Heather

CANCER SUCKS ASS

Somewhere between real life, facebook and the blog world something has slipped through the cracks.  A very important little bit of information, I totally dont have time to go into all the details yet (there is a post down there about some of it) but for any one out there who doesnt know and for those facebookers who are constantly wondering why im crying or feeling like crap in my status':

STAGE 4
PANCREATIC
CANCER
IS INCHING
EVER CLOSER
TO TAKING
MY DAD AWAY
FROM US.

and yes - i said ASS up there!  there are way worse swear words that I COULD use to describe CANCER and my dad dying - but I thought i would spare you all and just say that

CANCER
SUCKS
ASS!!!!!!!!!!

SEPHORA

Why oh why oh why

will the most glorious store on Earth

NOT

come to Idaho Falls?????????????

I truly think that my seemingly normal

and peaceful existence

may start to deteriorate

and my life may soon end

due to the lack of

an amazing makeup store

in Idaho Falls or even

anywhere in the vicinity.

SERIOUSLY.

Am I really the only self centered/money wasting/makeup snob/bare escentual loving/pore hating/Sephora whore in all of southeast Idaho???????????????

Its derby time (again)

I am so excited to make my pinewood derby car this year!  I searched around for pictures so we could get ideas and also made a list of ones that I thought of myself:

 

Can of Diet Mountain Dew
Swimming Pool
Candy Bar
Putting Green
Jewelry Box

 

Bath tub
Bouquet of Flowers
Box of Cereal
Chick Magnet

 

Ice cream cone
Tennis Court
Stack of Books
Table set for dinner

 

Rocket
Camera
Loaf of Bread
Tool Box

Pocatello

The boys and I went to Pocatello today.

YES - we went there to visit my parents.

NO - I didnt kill anyone or pull any of my hair out.

YES - I am shocked by that and you should be too.

NO - I didnt even come a little close to overdosing on xanax.

YES - I did take the camera with me.

NO - We didnt actually take any pictures of my parents.

YES - I would definitely lose my head if it wasnt securely attached.

LOL - LOL - LOL.

We left far later then I wanted too - but that is a usual thing for anytime the boys and I go somewhere together!  We stopped and got gas and sodas before we left and a little lunch too - FROM THE GAS STATION!  The boys both had nachos and I had a hotdog - and can I just say that I had totally forgotten how utterly delicious gas station hotdogs are!  HOLY CRAP!  YUMMY!!!!!!

Then we headed down the highway.  My poor youngest child has been corrupted at school by girls and his teacher - they all sing MAMA MIA songs all day long and now he sings them too!  NOT ONLY DOES HE KNOW THE WORDS BUT HE IS OBSESSED WITH THE SONGS.  So of course we put them on a CD for him and of course he remembered to bring it with us to pocatello.  (that was so kind of him)  So I drove down the highway listening to these songs that I definitely dont like while a red-headed 6 year-old sat in the back seat singing them at the top of his lungs.  GOOD TIMES!!!!!!!!! 

For those of you who don't already know - my dad has CANCER again.

This time the prognosis isnt nearly as good as last time.  Now it is all over his LIVER where it mastasized from his PANCREAS and it is on the bottom of one of his LUNGS.  The time left that the Doctor said is about 3-4 months and that COULD be increased with the Chemo shots he's taking. 

NEEDLESS TO SAY - THAT KINDA SUCKS.

I dont feel like getting into all my thoughts and feelings about cancer, my parents, death or any of those other way personal things tonight but I do want to make sure that I am clear on one thing-
I DO MY VERY BEST TO LIVE MY LIFE WITHOUT ANY REGRETS.
Those of you who know about my personal struggles with my parents may be wondering to yourselves if I regret struggling with them or regret having a far less than perfect relationship with them.  I DONT.  I cant change it - and even if I could - I dont think I would. 

So when I say that this SUCKS - I mean it literally and currently - I dont mean that it sucks because I have regrets.

• It sucks because Trevor will be devastated when Grandpa dies
• It sucks because cancer is a crappy way to die
• It sucks because my dad will die without ever being optimistic about life
• It sucks that my great grandpa lived to be 100 but my dad wont even get close
• It sucks because he doesnt have much life insurance
• It sucks that my grandpa will probably have to attend his own sons funeral
• It sucks that Garrett is so young that he will only have small random memories of grandpa
• It sucks because I havent ever had anyone THAT close to me die
• It sucks that my dad worries about my moms finances
• It sucks because he and Garrett arent nearly as close as he and Trevor are
• It sucks to think that it may have been caught earlier, but the Dr said he didnt need a body scan last year
• It sucks that my mom says that the worst part for her is to think that she doesnt know if my dad has ever been truly happy and felt real joy
• It sucks because even now he is in constant pain
• It sucks that Trevor and I have to talk everyday about cancer
• It sucks because as difficult as our relationship may have been - I will still miss him
• It sucks that Garrett thought you could "catch" cancer from someone.
• IT JUST SUCKS.

So we continue on. 

Sometimes its kind of hard to not dwell on all the things that SUCK about it. 

But all we can do is pray for him, visit him, make memories with him and LOVE HIM.

WE PLAN ON DOING A WHOLE LOT OF THAT.

Oops, I forgot to mention-

So speaking of Trevor getting his haircut, He needed it cut so badly because we had to wait UNTIL THE STAPLES WERE TAKEN OUT OF THE BACK OF HIS HEAD to even get his hair WET, let alone get it cut.

Yes, you heard that correctly -
TREVOR HAD STAPLES IN HIS HEAD - 3 TO BE EXACT.

A few weeks ago - I get a frantic call from the school secretary saying that Trevor FELL and hit his head and it was cut badly and bleeding like crazy and the paramedics were on their way.  Needless to say - PHONE CALLS LIKE THAT REALLY FREAKING SUCK!

 
So I jump in the van - with very little makeup on, non-blow-dryed hair, no bra, and my lounge around the house clothes on - and rush to the school.  Of course it WOULD have to be during carpool time!  So there was a teacher (Garrett's actually) out on the street waiting for me and when she saw me she stopped all the other cars and guided me in to where the ambulance was.

.

 
When I got inside the school all of the kids in Trevor's class were freaking out and a few had been crying and word had gotten around the whole school by now.  As soon as he hit his head and didn't respond to his teacher immediately - she got all the other kids out of the classroom, so when I walked in all I saw was Trevor, Carina and the paramedics.  I was glad that he was sitting in a chair instead of laid out on a stretcher thingy!  The paramedics said that they didn't know how bad it was because it had finally stopped bleeding and had matted his hair down and they didn't want to go digging around in it and have it start bleeding again. 

.

 
So we talked and signed papers and I took him over to our pediatrician.  Dr. Scott Smith!  He did a thorough job of checking Trevor for any other injuries and discussed with us things that can cause people to suddenly pass out and fall and hit their heads on the sharp edgeof a shelf.  He also said that he had a definite concussion, but since there was such a good sized lump around the cut - he wasn't worried about any internal damage.

.

 
Then he rinsed the hair and found where the injury was.  It definitely wasn't HUGE - only about an inch long, but he said Trevor must have hit HARD because it was pretty DEEP.  And I was informed that head wounds ALWAYS bleed PROFUSELY.

.

 
Dr. Smith put some numbing stuff on it (which Trevor said "didn't work at all")

.

 
Then he IRRIGATED it.  Trevor said THAT hurt BAD.  But he was a little consoled when Dr. Smith told him that he got to keep the irrigator - or SQUIRT GUN as it was often referred to as.

.

 
That is the STAPLER!  Al you do is squeeze the wound together and push the handle on the stapler and VOILA - staple in head! 

NOW AS GROSS AS THE PICTURES HAVE BEEN - HERE IS YOUR WARNING THAT THE NEXT ONE IS THE GROSSEST AND THE COOLEST!

.

.

 
THAT IS WHAT 3 STAPLES LOOK LIKE IN SOMEONES HEAD!!!!!!!!  Pretty freaking cool looking huh?

So we spent the next week and a half not being able to get his head wet, having him forget and put his head down on something and he even said once that he shouldn't have to do chores as long as he has staples in his head!!!!!!!

He recovered quickly and even WANTED to go to school the next day.

Then I kind of forgot about the staples until 12 days later (they were supposed to be in 7-10 days).  Unfortunately it was a Saturday now, but the super fantastic office that we go to was OPEN and said to bring him on in. 

 
That is the "staple remover".  We of course kept the staples for his scrapbook.  He said it hurt to have them taken out, but not as bad as having it irrigated!

It healed up nicely and Trevor still says every time he showers how great it is to be able to get his head wet and wash his hair! 

MY GIRL

I would like to introduce you all to someone VERY VERY important in my life.  She means the world to meand somedays I feel like I would DIE without her.

 
This is Lindsey Nulph.  She is a stylist at Carlisle Beauty.  It is SHE who helps me to continue to have GREAT HAIR!  I totally trust her and she is super fun and so freaking talented.

I absolutely hate PAYING for haircuts - I can cut my own hair pretty good - but this girl could charge an arm and leg to do my hair and I would give it to her happily!  And not only is she GOOD - but shes FAST too - and I cant stand sitting in that chair for very long so that is so wonderful! 

 
I like her so much that she even cuts Trevor's hair too.  (which he HATES - but the poor kid just doesn't have the right kind of hair to grow it out long).  I forgot to get an after picture though - dang. 

 
She and the rest of the girls at Carlisle also offer other SERVICES too - NO not THOSE kinds of services!  LOL!  But things like nails, color, products and WAXING! 

Although Trevor and his pizza covered face look scared and upset - he was actually a very willing participant in the waxing of the eyebrows.  He decided that it would probably be WAY better than me PLUCKING them!  HE LOOKS SO GOOD WITH TWO EYEBROWS!!!!!!!!!!!  And he said it only hurt for a couple minutes.  I would give Lindsey TEN BUCKS any day to NOT have to listen to him whine and yell when I pluck them - it was fantastic!

And to let you all know - although Lindsey is the girl that keeps MY hair in its CONSTANTLY GORGEOUS STATE - tonight it was ME who got to put someone elses hair in that same state!  YEP - a few hours ago I CUT ROBINS HAIR!  It was way fun and she looks super duper cute!  THANKS FOR A GREAT NIGHT ROBIN!  

LASTLY - 
ARE YOU ALL DYING TO KNOW WHY I LOVE HAVING CONTACTS??????
No one guessed a totally right answer - so I will tell you-

THE ABSOLUTE BEST PART OF HAVING CONTACTS IS THAT I CAN NOW SAFELY DO MY MAKEUP WHILE DRIVING! 
(taking OFF my glasses to do eye makeup isn't very safe or smart when your vision is as bad as mine is!) 

Happy Birthday Mr President

First of all - NONE of the comments on my last post have been correct yet and I WANT MORE PEOPLE TO GUESS!!!  (can you totally picture me stomping my foot as I say that????) LOL!  Anyway.....

Today was ABRAHAM LINCOLNS birthday! 

I am not going to jump on the LETS COMPARE OBAMA AND LINCOLN bandwagon or anything, but I just wouldn't feel right if I didn't at least commemorate today in some way. 

The 16th president isn't one that we talk about alot at our house (and YES we DO talk about alot of presidents here) but we tend to focus on the first few and the last few.  I suppose we should discuss him more - some poll somewhere said that when asked who was the most important president a majority of people will answer LINCOLN. 

I myself wont go THAT far (this is one of MY all time favorite presidents) but Lincoln is up near the top of the list for sure.

 
I went to Fords Theater and the house where Lincoln died when I was in High School, but in all the times that our family has been to DC we have never gone together.  Unfortunately on our last trip in 2008 the theater was being renovated (for the 200th birthday celebrations) and we got to the house across the street FIVE MINUTES AFTER CLOSING TIME!!!!!!!!  So my family has still Never seen where he was shot or where he died. 

 
We have been to the Lincoln Memorial MANY times though - so many, that this time we didnt even take decent pictures of it.  This is a picture of the view looking back towards the rest of DC with your back to President Lincoln.

 
And facing him, this is what I saw - NO - I don't know who those people are.  We have TONS of pictures of the memorial, but they were before we got our digital camera so they are not easily shareable.

.

 
There was a nice exhibit celebrating the connections that Lincoln had with Idaho that was in Rexburg a few weeks ago and of course the boys and I went to see it.  Here are a few pictures from it:

   

 

 

 

 

I heard an interesting view about Lincolns anti-slavery-ness today.  Many people automatically assume that he wanted equal rights for everyone and hated slavery because it made the black people unequal to the white people.  However - one scholar said that Lincoln (like anyone in that day) wasn't THAT much of an equal rights advocate.  He hated slavery because his father had been a poor farmer who couldn't compete with all of the plantation owners who had tons of free labor.  So Lincoln wanted to end slavery for more economic reasons than racial reasons.  I had never heard that - I always just assumed that he loved everyone the same.  INTRIGUING.

No matter what - he still had a huge impact on our country and humanity in general.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PRESIDENT LINCOLN!!!!!!!!

post viral update

I have once again averted a slow painful death caused by the disgustingly powerful common cold virus.  This time he was far more chesty (and not in the good female-ish way either) than usual.  In some ways thats good (no head exploding or nose pounding and runniness) but in other ways it is just as bad (my ribs actually ache from coughing so much and so hard).  And did you know that the stuff that is stuck in your chest while a virus has its death grip on you DOES NOT TASTE GOOD AT ALL?????????????  I will not go into any more detail, other than to say it is almost as bad as onions!

I also managed to shock my poor body by drinking a few QUARTS of water everyday since I started feeling crappy on Saturday.  I dont know why though - it didnt do anything.  But at least now I have a permanent record of the time I drank water! 

So I am still alive and I have received a few emails from friends who were wondering a bunch of things that I hadn't updated.  So here are a few of them.

All of our prayers have been answered and our sweet girl TAYLOR has been rescued from her automotive captivity!  Our withdrawal symptoms have ceased and her amazing voice has since filled our van as we all sing along (well 3 of the 4 of us - there is ONE person in our house who REFUSES to sing along with her - ANY GUESS WHO THAT IS?????) 

Our anniversary (which was on SATURDAY) was pretty low-key.  We did do something a little different however.  I always feel bad that anniversaries are more of a couple type holiday then say a birthday is - sure most people don't care at all - but I know a six year ld who cares ALOT.  So I wanted to do something that was still personal to US but that the boys could be involved in too. 

So we went to our 2 favorite restaurants (TEXAS ROADHOUSE AND JOHNNY CARINOS) and bought gift cards to each.  Then I wrote a note inside each one that said
"It's our anniversary and instead of giving gifts to each other, we decided to give gifts to strangers - ENJOY!" 

Then we headed to Winco to get some groceries and give our cards away.  We let the boys carry the cards and pick who the random people were that got them.  We had 2 criteria - they had to have a baby and look tired.  pretty random I know - but it worked and was fun.  I went with each boy when they gave their card to someone and explained briefly why a stranger was handing them a gift card.  Then away we went.  It was pretty nice.

Lastly - I GOT CONTACTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now before we go into all sorts of details about what I got, how my appointment was, how funny the Dr was, what an eye abuser I am, how bad my eyes are or anything else------

I have a question for you - a question that if you answer correctly could win you a prize!  (what the heck that freaking prize might be - I have no idea - but a prize no less).

DO YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK IS THE BEST PART ABOUT HAVING CONTACTS INSTEAD OF GLASSES?

Leave a comment with your guess and we will see if anyone out there knows me THAT well.

YUCKY!

I managed to survive the day with the MORNING PERSON and get most of our errands finished, however - I have to say that I havent felt too great for the past few days.  Just kind of YUCKY.  Well today the feelings in my stomach, head, throat and back went from yucky to absolutely HORRENDOUS. 

I hope I feel better tomorrow. 

Speaking of tomorrow - IM GETTING CONTACTS AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have been DYING having to wear my glasses for the past 10 months or so (no money for an eye exam) but now I will be back to my normal glasses-free self. 

Blake and I decided what to do for our anniversary!  It is something kind of unexpected and does NOT involve getting each other any sort of gift.  I am really excited - I will tell you all about it tomorrow. 

I am going to bed - at least for a little while - until I have to go potty AGAIN.

Fridays

DID YOU KNOW THAT I GET STRESSED OUT EASILY???????????
lol
lol
lol
lol
lol
IS THERE REALLY ANYONE IN MY LIFE WHO DOESNT KNOW THIS?????????

Anyway - since Blake has Fridays off, we usually run errands and stuff like that on Fridays.  Well today we have A BUNCH OF STUFF TO DO!!!!  Not much of it is REALLY urgent and neccessary - but things weve been putting off for a while.  I'm sure your thinking - well thats no big deal - just do it and be done with it, right? 

Well it is not that easy.

Blake happens to be one of those horribly sickening MORNING PEOPLE - needless to say I AM NOT.  So he is always wanting to get up early and get our crap done while I am wanting to sleep, or put on makeup or watch CNN.  So our day begins.  Then when we do finally leave the house, I usually have all of our errands mapped out in my head as to which is closest and which is on the way to that and where we need to be at the end of the day and such - Blake on the other hand is NOT A PLANNER - so in his head we will get the stuff on the list done in any order at any time no matter how inefficient it is. 

My point is - I am already stressing out about it! 

OH YEAH AND SPEAKING OF THE ERRANDS WE ARE RUNNING - one of them is to go to a stereo store.
WHY??????
BECAUSE THERE HAS BEEN A HORRIBLE, HORRENDOUS, AWFUL, LIFE ALTERING TRAGEDY IN THE LIVES OF ME AND THE BOYS!

Our TAYLOR SWIFT CD is stuck in the car stereo!!!!!!  Now - it wouldnt be so bad IF IT WOULD PLAY!  But noooooooooooo - it wouldnt want to do that, so there has been much sorrow and confusion and symptoms of withdrawal going on in our house.  We love that girl - and without her - our lives are seeming kind of empty and hopeless.  Please pray for our van, cd and us to all have a quick recovery!

Happy Birthday Gary

A few days after Christmas I got a call from my friend Robin - this in itself isnt unusual, but getting a call from her at 10:12pm is HIGHLY unusual (shes NOT a night owl), and to top it all off - she was calling from her dads house. 

When I said "Hello" all I heard on the other end was an out of breath voice say "Can I bring the boys over to your house?"  To which I replied "Yes - is everything ok?"  And she said "NO - we'll be right there". 

I instantly knew that her father must have had a heart attack.  He had one years ago and had all the surgery stuff that goes along with it but since then he has always been in FANTASTIC health and has taken very good care of himself. 

When she got here I ushered the boys inside and asked her if it was Gary - she said yes and that it wasnt good.  She would call me later.  The boys both looked scared and upset and sad so we chated for a while and then I tucked them in bed and knowing that their family is a prayerful one I asked them if they wanted me to pray.  They said yes.  Throughout the whole prayer all I could think to say was things that had to do with Gary dying and what his family would need, for some reason I even talked about where we go when we die and that its ok.  To me, it was such a strange feeling prayer.

They went to sleep quickly and it was less than 2 hours later when the phone rang and Robin said - "i'm on my way- he's gone."  She came and got the boys and I was left feeling so helpless knowing that she must be hurting so bad. 

For the next week or so I was so proud of Robin and the strength she had to make funeral plans and family plans and business plans and EVERYTHING PLANS all while still being a good mom and a good friend.  The Lord was truly watching over her. 

January 2nd we went to Garys funeral.  Many of our girlfriends came to the visitation time to show their love and our friend Sheri even stayed for the whole funeral with us - just to be supportive.  There were tons of people there, not just family and business acquaintances, but friends and friends of friends.  I knew that Robin would probably not be in any state of mind to document the event and as strange as it seems - I knew she would want photos of the funeral so I brought our camera and took a ton of photos. 

Some of them are not THE BEST - but I was trying really hard to not be disrespectful or intrusive so there wasnt the normal oppurtunities to focus correctly or do many retakes or even use the flash in the dimly lit funeral home. 

This is Christopher, Taylor and Doug bringing Gary in. 

Trevor and Garrett both had a hard time when we first got there with the fact that Gary had been cremated and his remains were in that little box. 

One of the owners of the funeral home was nice enough to sit down with the boys and I to discuss cremation and how it works and what they do and everything.  Luckily he was L.D.S. too so when Trevor had a couple more spiritual questions surrounding the ressurrection - he was able to kindly and thoughtfully answer them.  It was really nice.   

 
Garys life sketch was FANTASTIC AND FUNNY AND FULL of wonderful stories.

One of my favorite part of funerals is when they have time for the friends or family to get up and share a memory or thought or story about the person who died.  I got photos of most of the people who spoke - but there were a few that were more moving than others-

 
Like Robins son Taylor AND her ex-husband C.J.  Even HIS words were kind and loving.

 
And when Gary's step-son Doug got up and could barely speak.  When he finally got his words out - they made even ME get a little teary.

 
Then we all went outside into the FRIGID cold to see the military rites stuff. 

 
Here is the guy giving the flag to Gary's mother while his "wife" (girlfriend) looks on.

Gary would have been 70 years old today.  Thats pretty old - but dang he was still a young guy at heart.  I didnt get the chance at his funeral to stand up and say what I wanted to say so I guess I will say it here.

The thing I will miss most about Gary Hoyt is kissing his cheek, especially if it was on the side that he was blind on because then sometimes he wouldnt see it coming!  I will miss teasing Robin (in front of Gary) about how HOT her Dad is.  But most of all - I will miss patting his belly and asking him when his baby is due.  He was a wonderful man and I cant wait to see him again.

I feel like a guy!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO - not in any sort of physical sense of the word - so don't even go there with some guyish or male anatomy related comment, OK???? 

But I really do feel like the classic, stereo-typical GUY.

YOU ARE DYING TO KNOW WHY RIGHT??????

Well, when you think of things like birthdays and more specifically anniversaries and then you throw a guy into your thoughts, what do you instantly think of????  If your anything like ME (which everyone should be of course)(LOL) then you think of the fact that guys seldom ever remember the actual dates of these things. 

Which brings me to my current feelings of guyishness.  In my last post, way down at the very bottom I mentioned that my anniversary was Friday and waswondering if the traditional gift for the sixth year was Littlest Pet Shops.

As difficult and disappointing as it is to admit, I must say that not only is the traditional gift for year number 6 NOT Littlest Pet Shops but also
MY ANNIVERSARY IS NOT FRIDAY. 

 

Yep, I can hardly believe that in all of my womanly fabulousness - I actually misquoted the date of my own anniversary.  But I was at least close - ITS SATURDAY.

Now on to even more pressing issues concerning the lack of LITTLEST PET SHOPS on the list of traditional anniversary gifts.  Here is a listing of what gifts go with what year:

Year	Traditional	Modern	Flowers
1	Paper	Plastic	Pansy
2	Cotton	Cotton and Calico	Cosmos
3	Leather	Leather	Fuchsia
4	Fruit and Flowers	Linen, Silk, Nylon	Geranium
5	Wood	Wood	Daisy
6	Candy	Iron	Calla Lily
7	Copper and Wool	Brass	Jack-in-the-Pulpit
8	Bronze	Pottery	Clematis
9	Pottery	Willow	Poppy
10	Tin	Aluminum	Daffodil
11	Steel	Steel	Morning Glory
12	Silk	Linen	Peony
13	Lace	Lace	Hollyhock
14	Ivory	Ivory	Dahlia
15	Crystal	Glass	Rose

With this list in mind lets do some pondering and remembering.

First anniversary is PAPER!  I definitely should have gotten a whole lot of scrapbook paper that year!  I guess I could have given Blake like a newspaper or something or maybe TOILET PAPER?!?!?!? lol.

2 through 4 are kind of random in my opinion, but I do have thoughts on last year and this year.

Last year was our FIFTH anniversary.  The traditional AND modern gift for that year is WOOD! All I will say is - I DEFINITELY GOT WOOD given to me that year - just not the kind that they mean on the list!  GET IT????????????  ha-ha-ha!!!!!!

And as far as this year goes - CANDY?????????????  I just lost 30 freaking pounds, there's no way in HELL that I need CANDY for a gift! 

Realistically, I could probably do without all my Littlest Pet Shops too - but they are just so cute and fun.

What WOULD be a good anniversary gift this year?

Hmmmmm.  I might have to get back with you on that one.

I KNOW - WHY DON'T YOU LEAVE A COMMENT GIVING ME SOME IDEAS OF WHAT I SHOULD GET FOR A GIFT THIS YEAR! 

little known fact about me

Just so your aware - the title of this post is something that Trevor would totally refer to as an OXYMORON!  Amidst his sixth grade sense of humor - he is currently OBSESSED with them, his favorite is one that a kid in class came up with MILITARY INTELLIGENCE.  To which I HAD to ask if he really knew what that was insinuating and he said yes, but he didn't necessarily AGREE with it - he just thought it was funny.  But back to ME - I mean, are there REALLY that many things about ME that are not widely known? LOL. 

Anyway - did you know that I collect Littlest Pet Shop Pets?  Yep I do.  I know, it probably sounds childish and dumbb for a "grown up" to collect little plastic animals, but they are just so cute!  And since the boys like playing with theirs too - its something that we can do together.  (What the heck am I talking about?  Am I seriously JUSTIFYING my reasons for collecting something? - I must be getting sick!)  

Unfortunately I don't have a current picture of the pets that I OWN - mainly because they are scattered throughout the house intermingled with the boys' ones and I am WAY too lazy to gather and sort them all just so I can take a picture of the ones that are mine. 

But my point is that I WANT MORE!  So I thought I would post the ones that I WANT and if anyone out there wants to leave one on my doorstep someday - FEEL FREE TO DO SO! 

 
This little cutie comes with his "nook" - not many pets do anymore, now they come with cute little accessories, but I miss each of them having their own little house.

 

 

 

 

 
HOLY FREAKING CRAP!
See what I mean by CUTE LITTLE ACCESSORIES!  A wheelbarrow for the bunny, a wagon for the kitten, a trike for the panda (he would look so cute on it), an actual little hive for the bee (how cute would that be for someone who goes to BONNEVILLE!) and a tent for the doggy! 

 

 

 

Some of them are just ADORABLE.  The puppy with the poopy even comes with a pretend newspaper for you to potty train him with.  I think that ANY skunk is cute and the bottom one that comes with the tree and the eye mask is a BAT!!!!

.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the best Littlest Pet Shop pets are the ones that are unusual and more rare animals. 
I think I may truly DIE if I don't get the ARMADILLO and the set with the DEER AND OWL. 

HMMMMMMMMM - my anniversary is Friday, I wonder what the gift for the sixth year is?????

Weirdo

Thats what people call me when I tell them that we give our cats BATHS! 

Which surprises me because I cant imagine NOT giving cats baths.  I mean they are kinda yucky little animals (yucky animals that I ADORE) Between the litter box, and their inability to clean many spots on their bodies - they can get pretty dirty. 

So today was cat bath day! 

 

This is Aisha - luckily she doesnt have claws so she is way easy to bathe.  And NO she isnt trying to escape in the photo - I was lifting her up so I could wash her belly.

 

And when she was done and we were drying her off.  She looks so pretty now!

LIVE AND LEARN

That's what I do - LIVE AND LEARN!

And OF COURSE share the things that I live and learn with everyone I know. 
I mean what good is learning something if you don't share the knowledge with others? 
There you go - I'm the missionary of mundane crap! 
And just like missionaries share the Gospel - I share mundane crap!!!! 
(No I am NOT actually comparing the Gospel to something mundane)

BUT I AM GIVING OUT FANTASTIC ADVICE!!!!!

 
If you need to remember something important that is to be done at a later time, you can write it on the top of your hand.  Especially in colors that are bright enough that you will see them all the time. 

NO- that isn't the advice part, I don't know many people who haven't written something on the top of their hand before.   

HOWEVER - the good advice/live and learn part is that you really should be sure and get the note off of your hand BEFORE you go to bed that night, otherwise when you wake up in the morning, you might just have the mirror image of the note ON YOUR CHEEK!!!!!!

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This is one of those bits of advice that a person may not REALLY want to know - but for that matter I didn't really want to discover it either. 
This is a wonderful MENS electric razor.  Blake shaves his face with it often and it is always left feeling smooth and soft and it only takes him moments to accomplish this. 

Well if your brain works like mine - your probably thinking - wow, if it shaves a mans face that fast and that well, then it would be PERFECT for other parts of the body too. 
(that IS what your thinking RIGHT?) 
Well let me just tell you that a mans face is VERY DIFFERENT than other parts of the body.

ESPECIALLY THE MORE INTIMATE PARTS OF THE FEMALE BODY.

The fabulous LIFT AND CUT aspect of this MENS razor is what makes their faces so wonderfully soft and smooth.  HOWEVER - when it is not used on a mans face - that very same LIFT AND CUT system is what will cause the MORE INTIMATE PARTS OF THE FEMALE BODY to be left in a state that is far less than desirable OR comfortable.  That uncomfortable state consists of BUMPS, REDNESS, ITCHING AND PAIN. 

Take it from me - NO LIFT AND CUT ON ANYTHING OTHER THAN A MANS FACE!

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Mmmmmmmmm!  Yummmmmmy! 

If you look closely at the bottom of the box, you can see where it says:

"Three grams of soluble fiber daily from whole grain oat foods, like Honey Nut Cheerios cereal, in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease.  Honey Nut Cheerios cereal has .75g per serving."

Sounds pretty beneficial right?
RIGHT.
Sounds like a healthy cereal right?
RIGHT.
Sounds completely harmless right?
WRONG.

I'm sure that a yummy cereal in the hands of a NORMAL person is completely harmless - but in the wrong hands it can become a weapon - maybe not of mass destruction or anything, but a weapon no less.  So are you sitting there wondering where on earth the advice is????  Well here you go-

Eating an entire box of Honey Nut Cheerios in less than 48 hours can cause severe stomach pain among other less than desirable and very miserable symptoms that can make you want to spend the entire day in bed (when your NOT in the bathroom). 

Fiber is good for us all - but in large quantities - it isn't quite as good.

My last bit of advice is one that some of you may not want to read.  If you have a queasy stomach or are grossed out easily please stop right here - unless you like punishing yourself - but remember that I warned you.

 
I LOVE CATS!  And I especially LOVE my cats. 

Cats are pretty weird little animals though, they have bad attitudes, they are demanding, and they shed.  Speaking of shedding - cats that have longer hair (like Aisha on the back of the couch) tend to have a yucky health issue called HAIRBALLS. 

Now, I am not here to discuss the ins and outs of the feline digestive system, but let me just say that hairballs get caught at the bottom of the stomach and cause the cats digested food to not be "released" from their body.  So the cat is left to THROW UP the food because there is no room for anymore.  Although my darling Aisha does have problems with hairballs occasionally, my advice is not about the hairballs themselves.

My advice/live and learn is this:

IF YOUR GOING TO HAVE A CAT, YOU BETTER HAVE TWO.

That way when one of them throws up - the other one can eat it. 
THEN YOU WONT HAVE MUCH A MESS TO CLEAN UP.