Friends Welcome

So remember how I said that I was gonna get SO much done yesterday. Well, wishful thinking on my part - LOL! We went onto Post in the morning to get our car and truck all registered, and it took a lot longer than I was expecting.

For Texas, you have to first get a vehicle emissions and safety test, then take that to the Registration place (luckily they have one on post), where they gave us new license plates and registration. Then, we got parking stickers for Fort Bliss. It took ALL morning long. We'll get new driver licenses another day. I didn't shower yesterday (bandana day), and didn't want THAT one on my license - LMBO!

We got home around 2:30, just in time to get the kids from school, and I did unpack about 4 kitchen boxes before Captain America got back from post. We got dinner, and headed out for the hockey game. Yep, I left my camera at home....again! Geesh, no one's gonna believe I actually moved to Texas if I don't have the pictures to prove it - LOL!

It was a fun game, though. It was Scout night at the Rhinos (El Paso's Hockey Team), and Scouts in uniform got a free patch. So, we all came in uniform. I have a yellow one (even the blue pants), Captain America has a TON of Scout uniforms (LOL! - he used to work for the Scouts), Jake and Tom both have them, and little Joe (5) has one that he wears, even though he's not old enough to be a scout yet. So, Jake, Tom, and Joe got patches. Grown ups didn't get them. Nice. I would TOTALLY have worn something else - hehehe. Scouting clothes aren't my favorite outfit - LOL!

Our team scored the first goal in 20 seconds, and we could tell it was gonna be a fun night. In the section next to us, there were a bunch of "Army Dudes" (to quote Jimmy (3)) in their PT (Physical Training) shirts & Jackets, and jeans. I think they must have been AIT (Advanced Individual Training - the one just after BCT (Basic Combat Training), because they looked pretty young. There were probably 200 of them. It added a bit of spirit to the game, we'll say :) We were in the front row next to them, and we watched, as all night long, the front row of "army dudes" tried to get "high fives" from anyone walking by. It was pretty fun to watch who gave them "5's" and who didn't. I even got "5's" as I walked by - hehehehe.

After the 2nd period, we had 2 sleeping kids, one super tired, one drawing pictures, and another who wanted to stay and watch the rest of the game (Tom - 9). Poor Tom lost, and we headed home. Those benches were hard on my bum - hehehehe.

We stopped at McDonalds on the way home and got them ice cream sundaes. (I was good and didn't get one. Sigh. But I did get some strawberries from Wal-Mart, so I was happy) Much cheaper than snacks at the game - LOL! Who knew that snacks at the game were so expensive? Apparently everyone but me - hehehehe. It was a fun game, and I'm glad that we went. The score was 5-1 Rhinos when we left, so I'm pretty sure we won :)

OK, on a side note, a blog reader, Jill, emailed me yesterday, and had a few questions. First, she wanted to know who did my picture at the top of my blog. Well, that was done by Irene Alexeeva, from Scraporchard. She's FANTASTIC!!! I know that she used to have a "Custom Drawn Avatar" product in her store, but I didn't see it last night when I went to look. Hmmm. Maybe she'll bring it back soon??

Her second question was this:

I have been put in charge of a Memory Book for my Mother in-laws 90th Birthday Party….all I can think of is to have people write on pieces of paper and drop into a basket or something then put it all together later…sounds kind of boring…any suggestions?

I thought that you girls would be FULL of good ideas for Jill. So, any suggestions? Anyone? Anyone?

And finally, here's your Freebee for today. This suggestion comes from Mardine. I thought it was HILARIOUS (sorry family, no offense - LOL - LOVE you guys). Click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Friends - Annabelle JF
Welcome - Perpetua Titling
All rest - Underwood Champion

Kindness Begins with Me

So, after sitting on this for almost 2 weeks (hey, it was 2 weeks today :) .....

We now have THIS!!!!

We are the proud owners of new couches. And it only took us 12 1/2 years to get some :) LOL! Now, the trick will be to keep the little kids from trashing them - hehehe. Aren't kids fun :) I also got an end table and a coffee table, but need I need to build them.

I started on the coffee table, but the pieces weren't all right. Have you ever had that happen to you? You buy a piece of furniture that needs assembled, and whoever made it, didn't do it right? On my coffee table, some of the holes are in the wrong place. Geeze. But, I think my hubby can fix it. Gotta love 'em :)

We ended up getting our couches from a store on Dyer St called Furniture Factory Warehouse. You know, some of the other stores we walked into, the sales people were ALL over us the whole time. It was a little annoying. But not this place. When we were ready to ask questions, we actually had to TRACK someone down. Very low pressure sales approach - hehehe. But, it worked well for us :)

The couches we picked out were on clearance (woohoo!). The sofa was $469 and the loveseat was $399. It's fake leather, and very comfy. I bought a few accent pillows at Big Lots, and am SO pleased with them :) Oh yeah, the coffee table and end table/magazine rack came from Big Lots too. I just LOVE Big Lots :)

After looking back up at my picture of my couches, I think it needs an area rug, don't you :) I feel a trip to Wal-Mart coming on - LMBO! But only AFTER I unpack a few things. And move all the crud into the garage. Remember the embarassing picture of all the boxes outside my house? Yep, there still there. My hubby is slightly freaking out about how tacky and bad it looks. OK dear, we'll move it into the garage today :) I promise :) And I'll unpack some stuff. But just some. I wouldn't want to cheat myself out of the JOY of unpacking for weeks to come - spread the joy, that's it. That's what I'm doing :) ha!

And thanks to all of you who offered ideas on places to look for stuff. Freecycle was one of my FAVORITE sites back in Chicago and Ohio. I need to sign up with the El Paso one :) And I've been stalking Craigslist too :) My sister's sends me good stuff on there from time to time. I'm gonna have to keep an eye out for stuff :) And that military one was really cool too. I think the one here is called Ft.BlissYardSale, or something like that. Good stuff there too :)

And, I'm gonna get around to trying some of the solutions you all offered about the crayons/sharpies/pencils on the walls, but not today. And maybe not tomorrow :) hehehehe. Remember, I'm gonna unpack something - LMBO!

And, before I give you my freebee for the day, do you wanna see my new stuff in the store???? It's ALL Valentines stuff. And, sad to say, I think I had WAY too much fun making the Attitude ones. I know, I'm bad :)

Click on the WordArt packs below to go to my store, and remember, you can pick up the WordArt packs for 20% 0ff (that makes a regular 4 pack only $2.00) for the first week.







And, on to your Freebee :) This is from a Primary song that the little kids at church sometimes sing, and that I regularly sing to my kids :) Because it is so true. Kindness really does begin with "me". How much brighter would our days be if we started the "brightness" by being kind, and happy, even when we don't feel like it. We might even trick ourselves into being happy - LOL!

So, click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

FONTS:
Kindness - LokiCola

More?

Hey all! Well, we got the rental truck turned back in yesterday. We organized just a little bit in the morning after the kids went to school, then headed out to return the truck. What a process :) We had to drive CLEAR across town (yeah, El Paso is MASSIVE) to get the truck weighed (that's how the army determines how much to pay you), then try and find a gas station to fill up, then the rental place (we only got a little turned around). It was quite the drive. Captain America was in the Rental Truck, and Jimmy and I were following behind in the Suburban.

We finally got all done at about 12:30, and went out to lunch. El Taco Tote. It was pretty good. Authentic Mexican food, apparently. It's Captain Americas new favorite place, so he had fun taking Jimmy and I there for lunch. And I just LOVED their Guacamole (which I usually HATE) salsa. WONDERFUL!

We stopped by the Boy Scout Shop to buy new Council Patches for the kids' uniforms, and saw that they are having a "Scout Night with the Rhinos". What's that, you ask? Hockey, apparently. We asked the lady up front, and they're the local hockey team. So, for $5.00 a ticket, we're gonna go watch a Hockey game this Friday night. I'm pretty excited. Never been to a hockey game before :) Should be entertaining :) hehehehe.

We got back home in time to pick up the kids from school, and turned around and drove back across town to go browse some furniture stores. I know, that was SO a priority for today (LMBO!!!). We went to 3 or 4, and found some nice couches. Who knew that furniture was SO expensive? Now I know why we just have hand-me-downs.

But, I think we'll end up getting something, because it seems that our "good" couch is molded too. The mold allergies are acting up in our house, and I think it's from the couch in the living room. It's been moved outside. We'll see if people are breathing better tomorrow with it gone. I'm just hoping/praying that the beds aren't bad too. Can you imagine having to buy new mattress for 7 people. Holy cow. I'm not even going there :)

We're gonna look around a little more, and see what kind of deals we can find. So far, the cheapest we've found is $500 ish for a sofa. We found a few that were a bit cheaper, but, well, they were pretty cheap looking, or white. Yeah right, like I'm buying white sofas with 4 little boys and a soldier for a hubby. Do I look dumb - LMBO!

Yes, I know. This one is very similar to yesterday. But that's ok, right? It sure speaks volumes with how I'm feeling right about now - hehehe. Click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work. Thanks!

FONTS:
More -
All rest -

Really?

So I saw this saying, and just HAD to make a WordArt out of it. It TOTALLY sums up my day (week) - hehehe. Captain America got in Monday night at 3:00 am (so I guess that's Tuesday morning - lol). He woke me up long enough to help him carry the bed (WOOHOO!) up the stairs, then I went back to sleep. I can't explain how much I've missed my bed - hehehehe. I've been sleeping in a cot since August 08. My bed is my favorite. It's old, large, and SUPER firm, but I love it. It's a King size bed, which I LOVE. I don't sleep well if someone is touching me, so with the King size bed, I have my 1/3, Captain America has his 1/3, and there's the 1/3 buffer zone - LMBO! I can be in the buffer zone, but he'd better stay in his zone - LOL! I'm so bad :) How did this turn into Captain America staying on his side of the bed? ha!

After I got the kids to school, and let my poor hubby sleep in a bit (I watched Monday night's "The Bachelor" episode on line (my guilty pleasure), so I didn't mind too much), we got started on unloading the truck. HOLY CRUD! Where did all of this crap come from? And why are we moving it from place to place? I haven't used most of this stuff since July of 2007. After we moved from Chicago to Ohio, we had most of our stuff in a friends garage the whole time. I'm gonna have to go through this stuff, and figure out what we need, and what we don't. This is ridiculous :)

Like this couch. WHY did we bring it. Look how nasty it is. It went straight to the trash pile here in El Paso. There was mold and nasty-ies on it. Gross.

Every room in my house is filled with boxes and messes. OMGosh. But, we did get the entire truck unloaded. We were hustling and bustling to get it unloaded, and get the truck back to the rental place before it closed. It was a little tense at times, but it was done at about 4:45pm. We realized that the rental place closed at 4:30pm. Crud. Then Captain America says, "Oh yeah, I rented the truck 2 days later than I'd originally planned, so it doesn't need to go back until 2 days later, so it's not due until Tomorrow". Nice. Glad I busted my butt to get it unloaded. Oh well. At least it's done. AND, I have a FRIDGE!!!!! and my WASHER/DRYER back - WOOHOO!!!!

Now comes the "fun" part. Putting it all away - hehehehe. Check out our mess :)

The computer/media/library room

The living room

The tiny pathway through the garage

Ha! We didn't have enough room in the garage, so we just started putting stuff along the side of the house. I know, we're SO white trash. Oh well. We'll get most of it in today. Don't you wish you were my neighbor? ha! We had ladies from church come and bring us dinner again tonight. After our LONG day of unloading, I was SO grateful not to have to worry about food. Thanks, you guys! It was TASTY :)

Oh yeah, and here's my kids with their Christmas presents from Captain Americas brother/sister in law from St. Louis. When Captain America stopped off at their house on his trip/move, he picked them up for the kids. They were SO excited to open them yesterday.

Joe got a Star Wars toy (he was SO excited)

Tom and his toy

Jake and his toy

Eme with her BEAUTIFUL Barbie - International Barbie from Holland - so pretty!

Jimmy got the SOFTEST, most adorable stuffed animal (horse), but I didn't get a pic of him. He LOVED it so much. Captain America got the new Batman movie (which we already had, but LOST right before we moved (dad, if you find it, you can keep it)) WOOHOO!!!, and the new Narnia movie, which we haven't seen yet. I just LOVE movies :) Thanks, Illinois Hartys! We love you guys :)

OK, Mom, was that enought pictures for ya? Nothing exciting, but they're technically pictures :) ha! And, now on to WordArt. Another WordArt Wednesday for ya :) Can you believe it's already week 30? Holy cow! Click HERE to go to Scraporchard's gallery to download the zip file, and remember, you need to be logged into the gallery in order to get the file :)

Love Irresistibly

Well, yesterday was a pretty productive day. Not necessarily what I was planning on getting done, but productive none the less. I started my day off with a phone call to the Trash place, so see about getting our trash service going. Captain America said that the guy he talked to said that there should be trash cans here for us, but, um, no. No trash cans. So, I call the place, and the guy tells me that our trash pick up is on Tuesday, and it'll be 10 days or so before they'll deliver the can. Nice. Until then, he said that I could have 5 bags (tied) by the curb.

So, after getting the kids to school, Jimmy and I headed to Wal-Mart to buy the 39 gallon lawn bags. Tricky, aren't I - hehehe. All of our trash bags were accumulating in the garage, and it really needed taken care of. (plus, since we're without a washer/dryer until Captain America gets home, and I didn't want to go to the laundry mat, I bought new socks for the little boys. I know, I'm lazy - LMBO!) Jimmy and I sorted trash/cardboard for a bit, and I realized that it was the 2nd. That means that rent is due by the 3rd. Oops. So, I mapquested the rental place online (I know, I know, I keep coming back to mapquest), wrote down the directions to and from there, along with the post office address (we have a locked box for mail in our subdivision), and headed out.

And guess what? I didn't get lost at all! Woohoo. I think I'm maybe sorta kinda getting used to the city. I at least recognized a few of the places I drove today as places I've been before - LMBO! And the rental place was CLEAR across town. It was a 20 minute drive, at least. So, Woohoo for me :)

After the post office, I saw a BigK, and decided to stop for a bit. I got a really fun storage shelving thing for the little boys' room. I've ALWAYS wanted one like this.

Granted, the one in the picture is primary colors, and would go PERFECT in my little boys' room, and the one I actually got was pastels, and would go PERFECT in my daughter's room, but, whatever. Real men can do pink and purple, right? LMBO!

I also got these cool wicker baskets that I thought would be nice in my living room. We have built-ins in the living room, and I thought the baskets would be fun. Plus, they were 50% off. Can't go wrong there - hehehe.We got back home in time for lunch, built the storage shelves, organized the toys, and hurried off to get the kids from school. And sorry Mom, I keep forgetting my camera. One of these days, I'll get a pic of my kids in their uniforms :)

Only Eme had homework tonight, so the big kids played computer/games for a few hours, and helped me organize the garage for a bit. They also cleaned their rooms. You know, we really don't have that many things here, so why their rooms were trashed is beyond me. Come on, boys. Work with me here :)

Dinner, a little evening TV, kids reading in their rooms, more TV and some computer time for me. Busy day. I didn't get all the stuff put away like I wanted before Captain America got home, but I tried :) And, I did a PERFECT day of eating today. That's saying a lot. I've been, um, sigh, stress eating a bit as of late, and that's not gonna help the Christmas LBS come off - lol! But, I did a perfect day today. Tomorrow should be easier. Those first 3-4 days are rough, though. After that, your body starts feeling good, and the cravings go away.

Captain America is set to be home around Midnight. Remember, I'm prepublishing here. I think I'm gonna finish this post, and get some sleep. We've gotta be up at 7am to get the kids to school on time. I'm missing our Chicago school that started at 9am. Yeah, that was NICE! hehehehe.

Oh yeah, and before I forget, thanks for all the suggestions on the carpet stain. The nail polish remover got all the of the actual nail polish out of the carpet, but the fibers were stained pink. So, the shaving cream didn't help, because the polish itself was gone. As for the sharpies/crayons/pencil on the walls, whoever painted here used flat paint, so when you try and wipe/wash off the walls, ALL the paint come off too. Nice. Come on, people. This is a RENTAL. Use Semi-gloss - hehehehe. So, not quite sure what we'll be doing about that one. I guess that's why we paid a security deposit - LOL

So, I made you up this nice Valentine-sey WordArt, and hope that ya like it. Click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Love - Stephanie Marie JF (one of my favorites, but boy is it spendy!)
Irresistibly - Love LetterTW

Busy

Well, church was good yesterday. We're gonna have a lot of work in Primary, that's for sure. We only had about 2 of the 8 or so teachers there though. Everyone else was a substitute. Goodness. We'll have to work on that one - hehehehe. But, the girls that I'm working with are FABULOUS! I'm so excited. They seem like a lot of fun, and fun I do like to have - LOL!

I talked to Captain America yesteday also. He was heading for Tulsa, OK. That's where he was hoping to get for the night. Of course, he was gonna stop at Super Bowl time and watch it from an Applebees or something like that. Nice to see he's got his priorities in order - LMBO! Hurry home, honey. We may not be the Superbowl, but we're still fun!

I also talked to my mom yesteday. It was her birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!! She and my dad were driving home from Utah. They were there visiting my sister Madi. Mom flew out the day after we moved here to El Paso, and dad drove out on Thursday night to spend a few day and then drive her home. I think they had a good trip. New babies are always fun :) They left yesterday morning at 3:30 ish PST, and got to Florence at 8ish. Oh man, I can't drive like that. They're insane - LMBO! 16 hours straight is NOT the trip for me - hehehe. But, more power to them for being able to do it :)

Today I'm gonna do something productive. I can just feel it :) I've been on my computer for HOURS and HOURS this past weekend, and it's time to put a little attention into my real life - hehehehe. I know, not as much fun, but hey. Captain America should be home late tonight with a HUGE load of stuff from Ohio, and we kinda need a garage to unload it into. Right now, the stuff I brought from Ohio is there. I guess I should work on cleaning that out. I guess. Sheesh. Can't a girl just take a week off and do nothing? What, not with 5 kids and a hubby and being in the middle of a move? Bummer.

So, my good friend Crystal (Digiscrapalicous) emailed me a few days ago, and wanted to see if I wanted to make up some WordArt using Benevolent Boutique's newest kit, "Here Comes Trouble". I just LOVED the name, and knew that I could use it in my own scrapping (if I ever had time - LMBO!). So, I made up 2 WordArts to go with the theme, one of which you can grab over on Crystals blog (Click HERE), and, if you get a chance, check out her store at Faith Sisters. Crystal is FABULOUS!




And the other one you can get here on my blog :) Remember, leave some love if you like my work, and the girls from BB as well! Click HERE to go to my box.net account to grab this newest WordArt :)
I just have to say, I thought this one was adorable. My kids are so "busy" it makes my head spin. Already, we have nail polish on the cream carpet (anyone now how to get red nail polish out of carpet - and I already tried fingernail polish remover), pencil, crayon, and sharpie on the walls, and a gas fireplace that turns on with a light switch that's CONSTANTLY being turned on by the 3 year old. Goodness, I can feel my head spinning already :) hehehe

Greatest Invention

So, I'm getting a new calling today at church. I'm gonna be in the Primary (3-11 yr old kids) presidency (2nd counselor). That was my calling back in our Joliet ward, and I just loved it. I'm hoping it's just as great here too :) And, I have all 5 of my kids in Primary, until August when Jacob goes into Young Mens (12-18 yr olds). I'm excited to get to know the ladies I'll be working with :)

Captain America called yesterday from St. Louis. He decided to spend the day with his brother/parents there. He hasn't really seen them since Christmas '07, so it was nice for him to take a day and visit. I wish I could have been there too. I really do like Captain America's family. They're great people, and I love them dearly :)

He should be home on Monday night. I'm tiring of the moving process (I know, just the first of many army moves), and ready to start feeling settled. Sigh. One of these days :) I still need to go to the post office and get our mail coming here. Note to self - do this on Monday :) hehehehe.

Hehehe, this saying really fits my weekend. We've just kinda sat around and done nothing - LMBO! But, I did get some design time in, and got 10 new WordArt packs designed - Woohoo! And, I watched a lot of TV (online) and even a new movie (online). See, that's not procrastination. That's just doing something else besides cleaning and unpacking. hehehehe.

Click on the image below to go to my box.net account to download the PNG file, and leave some love if you like my work.

FONTS:
Greatest- BIRTH OF A HERO
All rest - AFL Font nonmetric BT