I am here, but then again, I am not

This is my old blog, which I keep open so that I can comment on blogs that only allow Blogspot users. For up to date postings and blogginess, visit A Country Mom Can Survive.

Update your blogrolls people!!

NEW BLOG ALERT!!

I have finally moved to Wordpress after almost a year of threats. I have also changed my blog name. It has been Expressions of Love for almost 4 years through 2 blogging platforms. Not anymore.

I am also changing my user/IM names for the first time since I have become active on-line. I used to be daniels_mommy04 or any variation of that. It paid homage to my first baby that was a still born. It is now A-Country-Mom.

My new blog is A Country Mom Can Survive. Bookmark me!!

For those who have it, my email address is the same. At least until I can get my F**** server to work. :T

Brought to you by PBS

Mark loves Curious George, and Thomas & Friends, and Elmo, and Bob the Builder, and Clifford. Not that I let him sit and watch TV all day long. I usually let him watch one or two shows, depending upon when Abby is up from her nap. (The TV room is right outside their bedroom.) Mark adores these shows, and for the most part I think they are good for him. They really are pretty educational. Sesame Street has taught Mark several new signs in sign language, how to count to 10, some of the letter of the alphabet and other good things.


But just the other day Mark did something that was horrible.

He... Oh, I can't even say it.

OK. Do it quick, like a band aid.

HE-LIKED-TELETUBBIES. Oh, the horror. Not that I think they are gay, even though they might be a little creepy. I just can't stand the whole bouncy bellied, kool-aid colored, squiggly headed, annoying show. And what is with the rabbits already?

Special for June!

I have perfected my recipe for bath bombs and they are AWESOME. I am currently running a sale for the month of June on them. Buy any 3 bath bombs and get a 4th FREE. Just buy the first 3 and email me letting me know which scent you would like for your 4th, and I include it in the package at no charge.

Go check it out at www.TwinSpringNaturals.com

Tell your friends. Tell your family. I am VERY pound of these bath bombs. They are packed with Dead Sea Salt, Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Oatmeal, Avocado Oil, and more.

And don't forgot that anyone who mentions that they read about my store on my blog can get FREE SHIPPING on any order of $10 or more.

Life is Life.

Life is Life. Profound, huh?

Abby has been sleeping ALL THE TIME. Yesterday she went down for her morning nap at 8 AM and I woke her up at 12:30 because I was starting to get nervous. She has been takes 2, 3, even 4 naps a day which is not like her at all. She might be teething or growing but I haven't seen any evidence of either yet. She crawls way too well, walks along furniture, has taken the occasional step without knowing it, and is WAY too good at getting up stairs.

Mark is the same. He keeps getting bigger. Smarter. His art is improving. He likes to draws things now instead of just scribbling circles. He asks to paint or play with play dough.

My husband is at war with the chipmunks. There are several dozen that have nearly dug out under our entire cement patio. Not good. And they are smart little buggers.

Our laptop s out of commission. The power cord just stopped working. One minute it was charging. The next it wasn't. Literally. And the battery isn't worth crap. It lasts approx. 45 seconds for every percent of battery life. We just got the new power cord today from Ebay. But we have to make sure it isn't just a piece of crap rip off.

Having the laptop stop was not good for me. I can live working off the desktop fossil. But all my stock photos, recipes, label, EVERYTHING was on the laptop. At least I didn't loose it for good.

I am working on some recipes for salt and sugar scrubs now. I am very excited about these. They should be tons of fun. I plan to expand to Scrubs, Bath Salts, Warming Gel (for romantic uses :D), Body Butters, and other spa like goodies.

I have perfected my recipe for bath bombs and they are AWESOME. I am currently running a sale for the month of June on them. Buy any 3 bath bombs and get a 4th FREE. Just buy the first 3 and email me letting me know which scent you would like for your 4th, and I include it in the package at no charge. Go check it out at www.TwinSpringNaturals.com Tell your friends. Tell your family. I am VERY pound of these bath bombs. They are packed with Dead Sea Salt, Mango Butter, Shea Butter, Cocoa Butter, Oatmeal, Avocado Oil, and more.

I hate spam

I hate spam. Really hate spam. It used to be no big deal. Sure, I would get plenty but I would just empty the whole bulk folder at once and be done. Now because sometimes Ebay spits one the bulk for no particular reason, I have to be careful what I trash. I am talking about 200-300 everyday in my bulk folder and another 10-15 that make it into my inbox.

Yahoo has one of the worst reputations for spamming. I want to get an address through my domain hosting, but I haven't figured out how to set up my SMTP correctly.

I am tired of being asked if I want a bigger penis.

Or if I want to meet local busty black singles.

Or if I like Coke or Pepsi better.

Or being teasingly offered a $1000 gift card to Victoria Secret only to find out I need to sell my soul to get it.

Do you seriously think that I am going to respond to an email from my refinancing counselor at a bank I have never heard of?

Or that I believe that I really won the Australian Lottery?

I don't want to get a student loan.

Or tell you if I like Letterman or Leno better.

And stop inviting me to be your MySpace friend, when I don't even have a MySpace page.

Oh, and seriously? Stop with the spams that are titled "Read This".

The one with a new store!

So I've decided I need to make blogging more of a priority in my life. Lately I have been feeling so lazy about it. Like it is going to take sooooooooooo much energy and time to keep up my blog. But I need it. It is important in keeping up my life. You know, MY life.

Anyway, I have a domain name now. And I am setting up a Wordpress blog.

The domain is for my bath and body business. Which is slowly going.

Check it out at www.TwinSpringNaturals.com. Anyone who mentions that they read about my store on my blog can get FREE SHIPPING on any order of $10 or more.

Currently I only have an Ebay store, so you have to have an ebay account. But in the next year I want to set up my online store. Also next year is my goal to start craft shows. More about what has been going on with this later.

I miss all my peeps. You know who you are!! I just found my bestest favoritest blogger friend again today. She closed her blog last year while I was on hiatus and was SOOOOOOOO upset. That has made my day.

Memorial Day weelend was fun. We planned a big bonfire party that 4 people showed up for! We have issues with people showing up to our parties. But the bonfire was fun. And Gabriel, Mark, and I camped in the back yard Saturday night. It was fun but I am still hurting from sleeping on the ground. We will invest in a queen or king size air bed, insead of the twin we have, and we plan on doing this often this summer. We have a great big yard that is completely secluded in the woods. Perfect for camping.

Got to get something else done now. Love you all!!

The future

Recent discussion in our house:

ME: So what do you want to be when you grow up? A Firefighter?
Mark: Noooo
ME: A Doctor?
Mark: Noooo
ME: A Cook?
Mark: Nooo
ME: An Airplane Flier?
Mark: Nooo
ME: An Ambulance Driver?
Mark: Nooo
ME: Work at McDonalds?
Mark: YES! (After he realized we were laughing) Noooo
ME: A Construction Worker?
Mark: Nooo
ME: A Dancer?
Mark: Nooo
ME: A Farmer?
Mark: Nooo
ME: Well than what do you want to be?
Mark: A car toothbrush.

There you have it.

Wednesday Weigh In - week 4

Ugh, I have not been feeling very self-confident lately. I have gained another half pound, so I am up 2. Although, I only worked out Tuesday and Wednesday this week. AND I really haven't been eating the lowest of calorie foods. With Easter dinner, and candy. The other day I grilled bacon wrapped surf and turf. (But it was GOOD.)

I am however getting up every morning at 5:30, so that I can get in my exercise AND a shower every day. The only problem is that I am SO stiff in the mornings. I don't know what arthritis feels like, but I would think this to be close. I have got to shed some weight.



PS. I know that I have only been posting for the Wednesday Weigh In. I am sorry. I just don't know where all the time goes. I have been working very hard on setting up my bath and body products business. I need to settle on a business name and logo, before I can get any products up for sale.

Weigh In Wednesday - week 3

I have been uber busy, and I feel sooooo guilty for not posting Wednesday Weigh In ON Wednesday for the second week in a row.

I am feeling a little bummed this week. I GAINED 1.5 lbs. I know, or I hope, that it is probably muscle weight from exercising regularly. But it tis discouraging to be trying hard to exercise and seeing a significant weight GAIN.

Here is how my week went:
Thursday: 30 minutes on the treadmill
Friday: 25 minutes on the treadmill (I think, it could have been the DVD, but I DID exercise.)
Saturday: nothing
Sunday: nothing
Monday: 25 minutes on the treadmill
Tuesday: 35 minutes on the treadmill
Wednesday: 25 minutes of the Slim DVD

I have been giving the DVD a small break. While I LOVE it and think that the Slim In 6 DVDs have really helped me, my knees have been bothering me again. I have had problems with my knees ever since I have started to exercise after Abby. Probably due to the fact that I weigh more now than I ever have before (unpregnant). Also due to doing lunges and squats improperly a few months back and really messing my knees up.

So I will only do the DVD (which has squats and lunges. That I have been doing properly now!) a few times a week and go on the treadmill the rest.

Part of my desire to lose weight is because of my knees. I am only 23 and too damn young to have arthritis.

I haven't been talking alot about my diet. That is because I haven't been real strict with it. Suffice to say that I try to watch what I eat and eat in moderation. I DON'T drink enough water though.

Night Prayers

My son has decided to change his name.

Night prayers go something like this:
"God bless Daddy, and Mommy, and Abby, and Oh-Boy."

Yep.

Sometime he even refers to himself in the first person.
"More juice for Oh-Boy."

At least the night prayers are an upgrade from what he was calling everyone else.
"God bless Daddy-gail, and Mommy-gail, and Abigail, and Oh-Boy."

Because obviously if your name ends in y, the full version ends with gail.

The latest and greatest in my household??

What the Ba-donk-a-donk?

Yeah, I don't know what that means either.

Weigh In Wednesday - week 2

Ok I know that it is Thursday. But I felt so guilty for not coming on to post for Wednesday.

I have gained back the pound from last week. But I am not too worried. I am sick instead. Sitting on the couch in a ball with my head a-pounding.

Here is my exercise schedule from last week:
Thursday: Slim DVD
Friday: nothing - took care of sick hubby and kids
Saturday: nothing - felt sick myself and hubby still sick in bed
Sunday: nothing
Monday: Slim DVD
Tuesday: Grocery shopping, 25 minutes on the treadmill
Wednesday: nothing - came down with the cold hubby had over the weekend. Don't have the energy to go up and down the stairs.

I haven't been real steady with the exercise or diet with all that was going on. Plus the pound I got back could just be muscle weight. I am noticing a difference in more muscle control and tone wince I started exercising again.

The one with mud - part 2

I am coming out of hibernation. And so is everything else. I saw my first snake today. I knew that living in the country would bring animals of all sorts. But I still had palpitations staring at it 50 feet away from behind a glass door. It was just a little green grass snake, but nothing makes me scream like a little girl like snakes do.

Spring is in full swing. For a while the driveway had actually started to dry out and firm up. But after 2 days of spring storms, it is pretty mushy again. I went to town yesterday morning and sunk my car in mud up to the frame.

Today is beautiful however. 70's. Gorgeous. Everyone is in shorts. I had better adjust to my midwest lifestyle or I will DIE when it starts getting in the 90's. This house doesn't have AC yet. It WILL get it this summer.

We were sick over the weekend. I have been kind of lazy with the internet. I had people who needed me. It only seemed to be a 24-48 hour cold. Nothing terrible.

Paypal is frustrating me to no end.
Well, them and my bank. OK, get this. Gabriel and I have each accounts in our names. We are both secondaries on each account. So we both can access all of them, but some our "mine" and some are "his".
When Gabriel called in to change our address, they assured him that ALL addresses for ALL accounts where updated. But I couldn't validate my credit card with my new address through Paypal.
So I called them up again on the 16th. The lady was super nice and said that the accounts in my name hadn't been changed but she updated them for me. I waited and tried every day last week to update via Paypal. Nothing. Friday the 23rd I got a confirmation letter in the mail dated the 19th, stating that my address had officially been updated. Still nothing with Paypal.
Just a few minutes ago (mind you this is 7 business days after I called) I STILL can't get Paypal to recognize my new billing address for my credit card. I don't know what to do, but it is pissing me off.
I am waiting to update my billing address so that I can get a Paypal debit card. They make them out automatically to your credit card's billing address. I want to get my web hosting, domain name, crafting supplies, and some other stuff but I want to use my Paypal balance and these places don't just accept Paypal.

UGH.

I did get some of my crafting supplies on Ebay, though. So maybe starting in the next week or 2 I will get them up for sale.

The webhosting and domain name is really holding me up. I just might go ahead and use my bank or credit card funds, instead of Paypal's balance. I hate to, but I am not going to wait forever!!

Answers to Thursday Thirteen Movie Trivia Edition

1 Terminator 2
2 The Princess Bride
3 Ocean's Eleven
4 Independence Day
5 Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
6 The Green Mile
7 Austin Powers
8 Honey, I shrunk the kids
9 Indiana Jones and the last crusade
10 Jurassic Park
11 The Karate Kid
12 MIB
13 Pretty Woman

If you're curious....

I don't know if there is a buzz about Curious George in your house, but he is all the rage here. Mark LOVES Curious George. I think more so than Elmo now. If Curious George does it, Mark does it.
I don't truly believe that CG is a monkey. He has no tail so he is an ape. But that is another story.

Mark has CG color books, but he won't color by himself. He wants others (ME) to color with him. I get so sick of coloring CG brown brown brown brown and the man in the yellow hat yellow yellow yellow yellow. SO I start getting creative.I mean it isn't the color that makes the monkey, right? All I'm saying is that sometimes in life you need an orange monkey holding a blue bunny next to a red snail on purple grass.

Thursday Thurteen #16

Thirteen Movie Quotes. See if you can guess all 13.



1. "Hasta la vista, baby."

2. "That Vizzini, he can *fuss*."
"Fuss, fuss... I think he like to scream at *us*."
"Probably he means no *harm*."
"He's really very short on *charm*."
"You have a great gift for rhyme."
"Yes, yes, some of the time."
"Enough of that! Fezzik, are there rocks ahead?"
"If there are, we all be dead!"
"No more rhymes now, I mean it!"
"Anybody want a peanut? "

3. "Cause the house always wins. Play long enough, you never change the stakes. The house takes you. Unless, when that perfect hand comes along, you bet big, then you take the house."
"Been practicing this speech, haven't you?"
"Little bit. Did I rush it? Felt I rushed it."
"No, it was good, I liked it."

4. "Y'know, this was supposed to be my weekend off, but noooo. You got me out here draggin' your heavy ass through the burnin' desert with your dreadlocks stickin' out the back of my parachute. You gotta come down here with an attitude, actin' all big and bad... and what the hell is that smell? I could've been at a barbecue!"

5. "If I'm not back in five minutes...just wait longer!"

6. "I tried to take it back, Boss."

7. "My father was a relentlessly self-improving boulangerie owner from Belgium with low-grade narcolepsy and a penchant for buggery. My mother was a 15 year old French prostitute named Chloe with webbed feet. My father would womanize, he would drink, he would make outrageous claims, like he invented the question mark. Sometimes, he would accuse chestnuts of being lazy - the sort of general malaise that only the genius possess and the insane lament. My childhood was typical: summers in Rangoon, luge lessons. In the spring, we'd make meat helmets. When I was insolent, I was placed in a burlap bag and beaten with reeds. Pretty standard, really."

8. "We're now a quarter of an inch tall, and sixty four feet from the house. That's an equivalent of three-point-two miles. That's a long way. Even for a man of science."

9. "Please, what does it always mean, this... this "Junior"?"
"That's his name. [pointing] Henry Jones ...Junior."
"I like "Indiana.""
"We named the *dog* Indiana. "

10. "God creates dinosaurs. God destroys dinosaurs. God creates man. Man destroys God. Man creates dinosaurs..."
"Dinosaurs eat man. Woman inherits the earth..."

11. "Karate come from China, sixteenth century, called te, "hand." Hundred year later, Miyagi ancestor bring to Okinawa, call *kara*-te, "empty hand."
"I thought it came from Buddhist temples and stuff like that."
"You too much TV."

12. "1500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you "knew" that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll "know" tomorrow."

13. "How much for the entire night?"
"Stay here? You couldn't afford it."
"Try me."
"300 dollars."
"Done! Thank you. Now we can relax."




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Weigh In Wednesday - week 1

So Leigh and I decided that we are going to hold ourselves accountable with our weight loss efforts by honestly posting about it every Wednesday. Feel free to join us, by leaving a post on your blog. This is for encouragement and support, not some stupid meme.



This week I lost 1 lb. That isn't much but I have been the same weight for months now. And finally I have put some effort into it and lost some. I am going to be honest and tell you all. I weigh 189 lbs. I know some of you are going to say "you don't look like you weight that much". Well, have ya noticed that there aren't any pictures of my body on the blog, just my head. There ya go.

My plan is to do my Slim in 6 DVD 5 days a week. (It is supposed to be 6 days a week but I know better than to expect that every Saturday will get a full work out.) And try to get on the treadmill for at least 20 minutes on the weekends.

So far this week I have done my Slim in 6 everyday. My thighs are not thanking me. "OMG woman, you made us move for 25 minutes continuously." Today is better than yesterday though as my tone is building a little. I forgot how good exercising feels. How you can get that high after you have had a really good workout.

So don't forget to go give Leigh some encouragement. And feel free to join us by posting honestly about your weight loss efforts.

The one with some quizes.

Found these over at Almost Somewhat Positive.

Your Brain is Green

Of all the brain types, yours has the most balance. You are able to see all sides to most problems and are a good problem solver. You need time to work out your thoughts, but you don't get stuck in bad thinking patterns. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking about the future, philosophy, and relationships (both personal and intellectual).

What Color Is Your Brain?

You Are 28% Lady

You tend to make up your rules of etiquette, throwing all conventions aside. And while you try to be a lady (sometimes), your behavior is often quite shocking.

Are You A Lady?

You Are 35% Normal

You sure do march to your own beat... But you're so weird, people wonder if it's a beat at all You think on a totally different wavelength And it's often a chore to get people to understand you

How Normal Are You?

You Are 50% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

Apparently I am not very normal. I guess my husband won that $5.

Thanks everyone for cheering me up. I guess it was PMS or something.

Leigh, I will see you tomorrow. We have a date, girl.

The one with swearing

Mommy is being a bitch today. Cranky. Crabby. Feeling the need to go take a baseball bat to a tree. Warning: I feel like swearing. Alot.

I tried using her new slim in 6 DVD, but the DVD rom that CAME with the laptop needs a driver play DVDs. Not just some DVDs, all DVDs.

And I can't use the DVD player with the TV, because the TV is right outside the kid's upstairs. And Abby just went down for a nap. Finally.

As a side note, I did get to use the TV upstairs after I put Mark down for a nap. The workout was hard and felt great, but I can safely say that was the high point of my day.

I can't get the Fucking fire started. The fire is usually out when we get up in the morning. Most mornings I scoop ashes, bring in some kindling and newspaper, and light a new fire. It can take from 20 minutes to a few hours to start, depending how wet and cured the wood is. It is a quarter to four in the afternoon and I can't get paper to take.

I woke up stiff and sore. Not hung over sore. Creak-in-the-neck-that-won't-go-away-even-with-Advil-sore.

I haven't emptied the dishwasher yet. The dishes are piled everywhere in the kitchen.

I have piles of clothes all over the floor that Mark won't leave alone. Laundry is my *favorite* chore.

I forgot to start new listings on Sunday night for E-bay, so my whole rhythm is off.

I need a shower.

I snap at the kids for breathing too loud.

Mark won't listen.

I can't get the kids to take a nap at the same time for the life of me.

I just want silence.

I just want 5 minutes for myself.

I keep bouncing back and forth between needing to scream my lungs out and needing to cry.

Or scream, "Shut the Fuck up already will you!" FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK.

On a side note I did finish my period yesterday. So maybe this is PMS.