A Lesson Learned.

One end-of-year party to go! I'm in the home stretch!! Woo!

You know, as much as I detest the ants in this house (see previous post), I have to admire their tenacity. They don't give up. They know what they need to do, and whether it's by sheer determination, or simple "group mentality," they push forward, always trying, always searching, always perservering.

Much to MY chagrin, of course, but hey, we can all learn from Ants. Maybe if we were a little more like them, we'd actually get SOME of the goals we've set for ourselves accomplished. Just sayin'.  ;-)

I am really really really tired. Lack of sleep because Hubby is traveling, and getting up early to get the kids to school. It will be nice to not have to do that any more for a few months.

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I LOATHE ANTS.

Sorry, Major Rant about to take place--can I just say, I HATE ants? Those pesky little black sugar ants, that never, ever, ever, ever EVER give up??? You know that stupid song about the ant and the Rubber Tree plant? Well, the house we're currently living in, is that rubber tree plant, trust me. UGH.

Let me just preface this by saying I've never had ants before, in any house I've lived in. Or if I have, I think I sprayed once, because they were coming in from the outside and they stopped coming in, and that was that.

THIS HOUSE, which we are currently renting, has a crawlspace INFESTED with the little buggers. Nothing seems to get rid of them! Pest control hasn't killed them. I've tried sprays, foggers, pepper, vinegar, (in my kitchen to keep them at bay) and the fixes are always temporary, because they find another crack in the crawlspace and come up into the house somewhere else. It drives me fershlugging NUTS!!!!! They are in the second floor bathrooms, going after the toothpaste and soap. They love Hubby's computer in the master bedroom for some reason. I can't leave even ONE tiny crumb of food on the wood floors on the first floor (YOU try and keep on top of that with four kids in the house) or we get swarmed.

I am going crazy. It's just a little embarrassing when we have people over, and while we're all laughing at the table and talking, an ant or two will run across the top of the table--just enough to embarrass me and freak out our guests. One of my sons likes to smoosh them with his finger tip. My 4-year old steps on them. I SPRAY and SPRAY. Which usually holds them off for a few days, but they find other ways in. It's like we're being INVADED. Since we're only in this house 6 more weeks I don't really want to call in another pest control guy, and spend several hundred dollars--so I get 6 more weeks of freaking ANTS.

DOUBLE UGH.

One More Week of School: Just Shoot Me How Exciting!!! Woo!

First off, HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!!

Also my good friend Devon Ellington (Writing as Annabel Aidan) has a novel out today: ASSUMPTION OF RIGHT! Congrats, Dev! You can buy it here.

I am conflicted. Happy vs Sad, because it's the Last Week of school. Of course Hubby just left for NYC this morning, he'll be there all week, so I get to brave the festivities and parties on my own, but that's usually how it is, so no worries there. I have a husband who travels a lot. At least he stays in the U.S. when he travels. I have friends with husbands who go Overseas, for weeks at a time.

No complaints from this Momma.

I'm beginning to get a tad overwhelmed with everything I have to do, but I also have this Adult ADD problem (which drives my Hubby nuts) where I do a little here in one room, and do a little there in another room, instead of just STICKING WITH ONE ROOM and finishing it. I can't do it. It's beyond my scope of ability. It's usually how I write, too, but that's another post. ;-)

It's supposed to be BLAZING hot all week, mid to upper 90's, and humid. Yep, Summer is here. I am fine with it, I like being outside in the morning and evening, but during about noon to five, it sucks to be outside. Probably because A) I'm still used to "hiding indoors" from my Wisconsin years and B) I am extremely fair-skinned and can't be out in the sun very long anyway unless I slather on the SPF 180. Also a rather embarrassing C): I hate the way people smell when they're outside and they come into the cool indoors. (Myself included.) The sun makes them...stinky. There's no other way to describe it. I hate the smell of baked clothes and baked people. Does that make me weird?

Oh well. Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a great weekend.

I'm a Sucker for a Purple Room.

When I was a girl, there was this GOSH AWFUL Laura Ashley purple flowered wallpaper and white bed set with purple flowers and it looked like someone threw up purple flowers and craziness everywhere, and I LOVED IT. LOVED IT. Why? Because I loved purple and it was the 80's and HAVE YOU SEEN WALLPAPER FROM THE 80'S??? Flowers and Gosh Awful tackiness everywhere. Just like the room I loved. I was fortunate enough to find a picture of it:

Yep. VERY 80's. Take out the Blue components and you have the room I wanted.

We are redoing my daughter's room, and currently it's kinda cute, but now that she's a teenager, she wants DRAMATIC. And she wants PURPLE. Well, DARK PLUM anyway. You get the picture. She asked me if there was any way she could have the same bedding as Bella in Twilight, and luckily, I found it for CHEAP at Target through Amazon. Yes, the exact set:

Now, as far as furniture, she currently has this light colored Broyhill Fontana furniture (our first Master Bedroom set in the 90's that EVERYONE and their dog had):

And I think it would be much more dramatic if I painted the headboard, dressers and nightstands matte black. That would be better with the purple/dark plum, right?

Yeah, I know this isn't the same, but it's the look I'm going for. So, I figure I should go ahead and do it, I just need to wait until September, when this fershlugging humidity lets up, and it isn't 100 degrees anymore. Summer has officially arrived, and it's not very conducive to paint drying. ;-)
So, here's the BIG question: Do I sand it and prime it, or do I just put that awesome Valspars bonding primer on it and NOT sand? Hmmm... decisions, decisions...

Anyway, I think we'll paint one accent wall a dramatic dark plum (the one her bed is up against), and the other walls will be a very light light light mauve. Throw in some purple lampshades and it will be awesome! I just need to plan it out and envision it. That's the fun part. :-)

I Survived the Onslaught.

Ten days of grandparents at the house. Oh my!

It was actually fine--just a little busy. But things are back to normal and I have the house to myself again and now I need to CLEAN it.

Other than that, I don't have much to report. I guess I'm sort of brain dead. I think I will have a more detailed post on Monday.

I hope everyone has had a good week! It was over a hundred here, yesterday. And it's in the upper 90's the rest of the week. I'm thinking Summer has arrived, non?

;-)

UGH Post.

As in, running around like a chicken with my head cut off. BUT I wanted to wish my dear friend Michelle Miles a huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! Hope you have a great one!

Just a quick post to say that everything is going well, and a thousand apologies to my dear friend Aimee, but I'm STILL allergic to Facebook.

People don't understand why I don't do it. Mostly because I know myself too well. I KNOW FOR A FACT that I would be ON Facebook way too much during the day. I know certain women (who shall remain nameless) who spend sometimes three to four HOURS on Facebook every day, and frankly, I have enough trouble tearing myself away from the Internet as it is in the mornings.

Which is the main reason why I don't Facebook. ;-)

My parents are here this week, and on Friday, HUBBY's parents fly into town. Can I just shoot myself now and get it over with I am SO excited to see them!

Anyway, we're having fun except Dad caught a cold and he's laying low. Poor guy. And hey, my kitchen has never been cleaner! I LOVE my mom!

I hope everyone has a happy Wednesday!

Pulled Pork and Weird Dreams

Had a good weekend. I've had my parents here, and I'm sure after hours and hours of playing with Thing Four, Grandpa will be ready to go back home. ;-)

Hubby got back last night, and tomorrow he's off again, to Atlanta. I'm fine with it, I am so used to him traveling it's not that big a deal, unless he's gone for a week, which is rare. Usually five days is the max.

I had weird dreams last night. Like, SUPER weird. I made my crockpot sweet pulled pork yesterday, and it was delish. OMGosh was it ever good. And it's so simple:

Lara's Sweet Pulled Pork (Crockpot recipe)

-10 pound pork roast (butt or shoulder)
-1 cup Salsa
-2 cups Brown Sugar
For later:
-2 boxes Zatarains Black Beans and Rice

You put them in a large oval crockpot in that order, (EXCEPT for the rice that is made separately) and cook on high for four hours, then switch it to low for the rest of the day until dinnertime. (I usually put the roast in at 8am, then it's ready by 5pm.) Shred the meat with two forks inside the crockpot, make the rice according to directions and voila! YUM! This makes a TON, so you can freeze the leftovers in portions if you'd like. We do a layer of tortilla chips on a plate, then black beans & rice, the pork, and shredded cheddar cheese, and eat it like nachos. Super yummy!

Well, the world didn't end this weekend, but that wasn't much of a surprise, was it? I feel bad for those people who truly believed this guy, and spent their life savings on billboards, expecting to be "saved." Major head shaker, there. I hope they set up depression counseling for the people who were convinced, because they have to be pretty devastated right about now.

Time to take the kiddos to school. I was THRILLED that gas went down by three cents a gallon. Yeah, I know it's psychological, but WHO CARES.

Being Malleable.

I seem to be learning a lot of Life Lessons lately. Not sure why, but instead of coming in threes like most things do, I've been getting them in fives and sevens, etc. ;-) And I've noticed a few of my friends have, as well. I'm not sure why--I guess for some reason we're all having trials, lately.

Granted, I'm not complaining too much, I still consider myself very lucky and blessed, but one thing I've discovered, is you just have to be...flexible, when Life throws things at you. You have to roll with the punches. Some of us (myself included) tend to be set in our ways, until something forces us out of our comfort zones, and how we react to the little bumps and hiccups (and sometimes MAJOR CRISES) defines who we are.

So, I have to ask myself, am  I going to let a not-so-bueno "experience" get me down? Or am I going to pull myself up, set my shoulders, take a deep breath and work around it/with it/figure it out?

We need to be malleable. Like clay. Otherwise we'll find ourselves stuck in a rut, unable to figure out how to adapt to our situation. We are always changing, always growing, evolving, if you will. That's kind of what it's all about, right?

I am trying to teach my four-year old this. He gets upset when things in his ordered world don't go so "orderly." Things get messy. Things get broken. Things don't work out the way you want them to. Things happen to you that don't make any sense, because of the behavior of others.

So, you adapt. You figure it out. Because you can. My own mom always tells me "things will work out." (The uncertain part is to what end they will work out, but they do, indeed, always "work out.")

So, the advice I'm giving myself, is to take a deep breath, spend the minimal amount of time feeling sorry for myself, and ADAPT. Make the necessary changes to make my situation better, and things will work out.

They always do. :-)

SPAM Texts????

This world has officially gone to pot. My cell phone number, the privacy of which I protect quite viciously, has started receiving "texts"--from no one I know, telling me about certain promotions and Canadian Pharmecuticals, etc. Just three or four, but still, WTH???

TEXTS. Yes, for some reason, this really frosts my cookies. It isn't enough that I clean 100+ spam messages out of my junk mail every day (some of them with titles that make me cringe) and sometimes a pop-up or two escapes my computer's pop up blocker program, but to have TEXTS on my personal cell phone number, well, that officially feels like an invasion of privacy.

I've stopped giving it out, unless there really is a need. I mean, how annoying is that?

Last day of EOGs.  My kids are feeling good and only a "tad" nervous. I told them we'd have a yummy dessert and celebrate tonight, because they deserve it. I mean, UGH.

Hubby is out of town until Sunday, and my own parents are flying in, to stay for a week. It will be nice to have them here, and the kids are still at the age where they get "excited" the grandparents are coming. ;-)

Time to run around! I managed 1000 words at the carpool yesterday while waiting for the kids, and I am pretty impressed with myself. I wonder if I can repeat that today?