{Rubber-Sol: Why, hello there!}

A Quickie! :)

Man, April started off with a bang!  Hank and I started our month-long vacation time on April 1st, and it seems as if the puppet master decided to play a little April Fool's on us.  You see, all five of us managed to get some sort of cold/virus/sickness during the first week of April.  Yep. All five of us.

Uh, huh.

Fever?  Check.  Nasty lung bashing coughs?  Check.  Barfing in the car?  Check.  Barfing in the bed?  Check.  Cold chills. Check.  Double Check.  Checkaroo.

Ahem.  It's been fun 'round here!  Good thing y'all can't catch our colds via your computer, huh? 

Anyway, aside from all that phlegmy nonsense above. . . my site has been RELAUNCHED (with ZEN CART)! Woo hoo!  Go see!  Go see!  You can find fun things like these Matchbooklets:

If you're interested in these guys, head on over to The Paper Princess and be sure to use this coupon code: BLOGPAL -- use it and receive 20% off of any order!  Yes, ma'am!  That's ANY ORDER!  Use it for the rest of the month! :)  Use it once.  Use it twice!

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Anyhoo. . . I've received tons of exciting e-mail about the upcoming CRAP SWAP.  I will post those soon (I've been waiting for good lighting to snap pictures. . . but unfortunately SoCal is being fussy, and it's going through an April Showers/Gloom phase.  Hopefully that'll clear soon.)

In the  meantime, I've been meme'd by Anne and by Heels.  Better late than never! So here goes.  Are you ready?

1.  Five minutes to yourself: how would you spend them, ideally?
Mostly likely I'd be frantically looking at a calendar to see where I'm supposed to be/doing.  (FYI -- I've been tragically forgetful lately -- i.e. I forgot about Henry's picture day and I also bought tickets to Cirque Du Soleil for the same night as Alison's Open House (I managed to do both, btw!)).

2.  Five bucks to spend right now: how would you spend it?  I'd probably buy a fun mag like Domino.

3. Five items in your house you could part with, right now, that you hadn't thought of already? (In other words, cull the junk, mentally at least.)
Oh where do I start?!  Ha!  Old college textbooks, maternity clothes, the infinite amount of Happy Meals toys (under my couch), old clogs that I love wearing (but they're really past their prime), and old cans of paint (I've gone through many pots of "tester" colors).

4.  Five items you absolutely, positively could never part with in your house?  My ottoman (my parents received it as a wedding gift and they passed it onto me), my box of mementos/letters, my old journals (started when I was in the third grade), my kids' artwork, and of course photos.

5.  Five words you love?  Shenanigans, fussy, watchmemama (usually one word), love, and mama.

That was fun!  Now I tag. . . . hmmmmmm.  Yvonne.  Blair.  Ellia.  Kristen. and Kristin.

Oh be sure to visit Kristin's site Sew, Mama, Sew (I just finished working on the new graphics for her site).  She has all the latest and greatest fabrics!  And oilcloth!  Oh my! Oilcloth!

And stay tuned for the CRAP SWAP!!!

Screaming Memes

Our trip up to SLO was super fabulous. Oh wait, have I forgotten?  Part Most of it was a NIGHTMARE.  Go read Hank's version.  It's rather funny!!!  Despite the random shenanigans, we did have fun.  Deep down inside, I did enjoy myself.  Really!

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The eversweet Lori tagged me with the fun "Twenty Things" Meme.  Ready?  Here goes:

1.  I am a fourth generation American.  Yet I can't escape the "So. . .where are you from?" question. 
2.  Certain sounds irk me, like:  the sound of breaking styrofoam, the sound of dried out markers screeching across paper, the sound of popping gum.
3.  My childhood home was the background for a CHiPs episode.  I thought I was so cool.  I still have my autographed photo of Ponch.
4.  I was born and raised in the Heart of Screenland.  I'm super proud of my hometown.
5.  My husband and I appeared on a highly viewed show on a major t.v. network.  Our episode still airs periodically.  Sometimes people stop us and ask for photographs.  I've enjoyed my five minutes of "fame."
6. I was confident that I would marry Hank on our fifth date.  We even talked about marriage that night, and five months later we were engaged.   Eight months after that we were married.  Eight months after our wedding, Alison was born.   
7.  Sometimes I spend hours and hours chatting online with students.  They think I'm Dear Abby.
8.  I enjoy being Dear Abby.
9.  The eye color of my children varies:  Alison, light brown.  Henry, green.  Kate, hazel/blue.  Pretty cool.
10.  Hank and I did a little family history, and we discovered that our kids' ancestors range from plantation workers to educators, from slaves to scientists. 
11.  My children are multiracial (over 6 races).
12.  The other day I ran into an old student (she's a senior in h.s. -- she used to be in my 8th grade class).  We talked about Laguna Beach.  We acted like L.C. and Kirsten were our best friends.
13.  Yes, I still watch MTV.
14.  And yes, I'm in my thirties.
15. I have Master's Degree in Educational Administration.  Basically that means I'm really good at photocopying worksheets.  Ha!
16.  Giving birth is easy for me.  According to my doctor, I had three "silent labors" (meaning I didn't realize I was contracting.  In fact, I never felt my contractions).  With both Henry and Kate, I pushed three times and they were born.
17.  I am fluent in Spanish, and I enjoy a good telenovela once in a while.
18.  I'm still trying to lose the last pounds of baby fat.  The "maternal fat stores" have decided to permanently reside in my gut like unwanted houseguests.  Like your crazy Uncle Al who gets drunk on New Year's Eve, and then passes out on your bed, forcing you to sleep on the sleeper sofa, and . . . . oh sorry!  Getting carried away there...ahem!
19. I've been the same height (5'5") since I was in the 8th grade.
20.  Um,  I know two people who have won BIG lottery pots (one of them very near and dear to me).
Hmmm, let's see, I tag: Kelly, Jenn, and Marilyn.

And now folks,  Miss Yvestown, tagged me  with a food meme:
"Name five foods, dishes or otherwise, that were a part of your childhood, and that you sometimes miss when nostalgia gets to you..."
1.  Chicken Noodle Soup and rice. Whenever I got sick, my mom would heat up this soup, and I could eat and gorge to my heart's content.
2.  Salt Bagels with cream cheese.  When I was just a tot, my mom and I used to stop at the local jewish deli on the way to preschool.  We'd eat salt bagels slathered with cream cheese.  Such a yummy treat.
3.  Saladitos.  Growing up, my brother and I would eat these like they were going out of style.  Okay, my mouth is watering thinking of them.  You may think they're yuck, but I don't. 
4.  Potato Latkes.  Yum.  Okay so growing up, I'd go to this Jewish deli to dine on these ever scrumptious potato latkes.  A dash of salt, a little sour cream, and a cup of apple sauce.  Oh, man, I'm getting hungry.
5.  Tito's Tacos.  Okay, okay.  I know you guys are probably sighing and rolling your eyes at my obsession with their tacos.  But really.  Tito's is part of my childhood, and when I think of home and good food, I think of, yep, Tito's.  Nevermind that there was that "horsemeat in their tacos" scare back in the 80s.  I still boasted my loyalty by still choosing to eat there over the local Pup'n Taco.   Heck!  I don't like to eat meat and I still eat there today!  Now that's loyalty!

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In other news, I took Alison to the dentist today to get rid of her "sugar bugs."  She was SO GOOD, and I don't even think she realized that she had a shot of novacaine.  The pediatric dentist is that good.  Since our family dental plan SUCKS, we chose to use an out-of-plan dentist and pay for everything out of pocket.  So!  That was one hefty payment I made today.  And next week, guess what?!  Another sugar bug needs to be removed.  Lovely.

Speaking of hefty payments, the heater folks will be here on Saturday to install our new forced heating system!  Yahoo!!!  I can't wait to wake up to a warm and toasty house.  I get giddy thinking about all that!  After this, I'm  hoping to give our saving's account a break.  Sheesh! 

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I'm hoping to have another shop update soon.  I have some new cards that have been patiently waiting to make their debut, but it seems that lately time is a scarce, scarce resource.  I have some new discounts up my sleeve for my blog buddies. . . so stay tuned!  Have a great weekend!