Monday, April 9, 2012

April 9, 2012

Plans for the day include possibly a trip to the driving range....hubby ran out for a quick few things (QUICK .....yeah right) about 45 minutes ago. Just where does he go when he runs these little joints? Must have a mistress....LOL. Anyways, we have to head back to good old CNY at some point today, so we will see how things unfold. Got a ton of packing to do....it's amazing how much mess we make in just three days....weather is not cooperating with us...lots of wind and cooler temps. Just have to see how things go. TTFN

Sunday, April 8, 2012

EASTER 2012

well....Happy Easter everybody!!! It has been a very nice day. Got up early enough to help the bunny hide (more like fling plastic easter eggs across the grass) so that LM could do a search. No competition as it's just us this weekend made the hunt slow moving. He has more candy now then anyone can ever eat. Breakfast at Sutton's. Enjoyed family had a nice meal, took a drive to visit my hubby's neighborhood growing up and went to Lake George for video games. LM got so many tickets he brought home a stash of junk. Played a little golf...yes that's right. I am not a golfer, but we did some practice shots in the yard. Looks like we may hit the driving range tomorrow morning before heading homeward and possibly Saratoga. Deciding if we really need to have one more meal today as we had dinner at 1pm, I know I really don't need it, but I don't want to be starving at 9pm either. Watching the end of the Masters, and want to get ready for the Sunday night tv line up, Amazing Race between commercials and Once Upon a time, The Celebrity Apprentice and bed. Well were off.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

April 7, 2012

computer is down....we are at my hubby's mothers house in Lake George. LM and I took a 1.5 hour drive north to look at waterfalls, and we also went to Lake Placid. Beautiful, but I was a little disappointed. We went to Ausable Chasm, and due to the season we only had the choice of the 5 mile hike, with no return bus or raft ride at $16- or the 15-20 walk around the falls and a look at a rock that resembles an elephant for $5 a person. Spent $20 in gas, another $20- for lunch in Lake Placid, and $10- for the 20 minute walk, that we could have looked at on the public bridge for free. feeling a bit taken advantage of, especially since there are 1000's of FREE nature trails that we could have walk on. By the time we got to Lake Placid LM was done with the whole trip, and had no interest in looking at the Olympic activities, shops, or even taking a bobsled ride. We hit a diner in the village that was high priced, dirty and really not very good. Guess I was hoping for something amazing. It was still fun just to get away. Nice dinner this evening, and we got the Easter bunny coming tomorrow morning, maybe the village of Lake George and Big Easter dinner tomorrow night. Maybe I can convince the family to hit Saratoga or perhaps Howe's caverns on the way home on Monday. Still need something to fill up my weekend before we head home. Tension here with LM and Bubbe.....trying to just sneak away from it all. Seems everyone just needs to go to sleep early. I can finally give myself some walk miles for the Walgreens walk. I just don't know how many steps I took....it didn't seem like much, especially for paying $10- and driving 1.5 hours. (by the way gas prices up this way are $4.29 a gallon....I almost fell the freak over.) Hopefully when I get home I can get on my computer and post some beautiful Adirondack pictures..... because I do have to mention, despite the negatives.....them mountains, lakes and creeks are simply AMAZING! Next trip north of Lake George, we gotta climb (take the car) up to the top of Whiteface, trail into the free woods, some white h2o rafting, tubing and dip our feet into the cool creeks that run into Lake Champlain. AND did I mention, that the original plan was to drive to Vermont and have Ben and Jerry's ice cream...it was decided as a no after I found it would be a 2 hour drive....I drove over two hours anyways between the gorge and Lake Placid. Oh well. Next time. till tomorrow then!

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

April 4th 2012



LM's picture of himself at his desk, on tv for his presentation of the comercials and working the school store. Below is the FREE walk with Wegman's kit. (Still haven't taken a walk since I got the thing an signed up...better get going)

Yesterday's work was actually worse then I could imagine. Feeling trapped. I already knew that I had too many people on my case load, but somehow I made it work and have been busy trying to get people out of my group, but yesterday when all but two people showed up for group and we (as we always are and have always been) are in the smallest group room in the building. It was so cramped, we were down four chairs, and it was so claustrophobic I finally just said...you know what, go home. What a nightmare. How can I work like this and how can you expect the client to be relaxed enough to do what they need to do when they can't even sit down? Road Blocks on moving people along. Issues that need to be addressed, individuals that need to be done, treatment plans and phone calls, follow up's, clean up files, make sure they do what they need to do, urine screens, and right now I don't even know everyone name. It's crazy!!!! So I am not looking forward to today. Keeping my group closed for a while.....anyways, the rest of the day was okay. Bought some groceries, caught up on one of the True Blood episodes before LM got home from school, not doing well with diet and exercise, went to Open House at LM's school, and after all was said and done...I was whipped and pretty much fell out to sleep. after figuring numbers in my head and not wanting to disappoint...we have compromised on vacation, and plan on tenting it...it will save me $200-. We have a great tent (it's bigger then some RV's) , I have a comfortable air mattress (actually more comfortable then those 1 layer mattress's they have in those cabins)....only down fall is no fridge/microwave. The cabin I was going to get didn't have a bathroom in it anyways, so were not loosing a bathroom. $200- saved, a better bed. No micro and no fridge, but we always bring the TV, a big extention-cord and I cook on the skillet. Just need extra ice for the cooler. We still get the water park, the pool, the go-carts, the paint ball/laser tag, gem mining, fishing, canoes, mini golf, hay rides, giant bounce pillow, ice cream socials, themed week (the week we go is Wet and Wild), camp ground activities and of course Yogi Bear. Still wish we had an RV it would make trips so much easier (someday....). anyways we still get to go and I save $200- for lodging. BAM!!!! Once the week is over we'll head to Hershey and actually stay in a hotel...we need some luxury after all. I think it's a great compromise, and not only does this change the vacation a bit, but it forces me to purchase a pop-up gazebo (which is what I have used in our back yard for the last several years anyways) So....I will not be needin that $200+ gazebo if were going to need a pop up for camping anyways, so I might as well go purchase the $60- one I saw at the freight place. looks like I might be saving over $300-. So far so good. Hubby is doing our taxes today, that always get me nervous because part of our poverty problem is a direct result of our past taxes....I wont go there today. Cross your fingers that we do not owe....we should be good....but I thought we were before. Counting down the days of this week, were off to Lake George on Friday...so need to get away.....so thinking weekend weekend weekend......

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

April 3d, 2012

It's once again my Monday.....I dont know why I make my job out to be such a terrible experience, but every day before work I find myself "making a big deal" about having to go. It's kindof like going to the dentist....you imagine it's gonna be terrible and once it's all over your like okay it sucked but it's done...and it was most certainly less of a terror then I thought it would be. Yesterday was quite the adventure. I made it to Zumba Aquatics (yeah me!!!). Not so sure it was much of a work out, but it was sure better then sittin around here all morning. After Zumba I ran to the local used bookstore and purchased The girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I don't have a kindle, and although the library might be a better (cheep, actually free) option to books, I usually accidentally let the book date return lapse, and my kids are forever loosing the book...so it ends up costing me just as much if not more. So I purchased the book for $4-, headed to the Thrifty Store as I had about 45 minutes before I was to pick up the Princess. I found a bag of blue plastic pacifiers, an Easter basket, grass, and a brand new activities coloring kit all for $5-. ( Thinking I could make cupcakes and add the pacifiers to the tops for my friend whose having a baby boy in September). Feeling pretty confident about my spending at that point. About $10- out of my pocket...off I go to get Princess. Returning home, we had some time before the Eye DR. I searched for the Walgreens walk promotion and entered to walk, I also signed the LM up for two of the Lowes Build As You Grow events and then on to Walgreens and the eye Dr. Princess and I hit up Walgreen's for our FREE walk with Walgreen's boxes, and I purchased a dog color for the Peanut. ($5-). The Walgreens box has the celebrity apprentice winners on it and it includes a pedometer and a string bag. The website offers suggestions, motivators, and chats to help you get moving. Fun...I always LOVE FREE, and we needed a dog coller cauz the Nut's doesn't fit anymore. (I think it might have been a kitty cat coller in the first place). Deciding if I'm gonna make an effort to walk I might as well bring the dog, so better have a coller right. Feeling pretty proud of my now only $15- spending spree we head to the eye Dr. Now, before I tell you the clincher I was informed that all services and fee's would be covered by the Insurance. I knew that there would be only a small selection of frames that were covered, and I was prepared for accepting that. Anyways, after finding that my eyes are not to bad, neither are the princess's I do have a slight stigmatism and some issues with reading...so the verdict is transitional lenses. The princess would benefit with some glasses to help her with classroom reading on the board. Nothing to bad. This should be easy. I go to pick out the free frames and The Princess has already been informed that her glasses with the len's and using insurance will be $90- and I haven't even started to search out a pair for me. WAIT A MINUTE.....Okay so we work our way out of that ....we do not need a special lite weight, scratch resistant, glass on The Princess's pair no way no how, especially since she will more than likly loose them....I bent on the frames (not covered free on the insurance) and paid $15- for a name brand with faux diamonds on the side. On to mine.....even with the free frames I could not get the len's I needed (transitional) without the added finances and so my glasses that I really could have done without (this is coming from the eye doc.) ended up costing $56-. So she run's my card and (heres where they play that wawa music when someone makes a mistake on a game show) No funds. At this point I just want to run out of and leave the whole thing on the counter. Ended up writing a check and spending $70- more then I wanted to or anticipated. Not happy about that. I could have used that $70 towards all kinds of things...my fridge is empty right now, I have a bike on layaway, still wanting a gazebo, putting funds down on the vacation, I need a cell phone......I most certainly would not have gone and did the eye thing if I had any idea it would cost me money. The drama continues as the rest of the day unfolds, but it is already about time to go...so I will have to follow up tomorrow.

Monday, April 2, 2012

April 2nd 2012




Weekend over....Monday here and time to get back on track. I am packed and ready to hit the gym for a little Aquatic Zumba. I have not been very "good" about the whole weight loss situation this weekend, and time to put it into overdrive. After Aquatics, I'm off to get my eyes checked. It's been years since I wore my glasses ( I haven't seen them in at least five years maybe more). Our insurance changed and has finally gone back to the old rules, so now getting my eyes checked and new glasses makes sense. ITS FREE!!!! (well sort of, there gonna take the money from his check regardless if we get our eyes done or not, so I might as well do it.) Taking Princess too, she also had glasses several years ago. Hubby is convinced that these glasses will land in some abyss just like the dozen or so sun glasses I seem to loose each year. Gonna try to be better with these. Weekend was lazy. Sunday I enjoyed the newspaper, lallygagged on the computer, made a cake; (even after cake class, I still suck at this cake thing). Hit the 50% off coupons for both AC Moores and used another AC Moore 50% off coupon at JoAnnes. Got myself some adhesive, a box of fifty premade cards with envelopes for $5-, a few more Easter decorations; I really really really wanted to go wild in the spring section of Joanne's but at only 40% off I had to restrain myself. I just love the little gnomes and they had so super cute figurines and decorations. Yes 40% is nice, but I gotta pay for a bike, put a deposit down on vacation, would really like to have a new cell phone, and I'm still wanting my Gazabo......Guess those gnomes will have to wait til the Fall clearence. LOL! I put the gnomes down, and picked up a 50% off Easter Egg dye kit and decided that the boys would enjoy coloring eggs instead of looking at my Gnomes this summer. Egg kit for $1.35, some cute Easter Decorations, and candles for the Birthday cake. I missed crossing my T on the birthday so it was Happy Birlhday...OPPPS! Tasted just as good. Boys dyed Easter Egg's since no one will be around on Easter...including me. My Step-son is going to Florida with his Mother on Thursday, My eldest will be busy next week with testing for college exams, Princess will surly be busy socializing...so that leaves, little man, Hubby and myself. No Easter Egg hunt in the back yard this year. Bummer....since the older two have long grown out of this tradition, and without the competition from his 1/2 brother, LM is not interested in hunting eggs this year. Were going to Lake George. I'm pushing for a quick Vermont trip to Ben and Jerry's (what could be better then chocolate bunnies at Easter...some YUMMY YUMMY Ice Cream...duh!) Hubby says...there's a horse race that weekend he has to watch....what...really. We'll just have to see what the weekend brings. Had a nice dinner and cake for the eldest. Watched Once Upon a Time, The Apprentice ( You GO, Arcenio!!!) and sound asleep. Just heard the neighbor scraping off the windshield.....tell me there is no FROST....really now. Yep there it is. Off to retrieve my scrapper, I am pretty sure I buried that thing somewhere in the garage with the snow shovels, winter hats, and gloves. Only in CNY can it be in the 80's one day and snow falling the next.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

April Fools Day 2012

Here are my Easter Decorations.




So yesterday wasn't a total waste I did several layouts using up alot of my stash..would have kept on going but I ran out of adhesive (first rule of stamp club...never run out of adhesive) This layout was done by Sandy Van Norstand from consultant club.

Sandy's layout. Gonna hit up the coupons and see about getting myself some more adhesive. I am on a roll with the layouts. Got a cake to make, bake and decorate for my Big boy's 19th birthday today. I'm still struggling with accepting the fact that I am a mother to a 19 year old. Just when did that happen? time sure flys. Paper reading, coupon clipping, a little shopping, baking and a little party for the big guy. Busy day I guess. till then. Happy fools day!!!!