Organization 2008 – The Intro

I am borrowing this post from Ashley, who had the ingenious idea to get her whole house organized and allotting only a certain number of weeks to get each area done. This may take a bit of time, but I’m committed to sitting down with my trusty notepad and writing down exactly what needs to get done and when I’ll have it finished. I just hope this doesn’t turn out like my weekly diet journal.

Terms of Endearment

It’s funny to think about it, but there are so many words that I use to affectionately name my son. Some have been passed down and some are new from myself and other family members. Here’s a list of a few:

• Frog (Compliments of my MIL)
• Pumpkin-Head (Thanks, Mom)
• Boo-Boo (Thanks again, Mom)
• Bebe (I think I picked this up from my friend, Tamara)
• Stinky (Well, he is!)
• Baby Boy (This one is strictly from my husband & I)

Now, I wonder what he’ll start calling me, aside from “Mom”?

Please, Comment.

Thanks to Ashley’s astute observation, I was able to change my settings to allow everyone to comment on this blog, regardless or whether or not you have registered with WordPress or not. I hope now you all will have the chance to speak up and let me know what you think. Thank you Ashley!

The Sounds of My Youth

Everyone has a set of nostalgic tunes that takes you back to when life was sweet and simple, including me. Many a good memory takes me to a beautiful Spring Saturday morning: waking up to the stereo blasting in the living room, sunlight pouring in through the dusty cream-colored shutters by the windows, and the smell of lemon-scented Pledge wafting in the cool breeze of our single ceiling fan. Spring in Palm Springs, California, was always warm and sunny, which made me want to head off for the beach. And of course, the drive…filled with sweet music.

Oingo Boingo is the first band that I think of when I reminisce about my childhood. Something about the energy in their music, just makes me want to dance. That saying a lot since I’m more of a bobbing wallflower than a dancer. Songs like “Just Another Day”, “Dead Man’s Party”, “Little Girls”, and “We Close Our Eyes” were popular on our stereo and I still love them to this very day. This is the band that streamlined my taste in music to the Ska genre (Reel Big Fish, Suburban Legends, Codename: Rocky), courtesy of the big-band trumpets.

More sweet sounds were to be heard from none other than, Guns N Roses. Can’t you just hear them now? “Welcome to the Jungle baby!…It’s gonna bring ya to ya sha na na na na na knees!” And who could forget “November Rain” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine”? Sometimes, I wish I had somewhere to drive by myself, so I could sing and strain all their deliciously wild songs without the repercussions of damaging someone else’s ear drums.

It doesn’t end there. I could never leave out one of my other all-time favorites, Boston. I usually ended up listening to their Greatest Hits album, until I found the one entitled, Third Stage. The opening music, purely instrumental, hits all the right notes. It seamlessly leads into the following songs and holds nothing back. This album in a word…Beautiful.

Now that I’ve got that nostalgic feeling back again…I think I’m off to expose my son to the all the wonderful sounds of my youth, in hopes that he’ll come to appreciate the art as much as I have.

Stay Tuned!

My Dearest

I just wanted to dedicate a post to my darling husband. Last night we had a wonderful talk about our past, future, and all the love that we have for one another. If you know me, you know well enough of the trials we’ve been through and what a miracle it is that we are still together. Despite all that, I still love him with all my heart and  now I know all the love and respect that he has for me.

Life without Technology

Sadly yesterday, our phone service was turned off. Times have been tough and we didn’t budget enough for our phone bill. It totally sucks, but that’s life.

So, this got me thinking…what would life be life without technology? For one, I wouldn’t even be typing out this blog without my computer or internet service. Secondly, if something awful were to happen to either Aaron or myself, there would be no way to get in contact with each other or emergency services. What if we didn’t have electricity to watch television and keep posted on breaking news in the case of a natural disaster?

This brings me to a very important issue. We need to be prepared in case of emergency. Currently, we have no emergency supplies or plan for where we should meet if something were to happen to our home (i.e. fire or earthquake). Coming from California, I know the terror and devastation that an earthquake could cause. However, it seems here in Utah that no one thinks about it, even though it’s a high probability that a large (over 7 pointer) earthquake will hit very soon.

What should we do about it? Here is a list of things that I picked up from one of our survival manuals given out to the local Boy Scouts:

• Have a meeting place outside of your home, in the case of a fire.
• Have an external meeting place close-by, if it is unsafe to return to your home.
• Keep an emergency 72 hr kit in your car if you should break-down.
• Keep at least a weeks worth of water (one gallon per day/per person).
• Keep at least a weeks worth of food.
• Be sure to keep your gas tank half-full and an extra 5 gallons in a fire-proof container, in case of a shortage.
• Check your flashlights and radio to be sure they have enough batteries and they are well charged.

These are just a few things you can do to make sure you and your family will be safe in case of an emergency. According to the American Red Cross, there are six basic things you should always have on hand: water, food, first aid supplies, clothing and bedding, tools and emergency supplies, and special items for medical conditions. Of course, you can’t be expected to accumulate all of this at once, but you should make every effort to start buying little pieces at a time. When the unexpected happens, you’ll be glad you did.

My First Post!

Well, hello!

It’s about 10pm and my son is in bed, finally. It’s been a long busy day trying to keep the house in order and the family entertained and fed. There’s not much to report at the moment other than my sheer and utter exhaustion.

Today, I took the advice of my friend Ashley and cooked a bunch of chicken, cubed it and put it in a baggie to save for later use. Thanks Ashley! I made Ranch Chicken Wraps for dinner, with diced tomato and lettuce. It was soooo good, not to mention fast and easy to prepare!

I guess that’s all I’ve got for tonight. Stay Tuned!