Shameful Plug

I am crossing over from being an E-bay shopping addict to the selling side. I have posted my first item: Cool Cats Outfit. By the way, I did not start sewing. I got my mom to make this & agree to do one more for my E-bay debut. I promise not to pester you all in the future with my items, but this is my first... Plus, I haven't posted pictures of Lexi in a while (cheap trick to make you click on the link). Any advice from you E-bay experts would be great.

Becoming K-Smart

For household items, I usually shop at Target. Out of the three main places for this kind of shopping (Target, Wal-Mart & K-mart), I consider Target to be the more pleasant experience. Wal-Mart isn't bad, but there are no conveniently located ones in Miami. Of course at the bottom of the list is K-mart. I pretty much detest that place. I am completely convinced that the Miami stores actually go out of their way to hire employees that don't care, like messes, move slower than turtles, like to argue, and basically try to make the shopping experience a pain. As you would guess, I avoid them. I probably go once a year when I am looking for a particular item that I didn't find anywhere else (like a certain colored towel from their Martha Stewart collection).

Yesterday for some reason, I decided I should go there during my lunch break. There is one near my office. (Sorry, this isnt one of those posts where I have a witty story about how bad it was.) Actually, I was pleasantly surprised. They must have changed their recruiting strategy. The employees were actually helpful. I also stopped in their baby section to buy diapers & stuff and noticed that they had cute clothes. Yes, I buy cheap clothes for Lexi to wear to daycare. They come back messed up anyway and she gets nice ones for the weekend.

I guess my point is that next time I think about going to the old K-mart, I will not be dreading it. It didn't work its way to the top of the list though.

Extreme Multitasking

When life gets so hectic, I find myself trying to cram in the fun and quality time with the fam. My last priority becomes housework, cooking, and basically putting things in order. When those slip for a little while, my life really feels like it is spinning out of control. I turn to comfort foods for sugar rushes, but it does nothing for exhaustion. This morning, I woke up more tired than I was when I collapsed into bed last night. I think I could sleep for a week or until Lexi starts her silly morning jabbering.

Laughing All Day

I am one of those people that find most things hilarious. My sense of humor comes from a mixture of people including my mom, who prefers light hearted upbeat types of humor; my father, who had a very dry sense of humor; and my 3 brothers, who also appreciate the Jr high grossness. Mixing all that together means life is pretty funny.

Last night, I watched part of Dane Cook’s Vicious Cirle (stand-up on HBO) and began laughing. Suddenly, I realized that I haven’t really laughed in a while. Perhaps, I have been taking life a bit too seriously. There is no reason to let things get to me.

On this Friday, I vow to laugh a lot. There are a million crazy people and things that definitely dersve a laugh. So, we should all LOL all day.

Full Blown MOM

Today, I did something that I probably would not have done if I was not a mom. I had to run an errand during lunch, so I ended up taking a late lunch. On the way back, I was driving next to/behind a school bus. Suddenly, the kids (Jr high aged) threw a sack out the window. It didn't hit my car, but I saw them all laughing and two things went through my mind:

1. YOU little Brats!
2. You could have caused a wreck

I caught the eye of a little blonde girl in the backseat. She was laughing with the rest of them, so I gave her the dirtiest Mom scolding look EVER! Then I decided that it wasn't enough. I picked up my cell phone & while she watched, I called the number on the side of the bus. I reported the bus number and location. The operator said she would contact the driver.

I realize that this matter is about more than just being a Mom for me. In the last week, I have seen blatant dirty politics. It has made me sick. I keep wondering when these people started selling their souls. Were they raised like this or did their morals get derailed somewhere along the way? I understand that all kids do things. You can bet I did BAD things while riding the bus, but when things are NOT ok, it should be pointed out. Therefore, I am just the mom to do it.

Show Your Green Support

Being raised by an Irish mother, means that St. Patrick's Day is always a big deal. Growing up, I always made sure to wear green pajamas to bed on March 16th. If I had forgotten, I would surely get pinched by my parents and brothers the next morning. My mom usually had us fend for ourselves for breakfast, but not on St Pat's. It was all about green pancakes, green eggs, and just about anything else she could put food coloring in.

It is fair to say that the greenness, shamrocks, and lucky leprechauns of the holiday were ingrained in me. In fact, I assumed that most people made a big deal of this holiday throughout the US. That was until I moved to Miami. Maybe it is the blonde in me or the Irish girl full of faith in those around her, but every year I am disappointed by their lack of festivities on St. Patrick's Day. Sure, Miami is full of people always wanting to celebrate and certainly the Irish pubs will be packed, but it isn't the goofy holiday kind of fun.

Tomorrow, you can bet that Lexi, Steve (yes I'll force it), and me will proudly wear our green clothes and eating green food. Happy St Patrick's day to EVERYONE! Those of you in Miami, please wear green for me... Besides, who couldn't use a little luck of the Irish?

Mom & Pop Places

As the world becomes more about international chains and less about local owned restaurants, hotels, boutiques, etc., unique specialties disappear. It is sad see that part of cultures disappearing. When we travel (especially within the US), it is no longer about experiencing the local flair, but rather all the familiar businesses we are use to. I can’t help feeling the loss of the little entrepreneurs of the past.

I believe it is extremely important to support small companies and talented people. Recently, I have come to realize that the entrepreneurs haven't vanished all together, they have just turned to Ebay. From the items I am interested in, I am guessing there are numerous stay-at-home moms or single moms supplementing their household incomes (or perhaps making a killing) off of the internet. I think it is absolutely fabulous.

I know that Ebay is an entire site full of amazing stuff, but my main interest is custom made clothes for girls. There are so many adorable outfits, costumes, bows, socks, shoes, and just about anything you can imagine. I have to admit that I am hooked. I would much rather pay for something unique. Plus, I like to think I am helping someone out, like my husband’s cousin, a.k.a. the Crazy Bow Lady.

SOBE Fire

We spent most of Sunday enjoying the sun at the beach and taking a LONG walk along the beach. On the way back, our feet were killing us and all we could think of was crashing on the couch. Things suddenly changed when we were almost home. That is when we noticed several fire trucks and stopped to see what was up. Yes, we were those annoying spectators at the scene. No - this is NOT our building.

This is a dilapidated building that rents rooms by the month (possibly by the week too) and always has interesting characters coming in and out of it. One of the more normal residents crossed the street to give us the inside scoop/gossip. Apparently, the room that smoke was barreling out of belongs to a mentally ill girl from Poland. She had recently been hanging around a crack-head, who got kicked out the building yesterday. We didn't see the girl, but the crack-head was pointed out to us. He was walking around in a fog, while talking on the phone. He should have been running away. We headed home right after finding out who the creep was. Later, we saw the police pull up and throw him in the car along with a bunch of baggies.

-Fun times in SOBE.

Missing This

Thank you for all your wonderful comments. I have to admit that I am really missing the blogging world. I have peaked in a few times, but plan to devote some time to catching up on blogs tomorrow. TGIF!

This has been an expensive week for us. First, I ordered a new super duper computer from Dell. I happen to use a lot of graphic programs and my current computer just isn't keeping up. I'm excited to set it up tomorrow and get cracking.

Secondly (and really much more expensively), we went in with my brother on buying a house in Montana. It is a cute little 3/2 than needs a new roof and some cosmetic work. He is going to fix it up and flip it. We hope to have it on the market by Spring thaw, when the Californian's flood the real estate market in their quaint little town.

Anyway, I only have time for a very quick update. I’ll try harder tomorrow. HAPPY FRIDAY!

Taking a Big Step Back

Life has been a bit crazy and I have so many things that I want/need to be doing. The only logical choice is to take a step back from a few things. After analyzing my time and priorities, I have realized that I need to take a step back from blogging and the blog world. I'll sadly only be checking and updating about once a week for the next few months. Since this is not normal for me (yes- I am an admitted blogaholic), I just wanted to let you all know that I'm ok, just busy. I will, however, make an effort to ditch the Valentines theme soon.