Really?

I'm a sham. A con-artist. A hypocrite. I'm sorry to say it, but it is true. You've all been swindled. Bamboozled. Duped.

Remember a few days ago when I was all, "Oh, I love the Earth. And we all have to do our part. And CHANGE STARTS WITH ONE PERSON." Remember all that?

So what happens today when I go to the grocery store? Picture me with a buggy half full (that's me, always optimistic) of groceries and Emma Mae sitting in the front sucking on the buggy. I'm on aisle 13 or so. You got me? I really want you to feel this moment with me.

"Oh, my gosh, I totally don't have any of those bags with me. They are all in the car. Do I

A. Grab Emma Mae leaving a buggy full of groceries in the middle of the store. Run to the car and grab the bags, hoping that everything in the buggy will be fine until I get back.

B. Buy more of the bags when I get to the register, adding at least another $20 to my already mounting grocery bill.

C. Just use the plastic ones. Earth be darned.

Which one do you think I chose?

Yes, I chose C. But you wouldn't believe how long I pondered what I should do. And then the enormous, completely ridiculous, guilt I felt because I didn't use them. I have actually looked for the place at WalMart to recycle the plastic bags, but have yet to find them.

(This was not my regularly scheduled post for today. You will have to stay tuned for that one.)

A Real Celebrity

Oh. My. Goodness. A real celebrity has been to my blog. Granted, it was after I stalked their blog and begged for a visit. Here's what happened.

Yesterday, I popped on over to beeboppin through the boroughs, one of my very fave blogs, to ask for some expert advice on where we should go on our trip to NYC. If you haven't had the chance to visit this way fun blog you should go there now and then come back to finish reading my post. It's fine. I don't mind. I'll wait.


Are you back? Okay, well what you probably found out is that it is a cute little blog about two fun young girls who go on walks throughout different parts of New York. Their names are Jill and Megan. And their blog gives you a chance to tour the city with them. The only bad part is not actually getting to taste any of the goodies that they indulge in.

When I started thinking about my trip to New York, I thought, who better to ask about what we should see. Then this afternoon, JILL actually replied on my blog. Here is a copy of what she said:

Hey Amanda - As requested, here are my must-do's in NYC (brace yourself, this is going to be lengthy):- Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and go for pizza at Grimaldi's in Brooklyn. It’s the best. I’m drooling just thinking about it.- See a broadway show. I've only seen a few, but loved them all. My most recent favorite is "Curtains" - David Hyde Pierce is fantastic. You can get cheaper same-day tickets at the TKTS booth in Times Square.- Skip the street vendor hotdogs and proceed directly to Gray’s Papaya for the best dog you’ll ever eat. You will see imitations throughout the city (Papaya Dog, Papaya King…), but I am partial to the upper west side location at 72nd and Amsterdam.- Pick a few of the big tourist attractions, but don’t try to fit all of them in. Some, like going to the Statue of Liberty or to the top of the Empire State Building, can take all day. So see the ones that are important to you, and skip the ones that aren’t – you’ll get to do a lot more. A great way to see Lady Lib is to take the Staten Island ferry across to SI and back. It’s free! I like to go at dusk, so you get the daylight view of the city/statue on the way out and a gorgeous lit-up nighttime view on the way back.- Check out some of the amazing museums. If you are on a budget, keep an eye out for museums with a “suggested” entrance fee (like the MET or the Natural History Museum). You don’t have to pay the full $15-$20 to get in, especially if you can only stay for an hour or so. Another tip – the MET and their sister museum, the Cloisters have dual admittance. If you go to one, you can get into the other for free on the same day.- Take some time to just wander the different neighborhoods. Walking is the best way to see the city. It is also the best way to work off all the goodies you will come across. Here are my very favorite NY treats:The Doughnut Plant tres leche doughnut (Grand St. bet. Essex & Norfolk – lower east side)Levain Bakery chocolate peanut butter cookie (74th & Amsterdam)Beard Papa cream puffs (locations throughout the city)Emack & Bolio’s ice cream (79th & Amsterdam)Cupcakes – from almost anywhere! My favorites are Crumbs, Magnolia Bakery and Buttercup Bakeshop- After your feet are aching from a long day of walking, and your stomach is full of baked goods, treat yourself to a mani/pedi (it is your birthday trip, after all). There’s a salon on practically every corner.- Go to Burger Joint. It is a hidden NY gem. You’ll find it behind a curtain inside the lobby of the swank Le Parker Meridien Hotel on 57th bet. 6th & 7th aves. Just follow your nose and the little neon sign to one of the best burgers in the city (avoid the lunchtime rush if you can).I hope you have an amazing trip! I’ll try to get Meg to chime in with her suggestions.Jill (the better half of the bee-boppin’ team)

Did you see there at the top where she said, ' Hey Amanda'? This means we are best friends, now. And did you see there at the end where she said, ' I'll try to get Meg to chime in with her suggestions.'? This means that my new best friend might be able to get her other best friend MEG, who is also a giant celebrity to come and visit my blog, too. Oh. My. This is just all too much. I just can't believe it. I need to go lie down.

New York or Bust!

This was Josh's reaction when I told him about my plans for a trip to New York.



Is anyone out there buying that?

But seriously, we did talk about it. And there were a few things that he felt I did not make clear in my previous post. So here we go with the clarifications.

1. He will be going with me on my trip to New York. He felt like I was making it out like I was going alone.

2. I have invited everyone who reads my blog to go with us to New York. He thinks this means that someone may have the impression that they will be sharing a hotel room with us. I feel sure that no one feels that way, but for the record, no one will be sharing a room with us.

3. Since I don't play the lottery, I probably won't be winning anytime soon. I do sometimes find it necessary to contribute to
the voluntary prekindergarten programs and Hope scholarship. And yes, sometimes in exchange for my contribution they give me a little card that they say may or may not win me lots of money.

4. Most importantly, he said, and I quote, "I was planning something else for your birthday, but if this is what you want to do..." The last part sort of trailed off, but it feels like a good sign.

So here goes. I'm going to start looking into planning my fabulous trip. I will give you updates on the process, letting you know which hotels I am looking at and what my tenative dates will be. But be sure that these dates will include October 6, 2008. Thank you, Aramie, for suggesting that we check out kayak.com. I went to the site this morning and it looks very useful.

I would like for anyone, Echo, who wants to go, to look into going at the same time. I'm all for having as many people around as possible. I can think of nothing that would be cooler than hanging out with everyone on my birthday. Which is also the day after Leah's birthday. If you don't want to come to celebrate my birthday, then come celebrate hers. As long as you come.

You're Invited

I'm thinking of something big.

I'm thinking of doing something crazy.

I'm thinking of going out and living a little. Nothing drastic. Just a little.

Have you figured out what it is yet? Well, obviously I would like to take a trip. Just a small trip. To New York City. I have been thinking of how I would like to celebrate my big 3-0 this year. I would like to celebrate it in the Big Apple. And I would like you all to go with me. Yes, you Yolanda. And you, Christy. You too, Sass. Are you in Sharon and Kathy? What about you, Amelia? You don't have to go just for my birthday. You can go just because you've never been or because you want to get away and have some fun with someone you love. You could even plan to meet someone at the top of the Empire State Building. That someone could be someone you heard on the radio and fell in love with. Wait. Sorry, that was a movie I saw. But you get my point. Just go because you want to see it. Live. Take a chance. Do something drastic. I'm going. Be there. New York City, October 6th, 2008.

Now, all of this is contingent on two things.

My husband has to agree to it.
And I have to win the lottery.

The Swampwoman

This is my mother in law, Pat. If you have met Pat, then you have probably had the opportunity to partake of her fabulous cooking. Cooking is her passion. If she loves you, she wants to feed you. She will call me to go over what she is cooking and how she is going to prepare it. If you have had the opportunity to eat her food, then you understand what a talent she has for it. About a month ago, she and I sat down and created a blog for her to share her talent with the world. She even did a post. Then Pat was dealt a terrible blow. I think that if we all supported her and let her know how much we would love to have it, that this blog would be wonderful for Pat. Even if you don't know her, please go over and leave her a comment. She could really use the encouragement. She's a good woman. She has always been good to me and treated me more like a daughter than an inlaw. I know that she is great at what she does and I am also learning that she is great at putting it into words.

I give you the Swampwoman.

Earth Day

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's time to get it together here. It's time to do the right thing and make the Earth sustainable for our kids and grandkids. I thought it would be fitting, since today is Earth day, to show you what I am doing to save the world. What? Who's that saying that? Is that you sass? Or was that Echo? What do you mean today is not Earth day? Yesterday? Are you sure? Why didn't I get the memo?
Well, whatever. Let's just all pretend it's Earth day today. Afterall, shouldn't it be Earth day, everyday? So back to my contribution to Earth day. Do you see them there? I made the switch. Paper or Plastic? No thanks, I brought my own.

I would like for you to pay no mind to the fact that these fabulous bags that will save our world are in the back of a gas guzzling Yukon XL. I would also like you to ignore my pack of plastic bottled water. I am doing little bits at the time, okay.

I had tried to start this a few days ago. I bought some bags from Target. The irony that my sweet little cashier put them in a plastic bag was not lost on me.

I don't think that this cute little set of plastic ware is doing anything to save the Earth, but it was a gift from Gigi and I wanted to share it. How sweet was she to bring this back from IKEA for me. Looks like we will be getting some good use out of it.

Can you tell that I'm really trying? That I see the importance of stepping up to the plate where our planet is concerned? These bags were another easy way to do SOMETHING. I made the change a few weeks ago to the new weird light bulbs. Funny story about that.

Josh: Honey, do we have any lightbulbs?

Me: Yeah, they are where they always are.

Josh: No, I'm not talking about the fancy ones. I just want the plain old ones.


Change starts with one person.

Thirteen Windows

I saw this on I Invented Motherhood. She shared eight windows to her soul. I loved it. This is my version of it. I say, these are the things that will flash before my eyes, hopefully, many times for the rest of my life.

1. Staying home on rainy Saturdays with my mom and my sister eating Hormel chili and fritos, watching rented movies.

2. Being convinced by Leah, Elizabeth and Wendi that 3 of us should get naked and swim in the ocean, while the other one guards the clothes. Turns out we shouldn't have been so willing to trust the other one.

3. Asking my sister to hold my hand until I fell asleep when we were little girls and we shared a bed.

4. Any hug from my dad.

5. Driving across the country and being completely overwhelmed with all of the beauty.

6. The way my husband looks at me.

7. Four postive pregnancy tests.

8. Madi falling asleep in my lap.

9. Jackson asking me for hugs and sugars every night.

10. Jonathon riding his bike down the street for the first time.

11. Me asking Jackson to watch Emma Mae to make sure she doesn't fall off of the couch, while I ran to get a diaper. (He was 3 and she was not even a month old) I came back and he was up on the couch laying down with his arms around her, tight. She wasn't going anywhere.

12. The look on Emma Mae's face as her brothers carried her through the house.

13. The last smile that Laura and I shared. I had embarrassed her. She said she would slap me, right there if I didn't stop. I said, "I'm not scared of anyone, Laura, but I'm scared of you."

How strange that I ended up with 13. That was it. For now. I'm sure there are many more memories that I would love to add to that list. But that's the great thing about memories. They come and go, making each one a special surprise.


Here are some links to blogs that did this, only much, much better:

jen with seven windows of my soul
Jessica with Eleven Windows
Tracy from Tiny Mantras
Defiant Muse from Musings...
LSM at Somewhere In the Suburbs

A Mailbox Surprise

One of the highlights of my day is checking the mail. As I have gotten older, I have realized that it shouldn't be a highlight, anymore. It should be dreaded. In a time where it feels like everyone and everything is just trying to suck my money away from me, my mailbox has turned to the other side. It no longer offers me the fun surprise of correspondence with friends and family. Nope, now it seems like it's only job is to deliver even more requests for my money right into my hands. (Ok, yes those bills are for things I want and need, like power and waste removal, but you get my point, right?) But not on Friday. Friday was a special day. When I opened my mailbox door, this was waiting inside for me.
Wow. What could it be? Who is it from? Wait a minute. You know, now a days you have to be very careful about your mail. So I checked the return address to see if it was from Kaczynski. All clear there. I smelled it to see if there was any hint of anthrax. I am almost 85% sure I didn't smell that. Don't you think it is safe for me to open it?I had been semi-expecting my package from scrappysue. She had mentioned feeling a little sorry for me with all my bad luck with the drawing and all. So, she said she would send me a little consolation to make me feel better. You see that bag down there? Looks like that came from her trip to Hong Kong.Look at that pretty wrapping. And that cute little girl card. Wonder what it says?She has some really fabulous handwriting, doesn't she?
Look at how yummy that chocolate looks. Oh, looks like it got a little warm on it's trip, though. That's ok. I can fix that. No comments about my organizational skills, please. I put those babies right where they belong. All of my healthy snacks go on the second shelf. See the yogurt, there? Can't you tell how healthy we are?
Sorry. I didn't take any shots of me enjoying them. That, I'll just leave to the imagination. Thank you, scrappysue. You have given me hope that my mailbox can be more than a moneysucker.

I Can Do Magic

***This post has been given an R rating due to the violence that was incurred upon one of the cows in this post. This post may not be suitable for vegitarians or vegans or small children or any totally normal person who may not want to acknowledge that their hamburger meat comes from a cow that was alive at one point. You have been warned.***




I can turn all of this into...

this...

I can turn one of these into...

this...

I would like to say that I definately was not in charge of or even playing a lead role in most of the work that was done to do those things. I am merely a worker bee. I am given an assignment and I stick to it. And as far as the cow goes, you will be relieved to know that was handled by a professional butcher. We can clean a lot of things around here (deer, hogs, raccoon, my bathroom, sometimes) but not a cow. We leave that to the professionals.
The tomatoes we buy from a farm that is about 45 minutes away. We buy a lot (obviously) and the whole family works on jarring them, then we split the total jars in the end. I love my jarred tomatoes. I just add whatever seasoning I need to them and I can make any sauce I need to. We have tried growing tomatoes in the garden that Josh's father does over at Nanny and Grandpa's* farm but they need A LOT of attention. I'm sure one of these years we'll be able to make tomatoes, again. Maybe.

As far as the cows go, those are Josh and his father's. They live over at Nanny and Grandpa's. They are not really a business for us, they are more recreational. Josh and his dad just like to have them. But they do provide us with lots of beef. This past year I asked that they hamburger a whole cow. They looked at me like I was crazy. I didn't really understand why that was such a big deal. I just know that the kids won't eat steak and we eat a lot of hamburger. They did it for me because they love me. Josh finally explained that when you hamburger a cow that means that all of those really good cuts (strip, tbone, ribeye) get mixed into the hamburger. I get it now, but I still just want my hamburger. If that's what we use the most, that's what we should have, right? At least it should be the best tasting hamburger in town.

*You have already seen a shot of Grandpa Beach but if you look closely up at the top you can see Nanny's little head over the edge of the truck. Just a little factoid about Nanny, her name is Juanita Levinia and she got married when she was 14.(not to grandpa, though) Oh, gosh, what have I started. I'll have to do a whole nother post.

My Desktop

This is my desktop. On one of my new favorite blogs, Mother's Pride, she showed a picture of her desktop. I was overcome with curiosity about how she took a picture of her desktop. So I blog hopped until I found an explanation. And after hours of ignoring dirty diapers, hungry kids and a whining husband, I have finally gotten it to my blog. It is actually pretty easy. When you are on your desktop you hit print screen. Then you go to paint and click on edit. Think you click on paste. And voila!! There it is. Then you save it and it appears in your pictures folder. Anyway, I thought that was pretty neat. Before you do it, though, take some of your useless icons off so you don't end up looking like a total dork like I did.

Did anyone want an explanation about the picture? I thought you might. The other day I decided to pop in at Elizabeth's blog and lo and behold this is what I found. Oh, but there were more. Many more. They were some of the funniest pictures I had ever seen. Just click her name up there and it will take you to that post. Enjoy!

Tag, I'm It!

Thank you, Saralynn, for having the desire to learn more about me. Since we all know I could never get bored talking about myself (my mom's fave saying of mine: more about me, less about you), here we go:

1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.


1. sister
2. mother
3. wife
4. daughter
5. cousin
6. aunt

Shew. That was hard. But it sure felt good to share all of that. You know, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The above picture is a shot of my sister a long time ago at my highschool graduation. Back when I was a youngin.

And I have a feeling that the comments section is going to be riddled with people saying things like 'cheater', 'trickster', 'charlatan'. (I just thought that last one was funny, so I threw it in there) I know. I'm sorry, but to try to use just one word seemed impossible.

Here are the non-cheaters I am tagging. You have to do it right, guys.

1. Leah
2. Gigi
3. Aramie
4. Rachael
5. Christon

Now, don't let this scare you. Just save it for a day when you can't come up with one thing to write about. Not that that happened to me today. I'm just sayin. You know, just throwing it out there. Just in case. Certainly wouldn't happen to me. Nope.

Death and Taxes

What's that ol' addage? Nothing is sure in life but death and taxes? I think I got that right. Today is officially tax day. Every year it is the same day. April 15th. It hasn't changed since 1955. So, you would think that one should be prepared for this every year. Right? No. Unfortuantely, my taxes are still not done. Josh sat down with our fabulous CPA, VGP*, ENL**, Kathy, on Sunday and began the preparations to get our taxes done. I went through all of our statements searching for anything having to do with cows, rentals or truck repair. We found all that we could, but there were still some things missing. Yesterday, Josh had to call the banks to get some info from them and left it on his desk at work. Last night, he called Kathy and asked her if it would be okay for him to give her the info in the morning. She said that would be fine. I am a nervous wreck. You can always file for an extension, however, if you do that this year you won't get any of the 'free money' that is being thrown in all of our directions. Otherwise, known as the stimulous package. I want to do my part in helping stimulate the economy. You know, I want to feel all patriotic and American by going out and spending all of the 'free money' that I get from the government, too.

When am I going to get it together? When am I going to be totally prepared before the day that they are due? I don't know. Those questions seem to large since, technically, my taxes for this year are still NOT done.

*very good person

**extremely nice lady

Farm League

It has happened. My boy has gotten old right before my eyes. Well, he just sort of looks old, there. Anyway, he had his first official baseball game today. No more t-ball for him. Nope. He has graduated to the big leagues. Today was the opening season for baseball and softball in our county. It was kicked off with an exciting parade where all the boys and girls just pretty much walked through the parking lot onto the fields.
This is Jonathon's team. Yeah, they look pretty intimidating, don't they?




Which one of us had more team spirit?
I think it was me.
The girls were just enthralled watching their brother play ball. They were really intense about it the whole time.
Maybe it was mostly that sucker that Emma Mae was intense about. No, there was this, too. She just loved this bucket. Any guesses what it was for? (no comments about my need for a pedicure, please)
Here, this should help you figure out what that bucket that Emma Mae couldn't get enough of was. Disgusting.
If you weren't intimidated before, you sure as heck will be now.

That's my little man. Ready to hit. Bless his heart. He batted twice and struck out both times. But they did win the game!!Here is what Jackson is thinking in this picture: "My brother is the coolest guy on earth."
Yep, I would say he is a pretty cool dude.

Third Time's the Charm

Yes, it's true. My ginormous talent has been awarded, yet again. The mother of this lot has graced me with one of the three best awards I've ever received. Thank you, very much. I think she has a wonderful blog, as well. Only to be outdone by her daughter, 'the fixer'. I highly recommend every one check out both of those blogs.

In receiving this award I think it is time I shared a few things about this highly acclaimed blog.

I had no idea what a blog was. If I had even really looked around I might have realized that I should have given my blog a better title. Amanda's Life. Wow, that's profound. It really makes you think, right? Also, maybe I wouldn't have included ALL of my personal information. Maybe I would have left my last name out of it altogether. I would have still shown real pictures of the kids and used my real names but maybe not so much real information. Maybe I would have come up with a real focus to my blog. I've seen some really great 'thinking' blogs. But I didn't. It's just a diary of my life. I do have some strong opinions but mostly I just share those on other blogs. Unless it is something that I just can't bite my tongue about. Before this blogging thing I was pretty lonely. Not that I don't have friends. It's just hard to get around all of the schedules. I found myself trying to have deep conversations with the attendant in the fast food drive thru. I would be checking out at Wal Mart hoping that the cashier would slow down so we could finish our 'adult' conversation. I'm a little dramatic but you get my point. What I'm saying is that I love talking to you and as long as you will keep on listening I will keep on talking. (If you see me out and about and don't have time to talk, you should really try to sneak away) So thanks for awarding my poorly named, untopical, rambling blog. I appreciate it GREATLY!

I'm passing this fabulous award on to the following people:

(altogether now) Gigi

Sass

Reluctant

Elizabeth

Leah

Christon

Claudia (it's a funny story how Claudia and I met. maybe we'll share it one day.)

Tara

Scrappysue

Echo

And I'm also sharing it with two private blogs. I enjoy them very much and am happy to be allowed entrance.

Carlston

Wendi

When you guys receive these you make sure and pass them on to at least 10 people. Enjoy!!

Great Hair (a bonus post for all you lucky viewers)

What happens when you put a sweet little girl's hair up in bows, then take said bows out?

I said something here that was very controversial. I have decided to take it off of the post.

( I may have called my sweet little baby a monster. I know, I know. I'm sorry. She's not a monster she just looks like one. Right? I promise I'm not using her to further my blogging career.)

Thick As Theives

What does 'thick as theives' really mean? It means people who trust each other completely. It's true. I looked it up in the Urban Dictionary. When I think of Madi and Jackson that is the first thing that comes to mind. Jackson was eleven months old when Madi was born. He was just learning to walk and obviously didn't have a full grasp of the world, yet. Madi has been there as long as he can remember. He helped take care of her when she was a baby, even though technically, he was still a baby himself. When I was pregnant with Madi, people always assumed since I had a 4 year old and a 7 month old that this new pregnancy must have been an "oops". That's really what they called my pregnancy. I know they didn't mean anything by it but none of my babys' was an 'oops'. Granted I was in a little bit of a fog when I got pregnant with Madi. (Imagine that Jackson must of only been about 8 weeks old when I got pregnant.) Jackson was such a sweet baby. I remember thinking, 'I could do this like 10 times'. So I did. But not 10 times. Just two more. I have never regretted having these two so close together. I actually look at other people and have a hard time comprehending how they would want to space them out so much. I guess we're just all different.

Since Madi and Jackson were babies they have been in complete love with each other. They argue all the time but are very quick to forgive and give each other sugars to make it better. Jackson adores his older brother and Madi babies her younger sister but their love for each other is definately unique.



These are just some pics I took at the park. It was great. They were so tired when we got home that they are still asleep 2 hours later. Emma Mae had a good time, too. Except when she went down the slide backwards. More than once.

For all of you who actually read all the way down you get an extra treat. You get to see what happens when you forget that your camera is still in movie mode.