Ike hits Ohio

Sunday was a bit breezy.
We were not prepared.
After several power surges interrupted our afternoon of helping our friend Mike complete some quests in WoW we decided that we should check the weather forecast.
We were under a high wind warning... things were going to get worse until about 6:00.
3:30 they got worse...we lost power.

So we lose phone service without power so we hunt down the cellphone...not charged.
Laptops for movies with the kids...not charged.
Ice for the perishables...not stocked up.
Food for the hungry...not that did not need an oven, microwave or grill.
Grill not an option...too windy.
Flashlight...batteries dead...wait we just bought some where are they?
Several hours later find the batteries in the dark garage...flashlight still does not work...bad bulb...fortunately we had a spare bulb handy so finally we have one working flashlight.
Candles have lots...no matches.
No radio to listen to so we are really and truly in the dark about what is going on.

About 4:30 we lost most of a tree in our back yard.
It fell less than a foot from Daniel.
***I am not a bad mommy disclaimer***
I told all the kids that it was dangerous to be outside and banned them all from the outdoors.
15 minutes later Daddy trumps my ban and tells the kids to get their shoes on they are going out.
Daddy is the kids hero.
Mommy is not thrilled and tells Daddy it is not a good idea.
Kids have fun.

Gives kids the following safety rule:
If you hear cracking run.

Dad talks to neighbor.

Tree cracks and falls practically on Danny and he stands there no running.
Mommy quickly gathers all her children indoors and Daddy continues to talk to neighbor.



No the branch did not fall on the pool.
The pool blew across the backyard and over a fence and we caught up with it 2 houses down in a neighbors front yard.
Branches were handy so Jesse threw one over the pool to keep it in the yard.

About 8:30 we gave up on the power returning and went out to seek food.
All our local restaurants were closed.
Everything by the mall closed.
Found an open dominoes and brought home pizza.
The CVS next door to Dominoes was sold out of flashlights and most food and batteries but they did have a book of matches they gave me.

Power came back on for us about 20 minutes before Jesse came home from work on Monday.
Many in the area still are without power and some have no water.

We feel blessed to have power and our son safe with us.

I am depressed and I heard sunshine helps

So I have been a bit down lately... has a bit to do with my missing drivers license.
Last I saw it Elli had it commenting on how pretty momma was wearing makeup.
I have to admit for an ID pic it was pretty good.

Now it looks like I am going to have to take a driving test to get a new license hence the stress and depression.

They say sun helps so I made some.

No more "blue office"
Now it is "sunshine" yellow. The paint can says custard but I say sunshine.

Also check out the new Ikea desks.





I actually do feel better typing this up in my sunshine office at my new desk.

And yes I am a bit crazy...
but a happier crazy

The Man Chair

If you have been following my blog over the past year you know that the house we bought was not my first choice but the house that my Man wanted.

Since I have lived in it I must admit that my Man has good taste and I really do like my house.

But during all the moving, house hunting, and debating the purchase of the house that I did not love I managed to get a $2,000.00 decorating budget.
Between my first trip to Ikea and the family room makeover I used up 400.00 of it.

We went to Ikea again...

900.00 of my budget flew away.

300.00 of that was spent on this...


The Man Chair...

So you might be wondering why I agreed to spend such a huge portion of my budget on a black leather chair that really does not fit my decor.

My Man has been really wanting a recliner for years... The kids tore up his.

My Man likes leather...It is kid friendly so that swayed me a bit.

My Man likes black leather not brown, or cream... sigh well I did make the black in the family room more tolerable so I figured I could work with the chair.

My man has horrible recliner taste... all comfort no style. I had been recliner shopping with him and there is no way I wanted to let his expensive, over sized, stay puff marshmallow man chair in my house.

So I went for the win... He got the chair and ottoman he really likes and I no longer have nightmares about the recliner he was destined to bring home.

I spent the day with the kids doing some art...
Here is theirs.


Here is mine.


Notice the incorporation of black to blend his chair in with the living room decor.
And yes it really is just an Ikea box hanging on the wall but it was free.

Perhaps more people should put cardboard on their walls.

Oh and in case you missed it... I love my Man.

I Serious Issues....

with people having affairs.
Especially men.
Especially men in powerful or seeking powerful positions.

What follows is a rant and is not necessarily logical but it is certainly something I have issues with.

I hate that men cheat on the women who have stood by them and helped them obtain their powerful positions. What woman wants to be used then tossed aside for a younger prettier version.

John Edwards...give me a break. How could any man in his right mind do this to his family.

Bill Clinton...an grossly obvious example of a man using his position as a tool to be unfaithful to his spouse.

Just to be fair and prove that I really have issues and am not politically biased...

John McCain...Seeks to be President but has also been in adulterous relationships.

I really don't want Obama to be our next President for many reasons but I really don't think I can bring myself to vote for one of those cheating politicians.

I think I am voting for Huckabee.

You might consider me as throwing away my vote but I want to vote for the man I think would be best not the one who has the best chance of winning.

If a man has proved that his sexual drive can override his better judgement and break his marriage vows, how can I expect him not to be easily swayed against his better judgement not to hold true to the U.S. Constitution and the interests of our Nation.

Like I said my reasoning is probably full of broken logic but I seriously have problems with this.

How powerful can these men be if they are controlled by self fulfillment.

Vote illogically...Vote for any faithful politician you can find.

End rant.

My Man

Jesse is a collector.
If something is worth having... more would be better.
Kids...have 4.
Books...needs to introduce himself to the local library.
Games...if an expansion shows up he has to have it even if he has not played the game in 5 years.
Food...new flavor shows up have to try it...this has been scary sometimes
Computers...3 desktops, 3 laptops and now a new laptop on the way.

His current collective passion has been directed to World of Warcraft which is much more checkbook friendly than say "computers, Mageknight" and such.
He collect recipes, gold, gear and stuff which only cost time and a lot of it is spent with me.

I have been soooo glad he has not decided to collect in-game mounts or pets because he would sooo feel the need to go to BlizzCon in Anaheim,Ca to get the exclusive ones they hand out in the swag bags.

Not that I would not enjoy a vacation with him at the convention but now is not really the best time for that.

So we went today and spent some of the money my Hubby saved by not collecting pet murlocs and polar bear mounts and signed the kids up for gymnastics.

I think in a few months the checkbook and I will be wishing for the BlizzCon trip instead. :)

But his kid collection is happy.

Flower Girls

So we went to my parent's house for a cousins wedding.
After the wedding I was enjoying the nice weather outdoors while the kids ran around watering Marme's flowers and picking a few.
Made some daisy chain crowns for Karist and Elli and they looked so adorable I had to get the camera for a pic.


Was gone for a second and this is what I came back too.

Crowns had been cast aside and muddied.

This is what my flower girls were doing.

Everyone gets in on the action.


Wouldn't you know it the lovely weather did not hold out.
Storms quickly moved in but fortunately PaPa did not get struck by lightning while he cooked our dinner.

Life through rose colored glasses

If life starts looking rosy... it might be time to buy new glasses and makeup too.