Damn Computer

Monk man has gotten a virus on the computer.



This monster child is only 3 and is already doing stuff on the computer that I didn't figure out until I was maybe 15 or 16. He really likes to download games and it looks like he downloaded something he shouldn't have.



So I get to wipe out the computer and re-install everything again. So if you don't see any new posts for a couple of days, that is what I am doing.



Right now I am just waiting on Photobucket and Youtube to finish loading all the pictures and videos.



Yeah, I have been slacking on uploading everything lately. At least it isn't as bad as last time.



The last time I had to wipe out the computer, I lost a year and a half of pictures because I didn't know about Photobucket. Thankfully I had uploaded all of them to Shutterfly and was able to salvage most of the pictures from there. I cried for days about losing all those pictures.



From what Hubbs has told me, this virus has erased all his mods for World Of Warcraft. Whatever the hell mods are. I don't even bother to ask about WOW stuff anymore. Plus stuff has been running really slow and the computer as a whole has been acting funny for about a month.



Does anyone know how I can keep Monk Man from being able to download? I am pretty clueless about most of this computer stuff. I usually just fake my way through it. Is there a way (On XP) to maybe have all downloads password protected? Any suggestions?

Corn

I got my corn dug up and re-planted the right way. Monk Man and I ended up going to the local plant store and we bought more corn.

So now I have 4 sets of 6-8 groups of corn. It is too dark tonight to take a decent picture. But if I remember in the morning, I will post a few.
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So far, I have planted tomatoes, watermelons, bell peppers, Anaheim peppers, jalapenos, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, corn and green beans.

I have this vision of what is going to happen this fall. I am going to be running around the neighborhood trying to get rid of all these veggies because I KNOW I planted more than what my little family is going to eat and more than I am going to be able to can.

Still nothing on my Trash Can Potatoes.

Hot Seat

It seems like a few of the bloggers I read are doing a "Hot Seat". I guess I am going to follow their lead and put myself in the hot seat.

What happens in a hot seat is you ask questions about me in the comments section and I answer them. So start asking questions and when I have, say 10?, I will post the answers.

Sound good? Oh and yeah, if you want, you can ask more than one question.

Nice

Now the dogs have decided 5:30 a.m. is a good time to get up.

Atleast the kids are still asleep.

RAOK

I did another RAOK (random act of kindness remember?).

My chiropractor (Dr H) is trying to get out of debt, along with is daughter and some of his close friends. Well, last time I was being adjusted, I had mentioned how well I was doing on the Dave Ramsey plan.

Dr H wanted to know where he could find the book I was talking about.

I told him I would just bring one of my copies to him. So I took him one of my Money Makeover books today. I told him to keep it as long as he needed to.

So there is my latest RAOK.

Let the good karma roll in now please!?!

Perverts Beware

So you all know I use a traffic counter right? I think I have mentioned it before.

If I didn't say it before, I use a traffic counter. On both blogs.


It shows me all kinds of neat stuff about my blog traffic. I get to see which pages are the most popular, where a visitor came from, how many times a visitor has been to my blog and even a visitor's country, city, state and IP address and how long the visitor stayed at my blog. I don't check it often, maybe a few times a week.
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Well, I was looking at my traffic counter stats this morning for my other blog and noticed an unusual navigation pattern.

This visitor found my blog through a Google search for "Older Boys In Diapers". (This is the point I stop calling this "visitor" a visitor and start calling him/her a pervert.)

So this pervert is in Germany and sat on my blog for a little over 2 hours.

Ok, unless you are family, that blog really isn't THAT interesting. It is just current news on the kids. But I do have my Photobucket Album links posted which makes me a little nervous (ok, to be honest, homicidal and grossed out).

So now I am really pissed off. The Photobucket links are coming down today.

Having been through some pretty tough things in my childhood, my mind automatically thinks perverts and child molesters. I did consider that it might have been just a normal visitor and not some twatwaffle getting their rocks off. I did consider it, I promise.

But then I clicked on the link that my traffic counter provided for "Older Boys In Diapers". I really don't recommend googling it. I would rather claw my own eyes out and then pour salt in the sockets than see that kind of shit again. Disturbing. I guess there is quite the fetish audience for "Drinkers and Stinkers". It WAS the topic of a CSI episode after all.


So..........Dear Pervert In Germany,
You are lucky you don't live anywhere near me. I am not a momma to mess with. Really. If you are really THAT desperate for some action, please go to a bar or pick up a hooker. At the very least, go to an actual Porn website and look at snatch. Don't Google about kids in diapers. That is just gross. Have some self respect and drop the pedophile fetishes. It really isn't cool and you have really pissed me off.
K Thanks Bye

Getting it all out there in the open

Ok, I am ready to confess the amount of my crazy debt as of the latest statements I have gotten. Ready? You might want to sit down for this.

Credit Cards:
GM Card
Balance $2841.69
Minimum Payment $102.00
Paid Down From $3000.00

Bank of America
Balance $8506.07
Minimum Payment $140.00
Paid Down From $10,000.00

Capital One
Balance $716.37
Minimum Payment $48.20
Paid Down From $800.00

Chrysler (Collection Account)
Balance $4319.01
Minimum Payment $130.00
Paid Down From $10,500.00

Orchard Bank
Balance $310.08
Minimum Payment--We are paying this one off this month
Paid Down From $500.00


Other Credit Accounts:
Furniture Store
Balance $2528.00

Wells Fargo-Car Loan
Balance $14,773.63

Loan from Family #1
Balance $2000.00ish?

Loan from Family #2
Balance $7000.00


Paid Off Accounts:
Sears Card #1
Paid Off $300.00

Sears Card #2
Paid Off $900.00

HSBC
Paid Off $800.00?
(I don't remember the exact amount and cant find any statements)


Wow. That is much more than I expected. I guess until it is all written down, or in this case typed out, it is easy to be in denial about how deeply we are in debt.

Hubbs is still laid off but I am still planning on having all the credit cards paid off by February of 2009.

Thinking about it realistically, things most likely wont happen THAT soon but if I don't have a set date, nothing will get paid off.

I would probably put it off for 15 years, until Monk Man graduates from High School and then I will be in a straight jacket because I had gone ape shit from the stress because he "might" want me and Hubbs to pay for college.

Whoah. That was quite the tangent I just tripped over.

I never said I didn't have issues to work through.

Ugh, I hate weekends

I really, really, really hate weekends. I ended up having a 4 day weekend since CC had plans to go to the lake. So I was off Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Looking back, I actually had a decent weekend. No major fights, no catastrophes and no natural disasters at my house. Any weekend (let alone a long weekend) that doesn't end with threats of divorce is pretty good to me.

Friday and Saturday's weather was so shitty (contrary to my weather forecast it was cold) that I didn't hardly get out of my pajamas.

Sunday and Monday were actually pretty nice. I got my tomatoes re-planted. I went out to see the veggies on Sunday morning and discovered that the dogs had squished and broken some tomato plants since they like to pick on the dog next door. I also got some weeds pulled.

Didn't get a chance to do any blogging, but no surprise there. I promise that I will finish some of my older, unpublished posts this week.

Whats for dinner tonight?

This is what is for dinner:

Salmon Filet with Mango Cilantro Salsa:
4 6-ounce portions salmon filet

Mango Cilantro Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled and ½-inch diced
¼ cup chopped scallion, green part only
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely diced fresh jalapeno
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

Bake salmon fillet at 400ºF for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the salmon. For Mango Cilantro Salsa, lightly toss all ingredients in bowl. Chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour for flavors to meld. Serve salsa as an accompaniment to salmon. Mango Cilantro Salsa also goes nicely with grilled meat or chicken.
Yield: 4 servings

Of course I am doing it lazy-style with canned jalapeno, jarred garlic, and lime juice from a bottle. But I am going to use the cilantro from my herb garden. We are also having a veggie-stir fry with it.

And even though we went grocery shopping a few days ago and spent almost $200, Hubbs is still going to the store because I can not plan ahead. Got to work on that!

I could be a weather girl

See, the weather is pretty consistent around here. Other than freaky snow in May, it is the same every day.

Here is my weather forecast for the next week:

Wednesday (Today)- Windy and Hot
Thursday (May 22)- Windy and Hot
Friday (May 23)- Windy and Hot
Saturday (May 24)- Windy and Hot
Sunday (May 25)- Windy and Hot
Monday (May 26)- Windy and Hot
Tuesday (May 27)- Windy and Hot

I cant understand why the professional weather girl/guy can not get this right! It is soooo simple.

Ok, I am finished with my PSA for the day.

Another Trash Can Potato Update

Hubbs drilled holes in the bottom of the bucket for me. I was using a hammer and a nail (unsuccessfully) since I am not exactly power tool competent. Anyway, he heard me, felt sorry enough for me to make the holes for me. Thank you dear.

I filled the bucket with 3 inches of potting soil and cut up my potato (eyes pointing up). The potatoes were dried enough today not to rot so I put them on top of the potting soil. I covered the potatoes with another couple of inches of potting soil and watered it really well.

In the thread that inspired me, a mommy mentioned that store bought potatoes could possibly carry disease and should not be used. So before I feed these home-grown-from-store-bought potatoes to the family, I will do some research on that. This is just an experiment to see if it would work.

Hopefully in the next few days I will have some green things (keep your fingers crossed that they will be a leaf or two instead of something gross) growing in the bucket to show you all!

Paid off another one!

I have been holding my Economic Stimulus money so I can pay some more towards my unreal amount of credit card debt.

I finally got the Orchard Bank statement today. I paid it off completely. This is the 2nd card we have paid off in 3 months.

Next card? Capital One. Maxed out at $800. I need to talk to Hubbs because I think we should pay this off completely too, since we have the money to do it now. But I really sleep better at night having that extra cushion in the checking account. I also REALLY want to do some MAJOR food shopping. I am totally getting into this stockpiling thing. IDK which would be to do.

I guess I need to corner Hubbs and give him no way out of the conversation and make him decide.

It doesn't look like we will make it out from under our credit card debt by next February (stupid economy and stupid railroad) but we will be VERY close.

I cant tell you how good it makes me feel to see that we are finally getting somewhere with this debt nightmare. I felt so hopeless for years and couldn't figure out how to fix it.

Trash Can Potatoes-Update

Ok, just got off the phone with Hubbs. He laughed at me when I told him about my new project. LoL. Ass.

So this is what he talked me into doing.....Instead of buying a big trash can, I am using one of the gazillion 5-gallon buckets we have laying around. THEN, if that works well, I will upgrade to a trash can. (snort, that sounds funny in my head. I can see why he was laughing at me.)

Wish me luck. Look for some pictures in the next day or so!

Trash Can Potatoes

On the new babycenter, there was a post in one of the groups I am in. It was about growing potatoes in a trash can. Volunteers were asked for so of course I volunteered to try it. (Like I don't have enough projects going on.)

In theory, this is what you do:
Drill holes in the bottom of a 33-gallon trash can. Put a few inches of soil in the bottom. Throw your potatoes in and cover them up with a few more inches of soil. As the potatoes grow leaves, keep covering them up with the soil until the trash can is full. Supposedly, the whole trash can will be full of new potatoes. And when the leaves die down, you harvest.

So.....anybody else want to try this with me?

Dear Mother Nature.....

Ummm, hi. It is snowing?! This has got to be a joke. Just wanted to remind you that we live in ARIZONA and the month is MAY. If you could make the snow stop, I would appreciate it. You can make it rain every damn day if you want. I don't mind the rain. Just make the snow stop.

You know, Arizona drivers are not used to snow. I have to drive my kiddos to Nonnie's house and the other drivers are bad enough in sunny, warm weather. Driving in snow makes me nervous. The last time it snowed, CC and BB called the house and told me not to come into work. There is, at the most, 10 blocks between my place and the shop. That's how crazy neurotic the snow makes me.

Plus, I planted a ton of plants the last couple of weekends. The snow and the freezing temperatures are not good for them.

Patiently waiting for the snow to stop falling,
Mommy Crisp

K-Thanks

Well crap

We are so screwed. Look....





He sounds so excited and proud of himself at the end!

Bobblehead figured out how to crawl yesterday evening. I am so not ready for this. I think I have been in denial. I convinced myself that if I don't push him like I pushed Monk Man that he would stay in the baby stage forever. Not ready for this at all. He has been up on all fours doing the rocking back and forth thing for about 2 months now and I was hoping that he would keep doing that for a really long time.



Nothing is baby proofed. After I caught the crawling on video and managed to keep myself calm enough not to hysterically cry, I ran around the living room like a madwoman picking up all the crap that Bobblehead could possibly put in his mouth. I really need to vacuum the floor. It has been wayyyyy too long since I did that. God only knows what the hell is on that carpet. Gross.


Well, off to baby proof.

Another 5:30 a.m. start

I was up at the butt crack of dawn again this morning.

Thanks Bobblehead. Your love for cartoons and the sunrise is really cutting into my beauty sleep. Ummm, did Dad forget to explain Mothers Day? He must have mentioned it to Monk Man because he is still in bed.

Just kidding. I really don't mind getting up with Bobblehead in the morning. It is only half an hour before I normally get up. I would rather get up early than multiple times during the night. Bobblehead has been sleeping through the night (STTN) for months now and I would really miss it if he decided not to do that anymore.

This early morning crap must be payback for the early morning hell I put Nonnie and Spanky through. Nonnie has told me many times about how I would have to see the sunrise. Every. Damn. Morning. No matter how early or late they put me to bed, I was up at sunrise. Sorry Nonnie.

Plus, it is the weekend and the Yankees are playing. I will just nap like I do every weekend.

Happy Mothers Day

I want to wish everybody a happy Mothers Day!

5:30 A.M. and my routine

Bobblehead has been up at 5:30 a.m. (aka the butt crack of dawn) every single day this week. He seems to think that as soon as the sun comes shining in the window it is time to wake up. Fun.

Want to know the bad part? Bobblehead does not want a bottle. He does not want to bounce. He does not even want me to hold him. He wants to lay on the floor in front of the damn T.V. and watch cartoons.


What do I do while he gets his cartoon fix?

Clean? Nope. That gets saved until Hubbs pisses me off and I angry clean. This happens at least twice during the week and once during the weekend.

Watch cartoons with him? Oh hell no. Those cartoons are the weirdest shit I have ever seen. You couldn't pay me enough to torture myself like that.

I am on the computer of course. I get my morning babycenter and coffee fix.

Then about 7:30, Monk Man is up and we get in the shower. After that, we all get dressed and beautified. Then the boys finally go to Nonnies house and I get to work around 8:30-9:00. By this point, I have already been up and in Mommy Mode for at least 3 hours.

And Hubbs wants to know why I am dead tired and bitchy when I get home and don't want to do anything domestic (cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, etc). I finally crawl into bed around 9:00 P.M. and start the whole routine over the next morning.
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I am all about my routine. If something disrupts my routine (like Hubbs getting up early or Saturday and Sunday roll around) I am seriously pissed and feel off the whole day. Hubbs told me last night that I am a control freak.

*snort* Yeah, I know. So?

Those Duggars!

I am sure the majority of bloggers are buzzing about this family already, and I am going to follow the trend!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24537885&GT1=43001
So this couple has 17 (OMG) kids and she is pregnant with baby number 18 (yes, you read that right, eight-teen). The mom is Michelle and the dad is Jim Bob. And they live in Arkansas.

"To date, the Duggars’ 17 natural children range in age from 20 years to 9 months. Included in the mix are 10 boys and seven girls — Joshua, twins Jana and John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, twins Jedidiah and Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah and baby Jennifer, who arrived last Aug. 2.
With two sets of twins, Michelle, 41, has gone through 15 pregnancies that ended in 13 natural deliveries and two Cesarean sections. "

"The family grocery bill is $2,000 a month. Transportation is provided by nine vehicles, including a 21-passenger bus. To get through a week requires 63 loads of laundry, six gallons of milk, 15 dozen eggs, 12 boxes of cereal and 12 rolls of toilet paper." They are also debt free.


~~TMI ALERT--Feel free to skip this paragraph because I am going to talk VAGINA for a minute~~
Ummm, yeah, this poor woman's vag must be a disaster! I understand that it is designed to stretch out and all that. But I have given birth to 2 kids and my girly bits are NOT like they used to be.
~~Borrowed from BH post


I wonder if she had meds during all of those births. Or went non-medicated. Hospital or home birth? Well, duh for meds on the c-sections. I am talking all 13 vaginal births. With both of my kids I was medicated. Heavily. And I am not ashamed about it in the least. With Monk Man I started off with the Narcotics and then went to a spinal block. With Bobblehead I went straight for the epidural. I am a wuss and go into convulsions over a paper cut. I can not imagine having a baby without some kind of medication.

Have I mentioned

Have I mentioned how much I HATE cooking? Gawd I hate it. Nothing ever comes out right.

Last night I made a hamburger and potato casserole. Its really simple and I should have no problems with it.

All that is involved is browning a pound of hamburger, slicing potatoes and onions, mixing up a can of cream of mushroom soup and milk. Then you throw it all in a baking dish and cook it for 45 minutes.

You would think that I would be able to not screw it up. Well, I did screw it up. The hamburger burned, the potatoes were still semi-raw, and so were the onions.

I give up! Hubbs is a much better cook than I am. He can do it.

I love playing in the dirt!

We had a very busy Sunday. We went to the plant store and bought $50 worth of veggies and flowers. The whole trunk area of the HHR was full. I planted seeds a few weeks ago but I got impatient. Big shock there. And Monk Man kept pulling the little plants out of the ground.

Oh holy hell this sunburn hurts. I am already peeling. Tomorrow is going to be craptastic.

So the first time in a couple of years, we have a garden again. Yay!

So here are some pictures. Please ignore the dog shit. That is Hub's job. He is slacking. And excuse the mis-spellings. The spell check on this thing makes my images go poof.

Tomatos



Tomatos



Tomatos



Tomatos



Colombines



SnapDragons



Blue Daisys



See the bee?



All the flowers together



Another View



All the Veggies Together



Another View



The Herbs



The Herbs again



Anahiem Peppers



Squash



Cucumbers



Corn



More Tomatos



Tomatos



Tomatos



Some Fire looking flowers



Some purple flowers that are supposed to smell like vanilla



Giranium



And here is the before...









Not pictured are the Watermelon. I dont know where those pictures disapeared to. Stupid Photobucket.

We use soooo many canned tomatos so I am going to have my grandma or MIL teach me how to can veggies to add to my pantry. I wanted some other veggies but the store did not have them out. I will keep looking though. Even if I spend another $50, I will be saving money. Fresh food from the grocery store is damn expensive. I think that is part of the reason that we dont eat much fresh food. That and I dont know how to cook.

OLD - FASHIONED SALISBURY STEAK

OLD - FASHIONED SALISBURY STEAK

4 frozen, chopped sirloin patties, defrosted
3 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. vegetable oil or butter
Garlic salt
Black pepper
3 tsp. beef-flavor instant bouillon
1 to 1 1/2 c. hot water
1 lg. onion, sliced
1 (4 oz.) can mushroom pieces and stems
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Coat each side of patties well with flour.
Heat oil or butter in skillet until hot.
Add patties and brown on both sides.
When brown, pour off excess oil.
Add bouillon to hot water; stir to dissolve or sprinkle bouillon in skillet and add water and stir to dissolve.
Add onion, mushrooms, and Worcestershire sauce.
Stir to coat meat.
Cover and simmer gently, about 25 minutes or until fork-tender.
Serve with mashed potatoes.
Makes 4 servings.

Salisbury Steak Recipe

SALISBURY STEAK

10 3/4 ounces cream of mushroom soup, condensed
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, lean
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, or cracker crumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/3 cup water

Heat oven to 350 F.
In medium bowl, combine 1/4 of the soup with remaining ingredients except water; mix well.
Shape into 6 patties; arrange in single layer in 13 x 9-inch or 12 x8-inch baking dish.
Bake uncovered at 350 F. for 30 minutes.
Skim off fat.
In small bowl, combine remaining soup and water; spoon over patties.
Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes.
If desired, garnish with mushroom slices.
Serving Size: 6