Remember the "F" Word project?

Yeah, well, fuck that.

My feet are FUCKING KILLING ME! People ~ I have blisters on the bottom of each pinkie toe for craps' sake!

Ugh.

I am now on the hunt for CUTE yet COMFY shoes to wear to work. I'm on my feet 8-9 hours a day and need relief!

*pouts*




On a different note, here is a photo from Friday's visit to Amanda's grave. We bought a bouquet of white roses, then each of us put one single rose on her grave. The rest of the roses are upstairs in my kitchen ~ our little "connection" to Amanda, if you will.




~ xoxo ~

A Bittersweet Birthday

My stepchildren are 15 years old today. We are going to visit my stepdaughter's gravesite later this afternoon and then take her twin brother out for his birthday dinner. This is her second birthday in heaven.

Bitter. Sweet. Bittersweet.

Happy Birthday ~T~. Only one more year and you will be driving!!

Happy Birthday Manders. We miss you more than words can say.

See what I mean by bittersweet?


~ xoxo ~

I risked stepping on a hypodermic needle

but it was soooooooooooo fucking worth it!

You may have seen me mention that I was going to the Staind concert last night.

Well, I went.

And it rocked.

It kicked complete and total ASS my friends. Oh yes, it did.


Daughtry was the opening band.
Staind followed.
Then Nickelback.

We had floor tickets and it was quite humorous to see the different crowds conglomerate for each band. I'm going on two hours of sleep here so forgive my shitty recap. You only need to know three things:

~ Staind KILLED it, even with the shitcan acoustics of the arena we were at (Target Center in Minneapolis). They opened with Falling and then played some of their big hits like Fade, It's Been Awhile, So Far Away, Right Here, Outside, King of Excuses and closed with Mudshovel.

~ Chris Daughtry just may have a new fan in his collection. He obviously LOVES performing and it shows. Loved his sweaty bald head too. Saw a lot of homemade tshirts that said something along the lines of "America may have voted but you are still #1 to me!" All together now ~ "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww".

~ Nickelback definitely can put on a show. I left after the 3rd song because I had to work at the ungodly hour of 3:30am this morning. The three songs I did see ("Animal", "Photograph" and some other song) were entertaining as hell. Great pyro, great energy.

This is where the hypodermic needle comes in. My feet were CRYING by the time I left. Literally crying. I looked like an akward teenage girl trying to walk in high heels for the first time as I made my way out of the show (or Amy Winehouse trying to walk a straight line but I digress...) As soon as I got in to the skyway, I took off my shoes and walked barefoot the 2-3 blocks to my car. I was so nervous that I would get mugged, murdered or step on a used heroin needle. Thankfully they keep the skways pretty nice and have emergency buttons throughout the skyway system. My feet are screaming at me today but damn ~ it was well worth the pain to see the show AND have cute shoes!

Now for the fun stuff...


PICTURES!!!




Mister Hunzer and I before I left for the show. He didn't go with me this time around. I went with my little brother's girlfriend and some of her friends. It was fun to hang out with her as we rarely get to do that. Thanks for the invite Slush!


Bad pose. WTF was I thinking? Oh well. I will take the bad pose because I got to MEET STAIND! They autographed a photo AND my cell phone. LOVE it! (This photo has me counting down the days to my FUPA removal and breast reduction...BARF)

Little bit o'Daughtry for my Hero.


Sing it Aaron!
I could listen to him sing forever.


Nickelback as they take the stage.
Chad.

Another view right before I got the fuck outta there.

That's the update for now. I'm pooped. It's 2pm and I want to go to bed. You know what? I just might do that. I have the day off tomorrow so I plan to catch up on some MUCH needed beauty sleep.

I do have videos from the show but have to find the good ones first. Enjoy your day!!

~ xoxo ~

Mama got a new pair of shoes!

Check these beauties out ~ I bought these yesterday for the STAIND concert on MONDAY NIGHT. They are the perfect accessory to my outfit. Red is the color baby!!




I can't decide what I want to do today. Part of me wants to veg on the couch and read Harry Potter (I pre-ordered it on Amazon so I didn't have to go anywhere to get it yesterday). Part of me wants to run up to the scrapbook store and get some new product to play with. Another part of me wants to head over to the yarn store and get some new yarn. Most of me wants to go back to bed because I have to work at 3am tomorrow.

*yawn*

~ xoxo ~

I took a 17 hour nap.

Now I am TOTALLY refreshed! Apparently working the 4am shift kicks my ass. Mister Hunzer woke me up at 9am today saying "Honey, you have been sleeping for 17 hours. It's time to get up."

Fuck off man.

I got up, hung with the chirrins, listened to all of the husband's fishing stories from the past five days, and then checked my email.

My Bag-Makin' Bitch sent me a You Tube video via email and said "I know you'll love this."

She knows me ALL too well. Love you girlie!!

If you like Adam Sandler and his crazy ass musical talents, you will LOVE this. I find it ironic that just yesterday I touched on this topic regarding Carlton. Funny how life works out like that!




Shhhhhh...don't tell!

~ xoxo ~

It's BEA ARTHUR FRIDAY!!

I started my new job this week. My husband was out of the country all week. I didn't get more than 4 hours of sleep each night. I started work at 4am on Wednesday and Thursday. I started at 3:30am today. Because of all this, I am way too fucking tired to come up with interesting shit to write about so I'm going to the next best thing...

Bea Arthur.

But WAIT! It's not just BEA ~ it's Mrs. Garrett, Nell Carter, CARLTON, Punky Brewster and MORE!



Enjoy my friends. It warms my heart to know that Alfonso Ribeiro was on television before he started to bust a move as Carlton. Look at how young he is! I bet there are ZERO pubes down those trousers!

~ xoxo ~

PS...THREE MORE DAYS!! Whatever shall I wear?? Any ideas? I'm shopping on Sunday for the perfect outfit for Monday's concert and moment with Aaron.

Goodbye.

A few months ago, I spoke of a friend who was battling cancer.

Tracey passed away yesterday afternoon with her family by her side. She has been fighting breast cancer for three years and damn did she fight it! The cancer started to fight back and for some unknown reason, defeated her. It took her away from her husband and her four children.

There is one more heartbroken husband in this world because of fucking cancer.

There are four more motherless children in this world because of fucking cancer.

There is another set of devasted parents in this world because of fucking cancer.

There are hundreds of loving family members and friends who are in mourning because of fucking cancer.

See the Charity of the Month badge over on the side of my blog? Go clicky on it and make a small donation in memory of Tracey...or in memory of someone you lost to cancer...or in honor of someone you know who has kicked cancer's ASS...or in honor of someone who know who is defeating cancer...or just because you know we NEED to find a cure.

Goodbye Tracey. Goodbye.

~ xoxo ~

Things I like at this moment:

Leinie's Sunset Wheat and Leinie's Summer Shandy.
"It's so good! Once it hits your lips...it's so good!"
(Not together though...the lips don't like that)




Ravelry.com
If you knit, it's the shit.
If you crochet, it's still the shit.


Rock of Love
Bret Michaels wants to find love...and get a ton of pussy in the process.
I caught this on VH1 last night. Holy hell ~ There are some wicked trainwrecks on that show!
I think one or two of the chicks he kept had an adam's apple...
It sucks you in like Britney's vaginal vortex only you don't get a raging case of the K-Fed Klap.


Family
My uncle got married over the weekend so I was able to spend some time with my Momties. One flew in from Tejas, another from Alabam-bam and another from Massachushits.
The fourth one lives here and doesn't get a shout-out. *wink*
When my Mom is around her sisters, she's always so happy. I love that. :) I have the BEST photo of two of my Aunts taken by my cousin with his Digi Rebel and fisheye lens. I was explaining what a FUPA was and he snapped a photo of their reactions. It's fucking HILARIOUS but I won't share it here as I'm pretty sure they would kick my ass.
My uncle was BEYOND happy and it was the cutest thing. I don't know his wife very well but from what I hear, they are made for each other. Congratulations!


Staind
Not sure if I've mentioned this but I'm going to their concert in SEVEN EFFIN' DAYS!
Just wanted to, ah, point that out.


Postscript ~ HOLY EFFIN' SHIT! I just found out that I won Meet-and-Greet passes for STAIND on Monday night!! YEEAHHHH!!!! I'm gonna piss myself from excitement!!

Alli ~ a new diet pill
I like this except after I eat a donut. Then it's on like donkey kong.



Coke
I tried doing the Diet Coke thing, the Coke Zero thing but I keep coming back to regular coke. That's some good stuff right there. Especially from a fountain with small bits of ice or from a can at room temp.





~ xoxo ~

TEN DAYS

TEN MORE DAYS!!

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

~ xoxo ~

{ Random }

I start work today. EEEK! It's only a 4 hour orientation but I get paid for it. Real money. In the form of a REAL paycheck. Whoa.

**********

I'm getting sick and tired of eating the same old shit every day due to Weight Watchers. However, when I step on that scale on Monday afternoons, it makes the boring ass food worth it! I lost 1.4 pounds at my weigh-in on Monday. That brings my total to 8.4 pounds. It's a slow-go but the bottom line is that I'm losing. I hope to cross that 10 pound mark at my next weigh-in. Then I only have seven pounds to lose for my next "goal". I put my goals in baby steps versus one big goal at the end as I tend to stay more motivated that way.

**********

I recently finished listening to the "Nineteen Minutes" audiobook by Jodi Piccoult.

Wow.

It has a very powerful message. I had to stop listening to it at night, before bed, because it would mess with my brain a bit. Good book. Awesome author. I highly recommend her books if you haven't read any of them yet (My Sister's Keeper anyone?)

**********

The Baby Boy Child has learned a new trick...



I could watch him all day with his antics! My neighbor had a baby girl one week ago. When I hold her, I forget how little babies are when they are fresh from the ovarian oven. She weighed 7 lbs, 10oz when she was born. When I brought the Baby Boy Child home from the hospital, he weighed 5 lbs 9 oz. I keep thinking how tiny my neighbor's baby is but she is quick to remind me how much smaller the BBC was when he came home. I think I'll do a photo comparison to refresh my brain.

7-10 Days Old




9 1/2 Months Old (taken two days ago)




Have a fantastical Thursday!

~ xoxo ~

I Rock.

The Real Roxann has bestowed upon me the following award...



Thank you girlie!

It is now my duty to send the award on to five MORE Rockin' Bloggers. Without further adieu, I give you...

She Eats Crayons

Damknit

Primrose Design

GMD ~ Gina Miller Designs

Down with the Knitty Gritty

And a sixth one to my soul sista, who I will not link but who knows who she is.

~ xoxo ~

Hot weather turns me in to a hermit.

Yuck. I realize we aren't in the triple digits like the western USA and I thank Mother Nature PROFUSELY for that...but anything over 80 degrees grosses me out. Mister Hunzer took the Teen, Thing 1 and Thing 2 up to the cabin today. They've been swimming, fishing, boating ~ all the stuff you do while on the lake.

I chose to stay home with the Baby Boy Child. I figured I would be in the cabin all day anyways enjoying the A/C so I may as well stay home.

BBC and I went on a little Target run for some necessities and some not-so-necessities.

I added a few books to my nightstand:









(I bought that last book a few days ago but wanted to share. I am, afterall, a second wife.)


Since we are no longer moving, I am in the process of revamping our current digs. We had cleared a lot of crap out back in February in order to put the house on the market and I am sick and tired of empty walls! I've been buying things here and there to add spice to our house. I bought some faux orchids to put in an empty cutout in our kitchen/hallway area.

I bought a print of my all-time favorite photo to hang in our bedroom. I just need to frame it.



I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend. My Saturday night consists of laundry, laundry and more laundry. Don't be jealous.

~ xoxo ~

PS...I've only dropped the f-bomb TWICE in the last three days and caught myself both times.

I'm gonna wash that WORD right outta my hair!

I decided to do a little "test" on myself and see if I can refrain from using the F-Bomb in my everday language for a week.

One fucking week.



It starts NOW.

And it is only the real F-Bomb.

Freaking, friggin'
and flingin' flangin' still count.

Before I go, I must share this video of the Baby Boy child trying his damndest to crawl. He is seriously the HAPPIEST baby ever. He is constantly laughing, smiling, babbling, cooing and whatever else it is that baby's do on a daily, minutely basis.

Is "minutely" even a word? Minute-by-minute? Whatevs.

He rarely cries and makes me smile ear-to-ear all day, every day. I love this guy...my nine-month-old surprise!





~ xoxo ~

4th of July and Tom Jones...

Could life BE any cooler? *smiles abound!*

Today was lazy. Lazy...lazy...LAY-ZEE.

I slept in until 11am.
Mister Hunzer brought the Baby Boy Child in our room for a bottle and a nap right when I woke up.
I fed the Baby Boy Child and we both fell asleep.
Woke up at 1pm to Thing 2 yelling "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOM ~ Can I have a cookie?"
After hemming and hawing, I decided to share my Lofthouse sugar cookies.
Fucking Lofthouse cookies.
I got my ass out of bed and threw a pork loin in the crock with some BBQ sauce.
Went outside.
Vegged with neighbors.
Watched the kids play with the neighbor's kids.
Drank beer (Leinie's Summer Shandy is DELICIOUS...do try it!)
Inlaws came over.
Had some BBQ pork sammies, a potato dish and some taco dip.
Lit off a bunch of (wussy) fireworks.

I finished the night dancing to Tom Jones with my neighbor...




I hope you enjoyed your fourth as well!!

~ xoxo ~

{ Missing Manders }

Random. Totally random.

"Sloe Gin Fizzy, do it 'till you're dizzy..."

I am scrapping tonight. The scrapping bug bit me over the weekend and I've been working on layouts here and there. They all center around Amanda. They are HAPPY layouts though...I can't do the sad ones yet.

I am working on right now which required a break so the white acrylic paint could dry. The title is "Angel".

Seeing that word on the page got me singing "Angel" by Aerosmith.

I promptly headed over to iTunes and downloaded the "Big Ones" album because once I saw the list of songs on the album, I had to have it. Plus it's fucking impossible to download just ONE song on iTunes. (I own the CD too...it's just packed away somewhere and for $7.99 I would rather just download it!)

I didn't stop there.

I was looking at recommended albums and came across one called "Power Ballads". Holy Shit was that playlist a blast from the past!

I ended up downloading REO Speedwagon's The Hits. I have flash-backed to my 17-year-old self daydreaming of my then-boyfriend and our song "In My Dreams".

Fucking WEIRD. And a little creepy. He liked strippers. A little too much.

Back to scrapping...

My mojo is a little rusty but I needed to use bright, happy colors when scrapping Amanda. In spite of everything this girl had gone through, she continued to smile and be strong. Her smile could erase any bad day immediately.

Dammit. I miss her.



~ xoxo ~

{ Shocking! }

How about your blog?
(I stole this from Bending Peak)

~ xoxo ~


PS ~ If you watched Knitty Gritty today, you are now aware that I have a man voice. I am *so* proud. GAG

PPS ~ If you look over to the right, you will see the new Charity of the Month. C'mon, donate ten bucks and make yourself feel good!

Set your TiVo, your DVR, your VCR, whatever it is you use.

I'm gonna be on the TEE VEE! *wink*

Remember my little trip to Burbank, CA last winter? I went out there to tape an episode of Knitty Gritty as a "Knitster". The other two knitsters and I sat in the background, chatted and did some knitting during the entire show.

Well, our episode is FINALLY airing!! It will be on HGTV on Monday July 2nd at 7am ET. Here are the deets...

Knitty Gritty
Episode DKNG-707

Rockin' Regal Cuffs

Tricia Waddell, editorial director of books at Interweave Press, knits up some cool lace cuffs that are reminiscent of the Victorian era, and now have been co-opted by the counter culture punk rock-set as "The look" paired with a beautiful velvet jacket. Lace stitches are often daunting but this six-stitch, two-row repeat is the perfect project for venturing into the world of lace knitting for the first time. Tricia then shows us how to knit a lace skirt ruffle, a bit more intensive, using a twelve-row lace pattern.


Here is a crappy polaroid picture taken after the taping of this episode was done.



From left to right: Knitster Etta, Knitster Liz, the show's hostess Vicki Howell and yours truly. I went to California for this taping in early December and said it was a kickoff to celebrate my 30th birthday (which wasn't for another 2-3 months). The show surprised me with a birthday cake when we were done. SO SWEET!!

~ xoxo ~