Friday Confessional

I confess....

The last three or four nights I've gone to bed around 10pm and woke up around 1am. Then I usually can't get back to sleep until like 4am. I am getting sleepy so I'll try to go back to bed after I'm done with this.

I confess....

I turned on my AC for the first time this year. Wednesday night I kept waking up in a sweat and the girls were both getting warm this evening. The weather has been in the 80s quite a bit this week. So I turned it on. Feels nice! And it's not as humid in my apartment now, either.

I confess....

I made dinner for my kids last night...but I really wasn't very hungry. I ended up eating a cheese sandwich and a handful of honey roasted peanuts. I've been having stomach problems again lately and it's no fun. :(

I confess...

Right now all I can think about is going back to bed so I'm out of confessions! Goodnight all!

Random Stuff

I found a new app that I love. It's called TV Show Favs. I'm a girl who likes her TV shows. I'm also a girl who doesn't have cable and doesn't pay very close attention to when things are on or if it is a new episode or not. I watch all my shows from the internet. At this point, I find myself often thinking "I wonder if I missed any new shows this week?" I didn't like the TV Guide app because it hogged a lot of resources and the reminders part (which is what I really wanted) was buggy when I had it on my old phone. But so far this app is great! I can mark what episodes I've seen and I have a 4x2 widget on one of my home screens that has my upcoming new episodes. Very handy...for me anyway!

I bought a Griffin Stylus on amazon.com and I really love playing Draw Something even more, now. I do much better with the capacitive stylus than I did drawing with my finger. I've actually drawn quite a few pictures that I liked well enough to save! I have screencapture on my new phone and I've been saving them that way...LOVE that!



I also got a new vacuum from my mom! It's a Shark Navigator Lift-Away Vacuum. It works GREAT! It's not as heavy as my old vacuum and it's a LOT easier on the stairs because you can take it apart. And it sucks better! ;) I had just vacuumed with my old one and then went back with my new vacuum and it still picked up a LOT of dirt and dust! I was surprised! My carpets feel a lot softer now, too. So if you're in the market for a new and relatively inexpensive (for a vacuum) that's my suggestion! My mom, sister, and I all have one and all three of us love it!

I think that's all the boring material I have for now. Oh and BTW these aren't sponsored or anything...just some things I like this week. The two amazon links do include my affiliate ID, though.

Thursday 13 - TV Shows

I don't have cable. I have a TON of kids movies in my house and pretty much every Andy Garcia movie ever made, a lot of Bruce Willis's movies, and the Lethal Weapon collection. I have maybe 10 other movies aside from that. ;) I like to have my TV on while I'm doing things around the house or playing on my computer. So most of the time...I'm catching up on my favorite shows or watching old episodes. OH...and I have this compulsion that when I decide to like a tv show, I HAVE to watch the series from the beginning. Most of my favorite shows I started watching after the first season...so I actually went back and caught up on everything I missed. I just felt "twitchy" (what I describe as that "not right" feeling in my OCD) until I was caught up. I'm weird. :P

I like a lot of TV shows. Here are 13 of my favorites:

1. CSI MIAMI - I've been watching this a lot lately. I tend to go in spurts about which show is my favorite of the moment. My favorite characters are Tripp and Walter (and Yelina when she was a regular)...but I like the cast as a whole. I really, really hope the show is renewed for another season. I started watching the show during Season 5 and have been keeping up with it since...though I didn't like the episodes that had Elizabeth Berkley in them. Her arc really didn't appeal to me. My kids actually watch this show with me (Aubry more so than Ashlyn). Aubry has become really interested in the "clues" and things like fingerprints and gun powder and how it leads to a suspect. We've had a lot of "fake blood" conversations and they understand that these kind of shows aren't real. We've even watched some videos on how movies are made and stuff. The bodies and killers don't really scare them...they're actually more afraid of the alligators that are often on the show. ;) Aubry's favorite character is Horatio.

2. NCIS - This is another show that I really love the whole cast together. It wouldn't make me very happy if they had to change any of the key players (except maybe Vance). I like Ziva better than Kate...but I do miss Mike Franks. One thing that I like about this show is there is a lot of humor for a "crime procedural" type of drama. The girls watch this show with me, too. Ashlyn likes this one more than CSI Miami. They both think Gibbs is amazing, Abby is awesome, Ziva is pretty, and the "Gibbs slap" is the funniest thing ever. I didn't start watching this show until around 2010 when I was watching my newborn niece and started watching it at my sister's house.

3. CRIMINAL MINDS - It's a very dark show but I like the subject. It's basically what I went to school for. In another life, I would have loved to join the BAU. But...I have kids so not going to be moving across the country anytime soon. I also really, really like Joe Mantegna who plays David Rossi. This is one show that I don't watch when the girls are home...it's too scary and complicated. It's easier to comprehend fake blood than acting out evil motivation and behavior. I started watching this show in 2009 or something. My mom once told me that David Rossi reminded her of my boyfriend (dark eyes, dark hair, dark skin, the goatee) and then started watching it. But the subject matter is really what hooked me.

4. GREY'S ANATOMY - I started watching this show during Season 3 when my supervisor at work was talking about it and saying I should watch it. I was given Season 1 of the show by a friend and one night I couldn't sleep so I started watching it. Then it became something we talked about a lot at work. :) At times it mirrored my life and some of the quotes (especially the voiceovers at the beginning and end) were so fitting. My favorite characters are McDreamy and McSteamy. ;) The girls don't watch this show with me, either.

5. PRIVATE PRACTICE - I didn't think I was going to like this show but I started watching it one night when I was tired of reruns and I ended up liking it. I started watching during season 2 and have kept up with it since. My favorite character is Pete but I like the cast as a whole, too (that seems to be a common thing for the shows that I like).

6. HOUSE - I started watching this show during Season 3 because my boyfriend liked it. I like House because he and I think a lot alike sometimes when it comes to human behavior and puzzles. He likes medical puzzles...I'm more of a psychological puzzles type of person. This is the last season of House and I can't say I'm very surprised...it has changed a lot over the last 8 years and there have been times when I don't even feel like watching it. I do hope it gets a good ending, though.

7. LAW & ORDER: SVU - I started watching this show in 2003 (Season 5) shortly after I got married. It's pretty much what I did on Tuesday nights and would always make sure I was home to watch it. They also ran a lot of reruns so I caught up with it pretty easily. Sometimes the subject matter is difficult because I had been a victim of sexual assault in high school. I really like the cast in this one, too, but Olivia (Mariska) has always been my favorite. I actually sent her fanmail one year and she even wrote me back (back when she was still answering her own emails). There were a couple years where I didn't follow the show as closely and this season I really miss Elliot (Chris Meloni) but the new characters are growing on me and I'm getting back into the show more.

8. BURN NOTICE - I almost forgot to list this one because it's on hiatus right now! I really, really love this show and it's actually one of the few shows I've been watching from the beginning. The cast is awesome together and I have a really hard time picking my favorite out of the 5 main characters. Sometimes Fi reminds me of myself...we're both skinny and lanky (long necks and long arms) and we both have attitudes that are a lot alike (though I'm not really big on blowing things up, myself). The new season starts in June and I'm interested to see how Fi being in prison plays out. The girls watch this show with me, too, and they really like it...they like that Michael saves everyone. :)

9. ONCE UPON A TIME - This is another show that I've watched from the beginning...though it just started this season. ;) I was all caught up on the new episodes of my shows and looking for something to watch one night...and this happened to be what I picked. I recognized Jennifer Morrison from House so that's what initially caught my attention and then I got hooked on it. :) I keep waiting to see what happens next. If you haven't, check it out! It's really interesting. It's really different...and the way they play out some of the "fairy tales" is cool.

10. THE SECRET CIRCLE - I just now started watching this show...a show about witches. I didn't know what to expect from it. My dad told me about it and all I knew was that it had Joe Lando in it so that's why I decided to check it out. ;) I was surprised...even though it's not something I typically like, I got into it. I started with Joe Lando's first couple episodes and now I'm catching up with the first 14 that I missed.

11. DR QUINN MEDICINE WOMAN - Speaking of Joe Lando...this was one of my FAVORITE shows when I was growing up. My mom, sister, and I started watching it from the pilot and really fell in love with it. We used to set the VCR to record every episode. I'm sad that it was only on for 6 seasons...I think they could have done a lot more with it. I luuuuuuved Sully. :) I have the entire series (which included the 3 movies they made after it went off air) because I thought it would be something the girls would enjoy and we could watch together. They love it, too! I love sharing part of my childhood with them.

12. SMALLVILLE - This show isn't on the air anymore, but I liked it when it was. My boyfriend started watching it in the fall/winter of 2007 and I kept getting sucked in. He was trying to catch up on the past episodes, too, and after awhile I found myself catching up on all the episodes that he'd watched with out me, too. I got into it a lot more than I expected. Ashlyn also really liked watching it with me. She called it "Clark" instead of Smallville and her favorite thing was to sing the intro song ("somebody saaaaaaave me"). ;) I think my favorite part of the show was the beginning when they were in high school. My favorite character was Chloe followed closely by Lana...but I actually really liked Lionel Luther after he went to the "good" side. I wish they would have kept Lionel, Lex, and Lana longer than they did. The end of the series started to kinda lose my interest off and on but I still kept watching it until the end. Every once in awhile I like to go back and watch reruns. :)

13. TEEN MOM 2 - This is my guilty pleasure show. ;) For some reason, I just get sucked into watching these young girls and their drama. I watched it a lot when I was at the man's house working on homework during the day. I watched the original Teen Mom as well, but I found myself following Teen Mom 2 more. Trashy Reality TV :P



So...those are my favorites of the moment! There are a lot of past shows I liked that aren't on anymore...but I've reached my 13 for this week. Maybe next week I will revisit 13 of my favorite tv shows from the past (aside from a couple that I listed here). :)

WWTK: Week 50

Hosted by Mamarazzi, Queso and Crazymama




{1} What is something that you currently spend money on that you consider a splurge or frivolous? - When I have some extra money, I've been buying things for our home. Lately I've gotten a lot of organization things. It helps out a lot, though. I usually don't spent a lot on things we don't need.

{2} Tell us about your first paying job. How old were you? - I was about a month before my 16th birthday and I started working at the nursing home down the street from my house. I started as an RSA (Residential Service Assistant) who basically just hung out with the old people and got things they needed. In October I started CNA training and passed my state boards and started working as a CNA. The money wasn't too bad for a 16 year old but I hated the job. I wasn't good at lifting people back then because I'm pretty tiny...so I always had to find someone to help me and it annoyed my coworkers. And one of my coworkers was my boyfriend at the time and he was a jerk. Oh...and he was cheating on me with one of our coworkers. So then I started working with my EXboyfriend, and I quit my job a month later. :P

{3} Do you plan date nights and extras into a monthly/weekly budget? - I usually try to find things that aren't very expensive. For example, going places like the zoo and children's museum are cheap for us because I get family passes for my birthday and Christmas. But we splurge maybe once a month or so...and I do have that worked into my budget.

{4} Share one of your money saving tips with us. - Honestly, I just don't spend a lot on things we don't need. I also take advantage of buying cheaper online and with amazon.com I have a student prime membership which has free 2-day shipping.

And finally, Christine wants to know: {5} If you won the lottery - would you spend it frivolously or use what you need and save the rest? Why? - I would probably spend a little frivolously (would definitely take my family on a nice vacation!) but the rest I would save.

Laundry - Finished Product

I just realized that I never published a post with the actual finished product of the laundry room makeover. So here are some pictures of the girls' new closet! I even broke out my actual camera for the occasion instead of using my cameraphone. ;)

Here is the complete view of the laundry room from the door. The washer and dryer are at the right behind the door. Next to them are the hampers for dirty laundry: whites, lights, darks. I love that they are stacked because it doesn't take up as much room and it fits perfectly right there. When one gets full, I throw a load in the washing machine. Then the open area with the slanted ceiling...that's my storage area. The pink tubs have photos, old electronics and computer stuff, and then behind the white stacked drawers are my holiday decorations and stuff like that. The grey tub holds the girls' shoes. The white drawers...the bottom drawer has the girls' socks, the next two drawers have clothes for Ashlyn that Aubry has outgrown, and then the top drawer is for clothes that Aubry will grow into. On top of the drawers is the crate of outdoor toys...didn't really have a better place to put it. :P And then to the left is the girls' closet.

My dad installed the bar for me to hang their shirts. The shelf on top needs to be screwed down but the battery on the drill died. The boxes on the shelf hold the girls' seasonal clothes (right now their summer clothes are in there). All those cloth bins hold the girls' play clothes and clothes they can wear to their dad's house. They each have a bin for tops, bottoms, and then the middle bin has both their seasonal clothes. Then all the drawers below hold the rest of their clothes. The top drawers hold underwear, tights, and misc things like bras, undershirts, belts, vests, etc. The middle drawers hold pajamas and jeans/pants. The bottom drawer holds the girls' skirts, shorts, and t-shirts. I would actually like to have more drawers, but I really don't have anymore room. What we have works out well, though.

Everything is labeled...I got a great deal on a label maker at Walmart. The girls know exactly where everything is. And if my mom or even my dad (who requires specific instructions for anything) could easily find what clothes they need if I'm not home for some reason or I need them to go to my house to grab something. As the girls get older, they'll also be able to help put away the clothes since it's pretty much a no-brainer when it comes to where everything goes. But...I'm waiting a little awhile on that battle. I'm enjoying the peace of not arguing about them putting away their clothes in their rooms anymore. ;)

I REALLY like having the girls' closet in the laundry room. It makes it a lot more convenient and I'm better about getting their clothes put away sooner. I don't have to carry the hampers up and down the stairs all the time which is really nice. And the clothes stay a lot more organized this way. The girls like it, too. In the morning they come downstairs and pick out their clothes and get dressed in the laundry room. Everything is right there in one spot. And right across the hall is the downstairs bathroom where they brush their hair and teeth. Mornings definitely go a lot more smoothly, now! And before bed, they take off their clothes and put them in the hampers then put their pajamas on. It's just so much more efficient for everyone.

Plus, they both have a lot more space in their rooms. Most of their toys are kept in their closets, now. Definitely a good idea all around!

You Capture: FUN!

The girls were out of school for spring break last week. Unfortunately, it rained most of the week. We played some board games and card games:

Oh and I got a new cell phone...which is fun for mommy! All these pictures are taken with my new phone. I'm trying to get used to it. It has some fun new features built into the camera, though. This one is fun:

This weekend we went to Exploration Place for the GPS Geocaching exhibit. The girls had a lot of fun. There was an indoor and outdoor part of the exhibit:

Usually I try to take my YouCapture pictures with my SLR but I didn't have it with me and I was playing with my new phone a lot so...cell phone pictures it is. :)

Thursday 13 - Apps!

I've been thinking about phone stuff lately because I'm in the market for a new phone (next month) and so today, my Thursday 13 is going to feature my favorite Apps on my phone. Please note, these are ANDROID Apps...so I don't know anything about hat iApps are out there. :P

1) Draw Something - Okay. So I like it. :P Starting out I felt really self-conscious because I'm not that good at drawing with my finger on my phone. But...I'm getting better. And so far everyone has guessed my drawings so that's good. :) If anyone wants to play with me, my name is tinycandi!

2) List Master - This is what I use for my shopping lists. I don't know if it's the best one out there but I am used to it and I really like it. :)

3) Tiny Tower - This is really just a time-killing game for me but I've become a little hooked on it. My cousin told me about it at Christmas so I've been playing since then. I have 70 floors and 115 bitizens. ;)

4) Daily Horoscope - I check it everyday...just for fun. Sometimes they do seem eerily accurate, though!

5) Alarm Clock Plus - This is my alarm clock. I love it!

6) The Weather Channel - I like this widget better than the typical HTC one built into the clock. It's more accurate, I think. :)

7) Amazon Kindle - Definitely a great app! And there are a LOT of free books out there.

8) SMS Backup & Restore - I like to keep all my messages. Never know when you might need to reference something (also one of the many nice things about google voice). But anyway...some people (like my ex-husband) sometimes text my regular phone number so I like to have those messages, if possible.

9) Soundhound - It's one of those apps that identifies songs that are playing. This one is my favorite.

10) MyDays Calendar - I'm a girl who likes calendars and keeping track of things...so I like this one. :P

11) Sudoku 10000 Free - This one has the most games and the best options of the ones I've played.

12) Phonalyzer - I just think it's interesting seeing all the stats on my phone calls and messages. I can be a bit of a nerd sometimes. :)

13) Gas Buddy - I've known about this website for a few years so I like the app to check gas prices on my phone to get the best prices. :)

I'd say those are my 13 favorites. :)

WWTK - Week 49

Hosted by Mamarazzi, Queso and Crazymama



{1} How many phones do you have in your household? (cell, smart, land lines) - I have my cell phone (smartphone) and that's the only working phone we have. We have some old cell phones running around that the girls like to play with.
{2} Are you brand loyal? (Apple or Android or something else?) I'm not as much brand loyal as I am ANTI-Apple.
{3} Would you rather talk on the phone, text or email? - Text, definitely. I'm not big on talking on the phone.
{4} What do you think of Video chat? what do you use? (skype, facetime? google talk?) - I've never actually done it. Too much like talking on the phone...but in person. :P
Fulfilled Mommy wants to know:
{5}What is your favorite gadget? (Tablet, cell phone, etc.) - I really, really love my new phone (HTC Rezound).
{6} If you had to pick just one technological gadget, (computer, cell phone, smart phone, tablet)and it was the only one you could use for a year, which would you pick? explain why. - Hmm. Well...I really, really love my new phone...but I think I'm going to have to go with my laptop. I use it more.

WWTK #48

Hosted by Mamarazzi, Queso and Crazymama


{1}Ricki Jill wants to know:
I would like to know what the WWTK's participants serve when they have company for dinner. What are your go-to recipes? - Everyone seems to like/request my Sour Cream Enchiladas. One of these days I'll get around to taking pictures and posting the recipe.

{2}Jill wants to know:
If you were told it was time for your last meal, what would you order up or make for yourself? - I would want my mom's (and only my mom's!!) meatballs and cheesy potatoes. Mmm! She's making it for me (well our family...but I'm probably the most excited) during spring break next week. Yay! :)

{3}Suzanne wants to know:
Sugar or alcohol? or more delicately Drink or Dessert? - That's easy...DESSERT! I'm not a big alcohol drinker though. I have a screwdriver or something maybe once or twice a year. I'm usually the DD. I like it when the people I'm driving for buy me dinner before we go out. ;)

{4}Myya wants to know:
What is your favorite Crock Pot Recipe? - Probably Mexican Cheese Soup is my favorite recipe for ME to make in the crockpot. But my mom makes her meatballs in the crockpot...so it's definitely my favorite when SHE is cooking in the crockpot. ;)

{5} Mamarazzi is having a hard time getting breakfast in everyday so she wants to know:
What are you eating for breakfast these days? - I'm a bad person to ask. The last week, I've been eating girl scout cookies and a glass of milk for breakfast. ;) lol. My favorite breakfast food, though, is french toast followed closely by pancakes. My kids and I also like plain bagels with strawberry cream cheese frosting. :)

Happy Happy Happy!

- I'm happy that I'm starting to actually DO more with Pinterest. It's inspired me to think of new ways to be more organized. And I've tried some new recipes. Last week I had my parents and my sister over for Crockpot BBQ Chicken. It was hard smelling it cooking for 4 hours! Aubry and Ashlyn thought it was a bit spicy but everyone liked it. Last night, I had two leftover chicken breasts and I felt like more BBQ chicken. I decided to change it up a bit...biggest thing cooking it in the sauce on the stove instead of the crockpot. I cut it into strips so it didn't take long to cook. And it tasted AWESOME. It wasn't as spicy, either, so I think the girls will like it better, too. I kinda just threw some ingredients together but I did try to put the recipe together and added it to pinterest. My cameraphone doesn't take the most awesome food pictures but I only had about 5 seconds before I started stuffing my face. ;) This summer I hope to do a lot of the craft projects with the girls that I've found on pinterest.

- I've started playing Draw Something. I've seen people talking about it for awhile and I downloaded it...but hadn't played. Last night I couldn't sleep because of vertigo and a headache so I thought I'd jump in. I really like playing it...even though it kinda makes me feel a bit self-conscious about my art skills. Especially when they can see the pictures you've "trashed" too. lol. :P I've discovered I'm really not that great at drawing with my finger on my phone. And I have a Zagg screen protector and it's kinda rubbery-ish and not very smooth so that doesn't help. But I've really liked playing and seeing what other people draw. :) My username is tinycandi if you want to play with me!

- The school called to say that Ashlyn has a fever so I went to pick her up. I'm not happy that she's sick...but I'm happy that it means we get to cuddle on the couch together until her dad gets home from work. She's asleep now.

- Watching CSI Miami makes me happy...and I'm super happy that there were new episodes this week. Of course, I haven't watched the two newest episodes because I've been busy working on pictures so I just watch reruns on my TV instead of the new ones on my computer. But they're there when I'm ready! :)

- Speaking of pictures...I finished the 1 week photo shoot of my niece! So now I just have her baptism pictures...which I'm about 1/4 of the way through. :P But I really like working on my pictures so it's not too bad. After the baptism pictures I'll have some time to catch up on my own...I have Ashlyn's music program and need to catch up on my 366day photo project.

- The weather is BEAUTIFUL. Today it's supposed to be 80 here in Kansas! My friend Mark is going to take me out for a ride on his motorcycle this week...if the weather stays nice. So hopefully it works out! :)

- My phone is dying...which doesn't really make me happy...but I am available for an upgrade in April so that makes me happy! I think I'm going to get the HTC Rezound...anyone have any experience with that phone? According to the specs it has everything I want (mostly impressed with the 8mp rear camera and 2mp front camera). Right now I have the HTC Incredible which I've LOVED but after the phone upgrade a couple months ago, my phone hasn't been the same. It randomly turns off, does funny things when I'm on the phone, and just in the last couple weeks my speaker blew. BUT...just one more month and I get a brand spanking new phone! :) Shiny new electronics make me happy.

- I'm just in a really good mood today...which is nice because I guess I've been PMSing the last week...I've been pretty darn cranky. So...being happy goes on my happy list! :)

What is your happy list? Link up and share!

1 week

I took pictures of each of my nieces when they were 1 week old.

Here are a few of Bug in April 2010:




And here are a few of Bebe in March 2012:

I confess...

I confess...
I finally did my dishes...first thing this morning!
I hate washing dishes. :P My apartment needs a dishwasher.

I confess...
I got my internet set up in my apartment today. I'm totally rocking a passive aggressive network name...since XH is my neighbor. Sometimes I'm petty and immature. ;)

I confess...
Doug Hutchison really creeps me out. His "wife" really grosses me out. I'm watching old episodes of CSI Miami and he was in one of them. :shudder:

I confess...
I'm pretty grumpy today. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. EVERYTHING annoys me today.

I confess...
I can't wait for my girls to come home today. :) We're going over to my grandparents' house to show off Ashlyn's new glasses. She is SO excited. She's so excited that she's excited to have her eyeglass cleaner in her bag. I think that's just absolutely adorable.

I confess...
I need to get back on my organizing kick...I felt much more productive. I think my next project will be to rearrange my room. I want to get it done before the next people move into the apartment right next to me (I'm really sad that my previous neighbor moved...but she moved right across the street so that's nice).

I confess...
I need to get back to work on these pictures of my niece...

Thursday 13 - Random Thoughts

1. Today I got the phone call from the eye doctor saying that Ashlyn's glasses were in! She's been waiting since last Friday and asked everyday if they called yet. So I picked her up from school this afternoon to go get them. She looks SO adorable in them...and she's pretty excited. I'm definitely hoping they will help with the issues she is having at school with reading and writing. We have exercises to do for her eyes as well...to help with her tracking/focusing.

2. Had lunch today at the Dillon's Bistro...we went with Chinese. If the Dillons that I usually go to has Teriyaki chicken, I've never had it. But that's what I had today and it was really good! A little messy...but it tasted good. :)

3. I think it's really, really cute that Ashlyn always calls her hands her "paws."

4. Aubry is growing up way too fast. She is already starting to get that teenager attitude going. I thought I would have a few years more with my sweet baby girl before heading into that stage of her life. :P

5. My super awesome friend, Kelli, gave me two boxes of girl scout cookies. I just finished the box of Peanut Butter Patties and I'm trying really, really hard not to devour the box of Lemonades all in one sitting. :P

6. We have had some pretty crazy weather here lately. I've really liked the warm days. Early this morning we had a thunderstorm with lots of sleet and some snow. I like thunderstorms...minus the cold weather. :P

7. I've been really enjoying the website sneakpeeq.

8. I wish we had more than one company in this area that provides phone, cable, and internet service.

9. I wish my tv shows were new this week! It seems like every show I like except Once Upon a Time and CSI Miami was a rerun. Booo.

10. I've been on a CSI Miami kick lately. Walter and Tripp are my favorites. In recent years I really like Ryan, too. I really like when Yelina makes an appearance, too. I wonder if they will ever bring back Suzie and Madison?

11. I'm still working on trying to finish all these pictures I've taken lately. I did get a lot of cute ones, though. Here's one of my favorites that I took of my newest niece:

I have nicknamed her Bebe...because that's what it sounds like when her big sister (who I nicknamed Bug) says "baby."

12. I also need to catch up on posting my 366 day photo project pictures. I have been taking them everyday...just not always good about posting them in a very timely manner. I think I did better when I was doing the 366 days of self-portraits because I had joined the flickr group and had a time limit of when they could be posted to the group. But I haven't used flickr in a long time.

13. I have a headache and I would really like to go to bed...but I have vertigo and it really doesn't get that bad until I lay down. So...hopefully the medicine will kick in and I can get some sleep.

And one more final thought...I'm not sure why I keep adding the label "meme" to my posts since it seems almost every single post has been a meme of some kind. :P

WWTK - Week 47

Hosted by Mamarazzi, Queso and Crazymama


{1} What is your favorite way to celebrate birthdays? - I love to go out to dinner. Simple...but I like it. :)
{2} Which is more fun to celebrate? Celebrating yours or your loved ones? - Oh always celebrating other birthdays. I love to spoil my loved ones. :) And I'm not really a "center of attention" kind of person. Take me to dinner, tell me happy birthday...nothing else. My mom and I feel the same way about our birthdays. But now my kids...I absolutely LOVE preparing their parties and doing special things for their birthdays. My mom was the same way with us. And for the girls' first three birthdays, she makes their birthday dresses (just like she did with me and my sister). And because I LOVE their birthdays...here are some pictures (and we're big on themes!):
Aubry's 1st Birthday - Sesame Street

...and her birthday dress:

Aubry's 2nd Birthday - Finding Nemo

...and her birthday dress:

Aubry's 3rd Birthday - Carebears

...and the famous 3rd bday dress my mom has made for me, my sister, both my girls, and will make for both my nieces (same pattern, different colors)

Ashlyn's 1st Birthday - Unicorns

...and her dress:

Aubry's 4th Birthday - Dora
...she wore one of my old dresses that my mom made

Ashlyn's 2nd birthday - Strawberry Shortcake
...didn't get good pictures of the decor but she had a cute dress and outfit:

Aubry's 5th Birthday - Happy Feet

Ashlyn's 3rd birthday - My Little Pony

...and the dress my mom made:

Aubry's 6th birthday we had a party at the zoo with some friends.
Ashlyn's 4th Birthday - Blue's Clues
...the first year I actually made the cakes.

Aubry's 7th birthday we planned a luau but it rained. :-/ So we had cake and food at two of my grandparents' houses.
Ashlyn's 5th birthday - Disney Princess
...she wore one of my old dresses

Aubry's 8th birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese

Ashlyn's 6th birthday we went to my grandparents' house then went to a fall festival and Old Cowtown Museum with my parents.
Aubry's 9th birthday we went to Great Wolf Lodge and plan to go back for Ashlyn's 9th. They got their first pedicures and free ice cream.

And Ashlyn's 7th birthday was a cupcake theme at Paint the Towne


{3} What is your dessert of choice for birthday celebrating? - I really, really love the strawberry chantilly cake that we get from a local bakery here. Okay...so if someone wants to get me one of those cakes for my birthday, I'm okay with that, too. ;)
{4} Tell us about your best birthday you've ever had. - I've really had a lot of amazing birthdays. When I was a kid...my mom went all out and it really made our birthdays special. How about some more pictures?!
Smurfette!

Carebear 3rd Birthday - Same dress pattern as my kids!

And probably my favorite...Rainbow Brite for my 4th Birthday!


I mean...seriously. Look at this! My mom drew these! And that dress is the same one Aubry wore for her 4th birthday...

{5} Share your favorite birthday song - Hm...can't really think of a birthday song that I like.
{6} Bonus Question: if you could pick any age to be again, how old would you be and why? I would only want to go backward if I could approach life with the knowledge I have now. And...I'd actually probably go back to my 9th birthday. I wouldn't have quit dance, wouldn't have paid so much attention to boys as I got older, and I would have focused more on homework (instead of boys!) and gone away somewhere to college right after high school. But...my life is pretty good as it is so I can't complain. ;)