House Envy

Do you ever struggle with house envy? I know I do. I am so GLAD that I have a house, but I still feel a tid bit of jealousy when I visit places of residences that I will only be able to live in when I dream at night. So, I've decided to focus on the things in my home that I absolutely love. The first thing is a vase I inherited through marriage from my mother-in-law. It is a glass vase. Last fall I cut some snowballs (that's what we called them in our family, I'm not sure what they are really called) from our yard and dried them. I then took some sea glass I found when Joel and I were in Boston and sprinkled it in the bottom. Lastly, I tied a ribbon I had received on a Christmas gift around the top. I now LOVE looking at this arrangement. It makes me happy...and I therefore have a little less house envy:)

I Love Jesus but I drink a Little..

I love Jesus but I drink a Little

Jeff | MySpace Video


So this totally made me laugh!! If you haven't seen this before..you NEED to watch it!

Switch-O-Roomitis

I think I may have some kind of disorder. We'll call it "Switch-O-Roomitis." This is a disease in which one switches their furniture around and around and around and around again. I do believe I've moved furniture around in my home at least 15 times during the short year and 1/2 that I've lived here. I've also changed the paint on one of my pieces of furniture two times (I'm in the long process of sanding that piece right now...that'll teach ya not to paint!) I also like to move my pictures around frequently. I'm pretty sure my walls are going to be swiss cheese pretty soon! While there are many benefits to switching things around (I get rid of junk, find stuff and improve the feng shui of my home), I really wish I had the insight to get things right the first time! Does anyone have any tips for me?

I Said A Naughty Word...

So, my friend invited me to a book club party the other week. I'm a big fan of reading and I thought it would be a great way to get to know some women my age. I was also told to bring a Christmas tree ornament....easy sneezy, right? Well, I picked one out (shh...from my very own tree)....that I absolutely LOVED. I would stare at it when it was hanging from the needles and revel over its beauty. Since Joel and I are trying to save money and because the ornament did not have any sentimental value, I decided to bring it in all of its glory. I would have been thrilled to receive this Christmas tree ornament, and frankly, I was very sad to give it up...but since I'd rather be able to go on vacation again (preferably before I'm 90) and also pay off my school loans...I've taken to cutting a few corners. This happened to be the corner I chose that day. (Usually, I just say no to Diet Coke or bring a bagged lunch to work). Anyway, fast forward to the book party. It was a great gathering of ladies. Lots and lots of ladies...we talked about the book we all read and then moved onto playing the white elephant Christmas tree ornament game. Things were going well....until I noticed that all the women would ooh and ah over all the ornaments and then enquire "Where did you get that from?" Answers such as "Pier One, the Christmas Store...the_____ kept being tossed around the room. I began to panic! What was I going to say? I couldn't very well tell them that I found it on my tree. I also could not tell them that a friend bought it for me, because someone who previously lived in our house had bought it and left it behind. I briefly thought about lying...but I can't lie about anything and the guilt would have plagued me to my death. Then it happened...and I told the truth which happens to be the "naughty" word I said. That's right...the R word. I know you've all thought it and many have even used it. REGIFT. That's right. I regifted. After I let the whole group of women know my terrible deed, I was HUMILIATED! Way to make a first impression on 20 women that just so happen to go to my church! Yikes...I'm turning red as I write this. Anyway, I learned my lesson...because I really miss my gorgeous ornament and the pride I gave away with that r word!

Boys Don't Defer

Boys don't defer. This is a very simple fact that has taken me years to comprehend. You see, I've been living in a girls world all my life. I grew up with three sisters and my high school class was 80% female. Naturally, I articulate "girl language" quite well. Thus,boy language often seems quite foreign to me. You see, girls have these known rules that we ALL follow...and if these rules are broken...it makes girls upset. Here are some different unspoken rules we girls usually follow.

1. Girls must defer to one another at least 3 times.

2. If you have both deferred at least 3 times...then the girl with greatest need wins....no matter how vehement her deference is. (For example, if one girl has only eaten a skinny cow all day and there is only one piece of lasagna left for supper..they would both defer until the girl who only ate the skinny was eating the piece of lasagna).

3. The girl who wins the deference ALWAYS thanks the girl who deferred.

You are probably wondering where this "boys don't defer" post came from. Yesterday our fridge did not have a lick of food in it. We just got back from vacation and had not had time to restock. My husband gets up earlier than I do and packed his lunch with the last two pieces of bread. I was therefore left with some fruit, a hot red pepper and a skinny cow (and no car since we share one). I chose to eat the skinny cow. We did have one large piece of lasagna left for supper. I was expecting my husband would defer to ME since he had had a sandwich for lunch. And he did...2 times..and then ate it. I was shocked! Obviously I was the one in greatest need! He had a sandwich for lunch and I had a measly skinny cow! (This is a reduced fat/calorie dessert for those of you who do not know). I was the one in greatest need! He did not even follow the last girl deference rule and thank me as he was eating it. He believed me when I said it was okay if he ate it. Naturally, I was quite upset! How RUDE! After stewing about how hungry I was and how inconsiderate he was, I remembered a side comment my mother-in-law made this past weekend "boys do not defer." I then realized that I was speaking in my silly girl language...and of course my husband did not understand these silly girl rules I follow! I then forgave him for eating the last piece of lasagna, and decided my girl deference rules are rather silly!

Back to Life..Back to Reality....

Have you ever noticed that you and your family get a little cranky when returning home from a wonderful vacation? Well, I DO...here's some phrases that may indicate that you just returned or are returning from vacation...

1. Why are you going so slow? You REALLY need to speed up...Ohhhh...look, we just missed that light. Hmmpph...(I won't say who said this one)

2. Me-"Back off you big Galute!!" (yes, I do call Joel a big galute when I'm only partly annoyed with him...he thinks it is kind of funny).

3. Me-"What do you mean we spent too much on ________? I did NOT! I promise you...scribble, scribble (that's me calculating what I spent)....see...way under what you said!"
Him-"Well, we spent it on something!...we spent it on living...it's fine."
Me-"Well, maybe we shouldn't get a___________, and we don't have to buy _______."
Him-"Caron, stop worrying about it....we are just fine."
Me-"Well, lets not go out to eat again until next Thanksgiving...and we can skip Christmas presents for us and we can walk to work and...."
Him-"Caron, seriously, things come up sometimes..."
Yeah..I'm a bit of a worrier sometimes...:)

4. Me-"I forgot my purse"
Him-"What?! But it was right there on the ________-?"
Me-"Well, I still forgot it...with my phone and my wallet, which has my license and credit cards....and btw..I need money tomorrow for ________"

ohh...money! and driving.... the perfect topics for fighting! (not that Joel and I ever fight :)!!! just discuss..;)

I'll Always Be a Minnesota GIRL!

So, this is the first year I will not be spending any of the holidays in Minnesota. I didn't think I would be sad about that fact, but I really am. I love seeing my nieces and nephews every year (and their parents too, of course!)....but since I'm a workin' woman now, I can't! I will probably never live in MN ever again... but I will always be a MN girl at heart! I wear my U of MN sweatshirt proudly and always cheer when we win a football game (even though I could really care less about football!) But, since I've moved down south, I've been asked a lot of funny questions about my home state...I think some southerners think that Minnesotans are close relatives to the Eskimos or something...:)!

1)Here's the most popular question asked of me.
"Do you miss the snow?"

My answer-
"Only on Christmas day!"

2)Another very popular question
"Do you miss the cold?"

I always say "NO!!!"

3) "Do you ice fish?"

I think to myself..."hmmm...do I look like an ice fisher?" but I answer..."no, but my brother-in-law does...he pretty much hunts and fishes any animal that moves."

4)"Can you say _______" again?" (insert nose, bag, rag, sag, bob jones, or anything with an O in that blank."

I say "Shut up...Minnesotans actually have one of the purest forms of English in the USA."

5) "Do you remember the coldest temperature you lived through in MN?"

"I don't really remember...I do remember my breath crystallizing on the dashboard on the way to school some mornings. Once my father took a cup of hot coffee and poured it over the snow and it turned to ice before it hit the ground."

So there you have it folks...a short synopsis of my background...I'm now off to pack for my Thanksgiving trip to SC!