I Want....I Want....I Want........

A whole new templete.....how do I get one? I want something full of coffee and caffeine.....not sure if it would be cartoony or profound......maybe a photo of me or my kids....a side shadow of their faces? I really don't know.....I do know that I don't know how to do it......Even though my hubby is a graphic designer he's really too busy to help me out.....anyone have any advice?
11
I khanksnow thtere are some people out there who will do it for you. Can anyone send me links or e-mails?

P.S. I have a MACBook if that makes a difference.....

Photo Booth FUN!!!

Okay to tide you all over till I can post again....here's our cat Paris....isn't she cute?

Can I link you baby?

Okay so there are a few more blogs that I have started reading on a more daily basis......I just put them in my sidebar. Are their any rules to linking favorite blogs? Should you ask first? Is it okay to just link?

So if your name's there.....consider me asking....Can I link you baby????

Will it ever get better ?

I am the most organized slob you will ever know. I can throw a party or organize a school wide event but ask me where the tweezers are and I'm stuck. I have always been a bit lazy when it comes to housework. My purse is always the one with ten million receipts in it. I put something somewhere in my wallet to find it a day later and it's not there. I can never fine where the nail clippers are. I can plan a week at Disneyland, go on all the major rides 20 times but my suitcase looks like a robber ransacked it. My car's a mess and I can never find the time or will to put all my clean and folded clothes away. Am I alone here people?

I tried FlyLady but she was a bit too intense for me. Who wants to put their tennis shoes on the minute they get out of bed?

I tried just throwing everything away but the piles and stacks always come back.

As the school year is getting ready to start I'm going to really make an effort to get better. I just re-organized my closet so that should help quite a bit.

It does not help that the entire garage is filled with garage sales piles. Rob's just HAD it with the garage and can hardly go in there without having to take a xanax to calm down. Every week end that I want to hold the garage sale something's going on. Or it's a holiday weekend or there is a festival of some sort of furry animal.

Wish me luck as I embark on this journey of cleaning, organizing and re-organizing.......

Bloggy House Tour

How fun will this be? Even wonder what people's houses look like on the inside or backyard? Now's your chance to do it!!! Some other mom bloggers (BooMama) on the net are doing a Tour of Homes....an online look at your home....so check out this link and follow her instructions...should be fun for those of you who like to see how people homes are furnished or the latest paint color!!!!

Here's where you go to find out how to do this:

http://boomama.blogspot.com/2006/07/its-bloggy-tour-of-homes-yall.html

HELP ME......

I'm being held prisoner at the Apple Store!!! Wolfie and Justin are taking an iTUNES iPOD class and they require the parents to stay in the store for 2 1/2 hours....these guys are 11 1/2 and I have to stay here? What are they going to do...run out of the store and get themselves lost? Throw the laptops on the floor and dance on them?

I have my laptop and will be surfing the blogs I read and answering any e-mail...so write me okay?

My New Show.....

Okay call me a geek....but I love the show Inside the Actors Studio with James Lipton. It's an hour long show where James ask's off the beat questions and the actors really seem to get comfortable with him. I TIVO it and last night finished watching Mark Whalberg's interview. Very interesting life he's lead. We also saw Michael J Fox and several others. So check it out and let me know what you think!!!

Wolfie's got a friend.....

His name is Chompers and he came back home to live with us. I was at a point about a year and a half ago and sent him to live with Chase and Tam. I was just DONE with buying crickets and taking care of him. Yes I know what your thinking...if it's Wolfie's animal why am I taking care of them? Well unless you want the little buggers to not drink water for weeks on end you have to check on them !!! Yeah I'm just a sucker!!!

Chase was recently DONE with Chompers and we took him back. I actually missed the little fellow. Geckos are really easy to care for and don't require lots of work. Well except buying crickets on a weekly basis. Now for some of you that's too much work or the thought of buying crickets is disgusting. Well my kid loves animals so much it's hard to say no when he begs me for animals. Now Lexi's jonesing for a Gecko!!! Maybe Santa will bring one!!!

If your kids an reptile/ animal freak and your in Berkeley be sure to stop by the East Bay Vivarium sometime. The place is totally cool and the animals they have there for sale are amazing. Even though it's a store people just go there to see the animals. Trust me it's worth the trip down there. Plus right close by is 4th Street with lots of shops and fun places to eat.

True Love.....

My kitties love each other....what's better than a nap in the sun or laying next to my MacBook ?
See how I'm keeping the mom blog real by not cleaning up the kitchen counter behind me? It's all good when it's 110 Degrees out!!!

Were all BLOGGING!!!!

My sister in law Wendy has a blog. It's fun and she talks about her friends and what's going on.


http://winkandfriends.blogspot.com/

Tell her that Steph said hi!!!

Shout Out To My Peeps......

Okay Vick and Deb......
it's time to get posting......
get those pictures out....
take some new ones
if you need to......
blog soon......

Movie Review Saturday

Okay we went to the movies tonight. It was so hot that it was better to go to the movies and stay cool then stay home in the air conditioning. We checked the time and decided to go see Monster House.

The movie is basically about three kids DJ (Mitchel Musso), Chowder (Sam Lerner), and Jenny (Spencer Locke) discover that the house across the street from DJ's is alive. It eats anything that goes on its property. They try to convince the babysitter (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the police, and some weirdo named Skull (Jon Heder). They try to unravel the mystery of the house and they have to go inside to find that the house is voiced by Kathleen Turner. Oh my god, it's Kathleen Turner! Run for the hills! Anyway, this movie is PG-rated ( I copied the plot summary so I didn't have to remember...LOL)

Okay so my almost teen Wolfie (age 11 1/2) just liked it. "It was a good movie" Wolfie just said. Rob liked it. He liked the graphics were really good and it had a really good storyline. Lexi my 6 year old didn't like it. She said it was a little creepy. Funny she loved the new Pirates of the Caribbean and never covered her ears or eyes. (Thanks to my sis's family for taking my kiddos to see Jack Sparrow) I thought that it was a very loud and intense at times. I had to cover my eyes a few times. I don't like movies that have things jump out at you. The only good redeaming thing about the movie was Jon Hedar was the voice of one of the characters and was funny.

So the consenses is:

Boys : Thumbs Up
Scale from 1-10
Rob: 8
Wolfie: 8

Girls : Thumbs Down
Scale from 1-10
Steph: 4
Lexi: 1

On a good note there is a new movie coming out with Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson.

It's called Night at the Museum. Here's what it's about :

Good-hearted dreamer Larry Daley (Ben Stiller), despite being perpetually down on his luck, thinks he's destined for something big. But even he could never have imagined how "big," when he accepts what appears to be a menial job as a graveyard-shift security guard at a museum of natural history. During Larry's watch, extraordinary things begin to occur: Mayans, Roman Gladiators and cowboys emerge from their diorama to wage epic battles; in his quest for fire, a Neanderthal burns down his own display; Attila the Hun pillages his neighboring exhibits and a T-Rex reminds everyone why he's history's fiercest predator. Amidst the chaos, the only person Larry can turn to for advice is a wax figure of President Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams), who helps our hero harness the bedlam, stop a nefarious plot, and save the museum.

I'm not sure what it's rated but Wolfie can't wait to see this one!!!!

It's like a HEAT WAVE

Well it's not like a heatwave....it is a heatwave!!!! It was between 110 - 115 degrees in Nor Cal today. It only made sense to nap or swim in the pool......attempts were made at both and success was had by the whole family!!!!

Anyone else hot hot hot?


UPDATE: It's 11:30 pm and we just got home from the movies and some errands. When we got out of the movie at around 10 PM it was still 100 degrees. When we just got home Rob's car said it was about 85 degrees. Still hot in Nor Cal BABY!!!

It's a Fetish BABY!!!

It's no secret that I love a good knock off. I have a total purse fetish. Just love them!!! I especially love the classic Louis Vuitton Monogram canvas knock off. Back in the day I would of bought the real ones and put myself in debt and in the hole financially. Now it's more fun to find the good knock off's. In the fashion district of LA there are a few Alley's (The Santee Alleys) where you can get GREAT knock off's of designer purses. If you love Coach and Louis Vuitton this is the place to head. If your ever in LA just take an hour or so out of your day. You will need to take cash, don't use the ATM machines down there. You can barter the prices on everything and expect them to take anywhere from $5-15 off the first price they quote you.

The Louis ones are actually very nice quality. I'm quite impressed with them. The Coach ones are very nice also but you do have to be a bit weary of the zippers. They can break a little easier then some of the purses with zippers I have used. That's why I like the Louis one's without the zippers.

Do you have a good knock off story? Do you only like the real deal? Share with me in comments......

11 Year Boys.......

http://www.flickr.com/photos/momtowolf/sets/72157594206318152/

I was downloading some photos from my camera and found these photos of Wolfie and his J-Dawg. I think it's really funny that they are taking photos like this. I hope they are
always so innocent.

Apple Camp.....

I'm at the MAC store at Arden right now. We have been here since 9AM!!! Wolfie and Justin are taking a iMOVIE class and they won't let the parents leave the store. So I have Lexi and I'm trying to keep her entertained while she whines that Build A Bear is just downstairs..........I will post photos when I get home......

Tag.....Your It......Blog Her

Okay so YOUR IT NOW!!! Even if your not going to BLOGHER it's okay to answer these......just copy and paste the questions......have fun!!!!!

Trina
Brenda (SAJ)
Alisa
Deb
Vicki
Rhonda
Barb

When did you start blogging and why? Or Talk about your blog. What can I learn about you in under 5 minutes?

How do you use blogging to build friendship?

Who do you read every day, rain or shine? (other than RL peeps)

Why did you choose to share that piece of yourself in a photograph?

How would you describe your writing style?

If you could spend time with one person who blogs (other than your spouse, because really, let’s not rack up the suck up points here)

What don’t you write about? Anything considered a no-no in your book?

How do you feel about meeting bloggers in real life?

Have you written anything controversial? Is blogging controversial?

Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

Have you ever anonymously posted on a site to flame them?

If you had a super power, what would it be?

COPYCAT

I'm just a copycat......nothing but a copycat.....see if you can find out why........I'm sorry that I can't let my friends be original....it's a downfall of mine.......

I got tagged...BLOG it BABY!!!!

I got tagged.....I have never been tagged before so I'm really excited!! LOL I don't
remember how long ago but I came across a very cool So Cal Blog http://socalmom.typepad.com/travelblog/
Her name is Donna and she's very cool. I have a medium sized romantic love affair with LA
and she writes some fun stuff about her experiences living there. In fact for my
last trip to LA last week she gave me some great advice.

There is a very cool blogging conference coming up very soon. http://blogher.org/ It's actually about an hour and a half from where I live and I am bummed that I won't be able to make it. Maybe next year I can get my real life blogging buddies and go and make a fun weekend of it. Lots of bloggers that I read are going and it would be very cool to meet them in real life. Okay so Donna TAGGED me and here's the answers to the questions:

1. When did you start blogging and why? Or Talk about your blog. What can I learn about you in under 5 minutes?

I started to blog in March of 2006. I love the idea of doing an online jourmal. I thought I would keep it a "secret" blog and really be able to use it for mental health therapy but then my friend http://giardino5.blogspot.com/ started to blog and I could not keep it a secret from her. I have several other real life friends that blog also:

http://momto3girlz.blogspot.com/

http://familyfriendsfun.blogspot.com/

http://thelindenmuthboys.blogspot.com/


2. How do you use blogging to build friendships?

I have several bloggers that I feel totally confortable writing to. I also love to blog about things that I do in RL and check out my RL friends blogs and see how they relate or photos they may have taken of the same event.


3. Who do you read every day, rain or shine?

So cal Mom, Suburban Bliss, SAJ, my RL friends, RockStar Mom, Rosie O Blog (Don't ask I just like her) , Me and my Shadows, CityMama, Dooce, BlurboMat, How Twisted is Kate and Four SweetPeas. Sorry I don't have time for links.......

4. Why did you choose to share that piece of yourself in a photograph?

I like to change my thumbnail around. I'm totally open to showing people who I really am. Of course a day when my makeup is on and hair is done is good also!!!

5. How would you describe your writing style?

Okay so I'm not really a "writer". I'm totally into photographs (Thank Goodness for Flickr) and what they can say and express. I have more of a photo blog with some words mixed in. My writing style is loose with many mistakes cause my spell check isn't working for some reason.


6. If you could spend time with one person (other than your spouse, because really, let’s not rack up the suck up points here)


So Cal Mom, Suburban Bliss and Secret Agent Josephine.


7. What don’t you write about? Anything considered a no-no in your book?

Since most everyone knows that I blog I try and not write anything hurtful or too personal. I'm a pretty open person but don't like to cross the line. I like to mostly update friends and family of our life.

8. How do you feel about meeting bloggers in real life?

I would love to meet some of the blogs I read at a blogher event.....(wish I was going) but they probably don't read my blog and might think I'm a stalker. :-)

I got on a message board on AOL back in 1996 (Dial Up HELL) when my son was one and I still talk to all those gals. We even got together in Vegas one time and I had a few of them stop by my house. Thinking back I was not nervous to go. Of course my friend Tam went with me. I had backup in case things went horrible wrong. It all worked out and I still talk to them and some of them have blogs also.

11. Have you written anything controversial? Is blogging controversial?

I think that blogging can be very controversial. Especially if one is saying not so nice things about the people in their day to day life. It's a fine line that we choose to cross. I think it's okay to talk about politics and religion if you are open to to reactions and opinions. I'm a pretty open minded person and like to think I can see other people's ideas and thoughts.


12. Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

I think they are.....are they readers ????? For the people that know me write a comment and let me know.


13. Have you ever anonymously posted on a site to flame them?

Nope....

14. If you had a super power, what would it be?

To be able to make people's worries go away.....heal the sick......help the poor.......


Thanks Donna for the tag....I will tag some people on Tuesday....watch out for the TAG!!!

Santee Alley........

Okay we are back from our road trip adventure. MAN was it an adventure!!! I'm doing my first post just about the Alley's. I will do a whole trip post later today. We got home about midnight on Saturday night and it was so hot in Nor Cal on Sunday that I didn't clean out my car and still need to do that today. Rob did wash my car yesterday so all the bugs from 101 are off the car!!! Thanks BABY!!!!

Okay LA was having a heat wave last week. Poor Chase was coming down with either the tummy flu or a heat stroke. You can see him in the white shirt on the right hand side of the photo just wanting to be DONE with the shopping. It was HOT!!! So hot that sweat was just dripping off me and the whole back of my hair was soaking wet. That didn't keep me from shopping though. Baby poop in Tam's shoes and on her skirt didn't stop her from haggling over a LV watch as we were walking out of the Alleys!! If you have ever been to the Roseville Auction or Tijuana it's kind of like being there. Lots of noise, people and things going on. I don't feel unsafe being there but I did keep a tight hold on my purse. Most everyone is very nice...could be cause they want you to spend your money with them. They did have the bacon wrapped hot dogs but I could not bear to try one. Also they had cold watermelon and papaya on ice that was yummy.

Tam got Kendall a stroller and I put Lexi in it so I could keep track of her and shop longer!! LOL Wolfie was a little bit nervous being there as it's a crazy atmosphere and not like at home. He did get some fun stuff though.

Here's a guy on the corner selling rabbits, birds and turtles. The rabbits were selling for $18.00 which the guy told me it was a special deal for my little girl. Of course the kids wanted one but we already knew that we were NOT coming home with any Alley animals this time. I feel sorry for the animals that are being sold there. It was so hot and they should of not been out there in the heat.

The Alleys were fun. For some reason I'm really into the Louis Vuitton Monogram style purse. I got a few scores and will post photos of them later. I did get taken on a pair of BEBE flip flops.....they really said BABE when I looked at them up close!!! LOL I did some Christmas shopping. They had really nice fake Rolex watches for $75. I would love to do another weekend trip to the Alley's sometime with no kiddos. It's very overwhelming and you forget what your looking for. Imagine going into IKEA wanting to buy new kitchen cabinets and you have your kids with you.....it's for the serious purse shoppers and not the faint of heart!! LOL

Check out this VR Panoramo of the Santee Alley.
Give you a really good idea of where we shopped.

http://virtualguidebooks.com/SouthCalif/LosAngeles/FashionDistrict/SanteeAlley_FS.html

P.S. When I said that I wanted to take another trip to the Alley's I really meant next year....since I'm not working and am broke I need to save for my next Alley trip...girls think about a girls weekend next fall!!!

Wish me Luck....

on my quest for the perfect purse!!! LOL

See ya all when I get back!!!!

Photo Booth FUN!!!!!!

Hey look at my horse teeth!!!

Wolfie is a teeny tiny little head......

What's happening to me???????

Are you freaked out with my family? This program is so much fun!!! You can really make yourself look really scary!!!

Cats like laptops !!!

My Chloe girl loves to help me type....now she's got direct access to my hands while I'm typing!!! LOL I'm going to have to break this habit of here's ASAP!!!!

Think of all the cat hair getting into my keys....stop the madness Co-Co!!!!

Aw she's a lover!!!!

Are you a Mind Freak?

http://www.crissangel.com



Have you seen this guys show yet? It's on A & E and there are lots of re-runs. If you have TIVO or DVR just set it up to record. The magic he does is amazing and it will really make you wonder how he does it?

Fun @ The Lake

We got invited to Lake Almanor for a few nights this last week. It was lots of fun and the weather was beautiful!!! I had never been there and it was just lovely. Special thanks to the Bean and whole family for having me and the kids up. It was lots of fun!!!

This is at the first afternoon we were there. The kids hopped right into the boat and played in the lake. There is a very nice large area for kids to swim and play.

Brother and Sister......I don't know why he's not wanting to smile for me nicely lately.

Yo there is my home girl....Lex....she loves the beach !!

Love this picture of Wolfie.....so innocent just playing on the beach.

I think we were all ready for some computer love. We played with my new MacBook and the best program Photo Booth.....I will have to post a picture of myself......be ready to be scared!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/momtowolf/

Be sure to check out my flickr photos of more lake fun!!!

4th of July.....Pro Party.....

We had a fun 4th of July. My friend SJ Deham lives close to where the fireworks are set off. For the last years we normally go to their house to enjoy the show. I suggested that this year we have a progressive party and start at our house and everyone can swim and then go to their house for a BBQ and fireworks.

It started out at my house with swimming. For some reason my pool can be rough on little soft toes of the summer. There's been blood shed and lots of band aids used. The only cure really is come swimming more!!! Here's Tay getting lots of attention from the ladies.

Can you tell me what's cuter than this? It's Trent, Anna and Tay in the boat !

Finally Lexi got her hands on a sparkler!!! The smell of these just reminds me of my childhood in a big way........do you feel the same way?

Here's some fireworks being set off at a neighbors house. WOW!!!!

Looks like they are about to set themselves on fire!!! Don't worry no children were harmed in any of these photos of sparklers.......now ask about me about Mr. SJ Denham.......he may have been harmed!!! LOL

Da Bears............

We went to Lake Tahoe a few weeks ago. We took our tent trailer and stayed with friends on their property. They live close to Emerald Bay and it's just beautiful there. The weather was perfect and the company was great!!!

This is a place on the Truckee River and it's nickname is fanny bridge. Everyone looks over the side of the bridge as cars drive by so all you see are people's fannies.

Our friend Steve took both kids and Rob out on his canoe.
They all had fun and didn't evenfall out!!

Here's the kids at Eagle Falls at Emerald Bay.....There was a freaky waterfall there and I really had to try to not freak out about the kids just fallng off the edge of the cliff....but they were fine and we had a nice picnic on one of the flat rocks.

Okay now for the bear story. It was after dinner and we were just sitting around making smores on their fire pit. The awesome iTUNES music was going and the marshmallows were roasting just perfect. It had gotten a bit darker then in the photo above.....Lexi wants to hear scary stories. Of course I'm the kind of mom who likes to freak out my kids so I normally oblidge their story request when out camping....after all they are sleeping in the camper with us and safe!! I didn't want our friends to think I'm the freak kind of mom who freaks out her kids so I stay quiet.....Shannon finally gives into Lexi's begging and begins to tell a story....it's all about this noise, dark trees and something coming out of them....it was a NAKED BEAR......We laugh and love the part about the bear being naked.

About 10-15 minutes later as it's getting darker out I see this shadow walking behind the trees that you see (Okay at first I thought he walked in front of the trees....I think he still might of....but who knows....) I say in a little voice....."Hey I think that's a bear over there" It was like 15 feet away. As everyone turns to look....the bear turns and looks at us. Shanon, our host, says to slowly walk in the house...I grab Lexi's arm and as calmly as I can go into the house. Wolfie came behind us and Rob and Steve and Shannon just sat there and the bear turned back around and took off. In the house I was freaking out. A city girl like me has NEVER seen a bear that close up. Lexi didn't see it so. She was sobbing and totally scared. Poor girl!! She wanted to sleep in the house that night instead of the camper. After some calming down she relaxed and we all realized that Shannon's scary story had come true. We went back outside by the fire for a little bit and relaxed before going inside and watching some Chris Angel Mind Freak episodes. Have you seen these? I will post more about this guy later......Oh yeah our family was able to sleep in the tent trailer and had no more problems with bears!!!

Rob took this photo of Shannon, Steve, me and the kiddos. Shannon and Steve have a very comfortable life in Tahoe and we are very glad to have hooked back up with them. We actually meet them down in the East Bay about 12 years ago through Rob's job. Very cool couple!!! Thanks S&S for your hospitality and for bringing out all your toys for the kids to play with!

P.S. My spell check for blogger isn't working so please excuse any spelling.......

Seacrest OUT

Okay we are off for another adventure......I'm sorry that I gave you the bear teaser and then never came back with the details.....well it's still a true story and really happened.....if I have wifi where I'm going I can catch you up on the bear and the 4th....which was enjoyed by all!!!!

We got ditched......

Yeah FOGETOWN struck again......we got ditched.....the funny thing is I'm wondering if they read my teaser post of what happened to us in Tahoe??????? That's pretty funny!!! Thanks FOGES!!! Be on the lookout for our GAME!!!! Cause we got it in us....somewhere.....


p.s.....there will be lots more blogging if I get time today.....have to tell you guys the whole bear story and the fun time we had!!!

Look A BEAR!!!!!

Okay we just got home but I'm going to tease you with BEAR....WE SAW A BEAR......15 feet from us.......no lie.....swear on nan's grave.......We went to Lake Tahoe with our tent trailer and camped on some friends property. They live between Emerald Bay and Homewood......very cool!!! I have to go help Rob-O unload the trailer and then I will come back with my very true bear story!!!!