friday questions

Do you say...

dresser or bureau?

garbage or trash?

shopping cart or buggy?

barbecue or cookout?

couch or sofa?

ottoman or hassock?

dinner or supper?

sprinkles or jimmies?

pop or soda? (or coke??)


I say the first option on all of the above. How about you?

this week

I feel like it's been quite the productive week.

I have...

...had three extra boys spend the night early in the week

...taken the kids in to have lunch with Ryan on MLKday

...done a combination of online super sales and second hand store shopping which has resulted in lots of clothes for the kids (mostly for next school year) for super cheap.

...cleaned and organized the master bathroom
This was no small task... it's honestly never really been unpacked since we moved in; pretty much all the contents of our previous two bathrooms and linen closet. Until now we've simply dug around to find what we need when we need it. Our bathroom cabinets were still mostly empty with stuff sitting around -in the way- in boxes and laundry baskets and we had never even used the second sink in our bathroom because it was piled high with make-up, flat irons and junk.

...purged (again) and reorganized the playroom; rearranged shelving and added shades to close in the top shelves of the built-ins and "installed" a hanging light.

...finished a canvas "art" piece for the living room

...done six loads of laundry

...had a hot dinner on the table five out of the past six nights

...made cookies and poptarts and applesauce bread


phew!
I'm ready for the weekend.

Except that over the weekend I'd really like to...
get my buffet/sewing cabinet project done and painted
get the new (free!!) entryway chair painted
possibly paint the playroom or the living room and/or the stairway/upstairs hall.


But for now we're relaxing. The kids are home (again) today with ice on the roads (making a total of only actually attending school three out of the last 10 school days!!) and we're just chillin'. Literally. It's 10 degrees outside and so we're in for the day.
I have applesauce bread in the oven, banana bread ready to go in next, and I've decided I'm going to spend most of the day curled up reading (yes, reading! I'm so excited!!) on the couch in the living room where I have a view of the kids trashing playing together in the playroom. It's been a nice morning.


And since it's been awhile...
Friday Questions for you!

1. What book are you reading right now (or would really like to be reading)?
2. What was the best thing you accomplished this past week?
and
3. Do you decorate for Valentine's Day?

friday fun

It's Friday. Finally.
Trying to make it fun, despite the gloomy weather.
Looking forward to a fun afternoon with friends, a couple of fun days of great (90°) weather coming up, and an fun extra night with Ryan here watching the LOST finale on Sunday.

Meanwhile, some random fun questions for you:
Tell me...
what was the last fun thing you ate, what was the last fun thing you got in the mail, and what was the last fun thing you bought for yourself?

I had an ice cream sandwich last night (always love those!!)
got Perry the Platypus in the mail (no, not for me, for Sawyer)
and I bought myself was bright purple nail polish last week. :)

Your turn!

week end

Okay, what is the deal here?
It's been hot and sunny all week and I've been checking the weather forecast to be sure the sun was staying put as I've been putting off taking the kids to the pool in lieu of working on the kitchen and getting stuff organized around here. We had (have?) a swim/lunch date planned with friends this morning, so that was supposed to be my make-up for keeping my kids in the house all week. Friday was slotted for a whole day at the pool and friends to join us to boot!

And now this morning? It's dark and gray and looks like it's going to pour any minute.
I am not happy.

*****
We made a last minute trip to Lowe's last night. Ryan made the executive decision to buy a new stove. We weren't going to... we're doing all this work with the new backsplash, refacing the cabinets, we have a newish dishwasher that matches the stainless "look" fridge... but we weren't going to do the stove too. It's original to the house (15yrs) and it's not pretty, but it still works. What we were going to do instead, so it didnt' stick out like a sore thumb, was paint it. You know the epoxy spray paint they have for appliances? We picked up some gray stainless steel cans and were going to transform the almond colored hood and the almond parts of the old black and almond stove so it "went" with our new kitchen. All good in theory.
But then I started the project.

Spray paint and I apparently don't get along.

I asked Ryan to try and rescue the project. I still think it was perfectly saveable.
And even if it wasn't, it was only the hood that I painted, so all we needed to do was replace that and Ryan could either do the stove himself, or we just live with the almond color for now.

But he came home from work last night saying scrap it all, let's go pick out a new stove. Ack!
So we did.

(And I just know now that we spent $700 that we didn't "need" to, something else is going to break down around here that we'll have to fix/replace like the water heater or something more pertinent. It's like I'm waiting for the shoe to drop...)(Although it feels surprisingly "grown up" and oddly accomplished to have all the appliances in my kitchen match)

*****
So it's Friday.
And other than being skeptical of our pool plans working out today, I'm excited to get a start on the weekend with the high hopes of mostly finishing these projects. Hoping to have the whole kitchen done by Tuesday (when the stove arrives). I'll take some pictures in progress this weekend. (And of the bathroom project from LAST August, just for you Nicole!)

How about some Friday Questions for old time's sake:
Tell me what was the last movie you saw, what was the last book you read and what was the last game you played.

The last movie I saw was Gone Baby, Gone (which I liked pretty well)(we have Revolutionary Road here to watch next and I'm looking forward to that one).
The last book I read was Mr Noisy to Sawyer. Oh wait, should I try for something I read for myself?? That would be Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. (Meh)
And the last game I played was Idiot with my husband before bed two nights ago. We like to be idiots. :)

Your turn.

it's friday

How about random Friday questions again...

On second thought, let's keep it simple this week.
Tell me the 3 best things that happened to you this week. Since it seems many of us have all had loooong weeks, pick out three things that made you smile. Anything. A good hair day, getting in touch with an old friend, a package in the mail, someone did something nice for you, or maybe your toaster simply popped out the perfectly toasted piece of toast. Best things.

Despite the week we had, there are quite a few on my list.
Top 3: I got some projects that had been sitting around finished up, I've been party planning (always one of my favorite things to do!!), and I'm feeling like Spring is really here to stay; besides the random wacky temperatures we've been seeing, our grass is getting greener every day, there are buds on the trees and it was bright and sunny outside last night until 7 o'clock in the evening. Good stuff!

Your turn.

friday

It's Friday.
The day I look forward to all week as the Day I Can Get Things Done.
Sawyer has "school" all day, Savannah will be at school all morning, I can get things done in peace and quiet and without interruption.

Today my plan is to read.
I have a book from the library that is due tomorrow. I was on a waiting list to reserve it for three months and I finally got it two weeks ago (and can't renew it since it's on hold after me).

I planned on reading it on our Thanksgiving trip. And then I left it at home. So that was four days out of my two weeks with lots of wasted reading time.

The rest of the two weeks?... of course I've been busy like crazy. It's not so easy to sit down and read a book when you're baking treats and packing four people for a trip. And then it's not so easy to read a book when you're already involved in two separate bible studies involving daily reading/questions. And then it's not so easy to read a book when you have a handful of Christmas gifts to make, 70 Christmas cards to create, assemble, sign, address and mail out, and three separate Christmas events to plan/prepare food for. Also not easy to read when trying to keep your house relatively clean in the midst of trying to get it decorated for the holidays.

So I already decided.... today I'm reading.

Well, first I have a couple of errands to run and groceries to get when I drop Sawyer off this morning. And I know I'll be tempted to put the finishing touches on my Christmas cards and get them in the mailbox. And I want to take Savannah to get her hair cut when she gets home from school. And then I have to start prepping stuff for our neighborhood progressive dinner tonight.

Um, I hope it's a fast read.

**********
Friday Questions!
It's been awhile...

1. What are you doing on this fine Friday?
2. What time do you get up in the morning?
3. What is your favorite Christmas song/album?

my answers
1. see the babble above
2. usually about 6:30
3. not sure if I could choose just one song... or a favorite Just One Album. Right now I'm always listening to Bebo Norman's newest Christmas one. An old favorite might be (embarrassingly) Kenny G's Christmas. I never owned one personally (although now that I say that, I think I do have a copy on my computer), but I've listened to endless hours of it played at naptime/restime in my classroom throughout the holidays every year when I taught preschool, and to this day there's nothing that makes me feel more holiday-ish than when I hear that music.

Your turn!

it's friday

How about some fun thoughts?
Five stupidly simple things that make me really really happy and are a vital part of my day:

1. watching weather reports I may be slightly obsessed with the weather. I always want to know the latest forecast, what the temp is right now, what the most recent detailed prediction for tomorrow is... I seriously watch a weather report at least twice a day.
2. getting the mail I check the mail almost every day as soon as the mailman comes. I love getting mail. Even if it's just stupid bills.
3. watching my kids sleep for a minute before I turn in myself the best time of the day
4. a cold glass of milk there's nothing better in my opinion. I get panicky when we run out of milk.
5. a clock I always like to know what time it is. I feel lost if there's not a clock in the room I'm in. You'd think that would mean I wear I watch, but I don't. I do however, have a clock of some sort in every room in my house :) Plus I like clocks.

Man, looking over my list I sound a little... um... odd. OCD? I promise I'm not. I was just trying to think of the quirky little things that make my day happy.

What are five silly things that complete your day??

this is definitely an "ugh" kind of friday...

Of course.
After bragging yesterday about how healthy we all usually are, guess who woke up feeling horrible, stuffed up, sick and crabby? Me? Savannah? Sawyer? All three of us???!!! That would be correct. Oh it's been a lovely morning. And it's not even 7am....

Combine our morning today with yesterday consisting of concerning news at Sawyer's dr appointment, my several burned fingertips after a battle with the hot glue gun, a botched trial run attempt at Savannah's halloween hair, and as o f now the dishes still in my sink from Wednesday night... I'm really trying to keep myself from just crawling back in bed on this cold and rainy morning.

So to balance out this beast of a day, I'm trying to think of the positives.
Or at least things that make me smile.
Here's a little list of the better things to come out of the last 24 hours:

• peppermint ice cream
• a friendly, funny, doctor-impressing, little almost-three-year-old who charms everyone in our pediatricians office
  
• got gas for $2.33/gallon!!! last night
• my husband bought me my new favorite cd
• I'm declaring Sawyer officially completely potty trained
• Savannah being so proud of herself presenting her little personal pan pizza coupon at Pizza Hut. She earned it from school by reading so many books this month.
• pumpkin muffins
  
• The Office
• it's Friday

What is the best thing that happened to you this week?

and Lame-o is our name-o!

Ryan and I had a night out planned last night. Through work he had been awarded tickets to the party box at the Cardinals game and so we got a babysitter, had everything planned out, (and were missing out on his department family picnic) to go enjoy some couple time with an evening at the ballpark. We were very much looking forward to it.

Then Ryan calls me on his way home from work mid-afternoon yesterday...
"Um, honey? Could you go check the tickets hanging on the board in the kitchen? What time is the game?"

You see, we had assumed that it was an evening game. You know- since it was a work day, and the tickets had been given to him by work. Turns out Ryan was commuting home listening to the score of the ball game that we thought we weren't supposed to be at for another 5 hours.
Yeah, the game was really at 1:15. We're so bright we never even checked the time. Doh.

Oh well-- I was more excited at the chance to change our plans to an actual romantic evening out; the options were endless... a nice dinner, a movie, a walk in the park, a romantic dessert bar, strolling by the river....

We decided on dinner and a movie because honestly, we get to go out to a non g-rated movie like once a year. Problem was, there was nothing in the theaters either one of us really thought to be worth seeing. (Of course there were a handful of things coming out this weekend that we probably would have chosen, but on Thursday night? No. Just our luck.)

No worries, we'll just go enjoy a nice dinner and play it by ear after that, right? We know how to have fun! And besides it doesn't matter what we do, we're just happy to have some quality time together.

Here's apparently what playing it by ear means to us on a Thursday night out just the two of us:

1. Dinner at Longhorns. It was yummy. And quiet. With adult conversation and no one hopping around the booth, stealing bread off my plate, or rolling crayons off the table.
2. A trip to Kmart. Yes, I said Kmart. We NEVER go to Kmart, it was down the road, so we thought, what the heck? We're livin' it up tonight! HAHA! I got a couple of cute nightshirts and Ryan found some propane tanks on clearance we needed.
3. A stroll through Kohl's. No purchases, just the ability to browse clearance racks in peace!
4. And of course Target. Ryan drooled over electronics and found himself a guitar tuner and chord "flashcards"/charts on clearance to try and kickstart his desire to get a little further in his self taught guitar lessons. I bought a gravy boat for the upcoming holiday meals.

Oh My. Can you believe the excitement that is our date nights???

Oh yeah, and we made it home in time to watch last night's The Office on DVR before bed.

I know you're jealous of our romantic evening out. I'm thinking of becoming a date planner if anyone needs any assistance in that area... :)

*******
Friday Questions:
1. Do you remember your first date?
2. First date with your spouse/current significant other?
3. What was the most recent date you enjoyed?

My first date "official" not-with-a-group, be picked up and taken out to a nice place like on a real date date I think was when I was 16 and I met this older guy (!) at a camp I counseled at that summer. He was leaving for college two weeks after camp and we hung out together and with camp friends as much as we could in that time. He wanted to take me out on a nice romantic date before he left. I think if I remember right, he even asked my dad if he could take me out. Anyway, we went to the fancy shmancy (especially at 16!) famous Rhienlander Restaurant and even though I didn't care for the fancy food and the fondue, we had a great time. Great time. *sigh* I'd forgotten about that guy...
First date with Ryan was June 5th, 2001 and I invited him to a comedy club with a bunch of my friends from work. Afterward he and I went up to Terwilliger Park, walked, hung out on the swings at the playground, walked some more, sat on a bench and looked out over the city and just talked and talked and talked.
And obviously I just relayed every boring detail of our date last night.

Your turn!

title unknown, just like the point

My kidless Friday morning thus far has included stopping by two estate sales and Goodwill. I came home empty handed, but it was so much fun to rifle through old junk in peace! One of the estate sales had an old turntable playing some great old records while everyone was rummaging around the houseful of treasures. I love taking in estate sales. Especially of much older people who's homes still look like they could be straight out of the 60's. I love the old dishes, the vintage furniture, the big suitcases and luggage. I love the fadedness of things and the love worn into them. I love wondering how these people lived, who they were, what things the family took out of the goodies to treasure for themselves.

Next on my agenda is cleaning our bathrooms and tackling our two linen closets. One of the mysteries in my house is how on earth towels, medicines, lotions and first aid supplies get so disheveled so quickly. It's like when I close the closet door they all have a party in there and each time I open it it's more and more chaotic. I swear, they have a life of their own! I think I'm going to install a spy cam...

We have a bbq at Savannah's school this evening and from there we're going to head into the city for the Balloon Glow in Forest Park. I was hoping to get to the Race and stuff on Saturday too, but I think we have plans around home that we can't work around. I used to go to the Hot Air Balloon Festival back home a lot and it was always so awesome to see those big balloons up close and something about watching them fly up and float away is just so amazing. I'm excited to head out to this one tonight and show the kids. Savannah's last festival was four years ago and I think it's safe to say she doesn't remember it. :) I went back to look at pictures of that outing just now, and as typical first time parents with a one year old we actually have no pictures of all the gigantic, awe-inspiring hot air balloons; just pictures of our kid:








So of course I'm packing my camera for tonight. Hopefully I can get some cool shots of the balloons all lit up with their fires. And maybe the fireworks. I haven't tried my hand at photographing fireworks yet.

Anyway, that's a rundown of the random excitement that is our life on this lovely Friday. I know the internet is better off having this information added to it.

How about more random info?
Friday Question Time!!
Tell me 1)What color is your kitchen, 2)What one tv show are you most looking forward to being back on this fall, and 3)What is your favorite Halloween candy or treat.

I'll give my answers in the comments. Be sure to leave yours too!

the sound of silence

Oh, is it Friday already??
I was so distracted by the silence in my house this morning, I seem to have forgotten.
Yummy silence....
....
....
....

I'm off to finish up our bathroom makeover and clean like crazy while I have a couple hours of the house to myself. Yeah, do I know how to treat myself, or what?!!
We have a new light fixture coming that we ordered online and as soon as that's here and up I'll take pictures and show off our new improved master bathroom. I'm so stupidly excited about this bathroom stuff!!

Meanwhile, let's answer a few Friday Questions....
What was the last gift you gave someone, what was the last gift you received, and what are you having for dinner tonight?

Hmm... the last gift I gave... oh yeah- it was just my husband's birthday wasn't it?! I guess that would be it. I gave him a giant box of Li'l Debbie's oatmeal sandwich cookies (because I ate all of his while he was out of town). But I did, that was my gift! I wrapped it up and gave it to him. Because I spent all my money and energy on the basement, remember? So cookies were it at the b-day!
The last gift I received coincidentally, was a box of Junior Mints Ryan left me on the counter with a sweet card yesterday morning when he left for work. Yeah, apparently we really like candy and cookies around here. HA! No, really I've been craving Junior Mints lately and I think Ryan was kissing up a little because he was going to a happy hour after work yesterday and not getting home until after the kids' bedtime :). It was a nice surprise to wake up to though!
And I have no idea what we're having for dinner tonight. I have bbq chicken pizza on the menu but I'm really really feeling like take-out tonight... we'll see how that goes!

Okay, your turn. Answer away....

because it's friday

So it's another weekend already. I say already because the week seemed to fly by here, but then at the same time I've thought almost every day that it should be Friday already. But it's finally here and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Starting with today. It seems this is the first day this week I've been able to just sit back and relax. Well, if you count relaxing as cleaning up the house and finishing up the laundry. :) But it is the first day this week I haven't had stuff on my HAVE to-do list.

And being that it's Friday, here are some questions for you...
Do you put utensils in the dishwasher handle up or handle down... or do you just throw them in without paying attention?
What is the last thing you do before getting into bed every night?
Were you in the band or choir in school?

My answers:
-I'm very particular about putting my utensils in the dishwasher handle up and like utensils together; forks all in one section, spoons all in one section, etc. That way when I'm emptying it, I can just grab a handful of all the handles in one section and put them right in the corresponding spot in the drawer. Seems faster without having to sort and turn some around. I've amusingly heard strong arguments for both ways of loading utensils (isn't funny how every has their own "way" to load a dishwasher!)... some say the handles need to be down to get the "used" part cleaner, but then others say the used part should be down so you're not getting stabbed by knives and fork tongs when you reach into the dishwasher. And some people don't give it seconds' thought. :)
-I check on my kids right before getting into bed.
-I was in both band and choir... I played the flute for four years and was in the choir for all of jr high school. I can't remember exactly now, but I believe I dropped both of those when I moved over to the high school.

fixed, finished and friday questions

Ah, I can type two-handed on my couch again!
The hinges on my laptop were broken and I had to either hold the screen up with one hand or prop it up at the table. Got old. My lovely husband ordered up some new parts (which involved not only hinges, but the whole back part of the "lid" and a partial transplant of the whole screen)(which, as he's delicately moving a thin little naked screen around our kitchen table he oh so casually mentions, is the most expensive part of the computer) and finally fixed it right up for me last night. No more droopy screen! No more slamming shut on my typing fingers!!

Also I finally got the rest of our vacation pictures edited and I'll try and get them up this weekend. We got one really good family one on the beach... not nearly the photo shoot I had imagined as the kids were mostly completely uncooperative AND I had forgotten the tripod that I had on my DO NOT FORGET list, but at least we got one good one. I wish I knew the ropes in Photoshop better so I could make my other good shots into awesome images. Either that or I need to learn some actual photography.... haha!
Anyway, some of those coming later.

First and foremost, it's been way too long since we've had any Friday Questions around here...
Da-da-da-dah......!!
Tell Me:
What are you listening to right now, what was the last peice of "fun" non-bill mail you received in your mailbox, what is the best way to eat pancakes, and what is the worst movie you've ever seen.

I'm listening to Sesame Street on the tv while my kids are fighting over the sleeping bags they have laid out in front of the tv and the garbage man is making his way down our street.
The best thing I got in the mail lately was Savannah's class assignment and kindergarten orientation info, and I like plain ol' buttermilk pancakes with butter and syrup.
The worst movie I've ever seen would have to be Mulholland Drive. Or maybe Requiem for a Dream. Or The Squid and The Whale. Or Eyes Wide Shut. Or -oh, you wanted just one??

What are your answers today?

two for one

I'm pulling a two birds with one stone thing here and combining a Thoughts for Thursday with my regular Friday Questions... I couldn't decide which one this would fall under and I have nothing else to ramble on about, so here you go.

Give me two baby names, one for each sex, that you think would be absolutely very last on your list ever. Like you would call your baby plain old Baby before using those names. Like you can't even begin to imagine how anyone in their right mind would think that name would be cute on an infant, or how they picture a toddler walking around with that name.
AND tell me your closet favorite name. The one that you would love to use if either a) your husband would allow it, or 2) you weren't afraid everyone would look at you like you were crazy...

Mine are:
Boy Worst name: Humphrey
Girl Worst name: Myrtle
and
My favorite name that I've never had anyone else agree with me on...

Jemima

I think it's adorable. Reminds me of that cute little blond girly on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I think the name is sweet. With a nickname of Jem. I'd do it in a minute if Ryan ever agreed to it. But no... his only response was we aren't giving birth to a bottle of syrup.

What are your names??

still boring

I don't know what is with me and this non-blogging lately. I'm totally in the habit of writing every day, and I still feel the urge to pull up a new post everyday... but I got nothin'.
Maybe it's because we've been busy almost every morning and every evening and those are my prime computer times. Maybe it's because we've been busy with a whole lot of nothing that I feel would be of any interest to anyone -even me. Maybe it's because my kids just aren't so entertaining and amusing anymore... we're all rather boring around here these days I'm afraid.
*sigh*

I ate three sweet rolls for breakfast today. Our neighbors brought a plate of them by last night and they were sitting in the kitchen taunting me this morning. Three big ones. I'm regretting that big time.

We're having some other neighbors over for dinner tonight. This will be the third evening of dinner guests for us in the past 7 evenings. Love it!! I have no idea what we're eating today though. It's almost noon... I suppose I should take inventory of our fridge and figure that out.
Also, it just dawned on me that Ryan's mom is coming in tonight and I haven't even given a second's thought to meals for the next week while she's here. I should probably get on that.
And clean the bathrooms. ugh.

Friday Questions!!
Tell me... What are you up to this weekend, what's the last movie you saw, and what are all the things you can hear right now?

As I said earlier, Ryan's mom is flying in late tonight to visit for a few days. I think we'll just lay kind of low around the house for most of tomorrow catching up with Gramma and then we have tickets to see the Circus Flora in St Louis tomorrow evening. I'm excited about that! Sunday I have no idea what will be on the agenda.
I think the last movie I saw was We Own the Night. Meh.
Right now as I sit here I am listening to my fingers hitting the keyboard on my laptop, Word World on the tv (and Sawyer's singing along), a boy playing basketball out in the street and an airplane just flew overhead.
Your turn!

taking the plunge (and some friday q&a)

proof in the pictures:





























and back in line to do it again!!












Can you believe I did that?!?!



















(But she sure was proud of herself!)












And since we've been a little light in the comment section over here and I need stuff to read this weekend...
Friday Questions:
Are you right or left-handed, what is your favorite summertime meal, and what do you think is the best ever classic kids toy? You know... like matchbox cars, Lincoln Logs, a Sit-n-Spin, Lite-Brite, playdough...

My answers:
I'm left handed. Although really only when it comes to handwriting and using a fork/spoon. I answer left-handed, but pretty much everything else I'm either-handed (yes, that's a word) or exclusively right-handed. I use scissors with my right hand and all sports stuff is right handed.
My idea of the perfect meal in the summertime is a nice juicy perfectly grilled steak, with a sweet ear of corn on the cob, tomato and asparagus pie, watermelon, lemonade and hmmm... how do I choose a favorite dessert?? I'll get back to you on that one :)
And at the moment I think the best toy ever was the Etch-a-Sketch. I just got Savannah her first one ( a little travel one for the car) antd she is mesmerized! I remember sitting with that thing for hours and hours. I'm sure though when you suggest a classic toy, with each suggestion I'll think to myself oh yeah, I forgot about that one... that's the best toy ever!!

hairy

Savannah left this note for me on the fridge weeks ago and I thought it was adorable, so here it still sits...It says I love when my mom is happy by the way, if you need translating.
Ryan informed me last night that whenever he looks at it on the fridge he every time thinks it says I love when my mom is HAIRY.
And then he laughs to himself that SJ thinks I'm hairy and she likes me that way. Nice.

I got this new hair conditioner. I saw it at Walmart, picked it up because it looked good, and what looked even better was the "try me free" tag on the bottle. I opened it up and smelled it and I was in heaven. In fact, I smelled all of the scents, and had a hard time deciding on a "flavor"! I thought, what the heck I'll give it a try, and took home a little bit of Vanilla Silk. And oh lordy, am I hooked now. This stuff is amazing. My hair feels so light and so soft and smooth, but not flat or heavy and not at all flyaway or frizzy. It feels perfect. And it smells soooo good. The first night I used it (I usually wash my hair in the evenings rather than the mornings) I asked Ryan how he liked the smell and he said I should be careful that he doesn't eat me in his sleep.
Problem is, I got it for the rebate. The regular price at Walmart is $6. Now that may not seem like much to some of you, but that's steep for me and what I choose to spend on my hair.
And the rebate? Is only one per household. Ugh. Which means this is my only free bottle of this glorious stuff. It depresses me a little. But then I go sniff the bottle in my shower and all is right in the world again...

Anyway, you should try it. It's good stuff. And right now it's free.
Or go out and buy it, get your rebate, and send the stuff to me. You know, whichever. I'm not opposed to surprises in the mail. heehee!

Friday Questions!!
Do you use a certain shampoo/conditioner; a certain salon brand, or certain store brand, or just whatever's on sale? And also, let's inventory your shower right now; tell me what I would find if I looked in your shower right now. Aside from mold and mildew please!

I'm a whatever kinda girl. I usually have my regulars, but they are by no means salon quality or prices. I've probably used Garnier Fructis stuff the most/longest. I used some Abba conditioner at my mom's once and completely fell in love, stocked up on some good prices while I was there, but long ago ran out and haven't found any stores that carry it for as good a price around here. I haven't broken down and purchased online yet, but that might be an option, depending on the price. I haven't even checked. I just have a hard time spending more than a few dollars on shampoo and conditioner!!
In my shower you would find today; a jumbo bottle of an Equate (Walmart brand) version of Head and Shoulders, my Garnier shampoo, my new conditioner, a bottle of Milk and Honey body wash, a bar of Zest, an exfoliating bar from Melaleuca, 2 venus disposable razors, a shower poof (what do you call those things?), and 2 washcloths hanging on the shower door for the kids.

pillow talk

I slept horribly last night. Tossed and turned, was hot then cold, got up at 4am to throw the cats down in the basement when they were running and thumping around the house too much, and in between all of that I had one long horrible continue after the breaks of sleep kind of dream.
Not sure why so many of my bad dreams lately involve someone chasing us in some way. Last night I dreamt we were on the run and staying in hotels and being totally anonymous and as soon as we were feeling settled somewhere we would catch wind of whoever was after us being close and we'd have to pick up quick and run again all panicked and leaving things behind. I always made sure we had the kids favorite blankets and I made sure I had my camera and the rest of everything else was just whatever we had time to grab. I don't know why we were running or who we were running from, but that panicky feeling was horrible. I think they were after Ryan...

Anyway, I didn't get much good sleep last night.
And now my neck is stiff and I have a headache. I think I need a new pillow.
I hate picking a new pillow. I don't know what's best for me... I like soft and fluffy, but I don't think that works well for my neck. I'm not sure if I want firm or feather or what other of the three hundred choices out there.
Which brings me to this interesting find... I came across a random blog the other day and noticed this picture of the pillow she uses and was completely intrigued. Over the last couple of years I've had more problems with shoulder and neck aches, as well as headaches at the base of my head from what I assume to be poor posture and sleeping positions. I did a little rooting around and it seems many people swear by the comfort and benefits of using a porcelain pillow. Of course there's a lot of Chinese culture and tradition in using pillows made of stone, porcelain and wood.
It's definately intriguing.... I'm not sure I could sleep on porcelain though. And from what I've seen they'll run you a couple of hundred dollars, so I'm probably not going to try one of those out anytime soon.

So Friday question time...
Do you have favorite sleep position? Are you a tummy sleeper? a curled up side sleeper? a flat on your back snoring sleeper?
Do you like your pillow firm? fluffy? tempur-pedic? porcelain? Have you found that perfect pillow? And if you have, tell me where to find it... :)