PICK ME

I am a modest person by all means. I do not take compliments well, I have learned to smile very politely and show my gratitude but in the back of my mind I am running these questions:

• What do they want?
• Are they lying to get something?
• Do I have shit in my teeth...dang it...forgot to floss
• Are they saying this but behind my back saying something different?

Yeah I am a case what can I say. I am not modest with my kids...when people compliment about how beautiful and well behaved they are....I can almost feel my chest puff up in pride, my eyes sparkle, my skin flush and tighten. I KNOW I am a great mom.

So I have been told by some really wonderful bloggy women how I have a great blog....really??

I mean my purpose is to keep it real. I am a voice for PR (plus I get to try out cool stuff...um....tell me where there is an issue with that?), I am a voice for other women who go through the same stuff....so if you are wondering if a child can truly projectile vomit....the answer is yes, at a very HIGH rate of speed and velocity, viscosity is less than desirable and stench is AWFUL!! Invest in a shop vac now and some Holy Cow. Seriously...only thing I have ever used that will take the puke smell out of ANYTHING and EVERYTHING!! Okay, sorry, my tangent.

But really, I am here because I love to write. About me. My kids. As a woman. As a wife. As a Mom. As a consumer. As a student.

I really would LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE for someone to pick me for Type-A Mom Con or SITScation!! I know SITScation is totally sold out...but there is a chance right?! I really do not have luck...but I have a TRUCK load of faith. Not the "Jesus Loves Me" type of faith....just plain, good, old fashioned FAITH. The one where you wish upon a star, you still wish with pennies in a fountain, a shooting star, a blown out candle on your birthday.

So I am putting this out there that I am begging, pleading, asking for someone to send me to these FABULOUS conferences to learn. To spread the blogging word and seed when I come back. To learn all I can in the short amout of time available for both of these events. No I am not one of these big blogs...but really....what do you get from a big blog other than a "fluffed" up number in my opinion. My blog is small....but BIG in heart, soul and love. I know that my readers....are my friends!! They will come here and share woes, they know I follow and read them back....I am not fast...but I am the little engine that could with them. I also know that A LOT of my readers keep coming back!! They are not just a face in the follower list, they are my friends, my confidants, my sisters. We share more than a blog, we share our experiences, our lives, our "Oh good its not just me" moments that make life that much more tolerable and A-OK to operate.

Again, I am begging, pleading, and asking for the opportunity. I saw how BlogHer in my opinion was a JOKE!! I have YET to see a woman come back and tell me what she learned other than how "fabulous she looked" or "I was jipped on swag....asshats!" or "OMG I was so effed up....what happened." To those I tell you....GROW UP!!! Sure, have a great time...but conduct yourself with some damn class, some pride, and maybe some self respect and not act like a teenage girl dropped off in the big city for a date for the first time off the farm. Sheesh!

I plan to treat these conferences as I have all other conferences I have had the awesome opportunity to attend in the past.....business with a side of pleasure. Sure have a great time....but learn. Learn more about blogging, networking, the whole web 2.0 thang as Kelby puts it.

Really, I am a guppy in the big sea of bloggers, but my voice in all aspects carries a lot farther than just this blog. So please, take a chance, send a sister to one of these great conferences...or heck one of the conferences coming up in 2010. I am your vessel, just help by putting the wind in my sails and I will show you how this girl can fly!

Just Another Day

Yesterday was like any other day. Hotter than ever living hell here in Arizona, kids screaming and babbling since finding their voices, barking orders about what they want for breakfast, me drinking my coffee, enjoying my zen moment with my milky dark friend.

Yesterday was like any other day. I fought to take a shower because the kids felt the need to scream and carry on that I was locking them outside of a door they did not need to be behind (because this is what happens when they get behind said door)

and they (the Squids) also decided that the recycling bin is a great box that carries cool sounding toys and they unloaded that along my kitchen floor.

Yesterday was like any other day. My delusional father psycho dialed me (definition: called more than once in a single day or within a few short hours with no reason other than his own) all day to which I ignored his calls as usual.

However, while yesterday was like any other adult day I did have breakfast and lunch made for me on behalf of DH (which I totally enjoyed!!), I got a box of chocolates, cupcakes from my sister (who doesn't stinking love cupcakes??!!), a great E-card from a dear friend, and some cool balloons.

While I really wanted a damn parade and clowns (even though they are WAY creepy), getting older is not as fun as it used to be as a kid. But I really enjoyed taking a day all to myself to do what I wanted (for the most part) and spend time with the ones I love.

No expensive gifts, no party hats, no huge cakes, no strippers...damn....just a fantastic day to celebrate my age, since I really do like my age....so glad to not be in the "kid" category anymore. Plus one of the best and most heartwarming cards from my best friend who professed his love and wealth of love to me as he always does. And I got three smiling little faces who had no idea what the day was (with the exception of Big G) but were happy to share in the experience of losing their little minds slapping balloons and eating cupcakes.

Life is about the little things.

How did you or how will you celebrate your birthday this year!?

All in the Winning Name

You placed your votes on the winning soap company name for me.
To which I am eternally grateful.

The Winner:

~~~~~~~~~~~~*DRUMROLL~~~~~~~~~~~~

Is Sudsations!
However, because I researched the name this time around I cannot use it!
I am sad about this! I found names in the trademark database and URL's that carry the Sudsation name. Bummed!
But, the second runner up is Faith, Soap, and Love.

Now my contestants that submitted names should be getting their soaps in the mail shortly (I had to have an "incident" with the post office. I hear they "color code" envelopes. R E T A R D E D!) and my winners will receive a Three pack!

So Miss Tamara and Miss Carol
Let me know what your soaps of liking are and I will be sure to get those three packs out to you to enjoy for being such awesome sports with the name game!

For everyone that helped vote for a name thank you so much! I had a lot of fun with this because I relinquished all control (which is hard to do for someone who is OCD and a total control freak) to you all to name my soap company! Now I get to create my boutique with the great name!

Thank you again ladies!!
Oh, be sure to go check out Jayne @ Misplaced City Girl who is holding a giveaway of a three pack of my soaps as well. Plus she gave me a brutally honest and kick ass review!

I am Karie, I am a Phoenix

I have a few posts here lately where I referenced my HUGE and seriously I mean HUGE accomplishment of completing my college education. Some people are like "Yeah whatever, good for you" while others I can see are my cheering fans, armed will bullhorns and pom poms (yeah...you know who you are!! Muwah!).

So here is the deal. A lot of people, moms especially, who, like me, did not have the opportunity to attend a traditional four year college right out of the high school gate. I was awarded a scholarship to the University of Arizona for academics. Quite the honor actually, the scholarship was for high honors in academics and I was only one of a small handful of students to receive the award (I had to maintain a 3.50 GPA in college to keep the scholarship). I was even accepted to Columbia University as well, another high honor. But each instance yielded a problem as an 18 year old kid....MONEY! My folks did not have any and I for sure did not have any making a meager $4.35 an hour for minimum wage back in the day. Plus my part time hours really did not provide any sort of paycheck, except one that did help me pay for gas for my car and my personal necessities and meals when working.

I suffered. Not knowing any different other than I had such a high amount of envy for those who did get to go to a traditional four year college. Those who got to enjoy the "college" experience and lifestyle. I went straight into the work force, I moved out of state, away from the comforts of my family. I had to grow up and not enjoy the young lifestyle everyone else was enjoying.

Not so bad actually since I met a LOT and I mean a LOT of business contacts in my young life, plus a very strong work ethic and impressive resume for my age. When I was 20 I bought my first house and was a finance manager for a large Dodge dealership in Albuquerque. By the time I was 25 I had bought another house with DH in Mesa, sold the house in Albuquerque (which meant we were NEVER going back...WAHOO), and I was working as a loan officer in mortgage firm in north Scottsdale. I had Big G by this time so pretty impressive to continue to work with a new baby. In 2004, the same year we bought and sold our houses DH graduated from college. He had done the whole college experience at UNM and was a fraternity brother alumni (Sigma Chi). But he did the experience like a lot of other kids who had a full paid opportunity by mom and dad.....partied. In 2000 he went back to school for his IT degree, completed in 2004 after moving, taking some time off for personal reasons, etc. So in 2005 I felt my time had come. We agreed when he was done I could go back. And so I did.

I called the Univeristy of Phoenix, just like he did and applied. Not knowing your application is accepted immediately I was in! In September of 2005 I began my classes online.

Let me clarify that online is not the easiest way to go to class. I truly thought at the time, online was going to be a breeze. I even sold DH on the idea. Little did I know that THREE LONG HARD years and two kids later what an undertaking going to school, and online school would be.

I had to post to my class 4 out of 7 days a week. This is really harder than it sound when you are working or even at home with kids. Homework. At least two papers a week, one individual and one team paper. Nights, dinners, weekends were sacrificed for the good of my work team to complete a team paper before Monday and to complete my own personal paper.

I had to on some days and nights force myself to log on to class. The days and nights that I wanted to blog. I wanted to sit and read a REAL book and not some boring text book on research and statistics. I had to neglect my home that much longer so that I could log into class, work on my homework, post to discussion questions, and participate with my learning team. Online gave me the option to not log in I felt like it, to avoid class, I did not "physically" have to be present.

But I did.

I went to class almost every night to ensure I had plenty of participation. I did all of my papers. Painstakingly. Reading all my text books, Google was my friend, DH's old text books were a savior to help in sticky situations. I did it. Three years, eight months, and four days, a twin pregnancy, a mental break down (that's another post), and a career later I finally finished my college education. A college education I thought I would never receive. A high honor of my personal sacrifice, the sacrifice of my family, my home, my livelihood. I did it.

I was proud to say on my graduation day that, "I am a Phoenix."

I used to be afraid to say that I went to the University of Phoenix, but now I am proud. I sport my degree like a big fat piece of bling! I had to cram as much information into five weeks as other students did into 18 weeks at a standard university. I was forced to work with people who were not always pleasant, but because of the UoP structure I had to finish assignments with them, stick it out, work through any conflicts and disagreements.

I now sit here today looking into my horizon of (student loans) my future. I have met one of my thousands and millions of goals and dreams. My next.....my Jurisdoctorate. To be awarded my doctorate degree. To add Esquire, to my name suffix. To practice law in the way I know how to practice law, with my finance experience, contracts, and to uphold the law. I know I can do it, I will do it, I will not let anything stop me or get in my way. I will not use excuses. I did not use excuses before, even though I had plenty. I did not let anything get in my way, even though I did have stuff to get in my way (twin pregnancy, work, married life, kids, myself).

Any of you that have considered going back to school but say, "I'm too old", "I don't have the money", "I don't have the time" these are excuses. I was afraid. I was terrified. But I conquered my fear in the first class and from then on smooth sailing. Sure I have lots of student loans, but who cares. Can you really put a price on an education? I know I can't.

Go out and do it. Research what program, what school works for you. Do not let your fears or your self get in the way of what you really want. Talk to an academic advisor, I can give you the name of mine. She was fantastic! She called me with every class telling me how much closer I was to completion and rooting me on through the process.

Just know that goals and dreams can come true and don't limit yourself to just a single dream or goal, make lots of them, small and large, and don't let anyone tell you dreams don't come true.

Honey Kix Giveaway

As I said before school is nearing.....did I mention school starts soon?! Man am I ready for school to start! I can tell you the one thing that really helps Big G is a good breakfast in the morning. A tasty breakfast that I know will fill him up and keep him satisfied until lunch is a great start to anyday and helps the little guy focus and stay on task at school. Otherwise...the kid is all over the place mentally, I mean he already is as a kindergartener....but seriously....I need not torture his teachers more. Plus breakfast is the most important meal of the day and helps to regulate your daily and overall blood sugar and well being.

Well the folks over at My Blog Spark must know that we love food in this house, and breakfast is a biggie!

I am not a big cereal fan, I eat Honey Bunches of Oats and Cheerios....es todo (that's all). But I have to say that Honey Kix is a new favorite! I love a sweet cereal without seeming like a kids cereal that has a TON of sugar and I feel all amped. I mean the last thing we need in this house....is sugar! So a bowl of Honey Kix, a banana or an apple and milk....
Good. To. Go.
Everyone is fed and the day is off to a great start.


So a lucky reader gets to enjoy a box of Honey Kix, just in time for school mornings!!

Breakfast can be a hassle, so take the hassle out of the morning with cereal and a cereal kids, and adults alike will enjoy. Not to mention all the cool stuff that comes with the Honey Kix, courtesy again of the folks @ My Blog Spark and General Mills.

Here are the winning items of this giveaway, and my Big G....LOVES IT!!

• Free Box of Honey Kix
• Honey Kix breakfast bowl
• Travel bowl with freezer safe insulated bottom, 2 pieces (breakfast on the go!)
• Honey Kix storage container, so your breakfast is stashed in a fashionable tupperware container (and not the gawdy box!)
• Honey Pot (DH was loving this! We looked everywhere to find one...low and behold...one comes in the mail....prayers answered about honey problem)

So seriously who wouldn't want to enter this totally cool giveaway! I mean I was absolutely stoked when these items arrived.....I ran over and got the box of cereal to munch on while blogging.....I know shame on me.

Here are the deets:

• Leave me a comment and tell me how much of a PAIN breakfast (or sometimes a lack thereof) and mornings are before school and your email address for the winnings.

Additional entries:

• Follow this blog (or tell me you do)
• Technorati fave me (or tell me you have)
• Stumble my blog (or tell me you have)
• Follow me on Twitter (or tell me you do)
• Tweet this giveaway
• Fan the Fish on Facebook!
  
• Blog about this giveaway, come and tell me you did

Good luck!
CONTEST ENDS AUGUST 5TH 2009 @ 10AM ARIZONA TIME

PINGO Giveaway

With the fall school season right around the corner moms and dads will be sending kids back to school. For the poor college student calling home is a necessity, especially if they are not attending school in the same city, which would require a toll call or if they are not wireless yet. Or for folks like DH and I who are looking to backpack across Europe in the future and if our phones are not international calling will also be a pain. Calling cards are a great item for these situations. I know personally I have not used a calling card in some time, due to being wireless but definitely a great tool!

Here is the skinny on PINGO:

So a lucky reader will be able to enter to win a PINGO calling card to use as you wish!

Easy peasy entry:

Leave me a comment and tell me where you would call
and or who would get the most use out of PINGO.
Please leave me an email address...no email, no prize.

CONTEST ENDS AUGUST 1ST @ 10AM ARIZONA TIME.

Pardon My Spam

Alright, so I wanted to get this out of the way while I had the time and gumption....I will have these posts up and out of the way so then I can focus on my fantastic content! I agreed to do some great giveaways and I have been busy with the kids, enjoying my own personal time blog hopping and emailing friends that I have neglected these PR folks. Not like it truly matters....I mean I know I am a guppy in the ocean, but I am loyal. So bear with the spam posts as I need to get them handled and DONE!

But hey...you may enjoy them too!

My Most Reliable Appliance

My appliances have caused me a great amount of grief lately. Truly I begin to despise them as they throw a kink into my absolutely (perfect) functioning, chore completing world. Especially since I fired the maid, chef, and laundromat for the next 16 or more years requiring I do these tasks on my own.
Okay, really I did not fire them....but man I wish I had help like that on some days.

So my appliances must truly hate me. The first appliance to go was the washer. Easy fix, we bought new ones courtesy of a large "donation" from DH's boss a few years ago, I got a fancy front loader and matching dryer. (see my abundance of laundry in my utility room....it looks much more organized now....HA!)

LOVE IT!!

The next appliance to take dump was the water heater....when I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with the twins. Yeah, that was fun. Prego with water gushing everywhere and the water wasn't mine....needless to say when you are as HUGE as I was where even the XL maternity clothes were not fitting and you see gushing water....you wish it were yours and prayed for mercy. So a trip to the Home Depot later and voila! New water heater.

Another appliance to slowly make an exit was a MUCH needed appliance in any HOTTER THAN HELL household....the air conditioner. My A/C unit was as old as the house, which is as young as me....not energy efficient, always running, never cooling.... I'm seeing a pattern. Anyway. We replaced that bad boy last September and I have been in heaven since. I have to wear a light sweater at times.

LOVE IT!

So again I had an appliance take another dump......again......I was fuming with frustration. Seriously I never have problems with appliances. The washer again began to act up....luckily I had my wits about me to research the error code to find that the problem was a clogged boot. Yes, on the bottom of front loaders is a lint boot that catches everything. I do mean everything. The smell was ripe! I mean I have smelled rotting flesh that smelled fresher than the stench emulating from that washer. Candles were lit and doors opened to air the shit ass stench! P YOU

In fact this is what was pulled out from the washer and let me tell you what they are: a bra underwire (clearly mine unless someone is wearing this for moobs in this house), two dimes, a penny, a one dollar piece, a house key that was trashed already and a breast feeding pad. One of those you use to soak up your let down so you don't walk around looking like a wet cow all day. That was the NASTIEST thing I had ever seen. Took some investigation, but N.A.S.T.Y!

Now on Monday night we finally had our first "monsoon" for the summer. Just like sex though, hot, wet, quick, and after it leaves, sometimes a bit disappointing. So the old summer storm rolled in bringing lots of thunder, rain, lightning. Well the lightning I suppose caused a problem for some folks. Namely me. You see I have this appliance that washes dishes for me....so I do not have to stand over a sink ruining my beautiful hands.

Yes, that appliance. The appliance that if died again would be the bane of my existence! I hate dishes, laundry I can handle. Dishes, I CANNOT! Not sure on the reasoning, probably all the nasty food issues and yuck. But I am not a dishes girl. So this appliance failed to work, resulting in a service call. The guy came out, charged $69 and voila, fixed. He pulled the panel off, reset it, bam, works again. DH was not happy with this but as I suggested....not like he was going to dig around in the old dishwasher.

So this post brings me to the only reliable appliance I own in my house. This appliance needs no batteries. No switches. No need to turn off or on. I am always so thankful this appliance is there when I need it most.

(picture courtesy of Eden Fantasys)

Awarded

When I began my journey of blogging a few years ago I had no idea how rewarding a simple blog post could be. I would post for the sheer fact of updating family, and then I got into how I could share more than just what the kids were doing....what I was doing. How I was coping as a mother. I finally found a voice. With my voice I have found many other voices in this journey. Women with the same struggles, victories, and let downs as myself. I have also met women with some of the greatest courage and strength and light that burn into me like the daily sun and I yearn for more with these women, they are truly superb. I have received some awards that really turned my day around.

I was having a crap-tastic day yesterday and my dear bloggy friends, who one day I will meet in person, either by road trip, a conference, or for the hell of it and we all run off to Vegas leaving our husbands with the kids, but these dear friends gave me some really great awards that mean a lot to me and I hope they mean just as much to those who will also receive them.


This award so means a lot to know that I inspire another mom, woman, and bloggy friend! Stacie I love you my friend, you are courageous and genuine and I love you for that and thank you so much for this award!! So here are the deets with this award and who I will be sharing with since Stacie already passed this on to me:

• Blog about this award linking to the person who awarded it to you.
• Share the award with 10 other bloggers who inspire you.
• Comment on their blog directing them here: http://tiny.cc/BlogItForward541 so that they may blog it forward and grab the code for the button.

My award winners would be endless but here are some ladies who inspire me and show me how amazing a woman I can be because of their unbeknownst inspiration:

• Melissa @ Rock and Drool: You taught me to keep my voice, no matter what. Your raw, bold faced honesty keeps me laughing and wanting more. Have fun @ BlogHer my friend.
• Kadi @ Womb at the Innsane but now she is focusing on Haute Cowgirl and Womb To Bloom: Kadi you are amazing, for a woman the same age as me I am in awe of how well you keep your shit together sister and for all that you do! Amazing!
• Shelley @ I'm Still Standing After All This Time: Shelley you are a heck of a woman with strength and courage and the will to fight adversity like no other. Your skills as a special needs mom blow my mind. You are a class act!
• Eileen @ Sane Without Drugs: You are my sister from another mother! You keep me laughing and coming back for more....are you my dealer?! Shhhh, I won't tell!
• Theta Mom! You are one awesome woman and a total light in life. I can't even describe more! You are fantastic!
• Trudy @ Third Time's a Charm: You are a gem my sister! All you have overcome and where you are today...stand proud as you should be. You are a shining light!
• Veronica @ Another Suburban Mom: Oh my woman, you show women everywhere the power of beauty and sex appeal! Love ya!

Now I also received two other awards from my friend Stacie @ Super Mommy to the Rescue and also from Theta Mom and they are these lovely awards!!

I have to pass these on so I am just going to name a few because I think these readers and bloggers are absolutely LOVELY and have tons of class character that I enjoy reading.

• Nicole, but she goes by Nikki. She is just awesome, love her reads.
• My Sister Brittany, she is lovely and I love her.
• My other sister Nicole, because I know she felt all sorts of guilt for not making my graduation but I totally understand so wanted to share some love with her.
• Modern Mom, she is one lovely lady and filled with class and sass. Love her!
• Jayne @ Misplaced City Girl. I love her, her foodie habits are about as quirky as mine...plus she is reviewing and giving away my soaps! Be sure to go check her out.
• Blueviolet @ A Nut in A Nutshell. She is a riot, and back to blogging, I do not think she knew how much she was missed. So here you go my bloggy friend!
• Beth @ Be Careful What you Wish For! My other sister from another mother who totally gets me. She definitely deserves the award! Lovely and sane....with kids!!
• Mel @ The Lotus Pages who carries a calm and lovely demeanor at all times. She is my zen and my long distance BFF who one day I will knock on the door to her flat in Malta and we shall drink, eat and be merry together!!
• Momma Young who can make a girl feel like home in the bloggy world with strangers. You are my mother hen of the welcome wagon! Love you!
• Lizz @ One Nerve Left who again....a sister from another mother. Her tweets and blogging are just awesome and shes just a great all around bloggy friend!
• Sherry @ A Little Fun with Me and Lu is an inspiration to moms who lack patience!! Go check her out and all her craft fun with Lu! She is just awesome!!
  
• 
  

So there is my short list for now...like I said I would be here ALL DAY listing my lovelies! Which I have lots of lovelies that I read, comment, and stalk. Share the love ladies! I know I would if I had enough energy, daylight, and no gnomes pulling at my legs to run off to your blogs and share the awarded love! So know, if I did not mention you....I love you!! DEARLY!!

The Dirty Truth

I was so inspired today by my friend Mel and her post. Her words hit home with me and I found the irony in the everyday application, the simple truth.

We as parents go on and on and on about how we want out children to tell us the truth. We scold with no mercy at a fibbing child "Tell me the truth...DON'T LIE TO ME" when we have clearly caught them in a devious act and then they deny their blatant actions. As a parent teaching our children the honor, integrity, and moral fiber of being a truthful individual is a worthy trait, and with time the truth can be told without hurt or pain, as a constructive tool.

But we teach these morals, these sound ethics as a high functioning human being and we ourselves cannot bear to share, tell, or speak the truth. We tell white lies, half truths, bold faced lies, half arsed lies, we omit pertinent information, I mean there is a whole web page that lists every type of lie possible! So why do we as parents instill such noble qualities only to fail ourselves? To fail our children by telling lies, by failing to share the truth, by lying to ourselves?

I for one am a HUGE advocate for the truth. Clearly displayed by my incident with my in laws in the last month. But I am not remorseful, maybe for my presentation.....but not for my honesty. Not for my feelings. NOT for the truth. I hate lying to my kids about even the simplest myths such as Santa, The Tooth Fairy, The Easter Bunny, because I know that in time the truth will be revealed. I question the reason for these mythical beings, what is the purpose? Big G so badly wants to be a super hero, I had to burst his bubble and explain they don't exist. A man in a blue suit with a cape....Mr. Perfect, does not exist. DH was borderline furious with me, but I felt necessary because I did not want my son to be deluded to thinking perfection is attainable, that perfection exists, that someone walks this Earth that can do no wrong. Again, some may disagree, but if NO ONE told Big G that super heroes don't exist....how long would he believe in such people left only for the writing in a comic book, a fantasy.

Again I question why parents hide the truth? Why they lie? I have spoken to Big G about the financial situation with DH and I. *GASP!! I know right. Well children do need to be aware that money is an object and money is required for somethings and at times not enough money is made or readily available for luxuries. I have spoken to Big G about other issues that parents may feel is breaching a line. Which I feel that line is not breached. I think we have been conditioned by many generations of family secrets, lies, and half truths or cover-ups that we learn the same behavior. We learn the fine art of not telling the whole story or claiming that the information is not suitable for children.

Well, I think this is hogwash. I wish I had been told as a child that my dad drank and was an alcoholic rather than "Daddy had a bad day" as he is puking full ball into a toilet. I wish I was told the truth of my mothers actions at a point in my life so that I did not grow up with such an enormous amount of resentment towards her, I wish my in-laws would not cover up a very tragic incident with my husband's niece that makes me feel uncomfortable around her and not want me children around her for their safety.

I sit down with Big G and with the twins (who look at me like I am nuts, but one day they will get it, so might as well start now) and tell them what they need to know about this family. About where their parents came from, about the adversity we face, the troubles that lie ahead, that if you lie you will only create bigger problems and what is a mole hill of an issue will soon spiral into a mountain that cannot be covered up or cleaned up.

Yes, the truth hurts. But the lies to cover up the dirty truth are even more harsh. People are led to believe in a falsehood, in something that does not exist, that will not exist, and the pain in the let down and the revelation of the truth that was disguised by ugly lies is even more painful. I would hate to be lied to for years, months, even moments, about something when although the truth is painful, the truth be known. I would rather have someone tell me that I AM (well rather was) the fat chick! That my pregnancy and eating while breastfeeding led me to balloon up to the porker I was, and now after conditioning and exercising I am feeling more comfortable in my skin. Yes, my feelings would be hurt, but I was more hurt by the ones I loved that they did not tell me how bad I was.

I just do not understand why the truth is such a difficult topic, why the truth is so hard to be spoken and shared. Why as parents we beat the nobility of truth into our children, but we fail to be completely truthful with our children.

Chex Mix Bars Winners

I love that three lucky folks have the opportunity to enjoy these tasty treats! Thanks so much for those of you who entered and a BIG thanks to the folks at My Blog Spark and General Mills for providing the tasty swag for everyone to enjoy!!


Here are the winning numbers from Random.org for the TWO boxes of Chex Mix Snack Bars:

And here are the lucky entrants!!



Alright ladies an email has been sent to you all to gather shipping information and notify you of your winnings! You have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.

Thanks so much for entering the giveaway and supporting.

Big thanks to all the other entrants!
Stay tuned for more giveaways around the blogosphere!

Blase Blah Blah Blase

Yeah can you so tell I am feeling a funk again. Must be because I have a million things going on at once and I am so behind on my 'To Do' List. Seriously, I even have an ELECTRONIC to do list on my sidebar here on Vista........you see.I have some checked off but not all, some personal some blog, some I do not even have listed. Plus some days of my life really are not blog worthy and I refuse to bore anyone with how mundane and snooze filled my life can be. Granted, twins keep you on your toes, but who wants to hear about Big G and the twins sword fighting, all day, with spatulas. Funny stuff, but not always blog worthy. And I refuse to stoop to the blog or V-Log level of "Lets talk about MJ" or "Lets talk about Jon and Kate's divorce" or "How we are going on strike for a month from PR."

Seriously?!

I have no one to answer to but myself. If my fabulous bloggy friends would like me to answer to you....TOO BAD! You know it, heck I have no expectations about your life and what goes on, that is your business and if you want to share GREAT, if not GREAT TOO!

Anyway back to my million things, the one of my million things that I did not share in all my blase blah blah crap is that I graduated college this year. Yeah, I did the "I'm going to grow up first and not blow shit tons of money on college and not finish in my 20's. I am going to grow up and work and then blow shit tons of money on college and finish....before I'm 40!" I am on that plan...still on that plan. Have to take my LSAT's build a portfolio, yeah lots to do if you want to argue for a living. So I finished college and tomorrow is my big day!

I am participating in the commencement ceremonies at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale where I will be walking with like 1000 other people! Cool huh?! Yeah I am stoked, but been so busy to get really stoked about it....which sucks! I mean I should be like every other college grad out getting hammered.............and passing out puking. ICK, gosh I used to be that stupid, now I am a lame old fart who has a few and just passes out before 10pm. WOOT, I am such the life of the party! WOO WOO! No really, so I am excited and wanted to share with you all in case you care, or are super curious, or want to poke fun at me, because I have a fear I will trip and fall flat on my fat face tomorrow! So here is the linky for the commencements, the ceremony begins at 10:30am Arizona (Pacific Daylight Time) time. So please feel free to watch the ceremony, cheer me on through your virtual portal and laugh with me when I fall on my face, and then leave me a comment hoping I am okay!

www.phoenix.edu/graduation

Online Poster Printing Canvas Print Giveaway

I wanted to get all the UPrinting and UPrinting Subsidiaries (Online Poster Printing) up and at 'em for theses giveaway since school is upon us, not to mention BlogHer next week, SITScation and TypeAMomCon and we want to show off all those AWESOME summer memories! So you saw the sticker giveaway....now UPrinting is offering a 16X20" Rolled Canvas Print as a giveaway!!

I have some great photos of my gnomes playing in the water at the Splash Pad from Sunday that this happens to be the only photo of the three of them playing in and around the water. I wish I had a better action photo but I am at least happy I have the three of them in the same frame at this age. They are just so busy!

Plus having a family photo right now of the three of them would at best be challenging and I love these types of photos, candid and real where the kids aren't staged and uncomfortable.

With that said what is your favorite summer photo?

That is the only question you have to answer in this giveaway! What candid, high resolution photo would you put on a 16"X 20" canvas poster print and show off to your family and friends?
Be sure to leave me that comment along with your email address so we know how to get a hold of you for your winnings! So go leave your comment love about your favorite summer photo, the winning entrant will be awarded with the coupon code for the free canvas print by July 31, 2009.

Oh, don't forget to read about the deets from UPrinting and their disclaimers:

About Online Poster Printing
Online Poster Printing specializes in printing high-quality posters using premium materials. We offer a money back guarantee on all our products, such as photo canvas prints, vinyl banners, wall stickers, and rolled or mounted poster prints.

Disclaimers:

Giveaway is open to US/CAN residents. Shipping of prizes is not included and must be paid by winner. Online Poster Printing reserves the right not to print obscene or offensive materials.

All designs submitted in the form of a giveaway may be used by Online Poster Printing for online marketing and promotional uses. The designs will be used solely as examples and will not be printed or commercially distributed.

UPrinting Sticker Giveaway

With BlogHer, SITScation, and TypeAMomCon just around the corner, we all need a way to say,
"Hey, I HAVE ARRIVED!"

The folks over at UPrinting are giving away to a lucky reader a chance to win
250 stickers of your own design!! That is right...CUSTOM STICKERS!!

I know I could use the 250 stickers, with my soap business and all! In fact, once I have the name decided upon by all of you fabulous folks then I can slap a fancy design on it!

But here is my idea for the stickers I might create for say promoting my blog, where I would slap the stickers on my shipping boxes or on a letterhead, or on my head, or my husbands head.

How freaking fabulous is that!!??

But I know I would use my stickers for my soap business, with my blog name, the boutique name, contact info, or just a pretty sticker. I mean who doesn't love stickers?!
Seriously people....own up??!! I am 31 (well still 30 until the end of the month) and I stinking love stickers. I do! I even had a sticker book when I was a wee lassie.

So here is the skinny:

YOU MUST LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDY! NO EMAIL, NO STICKER FOR YOU!
Just leave me a single comment telling me how you would use the stickers.

Awesome Possum?
FANTASTIC!

Now go leave me some reading material in the comment section.

Disclaimers:

Giveaway is open to US/CAN residents. Shipping of prizes is not included and must be paid by winner. UPrinting.com reserves the right not to print obscene or offensive materials.

All designs submitted in the form of a giveaway may be used by UPrinting.com for online marketing and promotional uses. The designs will be used solely as examples and not be printed or commercially distributed.

Chicks for Free

A quoted lyric from that great song in the 80s, you know the one right?? The Dire Straits, featuring Sting? Yea, love that song, especially the Money for Nothing part. This song was stuck in my head today as I had dealings with people that think that this is their world and the rest of us just inhabit their miserable little worlds.

So I have this swamp cooler you see. The appliance is completely USELESS in Arizona from the months of May to say October. Why you ask? Well those months usually resonate at least 90 to 100 degree weather, not conducive for a machine that requires COOL water to make your home COOL. Anyway, we had the hunk of shit removed from our roof last year along with our 30 year old ORIGINAL air conditioning unit that cost us a pretty penny with $400 a month summer electric bills. Yeah, that is no joke.

Anyway, DH gets this great idea that the swamp cooler is worth something. (*Waves hand wildly...TO FRIGGING WHO??!!!! Who the hell wants this hunk of junk??!!) So I of course have to agree that this useless piece will be worth something. A year had almost past and that thing has sat on the side of my house, collecting dust, bugs, leaves, and space that would be better occupied by nothing so you can see my beautiful Cape Cod style siding. I finally get the gumption to clean out the SHIT that inhabits my house. I mean LOADS!!

We have that stupid swamp cooler, a 27" TV that is brand new, but we have no where to put it, GOBS and GOBS of baby clothes that I am selling for like $1.00 a piece, not to mention any other miscellaneous stuff we have collected over the years that so badly needs a home...but NOT IN MY GARAGE!!

Gosh, off subject again with all the shtuff. I decide to list this shtuff on Craigslist.

WHAT. A. JOKE!

I mean every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Sally wants something for free. I mean really? I am not asking a fortune, I am asking for you to pay a small fee to take it off my hands. All of the stuff works, and is in really good or decent (swamp cooler) condition. But everything works and could be useful to someone else, as I have no more use for the shtuff. I mean I would just sell all the junk at a garage sale anyway, so why not sell stuff bit by bit since the weather outside is hotter than an elephant's ass. Shop online, call, pick up. No browsing in the heat, driving around, just bam bam bam!

But really everyone wants something for free. These people on Craigslist, DH's boss who so willingly gives up DH's Saturdays for conference calls that can be done during the week...oh wait that's right...he (the boss) went to Lego Land during the week, so business will have to be put off for the weekend. Oops!? Did I say that out loud. I had realtors barking at me on the phone today while I was DRIVING, ordering me around like I worked for them. I let that little wet behind the ears, green pea punk hear a piece from me, call me making demands. HUFF!

Has our society been reduced to a "gimmee" attitude, where we expect the world for nothing? I mean I was taught hard work, work hard for everything you have, struggle, a little elbow grease, some brow beatings, sweat, blood, tears.....where in all my gruff and sacrifice does it say that I get a free ride? I didn't get my chicks for free? I didn't my money for nothing. So why does everyone else think that they get their money for nothing and their chicks for free?

Wordful Wednesday

I am throwing in the towel on Wordless Wednesday...the link ups for that meme are a pain...and to be honest...I am a GABBER!! Yup, non stop, always talking, major gossip, shut me the hell up, cheerleading, blah blah, yadda yadda, squawker!!

Living in the desert where you have "High Heat" advisory days you learn to keep cool in the most fun and CHEAP ways. We have water parks, but really who wants to pay $200 just to go get wet and fight the crowds? Um...not me. Plus when your pool is a "cool" 90 degrees, swimming in an outdoor tub is not always fresh either, wet, but not fresh.

The next best thing?


MALL SPLASH PADS!!!!


I love that Arizona is known for outdoor malls (oh and fabulous shopping) and with the outdoor malls come fun splash pads for the kiddos to enjoy during the warm spring and summer months.
And for you germ-o-phob moms out there...the water is chlorinated which is a plus!
This is what my family did on Sunday, we went to Desert Ridge Marketplace and enjoyed a fun day with some of our Munchkin Mama's ,(a playgroup my girlfriend Jen created for Phoenix and Phoenix metro moms! So awesome) good friends, fun little munchkins, fun in the sun and water, and a nice little lunch we had at Paradise Bakery.
What a FANTASTIC day!!

I have to say I was a bit worried...DH was on the way side of not going...being a bit of a stinker, he was not feeling it, but in the end he had a blast with the rest of us and glad he came along with all the wet and wild....and cheap fun!

And as always head on over to Angies to share in the Wordful Wednesday Fun!!

All In the Name Giveaway Part II

Alrighty.....the names are in!

The Contest is created!!

All of you who were so gracious to submit names for my soap business will receive your sample bar of soap!! I will be emailing you shortly to gather your shipping information....for the rest of you....stay tuned....more "soapy" giveaways are coming!!

Now go vote and see what the fabulous names are for the soap business!!

AND, if you want to check out all the cool soaps....(which I still have to post some more for you all) feel free to head on over to the blog I share with my sisters!
(My sisters are Brittany and Nicole!)

Going Through the Big D

No I am not going through the big D..."and I don't mean Dallas" cue music. But I have been reading, listening, and quite frankly sick and tired of all the speculation, theories, unnecessary anger, and minutiae from other people about divorce.

Let's get real folks....how many have you experienced divorce? Now put your hand down if you are talking about your BFF "and like her parents got divorced" or "and like my best girl friend, yo she got all screwed over by her man....mmnnnmmm."

Yeah....I so do not think so. Here is the skinny on divorce and what people fail to acknowledge.

Divorce is like marriage, takes two of you to get there, no one person is at fault, no one person can fix it, no one person is without fault, no one person did not see the Big D coming, and no one person can be blamed for the entire marriage crumbling to pieces.

Marriage, you can not get married alone, no one person can go get the marriage certificate signed, no one person can fall in love, no one person can accept to the proposal (um one says yes, but the other said YES to asking Nimrods), no one person can build a marriage.

See where I am going....divorce, just like marriage is a TWO WAY street.

I say this and I can say that divorce is the best and worst thing to happen to two people.

How can this be some of you may ask? Again, Lucy be doin' some 'splainin' here:

I am a product of divorce. *GASP* Yes, my parents divorced in the late 80s when divorce was the hottest thing next to the financial fallout then. I have to say I thank the higher powers for my parents divorce. I hated that my parents went through the ugliest divorce, my mother checked out, my father was an ass (being very PG about that), leaving three kids to figure out if their square peg would fit into a round hole. Now as an adult, I see how damaging my parents were together. My mother was, and still can be, the Ultimate Enabler. I say that with the most love. My mother is a good good woman with the best of intentions, but her intent was to "for better for worse, in sickness and in health." However, she reevaluated the health issue and the sickness. My father, the classic alcoholic, abuser, addict, drug aficionado. He knew no boundaries, no limits, and at the time the most aspiring business man and could care less who got in his way to the top. He reminded me of Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street.

So my mother weighed the sickness against the duty as a mother and wife. Her duty to stay married to a man for the sake of her children. But their health was not to be compromised. My father refused help, in pure denial as any addict is and always will be. To this day, I am not sure he ever admits any fault...ah hell, he blames the world for everything who am I kidding!

My parents divorced in January of 1988, I was 10. Yup...just dated myself.

The thing with divorce is that I am so thankful my parents, especially my mother did not stay married to my dad in spite of what she learned. She went with her gut, she did what was ultimately right for her too. I think that is what people FAIL to realize in divorce. You cannot stay married for the kids, the kids were not always there, they will not always be there in the end. Kids grow, move out, have kids of their own. The beautiful cycle of life. When you marry there are no kids involved (well not traditionally, some are unconventional....like my sister...love you!!), but in the beginning only two people exist. Individually. Together. So if no kids were involved is divorce that much more okay than if kids are involved? I think not.

I have read so many bashing's about divorce, about celeb divorces, like Jon and Kate Gosselin. I mean for Pete's sake. Yes, awful they are getting divorced, no one can point fingers, each is at fault somewhere. Each lost their way in the relationship, grew apart and never back together, or they are to the point where the road can never be mended, but at least they are doing the most healthy thing for their kids. They are each going to find a happiness they obviously do not feel with each other anymore.

Divorce is also tricky because family is involved on many levels. When my folks divorced my paternal grandparents took sides at first. My father was and is a fantastic "salesman" (aka manipulator). So my G-rents bought the stories hook line and sinker. Eventually though they saw that my mother was not only at fault and many apologies were made. My maternal grandparents did not take sides, they truly tried to stay neutral, but eventually just grew away from my father because of his "illness" and his damaging ways. Friends took sides. I watched my god parents divorce and each of them grabbed one of my parents, I felt like I was watching the partings of the Red Sea. The way I see divorce is that both are not happy, but the one person who makes the decision to say "Hey this is not working, we need to get a divorce" has either tried everything, or nothing and merely is throwing in the towel. Either way, they made a decision! They made a decision they do not want to be unhappy and with that person anymore. I am not saying that any one person can make you happy, but misery loves company. The other person is in denial, they do not want to admit that they ignored the writings on the wall and that they have grasped at every ounce of bullshit to stay together. Other divorces are totally amicable, my friend recently got divorced, he said they divorced because she was going to go to med school, and that was not conducive to their relationship. They both are friends, they both still care for one another, but the marriage was going to go down hill so they caught the shit before it rolled. Awesome!

I guess I am confused as to why people judge each person in a divorce. I mean why? I know that if DH and I were to come back to a point where we said "Hey, we tried, we tried everything, now lets try not being together" I would sincerely hope that sides were not taken. That the decision we made is that we are more damaging together than apart. We need to be healthy for our kids to be healthy and if that means divorce, so be it. We are lucky, we have weathered some nasty storms in our 12 years together. I dug in my spurs and bore down, I was in for the long haul with my big fish. We found each other again, we found our love, and we found we are stronger than we have EVER been. But we were lucky. We were lucky to have found a great therapist who helped each of us, we were lucky to have time to find who we were again, to find us and then we found two more kids!

We also agreed that we would never be dirty. That in all the hurt of a divorce, the nasty back biting, judging, side taking, name calling BS that divorce brings out, which is the worst in all of us, the people that are hurt the most are the kids. By sitting down with your kids and explaining that you still love them, this is not their doing, they did not cause this, and explaining that mom and dad just are not good together, this will ease their pain. I only know this now after years of therapy, of watching my father marry and divorce wives like a private harem, by watching how nasty divorce can be on the outside with watching DH go through his divorce when I met him, by watching my BIL go through his divorce, my god parents, my dear friends. As an outsider you gain insight, you learn to not take sides, not listen to the bitching and crap but still lend an ear for constructive bitching, by still loving each person. I can say I have never taken sides, well with the exception of DH and his ex, but even still, I think the relationship takes two. So next time you hear someone is divorcing because someone cheated on the other, or she is a bitch or he is an A*hole, just remember that could be you! So try not to judge, try not to take sides, support and love them, they are in for the worst, which in time will turn out for the best.