Its been too long

It has been too long again!! Time is just starting to go by so quickly. In a way its a good thing, but I wish sometimes it would slow down (on the good days anyways).

Charlotte keeps changing like crazy. Right now she is laying down for her nap but isn't wanting too. Poor kid is exhausted. We spent a bunch of the day at Disney World yesterday and she didn't get a nap (well wouldn't take one) then went to bed late, and I woke her up this morning to go to the aquarium. So I'm hoping once she does drift off to sleep, it'll be a long nap so that she can be a happy kid! She is walking all over the place and REALLY enjoying the freedom :). Its so fun to see her be independent and walk around the aquarium some by herself... to be able to watch her decide to go look at the fish and which ones. Its nice not to have to have her see it only in the stroller (though we still have it of course!). She is also randomly repeating words after me... and even a few at a time. But I just don't think she's ready to talk a lot, which is fine. She also caught onto the sign language for "All Done" so now she tells us when she is finished with food (which is great!) taking her shower, playing with something, etc. It is such a good thing for her to be able to communicate.

Yesterday morning I went to a free Zumba/Fit Yoga/Bellydancing class and it was a lot of fun!! It was about 2 hours of working out and I'm not even sore today :). We are seriously thinking about joining the Y here, and I know that we would get a discounted rate. So I need to go by and see how much it would cost to join. I am excited about it. It would be great to be able to go work out together, do swim lessons, have childcare for classes that I want to work out at, etc. I'm just afraid that I will get all excited about it, then the excitement will fade and we won't use it.

I know that there has been more going on, but I sit down to write it and I never remember :(.It is so frustrating because I want to be able to journal our life and what we have been doing so that in a few years I can look back and be able to recall the memories. But if I can't remember them... then there's a problem!! Haha!

I don't know if I wrote this before, but Phil is seriously considering going to school again. He wants to get his PhD so he can be a professor. I am supporting him but at the same time it really freaks me out. We want to have another kid before he goes so that they are close in age, but I can't imagine being able to pay for everything while he is in school with two kids!!

I am having my second Pampered Chef cooking show on Saturday at 3pm!! I am excited about it :). My friend Brooke is having it and she said that there have been 15 yes RSVP's! That is crazy and great :). I really hope that I will be able to book some shows from the event, and get this up and running better. **Fingers Crossed**

Ok well I feel really boring right now. Maybe I will write more later when I'm not feeling so boring, and it'll be interesting to read then.

I'm off to make some stuffed green peppers. I hope that they turn out well :).

Anna

Blah Blah Blah... Boring life!

So Disney World tomorrow (yay!) and then a Ladies Night In at Madai's on Saturday night. It should be a fun weekend!! But let me tell you, for some reason, this week has just dragged on and on and on and on. I guess we haven't really done anything all that interesting, maybe that is why. But it feels like today should be Saturday, not Thursday. Maybe Friday... if it was a slow week, but obviously this week is super slow!! Its Thursday :(... for all of you who couldn't figure out what day it is ;).

Charlotte slept in until 10 this morning, and of course that meant that I did too! It felt good to sleep in like that. Typically I wake up at 8 (can't complain about that one either), but I was up late last night because I couldn't sleep, and of course I was exhausted this morning. I really need to make myself start getting up at 7 or after Phil takes his shower, so I can go to bed with him more often and have some time to myself in the morning. I think its going to be one of those, I just have to do it. And then stick it through on the weekends, because that is where I get all messed up.

I have recently gotten really into those new Vampire books. I don't know why (and had you asked me 3 months ago I would have told you I was crazy), but I loooove them! I should be getting Twilight on Netflix today too, then I'm getting the True Blood series. And I've read the Twilight series and a few other lesser known ones. Call me crazy, but I'm hooked!

I feel like I don't really have a lot to write about... our life is pretty boring, except for the regular everyday stuff, chores, grocery shopping, and playgroup a few times a week.

I can't believe the last time I wrote was 9 days ago!! It seems a lot shorter than that :-/.

First Pampered Chef show!

I had my first Pampered Chef show on Friday. It went well :). It wasn't too hard either!! Even though just a few people came, it was nice to do a show around everyone I knew and that if I messed up, it didn't really matter (though I didn't really, lol). Now I just hope that I can keep it going and be able to do lots of shows every month, and make some much needed money to pay off our debt! Tonight I'm going to practice making some Elegant Artichoke Cups as an appetizer dish I can make at shows.

I am starting to feel a lot at home here, and its really nice. I am getting to know some people and doing lots of things. Being able to get out and about in town really helps the days go by quicker (quicker days=happier baby/mommy). We usually get out and do at least 2-3 things a week, plus our regular errands. Last week, we didn't have one day in, it was kind of hectic (I try to have at least one day where we can just lounge around the house, play, clean, etc.). This week we are going to the mall as a playdate, I have a MNO thing (free) that I'm going to with Madai, Water Play in the fountains, and then I'm going to Disney World on Friday with Winston when he is coming down here!! It should be a fun week :).

Oh and we went to Disney on Ice yesterday at 11:30! It was their Princess Classics show, and it was really good!! I am hoping we got a few good pictures, but its hard when they are moving so quickly!

Time to blog again... woohoo!!

I was letting this blogging thing take over my world, and now that I've had a break, I'm ready to be not so "obsessed" with it.

Lets see Lets see... my biggest news? I started my own business selling Pampered Chef! I signed up 5 days ago, and I get my new consultant kit in the mail tomorrow, yaaay! If anyone wants to throw a party or a catalog party, let me know... or if you just want to order stuff, or if you are interested in being a consultant, I can definitely give you some more information!! I am having my Grand Opening Party on Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. If you are in/around the Tampa area and want to come, let me know!!! All the money I make is going to go straight towards our debt! I'm hoping to earn $1000 a month which would mean I would need to book 8 shows a month, which is a large order. I'm going to start with a goal of 4, and go up one a month from there. Wish me luck!

I have also been really active on meetup.com. I've gotten to meet some people and am really happy with it :). I am even an assistant organizer in one of the groups, and I'm in a couple others. It is keeping Charlotte and me busy... and its GREAT to be able to get out and now Charlotte is walking all over the place and loving to play with her friends. There are even a few that she really knows, its so cute to see!

We had an alumni meeting thing in the beginning of August. It was a student kick-off event where one student (from Florida) attended... going to school in Missouri, so there weren't a whole lot of them. But Phil and I are activity chairs and I organized the event. I think its time to get planning on another event too, bowling anyone?

Charlotte weaned, she just quit one day and that was that. And I'm 99% sure it wasn't a nursing strike because she has still has no interest in it and just refuses to open up, lol.

I haven't eaten meat in forever either. I don't know if I was COMPLETELY vegetarian last time I wrote about it, but I am now and it feels great! Honestly, I don't even miss it. We are even doing soy milk for Phil and myself and cooking etc. However, cheese is a hard one to give up. And we do organic eggs. Its so sad that the Whole Foods is about 30 minutes from here. I wish there were more. Trying to find some good stuff at regular grocery stores is proving harder and harder.

I'm sure there is a bizillion more things, but this is all for now :).

I'm baack... hopefully :)

It has been FOREVER since I posted. And well since my resolution was once a week, I DID do that, just on my other blog last week. We've been super busy here... or uhhh addicted to Farm Town, so I've been a bad blogger and really bad at reading peoples blogs. I'm kinda just going one at a time, catching up on everything... so I am sorry!

We paid off our credit card last week!!! It is such a relief to have that taken care of, no more credit card debt :). Yay tax returns and months with 3 paychecks!!

I applied for a job today. I'm really hopeful about it, but I always get really hopeful and then nothing happens. This job is with a photography company that does pictures for kids sports teams and such. They need people for evenings and weekends to take the pictures, and that is exactly what I'm looking for. I'm not 100% sure I want a job, but if I could get a fun one (like this) it would be much easier to do. I'm hoping to work evenings/weekends for a couple years to pay off our debt and get a down payment for the house, but still stay at home with the baby. I hope I hear back!!

Lets see, what else...

We celebrated Charlotte's first birthday on July 6th. I can't believe my baby is already a year old, it does not seem that fast. Everyone says it will go by quickly, and I know it does, I'm just amazed at how time flies. I guess that happens when you don't have school or weekly deadlines or anything. But I don't regret anything and never wished time would go by quickly, I'm happy with the first year.

For the past few days Charlotte has been having a REALLY hard time sleeping, which is REALLY hard on me. I don't like listening to her cry for a few minutes before she falls asleep. Or having a few days when she takes no naps... or one nap for less than an hour. It gets really old. And all of a sudden, she quit sleeping in. What used to be waking up at 10-ish is now waking up at 7:30, even though she's going to bed at the same time. Its really driving me crazy.

Oh and I lost 3.5 pounds this past month, yay!! Now if only I could loose it quicker... guess something is better than nothing, right?

Sweet Sauer Photo Contest-2

These are the results of my first ever photo contest. By the time date on this post, I'm sure you can tell I wasn't done early!! I'm not 100% happy with all the pictures, but I gave it my best shot :). I can't wait for the next one, which I will most definitely be participating in. I hope you all enjoy the photos!!

1. A View from Above (looking down)-The paddle wheel on a steam boat.
2. A Macro Shot

3. Laughter-We're on the Magic Carpet Aladdin ride in Disney World.
4. Relaxation
5. A Celebration-What's a better celebration than fireworks at Disney World?

6. A Sunset
7. Sun/Lens Flare-Unfortunately I don't have an SLR, so I'm kinda limited with what I can get.

8. A Bridge

9. A Shadow
10. A Garden
11. A Park
12. A Street Scene-St. Armands Circle Clearwater, FL
13. Signage-They're not lying, we saw two tonight!14. A Summer Activity
15. A Summer Treat-Freshly out of the oven.
16. Earth
17. Air/ Wind
18. Fire
19. Water
20. Something Vintage (pre-1980)
21. Something Made of Glass
22. Something Made of Wood - Some stairs we saw on the Steam boat tour in Disney World. Nothing special, but I was stuck tonight.

23. Something that Floats
24. Something Railroad Related
25. Something Round-The fly was desperately waiting to go flying :)

Why oh Why Mr. Washing Machine?

Sorry for so many posts of me complaining, but this washing machine was just about my last straw.

I hate when nice, relaxing, laid back mornings turn into a disaster! I was looking at my weekly to do list (I've been trying to figure out if a daily one or weekly one works better, because if I don't do one at all nothing gets done, but the weekly isn't working so well), so I decided to run a couple of loads of laundry today, you know the hold-over for the weekend until its Laundry Mondays.

So long story short, about half an hour after I start the washer, I go to get Charlotte some food for lunch, and I see a little spot of wet carpet. Hoping the one of the dogs didn't pee and it was just a spill, I venture to find a rag. I then notice there is a big spot of water coming out of the laundry room and when I open the door, the laundry room is completely flooded with about an inch of water on the floor. Thankfully being in an apartment, all I have to do is call maintenance and someone comes to help clean it up.

I call, they say they will be here at some point today, kinda confused I say ok. An hour later, my hubby calls them back, and talks to someone else. This time she's like that sounds like an emergency, well duh... and they arrive at our door within a minute. The carpet cleaner guys came to suck up all the water and spray some anti-mold/fungal stuff too, so now at 1:30 our disaster is finally gone and the baby can finally take her nap.

Unfortunately, the maintenance guy thinks it is our washer that is leaking somewhere. Phil, being the engineer, disagreed, so of course he turned it on when they were gone, the verdict? no water leaking. I think that somehow the washer got confused, and kept putting water into it, even though it was full. Because after it had been running for half an hour it was still filling itself up with water. So in a couple of days were going to have to do some experimenting, but its looking like we're going to have to get a new washer, unless anyone knows of an easy fix. I just have the feeling that getting someone out to work on it would cost more than a new washer. Oh and of course, its just OVER a year old, so no more warranty, phooey. Shouldn't a GE washer last more than a year?

Photo Contest-update again

Hope I don't bore you too much, but here's another update... I've added a few more pictures this time and changed a few. I'm over halfway there with 14/25 now!!

1. A View from Above (looking down)
2. A Macro Shot

3. Laughter
4. Relaxation
5. A Celebration

6. A Sunset
7. Sun/Lens Flare

8. A Bridge

9. A Shadow
10. A Garden
11. A Park
12. A Street Scene
13. Signage14. A Summer Activity
15. A Summer Treat
16. Earth
17. Air/ Wind
18. Fire
19. Water
20. Something Vintage (pre-1980)
21. Something Made of Glass
22. Something Made of Wood
23. Something that Floats
24. Something Railroad Related
25. Something Round

A ceiling fan and a sick baby make for a fun (maybe not so much) day!

I'm happy to announce that we have a nice new ceiling fan in our living room!! And let me tell you what a pain it was... when we moved here, they told us if we bought a ceiling fan, maintenance would assemble it and put it up for us. So, when we got all the wedding money, we went in search of a fan... that was the easy part. So after we got it I went to the office to ask what I needed to do for them to put it up and the guy said just to bring it to the office, so maintenance can assemble it there and come and put it up. So, I go back home, finagle the fan into the stroller, and return once more to the office. Now, another lady says that it is only for "new residents" (mind you we moved in a month and a half ago), and after I told her that she replied with "oh I remember when you moved in." Seriously, what is that supposed to mean? So she says to go back, assemble it, and then let them know. So the next day Phil assembles the fan and calls the office. That lady, didn't even know that they would put a fan up for us, so she had to go check with someone and call us back. 5 hours later, she calls us back saying they'll come the next day (today). When maintenance showed today, he was VERY surprised that we had already put it together and was planning on doing that himself. But long story short, we get the fan up and it looks beautiful. We now have light in the living room! Yay! So I think the office staff needs to work on their communication skills.

Pretty ceiling fan:

Phil stayed home yesterday because he was sick, so it wasn't much of a surprise when Charlotte woke up sick today too. She was burning up!! I felt so bad for her, I couldn't get a good temperature reading but it was somewhere between 99.9 and 101.5, so she's in her third nap for the day and very very mellow, even on the tylenol. Its kinda a nice break. On top of it, I have a fever too, but I'm trying not to let it get me down.

Here's a pic of the baby today... looking not so sick (one of the few smiles we gotten out of her today, through the binkie of course, she won't give it up today):

And I know its been a while but Disney World was great!! I posted a few pictures on my last post that I took during our visit. And Phil got wished Happy Birthday more than he ever had in his life, combining all birthdays!! It was a great time though, I'm glad we went.

Photo Contest-so far

Here's what I have so far for the photo contest, which is done the end of June. As you can see, I still have a lot of work to do this week, but I've got some ideas. Enjoy!

1. A View from Above (looking down)
2. A Macro Shot

3. Laughter
4. Relaxation
5. A Celebration

6. A Sunset
7. Sun/Lens Flare

8. A Bridge

9. A Shadow
10. A Garden
11. A Park
12. A Street Scene
13. Signage

14. A Summer Activity
15. A Summer Treat
16. Earth
17. Air/ Wind
18. Fire
19. Water
20. Something Vintage (pre-1980)
21. Something Made of Glass
22. Something Made of Wood
23. Something that Floats
24. Something Railroad Related
25. Something Round