Caution: Pinterest May Cause Injury

You're probably all aware of this new addiction called Pinterest.  I am slightly obsessed, and have convinced myself that I am a total DIY-er and very crafty.  Obviously both of these things are false descriptions of myself.

But I keep thinking all of these ideas that I "pin" will be easy to recreate.  I've been able to do one successful project - my fall wreath.  Apparently that success expanded my ego to thinking that I now need an entire craft room, a wall full of ribbon, and the entire store of Hobby Lobby.

My crafty dreams got me really excited for Christmas decorating.  And when Tony told me that we should really make the house look festive, I am pretty sure fireworks went off in my head.  I'm pretty sure T regretted that decision once I announced I had all these ideas.  A few weeks later, he regretted that suggestion again when he saw my list for Hobby Lobby.

While I'm not a fan of Black Friday shopping, it was worth the trip to Hob Lob to gather my supplies for my crafty dreams. That place is amazing - not only can you get materials for all of your Pinterest ideas, but it's all at 50% off! Cue the angels, harps and fancy lighting!

And I wasn't the only one who got entranced at Hob Lob....Tony was pretty enthralled as well. He started giving me a budget in the car....and quickly increased it, and we still managed to go over.  Without much argument from me, he quickly decided that all we bought was a reasonable price since it was 50% off.

Booyah.  Should have piled more in that cart.

After our adventures we came home to finish our Christmas decorating and I began my crafting.

At first....all was going well.....and then it all went to hell. The creators of the hot glue gun were not lying when they used the words "hot" and "glue." Awesome.

If you're thinking that I burned my finger, you are right.  If you think I burned two fingers, you are also correct.  If you are thinking that I burned the s$*% on three of my fingers, get yourself a lottery ticket, but you are the winner!

Holy Moses burning flesh.  Luckily, I held back most of the tears for fear of ruining my project.  So as I iced my fingers, I kept on with my projects.  I felt like a warrior going into battle with my hand in a sling, unless that sling smells like burnt flesh and has a heartbeat.

Thank goodness for my main man Tony.  While out to get dinner, because let's be honest, I was totally unable to cook anything for dinner.....and well, that doesn't happen often, Tony went to CVS (his favorite store) and got me burn cream and bandages.

Finally...relief in the forms of gauze and tape!

One finger may be worse for the wear.

Thumbs up for blisters!

I feel as though it was another bonding moment - Tony taping up my fingers before I went to bed. Suddenly my fingers looked like a line backers going in for the game.

Ugh. So here I am, injured, taped up and maimed by Pinterest.  Okay, well not really by the site, but by my lofty ideas that even I, the accident prone, can create something with a hot glue gun.

And now you're probably asking what I was creating that caused this injury. Well here you go:

These suckers better last for years!

Not too shabby - those trees may have caused my flesh to be seared like scallops.  Sorry, I was just watching back to back episodes of Top Chef. 

So the next time I get excited to create a Pinterest project, I will make sure that the tools I need will not include a glue gun. Oh wait, I did another project....its not blog appropriate. And no, not that kind of appropriate...as in, it's crooked and wouldn't fit in the space needed. Until next time Pinterest.

Thankful for 30 Things

Well Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I would like to shock you all by telling you that I already went for a workout this morning (in which the instructor thought it was Sweatgiving day).  Since doing my bootcamp, I feel a ton better about getting up and working out - even on Thanksgiving.  Plus, it will help me justify the amazing goat cheese mashed potatoes my sister is making today.  While some people's vices are alcohol or gambling, mine is cheese....and peanut butter....and probably anything sweet.

But I thought I would tell you all the 30 things I am thankful today on this thankful day. While many dedicated bloggers were able to do a once a day post, I'm not that dedicated, nor could I remember to post once a day for 30ish days.  So today, you get a list.  I love lists. I'm probably going to be thankful for them too. Watch out...it might get crazy all up in here.

Of course there will be some things that are sentimental, but since I am pretty sarcastic and watching the parade on tv, which PS, the big headed pilgrims freak me out, just a bit, most things won't be serious.

We'll go with the serious things first:
1. Tony: He's pretty great.  He deals with my crazy moments, makes me laugh, is the best maid cleaner anyone could have and he loves me and Tyson unconditionally.  And he has some great hair.

"You're going to write about this on your blog, aren't you?" Yep.

2. My parents.  They are pretty fantastic.  They supported me for 28 years - not only financially (during school) but also with whatever I wanted to do. Not only do they make me laugh (especially when they face time me while sitting in the dark) but they show me how to be better person.

Missing a babe....this picture was taken this year and is already outdated!

3. My in-laws.  I like to think I got double lucky in that department. I have two sets of in-laws.  Both who have raised Tony to be the man he is, but they welcomed me into their family with open arms.  The entire family makes our lives complete and I'm so lucky that they all live so close.  I'm excited that our future kids will have all their grandparents close while they grow up.
4. My High School friends.  I'm pretty lucky that I'm still as close to those girls, and maybe even closer than when we were in high school. These girls know my ins and outs, can tell when I'm up or down and even when we don't see each other that often, we pick up right where we left off.
5. My college friends.  (Yes, I have two friend categories) These girls saw me grow up in college. They not only lived with my crazy, they probably added to it, as I added to theirs. These group of girls have just started the waves of babies and I'm so excited to see them grow as moms.  Plus I am excited to tell their kids, "Back when your mom was at K-State...."
6. Tyson.  Of course I would include this guy.  He's made our lives fun. Not only is he always excited when you come home, whether you've been gone for two days or two hours, but he's a great protector.  Obviously when prompted, cause if that guy is sleeping, he doesn't get up for anything.

Yes you love me. Even when I do try and smother you in your sleep.

7. My nephews - all SIX of them.  They make me laugh, get excited to see me (when they are in good moods) and help me realize I'm not so ready for babies of my own just yet. Plus they are stinkin' cute.

So tiny they all are. But at least they're not poking out each others eye balls or sitting on my head.

8. My sister.  She gets her own category because she's the bomb.com. Granted there was a time in her high school years, she could have dealt with less than me, but thankfully she got over that stage. ; ). She's always there for me, even when dealing with sticky syrup boys, calms me down, laughs at me, and makes me laugh. She'll do anything for me, including wear a dress and high heels for my wedding!
9. My brothers. As crazy as they are, they would do anything to protect me, unless they are ganging up on me.  They made some pretty cute kids and they taught me about football, how to give an Indian burn and way too many dirty jokes. Sorry mom.
10. My sisters - in - law.  I'm lucky to have three - two of which deal with my brothers, a huge job in itself, and the other who teams up with me at family dinners.  They all made pretty cute boys that I get to spoil.
11. Coffee. I love coffee. It tastes great, and helps me get a caffeine fix.
12. My job. Although there are some days that are little more stressful than others, I'm lucky to work for an organization trying to make a difference.  Plus I've met some great friends there.

(um, pause....Sister Act just came on the parade and Whoopi looks way different on Broadway)

13. I'm thankful for my health.  Although I had a minor scare earlier this year, I have legs that help me run, walk and chase little monkeys.

I am actually moving here....shocking I know, but it's true. I also died after this.

14. Comedy shows.  It may seem silly, but watching Modern Family or Happy Endings after a stressful day helps me laugh and forget about my worries for a bit.
15. Billy Synder and K-State football.  My love for my team goes deep, and I probably subconsciously buy purple everything to make sure I support them year round.
16. Nail polish. Yes, I'm getting to the sillier things now, but doing something girly makes me happy.
17. Leggings.  While it took me a while to get into this trend, I'm thankful that these comfy pants help me as I'm about to indulge in some Thanksgiving goodness.
18. A garage.  Seeing Tony scrape off his car on chilly mornings makes me thankful that I have a roof over Ted. And thankful that Tony lets me park in the garage.
19.  Our house.  While there are somethings that I wish I could change, I'm thankful that Tony and I can afford to put a roof over our heads and live with heat, running water and comfort.
20. Toilets. Yes... for the girl who has to use the bathroom 74 times a day, toilets make me happy. I'm not sure how I would deal with Life on the Prairie style outhouses.
21. Inhalers.  Thank you for being there for me when I feel like my lungs are about to pop out of my chest.
22. Photography.  It makes me happy and I am excited to get out there and work on my own. Luckily for me, I have some little ones to practice on.
23. My education. I've been able to expand my knowledge with great schooling.  Granted, not all of it sticks and I forget about some history, but I can type, put letters together to form words and make this blog for you. You're welcome.
24. Blogging. It makes my nosy side so happy to learn about crafting, how people train for half marathons and marathons, and read funny stories about their kids.
25. Dry shampoo.  This whole working out thing throws my non-washing hair days for a loop.  Plus it helps my lazy side when I really don't want to do my hair.
26. Razors. (Yes, this would be for my brothers) These little suckers are awesome. End of story.
27. Food. It helps fuels my body, tastes good when other people cook it, and helps me not be a cranky pants.
28. Parades. I'm thankful that other people will dress as clowns, in Barbie shorts and other ridiculous costumes to make life a little happier.
29. Crate and Barrel. There is nothing better than that store. And yes, it's very materialistic, but I don't care. I heart it.
30. Finally, I'm thankful that you read the rest of this post. Thank you for reading my ridiculous thoughts and letting me write things that most people probably wouldn't write - or think of.

Happy Turkey Day to you!

So Happy Thanksgiving to you and all of your family. May you all enjoy this day of thanking and keep it going year round.

A Conversation

T: "Hey I got some more trashbags."
Me: "Oh good, I kept forgetting to get those!"
T: "Yeah, you know that Dollar Store, it has some amazing deals."
Me: "Um yeah, that's why it's name the Dollar Store."

Apparently he didn't hear that last part as there were some more comments about how great the Dollar Store was. Looks like Rice-A-Toni and Befty Bags are coming into my household more often.

We might be the Clampet's

I can't remember if I posted about this already - so if I did, pretend like you didn't read it, okay? Great.




We have a squirrel problem.  It's been happening for a while now - they squirrels are taking over our lawn, our neighbors lawn and the rest of the forest we call the Trolley Trail. They've been driving Tony to the point of "Christmas Vacation" insanity - if he had a chainsaw it's be all Texas Chainsaw Massacre up in the Waldo hood. Except there aren't cheerleaders....I've actually never seen that movie, so we'll just pretend that's what its about.

Some things that the squirrels are doing to drive Tony batty:
-Tearing up he new seeded spots on the lawn - well, when it was warmer
-Mocking Tyson (I secretly think they start going, Hey dude, bet you can't catch me - in their Alvin & the Chipmunk voices (obviously after their daily vocal warm ups) to him when he's outside)
-They ate my pumpkins - yes, the small tiny ones that I actually used to decorate the outside of the house with for fall - I would also like to think they made the mums die that my mom brought over, but....that was me...whoops.

Oh and Tony thinks they are mocking him as well.  Just staring at Tony while he yells at them before the waggle their tails and jump back into the trees. Yes, squirrels do waggle their tails, it's odd, but when you do enough squirrel investigating like T and I do - you'll learn to know these things. We've gone all National Geographic this year....soon we'll be talking about the mating habits of foxes.

To combat these rodents, Tony decided it was time to get a BB Gun. And yes, there are times I'm worried he'll shoot his eye out....the man was once stabbed by a piece of a mirror, he's almost as clumsy as I am (don't tell him I said that).  So he got one that looked like a gangsta gun, and I'm pretty sure our neighbors would be calling the police after seeing him point this thing. Luckily, Unfortunately, it didn't work.  Back to square one or rather asking his brother if he had a BB gun.  Of course he did - and not just a BB gun, a huge rifle style one that looks like Tony's ready to do some gun-slinging and chase off the bandits. 

After a minor mishap with pellets - apparently they are different sizes - and I don't if the ammo is actually called pellets - that might be what hamsters leave as droppings, either way they look like shiny hamster droppings - Tony was able to utilize he BB Gun. And I got this phone call:

T: "Babe, I totally gone one!"
Me: "What? Why:? Did you kill it? Do we have dead squirrel on our front lawn? Did it bleed? We're now known as squirrel killers and PETA's coming after us!"
T: "No, I just nicked it in the leg, it ran off."
Me: "Great, so now we have a gimp squirrel running around and his family is going to come after us. Wait, did you get Anderson Cooper Squirrel (a white albino/graying squirrel)? I feel bad for that squirrel family now."
T: "No, it wasn't Anderson.  Don't feel bad, they're tearing up my lawn!"
Me: "Ugh, we're squirrel killers. Why couldn't you just shoot at it's feet and make it dance?"
T: "It's fine, they won't be coming back again."

And if you're wondering, yes Tony does work, he was home between meetings and what I can only imagine looked ridiculous in his dress clothes, a huge rifle and leaves being blown up.  I hope all of our neighbors saw him.

Thinking he was done, I was hoping the gun would go away - sadly, it's still propped up against he wall by the back door.  It was by the front door by our shoes, like it's normal to have a gun by your front door.

However, Tony wasn't done getting the squirrels.  Apparently another one was asking for it the other day - he was sitting on our fence and Tony got him. He seemed a little too excited about his shooting - saying he knocked it off the fence and it jumped up and fell back down into the pile of leaves. Ugh. And yes, he shot it from the front yard into the back....this time he was in workout clothes, so maybe a little less ghetto? No?

The bonus is that I haven't seen any squirrels in our yard lately.  However I'm thinking they are starting to plot against us and just waiting for the moment to attack. Until then, we'll be holed up in our house waiting for the squirrels. If Tony starts to sit out on the front porch rocking until they show up, someone help me. Or buy him a bright orange hat for Christmas so he can really feel like a hunter.

Hopefully we'll hit oil soon - we need to move out of squirrel zone.  Johnson County doesn't have any squirrels? Do they?

There are no words

There really are no words for this video - other than amazing and I that Tyson and I are going to be practicing until Cinco de Mayo.

Just the brows?

I'm not one to hide the fact that I have hair.  Obviously on my head, but I also have crazy eyebrows that get a little out of control every few weeks.  And since I've inherited this problem, and my brothers have lovingly informed of my unibrow - although I would like to say that I made sure I took care of that about 6th Grade.  It was also the time that I had braces, glasses and started to get curly, pryamid hair - yes, I was a beauty in 6th Grade.

But my sister-in-law was a life-saver and told me all about her eye brow lady.  After being a plucking queen throughout college, I finally went.  Too say that I'm hooked would be an understatement.  Although I did enjoy the times my friends Alison and Katie would help me manicure my eyebrows on the floors of the college dorms, I've matured a little in the skin care regimen.

Frida made it cool....but she's Spanish....so she had no choice. 

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 As much as I love to go and get my brows done, I try to spread out my appointments as much as possible, brow lady ain't cheap.  I can always tell when its time to go when I get tired to doing maintaince plucking and when my husband lovlingly says, "Wow babe, you should really do something about those suckers."

The bonus is he usually tells me this as we are hugging, so I "lovingly" punch him in the gut.  While I don't promote violence, I feel that this "love tap" is fair and square and only to be done when your spouse gives you a backwards compliment.  I would also recommend that these "love taps" don't go the other way - it is these times when you claim that you are a dainty flower.....and smack back and run.

Okay, digressing.....so yesterday was my eyebrow appointment. It's probably my favorite appointment, other than my nails, but I probably like it more than my nails since usually I feel like I am being talked about while my cuticles are being clipped. 

While at my appointment, there's always one question that I fear before closing my eyes.

Eyebrow Guru: "Just the brows today?"

Um.....what? "Yes, just brows."

And meanwhile in my head....I mean, yeah that's all I came here for....does she think I need to get something else done? Oh my gosh do I have other facial hair that my friends aren't telling me about? I mean my family is pretty blunt about things being on my face, but I haven't seen them in a while (yes, I did miss family dinner this week).  Ugh, what if I have to start waxing my upper lip....does she think I need that? Should I wax something else...would it leave me with a red mark on my face? I can't wax my lip....that's what really hairy people do....well I guess it's kind of normal, maybe next time. Do I have to schedule that out when I make my next appointment, does she need more time? What would the receptionist say if I asked for a brow wax and lip....would they judge? I probably would judge and wait for the person to come in because I made a note on their appointment that they are a hairy monkey.

Eyebrow Guru: "Okay, all done."

"Okay, thanks see you next time!"

Yes, it is scary to be in my head....and it's going to happen all over again in four weeks.

My, that was bouncy

I realized that I haven't posted in a while.  Forgive me blog, for I have skipped. And my sister informed me that I've been slacking.  So I'm posting now. While I probably have a few things to update my "readers" on, this thought was on my mind today and I figured you all would enjoy it as well.

Well, I guess I should back up a little bit.  A few weeks ago I began a 12 week bootcamp through my workout class. It was time for me really to kick my own booty and I was not doing it only a few days a week by myself.  So I signed up and have been pushed out of my comfort zone, felt like I was a contestant in the biggest loser and have never been more tired.  We're working out twice a day - yes, twice a day - and three times a week together.  Every week I have 12 workouts to do - and I've been doing okay with them. I've missed a few here and there - and after this weekend, I definitely failed on the scale this week - but I'm determined, especially since my group can see my progress.  Talk about a slap to reality.....wait, that didn't make sense.  I mean, talk about a slap to the face. Better?

So I'm working out, I'm watching - very almost ocd watching what I eat - and I'm going to bed at 9:30 pm.  Oh yes, I'm going granny style and waking up at 5 am.  Surprisingly, not too bad.  What's the bigger shocker? I've prepared my meals, my coffee and my PM workout bag all the night before.

I know - my parents are probably reading this with their mouths open, because I'm pretty sure they tried 10 years to get me to do that before school. While it never worked then, I'm doing it now - or at least I'm trying to do that, and today was an exception.

While I did make prepare my bag last night, I was also getting my clothes ready for the morning workout.  Somewhere in between I apparently counted the wrong items.  Yes, while I did pack a sweatshirt, t-shirt, tank tops, shorts and leggings - there is one thing I completely forgot.

A sports bra.

And while I like my sports bras, I have come to love them - and appreciate all their support.  So much for my treadmill run, things would get a little uncomfortable. I don't think the pre-pubescent baseball players really need to get a Baywatch style scary jiggly, Ghostbuster marshmallow man view.

Seeing how I didn't want to frighten the baseball players - I chose to do a different style workout a really hard walking incline.  Luckily the jiggling was mostly in the back.

After this workout, I'm going to start packing an extra sports bra in my car and maybe in my purse.

Or maybe I should just start wearing them to work. Would that be weird if I had uniboob all day long?

PS. Do not Google images of Uniboob. Instead, enjoy this picture of a puppy boxer who looks almost exactly like Tyson.

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