Anything But Gray

New look…

April 15, 2009

I wanted something a bit more festive & happy on my blog.
I feel motivated to be better about blogging.

I am feeling good.
Things are good.
Looking up.
The weather is warm, the sun is shining, Zak is doing good at work, my kids are healthy and happy and my family and friends are good.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel….finally.

I still hate my body.
I still feel like an ugly, middle aged fat housewife….
but today….I am HAPPY, in spite of.

I'll work on the self-image….but for today, life feels good.
And I'm gonna enjoy it.
A girl that can make fun of herself…

April 15, 2009

rocks, in my book!

This is hysterical!
Seriously funny.
Lindsay Lohan has just moved up a notch or two in my book.
I'm telling you, if you make me laugh….I'm sold…bought….convinced…whatever you want to say.
But I'm it, if you keep me laughing…..

Lindsay Lohan's eHarmony Profile – LohanFan.org

Enjoy!
I think it's funny as hell!
Jaime’s birthday party day!

April 14, 2009

And here are the pics! 🙂

Jaime bday party day 2009 (2)

me walking in with her cake, singing and Zak video taping behind me….can't wait to hear THAT on replay…I had no idea the camera was so close to me or rest assured, I would NOT have sang so loud! LOL

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Her cake….isn't it cute?? Homemade, baby!! :-) Way more love in one of those!

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Wish hard, pretty!!! (A neighborhood friend, Rayna is in the background….)

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What a ham!! LOL

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Is she NOT the cutest thing, ever?? I so love this kid…..I love her passion, her excitement and just overall exuberance of LIFE….she makes me happy. That part of her is so me and if I give this kid nothing else to take with her into the world, I'll be okay because really….as long as you're living out loud..living and feeling to the fullest…what more could you want???

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All her birthday friends and family…..My sister, Ben, Gabby, Jaime, Rayna, Sabrina, Josslin (my cousin Billiejo's daughter who is 18 now! whoaa!!) and Juan, my cousin Billiejo's son.

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Five bucks from Sabrina….:-) Nice!

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and big bucks from Rayna!

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Can you tell she was THRILLED?? lol I think Rayna was just as excited to give it as Jaime was to get it! LOL

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Me leading Jaime in to see her "big" present from Nana and Auntie Niki

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Jaime seeing her "big" present…..I so love this picture….every once in awhile you get a picture that just so captures "life"….and this is one of them for me.

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The big present! A new bike!! Lucky little girl, I tell you.

Easter 2009 (46)

Little Miss Thang on her new bike….

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The traditional fingers picture. LOL I love that you can see my computer desk a little bit in this pic….it's "my" spot! LOL

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For some reason Ben got spooked when we were taking the picture and clung to me for dear life….silly kid!

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Jaime and my cousin Billiejo…so love this pic.

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Jaime and Juan….adorable!! 🙂

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A tattoo barbie from Ceci and Uncle JRoar…..as Ceci calls it "The Tramp Stamp Barbie…" LOL Too funny!

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Us all trying to keep out of the rain….my friend Steve is standing in front of me and Zak…very cool to have a pic of him on my blog! He's gonna kill me, but meh….oh well.

The weather so sucked, (Jaime's first crappy weather birthday ever….) but all in all it was a fantastic day and Jaime had a blast! I wound up having to go out first thing in the morning to meet Steve so we could take my truck to get some new tires (for which I will be eternally grateful)….and then I had to rush back to get ready for the party. Crazy busy day but an awesome day! Billiejo and Auntie came up and Josslin came, which she usually doesn't so I was really happy to see her….Steve came up AND gave Jaime $20 for her bday!!! And now my daughter has more friggin' cash than I do!! LOL

She still has a couple of gifts coming….Alaska Kim is still sending something and Kayla's gift has not arrived yet…which I cannot WAIT for!!! I can't say yet, what it is….but man oh man is Jaime gonna be PSYCHED!!!!

You'll have to wait too, I can't put it on here, yet….

This is a bit spastic…but I have some Girl Scout stuff I have to get done before tonight….and I have to start dinner and help Jaime with her homework….CRAZY!!

Enjoy the pics!!!
Jaime’s Birthday

April 9, 2009

sometimes vox really annoys the crap out of me…I had started this post and while posting a pic, vox ate it.
Nice! Cause I have the time to do shit TWICE. grrrr…..

Jaime is having a party on Saturday for her birthday so last night's celebration was simple….we let her open a few presents, let her pick dinner (pizza!), and sang happy birthday to her. Niki, Rick and Gabby came over, of course. We pulled out the video camera too and after "cake" we sat and watched the video and then I threw in one of when Jaime was born. (Right after she was born..not the actual birth..lol) and we all watched that. It was really cool, actually. Amazing to see how tiny she was….and CUTE. She really was an adorable baby….I know I'm biased and all but I know it aint' just me…that girl was one cute baby!! LOL

Here's some pics for you!!

Jaime birthday 2009 (58)

Jaime is getting a regular cake for Saturday but for last night, we kept it simple and low key…because she had to have SOMETHING to stick the candle in. No way was her birthday going by without her making a wish and blowing out a candle…so we just threw osme cupcakes on a plate and stuck the candle in there and sung our hearts out! LOL She loved it!!!

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opening a present….

and another one…..

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She got this from Auntie Ceci and Uncle JRoar….She is PSYCHED to come home and watch this movie today…it was too late last night..she watched a little while she went to sleep, but I know she wants to see the whole thing….lol

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One of the gifts Jaime kept asking for was for Ben to get a Kirby game for his GameBoy so he'd quit playing with her DS Lite. She was thrilled and yelled "Finally!!!" when Ben opened it….LOL

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Another present that Jaime really, really wanted was….get this….a bucket of worms. Yes, my pretty little girl begged and begged us to get her a bucket of worms for her birthday….LOL So Nana obliged. What an awesome Nana she has!!! Look at her face in this pic, she was so happy with her worms. First thing this moring, she had to go outside and check on them and hang out with them. LOL She's so crazy….!!

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she went outside to play with the worms and we made her pretend she was gonna eat one. I shouldn't say made cause all we had to do was suggest it and she was all over it. LOL Funny pic!!

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I love this picture!!!!! She is such a little tomboy…..I'll have a blast with this pic when she's 16. LOL

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Cool pic of Ben….

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My sister (with her new glasses!) and Rick. I so love my sister's smile.

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I have no idea what Zak is talking about to Rick, but I lke the picture….lol. You can see the kids' school pics hung up….yeah, the school pics that NO ONE has gotten this year. So sorry! LOL

Jaime birthday 2009 (43) edit

My mommy and Zak! Love this picture…..he adores my mother and pretty much has claimed her as his own. And she loves that….loves being "mom" to him and she really loves him like one of her own. Which is, of course, awesome…..so long as we stay married. LOL Anything ever happens to us and THAT'S gonna be a huge problem….LOL How do you divide a mom????

She loved her presents and loved her little party and she is super excited for her party on Saturday….ME TOO!!!
LOL
she’s 8.

April 9, 2009

Wow…just wow.

My baby girl is 8!!!
Freakin' 8!!!!

I am going to post more once I get the kids to school…I want to download the pics and post them. That might take awhile because there are a ton of pics on the camera.

I'll be back with a good update!!
Briefly….

April 6, 2009
It's been a good week….
- Things are definitely picking up at the office, for Zak. He might have a client that wants to put an offer in on a house. KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED!
- My mom rocks. more than I could ever say.
- David was on the radio last night, promoting his water and he sounded GREAT!! If you know him well, you know that he was nervous, but he sounded FANTASTIC!! so proud of him and excited for him!!!
- talked to an old, old friend on facebook last night….got her number and I'm excited about the idea of meeting up with her. Haven't seen her in 20+ years!
- my stuff is coming together..still not quite there, but I"m making progress. .
- Ceci sent Jaime her birthday party stuff….yay!! She also sent her a couple of gifts!! Yay!
- Jaime went to a birthday party on friday and had a freakin' BLAST.
- Zak has been working on his website and it's coming out awesome!!!
- I need to finish an album for someone…..
- I worked on Jaime's bday cards a little the other day.
- it felt really, really weird to be back down in my studio. It's as if I've forgotten how to create! Weird!!
- been in a writing mood lately..bigtime.
- Friday night out with my friends was such a good time!!! (I so adore when he sings to me and means it…..you know who you are….)
- heartbroken by all the unnecessary violence I've been hearing about on the news. WTF is wrong with people???
- helped my sister over at her house yesterday.
- Steve is gonna change my brakes in BOTH of our cars for me! He so rocks…I'm so excited to go grab a six pack, hang with him at the garage, bullshit and watch him work on my car…it's so gonna feel like 20 years ago!! I love it!!!
- worried that vox is going to disappear. I'm seriously very concerned about my blog. I don't want to lose it!!! I'm going to research turning it into a book or transferring or something. I just need a back up plan….like NOW. I would be heartbroken to lose this blog. As much as i'm not updating these days…I love knowing it's there and I know that someday I"ll get back to it. It's just a busy time right now….and I don't want it gone!
I feel like I'm forgetting some big stuff…but it's early and I'm only on my first cup of coffee AND it's Monday.
Totally excusable.
Completely forgivable.
Yes?
the wind in my face….

March 31, 2009

is pissing me the fuck OFF!!!!

I bet you were expecting some sweet, sentimental bunch of sap, huh?
Nope….just me, yours truly, bitching!

I really hate the effin' wind.

For those woman with the long, flowing beautiful hair that they hardly have to put any product in, yeah…wind is fanfriggin'tastic….it makes you look like you are in a video all day long and yeah, that's kinda cool.

But for us who aren't so blessed and have to make sure every single hair is glued in place with enough product to stock a Vegas show…..the wind is really a cruel joke of mother nature and okay, I'm laughing…I get it. Very funny. The guy at the bus stop who wound up chasing his kid's homework down the street, hysterical! I greatly appreciate the laugh…..but can you knock it the fuck off now???

ENOUGH WITH THE GODDAMNED WIND!

Thank you!
Yours Truly.
P.S. Thanks for the sunshine today though!
🙂
long conversations..

March 31, 2009

The other day I made it a point to try to call Dave & Wanda and to try Danielle.. I haven't heard from any of them and I miss them.

I wind up getting David and we talked for an hour and a half! We talked economy and mostly business stuff (his water..) and it is so super exciting for him right now! Things are really coming together nice and I am just beyond thrilled. He is still planted firmly on the ground, but I'm sky high! LOL I need to get some more information from him before I post about anything specific, but he's been getting his water out to some big people and it's ever so slowly, catching on! Very happy for him and Wanda! David and I talked so long that I never get a chance to speak to Wanda, so I gotta try again cause I miss her bigtime and want to chat at her. Which is good because then I can get some specifics from David and write them down so I don't forget and then I can put them up here….

I also tried and got Danielle….whoo-hooo!
So nice to hear her voice and chat at her for a bit. I so miss her!!! I got to say hi to Joey and that was awesome. I really, really miss that little boy!! Danielle and I talked for quite a awhile too and so I got all caught up on what's going on with her and her life and the new baby! Its a girl and the due date is July 21st. 🙂 I am so hoping for a miracle, financially and things turn around for us to the point that we can take a trip up north this summer because I so want to SEE. THAT. BABY!!!!. lol. All in all things are okay up there for her. She's weary of winter (everyone is, this year!) and feeling tired from baby, but doing well. Which is nice!

I found some Juneau people on facebook which made me really happy! It's nice to stay in touch with people….and I adore Jason. Turns out he travels quite a bit for work and he will be in Virginia to a month or two this summer, so I told him he should come up and see us! And he might!!! He might hop a commuter flight up and hang out for the weekend. TOO COOL!!! I am so excited!!! Tina's trying to come in June, then Jason in August, then Kim in September or October…I love it!! love looking forward to stuff and counting down days!!!

Which I am doing right now for my daughter's 8th!!!!! birthday! I am gettting excited and so is she.
🙂
Our news…in brief….

March 29, 2009
I am disappointed in my lack of blogging and I'm doing my best to get on here more.
As I am sure you have noticed, my best ain't that great….

So until I get back into the swing of things, I thought maybe if I went this route, blogging in brief snippets, perhaps that would inspire me and motivate me, a bit. And this way everyone is still being updated and I'm not stressing about not blogging. A happy medium, so to speak…let's see if this works.
- excited about Jaime's birthday…worried that it's going to be crappy out and in disbelief that she is 8 already! She is getting a very cool gift from my mom and sister and Ceci just ordered all her birthday stuff the other day and it's on the way. She wants a Little Pet birthday (it's a toy…check them out, they are cute….Little Pets….)
- Ben went through a really, really bad period, ever since winter break and he was just terrible. Even at school. He has been incredibly good the last 5 days and I'm keeping my fingers crossed this is a turn for him.
- Niki took the kids with her to the Cape for a night. I love when they get to go down there and visit and I got a lot of work done. It still feels so odd to not have the kids in the house. The night wasn't so bad, but the next morning when I woke up and around 7-7:30am when no kids started coming downstairs and the morning routine did not begin, it felt a little weird. A lot weird, actually. They were almost going to stay Saturday too, but they decided to come home….Zak and I were happy!!
- Girl Scouts is good but with the stress of life, it is feeling overwhelming most of the time. There seems like there is always so much to do for that one hour and a half a week.
- I didn't go out on Friday for my weekly night out because things are so stressful, financially and Zak and I had to work, work, work our butts off. Even if we didn't have to work, I really wasn't up to going out. But we did come up with a couple of pretty cool ideas for him to help build up his contact list. I'm really excited about this!
- Loving my mom living here. I love that she has her own space, she has her space set up so cute, I almost want to move in down there!
- Love her dog!!
- Been working on the yard and it looks GOOD.
- Spring is in the air, it is getting warmer and nicer, the days are longer and it is cool to watch everyone come out from their winter hibernations.
- My diet has gone to hell and I look like total shit. I do not care, right now.
- The kids are healthy and happy. Jaime is very excited about her birthday.
- One of my friends is having a hard time and I am worried about her, alot.
- Missing Dave and Wanda….been a million years since I've even talked to them and I'm wondering how his water is doing….
- Got to talk to Alaska Kim for awhile recently and it had been a long time since we talked, so I was really happy to hear her voice and catch up. Miss her tons.
- Got to talk to Tina's Kim for awhile too and that was nice.
- Worried about Emerald.
- Missing Tina's everyday phone call. She's been on vacation….
- Ceci has been crazy busy because of tax season and I miss her phone calls. Well, and her. LOL
- Miss Kayla and hoping she's doing well back in Alaska and still working on getting her butt back her!
- I've been working on my graphics site a lot (part of my lack of blogging…) and I am loving it!! (The banner is pissing me off to no end. I don't know why it's justifying to one side the way it is…grrrr….)
- Almost done with my marketing ebook.
- My sister has been going to the gym and I am so proud of her!!!
- Things are picking up at the office for Zak and he is very excited….things are FINALLY happening around the office, all the agents are starting to get busy and THAT is good news! He's at an open house today….wish him luck!!! 🙂
Okay…there's an update and I'm going to TRY to be better about at least doing a brief update, if nothing else.

<sigh>
You know what??

I sure miss my life.
I miss living….we do not regret moving, we are happy living here…but we have not been "living"…we have been surviving…and I just miss living…

Soon..things will get better soon….I know it!!

Tah, for now!
oops!

March 20, 2009

Obama on Leno

Looks like Obama needed scripted answers more than Leno needed scripted questions!
LOL

For the record, I'm not getting into a debate on if I think his remark was out of line or not…..
I"m just curious to see the reaction on this….

Cause I'm thinking if it had been anyone else, they would have been crucified….but I have a sneaking suspicion, because it's Obama….this is just gonna slide by with nary a word…

We'll see!

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