THE BACHELOR

Who is watching "The Bachelor"?

Omigosh. A friend started watching and I got sucked in. I had tears in my eyes last night when Ali had to leave.

What a sap I am......

BUT.......What a choice.......stay and take a chance on him NOT picking you and losing your job or leave and keep your job and possibly miss finding the love of your life.

I still can't believe I'm sucked in. I sit there and think "I don't think I could ever date someone who is dating so many other girls at the same time." Then I turn around and think "oh man he really likes her" And then the next date he goes on I think that about the next girl.

I liked Ali but I like a couple of the other girls too. ughhhhhhhh........

Why do I ever start watching this stuff? It's so addicting.. I'm starting to sound like I watch a lot of TV.

Hmmmmm...... maybe I watch too much. HEY.....I think American Idol is on tonight.

As much as I'd like to, I don't have much time during the day to watch any programs. Every once in awhile I get to give in and watch a Lifetime movie while the Rugrats are at school. I'll put it on and try to work while I watch. I take my laptop to the sofa and try to pretend I'm working. I change my laundry over on commercial breaks (or sometimes I fast forward through them, if I've previously recorded the movie).

Obviously not very productive which is why most of the time I DVR these programs and watch them at night when the Rugrats go to bed.

I end up staying up late while Hunk snores next to me...........I nudge him......he stops........ he starts again...... I push him....he stops......he starts again...... I flick him.....he stops...........he starts again...... I sigh REALLY LOUDLY and shove him........he wakes up and says "What the heck?" ........and I say "What?".with a puzzled look on my face......like I have no idea what he is talking about.....

That's my nightly routine........of course if you ask Hunk he would tell you that "I" snore....

My response when he says that ......

..I start off with an eye roll and end with a "Whatever".....I'm a loving wife like that..

Ciao Bellas~

SYSTEM OVERLOAD........

HAVEN'T WE ALL HAD DAY'S LIKE THIS??

I went from sick...... to on the mend....... to sooooooooo far behind.

I had to take off my birthday party hat today and put on my office girl hat. I spent last week either celebrating turning 40 with friends and family or running from my bed to the potty.



What I didn't spend it doing was much office work.



Well that changed today.



Omigosh I thought Hunk might come home from work today and find me buried alive underneath paperwork. One minute it's the laundry pile the next it's paperwork. Invoicing (which I'm more than happy to do), paying vendors (which can sometimes make me want to cry), filing paperwork for a new customer (time consuming but oh so important), filing forms with the IRS (yahoo.....lets all get excited), filling out paperwork for our home that is in escrow, sending out estimates........and the list goes on and on and on.....



My eyes were going crossed from staring at my computer screen so long and my bladder was stretched to it's maximum capacity a few times because I just couldn't stop in the middle of all the work I was getting done just to PEE.... Why do I do that? sigh....



I am happy to report I made a dent in my pile. I have not climbed to the very top but I am not longer at the bottom with just my chubby little legs and arms sticking out, gasping for air.......



I will also sleep good tonight. Though I didn't get any physical exercise today.......my mind is exhausted.

Speaking of sleep....... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ciao Bellas~

PIT BOARD CHARITY- CHILDREN'S HEART FOUNDATION AND THE DAYTONA 500 ~

Hello to any of you Nascar fans!!

Some of you may know that I am on the Board of Directors of a charity called The Pit Board Charity.

We have many projects throughout the year and do fundraising for different charities. We have a special project going on right now for the Children's Heart Foundation.

We will sell 86 spots (two line-ups) for this fundraiser, on a first come, first served basis. After the first 43 spots are sold, we’ll draw the names of their purchasers randomly out of a hat to set the first line-up; we’ll do the same for the second line-up once spots 44 through 86 are sold.


· Both winners will be determined by Dale Jr’s finish in the 52nd running of the Daytona 500.


· Prizes: The winner for line-up #1 will receive an Autographed Dale Jr. 88 Team Shirt. The winner for line-up #2 will receive a Dale Jr. “Race Fans” 88 AMP 1/24 Stock Car.

You can view it and join in for a chance to win (by February 12th) by visiting our website at www.pitboardcharity.com

If you have any questions just let me know!!

Thanks so much!!

Ciao Bellas~

LORDY LORDY LOOK WHO IS 40!

I celebrated my 40th birthday!!

That's not the only reason I've been away from my blog though. The MAIN reason is because on the very night of my birthday I got a new BFF (Best Friend Forever). I wasn't out looking for a new BFF. I was really happy with the BFF's that I have. But my new BFF was looking for me. And at times I was soooooo happy to have my BFF. I ran to my BFF and thanked it for being there for me.

As wonderful as my new BFF has been to me I really am getting very tired of the constant visiting that is going on between us. It is draining me........

I'm not visiting my BFF as often as I have been and that's why I am able to write this post to you now......

I miss my old BFF's and hope to reunite soon.....

MY NEW BFF (BEST FRIEND FOREVER)

TMI (too much information) I know......but I do say I tell all and keep it real, right?

Besides having a new BFF for a few days.............I have been having a wonderful week! One of my best friends drove down from out of town to spend last Saturday with me. She pulled up with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, two kinds of chocolate cake (she couldn't decide which one looked better), birthday balloons and a card with a gift card to the Outback Steak House. Yummmmm.

We headed to town and spent the day together. We went to lunch, a movie, walked around in some shops and then went to dinner. It was a blast!

The fun didn't stop there though. We came home and watched another movie, ate some of our chocolate cake and talked until after 1 AM......

Wednesday I went to lunch with a group of girlfriends!

Then Hunk brought me home a bottle of Champagne, a bouquet of flowers and strawberries. (He and my Rugrat daughter attempted dipping them in chocolate but I guess left the chocolate in the microwave too long and lets just say I ended up with just strawberries.)

Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling well but I managed to smell my flowers, eat a few strawberries and toast Hunk with the champagne.

We decided to go to dinner another night....

I have received some wonderful gifts and cards that I will be sharing as soon as I have time to download the photos.

In the meantime I wanted to share with you some photos of my past.....

I remember this cake. I loved the balloons and sucking the icing off of them....

However, I don't remember this at all......if i had to guess I'm thinking I probably enjoyed sucking on the rattle.

Time goes by so quickly. In what seems like a blink of an eye you go from WEARING DIAPERS, to playing in the dirt (and usually eating some), to spending summers going back and forth between your best friends home and yours, to falling in love and getting married, to CHANGING your Rugrats DIAPERS, to CHANGING your Grandrats DIAPERS and then back to WEARING DIAPERS.

I was going to say something but........I'll let it go....I think I've shared too much already.....

I'm by no means old, nor do I feel old, but it is yet another milestone in my life. One I am not sad but happy to have reached.

I've missed you!

Ciao Bellas~

12 STEP PROGRAM FOR LIFETIME MOVIES~

Hunk refers to these as "Chick Flicks"......

Movies about women who have been done wrong by men.......

If I'm watching Lifetime and he walks in he stops and says "What did he do to her?" Sadly most times I don't have to say "What did WHO do to her?" I say "He cheated on her or he put poison in her soup"........ But NOT always. Sometimes SHE did something to HIM.

And let me just say when it's not a movie about a man doing something to a woman I find reasons for Hunk to walk in on me watching.



Example:

Ring....Ring...



Hunk: "Hello.."

Me: "Hunk, I know you are out grading the road right now but could you please hurry back to the house I need to speak to you for just a minute...."



Hunk: "Now?"

Me: "Ummmm......ya, nobody is one fire, I just can't really do it over the phone.....sorry."

He walks in....

Hunk: "What's up?"

Me: "Not much just watching a LIFETIME MOVIE."

wait for it....wait for it.......

Hunk: "What did he do to her this time?"

Me: huge smile...."NOTHING! She is a witcho! She is sleeping with his best friend AND they are plotting to kill him!"

Hunk:. "huhhh.., so what's up? What did you need?"

Me.. " Oh, sorry, I'm good now."

Hunk: "Oooooookkk." mental note, Steph needs therapy



Why do I get satisfaction from this? Proving to him that it isn't ALWAYS a woman done wrong....Hunk really doesn't care, just likes to tease me. And is it anyless "chick flick like" if the woman is doing the man wrong? I don't know. Maybe I do need therapy. I'm sure Dr. Phil will do a show on it.......or Oprah.... "REAL Housewives addicted to Lifetime movies".



I'm addicted.... They call out to me.... "Stephanie, the laundry and dishes can wait......come take a load off and watch the LIFETIME movie you have on the DVR"....



Am I the only one being haunted by Lifetime? And now we have Lifetime AND Lifetime MOVIE NETWORK......



It's like offering me Dom Perignon instead of Cooks.......

Cooks works. I like Cooks. I'll toast with Cooks but Dom...... Dom makes me all warm and fuzzy...... Hunk says it does other things to me too but......well, I'm not going there.......not in this post anyway.....

Is there a "Lifetime Anonymous" meeting I can attend? Don't answer that, cuz the truth is, if there is...... I don't want to go. I admitted the addiction.... I want to stay on this "step" for awhile.



My weaknesses..... Hunk's wrangler butt, cheese, butter, Lifetime Movie Network .. .....Ok too many to list.

I would write more BUT there is a Lifetime.....ehemmmm..... I mean..... I have to go do the dishes.

A mother's work is never done....... sighhhhhhhhhhh

Ciao Bellas~

TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE

I received an email today that blew me away. Made my heart swell up and smile.

As you know Cottage Girl won the Free Gift Card Giveaway that I held. When she contacted me via email about the gift card she let me know that she would be giving it to the American Red Cross for Haiti.

Now you can see why my heart swelled up and smiled. She gave up a shopping trip for those in need.

When you sit and watch the news (at least in my neck of the woods) the majority of what they report is all the bad things that go on. All the horrible awful things that happen in this country, in other countries and in our hometown. There are so many big hearted people who do so many nice things in this world.....Why can't we report more about them?

I believe if they reported more about the good things happening then more good things would happen....That's why I'm telling you about Cottage Girl's generosity.

It's contagious...and it makes you feel good.

So Cottage Girl donated $50 to American Red Cross for Haiti and I donated an additional $50 to them as well.

I did it because when I read her email telling me that is where she wanted her money to go it made me want to join in her generosity.

It was contagious and it made me feel good.....

The same thing is true with kind words and smiles. You never know how you can effect someones life. Smiling at a stranger or giving them a compliment. We don't know what has happened in their day or week, maybe the smile we give them will change the entire feel of their day.

Lets spread the love and make this world a better place. I have met so many kind big hearted people while blogging. One gesture at a time we can make a difference.

Start close to home:

Make dinner or dessert for a friend or neighbor for no reason.

Call your local school and/or church and see if there are any children in need of jackets or clothing and clean out your overflowing children's closets.

Next time you are at a drive through pay for the order of the person behind you.

Help an elderly couple with yard work or just drop by to visit.




I know times are tough for many. Giving comes in so many shapes and sizes. It doesn't have to be financial.

Smiles are free and yet they are priceless at the same time.

I promise you one thing. One thing that I know for sure.

As happy as you make someone feel with your generosity and kind gestures it will not even come close to comparing to how it will make YOU feel.

The best gift you can RECEIVE is the feeling you get from GIVING.

And what an amazing example it sets for your Rugrats. (that's an added bonus)

Ciao Bellas~

AND THE WINNER IS...........DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

I put every one's name/comment in a hat (actually a bowl....but hat sounds better) one time for each entry you qualified for and pulled out......

THE WINNER OF THE GIFT CARD GIVEAWAY!!!

CottageGirl said...
Follow your blog!
January 25, 2010 1:50 PM

Congratulations Cottage Girl!

Please email me at Mommassoapbox@aol.com and let me know which egift card you choose and and what email address you would like me to send it to!

Thank you EVERYONE for participating!!

Sending e-love to you all!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

Ciao Bellas!