Oh Yeah! The Blog!

I have been awful about keeping up on this lately. Not that Ive really forgotten about it...my life just hasnt been interesting lately. Well...wait - I take that back. Lots has been happening, just nothing I can publicly talk about. There is one major thing going on in my life....it really has nothing to do with anyone else but me, but its big - to me. However, only a few (and by few I mean 4) people know about it and I like to keep it that way. So basically I just wrote that to let you know Im going thru something huge and you dont get to know. Neener!

Jubilee started Pre-Three School last week. She loves school. At this age school is nothing more than play, crafts, singing and reading...but she loves the interaction with other kids. I stay home so day care to us means grandma takes her overnight to give me a break occasionally. Socialization will be something I need to work at with Jubilee since Im hoping to either home school or some how afford private school. Jubilee loves to socialize, but getting the opportunity to do so is another thing. So in addition to school this year, we have started going to Pre-K Play Zone. Its sort of like Ghettosville's version of Gymboree. We show up 3 times a week to tumble and play with other kids. Jubilee is totally digging it. She is the only kid in both preschool and Play Zone that is potty trained.

Speaking of being potty trained, Jubilee continues to have no accidents most days. She had one due to being sick to her tummy, ( THAT was fun to clean), and you could tell she felt horrible about it. She kept crying, "My panties! Oh noooo my ponies, my panties!!!" (She was wearing My Little Pony panties.) When we are in the car and she says she has to go potty, I tell her to hold it and she will clasp her hands together really tight and say, "I hold it!!", and she makes it to the big girl potty once we get home. Good think everything in Ghettosville is only 10 mins away. The next step is potty training for night time. Im still waiting for her to wake up with a dry pull-up. Now may be the time to change the crib over to the toddler bed so she can get up when she needs to go potty. Am I ready for her to be uncorralled at nighttime?! ACK!

Jubilee has been two for 4 months now. I keep waiting for "the terrible twos" and they just arent happening. ....yet anyway. Jubilee really is a good kid, easy to discipline and seems to be learning manners and lessons. I know this will change at different ages and phases, but I guess I just keep waiting for it. Dont get me wrong, she spends time in The Naughty Chair with her nose on the wall, but I havent yet seen the big temper tantrum or any acting out that you normally see at this age. Makes me wonder whats coming! HAHA Some say it isnt the The Terrible Twos at all, and really its The Terrible Threes. We shall see.

One other notable thing I must brag about is I have given up soda. Some of you may be saying, "yeah...so....?", but if you only knew how addicted I was to Diet Mt. Dew, you would be patting me on the back! I used to drink at least 3 a day and at any given time had what seemed like 100 cans littering my computer desk. But I knew I was not getting enough water and in an effort to be more healthy, I decided it was time. I mourned for a day, then just quit cold turkey with caffiene withdrawl headaches that would bring a masochists to their knees for about a week. I now drink nothing but crystal light and water and I dont even miss Diet Mt. Dew!

Ok, Im done boring you with the trivial details of my life.....for now...:)

Mocha, Latte, Chapstick Grande Please...

Sorry for not having a post for you all the past few days. (Altho, I think I have all of a 2 member readership.) Both Jubilee and I had been feeling under the weather with some sort of sinus ickiness, but we're both feeling better today.

Today we went on a long walk and then decided to hit Costco. I love Costco. Where else can you get 36 rolls of toilet paper for cheaper than dirt? While we were there, Jubilee made friends with the young and old alike, always asking, "What doing? Shoppin'? What you name?" As I've said before, its a good thing Im not shy.

I was going to hit Safeway, (Or Safeco as the cool people call it ;-) ), but Jubilee was about to fall asleep by the time we got back to Port Angeles. Ah well, ...the much needed Cheerios and Raspberry Crystal Light will have to wait.

When we got home I put away the Costco groceries and Jubilee busied herself playing with my Garfield coffee cup. She spent lots of time and in great detail making the coffee. We dont drink coffee in this house. Ive never drank coffee, and neither does Troy, so we're not sure where she learned how to make it or even call it coffee. I know my mom and Troy's dad drinks it, but I dont think they have her in training to work for Starbucks. In any case, Jubilee knows all about coffee, sugar, and creamer and I bet can make a mean cup!

Besides my Garfield coffee cup, Jubilee has also taken to playing with my chapstick. Yes, I admit it. I have an addiction. I am a hopeless Chapstick fiend. It has to be Chapstick, and it has to be original flavor. I have been known to use the Strawberry kind now and then, but for the most part, Im loyal to original. I have tubes of Chapstick on just about every surface of my house. I have tubes scattered in drawers and cupboards so Im never out of arms reach of at least 3 tubes. Jubilee has discovered this. She now loves Chapstick too and I have passed my addiction onto my spawn. Before Jubilee came along, I was very particular about even the shape of my Chapstick. I knew how far up I wanted the lip balm sticking out of the top, and I applied the Chapstick in the exact manner it would take to get the perfect, smooth, round shape for optimum application. Now, after Jubilee has been invading my special Chapstick resting spots, all my chapstick has little grooves and gouges in them and looks like a little mouse has been nibbling on my perfect little lip balm for a snack! Good thing Chapstick isnt poisonous.

So after enjoying a nice, hot, pretend cup of coffee, (stirred gently with Chapstick), I put Jubilee down for a nap. I think I will take one too!

"Whoa, The Girl I Love, She's Got Long Wavy Back Hair"

Now Im going to have that song in my head all day.... Meh, thats ok. There are worst to have stuck in your head than Led Zeppelin. For example, yesterday it was the Go, Diego Go theme song. Dont you hate it when you have a song stuck in your head and you dont know all the words? This is what I was singing all day yesterday: "Go Diego Go...Go Diego Go! .... something something in spanish.... Go Diego Go!" After that, for a brief couple hours it was the Silly Songs with Larry favorite, "Barbara MANATEEEE! How I long for THEEEEEEEE......." *sigh* All of a sudden I really feel like I need to listen to some Disturbed. HAHA!

I have totally gotten off subject of what this post was supposed to be about and thats MY HAIR! I understand that for some of you this post can be filed under, "As if I cared..." But, like every girl needs to, Ive got to talk about my hair for a minute.

Its really grown.....long. The back, in the longest layer, is down almost touching the tattoo on my lower back. I wear it up a lot. Chasing a two year old makes that a necessity unless I want to use peanut butter and marker for a hair product. For those of you that have known me forever, know that Ive always colored my hair. At one time or another my hair has been every color in the rainbow. Sometimes those colors were on my head all at once! But for the past couple years Ive been dying it jet black. After having Jubilee it just became easy and cheap and, well, lets face it....I can rock the black hair. Naturally, my hair is a mousy ash brown. Not the brown that is rich and full of deep highlights....its a brown that makes you think of dog poo thats been dried in the hot sun of the Arizona desert. Was that too graphic? Well....you get the idea.

Lately I had been missing the fun of having different colors in my hair and decided it was time for a change. Knowing that lightening up box-dyed black hair was going to be a challenge, I researched for a good colorist in my area and came up with a quirky perky girl named Kristen. I brought pictures of the red/violet and blonde streaks that I wanted. Kristen did a GREAT job....however it is difficult lifting black dye off of longgggggg hair. So it didnt come out exactly how I pictured it.... but she still did a great job.

I might go back for the blond streaks since some of my hair is lightened up enough to get them actually blond instead of that brassy orange that bleaching dark hair always brings. My mom didnt hate it as much as she thought she would...so that tells me I need a little more done to it. hehe

That picture was taken a few weeks ago the day I got the color done. Today its still as bright as that. Like I said, she did a good job. Although I only wash my hair once a week....maybe once every 8 or 10 days....and that helps a lot with keeping color. If I wash it any more than that, its WAY too clean and I cant do a thing with it. Besides, considering my shower drain already looks like a black and pink Chewbacca owned the tub, I may be bald if I wash it any more than that!

Camping Freaks

Oh What a Weekend: chapter two

After The Pickle Eating we got down to some serious camping business. This included eating and especially drinking. I didnt drink much since I had Juju, but I did enjoy some concoctions curtesy of Janet's and Holly's imaginations. My favorite was something we now call The Smartie. I think that one was vodka, grape juice and diet Squirt. Tasted like a Smartie!

Kim Cleavland and her husband Carl camped with us this time. I hadnt seen Kim in a long time and she looked gorgeous. She is one helluva cook too. She and Carl brought all their "kids" including Calvin. Calvin is a HUGE rottweiler...I bet he easily weighs 150lbs but he acts as docile as a sedated bear ready to settle in for hibernation. His head is as big as Jubilee...all of Jubilee! I think Janet has a pic of him she is sending me.

While we were drinking Smarties and sitting around the campfire, we started discussing tattoos. Janet had given everyone henna tattoos earlier in the day and this had inspired talk of Mom Botts and Janet getting real tattoos. We decided one day the four of us; Holly, Janet, Mom Botts and myself were all going to get a tattoo together. We discussed at length....while getting tipsy... what our tattoos would look like. We settled on a tasteful, pretty campfire with weenie roasting sticks and hot dogs hovering above it. Holly's would say, "Big Weenie", mine "All Beef", Janets, "Kosher", and Mom's "Lil' Smokie". *blinks* This has to be the reason tattoo artists refuse to give ink to drunk people.

As we were sitting around the campfire, lots of talk and laughter ensued. I even unintentionally did my sprinkler laugh that I have taken great time and skill to avoid. What spurred this fit of laughter was my Dad drinking his drink which contained a Cheeto puff Makayla and I snuck into his glass. We watched from the corner of our eyes for a good 20 mins while he sipped on his Loudmouth with a ever soggy Cheeto in it. At one point he even was swirling his glass around looking at the ice inside. Still he did not notice the Cheeto. At last he finished his drink...flinging the last drops of it into the fire with flare....the Cheeto along with it. How could you drink a whole coke and whisky with a Cheeto puff in it and not notice!?!? The only thing we could think of is he liked the taste. What would you call this drink: 2 parts Coke, 1 part whisky, 1 part Cheeto puff? (Make sure to leave your answer in the comment section.)

Dad sipping on his Loudmouth and Cheeto.

Oh What a Weekend!

It was Labor Day weekend. The big last hurrah for the camping ho's in our family. At first I didnt want to go....the last camping trip I had was ...well... not so fun. So I adamately proclaimed I wasnt attending this last big get-together. However, as I previously reported, Holly promised to eat a pickle if I camped.

The Pickle Eating was the first thing on the agenda. Afterall, I had to have incentive to stay. Before leaving town, I stopped at the store and got a giant pickle....the biggest I could find. No way was Holly getting away with just eating a baby kosher dill. Nope. She was going to consume a Big Papa Dill. It was roughly the size of a 16 oz. water bottle packaged in a plastic bag with neon yellow pickle juice. I love pickles and it looked grody even to me. The juice was thick and turned her tongue and teeth an icky shade of puke green. She of course immediately regretted her promise, and begged to not have to eat it, but what kind of sister would I be if I let her take back her promise!?

Oh What a Weekend Continued in Next Post....