My newest furry creature I just HAD to have!

This is my hamster, Bear Grylls.  He just joined our family today.  Isn't he just the cutest thing EVER?  

We went to PetCo for just a little bit, I saw this little guy in the little cages and just HAD to have him!  So, 45 minutes and $80 later, we are the proud owners of a Long-haired Teddy Bear Hamster.  

We named him Bear Grylls because we LOVE the show Man vs. Wild and he is a teddy bear hamster.....get it?!?!?!?.....LOL!!

I am now banned (by my husband) from PetCo.  

Writer's Workshop: A Bearable Childhood

It's THURSDAY and that means it is time for Mama Kat's assignment!   This week I chose to write about what made my childhood bearable.

To be honest, I did not have a horrible childhood, but it was not an easy one either.  My parents were divorced when I was only 2, so that didn't really bother me all that much.  It was my life, it was all I knew.  Well my mom did remarry.  She married a man older than her by (I think) 5 years.  He had no children, but treated us like his own.  That was until he started getting sick.  He was a diabetic and started having strokes that eventually disabled him to the point of not being able to work.  Well, his frustration naturally built and he took it out on me, my sister, and my mom.  He eventually got so bad that one Christmas Eve my mom packed us and all our Christmas gifts into the car and we were off to my great-grandmother's in Texas.  That was when my mom decided that a divorce was in order.  My mom was tired of trying to take care of a man that did not care if he lived or died.  And that was it.  We went back and got our things and moved into my grandmother's house that she still had (but did not live in) in our town.  Long story short, my first step-dad moved to Chicago with his sister and ended up on dialysis  and eventually had a heart attack and died BEFORE he even signed the divorce papers, thus leaving my mom a widow.

Now for me to let you know what made all of this (which happened over a period of about 10 years) bearable for me.

Ready for it??

My little sister.  

We tortured each other, yes.  

We were mean to each other, yes.  

But we were there for each other when things got rough.  

When step-dad #1 decided we did not do something right and we deserved to be whipped with a belt, we were there for each other.  

We were there for each other when we hatched a plan to throw away the aforementioned belt once we realized it was not right to whip with a belt.  

We comforted each other after being tormented and put down.  

We got each other through a difficult time in our life.  

I don't think that I would have survived my childhood without being permanently scarred without my little sis to lean on.  We understood what the other felt and helped to overcome those feelings TOGETHER!

Well, that's all, sappy I know.  I don't expect you to feel sorry for us.  I just wanted to explain why my little sis made my childhood bearable!

My newest tattoo!!

Here is my newest tattoo!  I just got it today!  I drew this tattoo!!

Holy hand-granades, Batman...could it be?

As some of you know, I will be having a tubal reversal surgery soon, and by soon I mean........33 days!!! As the day gets closer, I get more and more nervous and excited!  Hence, the title of this nifty, completely pointless post!

I really just wanted to say that my surgery is only 33 DAYS AWAY!!!

You may now go about your lives! ROFLMAO!!

Writers Workshop: Pet Peeve

This should be fun!! Got this prompt from the ever talented Mama Kat over at Mama's Losin' It.  I am supposed to write about my biggest pet peeve and come up with a punishment for it!  Woo Hoo!!  And boy can I ever do this assignment!

I guess I should start off with what that pet peeve actually is! *drum roll* LYING!  OMG, I could just strangle anyone that lies (hmmm...should that be their punishment?  Nah, too much of an easy way out!).  

My ex-husband lies constantly.  

My current husband's ex-wife lies constantly (and it is rubbing off on my dearest step-sons).  

My own mother lies.  

I HATE LYING!  It is childish and pointless and does nothing but show a person's true moral character.  I admit, I am not an angel, but I do not lie.  I am a straight shooter and will tell it like it is NO MATTER WHAT!  I have always prided myself in being honest and NOT A LYER.

Now on to the fun part.....hmmmm...what should the grand punishment be for those who choose to lie to me.....this is tough.  There are so many lovely things that I can think of to do to those that lie, those that fib, those that think they are simply bending the truth.  

How about boiling.......nah, too messy.  

OOOOOO, what about dipping......nah, too stinky.

Should I have them eat.......nah, I don't feel like puking watching that.

Oh, the wonderfully  horrible things going through my mind.....which to choose?

AHA!  I think I have it!  I think that lying deserves an equally horrible punishment, so my choice is to drop them on an island in the middle of nowhere (after drugging them up considerably so they don't know where they are) and leave them (especially my ex and my husband's ex).  

There.  

That will teach them to lie to me!! 

Mwahahahahahahahaha *breathe* Mwahahahahahahaha!!

My Valentine's Day

This morning the hubs and I were awoken by our children bringing us breakfast in bed.  Now, since they are not allowed to use the stove without adult supervision, everything came from the toaster.  We had toast, Strawberry & Cream Cheese Toaster Strudel, a Valentine cookie, red and white jelly beans, and a Diet Pepsi.  They made us a homemade card also!

While eating, hubs gave me my Valentine's gift.  I open it and this is what I see......

Here is the story about why I got this b-e-a-utiful FAKE diamond!  Hubs asked me about a week ago what I wanted for Valentine's day, and my answer was a big ol' rock.  Knowing that we could not afford for him to get me a big diamond ring, I was joking.  Hubs is a great big smart ass, so I was fully expecting him to get a rock from the yard and that would be my gift.  I had prepared myself for that.  It would be hilarious.  I would have laughed!  He said I almost did get a rock from the yard, but he found this and decided to get it instead.  He tried to find a plastic ring for this to go into, but couldn't.  I told him that if he found one, I would wear this huge thing proudly!!

This was not all I got either.  He got me this gorgeous rose preserved in 24k gold!  

He also got me some Reese's peanut butter hearts. I get those every V day because I am allergic to tree nuts and most of the candy things have some candy with nuts in it. 

And he got me a super sweet card. The card made me cry it was so sweet.

This is what it says.......

My Wife, 

I used to daydream about finding my one, true, perfect love-my soulmate. 

It would happen one magical day...(that is on the front)

We would meet and both of us would know that destiny meant for us to be together. 

Everything we shared would be new, yet familiar. 

We would know and understand each other in that true and mysterious way that only soul mates can....

(on the inside left side)

You are the dreams of my past and the light of my future.

 Happy Valentine's Day to you, my wife, my joy-the love of my life. (on the inside right)

Isn't that just the sweetest?? I love him so much!!!!

Writer's Workshop: First CD

Got this wonderful prompt from the ever-funny Mama Kat over at Mama's Losin' It. Want to join in on the madness?  Check it out here.

ah, I remember it like it was yesterday!  The first CD I ever owned.  I got it for Christmas when I was 12 (eeks, that was 15 years ago).  

I had just received my first CD player and was a little bummed that I had no CDs when my Mother whipped out some surprise gifts she had hidden away just to mess with our heads!  Gotta love those childhood moments of parents F**king with us! 

Anyway, I rip mine open and it is the new band Ace of Base!  I couldn't believe it.  My mom had actually given me a gift that I WANTED!!  I then proceeded to rip open the CD and hurriedly placed it (gently) in my brand spanking new CD player.  

I jammed out for months and months to that CD.  I was so happy.  No more crappy tapes!  No more outdated music!  No more feeling like a loser because I was the only one my age that didn't have a CD player or CDs!!

I wish I could say that I still had that CD.  I, sadly, do not.  It eventually (and by eventually I mean 8 years later) gave out and was just too scratched to listen to anymore.  

Just talking about it, I had to go listen to me some Ace of Base!  I get all nostalgic listening to it!  My kids look at me like I am a total spazz when I freak out when I hear it on the radio!  I start singing at the top of my lungs and dancing in the car!!!!! (all the while getting death looks from my 13 year old! ahhh, teenagers, nothing like embarrassing the heck out of them!) 

Anywho, here is a little video of the music video for "The Sign".  My absolute fav from that first CD I ever owned!  Enjoy!

Fears, Worries, and Excitement

As my tubal reversal surgery approaches I find myself torn by several conflicting emotions.  I fluctuate between excitement, fear and worry.

The first, and best, is excitement.  I am beyond ecstatic that in 46 days I will be a whole woman again and will be able to start trying to conceive a child with my husband.  I have felt for a while that our family is just not complete.  That there is someone missing from our home and our hearts.  I look forward to the day I pee on a stick and get a BIG FAT POSITIVE!!  I cannot wait until I can see the look on my dear husband's face when I get to tell him "We're pregnant!!!"  I cannot stand the anticipation of being able to tell my kids "You are going to have a new brother or sister (or one of each...hehehe)" and see the reaction they have because they want this almost as much as my husband and I do!  Way down on the list of excitement is being able to spend a WHOLE WEEK with my husband.  No kids.  No work.  No school. Just us.

The next feeling is worry.  Lately, this emotional response to surgery has been creeping into my life.  I am not usually the worrying type, but because there is so much riding on this surgery, I have been a worrying fool.  I worry that something will go wrong and we won't even make it to Tennessee.  I worry that we will get to Tennessee and for some reason the surgery will be canceled.  I worry that we will get to Tennessee, get into surgery and the doctor closes me up and tells me after I come to that my tubes were too damaged to repair and that I have no hope for getting them put back together.  I worry that after we get the surgery and start trying to conceive that we will be unsuccessful and I will never bear a child again.  I worry that I will get pregnant and it will be an ectopic pregnancy and have to deal with all the complications a worry that come with that.  I worry that I will be pregnant, it will not be ectopic and I will have a miscarriage.  Basically, I am worry about every what-if there is out there in regards to this procedure.

There, though not as strong as the others, is fear that creeps up on me every once in a while.  I am scared of surgery.  Flat out scared.  The only surgeries I have had are my Tubal Ligation (which by-the-way was a HUGE mistake) and getting my wisdom teeth out.  Neither of which were very invasive surgeries.  Small incisions, minimal pain.  Tubal reversal, however, is an invasive surgery.  I will have an incision anywhere from 1"-4" and will require several weeks of recovery time after.  I do not like general anesthesia and am scared of the complications that could arise from it.  I am scared that I will back out at the last minute because of my concerns and worries.  I am terrified that I will not be able to get pregnant and will dive into a deep depression because of it.  I am scared.

But despite all the bad, the good still far outweigh.  I will get this done.  I will be okay.  I will push through the fear and worry and focus on the excitement!

If you know of anyone that has had a tubal ligation (tubes tied) and now regrets it, please send them to this wonderful, informative, supportive group of ladies.  They are Fit to be Untied.

Our oldest and his newest stunt

ok. I am going to tell you what happened tonight. Get ready for it!

It started off as a normal evening.  We had our oldest son's basketball game to go to and had a great time watching.  

We went out into the hall to wait for him to gather his things and meet us out there so we could go home.  While we were waiting we started talking to one of the other parents about the game and how they are doing this season.  

Out walks our oldest with his sweatshirt draped over his head, sleeves covering his ears.  He walk up to us and just as he gets there, his coach comes up to us and asks us if he has shown us yet.  Immediately, my stomach sinks.  WTH has he done this time runs through my mind.  She proceeds to tell us that today, at school, our son decided he was going to PIERCE HIS EARS himself using a THUMBTACK!  

Can you believe this?  I was in shock.  I could not believe that he did it.  

I proceed to jerk the sweatshirt off his head (which we now know was there to cover his little mistake!) and sure enough.....they both had holes in them that are beet red and swollen.

I tell him lets go, we are leaving.

We get home and he gets an hour long lecture on giving into peer pressure and how dangerous that sort of thing can be.

He is in hot water for a while now.  

I mean come on....if he wanted it done all he had to do was talk to us and we would have discussed it.  Hubby does not want him to get it done for a few more years when he is in High School, but, hey....we are not completely against it being done by A PROFESSIONAL!

Sheesh, kids these days.

Writer's Workshop

I chose to accept this assignment from Mama's Losin' It to write a list of ten things on my mind this week.  So buckle up and hold on tight, we are in for a bumpy ride!

1.  How in the world can my Western Civilization instructor honestly post a big rant (that is what I am calling it) about college and college level work to the entire class and expect no one to take offense at his BS?  Seriously, telling a group of adults that if they do not aspire to his idea of what our work should be that we will end up being the first ones fired in our job?!?!?! Give me a break.  Get over YOURSELF!

2.  I could really use a drink.  (thought almost everyday)

3.  I need to get myself organized or I will miss assignments.  I have been a bit lazy this semester and have found myself in a panic mode over the amount of work I have to do each week.  I have accomplished making my self a list for each week and it is not as bad as I was thinking. Whew!

4.  I need a drink. (I am not a lush, actually I don't drink at all, just a thought that pops up)

5.  I need to quit smoking.  I have a surgery coming up and a future pregnancy coming up too and I want to be cigarette free by then!  I will start in a week and will NEVER, EVER start again!

6.  Wow, I need a drink. (I bet you are thinking "this lady is an alcoholic", I'm not, I SWEAR!)

7.  I love the book Love You Forever and I cry like a baby every time I read it.  It is a children's book and I read it often.  

8.  Where's that drink? (not convinced yet of my alcohol-free life?  No drinks for me!)

9.  What is that smell?  Can you smell it??  That is nasty!!! Where is that coming from?  This is the questions I am asking myself earlier this week when I smelled this horrid odor and commenced a search of the source.  Well, after sniffing around a bit I find....duh...duh....duh.....(think ominous music here)......THE DOG!  He smells horrible.  I don't know why.  He doesn't do anything but lay around all day and act like he's a CAT!  I guess it is time to take him to the groomers.....add that to the already HUGE to-do list.  Take smelly dog to be defunkified!!!

10.  DRINK NOW!!!! (I have you going now, don't I?? Still not a drinker!!)

Thanks to Mama Kat for these great writing prompts!! Visit her here.