A Less Conceptual Point of View

Here is a less harmful picture of our shower drain pipe. I posted that last picture because I loved the way the flash captured every yucky crevice and water sparkle. At first glance I thought Clint had taken a picture of poo.

In case you were curious, here is what a toilet hole looks like.  Glad I could impart some beauty in your life today.

You'll gain nothing from this one

A hesitation of mine regarding starting a blog was that I didn’t want it to turn into a forum for me to let the world know what I had for breakfast, how well my child is doing in school, where I got my cute new shoes from, how much my husband’s raise was at work, etc. In other words, a me fest all about me and how me is doing. But, I’m realizing that it’s difficult to come up with thought provoking posts. I envisioned an opportunity for my peeps to come and have a laugh or two while delving into the esoteric ramblings of my brain. But what if what’s funny to me isn’t funny to everyone? What does esoteric mean? What if the shoes I got on sale at Mervyns are really cute (they are!)? I wish that I could sit down at the computer and brain dump my views on existentialism, but first I’d have to turn off the tv, look up the meaning of existentialism, realize I don’t believe in it, sit for a few more minutes and try to think of something else that’s somewhat philosophical, realize I’ve got nothing, calculate the time I have left before Asher wakes up, and turn the tv back on. So, I hesitate to post until I have something somewhat meaningful to say. But guess what? I still don’t! I won’t name names (H), but I’ve been getting a lot of pressure to post something so that she can have something to read (get a book!). So, you, this non-informative, non-make you smarter, non-have any point post is devoted to you.

Easter - or lack of

I wish I had something to post that shows I put some effort into Easter. We celebrated with family yesterday, so when today rolled around, it was just another Sunday afternoon around here. Emma didn't search for her basket until after 6pm; I forgot about it. What is it with me and holidays?

Asher tried to copy his sister's pose.

Does this happen to you?

To all those out there who have visited my house and commented on it's tidyness:

This was my kitchen table today. Does this just happen to me or does everyone struggle with this?

There is something from every aspect of my life represented on this table. At least the orange formica countertops are clean.

Take a guess

10 points to whoever can guess what this lovely piece's function is and where it belongs.

7 random things

The talented Heather Hales tagged me.


1. I don't like to have un-deleted emails in my inbox. This phobia spills over into my DVR que, un-paid bills, receipts in my wallet, leftovers in my fridge, etc. I get really anxious when things pile up.


2. I HATE roller coasters and anything that resembles a roller coaster. You know that feeling that you get as you're plunging to your death? That feeling makes me cry. I've always had motion issues. I get car sick easily and have been known to occasionally throw-up on while on a plane.


3. I have a bad habit of actually saying what I'm thinking. I don't take the time to edit, delete, or sugar coat what comes out of my mouth. I frequently leave social events kicking myself for the things I've said and pray that my acquaintances will give me a second chance.


4. I salt everything I eat. I rarely taste my food before I salt it. The shaker is always near me at the dinner table. I even keep little salt packets in my wallet. I prefer savory to sweet. I'll take a bag of Doritos over a bowl of ice cream any day.


5. I'm addicted to NPR. It's on the liberal side, but it soothes me.


6. I watch too much tv. I never watch it when the kids are awake, but once their heads hit the pillow, I'm on the couch with the remote in hand.


7. I have the cutest kids ever and a wonderful husband....... that's what I'm supposed to say, right? Although they are cute and Clint is great.....


7.1 I wish I had a marketable talent. If I were passionate about something marketable, I would do everything in my power to turn that into a career.

We're broke thanks to Walt

I never thought I was a sucker, but good ol' Walt and Co. stuck it to me good. We've just returned from the land of over-priced commodities, and we loved every minute of it.  I swear we walked over 2.3 million miles, which is like, 57,564 calories burned, but I still managed to gain 5 lbs while I was there. How?

Ah yes, the overpriced commodity.  Disney corp brings in $95 million each day.  Half of that is from sold food.  $30 for a cheeseburger with bacon and fries, a funnel cake piled high with chocolate sauce, brownie, and whipped cream, and a lunchable. While in the upper left hand corner of my pictured tray, the free (we brought them from home) bag of un-eaten apples idly sits waiting to unload it's appetite suppressing fiber on one lucky individual (apparently not me that day). What is it about being at Disneyland that makes it okay for me to drop $4 for a cup of hot cocoa? And why can't I wait to do it again? I wish I had more pictures from our trip, but I don't like to take pictures of random things. I keep yelling at Clint to stop video-taping the scenery. I like to capture special moments, yet I never seem to grab my camera when they occur.  So, all I come home with is a picture of my food tray.

Clint and I took a slight detour from D-land and visited Los Angeles to see Wicked. He surprised me with tickets for our anniversary. They were worth every dime. I highly recommend it.

Home improvement takes up the majority of our free time. By our free time, I mean Clint's.

Here is the house originally. The picture quality is TERRIBLE.  I'd like to point out the pink fascia, purple and pink shutters, paper curtains, aluminum windows, and the mud pie front yard. We lived in this fantastic looking house for 6 plus years without making any major improvements to the outside. I wanted to focus all our time and attention inside.

This shot was taken after a new roof, fascia, windows, door, and railing were installed. I'll need to give props to Clint as we go along. My roofing grandfather did our roof and fascia, but Clint installed the windows, front door, and the railing/fence.

Clint added the accent trim.

Clint built the shutters, and the house was professionally painted. That's Richard our painter in the reflection of the door. He wore a white sweatshirt and white pants everyday. Why do painters where white?

Next up is the big pile of dirt and rocks that were dumped into our yard. The rocks are just dumped off the back of a truck and you're supposed to figure out how to move them yourself. They average 500lbs each.

This picture is after the curbing, the precise placement of each individual boulder, and many, hundreds, thousands of hours grading the dirt into perfect contours, done by Clint. He's a bit of a perfectionist (by bit, I mean huge).

And finally, TA DA! Landscaping! Do you realize how many comments we've received in the last 7 years about the fact that we had no landscaping? "But isn't Clint a landscaper?" Yes, but I was also a party planner at work and there weren't many parties happening at the Draney abode. I love how green it is. The Sierra Club hates us.

We'll see how this goes....

I’ve gone back and forth.  The Con-Arguments -

• Fear of putting myself out on the internet for all to see.
• My postings being taken the wrong way (story of my life).
• Along those lines, I am too sarcastic, which can be very off-putting.
• I’m on the computer enough as it is.
• Do I have real issues to blog about?
• I’ve never been a “my life is so great because....” type of girl.
• What the frick is CSS and HTML?
• It’s 12:36 am right now. Is this the time I’ll normally be posting?

The Pro-Argument - 

• My family has NO idea what I do all day. Hi Nona!
• I like to write.
• Not that I really do a lot of things that require tutorials, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE tutorials. If I get around to refinishing my coffee table, I’ll do one on that.
• I’ll have something to do at 12:47am if I can’t sleep.
  
  I heard Asher crying in my bedroom, found this scene, told him I’d be right back, and went to grab the camera. He listened and didn’t move.