Blog Fogg

Bend and Stretch

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 06:55:00 +0000

I've had back problems for a number of years now. Because of my age, I sometimes worry that there is a larger problem that I'm not aware of. Other times I know that it could be a lack of exercise that could be the largest source of the problem. I won't know until I go to a chiropractor if something is seriously wrong with me, but I'm hoping that it won't be bad enough to need spinal surgery somewhere down the road. I think the best thing that I can do right now is to try to fit in stretching and exercise each day.

Time as a Family

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 20:44:00 +0000

Thanks for the guest post by Kristofer Bartlett

We spend a lot of time at home as a family but now that my kids are getting older they’ve been asking me more and more if they can watch TV. I didn’t really want them watching a lot of it as they were kids because I wasn’t sure how it would affect their development but now that they’re older I’m considering getting direct tv so they can get their shows. If we’re being perfectly honest, I’d also like to get some of the ones I’ve been dying to see, too! I keep hearing about these Housewives shows and also Millionaire Matchmaker – I’m going to check them both out just to see what all the fuss is about. I’ve never been all that into technology and I sit in front of a computer screen all day anyway so I’m not really sure it’s worth my time but you know, at the end of the day I could use something to help me relax. And maybe the kids and I will watch some stuff together!

My Uncle, the Collector.

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:40:00 +0000

My uncle is pretty funny, he's started his own meme on Facebook. Every Friday he posts something related to his guitars, whether it's a picture of one of his many or something else music related. Music has been his life and it still is. He was really smart and at the high points of his career, he invested in buying quite a large number of acoustic and electric guitars. Unfortunately, he's had to sell a few during the rough spots, but the good thing for him is that they still held close to their value and he got his money back and then some. Definitely a smart move.

School Fads

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:36:00 +0000

I remember when I was in school, there were always all sorts of trends going around and you just weren't cool if you didn't have it too. Even though our girls go to different schools, one things to remain in common, supposedly everyone is wearing a number of ball chain necklaces in different colors.I'm not sure how this one started or why it is, but it is and now our girls want them too, of course. Considering they just are starting school, I almost want to make a scrapbook on the trends they hound us for alone, it would definitely be interesting to look back on lol.

Still Thinking

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:12:00 +0000

During the time where I was sure I was going to open my own business, I was looking for all sorts of things that would help keep me organized and on track. I had found a salesforce reporting software that looked really good, but I wasn't sure if I was going to use that or a more common form of POS. I'd still really like to do something of my own one day but I'm still not really sure what my favored niche is yet. I'll just have to keep exploring my options and strengths.

Super Sleepy

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:09:00 +0000

My sleep has been totally whacky lately and I can't ever seem to get myself to stay fully awake. I know the cause is because I'm pregnant but it just doesn't seem to want to let up. At least most of my nausea has passed with the help of vitamins and I'm hoping the symptoms won't be nearly as bad as my last pregnancy. If only I could stop feeling like I'm in a constantly comatose state.

Lesson Learned

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:29:00 +0000

So, what I learned this last Christmas...finding gifts for girls is a lot easier said than done, especially when they're so close in age. We had a pretty difficult time trying to figure out what to get the girls this year and decided to go ahead and let them choose what they wanted on their lists from the internet. Of course it ended up that they kept choosing the same things and despite our hesitancy, we still gave them pretty much the same gifts to avoid hearing the "I want what she got" whining. Eventually that will have to come, but we thought we would ease us all into that one LOL.

To Each His Own

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:25:00 +0000

My BF and I do things quite differently and it's funny when something comes up. Both of us end up staring at the other as if they were from a different planet and we just laugh. One example would be how we assemble furniture. I can't watch him do it at all because his methods are way off from mine, but he'll laugh at me because I always end up leaving the casters off of things because I don't want things sliding around. What I love the most is that, despite our methodology, we still can work together without arguing and get things accomplished, now that's teamwork!

Don't forget the Christmas cookies!

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 23:01:00 +0000

Guest post written by Rita Clarkson

There's always something that I like to have handy around the holidays in case we have company coming over and that's some Christmas cookies. I really love baking and eating Christmas cookies. My whole family is the same way. But I think that the part I love most about having them around the house is the ability to just pull them out at any time. Plus, you don't have to heat them up in case someone drops by unexpectedly, which seems to happen a lot to us around the holidays in our household.

It also doesn't hurt to find a new cookie recipe or two to try out. A batch of cookies isn't a huge commitment or anything. While I was online looking up a new recipe a few weeks ago, I ran across soem info on Miracle Ear. After I looked through it a little bit I decided to go and get fitted with some hearing aids like I've suspected I should get for a while now.

I have found a few new recipes this year that I've loved fixing. One of those is a pretty simple walnut and chocolate chip cookie. But you wouldn't believe just how great these cookies are! I'll have to fix these around other times of the year too!

Winter Warming

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 04:31:00 +0000

Winter is upon us and the temps are really dropping. It's interesting to me that there is such a similarity some days between Kansas and California. The wardrobe is quite different between the two though. Just about everyone in California wears North Face apparel and one could easily get lost amongst the crowd if they're wearing north face jackets. I had found one that I loved years ago and wasn't able to pick it up at the time, but my monkey-thumb hoodie works just as well. Even DD loves her sweaters and gear!

Aging with Adventure

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:15:00 +0000

I have a friend who lives in one of the Carolinas who totally amazes me. He has a form of a degenerative disease that's really been taking a toll on his body but yet he's out doing everything he possibly can. Most recently he flew a plane, skydiving is next on his list. I always had assumed he was on disability knowing what I do about his condition but it turns out he never has been. He's owned a number of small businesses and when that doesn't make ends meet he's gone out for jobs. He's lucky in that he and his wife are able to worry less about the house because they hired a durham maid service and have much more free time on their hands now. How wonderful that must be!

Stages

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 08:10:00 +0000

I'm finding the people I've come to recently know quite interesting. It seems that my personality has changed over the years and I'm no longer meeting people who are "losers". They all have jobs and have been at them for some time (although they may not care for them) and are responsible. I laugh sometimes just at that, but more at the fact that most of the males I know now aren't nearly the types I used to associate with. One of my close friends is sending me a late Christmas gift, a therapeutic hot/cold bag. And not just ANY bag, one he sewed himself! Just the other day I found out that my BF liked to cross stitch when he was younger too. Maybe we're finally at that age where sharing these things isn't as embarrassing as was before, who knows, but all the same, I'm loving every minute with them.

Mainstays

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 06:40:00 +0000

Back home most all of the houses are quite old and you can see the different eras they went though just by looking at the exterior. Many of them have things added on that were related to the sign of the time, the main one being those big funky outdoor tv antennas. Not that they didn't come in handy, I never realized that the reception in that area wasn't all that great and many of us still used them until the digital change over. Even after that, those antennas came into use again. It will be interesting to see where the future takes us.

Ahh! New house!!

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:41:00 +0000

Guest written by our friend Mason Abbott

We finally closed on our new house last week! It’s so exciting! The house is so cute and it took us forever to find it (because we are awfully particular). The first thing we did was get an alarm system installed. The neighborhood is actually quite nice; we talked to some of the neighbors before we made an offer to discreetly ask about the crime rate in the area and the general consensus was that it was pretty low but I’m so paranoid, I insisted we get one and said we couldn’t move in until it was installed. In our usual sharing-the-load fashion, I did all the research at homesecurityfamily.com and made my husband do all the communication. We’re a really good team like that. It was installed a few days ago (we used the in-between time to work on painting and some minor repairs) so at last we are ready to start moving in! I usually have a hard time sleeping in new places - weird noises and things like that, you know - but I bet that security system is going to help me sleep like a dream. Thank goodness for technology, because honestly, my dogs are wusses and would probably be hiding under the bed with me instead of scaring off intruders.

Digging Up Dirt

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:45:00 +0000

Our landlord wants to dig up our yard and put in a sprinkler system. That would be good if he could make it happen before everything freezes over. The drawback for us is that the kids like to play outside a lot, so there will be a lot of cabin fever around here. I expect it will be a lot once the snow comes but I'd like to avoid it until then lol. I think he's waiting on a goulds pump or something, I have no idea, all I know is that I'm happy for it to be taking longer than expected right now lol.

Guy Gifts

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:24:00 +0000

I have quite a few guy friends who work in the construction type industry and I was thinking of getting them some useful gifts this year. I thought an appropriate gift for the ones who work outside would be carhartt jackets to keep them warm. My ex used to have one when he worked in landscaping and not only was it warm, it held up to almost anything he could do to it. I think the guys would appreciate it, especially with the cold winter coming.

Going Away

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 23:55:00 +0000

I've always wanted to see different places. I'm not sure it will ever happen, but boy would it be fun to travel all over. I have a friend who lives in Canada and she said that there were quite a few Calgary rentals available during the off-season, which is when I would be interested in going. I like being able to see things as they normally would be, or as close as I can get.

This summer I was lucky enough to go to Hawaii and it was madness, there were tourists everywhere! All we could really do was follow the flow of people and the only time we really saw anything was when we were away from the crowds and in the car. I can't wait to go back there, but to a lesser known locale :o)

Deal Shopping

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:36:00 +0000

I love a good deal and I've been hunting down as many as I can find while I gear up for the holidays. We are trying to redo my stepdaughter's room, so finding good deals on things to pretty up her room with. I found a great site with lots of coupons and deals. So it's a good thing there were pottery barn coupons at dropdowndeals, her dad can be rather picky lol. I'm still not really sure what to get my DD but I'm sure there are plenty of things out there that she would like.

The Walking Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:21:00 +0000

I'm just getting into this show and I love it! It's really interesting to see the creators' theories of what would happen if there was a zombie apocalypse. The show follows this group of survivors around and right now they are searching for this girl who went missing while they stopped for an rv repair and supplies. Since then people have been risking their lives to try to find her and while I hope they do, but I can't see that it would be too likely she would be alive. I can't wait to see how things play out.

So in Love

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:11:00 +0000

I absolutely love having the guy I do. He always does the little thoughtful things that you wish someone would do for you. Sometimes it can be slightly annoying, like when he'll pause what we're watching every single time I get up, as if I can't miss one single second LOL. He always tries to do something small for me, so he'll often bring me home something just for me from the store. I love having things like this all the time. The trade-off is that there are some of the bigger things that end up missing and that I can struggle with sometimes. But all in all, life is good!

Pigging Out

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 06:34:00 +0000

I've adopted really bad eating habits since I've moved and I know I've gained weight. I think it's mainly because my sleeping schedule has flipped around again and I'm not moving enough to cover the calories I eat. Still, suppressing appetite wouldn't hurt either, I seem to be eating more than normal. On one hand it would be fun if this were because I was pregnant, but on the other I'm not sure that would be so great right at this moment. There never seems to be great timing for such a thing, but right now is a little less than ideal for us lol.

Never Too Old

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 04:34:00 +0000

When I was little my uncle had promised to teach me how to play the guitar. He never did and it's something that I've gone back and forth with over the years, but it was recently that I thought about it again. I started making friends with people who play and have a lot of interest in music and I started to think that it might be something fun to do as a hobby. I thought I might learn some easy songs for the guitar and go from there. I don't expect that I would be fantastic, but you never know until you try I guess.

Geeked Out

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 04:26:00 +0000

It's really interesting to compare the things I grew up with to what is present in my life today. Now that I'm living with a geek, things are incredibly more advanced than back then, even more than when I just moved out here period lol. It makes me laugh when I think about the TVs we used to have, with those rabbit ear indoor antennas. I remember trying to stand there, moving each one while trying to constantly check to ensure the picture was visible. Now we have HDMI and a plethora of other things. Sometimes they are more complicated than they are convenient but it all depends on who's working on it, and that's why I defer them to my BF lol.

Room Redo

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:17:00 +0000

My stepdaughter is seriously lacking in the home decorating/storage area. It was kind of sad when we moved in and she saw all of dd's things going in and up. Since I'm a girl, I'm used to decorating in every way possible for her, even to the colored storage items. We're working on getting the other one up to speed with her now but we have some differences in personal preference. I think the one area we are agreeing on is getting her a few good hickory furniture pieces so that we know they'll be sturdy and last a long time for her. Other than that I think the girls are all winning over Daddy, which we are perfectly okay with lol.

Stress, Again

noreply@blogger.com (Kateedyd) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:14:00 +0000

Money is becoming an issue again, especially with the holidays coming up. I generally can't stand this time of year, but I'm thinking that I may be able to get a grip on things finally. I've got a few jobs lined up and things are looking pretty good. I'm thinking that the only issue is that I may not be able to keep up with the demand of the load I'll be carrying. I've done really well in past years, and have been able to keep going towards the goals I've set. However, this year I've added the cost of plane tickets for three people and another child to buy gifts for. I'm not sure how it's going to play out, but hopefully everything will be as smooth as possible.