Wish Lists

I've been thinking about the power of positive thinking, lately. People who are believers of Karma and energy being cyclical, will understand how powerful this idea can be. My neighbor spoke to me of a book (perhaps The Secret, but I'm not sure) where you're ideas and energy "pushed out" will come back in some form and often more powerful than when/how you sent it out initially. He said that there are people who actually appear to live in luckiness for various things. I thought about it while we talked and then realized that there are things that seem to revolve around me in that way.

Electronics," I told him. "And more recently, airline tickets. I seem to win these types of things all the time."

He said that was how the theory works, but this was a while ago and I hadn't really thought about it again since...until now. What if this isn't just a crock? What if you could really send out the thoughts, ideas, feelings, wishes, hopes and desires of your heart. It could be chanting these ideas...a personal mantra, of sorts. What about just visualizing what you want? I sort of did that in college, when my girlfriend and I were trying to loose weight. My room and suite mates must have thought I was crazy! I had pictures everywhere of clothes I would by and my idea of the size I wanted to be. You know what? I got there. Of course, I worked out and tried to eat right, but I wonder if the visual cues didn't add something as well.

I mentioned on RN_Buffoon's blog in comment, not too long ago, that I was going to begin a list of the things I want. It may be hard because sometimes the things I want are things I want for other people. I suppose it's okay to include that as part of my list...good Karma towards others is still good Karma, right? Some things will be material (even though I'm not a material person) only because I want to add things that may increase the comforts of my life or help to make some aspects of my life less complicated. Understanding that nothing is every perfect and always being a realist, I will use my wish list to imprint positiveness in new ways.

In other news, the lummox leaves in a week. Thank the good Lord for that! He's pretty much stopped doing anything to help around the house, since I'm sure his fifteen year old brain senses he has completely worn out his welcome. Hubby said they had a discussion yesterday morning about his brother at home, who it appears has decided to spend all his hard-earned summer job money on buying a car. He doesn't need one, but he's going to buy one because "girl's don't want a guy without a car." Well, after brother-dear alluded to the fact that coming out here would be better for he and his brother, he gave him "the look". Well, I suppose that was enough for brother-dear to realize that he screwed up that gravy train and he left the house...to think? To pout? To reflect? Who knows. He's not really a "deep thoughts" kind of person, so maybe he just went to the park. I'm so done with all this garbage.

I went to the library, yesterday, and searched for 2nd grade level books for the babe. She was so excited, but struggled a bit with some of the big words in, "The Escape of Marvin the Ape". Exhilarating is a 2nd grade word? What about Helvetica? Perhaps she shouldn't have been so hard on herself not getting them on the first try.

Indy has decided that "No," is an impressive word and should be used often. She has other favorite words like "all gone", "diaper" and "bear". My favorite word to hear from her? "SHOOZ!" (said just like that...too cute!)

This is Why I'm Hot!!

Okay, I know that's one of the most irritating songs in the world, but I thought it worked as a great title for my post. (For those who have never heard the song, take the opportunity to loose a few IQ points and YouTube this sucker. Then, for giggles and kicks, YouTube the parody, This is Why I'm Fat.) I colored my hair with the stuff I posted about a few days ago. The box arrived via snail-mail on Monday afternoon and I was too excited. The color on the box is quite pretty and I couldn't wait for my hair to be this color. I didn't have time that afternoon to do it, but then I messed up and washed my hair Tuesday (you should always wait 24 hours after washing your hair to color it).

Tuesday afternoon, I took a closer look at the box to see if there was a color guide. Low and behold, it said what I feared; since my hair was sort of a burnt red/medium brown, it would only make my hair redder. What?! Not what I wanted at all. So, out of frustration more than curiosity, I began searching the web to find out why you can't have the color on the box. I found my answer. Indeed! You can have the color on the box. My research told me that I needed to "lift" my hair before I colored it to get the color I really wanted.

So, I researched products and saw some names I trusted I also figured out that I could purchase the items from Sally Beauty, which was convenient (there is a location about a mile away from my house). Thankfully, I already had some Pure White Creme Developer (30, although the box suggested 20). One less thing to buy. Here's what I did purchase:

1 2oz (59ml) bottle of Clairol Professional Instant Whip Creme Hair Lightener
2 .05oz packets of Clairol Professional Lightening Activator for 7th Stage, Instant Whip, Ultra Blue & Born Blonde
1 Sally's color mix bottle with slanted tip

I set to work, washing the dishes as the creamy concoction sat on my head. I would check in the mirror every few minutes to see what it was doing. Holy cow! I was red, orange, than yellowy gold then gold. If I'd left it on a bit longer, I believe it would have gone platinum or white. The idea was to "lift" my hair a few levels, in order to make the hair porous enough to receive the new color (a clean palette for the paint, if you will). After the lift (about 30 minutes), I rinsed my hair and dried it off completely. Wow! Every strand of hair was gold. I mixed the color from the Creme of Nature box and applied it to my hair. Almost immediately, I saw my hair absorbing the new color...a pale, dusty gold/blonde. Beautiful!

Jumping in the shower, I added a bit of water to begin the shampooing process and washed the color out. Then, I applied the Creme of Nature shampoo included in the kit and washed my hair again. Finally, I showered while a thick layer of my conditioner (hopefully) restored the moisture I had just zapped from my head. I came out of the shower and wow. What an amazing color!

Hubby was mesmerized...seriously! I can't believe how much he likes it. This morning while I was getting ready, he called and was asking about whether it had faded any or not and, "Why don't you just go ahead an buy up the rest from the eBay store you got it from." He's really digging it! The babe likes it too, and made sure to comment to the daycare lady that, "My mom "blonded" her hair." Not many have arrived to work yet, so no one has really said anything. I wonder if anyone else will be as enchanted?

Harry Potter Mania

Hubby brought me the book home as a gift on Saturday. I'm about a third of the way through it (can't read like I used to...kiddlings, you know).

Saw the movie last night and chased Indy in and out of the theater. What I saw was great! All those kids are not really kids anymore. In fact, there are a couple that exude a bit of "the hotness" now (don't worry, I'm not going for the jailbait). :)

Girl's Weekend Away and Other Incidentals

The weekend away was nice, but not without some serious irritations. I'm a stickler for details and I really appreciate a well organized plan; however, I can "go with the flow" when the time calls for it. This was not one of those times.

We (the invitees) were sent instructions on where to meet(a grocery store parking lot) and at what time (10:00am) on Saturday. The plan would be to caravan to the designated location and then enjoy a day of surf (lake surf) and sun. Well, yours truly was at the designated place fifteen minutes before meeting time. I wanted to be sure I didn't get left. So, I waited...and waited...and waited. I wasn't sure who the hell to look for, much less what end of the parking lot I should have been on. I decided to call the organizers (their numbers were on the card, thankfully...would have been nice if they had called). Voicemail. I left a message with my name, number, car make and model as well as a bodily description. Nothing. At 10:45, I was hightly irritated and done waiting so I was leaving the lot when I got a call. She was already at the lake, but told me where to meet and I promptly turned the car around. The people to meet were in the store shopping and would be out soon to caravan to the lake. The lady who called finished talking to me and called them to tell them I was waiting.

By 11:15, they had finally made it out of the store (what the hell?!) and apologized for missing me and the organization not being so great (you think?). We piled into our cars, then headed for the entrance to the freeway and up the canyon. Unfortunately, I got trapped behind a Cruiser and couldn't change lanes because of a truck on my right and a blazer on my left. I couldn't see the purple Hyundai anymore. By the time I got around, they were gone. Um, do we not know how to caravan?

Highly irritated, I called the organizer back and asked her how to get to the location. I had pretty much had it with the whole "caravan" idea and my need for a girl's day was quickly dwindling. Up the canyon and around the bend till I reached a lodge parking lot (oh, the park required a $9 entry fee for each car. Thanks for letting me know!). Waiting in the lot, I seriously considered turning around again and heading home. The guest of honor arrived with another guest to "pick me up" and take me into the park. My comment to her?

"I must really love you."

The day was hot, but cooled quickly on the lake. We were all on floats tied to a cooler anchored to the bottom. My Jack (Jack Daniels) and coke was just what I needed to take the edge off. My pissy mood dissipated with every sip of my cocktail. I soon engaged in conversation with the other girls (none of whom I knew) and learned that my friend had a mirage of acquaintances. They were generally pleasant, some more rowdy (and drunk off their asses) than others. Later, we sat beach chairs around and ate our lunch. I decided that some of the girls would never be people I would pick as friends, while others were a lot like me. I wondered about my own friend's choices...if these were friends from the past that she just couldn't let go or did she still have a lot in common with them?

The remainder of my time was fairly pleasant, but by 5:00pm, I was ready to go home. Hubby had made arrangements for me to stay over(the second half of the plan; to caravan to her family's cabin), but I declined. Something told me that it probably wouldn't be very fun for me. The drive home was uneventful, but I was happy to see hubby (and my finished deck. Woohoo!) All that's left to do is stain that puppy, weather treat it and buy some deck furniture.

*Turns out the second-half of the plan was a total fiasco! Let's just say, a DUI was involved. Glad I went home.*

My brother-in-law is making me nuts! It was about this time two years ago that I was ready for him to go, too. He's just lying about everything and it's making me crazy! I had some Godiva (expensive) chocolates in my special (lingerie) drawer that hubby and I nibble on slowly through the year. It was a Christmas gift and I decided to break some out last night after Margaritas. Ugh! Every damn bar is gone. There were four left and I was just too put out. It wasn't even about the chocolate so much as that it was a total violation of mine and hubby's privacy (adult toys have been moved around, too. guess I'll be doing some sterilization soon). He was adamant that it wasn't him. Then who the hell was it? My girls have no idea it's in there and they're not smart enough to hide the evidence (wrappers). So trying not to sound too accusing, I insinuated that if he was bringing anyone into our house that they should not be in our room. I also reaffirmed that this stuff hadn't happened until he got there. I'm am so through with him!

Hubby's helping a friend sod his yard tonight and I don't want to deal with the big, fifteen year-old lummox. I think it might be a skating night...and I'll leave his ass at home.

On Permahold

For those who do not exist in cubie-world, permahold is a term many of us use when we're on the phone for, what seems like, an unending amount of time. When this happens, we're usually listening to really bad Muzak or spending the time on hold talking to those around us (or updating our blogs).

My home projects are currently on permahold. For the past few nights, hubby has wanted to cuddle or rest (no complaints from me) but this deck situation will really need to change quick and in a hurry. The poor dog isn't too keen on going through the garage to "do his business." He'd much rather run out of the back door, then quickly come back in. With no steps out back, he'd plummet to near death if he attempted this now.

Hubby's friend comes back Saturday to help him complete the project, but that was under the condition that the flooring be completed. It's not done, yet and I don't think the "friend" wants to spend an entire day at our house again. I know I wouldn't.

Even with 200 pounds on his hefty frame, my brother-in-law is useless for this project; he simply just isn't in good enough shape (despite the basketball and football). The current task requires that he pull the boards as flush against the adjacent boards as possible (one at a time, of course), but he tires out entirely too quickly. If he didn't, hubby would have had this completed a few days ago. He's been waiting on me and, believe it or not, I've been available. By the time I get home, though, his song has changed:

"We'll just wait until tomorrow," or "It's too hot," or "We'll just rest tonight."

So, today, hubby is picking up the remaining wood for the railing and tonight (last chance) we'll get the flooring done. Tomorrow, I'll be journeying to a friend's wedding shower at a lake somewhere up one of our many canyons. I'm happy to be going to see her, but I feel like I'm ditching out on hubby a bit. The idea is that I start trying to do things on my own sometimes. It just so happens to coincide with a big home project. The saving grace for me is that I'll only be gone for the day, not the entire evening which would cut into help/bonding time.

GC asked about my hair, which has grown out a bit with lots of dark roots. I was planning on going a bit brighter in the blondes but have had a hell of a time finding the color I want in this cultural wasteland that is where I live. I called around and the places that carry the kind I want don't have the color I want. I think I will break down (today) and just order it online. It's nice that we have that option, to be sure. Back in the day, the store could order it for you and charge you a fee just for going to the trouble. Eliminate the middle man...that's the way to go. The color to the left is what I'm thinking...champagne blonde (Right now, I'm supposedly light golden blonde...but I think it's a myth).

Oh! A coworker of mine bought an iPhone. He says, "Yeah, it's $600, but it's not just a phone; it's a lifestyle." I don't think I'll ever have that lifestyle...not sure if I want it. But, the phone is really cool.

Life Continues and Gets Better (Really, it Does)

Wow, it's been a while. Just looking at the last posting date, you would have thought I'd dropped of the planet, but alas. I'm still here.

Brother-in-Law Blues
So, where to begin...my brother-in-law is living with us (I think I mentioned that before). He's a big lummox of a kid...five feet eleven inches tall and about two hundred ten pounds. He's fifteen and towers over his big brother (but hubby dear can take him down with one swift move). They wrestle constantly and banter back and forth about the craziest stuff. You'd have to wonder if hubby was really twenty years older than his baby brother.

Sometimes, this "play" can cause troubles because baby brother will not take big brother seriously. As such, we've caught him in a troth full of lies. They're small, but lies nonetheless. For example, hubby bought several "power" drinks (you know the kind...full of ginseng and caffeine). Anyway, there were about five or six in our refrigerator. So, hubby goes to grab one a couple of days later and there are only two left. He knows that I'm particular about "power" drinks and the ones he usually buys are so strong that they make me sick. Our kids would have no desire to drink those things. They are happy with their apple juice. Hubby approaches his brother:

"Hey, man. Did you drink those power drinks?"

"Uh, nah."

"So, where did they go?

"I don't know, man. I didn't drink them."

So, what...did they just evaporate from the refrigerator? Or, maybe somebody beamed them up to another planet. Hmm. Isn't it just easier to say, "Yeah, I drank them." Come on, dude. Now you look like an idiot.

Example 2: Hubby and I were messing around on my laptop looking at classifieds. I went up to the location bar to type in a different website and up pops some very questionable links in the memory (f*u*kmebuddy sites, livesex, web cam dreams, etc...). Hubby and I look at each other. I calmly go to the control panel and set up a password for the computer and the screen-saver. Yesterday, before baby brother leaves to spend time at his sister's house, he asks about using the computer to check a MySpace page. Hubby tells him that he's lost the computer privilege, based on the information we found on my laptop:

"You don't know what kind of viruses you're letting in, going to those sites!"

"I only went to a MySpace page."

"So, how did those other sites show up?"

"I don't know, man. I was only on MySpace."

(For the record, MySpace was not a link that showed up in memory within the location bar)

Brother dear was not happy to be scolded about the computer, but he's certainly not going to corrupt himself while he's in my house. His mother would flip if she knew what he was doing. I just got her to like me...I don't need that crap on my conscious. And, I doubt that hubby is really eager for him to come and move in with us next year after this. Can't really trust a liar, can you?

Home Improvements

The grouting is nearly finished (I think I said that the last time), but really, it is. I'll be doing the remainder of it on my own today (around three or four rows of tile). Why? Well, here's the latest; Sunday morning at 7:00am, a friend of hubby's drove from very far away to begin work on our new deck. Yes! Another project begins before the old one ends. (I sometimes feel like our family is staring in an episode of, This Old House). It was amazing what they accomplished! By 5:00pm, most of the framework was done and the flooring wood for half the deck (a fourteen-footer, by the way) was nearly all laid.

Hubby will be working on the remainder for the next few days. Once it's complete, we will stain it together. I can't believe it! I may actually get to enjoy a deck of my very own, before the summer ends. I had no idea they would get so much done...nor did I realize they were working to have it complete before the end of the summer. I just assumed we'd be walking around on a half done deck for several months.

I'm learning how to participate in these activities and am actually beginning to enjoy them. Seeing the fruits of your labor in your home is quite rewarding. I guess it's one thing to hear it, then to actually experience it for yourself? Novel.

Kiddlings

The babe is going strong with gymnastics and seems to enjoy it immensely. If I could only get her to focus and stop playing the class clown, I'd be really happy. She's also enjoying summer camp and last week, journeyed to the great Salt Lake. Her interpretation of the trip:

"Mom, we went to the great Salt Lake today!"

"Really? What did you see?"

"We saw buffalo and a deer...Oh! And we saw a barn owl and it had a heart-shaped face, but it was asleep. It was so cute!"

They also go to various parks around the city, twice per week. On Wednesdays, they go to the movie theater to see a movie (with other camp kids). So far, she's already seen every movie they've gone to, either with her dad or because we've rented it for her. There's something to be said about viewing movies in a theater, though. She loves Wednesdays. Fridays, they play in the water and with our latest temps hitting over 100, it's a good thing they can cool-off this way. She loves Fridays, too.

Married Life

Hubby and I are still going to our counseling sessions. We didn't go last week because of the holiday, but we managed to make it through the week without killing each other. Early Friday morning (around 2:00am) hubby calls to tell me he's had a blow-out with his tire on the interstate. He's managed to pull off and park at a gas station and would I come pick him up. This is where it's good that there's another older person in the house because I would have had to pack up the kids, otherwise. Luckily, I only had to tell brother-dear that I had to pick up his brother and would he please keep an ear out for the kids, just in case.

So, off I went...fifteen miles south of where we live. I blared the music and rolled the windows all the way down because, this girl was tired! I picked him up and we journeyed home, hand-in-hand. It was sweet and pitiful both at the same time. In the morning, Hubby called around to price-out tow trucks. The cheapest one said he'd call his guy and have him call us in an hour. Two hours later, I was trying to get hubby to call someone else. The gas station attendant had given hubby the okay to park his car until noon the next day. It was now 10:30 with no word from the tow guy. So, hubby begrudgingly called another company that was more expensive and worked out the details for the pick-up.

After me pressuring him to do so, he exclaimed that I wasn't really trying to help him. Where the hell did that come from? Anyway, I went outside after that comment to try and collect my thoughts. He soon followed me to say that he was sorry and that he was just stressed out from the events. Turns out, our insurance company would reimburse up to $50 dollars back from what he would spend on the tow. Then, we we got the car towed to Sam's Club, they put on a brand-new tire for free! To add icing to the cake, when hubby called in to cancel his overtime for the evening from work, they just decided to cancel the whole weekend. I had my hubby for three days! Everything happens for a reason.

The weekend was really not that eventful, but wonderful nonetheless. It's the first time in months that we've had so much time together. We ate a lot, drank a lot, and played a lot. Then, the hard work on Sunday but, who cares; it was time together.

More counseling tomorrow. I think we're really both trying hard and that's what's making the difference. If only one of us was trying or neither of us, the marriage would surely be in the toilet by now. We're trying to keep a clear perspective, which is sometimes very difficult but we are working extra hard to have at least an hour together each day. Oh! A pleasant side effect? Even better sex. Didn't really think it could get better. (wink, wink)