My name is Shelly and I am a forum addict. I am having withdrawls today.....damn Delphi AND About are both down. I NEED my forum fix;/ Thank goodness GoJabber is up, and I can at least go to Kat's forum.

I am getting lots done today without my usual forum breaks though. I got the front porch scrubbed and repainted. I rearranged it, and got new pillows for the chairs and a tablecloth for the table (ok, its vinyl, but it looks vintage) I do believe I will sit out there this evening with a glass of wine and a book. Its not as bloody hot as it was yesterday....so it should be much more pleasant out there tonight. Oh, and I bought a pot of lavender to put out there, so it smells wonderful!

I took Joseph to get a haircut, dropped the books off at the library, then ran to the store. Raleys has white corn on sale 4/$1.00. I'm fixing small steaks tonight, and that fresh corn. Yummy! I've got carrot cake (from trader joes) for dessert.

I have to get Joseph packed for his trip to Grandma's tomorrow.....I'll pack for my trip after I get back from taking him to Santa Cruz.

I spoke with Casey today. She is going to fly up with me on Friday....Steve and the other guys have to fly out tonight, and she has class tomorrow and can't go til Friday. works out well for both of us. I will enjoy the company on the flight:-)

Its been a busy few days!

Chris got home on Thursday......he did get to relax for a day or so. Saturday morning we dropped Joseph off at Pena Adobe park for his walk a thon for the March of Dimes. I 'really' believe in that cause........since Kaya was only 1lb 13 oz when she was born. March of Dimes does good work:)

After we picked him up (and dropped Adam off at home) we went to Stockton for the Aparagus Festival.....CROWDED!!!! I didn't get to have any frioed asparagus though:( It was SO crowded that there was a one HOUR wait for the fried asparagus. I did get some asparagus pasta though.....and an asparagarita;)

Sunday morning we went to Petaluma for the antique fair I don't usually buy too much there......but I did find another vintage tablecloth for $15! Score! Most booths had them for $45 and up. I also got some (mismatched) vintage napkins.

We took Chris to the airport early yesterday morning for his return trip to Illinois. I think he really gets to come home next week! Roby needs him at the refinery for a shut down there. Next month he heads to Texas for a few days. I'm still thinking about going with......there are lots of people in Texas I would love to meet:)

Last night was GREAT!! I got to meet Kris and Bert! They are in Sacramento for a few days on the way home from their European trip. Seeing Kris in person was like old home week. You would not think we had never actually met before. It was like seeing a long lost friend. I am so thankful for that opportunity. She is exactly how she is on the forum....and Bert is a terrific man. I am so glad they found each other. I also got to meet Jill, and we got along well. I think I could *hang* with her, lol. She is funny and intelligent and kind. Deb (Maidy), her hubby and their 2 girls were there too. Deb is the sweetest person known to man, I think. Her girls are just adorable, and her husband is really nice. Joseph talked with him quite a bit.

I just wish I could meet *everyone* from the forums I want to meet, LOL. I am really hoping I get to meet Denine this weekend when I go to Seattle!

What kind of drugs do they put in the food prepared at Pampered Chef parties? Really, I need to know. There is no other reason I would have ordered $90 worth of stuff last night. They make everything sound *so* good. I didn't even order any big stuff! I think the most I spent on any one item was 11 or 12 dollars. *sigh* God knows, I have no idea how I have lived lo these many years without an avocado peeler! I won't have to suffer for long though, since I ordered one. I saw more in the catalogue that I want, too. Luckily Terri is going to have a party, so I can spend more money;/


Chris called this morning......he is coming home tomorrow, but just for the weekend. Should I get my honey do list out, or give him a break.........hmm....what to do, what to do......

He'll probably get a break, just because I have lots planned for the weekend already. He had better rest tomorrow and Friday;) Saturday morning Joseph walks in the March of Dimes walk, then we are meeting Sheri & Joel at the Asparagus Festival. You haven't lived until you have had deep fried asparagus....with an asparagus margarita to wash them down......yum:-)

Sunday is the antique fair in Petaluma.......

Next week I should be meeting Kris.....its excited I am! And......next weekend is my Seattle trip (Joseph will be staying with Grandma and Grandpa since Dad will be back in Ill.....) where I will hopefully meet Denine!

Monday, Monday.

Back to the grind after a week off. Errands to run, laundry to do. Ah joy;-)

Its been raining off and on all weekend. I wanted to get some stuff done in the yard, but couldn't:/ Oh well, maybe this week.

Joseph and I went to Petaluma yesterday. The weather was gorgeous over there, lol. We went to one of MoveOn's "Bake back the White House" sales. Cookies for a cause....gotta like that:) I looked in a couple of antique shops to get an idea of just how good a buy my tablecloths were in Illinois. They were a damn good buy. The cheapest tablecloth I saw was $65. Quite a bit more than the $15 and $23 I paid for the ones I got. I wonder if I can get Chris to go to an antique store and get me a couple more? He knows what I like and collect.....

Today was a lazy day. I just didn't give a shit because of the weather. I got some laundry done, went to Target (Easter stuff was 90% off) then took Joseph to youth group and ran to K Mart. The teen choir sounded really good at Mass tonight. I'm glad Joseph wants to stay in it. He enjoys the whole thing.

Next Saturday the kids are participating in the Walk America for the March of Dimes. He has to hit up some people this week to sponsor him.

I'm off to take some allergy meds. My eyes are itching like crazy tonight:/

Ok. First blog post disappeared into cyber space.

The vacation was great. When we got in on Thursday I was a zombie though. I can't believe I was able to function at all. I only dozed on the plane, so I went basically without sleep for 36 hours. Nice surprise when I went to pick up the rental. I had reserved a Ford Focus.....cause it was cheap. ($149/week) When I went to get the car.......they had a Crown Victoria for me. Damn thing was like a boat! Best part was that it was the same price as the Focus! Someone must have screwed up, but I didn't complain;)

We met Chris at the hotel before he left for work (one thing about getting in at the butt crack of dawn) We went in and freshened up, then went downstairs for breakfast. I drove around a bit to get my bearings, then we met Chris and Mike at King Louie's in Wood River for lunch. Not much atmosphere, but damn good burgers:) After lunch, Joseph and I went to visit Cahokia Mounds Historic Site. (www.cahokiamounds.com) Its a 2,200 acre site preserving the central section of the largest prehistoric Indian city north of Mexico. We got back to the room right before Chris did. We went out to eat then came back in to watch Survivor and the Apprentice. I was kind of pissed Lex got voted off, mostly because I cannot STAND Boston Rob. OMG he thinks his shit doesn't stink;/ His attitude makes me want to reach through the tv and smack the crap out of him.

Friday Joe and I went and visited the Lewis & Clark site in Hartford IL. There is an interpretive Museum and a replica of one of their camps. We got a couple of books about them while we were there. After we went there, we went to Alton......I got some pottery at a place called Mississippi Mud, and we went into some antique stores. OMG....the price of antiques there is amazing! Probably half the price of the stores here. While we were in Alton, we went and saw the statue of Robert Ludlow.......he lived there. He was the tallest man in the world. I remember reading about him in the Guinness Book. He was something like 9 feet tall. We got pictures of both of us standing next to him.

Saturday, Chris took the day off, and we drove up to Springfield. We went through President Lincoln's house, then drove to the cemetery and visited his tomb. It was incredible, and a little weird......walking into this huge tomb and seeing the headstone of Abraham Lincoln....realizing the history. On the way back to Collinsville, we stopped at a huge antique mall. I found 2 tablecloths.......one from the 50's....red with musical notes along the border, instead of flowers. I couldn't believe the price.....15 dollars! Vintage tablecloths run anywhere from $40 to over S100 here......even more for some of them (like the map ones that were bought as souvenirs in the 40s or 50s) Speaking of which.....I found a California one!! I was stoked! It was only $23. I felt like I was stealing it at that price.

Sunday, we got up early and went to Easter Mass. It was nice, although the priest looked like Jimmy Swaggart, and that made me nervous;) He was just a little too smooth for my taste. Chris went to work for a couple of hours after that, then, since they were doing NOTHING at the stupid refinery, he took off and we drove into St Louis. We went to visit the Arch, and were happy to discover the museum underneath it was open on Easter. The Arch is an incredible sight close up. We could see it from our hotel window, but it is just awesome when you walk under it and look up. I didn't want to ride up it though.....660 feet in the air is just too high for me. I think Joseph took half a roll of pictures there that day. We came back to IL. and had dinner at a place called The Ponderosa. Good buffet:)

Monday they were still not doing much at the refinery, so Chris took the day off and we went to the St Louis Science Center. Awesome. There is no other word to describe it! Joseph was in heaven! There is so much to see and do there. I highly recommend it to anyone.....more so if you're a science buff like Joseph is. After we finished at the Science Center, we went to Union Station in downtown St Louis. It is an old railroad station that has been converted to a hotel and shops.....very cool. I found a shop there made for me, LOL. Its called Beatles For Sale:) I bought a hat, some bumper stickers and a poster for Joseph's room. I also saw the stuffed Ringo doll I have......its selling for $125. We also went to the Galleria in St Louis (You didn't think I would NOT shop, did you) I was good there though, although they have a Mary Englebreit store, where I could have cheerfully spent a small fortune! Besides an Scottie dog charm and a felt purse with a Scottie on it, I didn't get much except for some postcards she made. I brought one home for Theresa. She loves Mary Englebreit as much as I do. The only other thing we got there was at the Disney store.....4 shirts for $18! What a sale. I know, I know, I have Disney stores here, not to mention our trip to Disneyland, but I couldn't pass up those prices;)

Tuesday was lazy. I had to pack ....and the new clothes I bought all fit into the existing suitcases! The only extra thing I had to carry on the plane was a big shopping bag with the other trinkets I bought, and the pottery. Chris got off work early so we could spend a couple of hours together before we left to catch our plane. The flight home was ok. We had another layover in Vegas.....I won $50 on the way home (and $30 on the way out there) Our flight from Vegas to Sacramento was 2 hours late though. Joseph and I were both so tired......he went to sleep on the floor of the airport, poor kid:/

All in all, it was a nice trip. I still don't know how long Chris is going to be there though:(

Fucking goddamn war.


Casey Sheehan died in Iraq on Sunday.


He worked with the kids at church, and was a Eucharistic minister. His mom Cindy used to be the leader of the youth group.

Non thrift store deal of the day:

Haggar Outlet........1 pair dress khakis for Joseph, 1 nice pair shorts and 2 long sleeved work shirts for Chris....$9.50. The store is closing down and moving to another place. Yay for me;)

Thrift shop deal of the day: brand new BCBG (or BGBC....whatever) Max Azaria pink beaded sweater for 99 cents. Woo hoo! I am on a pink kick this spring;-)

Weather was glorious today....no wind at all this evening. Chris and I sat out on the front porch with a glass of wine. Nice.

We lose an hour of sleep tonight, but it is worth it for the extra daylight. I love daylight savings. I love sitting outside and relaxing.

Unfortunately, Chris has another ungodly early flight tomorrow morning, so I will get even less sleep tonight. Oh well....I can alway nap tomorrow aftenoon;-)

*Big sigh of relief*

Confirmation went very well. Joseph looked very handsome with his shirt & tie. Everyone looked so grown up. I was proud of *all* my kids. I have taught some of them since they were in second grade. Roy & Eleanor came up (Eleanor was his sponsor), and Sheri, Joel, Jeff, Lyndsey and baby Lexie came too. The church was crowded. A couple of the kids got me cards and thank you gifts . According to Danielle, I totally rock;-) Joseph got a new Bible from Grandma, along with a CD of 'Christian rock'. I don't know how much he will listen to that, but it was nice of her to get it. He got a cool necklace and a manly bracelet, as well as some other really cool stuff. He said he is going to continue going to youth group...even though he technically doesn't have to anymore. I'm glad he likes it though=) (Besides....he's in the choir now, so he has practice before mass on Sunday afternoon)

Yesterday we just relaxed most of the day, and watched Survivor at night. I got a giggle from Boston Rob's 'godfather' B.S. "You take care of Amber, I'll take care of you' HAHAHAHA He sure thinks he is something, lol. What a jerk;p

We finally got a case for Joseph's acoustic. I feel a lot better about him taking it out now.


To do tomorrow: Buy thank you cards....and have Joseph send them to those who came to Confirmation.