I wrote it anyway

It's nap time, glorious nap time in my house. I should be washing the dishes or sweeping up the abundant amount of crumbs on the floor, but I stopped and settled down with my computer for a few minutes. This morning I actually accomplished the near impossible task of putting the laundry away. All five loads that were awaiting me. I even cleaned up my bedroom while I was at it, although I haven't touched the nightstand and dresser clutter yet. It was kind of a mess. It makes me a little bit happier to have that done.
(little tip- a pair of pants had some dry caked on mud, so I rubbed a bunch of baking soda over it and then poured some vinegar over it. Stain be gone! at least for mud. Yea!!)

I am trying to get the house cleaned up really well by Saturday because we will be pretty much gone all weekend. Saturday while I get my hair cut and spend some time browsing through some stores (without my band of collapsing children) T is taking them to Pappy G and Grandma's house to watch football and be spoiled. (Maybe some T-ball registration, too.)
Sunday we are having Rose's party (at my mom's) so I will be baking cupcakes and pigs in blanket and decorating. Hopefully I won't be worrying about having enough food or fancy plastic forks. I'm feeling pretty chill about it.
I hate coming home to a mess so getting everything in order before we go out will be rewarding in the end.

Well, I have dawdled long enough and the quiet will soon be broken with shrills and jumping and those are outside noises!

p.s.
don't forget to cast your vote for my hair! I see the side swept and away party is in the lead...

Comfy Cozy

I'm not sure why our dog does this, but he likes to nap in this big tub that I had flowers in during the spring. He curls up and nods off. I guess the soil in it is nice and soft.

The title is courtesy of Ry, as he is quick to declare blankets, beds, clothes and chairs... "comfy cozy!"

my hair needs your vote

I have some plans to get a hairchop on Saturday. It's actually more like a trim and style since I don't want to go short-short. Anyhow, here's the thing, I want something pretty and easy. I haven't brushed my hair in days so... yeah. I'm hoping a little trim will give me some kind of pick me up so I will want to brush my hair, get dressed before noon and make me a tiny bit happier. I don't care what anyone says, when my hair looks good I feel better.

I had bangs growing up. Sometimes they looked good and sometimes I wonder how my mother let me go to school looking so fine. Sarcasm, y'all. I have some wonderful examples:

Ignore how dorky I look in that birthday pic. These are the best pics I could find showing the hair in a semi-good state.

Here is what I'd love to avoid:

Not only am I missing a lot of front teeth in this picture, I also look like I was just rescued from the wild. See how that hair flips out on the right side? I have to deal with that all the time. Still. The picture above with my hair pulled back... the wispy hairs? Every day. I used to call them horns. Not that I was devilish but that's what they look like. I have wavy hair. Not good wavy, mind of it's own wavy.

Hold on, I'm embarrassing myself here so I can get your opinion! Bangs or no? Currently I have none. (Except for the weird ones growing out.) The closest I've been to having bangs was almost three years ago.

I had some side swept bangs and it looks nice. (My hair is straightened in this pic.)

I've had some bad haircuts in the past and a few good ones. Even if I do decide to get bangs it'll probably be another year before I get a real haircut (I'm shooting for something closer to six months, but we'll see) so any bangs will be growing out as soon as the haircut is complete. I'm a bad maintainer.

I'm going to put up a poll and you may vote away. I know I'm asking you to do this, however, it's all up to how daring I feel on Saturday.

Here's my current look...

We have until Saturday to figure this out! Bangs or not? That is the question.

Weekend Highlight

Yesterday we trekked to the back to set up a game feeder (not for livestock; for deer and wild hogs and hunting). The kids climbed up on this fallen tree that was laying across a dry creek bed, so I had to get their picture. They were looking so cute and isn't it sweet how the boys have their arms behind Rose to make sure she didn't fall backwards? (It was only about two feet off the ground.)

This was one of the few times Rose wasn't hanging on to me... she hasn't been feeling super for the past few days. (Cedar pollen really sucks right now.)

That's me. Sawing a Yaupon (yo-pawn is how we say it 'round here). They are so spring-y! I had to sit on it (obviously it wasn't like I was cutting down a giant oak or something) and sawed away until I had it done. It was probably 15 feet tall, but only about 2 inches in diameter. If my saw had been sharper it would have been effortless, I'm sure. T thought it was funny watching me hack my way through it. I cut a couple more down... just because I could (and they were in the way of the feeder).

The boys. They had a blast riding on the tractor and playing hide and seek. (They were so worn out that they actually took naps in the afternoon!) We had such a nice time. I even packed us a lunch and we had a picnic.

That's how we celebrate New Years.

(By the way, I fiddled with the blog... do you like the new layout? I like that my pictures can be bigger now and the posts are more centered.)

adios 2011, hello 2012

Resolutions. I am reading a lot of them today on different blogs and if you make them, great, but I am not a big resolution maker. I tend to make changes at random times throughout the year. I don't like waiting to make a change because I'll end up putting it off and then forgetting about it.

I do have some things I've been working on and will continue in 2012. Here they are:

Around the house

• Keep getting rid of things I don't use or need. (Simplify our life)
• Put the laundry away (can we go for twice a week? that would be a huge improvement!)
• Paint the kitchen, finish updating bathroom

Me

• Make time for myself
• Drink more water
• Stop eating the entire bag of tortilla chips in two days without sharing
• Be a better listener
• Be kinder
• Be patient
• Have more self control
• Be a good example of the previous 4 statements to my children

 Things I'd like to do

• Plan and go on a vacation that is relatively inexpensive, but lots of fun (This CAN happen, right?)
• Have date with T (at least) once a month. Even it's just a few hours on a Sunday afternoon to go for a walk and talk about winning the lottery. (Any volunteer babysitters? Sign up now!) 
• Save $$ so we can build our house.