Can I be honest, here?

I worked for two years as a health producer at the local ABC affiliate. I wrote stories, conducted interviews with doctors and patients, and gathered research on fibromyalgia and was never fully convinced of its validity as a medical condition. I had convinced myself that the medical field had come up with another way to over-prescribe and over-treat us, the patient, as a whole. I used to think that the United States was the most hypocondriatic nation!!

It wasn't until my mother was diagnosed that I had to take another look at the signs and symptoms. Not only do I believe that fibromyalgia is valid now, but her diagnosis helps me to understand why she constantly never feels right, or rested. I guess that when your young, and I was fresh out of college, it's easy to make snap decisions about things you really know nothing about!

Merry Christmas!

From our home to yours! We added a baby and a new home this year. I wonder what next year will bring!?!

Space Savers

It seems to me like our house is a constant project right now. But it is starting to come together! The kitchen right now is our main focus. We have all the stuff in our cabinets, but there are no doors on because we are sanding and painting them to freshen them up! Just yesterday, I was telling Hank that I wish I had more counter space. I visited a website that has things like plasma mount and found some great space saving ideas! The first one I found was this television stand. Now, I don't need it for a television, but I think this piece of furniture would make an excellent microwave cart! I have space on the other side of my fridge and I think this would work perfectly and even give me some extra under counter storage space! And we do have a television in our kitchen. It is currently also on my counter, so I asked Hank what we could do. Here is my solution! Let's mount it in the corner! Then my counters are free to become cluttered again!

Santa Baby!

Pictures with Santa through the years! These are my favorite Christmas decoration!

All I Want For Christmas!

I'm always at a loss as to what to get my mother for Christmas every year. I mean, she buys whatever she wants. I was gonna get her the movie Hairspray and a couple of other things, but she bought the movie for herself a few weeks ago. I remember when I was in college I was so proud, because I got her something that she loved! Do you guys remember these? Well, I bought my mom a whole set and a gold chain to put them on. She wore it for years until they went out of style. She also says that she doesn't have any for her grandkids so she doesn't wear it for that reason. My brother and I decided this year to do something really practical for her. We are getting her a deep freeze. Not really sentimental, but she's been saying she wants one for a while.

Romantic Getaway!

Hank and I have been talking about planning a few weekend getaways. Since we will have annual passes to Disney this year, courtesy of his mother, we will be taking a trip there. But one place I've never been but want to go to is Las Vegas! i know if we book far wnough in advance, we can get really good rates on air fare, but what about finding a cheap hotel Las Vegas style? I mean, I want a high rollers sweet for a bargain basement price people!

I also have a friend who lives in Vegas, or on the outskirts of Vegas. So I would have some socialization too! Now, where can I find a quick tutorial on Black Jack?

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

When we found out that Sophie was a little girl, Hank told me that I could have whatever I wanted to decorate her room in. I was thrilled to have a little girl, because I had already decorated for little boys! I started out by shopping at local consignment shops for the pieces of baby furniture that we needed that we had either given away, sold, or had seen better days! There is a local shop that had a round bassinet! I fell in LOVE with it! They had already sold it, so I decided to do a bit of research on them to see if they were even in our price range. I found out that they ranged from $150 to $200 brand new. That was a little much considering that she wouldn't be in it much. But I so wanted it. If Sophie hadn't of been our last baby, we may have decided to go for it!

Right now, we are setting up her new room in our new home. I had my choice of baby cribs. I had the one that both of my boys used, or one that my mother had at her house. We decided to keep tradition alive and use the one our boys used. Now I am on the hunt for perfect accessories to go in her room. Especially a rug. I found this one, that would be a perfect addition to her little haven! And the price is decent too!

Stay at Home, Work at Home

With the expense of the new house and the updates we are doing, Hank and I have been talking about finding a second source of income. Just yesterday I was listening to the radio and heard about a local class that teaches about medical transcription. I wouldn't mind doing that and making some extra money. Of couse it would be an initial investment. At least it would keep my computer skills current. So when I do go back full time into the work force, my business performance management skills won't be rusty! Staying at home is such a worthwhile investment in our children. The pro to working at home would be being there for my children and being able to do housework while working. The con would be that my time would be limited in all areas. I'm still looking into it though!

Night on the Town!

People are saying that 'High School Musical' is like the 'Grease' of this era. That's probably why videos like this are all over places like Tiny Pic and YouTube. But these kids have got a long way to go before they make it to the big stage. I am super excited that High School Musical is now a play! And more excited that they will be in this area soon! I hope that I can get all of my nieces together and get some High School Musical tickets and go out for a night on the town with them! How fun would that be? Nothing but young teenage fun!

Upgrade

Have you guys seem those commercials where the announcer is talking about upgrading everything in your life? That's what I feel like I'm doing with my new house. We plan on moving in this weekend, but before we do that, we wanted to paint over some 'designer' (at least that's how she described them) colors in the house, sand and paint cabinets, update light fixtures and plumbing fixtures, and finally add a whole bathroom in the basement. That's may sound pretty easy, especially since my dad is a plumber, but that sort of limits my Christmas list this year! In fact, I've seriously asked for three delta faucets. I picked our some really pretty styles and finishes that make me happy! Wanna see one?This one has a pewter/nickel finish with a gooseneck. I like it! This will go in the master bathroom. The other two baths will stay chrome though. It's easier to decorate around that!

Where did the time go?

After Christmas, I plan to start saving some money for mine and Hank's anniversary. We've been together, dating and all, for 8 years. In April, we celebrate 6 years of marital bliss! On our first anniversary, Hank did some research and found our that it was traditional to give me a pearl necklace set, so that's what he did. I love it and wear it often! I did the paper theme and gave him a gift certificate. Since then, we've been too busy having and taking care of our three children to fool with it much. This year, I'm planning something special. As you may know, my husband is a University of Alabama alum and a HUGE fan (to say the least)! He has 3 Daniel Moore prints that have never been properly framed. For Christmas, my parent's framed one for him and I plan to frame one or both of the remaining prints for our anniversary. I know it doesn't seem very romantic... I mean, it isn't a pearl necklace... but I can guarantee you he is gonna squeal like a little girl when he gets them! They mean that much to him!

Planning Our Dream Home... Again!

Okay, so we aren't even settled into our new house, and already we've started talking about what we would like in our 'next' house! Ha! Hank really, really wants a 'man cave' complete with surround sound, high definition and discount home theater seating. Wouldn't that be cool? I've seen it done on home improvement shows like Trading Spaces... and I've seen it on MTV's Cribs.

I really, really want his and her closets in my next house and a bit more storage room. Since we have plans in the next six months to convert what is now a storage room into a third bathroom, I can't really count that space.

Hmmm... isn't it interesting what is important to different people? It's definitely a his and hers list, huh?

Angels Unaware

I love the thought of angels walking around and among us. The Bible calls them 'angels unaware.' A couple of years ago, a very old friend of mine was going through a huge life challenge. His 5 year old little boy was battling cancer and a death sentence. Not only was it mentally and emotionally draining, but financially as well. Another friend of mine made a car donation to them because they started having trouble with their car. It makes me cry to think about. They did it selflessly. They traveled more than 600 miles to deliver the car to this couple, at their own expense. And they did it all anonymously and quietly. If more people out there would give straight from the heart, I think there would be a little less heartache in the world.
There is an organization that does things like my friend did. It's called Car Angel (www.carangel.com). It's a a non-profit company that uses car and other donations to make videos for kids and teens. They have given away over 2.4 million videos. Here's one of the videos:

Swatch Watch

When I was a tween and a young teenager, the think to wear was a swatch watch. Do you guys remember these? They were HUGE and you could change out the face plate on them. Nowadays, I guess the thing to wear is a Rolex or other high end name brands like IWC watch, Cartier, or Chanel to name of few. But these brands bost roughly what a new car would! Oh My Gosh!! But you can buy them used for $10,000-$15,000 less! I've never been one to wear a status symbol on my wrist, but man these watches are nice!! I also found a few other 'wish list' items like this ring: A two-carat, flawless pink diamond ring that retails for nearly $70,000!! Keep dreaming, Jamie!