Sleep before you Buy

A new novel idea... sleep in the house before you buy it! According to California real estate agents, this is the new trend. Apparently, thanks to the new "soft" market, lots of people are asking for a "test-drive" sleepover. Some properties that are over the $1 million price range have allowed this practice for several years, it now appears to be spreading to less expensive housing market.

Let me tell you, this is definitely something I would have considered before buying our current house. When we were considering purchasing this house, my hubby also thought that he was going to be eligible for a retirement bonus through the Army. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough years of Active-Duty time for him to be considered for the bonus. So, now $10,000 later in debt due to the house, we're trying to get by. But, if we had asked about this option (not sure that the dealer/owner would have gone for the idea - I can only imagine the liability aspect of it. I mean what if we trashed the house? Not that we would have, of course.) but atleast we would have been more aware of all the work that actually needs to go into this house to make it's value increase.

Oh well. You live and learn. We will definitely know better next time we go to purchase another house.

Pudding. A fun food!

A few weeks ago, I talked about how boring I was and how I decided to be adventurous and bring out the balloons. Only it didn't work. AmyBow with little LP, who had a blast this past weekend with a family project making their own background for their fish tank, gave me the idea to have fun with pudding. Add food coloring to the pudding and let Little Man A go.

Well, we did it and here are the photos to show the fun!

Daddy making pretty colors!

"I'm ready, Daddy. Bring on the fun!"

"Ohh! Pretty colors! Can I eat it??"

"Look! Yellow and blue make green!"

Yummy. Yummy. Yummy!"

"This is fun! Can we do this again?!?"

Although this was really part of his afternoon snack time, it did extend it to 45 minutes rather than 20 minutes. And of course, Little Man A had fun! So that's all that matters! Next time, I'll help him make the colors...

Any regrets??

I have a friend who is living the life right now. She and her boyfriend (would be fiance if his parents weren't paying for his college tuition and didn't like her enough that they would disown him if they knew she was living with him - it's a religious thing) are living in St. Thomas while he attends a pre-veterinary program at the University of St. Thomas. She? is living the life on the beach doing nothing. I first met her back in Minneapolis when I started working at Banfield Pet Hospital. We worked well together and she's the only one that I've really kept in touch with since leaving Minnesota.

Recently, her 5-year-old female cat was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer. They first discovered it, not knowing exactly what it was at the time, back in early 2007. In the past year alone, this cat has endured two surgeries, abdominal ultrasound, chest x-rays, and multiple blood work-ups. Because she has been able to go to the veterinary college at the university, she has been able to get all of this care for a fraction of the cost it would be here in the states.

I give her allot of credit for being able to take care of all these situations with her cat. I'm also thankful of her current location during this stressful time with her pet. I mean, if she were back in the states and had to pay for the care that she is getting there, I'm sure she would be bankrupt by now. I'm glad that she is able to take care of it.

This whole situation also makes me miss working in the vet field. Our beloved cocker spaniel, Maggie, really needs her teeth clean again, but since Banfield in this region has increased their pricing to over $350 for the plan that includes the dental, we really can't afford it. Then I start to worry about our three cats and their vaccines (I don't even want to look at their teeth).

Atleast when I was working, some of that care was taken care of. Working full-time at Banfield, I would have qualified for three wellness plans that included dental cleanings and all of their vaccines. If only day care wasn't so expensive, I would have gone back to work a long time ago. Although I'm not too sure about that.

Regrets?? No. Although at times it has been hell raising Little Man A, I'm glad that I have been here for him. I feel as though I have a better relationship with him and I wouldn't want to miss all the small moments that I've been able to experience over the past year.

I love ya, Little Man!

Eating for Two

No, don't get excited grandma and great aunt "wenderina". I'm not pregnant. Lately, I feel as though I've increased my consumption of food... and here I thought I was doing good with my diet (although all the Christmas candy left behind doesn't help).

I knew that I would eat more while I was pregnant. I remember toward the end of the pregnancy, it wasn't worth going to an "All-You-Can-Eat" buffet because the damn kid was soooo big. I could barely eat a half-full plate of food before getting stuffed. Maybe that's why I only gained 25 pounds and lost it shortly after Little A was born.

Well, this time around I'm talking about eating more because my lovely child wants to feed me. Yes, I said that right. Lately, he's been finishing up his portion of the meal and then giving me the rest. Now mind you when it's a combination of food such as my wonderful homemade cinnamon apples, sweet potatoes, cheese pieces, cracker crumbs, and whatever else is on his tray, I don't even think twice about it. Today, for one of his snacks I gave him graham crackers with strawberry cream cheese. Yummo! It tastes like a strawberry cheesecake! Try it! Anyways, he picked up a piece and handed it over to me. With a face like this, how could you refuse??


I, of course, leaned forward, opened my mouth, and he plopped in the graham cracker. He was so happy with himself. And, in the attempts to teach him something during the process, besides the fact that it's fun to feed mommy, I signed "Thank you".

So, hopefully I'll still be able to fit into my little black dress for our cruise in March. Hopefully, it starts to get warm enough so we can really start walking outside. Or maybe I'll just start jogging with Little Man A during our daily walks.

Happy Groundhog Day!

"As I look around me, a bright sky I see, and a shadow beside me. Six more weeks of winter it will be!"

Punxsutawney Phil has spoken: we shall have six more weeks of winter.

Seriously?? When have we not had six more weeks of winter?? I decided to do a little research on a Saturday morning. Although I couldn't find some actual statistics about Phil's predictions (okay, I admit. It's Saturday morning - I didn't look that hard). But here are a few history facts about Groundhog Day and our favorite groundhog:

~During Prohibition, Phil threatened to impose 60 weeks of winter on the community if he wasn't allowed a drink.

~ In 1958, Phil announced that he was a "United States Chucknik," rather than a Soviet Sputnik or Muttnik that became the first man-made satellite to orbit Earth.

~In 1981, Phil wore a yellow ribbon in honor of the American hostages in Iran.

~Phil traveled to Washington DC in 1986 to meet with President Reagan. He was joined by Groundhog Club President Jim Means, Al Anthony and Bill Null.

~Phil met Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburg in 1987.

~In 1993, Columbia Pictures released the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray.

~In the years following the release of the movie, record crowds numbering as high as 30,000 have visited Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney!

~Phil appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show in 1995.

~In 2001, Phil's prediction was shown live on the JumboTron at Times Square in New York City.

~Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell attended the ceremonies, making him the first sitting governor ever to do so.

Well, I know I was hoping for an early spring and apparently so were these guys:




Sorry, Buddy. We'll get out the bucket and shovel to play in the sand soon enough.