduling conflict. I was so upset, I couldn't believe that she was telling me this two months before the wedding. I didn't know what to do. I asked my friend Reina, who was already set to be a bridesmaid, if she would now be my maid of honor. She happily accepted and now all I had to do was find a 3rd bridesmaid. I asked Gabe's sister and she said no. I then asked my best friend at the time who had initially declined due to her work schedule and finances. She said even if she could make it should wouldn't be able to afford the dress. I then had an idea. I asked if she could take off Friday-Sunday and fly down that Thursday night after work and fly back Sunday morning. She said this was totally doable and we found her a flight. I then told her that I would find a similar bridesmaid dress to the one I'd picked out for my other two bridesmaids and that I would pay for it and have it shipped to her so that if she needed to have it taken in she could do that before the wedding. She agreed to this and I soon found a very similar dress on Amazon for only a fraction of the price.

one of my favorite pictures of me with Chris & Paul either before or after the ceremony.

Now that I had all the figured out Gabe and I needed to figure out food and a cake. We knew there was a woman in town that did wedding cakes. So we drove up the street to her shop and looked at pictures of cakes she had done. We found one that looked similar to what we wanted. We told her we wanted yellow cake with cream cheese frosting and that it had to serve about 60 people. I told her that I would provide ribbon and flowers on the day of the wedding to decorate the cake with. We then decide that the easiest way to go for food and the least expensive would be to get Costco party platters. So that's what we did. We also got all of our flowers and drinks at Costco, as well. It was so easy and inexpensive.

married!

The reason that Gabe and I decide to go so inexpensive for our wedding is because the wedding really wasn't for us, it was for our families. We didn't want the wedding, we wanted the marriage. We would rather save up our money and use it towards something more meaningful than a big party. I'm also not your typical girl when it comes to weddings and getting married. I always knew that I wanted to get married, but I also always knew that I wanted a smaller and more relaxed wedding. I am not the kind of girl that had her wedding planned out for years before she got engaged. I am not the girl that has had her engagement ring picked out for years, nor did I help pick out my engagement ring. I am not the girl that nagged her boyfriend to propose or else. We know women who are like this and all they need is the guy to fit into their perfect wedding formula. This is not what marriage is about, marriage has nothing to do with the wedding. A wedding is just a big party to, apparently, prove to family and friends how much you love each other. Gabe and I didn't feel that we needed to do this, but we knew our families wanted it and they were helping pay for most of the wedding.

so happy & in love

So, on the morning of May 12th, 2007 I woke up and started to get ready for the day with my bridesmaids. I glued on my fake nails and my bridesmaid, Lizzy, helped do my hair. I was going to do makeup, but decided to just keep it simple and all of us girls just did mascara and lip gloss. I drove down to the location with my bridesmaids and my mom. I was still in my pajamas and decided to just get dressed at the venue. There was a little house behind the main house that had been converted into a little gym. The only bathroom was in this area. My bridesmaids and I all got into our dresses and made sure our hair and makeup was good. The wedding wasn't supposed to start until 3pm, but I was ready to go at about 2:30pm. I am a very anxious person and when I'm ready to go and do something everyone else better be ready too. My bridesmaids were all ready shortly after me and now all we had to do was sit and wait. I was so nervous and anxious and excited that I hadn't eaten all day. I was so hungry by the time 3pm rolled around and I was passed ready to walk down the aisle. But I was informed by my mom that her brother and his wife were not yet there and we just had to wait for them. At about 3:45pm I was told that my uncle and aunt had arrived and we could proceed with the ceremony.

We did not smash the cake in each other's face, surprisingly.

Gabe and I had decided to get married by the same Pastor that baptized Gabe. We also wanted a short ceremony. It ended up being a bit longer than we had expected due to our pastor's ad-libbing. We had expected to have a 5-10 minute ceremony and it was probably about 20 minutes, which is still short. We then had a lovely reception with friends and family and I was able to sit down, eat, and relax. It was a wonderful day and we had lots of fun. After the reception Gabe and I went with our friends over to Chris's house and had a little after party. It was nice to spend time with friends and enjoy being newlyweds. We left for our honeymoon the next day. Gabe's parents had got us a room at a bed & breakfast in Monterey, CA. It was wonderful. We were about 2 blocks from the beach and one day we took the mile walk down to the aquarium and got dinner down on Cannery Row and then walked back to our bed & breakfast. It was a wonderful wedding and honeymoon.

on our honeymoon at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Even though it was very stressful at times planning out our wedding and we considered just running off and eloping more than a few times, we are happy we had our wedding. I still can't believe that Gabe and I have been together for just over 8 years and married for 5 1/2 years. It has been great and I know it's only going to get better. I guess the next story to share with you all is Lincoln's birth story. I don't know when I will do that one, but I do know that I will share it with you all.



Blogly Question(s):

Did you have a big or small wedding? Was planning it stressful?

A Possible Business Venture

I have thought a lot over the years of what I want to do for a career. I've thought about going into the medical field or becoming a writer or just being a mom. But lately I've really been thinking about it because some day in the next few years I am going to have to have it all figured out. Lincoln will be starting school and it will be time for me to go back to some sort of work. I've been worried about what I would do. I thought about maybe just going back to work at the casino since it's something that I know and it pays great and you get full benefits if you work full-time. I've also thought about finally finishing up school at the JC. But if I finished school I have no idea what I would get a degree or certificate in. So many things interest me and my friends and family know that I am a very indecisive person. I am also a person that makes rash decisions without thinking them over. This is something I've thought over and over and over. I mean I've thought about this for months and months. I wasn't quite sure about it because I didn't think it would be something that Gabe would support me in. But I finally said it out loud last night to him.

I asked him what he would think about me starting my own business. He asked what kind and I said cupcakes. That's right folks, cupcakes. As I'm sure you're all aware I like to bake, a lot. I really enjoy making cupcakes. I've enjoyed baking since I was a child and it's always been something I've done as a kind of hobby I guess. I've always enjoyed it and it's always been kind of my mental escape. I'm good at it, at least I think so and I haven't heard any complaints from anyone that has tried my baking. In fact, I'm usually the one that's asked to bring the baked goods to gatherings with friends and/or family.

Nothing is set in stone yet. But it's something I'm looking into and just starting to figure out. I'm excited and I think this is where I'm supposed to go in life. I've never gotten bored with a job that I've worked in my life. But I've never really felt I had a calling until now. I always like baking more than I'm supposed to (i.e. doubling the recipe). But I never really have anyone to give the extras to or anywhere to take the extras. It's early on in everything, but I feel it's something I would be really happy doing. I mean who doesn't like a cupcake?

Blogly Question(s):

Did you ever have a hard time finding your calling in life? Are you still looking for it?

It's Sunday & I'm Getting Ready For...

Here is what I'm Getting Ready For this week:

• Work tomorrow, I'm sure you all know this by now. Should be a quick day, but we'll see. 
• A trip to the grocery store and post office tomorrow after work. It's my usual Monday routine.
• Baking. I have tons of bananas, so I'm thinking Lincoln & I will make some banana cupcakes.
• Exercise. I have seriously been lacking in this department lately and if I want to lose weight I have to get back into the habit of working out.
• Our weekly trip to the library. I'm hoping that the book I requested will be there this week. It's been saying it's been in transit for the past week.
• Some family time for sure. I'm sure the three of us will do some stuff together and we'll probably spend some time at the farm.
• Some new blog posts. I have my list next to my computer of topics to write about. So far it has been working out very well.
• Some time with a friend or friends since last weeks plans with a friend got canceled.
• A dentist appointment on Friday. I don't particularly enjoy going to the dentist, but I know it's good for me & I'm setting a good example for Lincoln.
• Some arts & crafts with Lincoln if the rain starts up again. Even if it doesn't I will do this with him because it has just been getting too cold to spend time outside.

and that is what I'm getting ready for this week.
What are you getting ready for this week?

 

Love is Love

I am very happy to hear that four states have passed marriage equality laws. I am a firm support and believer in that everyone has the right to love and marry who they want. Given that all parties are legal, consenting adults. I was raised to always accept people for who they are. Being raised around people from all different walks of life has helped with this. I do not judge others for loving someone of the same sex or the opposite sex. I do not judge others for loving someone of the same race or a different race.

I appreciate that the laws that passed are referred to as marriage equality laws. I do not like referring to it as gay marriage. The marriage itself isn't gay or homosexual. It's just a marriage between two people that love each other. It also isn't just a matter of allowing homosexual people the right to get married. It's a matter of equal human rights among everyone. Just because a man loves another man or a woman loves another woman does not mean that they are a lesser person or human being. We are all human no matter who we love or the color of our skin. To quote Sally Fields in Forrest Gump: "If God had wanted us all to be the same He would have made us that way." Which is true, if we were all meant to be the same then that is how we would have been made. Of course, imagine how boring our world would be then. We would all have the same skin color, we would all be of one religion, and we would probably all be the same sex or a-sexual. I guess on the upside if we were all the same then there probably wouldn't be any war or hate. I mean what would we have to argue about if we were all the same? But we're not all the same and that's a good thing. The human race needs to have diversity.

Also, for those people that think allowing homosexuals the right to marry is going to lead to the legalization of things like bestiality, I'm sorry but you're wrong. That's just absurd to think that the next thing after homosexuality is bestiality. No, I think that the next thing that will come after giving homosexuals the right to marry is probably polygamists pushing for the legalization of plural marriage. This is something that I agree with, as well. I agree with legal, consenting adults having the right to love and marry as many people as they want to. As long as everyone in the relationship is in agreement on this. I do not agree with the kinds of polygamists that are commonly shown in the news like Warren Jeffs. People like him who abuse their power and allow and condone things like under-age marriage, child brides, incest, and physical and sexual abuse to happen. For things like that to happen at all in our society is wrong. When it comes to those that live alternative lifestyles I think it is good to show positive role models and advocates of those lifestyles. I think that Kody Brown and his family show a very positive image of the polygamist lifestyle and it's very refreshing to see since the polygamist community has such a negative light shed on it for the most part. I tink that as far as the homosexual community goes they have so many positive role models and advocates. People like George Takei, Tim Gunn, Ellen Degeneres, and Jane Lynch, just to name a few.

We are all human and we all deserve the same rights. Those that do not believe this need to be reminded that not too long ago a white person could not marry a black person. Not too long ago women could not vote. Not too long ago anyone who wasn't white couldn't vote. It has only been over the past 100 years or so that this country has made great strides in equal human rights. We should all be allowed to love and marry who we want. No one should be chastised because of love.

Blogly Question(s):

How do you feel about marriage equality? Do you think that there should be a Federal law allowing people the right to marry who they want, opposed to it being state to state like it is now?

 

So What Wednesday!

This week I'm saying So What! if....

• We're on a diet & I made cupcakes this evening. We have been craving sweets and I feel better having them if I make them myself.
• Lincoln & I didn't go to the library until after 5pm this evening. On Wednesdays it's open until 8pm and it was nice to go later in the evening.
• I went to the grocery store this evening and I didn't use coupons. I would rather use them on a big shopping trip.
• I haven't worked on my NaNoWriMo since November 2nd. I think I may finally have an idea of a story I want to go with and stick with.
• My girls night got canceled for tomorrow night. I'll deal and figure something else out.
• I have no idea what I'm going to make Gabe & I for dinner tonight. I'll figure it out soon and I'm sure it'll be delicious.
• I'm happy that Prop 37 didn't pass here in California. I voted No on it and think that it was very poorly written. I made an educated choice and it was my choice to make.
• I haven't lost any weight this month. I know why I haven't and I know what I have to do in order to lose weight. 
• I'm not a fan of daylight savings time. You don't really get any extra sleep when your child isn't sleeping well and is super cranky in the evening. Thankfully, he's being well behaved this evening, unlike last night when he was extremely cranky & tired.

 and that's what I'm saying So What! to this week.
What are you saying So What! to this week?

 

Baby Fever

Lincoln at about 3 weeks old.

I'm sure most mommies know what I'm talking about when I say Baby Fever. I'm sure many of us have had it or are in the midst of it. Mine comes and goes, but it is always there in the back of my head. It's really quite frustrating to tell you the truth. I know it's hormonal, but it causes me to go back and forth on if I want to have more kids or not. Now, Gabe does not want anymore biological children. That's why he got a vasectomy almost 2 years ago. But he's totally open to adoption. I'm open to adoption, but if I were to have more children I would rather have biological children. To me it just seems more logical since we're still young and it's cheaper and quicker.

my precious little boy. February 2010

Last year my baby fever was pretty bad. I would cry over the fact that Gabe & I will never have anymore biological children. When we first talked about Gabe getting a vasectomy I was excited. I saw all the benefits of having one child. No sibling rivalries, no older children waiting for younger children to be an appropriate age to go and do things like a trip to Disneyland, the simplicity. But when Gabe got the call from our doctor's office that they had an opening that day at noon I felt a little rushed, but I didn't feel like I could say no. So, I went along with it not fully thinking it over. It had only been about a month since we had originally decided to go through with it when Gabe went and got it done. In a way I felt cornered. Here was the doctor calling us up while we were out running errands saying they had an opening at noon that day. I felt like I couldn't say no.

Lincoln at the Pumpkin Patch. October 2012.

So, now here we are almost 2 years later and I am dealing from some serious baby fever. It's not as bad as last year, but it's still there. I think it's coming back again because lately I have been thinking about what I want to do with my life. After thinking it over I have realized that since I was a young child all I've ever really wanted to be was married with children. I've always wanted to get married and I've always wanted to have children. Even when I said that's what I didn't want, I did want it deep down inside. I feel it's something that I'm good at. I'm not the world's best mom or anything. But I feel that I am a good mom. I would love to have more children, but I know it's never going to happen. Unless of course Gabe's vasectomy reverses itself or he suddenly decides to get it reversed and if that happened I'd wonder if he had fell and hit his head...hard.

But this is life and this is the choice we made. As much as I regret it now I can't go back and I just have to live with it. Like I said, I'm much better than I was last year. But there are still times when it nags at me. So, I remind myself that I have one wonderful child. I love any chance I get to snuggle with him and now that he's getting older there are more things I can take him to do. I may have to deal with baby fever from time to time, but I know that I have one great little boy and I am enjoying raising him and watching him grow up.

Blogly Question(s):

Do you ever have baby fever? how do you deal with it?

I Can Save How Much!?

So I recently started watching Extreme Couponing, if you haven't watched it I highly recommend it. I did not realize until watching this show how much you can save by using coupons. I remember my mom using them some times when we went shopping when I was a kid. But I have never really used them as an adult. I used a few over the summer for popsicles and for like $3-$5 off a shopping order. Now that I have been watching Extreme Couponing I want to start doing just that, couponing to the extreme. But Gabe says that I can't stock pile until we have the room for storage. Plus, we both see stock piling as borderline hoarding.

But just imagine getting tons of stuff for free because you used coupons. These people that use coupons and stock pile have food and soap and detergent and medicine to last them a year. Some of these people even give some of their stock piled products to charity, which is great.

I'm not a very good shopper or saver. I like to go shopping, but some times I don't pay attention to getting stuff on sale and pay more than I should. Lately though, I've been making sure when I go grocery shopping to look at the price and the price per ounce. My parents taught me to look at the price per ounce. Because even if something in one size is more than the same thing in another size it could be cheaper per ounce. So, even though you're spending more overall, you're actually saving per ounce.

For right now Gabe and I have agreed to use coupons on things we need. When we get our own place that has room for storage and stock piling then we will learn how to extreme coupon. Because even though stock piling is board line hoarding or a type of hoarding, it's actually not a bad idea. You don't have to stock pile on foods that you don't eat. But having a stock pile of non-perishable foods and bottled water and paper towels is actually a good idea in an emergency situation. It just amazes me how much money some of these people save and how they're able to get so much for practically free some times. Plus, if you can use those items to help out people in need then why not create a stock pile. Seriously, I'm hooked and I will start couponing.

Blogly Question(s):

What do you think of using coupons for shopping? Do you use coupons when you go shopping?

It's Sunday & I'm Getting Ready For....

This week I am getting ready for:

• work tomorrow, as usual. I have no idea what kind of day it will be. I am looking forward to it, as usual.
• A trip to the grocery store with perhaps some coupons. I have been watching Extreme Couponing and it really makes me want to start using coupons when I shop and save more money.
• A possible trip to the movies with Lincoln. We ended up not taking him this weekend, so I'm thinking maybe I'll just take him one day this week. 
• Our weekly trip to the library. I hope that the two books I have requested will arrive soon.
• Some time with a friend or friends. I'm thinking about going out for a girls night I just have to ask D what her schedule is first. I was also thinking of hanging out with one of my other best friends. But we'll see, it all depends on schedules.
• Some time at the farm, I'm sure. We spent most of the weekend over there, but I'm sure we'll be spending more time there this week. Lincoln loves going there and he gets to run around and play and discover and get lots of energy out.
• Some real work on my NaNoWriMo story. I have no idea what I'm doing yet and I keep starting and re-starting. Thinking I'm going to stick with the story I've started and just take it in a different direction than I originally planned. 
• To sit down and figure out some blog topics for this week. I have a couple floating around in my head, I just have to sit down and write down a brief outline of what I want to express regarding these topics.

and that's what I'm getting ready for this week.
What are you getting ready for this week?