Wii need an intervention!!!

We might need to have an intervention soon. Real soon. We got an cool toy for Christmas. The mother of all fun toys as far as we are concerned. We got a Wii. Wii are addicted to the Wii. Wii play it waaaay too often. Wii enjoy it waaaayy to much! Here is our favorite game so far: Bowling. Wii love the bowling game! These photos were taken on day one of gaming. These are the boys scores. Wii have improved dramatically since then....from all the hours and hours of practicing.

Don't the graphics look cool?

Don't you actually feel like you're in a bowling alley? I've started drinking, smoking and cussing.... just to make it seem more authintic around here! ha!

This is blue eyes getting ready to take his shot.

Pull it back....and..release. It's soooooo much fun! We have been having an absolute blast!

It's even fun when you are waiting on your turn! Course, it is sooooo much fun that we are not doing much of anything else. No chores, no piano practice, no home cooked meals, no feeding the dogs....SOME of us are not even getting dressed anymore. See below!

Brown eyes has just thrown the ball and is awaiting the verdict. (See the intensity?) And it turns out to be a STRIKE!!! See the enthusiasm:

Woohoo! Go brown eyes! Course, Ricardo was quite the bowler in his day. With a pretty impressive form if I might add ;) He has been teaching the boys proper bowling etiquette.

You bump knuckles when you don't pick up the spare. (see above and below photos:)





But of course, when you do get a strike...it's all high fives baby!!!

Wii are having so much family fun together. Ricardo and I have been watching the boys play. Laughing like crazy! Ricardo and I even played last night after the kiddos were done. MISTAKE!!! We played nine games in a row. Then, the system actually asked us if we might want to take a break for a while instead, as we pushed "play again!" LOL! I kid you not!! I think wii have a wii problem. I think wii might be a wii bit addicted to this game!!! Wii might need an intervention! You might want to send professional help! Or.....just come check out our well being yourselves. At which point, wii will show you the game. And then you can try it out.....and then you too can become addicted like wii are!!! LOL!!! I'd write more, but I got to go get back in line! It's almost my turn again......

Christmas Boat Trip- Deleted Scenes

Here's some photo's from our Christmas afternoon at the lake that didn't make the original cut. Some of you may find this boring. I however, just like to look at the subtle difference in the shades of gray. Also the rippling of the water.

I especially like the white light popping throught the overcast sky.

And is it just me....or does Disney seem to have a freakishly long Gene Simmons like tongue?! Or, are you too distracted by how large his ears appear in this photo...better to hear you with my dearie! Sweet Dis. But make no mistake, he can be a scurvy dog at times too! :)

Speaking of distracting... Miss Thing here. Gorgeous! Looks like she is above it all doesn't she? A star dahling! Actually, she's just sniffing the fresh lake air. And watching all the birds fly overhead.

Of course, ol blue eyes....(or blue eye in this particular photo.) You had me at hello sweet fella! Isn't it amazing how you can love your children more than you thought was even humanly possible? If they only knew the power that they have over me!

And doesn't your heart just absolutely melt when you see them showing love towards others? It kinda validates all the behind the scenes work that goes into parenting.

"Arrrrrr! There she goes getting all emotional again! Stop it now ya dang girlie girl ...or I'll make ya walk the plank!"

"Sorry, Captain! But I yam what I yam!"....;)

P.S....They also have the ability to make you laugh uncontrollably!!! ;p

Christmas 2008-at the lake!!!

We are a somewhat unconventional family sometimes to say the least-but I like it that way! For example Christmas 2008, we spent the morning opening gifts and enjoying the bounty like most families. Then by mid-day things started to veer a little towards unconventional. We had our Christmas dinner-steaks, veggies and potatoes. YUM! Delightful! And best of all -no leftovers. Then after lunch we did what most families do (NOT) we went to the lake! Could the day BE any more gray?! ha! Doesn't it look like the water goes on forever though?!

But don't worry there was land in sight, and light broke through the clouds on occasion

I just find boating on the lake so relaxing! I love when we make it a family affair. This is our captain:

Why is he driving the boat you ask...cause when he isn't behind the wheel he gives his mommy mini heart attacks by doing crazy antics like this:

Okay, so he is not falling off the boat...but it COULD happen....right? Having him drive just seems safer. Besides, if he wasn't driving he couldn't say things like this:


"I'M DRIVING THIS BOAT. JUST SIT DOWN. QUIT FLAPPIN YER GUMS AND HOLD ON!" Okay, so he didn't actually say those exact words...and he didn't actually drive the boat...but it made for a good story, don't ya think?!

Like I said, we like to make boating a family affair. We even take Disney and Ella with us.They LOVE boating and being on the water. Ricardo had just thrown this bowie overboard to see if he could catch some fish. It's called "jug fishing." Silly me, I thought "jug fishing" was taking a "jug" of your favorite beverage with you....but guess that's just how I like to jug fish-ha ha ha!!!

Anyway, look how closely they are keeping an eye on the bowie. Disney sooooo wants to jump in after it, but don't worry; he won't! He's an experienced sailor. And he doesn't hit the jug if ya know what I mean....

We all had a fabulous time. It may be an unconventional way to spend Christmas afternoon. But the proof is in the pudding so to speak. Just look at these pictures. A smile is worth a thousand words....

Course ol' blue eyes is usually all smiles all the time. But our "captain" he can be somewhat of a scurvy dog at times. Captain, are you having a good Christmas?

Oh yeah! The captain is having a blast! I love it when they smile! Just melts your heart doesn't it?! I think as they get older, they will say things like: "Remember that year we went to the lake on Christmas?! What a blast!"

Yeah, I think we are making some good memories:

But, After awhile our observant Co-captain starts to notice something:

Me (aka: first mate)"What is it Co-Captain Ricardo?"

Ricardo: "I think the deck hands need a break."

Me: "Excuse me?!" ( snicker snicker)

Ricardo: "The crew! You goofy dork. The crew is fading fast!"

So, I quit acting juvenile, quit snickering and start looking around.(Still through the camera lens, of course:) Sure enough. We're having a great time. But it is December. And we are on the water. And it is getting colder as the afternoon wears on. The crew is indeed starting to fade a little:



The captain no longer has his toothy grin...or feisty attitude. :) As for blue eyes...well even he is starting to look a little weary or "blue" should we say....





Okay sweet babies, let's get you back to land. And as for the rest of the crew....well, they look DOG TIRED!!! ha ha ha! (Thank you! I'll be here all week!)

If you think Ella looks pathetic, check out poor ol' Disney. He won't even acknowledge me anymore. He just wants to find a warm place to curl up and nap. Curling up by my legs isn't working anymore.




Oh, and speaking of legs....I'm wearing my "tall jeans" today. I may a wee bit shy of 6'. But I honestly don't notice it when I wear these magical denims. When I look down at my legs in these jeans... I truly feel tall. Statuesque. "Amazonish" even!... Don't you concur:

Ahhhhhhh! Like a tall drink with a fancy umbrella! Yep, that's me.... But unfortunately,

Unlike these legs....our Christmas Day trip just can't go on forever!! ;)

But good times together and wonderful memories were the treasure we found this afternoon. Hope your Christmas Day was fun filled too! With all your own family traditions and many wonderful memories to look back fondly upon!!!

ELF VIDEO

ONLY ONE MORE DAY!!! Maybe this will get you by until then.... Santa's Sweet Helper, Jenny was nice enough to share this website on her blog where you could make your own Elf video. So we did just that. It is soooo much fun! The boys and I have been making up all kinds of different videos. We even put the dogs in one. LOL! Press play and enjoy a little holiday dance magic with blue eyes, brown eyes, and their little elf friend !

Things I think are Great This Week...

Okay, this is not Oprah! (Or Pioneer Woman) I can't give away spectacular things to everyone. Would if I could. Truly! But... Simply cannot afford to do it! Although, I am helpful. I will say...try Amazon.com or Walmart.com :) That being said...I highly recommend watching this movie: MAMMA MIA( Note: I'm not one for musicals. I think there is waaaay too much singing. But this one! Oh my goodness! I love it!) It is so fun!!! Time just flies by! There is tongue in cheek comedy. There is romance. It just makes you feel so good! And you have got to watch it to the very end-past the credits for encore preformances! Love it!!! The costumes and dancing! ha! I'm gonna go out and get me some of those "Kiss Boots"....you wait and see! Then I'm gonna buy this movie, put on my boots, dance on the table and sing loudly along with them! Don't think I won't... cause ya know I will!!! And perhaps, with a little luck, Kiss Boots will come back in fashion someday?! That could really help me achieve my 5' 6" goal!!!


Also, for those of you who also enjoy the Powerbar Plus Protein Bars (and you know who you are:) I came across this website here : http://www.allstarhealth.com/

They carry every type of powerbar imaginable to man! They carry the Powerbar Plus Protein Bars in flavors that I have never seen in the store. Exciting! Also, they just charge $ 5.95 shipping...no matter how many cases you order!!! And the kicker.....they are cheaper online than they are in the stores! I found this site last month. Just love it. I saved money, they shipped my order to my door (which I love!), and they also send you a reminder e-mail when it is time to reorder! How simple. How wonderful. How simply wonderful is that?!! Eating healthy has never been easier for me! Now if I could just get my cases of vodka shipped to my door.....but I digress! :)





Another thing I found moving, motivational, heartfelt and wonderful is this book:

THE LAST LECTURE I read it in two days. And we all know how busy I am, so that is saying something:

1. It is an easy read.

2. It is just so beautiful and inspiring that you don't want to put it down.

It truly put me back in a zen place! Reminded me what is important in life and what little things to just let go! I highly recommend this!

Let me know what you think if you try out any of these...or if you already have. And let me know if have some size 6 Kiss Boots you are no longer using...or, if you want to come dance along with me! It'll be fun!!! I have a new found enjoyment for ABBA music now...who'da thunk it?! :)

Want me to recommend more things that I think are great in the future? Or perhaps, you're still trying too hard to rid the image of me singing and dancing in Kiss Boots. Is that image now seared permanently in your brain? Good luck with that!! Maybe this will help:

"I am the dancing queen....old and petite, singing waaaay off key....

Dancing queen, can you seeeeee..me dancing slighhhhtlyyyy off beeeeeaat?

OH YEAH!

I can drink,

I can rhyme...

having the time of my life! Ooooohhhh...Watch that dork..., causing a scene....she thinks she's a Dancing Queen...."

LOL!!!

MAMMA MIA- I FOUND MY BOOTS!!!

I did a little online search today for my platform boots...MAMMA MIA I found the perfect ones! LOL! Not only will these be great for dancing along with the movie; they're practical too!!! I can work out in them, do chores in them, practice my impersonation of wonder woman, etc. Why, the uses are endless. And if I only had a pole....ohhhhh boy! :)

What do you think? Should I get them? I think they would be loads of fun, and endless photo opportunities! Get ready Ricardo....things just got a lot more interesting! HA!

Funtasma by Pleaser Women's Halloween Electra-2030 Shoe - Free Overnight Shipping & Return Shipping: Endless.com

Ima Jo King.. Back in Time for the Holidays!!

Hello Everyone!!! Did you miss me?!! :) Absense makes the heart grow fonder ya know! Well, I'm back today to help Stacy out. She needed a "mental health day." Poor sad, demented, naive soul. I tried to enlighten her. I said, "Girl! A day?! What can you possibly hope to accomplish in one day?! GET REAL! You truly need to take longer than that!" But then, we are old, dear, close friends...so I can talk to her that way! But don't ya'll start gettin' sassy with her! ;)

Speaking of mental health, I'm gonna share a little something that was sent to me a while back. Thought it might come in handy this Holiday Season. Then I thought..."Shoot! It'll come in handy ANY day of the year!! " Enjoy! And Give some of these tips a try! Let me know how they work for you!!!

WAYS TO MAINTAIN A HEALTHY LEVEL OF INSANITY:


1. At lunch time, sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars. See if they slow down.



2. Page yourself over the intercom. Don't disguise your voice. :)




3. Every time someone asks you to do something, ask if they want fries with that.

4. Put your garbage can on your desk and label it "In."




5. Put decaf in the coffee maker for 3 weeks. Once every body has gotten over their caffeine addiction, switch to expresso. :)





6.In the memo field of all your checks, write "for sexual favors."




7. Begin all your sentences with "In accordance with the Prophecy."




8. Specify that your drive-through order is "to go."





9. Put mosquito netting around your work area and play tropical sounds all day. :)





10. Have your coworkers address you by your wrestling name, "Rock Hard."






11. When the money comes out of the ATM, scream "I Won, I Won."




12. When leaving the Zoo, start running towards the parking lot, yelling "run for your lives, they're loose."




13. Tell your children over dinner, "Due to the economy, we are going to have to let one of you go."





*NOTE; I DIDN'T WRITE THIS ; I JUST TRY TO ABIDE BY IT!*




Once again everybody have a great weekend. And as always, If you can't be a good example- be a horrible warning for someone!




HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!
Ima Jo King-substitute blogger at large

I'm not a Whiner/Wino....or Am I?!!

"Your blogs haven't been very funny or interesting this week Stac, What's the deal?" Funny you should ask. Let me enlighten you. Last week our ceramic tile downstairs buckled up in a 3x10 foot area. It was like having a hunchback living under our floors. So this weekend, Ricardo popped up all the offending tiles and removed the old mastic on the floors. We re-laid the tiles Monday night. (NOTE: When popping up tile I recommend putting up a drop cloth to keep the mortar and mastic dust from overtaking your home....we learned this the hard way!!! :( Ugh!)





Then Monday night I stayed up until 12:30 in the morning cleaning the downstairs. Every single item was covered with mortar/mastic dust. It was so horrid, I had the windows open in 30 degree weather to help air it out. Finally, after 5 hours of continuous cleaning...order was restored to my world. Ahhhhh! So I went to bed.





Then Tuesday I grouted the newly laid tiles. One hour after finsihing the job......MORE tiles started popping up. NOT the ones we had just relaid....others. Let me show you why this is concerning:





Above is the front door going to the back of my home. Below is the kitchen going toward the other side of our home:

Are you seeing a trend? Yep,...tile. All the rooms except for two downstairs are tile! Are you having the nervous giggles for me yet?! If not, let me tell you this: When the tiles pop, it is LOUD. If we lived in a less desirable neighborhood- it would sound like a drive by.And we would all be hitting the uneven, dusty floors!

So where was I....oh yes, yesterday. After the grouting, another section POPPED. I thought the upstairs was crashing down. I literally looked up. Then... I thought "NOOOOOOOOOO!" Sure enough, it was the tile. Another 6x8 foot section hunched up like a teepee. So last night we re-laid MORE tile. Today I grouted MORE tile. Below is our redone living room (excuse the dust I still have to get up):

Yep, we've relaid more of it than not at this point. And we are sooooooo over it! I feel like Susan Powter(remember her from the 80's) "STOP THE INSANITY!" We've been doing all this in our free time. After work, school, chores. No quality family time this week. The boys are over it too. Trust me!

And as if that were not enough to contend with. I believe little miss thing (ELLA) has broken her front elbow. I think this because it happened to another mastiff that I met. And it looked remarkably similar to this:

Notice the swelling. Just to give you a comparison size, it barely fits in the palm of my hand. Are ya about ready to "fwoah-up?" I know I am! And if it costs half as much as it did for the other mastiff I know that had to have his repaired....I will "fwoah-up!" We may have to have a fund raiser. :) She is getting around great. She is in no apparant pain. Poor baby! And YES,We have her set up for her vet appointment. We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. Surely, we deserve a "break"....or a non-break..... I don't know. We deserve both. A break on the tile(popping up...not on the tile breaking!!) and a non-break on the pup. (Please, please, please let it just be a sprain. NO break, nothing else serious either!)

If neither is forcoming....I've got Plan B in the wings:

The front two bottles were given to us as a joke 3 years ago, the back two bottles are about 10 years old.....as you can see: None of them have been uncorked, or unscrewed (ha)....YET! As for the tissues, trust me when I say..."It's all over but the cryin'!" I just haven't found time for that yet. I've been too busy with all the above....and trying to find my misplaced sense of humor! I'll let you know when I find it. Hope I find it soon cause: Ya Gotta have your sense of humor; it's critical!!!

Guardian Dog or Water Dog...You Decide

Perhaps I just find everything waaaaaayyy too amusing. (But again, I digress) However, these two Mastiff girlies just crack me up. They are true comedians of the finest order. Whenever we get ice from the icemaker...they line up to get their own cube of frozen delight. EVERY TIME! They have even taught an old dog a new trick. Because, Disney (our 10 yr old silky) now lines up to get his frozen treat too! ha!



This week they have added a new trick on their rotating list I call : "Things that a Mastiff Finds Entertaining" (And trust me, it's a long list.) This week, when the tub starts to fill....they come RUNNING! They wait paitiently for the tub to fill, and then they want their treat. They want cold tap water...in a cup!!! Take a gander: This is Harlow, hydrating herself from the blue cup. Is it just me or....or does it remind you of a calf drinking from a bottle?!! LOL!! Notice how sweet Ella is patiently waiting her turn. What a doll! Fiinnaaaaaallllllyyyyy...Harlow has had her fill. Now it is Ella's turn. (This next photo is blurry because I was laughing so hard) Notice how she puts her paw up on the tub to signal she NEEDS WATER! She too has known thirst....the poor, poor dear!!!

She proceeds to drink. This goes on for a long, long, long time. She may be smaller than Harlow, but she had one powerful thirst to conquer! I had no idea she was sooooooo thirsty! I also had no idea one dog could hold soooo much water! Note: she was also getting patted upon her little head everytime she drank water from the cup. With praise and giggles as motivation...she was quite anxious to please! ha!

At long last, her thirst was satisfied. Being the polite little girlie that she is, she gave her thanks to the little "Thirst Quencher" ...:

Sweet girl!.... Darling little waterboy!

Notice how wet her head is from all the drinking and praise: LOL!!!

If she could speak, I think she would quote Adam Sandler from the Waterboy:...." Now THAT'S some quality H2O!!!!! :D