ABC's of Me

I figure it's time that you got to know me, oh wise writer of this blog.  I never know what people are interested in so I figured I'd answer one of those ABC fb type survey things.  Hope you find this at least a little bit of an insight to me, 'cause yep, I'm a real person.  :)

A

- Available: To txt? Always.

- Age: 3*ahem*0

- Animals: I don't have any pets, but I don't mind dogs.

B

- Beer: No thank you.

- Birthday: December 10.

- Body Part on opposite sex: Do I have to pick just one? :)

- Best feeling in the world: Getting a hug from my kids.

- Best weather: A crisp fall day.

- Been in Love: Yeppers.

- Been on stage: Yep, although it's been awhile.

- Believe in Magic: Oh, oh it's magic you knoooow.

- Believe in Santa: Of course ;-)

C

- Candy: m&ms.

- Color: Blue.

- Chocolate/Vanilla: Chocolate.

- Chinese/Indian/Italian Food: Totally depends on my mood.

- Cake or pie: Ewww. Neither.

- Continent to visit: I wanna go back to Japan!!

- Cheese: No thank you.

D

- Day or Night: Night.

- Dancing in the rain: At least once a year. I love the way the rain feels soft.

E

- Eyes: Blue.

- Ever fail a class? Calculus. Three times. I gave up.

F

- First thoughts waking up: Alright Jack come snuggle in for a moment.

- Food: Gotta have it.

G

- Greatest Fear: That something will happen to one of my kiddo's.

- Goals: Yep, I have 'em.

- Get along with your parents? For the most part.

H

- Hair Color: Red, at least that's what it's called. It looks more orange to me, but no one goes around saying that they have orange hair.

- Happy: Most of the time.

- Holiday: My Birthday! I love to count down and everything.

I

- Ice Cream: Chocolate and brownie chunks.

J

-Jewelry: I wear my standard necklass and my wedding band.

-Job: I have many. Pick one.

K

- Kids: Jack & Celina.

- Kickboxing or karate: Kickboxing.

- Keep a journal: Nope.
L

- Love: Yep.

- Letter: Do people usually have a favorite letter?

- Laughed so hard you cried: Often.

M

- Milk flavor: No thank you.

- Movies: I LOVE movies. Too many to name.

- Motion sickness: Nope.

- McD’s or BK: What's closest?

N

- Number: Yes, I like numbers.

O

- One wish: For world peace. *doing hand gesture*

P

- Perfect Pizza: No cheese and mushrooms.

- Pepsi/Coke: Diet Coke

- Piercings: My ears.

Q

- Question you’d like to know the answer to: Too many to type.

R

- Reason to cry: Laughing.

- Reality T.V.: I don't have TV.

- Radio Station: I much prefer CDs or my iPod. Commercials irritate me.

- Song: Too many to list.

- Shoe size: 9.

- Salad Dressing: Ranch.

- Sushi: Ewww!

- Skinny dipped? Yeppers.

- Strawberries/Blueberries: Both! I LOVE fruit.

T

- Tattoos?: 1. Want another though.

- Time for bed: 1 am. Not that you asked, but I wake up at 6:30 am. Yep, that's how I roll.

- Thunderstorms: Pretty.

U

- Unpredictable: That's me :-)

V

- Vacation spot(s): I have a list, but I really, really wanna go to Japan again.

W

- Weakness: None!!! Of course! Lol.

- Who makes you laugh the most: All my friends are funny in their own way.

- Worst Weather? Ice.

X

- X-Rays: Left hand (broke a metacarpal), Left foot (broke a metatarsal), Left foot again (broke a phalange) & Right knee (resulted in knee surgery). The right knee was a marching band injury. Figure that one out.

Y

-Year it is now: 2011

-Yellow: Sunny!

Z

- Zoo animal: Penguin



LAST PERSON WHO…

1. Slept in a bed beside you? Celina.

2. You went to the mall with? Anita.

3. You went out to dinner with? I had lunch with Anita last time we went to the mall.  Does that count?

4. You talked to on the phone? My Mama.  All together now awwwww.

5. Made you laugh? Addam.

6. Hugged you? Celina.

7. Said they loved you? Jack.

8. Held your hand? Jack.

9. You spoke with? Joey.

10. You cried? Idk. I'm not much of a crier.

Mail Station

Right when you walk in my front door there's a half wall.  On that half wall sits my mail station.  It looks like this:

Here's a closer look as to what's in my mail station.

Stamps, a pen, the envelopes on the right contain bills that need to be paid.  In the Longaberger basket are where our keys live in addition to a letter opener, chap stick  and extra locking clips for car seats (can never have enough of those).  After the bills get paid they get filed right away into the binder.  Read about mine here.

That's it!  That's what keeps my mail organized every day and ensures that nothing gets piled up.  Junk mail goes into the trash right away.  The rest gets filed in my binder or is put in my to pay bill section.

How do you keep your mail organized?  Any tips, hints or suggestions as to how to keep the amount of paper to a minimum?

Sick Puppies Concert!

I was blessed to be able to go to a rock concert last night.  I got to see 2 of my favorite bands in 1 concert!  I had a blast. I can't believe I was lucky enough to get to meet the Sick Puppies AND have them ALL sign each of their albums for me.  This is the 2nd time I had the chance to hear Sick Puppies in concert.  Check out my scores!

Sick Puppies signing

Sick Puppies: Dressed Up As Life

Sick Puppies: Tri-Polar

I also got to hear Adelita's Way again.  I already had a signed album from them so I didn't buy another one.  I did get to meet the band again.  I'll post a pic of that album later as the baby's sleeping in the room where I keep my CDs.

I found a new band that I now am in love with, Madam Adam.  I got a signed CD from them too.  And the best part...well you can see for yourself the front of the album

See that?!?!?  It says to Anna!  That's me!!

Madam Adam: Self Titled

Check it out!  All of their signatures!  The concert was rocking and it's not an experience that I will ever forget.

Those of you who know me know how seriously I take my music.  Most people like music...I live through music..  And yes, I have washed my hands since shaking all of theirs.  :)

Diaper Changing Station

I'm big on having stations all around my house.  We have an art station, food stations, clothes stations, bath stations, etc.  Today I thought I'd share my diaper changing station today.  It looks like this:

It's a Longaberger pie basket.  In this basket I have all I need to change any diaper that needs changing in my place.  My 2 year old still wears pull-ups most days, so I have pull-ups under the wipes container.  I also have night-time pull-ups for my 4 year old who still has accidents at night.  Someday he'll be night trained.  :)  I also watch an infant 3 days a week.  His diapers are on the left.  The last thing I have inside the basket is some diaper cream 'cause you never know when you'll need it.  Next to the basket I have an econo-size Germ-X pump bottle.  It gets used all.the.time around here.  That's it.  It's everything I need to change any and all butts around here. 

Under the sink in my bathroom is where I keep all the backstock diapers.

From left to right.  Size 5 pull-ups that were left over from a friend and given to me with little swimmers on top.  Extra Diego night-time diapers.  Extra boy pull-ups size 5 from when my 4 year old was potty training.  Dora pull-ups for my 2 year old.  And lastly diapers for the infant I watch.  And that's it.  Those are all the diapers in my house.  I *know* that you are impressed by my diaper organizational skills.  :)

Friday Musing: Do People Really Live There?

Often time while I'm pursing a blog I think to myself, "self do people really live in these rooms that are shown oh so elegantly? If people really do live here how in the world do they keep it so perfect?"  As you can tell from my blog I have 2 young kiddo's and we actually live in our spaces.  Maybe someday our house will be picture perfect, but until then you get the non-staged nakedly honest view of our spaces in each and every picture.  Don't get me wrong.  I love the perfectly set look that most people seem to be able to achieve.

Being a SAHM means that we are here all.the.time.  I don't get any downtime from my kiddo's because they're always here.  We play, dance, do crafts, read, and just goof off all day.  I'm also a part-time Homeschooling mom to my 4 year old.  What is a part-time Homeschooler look like?  Well, everyday my son does his homeschool work.  We do experiments and go on field trips to supplement what he's learning.  We talk about his work and do real life examples of how to incorporate what's he's learning into our everyday lives.  BUT he also goes to preschool.  Why? might you ask.  He goes to preschool for socialization.  I know that I can't be his everything and he needs friends outside of our family.  His preschool teacher is on board with us homeschooling and has given him roles in the classroom so that he remains challenged.  I feel that at this time it is the best of both worlds for my son.

Why the homeschooling tangent?  It's just another example of why my house isn't perfect.  Friends and family are always welcomed into our home at any time without any heads up.  Our house is always presentable enough that I'm not rushing off to stuff things in closets or hide things under the beds.  Our kitchen table is always cleaned off and there are never dirty dishes sitting out.  That doesn't mean that there won't be a toy in use on the floor here or there, but again, we live here.  Every day.

So, if you're in the neighborhood please stop by.  Just realize that our home won't be magazine picture perfect.

I'm New At This Whole Blogging Thing...

...and I'm asking your help.  Why oh why can't I get the cute little buttons that people having on their link party sites to post on mine?  It comes out like this: <a border="0" href="http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i158.photobucket.com/albums/t99/tonihammersley/BFOLprojectbutton.jpg" /></a>

Grrrrrr.....I wish I could figure this out.  So, sorry that I haven't put any cute buttons up on my site yet, but I'm still learning.

Game: What is it??

As I've mentioned before Hubby's a chef.  With him being a chef comes all these kitchen gadgets that I have no idea what they do or are used for.  Here's a little beauty I found today.

There are 6 little holes on the end.  They are sharp circles, but the tip of the instrument is not sharp.  The black handle is solid and it does not come off.

I know some of you out there are more kitchen savvy than I am.  Any guesses as to what this thing does?  The winner gets the knowledge that they knew something that I didn't.  :)

My Pantry...or Lack there Of...

Those of you that live in small spaces, like I do, will understand where I'm coming from.  My kitchen is small.  I'm talking postage stamp size galley kitchen where only 1 person at a time can be in there.  With a small kitchen comes lack of cabinet space and almost no counter space.  Today I thought I'd share my solution to not having a pantry.  Actually, I created my own of sorts.  Here's what I have in the kitchen for my canned goods.

Small, no?  The cans are lined up by kind and each row can hold 8 cans.  On the bottom shelf all the way to the right are different kinds of beans (which we mostly end up using for craft projects).  On the middle shelf I have mac and cheese (for the rare occasion we have a babysitter), popcorn, peanut butter and in the plastic containers are fruit snacks and nutrigrain bars. On the top shelf I have oatmeal, tuna, different types of noodles and a few odds and ends of food stuffs.

One day whilst garagesaleing last summer I thought to my self, "self, there has to be a better way.  There has to be some way that I can neatly organize the rest of our food stuffs.  A way that I can stock up on certain items when they become on sale at the grocery store."  That's when I ran into this beauty for a whopping $3 one sunny Thursday.  It's clearly a shelf from Target.  So, now in addition to the above cupboard I have this.

It quietly sits in the corner of my kitchen holding all the back stock (a word from my working in retail days) products.  On the bottom shelf I have my toaster, which we rarely use, rarely as in maybe 6 times a year total and that's for pop-tarts only, play-dough stuffs and cereal.  On the middle shelf we have my back stock of Diet Coke (cause lemme tell you it's a bad day for the entire family when I'm out of Diet Coke), more peanut butter, more cereal and apple sauce.  On the top shelf I have back stock of the things that have been on sale, but aren't going to go bad in a hurry like Rice-a-Roni, Pasta Roni, fruit cups, more noodles and yep, you see it, more cereal.  All the way to the left on the top shelf are Jack's homeschooling workbooks.

So, there you have it.  My solution to having no pantry and very little cupboard space.  Now, would anyone like some Cheerio's?  Apparently I have 3 boxes...

This post has been linked up to:
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Organize and Decorate Everything

Digital Clean Up

I've been busy cleaning lately, cleaning up my digital world that is.  That blurry pic of my kiddo's doing "something"? Gone.  The amazing 24 piece puzzle pic that my 2 year old was so proud of doing all by herself for the first time?  Gone.  And the list goes on and on.  All in all I deleted 124 pics off my Cell Phone SD card and  259 pics off my digital camera SD card.

And here's the big one....drum roll please....693 email deleted from just ONE of my two email accounts.  Need proof?

Whew!  I definitely need to go through my email more often!

This post has been linked up to:
Organize and Decorate Everything

I Now Have A Visitor Counter!

If you've scrolled all the way down to the bottom of my page you may notice a change.  I now have a visitor counter!  Yay!!  I'm joining the big leagues now baby.  :)

I got my free counter from this web site.  There are many counters to choose from so if you're looking for a counter for your blog I suggest heading over to Free Counters and check out their selection.

I can't wait to see how many visits I get and how fast (or slow) they add up.

C.O.R.N Night

Wednesday nights are C.O.R.N night at my house.  What is C.O.R.N. you ask, well lemme tell you.  It's Clean Out the Refrigerator Night.  Every Wednesday night we have leftovers for supper.  Whatevers left over after we eat the leftovers gets tossed.  That way I make sure we actually eat our leftovers and I know exactly how long the leftovers have aged.

Since C.O.R.N night is Wednesday I usually make batches of food that I am intentionally wanting leftovers from on Thursday nights.  That way we can grab and go all week or just have it the following Wednesday.

What do you do with your leftovers?  Do you even save leftovers?  Do you have a C.O.R.N. night at your house?

No pics, because do you really want to see the inside of my refrigerator? :)

Linen Closet

I finally got around to doing something about my linen closet.  It's not perfect, but it's much better.  To refresh your memory it used to look like this:

First I took EVERYTHING out of the closet.  Darn it was a ton of stuff.  Don't believe me?  Check out the amount of towels alone.

They are really deep shelves and things were getting lost towards the back.  Here's the space I have to work with:

Finally I evaluated and elimated a lot of towels.  We had (and still have) way more towels then we can use in a week, but here's the final look.

I separated out the wash clothes, hand towels, bath towels and pool towels.  Much easier to reach and grab exactly which towel I'm looking for, no?  Oh, and I tried the rolled towel look for all my towels.....it just didn't work, so I rolled a few.  What do you think?  What does your linen closet look like?