Aloha Friday

It's Friday so it can only mean one thing. It's time for an Island life's Aloha Friday. My question to you is this:

Do you use Pinterest? I discovered the site a few weeks ago. I thought I was the last one to join that site until my good friend asked me to invite her last night. HA! I am totally addicted to that the thing. I love the ideas they have on there but I don't know if I will be recreating them. A lot of people on there have unbelievable talent and patience. Mostly patience. I think I would be so frustrated doing some of those crafts. HA!

Head on over to Island life and answer her question too.

P.S. I am so sorry I haven't visited your blogs and commented. Two weeks(almost) ago our dishwasher leaked and damaged cabinets and floors. I blogged about it here and here if you want to read about it. The insurance company still hasn't decided what it whats to do or pay. We have been without a dishwasher,stove, and torn up floor for 13 days. Ugh. Between hand washing dishes and coming up with creative ways to cook, I haven't had much time for reading.

Queen of the electric fry pan......

If you have been wondering why I haven't been posting a lot it's because of this post. Yep here we are 12 days later and still no stove or dishwasher. Let me correct that. Without an electric dishwasher. I apparently am the washer around here. Hubby has helped a couple of times. I never realized how many dishes we make a day. Geesh. We eat and drink a ton of stuff during the day. I even bought paper plates and plastic silverware to cut down on dishes. The last fews days I have been spending time washing dishes by hand and getting creative with meals. My camping skills have kicked in. We have two electric fry pans that can almost act like a mini oven when using the lids. We have two crock pots.(Thank you to whomever invented those little suckers.) They are my saving grace. We also have three mini buffet crock pots. My brother bought that nifty thing for me for Christmas. Love that kid! The only thing I really miss is baking. I bake a lot. I can't seem to come up with something to bake in. Any ideas?

Hubby did talk to the restorations guy and he hasn't finished his report yet to give to the insurance company. I believe that's what they are waiting for. Please say a prayer he gets his report in. Anyone have any recipe they would like to share?

Wordless(Ful) Wednesday~Patriots

This past summer we spent a week in Massachusetts. We did day trips to Boston,Plymouth, and Salem. Our home base was actually 5 minutes from here. Gillette Stadium. Home of the New England Patriots. I thought in honor of them making it to the Super Bowl, I would post this. I have been to several stadiums over the years but this was one of the nicest. This brick was actually part of the sidewalk for the outdoor mall that's in front of Gillette. How cool is that? You can shop, eat dinner or grab dessert before the game. The best part of Patriots stadium? Unlike most other sports team, it is not located in the city. Yep it's almost an hour outside of Boston. It wins my award for best location ever.

The outdoor shopping mall with a view of Gillette in the back. Admit it. It looks like a neat place to shop watch a game.

When it rains it pours....

Opps. Things have been so crazy here, I just realized I never posted this. BTW it's still not fixed.

Who needs Friday the 13th when we at the Burg house have Saturday the 14th. I guess I should back up the story a bit. It all started Wednesday night. Our daughter started raging (again) and got into a screaming match with Hubby.(I'll have to blog about that another time. I'm still ticked off at her.) I started washing and loading the dishwasher but after their argument stopped. If I had finished I might have realized we had a problem then. Thursday was Hubby's double. He only came home with enough time to take an hour cat nap. While he was napping I ran the dishwasher. I kept thinking it sounded funny. I even had my oldest daughter listen too. As luck would have it just as Hubby was leaving for work, I noticed the darn thing stopped running. The digital timer on it never moved. I looked inside and realized the water was sitting on the bottom of it. I decided to try and drain it. It never drained. Since Hubby already left for work,I just turned off the dishwasher and let the water sit on the bottom of it. Big Mistake. My oldest came home from work around 11 and goes in her room to discover (almost) all the water ran down in her closet. Oh Yea! I opened up the dishwasher to see if it still had some water in it. Of course there was. I sat there for 5 minutes with a turkey baster draining the rest out of it. When Hubby got home checked the leak in her room but couldn't figure it out.

The next day Hubby had off so we went looking at dishwashers to get an idea of what kind we wanted. Wow. So many to choose from. Can you tell it's been a long time since we had to buy one? HA!

Saturday(14th) We pulled the dishwasher out to take it to the home improvement store and pick up our new one. As Hubby was pulling it out of the cabinets I hear him say "ooo that's not good". I look where our dishwasher used to be and see a wet and black floor. Ugh. He steps on the kitchen floor in front of it and water shoots out of it. Double ugh. We just looked at each other and knew. He called the insurance company to put a claim in. The restoration crew came out late afternoon. They took some water readings and ripped out a lot of my kitchen floor. They had to take out my stove and all the trim on the bottom of the cabinets. The bottom cabinets were rotting on the supports. I'm thinking that the dishwasher might have been leaking for a while. They also ripped the drywall out of my daughter's closet where the water had been running down. I hate water leaks!

I just hope it doesn't take long to fix......

Happy Valley will never be the same....

If you have been following the news the last few days,you know Joe Paterno lost his cancer battle. He had been admitted to the hospital a few days ago with complications due to his Cancer treatment. I honestly believe between his treatments and the stress of the Penn State scandal took its toll on him. Growing up I dreamed of going to Penn State.(Funny thing is I wasn't from Pa) It was one of those places that just seemed so cool to go to. Typical teenager if it's cool it's for you. HA! When I learned in high school that only the sports players/ band/cheerleaders kids get chosen to attend the main campus I realized I would never get there. I couldn't play a sport without breaking a bone. I'm tone deaf. I was way too tall to be a cheerleader. It never stopped my love of Penn State and Joe Paterno. After I graduated from High school I watched an up and coming Quarterback take charge of Penn's offensive and later become a Quarterback in the NFL. Kerry Collins. Years later he would play for my Giants. As I mourn for a coach I never met and an University I never attended, I pray that people remember Joe in a positive light. That Penn State heals and returns to its glory. That kids still dream of attending that campus. No matter how you feel about what Joe did or didn't do or should have done there is one thing you have to agree on. Joe made kids want to attend that University. He was Penn State.

RIP JoePa. You were a heck of a coach and will be greatly missed.......

Aloha Friday

It's Friday so it can only mean one thing. It's time for an Island life's Aloha Friday. My question to you is this:

Are you a summer or winter person? When I was growing up I couldn't wait for winter. There was the knowledge every Christmas you would get snow gloves or snow pants. Occasionally get a new sled. You just waited for that first snow fall. Nothing beat getting up for school and just waiting for the radio to call your school's name. Keeping your fingers crossed that the school was closed and not just a 2 hour delay. Trust me when I say we would go out first thing in the morning and not come in until lunchtime. We would hurry up and eat lunch change into dry clothes and our parents wouldn't see us until dinnertime. I have noticed over the years kids don't do that anymore. They go out for a little bit and come back in. You won't see them for the rest of the day. Or they just spend their snow day in the house playing video games. Sad. They are calling for snow tonight and my 4 year old is so excited. He got a new sled for Christmas and can't wait to try it out.

Head on over to Island life and answer her question too.

If Heaven was a little closer.....

Me and my Dad~1979

Wishing my Dad a very happy Birthday in Heaven today. 14 years ago my dad celebrated his birthday and 8 days later passed away from cancer. Some days it feels like just yesterday he was here and other days it feels like a decade he was here. Like today. I am having a rough day. I'm usually ok but for some odd reason today I miss him. Really. Miss. Him. 

Word(full)less Wednesday~Last January

Last January we had the white stuff from the beginning of the month until the end. This year nothing. The last snow fall we had, was a few days before Halloween. My 4 year old must ask everyday when can he use his new sled. I have no clue. They are calling for snow on Saturday so we shall see.......

football

It doesn't look like I will be getting a post up tonight. Over here at the Burg house we are consumed with football playoff fever. The kids are off from school tomorrow due to Martin Luther King day so I'm not sure when I will get a post up.

BTW so far my Giants are winning 30-13.

Aloha Friday

It's Friday so it can only mean one thing. It's time for an Island life's Aloha Friday. My question to you is this:

What kind of camera do you use? Digital point &shoot or DSLR? If you read my post yesterday you know mine is about to go. I just started looking at cameras and can't believe how many choices are out there. It's unbelievable. I just found out they have compact DSLR cameras. I'm thinking I might really like those. Kind of the best of both worlds.

Head on over to Island life and answer her question too.

Photography woos

I've been trying to full myself but I do believe my camera is about to go. I loved this thing when I bought it. I honestly can't remember when I bought it. I'm thinking it's maybe 5 years old. It's a digital but you can adjust the settings manually on it. It also has the option of buying a wide angle lens for it. I never did. The past few months the lens hasn't wanted to zoom. I could play around with it and it would work. Then just before Christmas I was trying to recharge the batteries on it. The darn battery door doesn't want to open. I had to pry it open. I charged the batteries and when I tried to put them back in, the door didn't want to close. I realize now it's not going to last much longer. I figured I would start looking now for a camera instead of waiting until the darn thing goes completely. I am one of those people who always has to have a camera on me. When I bought my cell phone I based my choice on how many megapixels the phone had. I didn't want to miss a chance to take a picture if I didn't have my big elephant camera with me. My journey now begins to find the perfect camera. What do you think, point and shoot, semi adjustable lens/settings or DSLR? I just discovered they also make compact DSLR. They kind of intrigue me. Who knew there were this many choices. WOW!

Feel free to chine in.......

Wordless(ful) Wednesday Quelf

Look Foo is in a time out. HA! This is when we were playing Quelf at cousin's house. She had to stay in that fort until it was her turn again. I told you it was a physical game. She got off easy, Hubby's cousin had to write a 6 line poem before his next turn. I love game night.

Weekend......

I know I'm a little late with my post. We had a really nice weekend. Friday night Foo  went to see Twilight at the local movie theater. We have an old theater that was re done and turned into a 5.00 per movie theater. It has to be one of the coolest places. Hubby and I had takeout and watched Mike and Molly on DVD. Love that show. Anyone else watch it?

Saturday we went to visit Hubby's cousin and her family. They live out in the country near the Amish and we don't get to see them very often. I love the area that they live in. Driving down the road it's nothing to see an Amish family driving their buggy or see them working on the farm. Honestly nothing better than getting produce at their road stands in the summer. Ever have one of their woopie pies? YUM! It might be a good thing I don't live there, between the whoopie pies and apple dumplings, I would really need to work out. HA! We always have a great time when we get together with cousin and her family. They are big into playing games. She always has games that not only have I never heard, but they require you to be physical. This weekends game was Quelf. Has anyone ever heard of that one? It was the first time I did. The game has everything from skits to reciting poems to making noises. It was a hoot! I highly recommend the game. It's more for adults/teens. You can find the game here.

Sunday we just did stuff around the house. The little guy slept so long that we missed church. Foo and cheerleader had to work. Tornado spent the day with her boyfriend. Most of the day it was just Hubby,Bubby and me. I still find it weird to have days like that. When you have 3 kids so close in age you are always running somewhere. As your kids get older and start driving they need you less. Bittersweet.

Hope everyone had an awesome weekend!

Aloha Friday

It's Friday so it can only mean one thing. It's time for an Island life's Aloha Friday. My question to you is this:

Do you make New Year resolutions? I did. Years and years ago. It didn't seem like New Years eve without writing down resolutions. I hardly ever kept them. That's why I stopped making them. I couldn't deal with the failure every year. HA! I did make a small one this year. Blogging more and being more honest. We have a teenager who has been giving us a rough time for almost three years. Honestly some days I don't feel like blogging. Other days I'm not sure how much sharing is too much sharing. Know what I mean?

Head on over to Island life and answer her question too.

Thrifting and magic erasers......

Yesterday my oldest daughter and I went bargain hunting as we call it. We hit up some local thrift stores to see what we can find. Love it! We don't just do it out of frugal-ness but out of being green. Why should something sit in a landfill when other people can get some use out of it? To me the thrill of "thrifting" is seeing what you can find and how much you pay for it. Rule number 1 is never buy something just because it is cheap. If you do that, you are mostly going to end up with something that you will never use. Buy it because it is something you can use/want. My second rule is think outside the box. Example if something is dirty or missing parts is it something that can be cleaned up or fixed. Third rule is it something that can be refurbished? If it's a desk maybe turn it into a vanity. Our travels yesterday found this:

You can see how well loved this art easel was. Normally I would have thought twice about buying this. I wanted to get Bubby one for Christmas but all the stores were selling the flimsy ones. I really wanted something like this one. Notice it says Crayola??? Score.
This is what it looked like after I used Magic Erasers.

Not too shabby,right? It almost looks brand new.

Those drawers look awesome. I forgot to take the before photo of those. They were totally covered in markers.

I can't recommend Magic Erasers enough. Those things are like little miracle workers. If you have never used one before, I highly recommend checking them out. They work on other surfaces as well. So, are you ready to hear what I paid for the art easel? I paid a whopping 4.99!!! Can you believe it???? You never know what you will find bargain hunting.

Happy thrifting!

Wordless(ful) wednesday~Sponge Bob

Is it Sponge Bob or Sponge Bubby? He received this shirt and hat from my Aunt for Christmas. He does not want to take the darn thing off. EVER. Those of you who remember the vest story found here are probably laughing. I did hide this for a day. It was driving me nuts to see it everyday. The one day we went out to do errands he had this shirt and hat on plus camouflage pants and an orange jacket. Trust me when I say we weren't hard to miss walking around. HA! How can I say no to a smile like that???

All is quiet on the home front....

Do you hear that? Me neither. It's the sound of silence(except my son watching Jake and the pirates). Two of my girls went back to school today. My oldest was asked to fill in for someone at work this morning. Hubby went back to work. It's just me and the little guy today. I am loving it. After having everyone home for almost two weeks I am so ready for a vacation. I love my family but boy are they a messy bunch. HA! Today I am hoping to take down some of the Christmas trees and maybe some decorations. I keep telling myself I will do that but honestly I just feel like doing nothing and enjoying the day with the little dude. I don't know about anyone else but Christmas kind of wipes me out. The shopping. The baking cookies. The putting trees up. The decorating. The lights on the outside of the house. The cleaning. The making a Christmas dinner for 20 people. Let's not forget the finding room for the stuff that Santa and everyone else bought. If I do anything today I think it will be buying containers for all of the toys my little dude got for Christmas. Either that or looking at bigger houses to buy. HA! Actually I'm kind of serious about the larger house. I think we might have maxed out space in this one. I do believe we have too much stuff. We shall see what the day brings today.

Hope everyone is enjoying their day with or without the kiddos.

Vera Bradley sale

I just thought I would share. I received an email from Vera Bradley that they were giving an extra 10% off their sale fabrics. If you didn't get something you wanted for Christmas nows your chance to pick something up. You have to hurry the sale ends at noon on Sunday.