For Melissa Jo...

Ask, and you shall receive... a little late.

Kate Spade.... I WIN!!!

I've spent the past month or so on a mad search for these shoes.

They're ridiculously expensive (for me), a tad outrageous, and I just HAD to have them!

It figures... The one time I'm willing to splurge on a great pair of shoes... I can't find the darn things! Grrrrrrrrr

I searched high and low. I called stores all across the country. I even recruited a small army of friends to help search with me.

Finally.... On Friday.... They were found (Thanks, Kristi)!!

Kate Spade.... You thought you were sneaky, didn't you??

Well... YOU'RE NOT!

I WIN!!!!!

My Conditional Love for Snow

I LOVE snow! I really do! I love snow when I can sit inside my toasty warm house with my sweet little kids, bake up a batch of pumpkins spice muffins, and enjoy it's beauty from the inside.

I do NOT particularly care for snow when it's 6:00am and I'm trying to convince my little 4-cylinder Corolla that yes, SHE CAN maneuver her way out of our driveway, into the 10+inches of snow piled up in our cul-de-sac (Thanks for nothing snow plow dude!), and happily continue on her way down our unplowed street to my work.

Nope. Not much fun at that point.

This morning... I almost gave up.

As usual, I backed out of our recently shoveled driveway into the white abyss that is our cul-de-sac. As soon as I hit the bottom of our driveway, I knew that this may not be as easy as I had hoped. I tried to continue backwards, but the tires, which are brand new by the way, just spun. So, I threw it into "drive" and attempted to go forward. I think I achieved a full 12 inches. So again... we try reverse.... and then drive... and then reverse... and then drive again. All the while I'm chanting, "C'MON DIMPLES!!!", hoping and pleading for her to pull through. (My car is named "Dimples" due to some nasty hail damage she suffered about 6 months after I bought her. She's fixed, but the name stuck.)

Finally, after stomping on the gas in every possible direction, and seeing my neighbor peer out his front door at me like I'm some crazed lunatic... Dimples and I were on our way!

As I continued on my drive (and I use the term "drive" loosely because I really don't think I had any form of control over my vehicle until I reached the main street a few miles away), I heard on the radio that Central Ohio is on track to have the snowiest February ever. EV-ER!!!

YA THINK?!?!

It's kind of hard to see just how high the snow is piled up in front of our house because all you see is WHITE!!

Steve finally had to break down and buy a $12 snow shovel at Meijer when this all started. It gets the job done (and will give even the fittest of fit a great workout... trust me), but he's been drooling over our next-door neighbor's snow blower like it was a swimsuit model.

Maybe next year babe!

Poor guy.

There is hope!

Bringing a new "kid" into our family was a challenge.

Cookie growled at everyone and everything, and I bawled because I swore Cookie hated me and that I'd ruined her happy little life.

I'm surprised Steve didn't throw all three of us out and lock the door!

But...

... Every now and then I catch the girls like this, and I'm reminded of how far they've come and how much better they do together.

There is hope that they'll grow to love each other yet (probably about the time Petunia learns to keep her sharp little teeth to herself)!!

R.I.P. Tootse...

My sweet little turtle, Tootse, passed away yesterday.

I know, I know... She was just a turtle. But she was MY turtle, and it made me sad.

My mom found Tootse on a dirt road that runs along the family farm in Kansas, and smuggled her back to Arizona for me in an earring box... She was that tiny! That little turtle has been with me ever since... from Arizona, to Indiana, to Ohio. She was even a part of the family before Cookie was.

She was a fun little creature and I'm really going to miss having her around.

Why I Oughta...

So the other day, I came home from work in a pretty foul mood. Due to the nasty weather across the country and the heavy holiday traffic, the past few weeks at work have been hell. Each day is just one butt kicking after another. I really really try to leave my work frustrations at work. I do. However, this particular day, I think I had just hit my breaking point, and some of my work frustrations traveled home with me. Anyway... I walked in the door loaded for bear.

Poor, unsuspecting Steve decided that this would be the perfect moment to bring up wedding plans. Now... keep in mind please, that I have been asking him for about 3 months now to pick a DJ. This is the one job I have given him, and it has yet to be accomplished. So, needless to say, I was more than a little peeved that Mr. Procrastination picked *NOW* to discuss wedding plans. We had a brief... um... discussion, in which I snippily reminded him that we were about 8 months out now, and that we needed to get some of these things nailed down... SOON!!!

Later that evening, after relaxing a bit and realizing that I had been a bit of a wench, I went over to him and apologized. The brief conversation went something like this...

Me: "Babe... I'm sorry for acting like a mean old hag. I really didn't mean to."

Steve: "Aww... You're not mean. And you're definitely not a hag!"

Oh. No. He. Didn't!!

I am a year older than Steve. And he just LOVES when he stumbles upon the opportunity to remind me that I am a year ''OLD''er than he is. What a turd!

I should've just snatched him bald headed right then and there.

Oh wait..... (he he he he)

It's a good thing he's cute!