The Search was On

Tim and I are going to the Iowa City Heart Gala next Friday and since Tim is the Co-Chair of the Gala this year, I thought a new dress might be in order... yeah!  I, of course, totally procrastinated because I had no intention of taking Graham on this excursion, not to mention this is one of those semi-formal/ business casual deals were no one really knows the correct dress code.  So I finally made myself go on Saturday, I mean why not, it had snowed and was cold and I only had 6 days until the Gala, it seemed like the appropriate timing  :) 

I found a great dress at Von Maur that not only would work for the Gala, but would also work for a wedding I have to go to next month, double plus!  Here's the deal: the dress really needs cream or lime green shoes to go with it.  No problem right?  WRONG!  Apparently lime green is not an "in" color this spring and therefore lime green shoes are no where to be found and by no where I mean I checked every store that might have sold shoes in all of Iowa City and Cedar Rapids and I found one ugly pair, not in my size  :(  So I could have resorted to cream shoes, but for some reason I just don't like hate cream shoes.  They just don't do it for me at all, plus part of the allure of the dress was that green shoes would have looked awesome!

After 2 days of complete local shopping failure I resorted to the internet.  Wow, hundreds of green shoes to choose from, very few in lime green.  So here is what I ended up with:

They are not totally my favorite and I was hoping for something with a little more heal, but when you are looking at really slim pickens, I don't think these are a horrible option.  Now we just have to pray that they will be shipped to my house in time for the Gala to Friday.  Here's to having faith in the US Postal Service!

Odd Neighbors

I truly believe everyone has odd neighbors or at least that one guy who you just honestly wonder about.  But I would have to say, and I know some of my neighbors, Amy,would totally have to agree, our neighborhood has an over abundance of oddness!

For instance there is our neighbor kitty-corner across the street, "crazy cat lady and family."  These neighbors have who knows how many cats and their cats are indoor/ outdoor cats.  Not that odd except for her cats, who they let out, keep getting 'lost.'  So she runs over has ringing my doorbell all in a tizzy b/c  "X" cat can't be found.  Lady, write this down, if you want to know where your cats are at all times, don't freakin' let them outside to run around.  And in the same breath she is asking about her missing cat, she insists on putting in a little plug about how her daughter just loves kids and really wants to babysit Graham and how she would come with her daughter to make sure she did a good job etc.  Really lady, you can't even keep track of cats.  What makes you think I am going to let you watch my child or even into my house for that matter?  If this were a one time occurence you could let it slide, but upwards of 6 times is strikingly odd!

Now we also have our neighbors to the left, "The Hermits."  They never, ever, ever come outside.  NEVER.  They have an 18 month old, baby Hermit, and I'm pretty sure with the exception of the ride to and from daycare that that poor kid never sees the light of day.  They never open any of their blinds, they close the garage door before getting out of the car and the only time I ever see anyone outside is on the rare occasion that the lawn gets mowed, so maybe 6 times a summer.  Really, I know nothing about these neighbors, not names, dog's name, nothing and we have lived here 3 years.   And attempting to say hi is a waste of breath as a head nod is your most likely response.  How antisocial can you be?  I am your neighbor, not an ax murderer.  After several failed attempts to make contact, I have since moved on to my newest odd neighbor: Mr. Garage Stander

Again, this guy poses absolutely no threat, he just strikes me as odd.  Mr. Garage Stander lives in the one duplex I can see directly out my kitchen window.  If this were not the case, I would probably have never noticed him, but every time I open the blinds, wash my hands, rinse a dish or really do anything in the kitchen, I can see right into his garage.  And there he is, Mr. Garage Stander, standing in his garage, ALWAYS.  Literally, I have seen this man at 6:30am, noon, 2 in the afternoon, 11pm and even once at 1am,  just standing in his garage, smokin' a cig.  I get that a guys got to have a cig now and then, and the fact that he doesn't smoke inside I add as a plus to his character, but at all hours of the day?  When does he work?  When does he sleep?  To add to this mystery, Mr. Garage Stander's attire is beyond bazaar.  There is the occasional pair of jeans, but his usual attire consists of blue flannel pajama pants, with I can only guess to be giant polar bears all over them, a white t-shirt, a plaid, flannel coat and slippers.  As if the man is eternally in a state of sleep, only waking up to have a cig and then quickly returning to bed.  Mr. Garage Stander has several dogs, 4 I think and at least one dog, but no more than 2, must accompany him on his cig excursion at all times.  These dogs are very well trained.  Like him, they never leave the garage and they just stare out towards the road as in a trance. 

Since the weather has gotten nicer and Graham and I have been spending more time in the back yard, I have studied Mr. Garage Stander a little more.  It seems that almost every other time he is out, he is on his cell phone.  The conversation can't be very exciting as I never hear him raise his voice nor does he really even move.  He still just stares into the street and the only reason I know he's on the phone is he is holding it to his ear.  Maybe he works from home taking inbound calls?  Who knows, but I kind of like the mystery, so no sence in spoiling the fun by walking over to say hello  :)

So those are my odd neighbors, or at least the ones I have met/ seen so far.  I'm sure there are many more, I just need to be patient.  I am going to add the note that:  all I have written in this post was nothing more than fun.  I don't hold any grudges, dislike or hard feelings towards any of my neighbors!  I'm almost certain that each of these people's blogs include posts about me, the crazy lady who is always chasing her kid and dog around the neighborhood, or at least I hope they would  :)

Moms Never Win!

Graham has been out to dinner about 97 million times since he has been born.  It's not really healthy, it's just the nature of how our family functions and I've learned to accept it.  By now I am pretty accustomed to the restaurant routine... We sit down, I immediately pick up the menu and pick something for Graham to eat.  This way when we order drinks,  and crayons of course, we can get his dinner started.  In the 30 seconds I am glancing at the menu Graham proceeds to do this: touch the ketchup, spill the salt, take all the sugar packets out, unwrap all the silverware and beat them on the table, spill the pepper, touch squirt the mustard and  mess with any other condiment left, thow the sugar packets on the floor... it's just ridiculous! 

No matter how many times we talk about manners or about not touching/ opening/ spilling everything on the table, it comes down to the fact that he's 2 and apparently this is just what he's going to do.  I can't stop it and trying just ruins the whole dinner experience. So last night was really no different.  We went to Red's Ale House in North Liberty.  We sat down and Graham began his usually screwing around and we ordered drinks and his meal.  No sooner did we order and Graham decided to touch the light bulb on the lamp in out booth... game over!  He burnt his poor little finger to a crisp and no matter what we gave him, he just kept screaming.  So my date night/ dinner out became getting our meal to go and all three of us eating it at Graham's Little Tikes table in the living room while watching Horton Hears a Who for the nine millionth time.  (It was the only way to make him stop wailing!) 

So after dinner we began talking about what we learned from this whole fiasco.  About how we shouldn't play around at the dinner table and never, never, never touch the lamp etc.  All he got was don't go near any lamps, which means he is now terrified of the lamp in his room.  Great, now we don't want to sleep in out room thanks to the scary lamp.  Moms never win, just write it down!

Just when you think there can be no downside

I used to think there could never be a down side to spring.  It's warmer, no coats, hats, and little mittens to get on.  The snow melts and things start to clean up a little, with less sand and crap to drag in the house.  The sun comes out and everything/ everyone just seems more lively in the spring.  Really, how could there be a downside? 

Well this spring I found it... dog poop!  And I don't mean like of I have to pick up some dog poop from the back yard like I do on a weekly basis, I mean an endless pit of dog poop that has consumed our entire backyard from November until now.  I don't think there is a square inch of grass in our yard that isn't covered  :(  So for the last week I have spent about an hour a day chipping away at this horrendous mess in hopes that someday Graham can again play in our yard without getting covered in crap.  (No one likes to have to hose off their shoes every time they go outside!)  But honestly, I'm not sure I am even making a dent.  The yard is still covered and Emma is not helping matters, as she seems to think that every time I go out to pick some up, that she must leave some more for another day... ugg! 

How did I not notice this in years past?  Did my dog not poop this much before?  Was winter shorter of something?  I think we must have just waited long enough that the rain washed some of it away and we could rake the rest when we started on the fertilizer etc.  But Graham is older this spring and the poor kid wants to play on the swing set, so I am off to once again attempt to clean up the back yard.  Emma, I am declaring this a poop free zone, so hold it until our walk or else!  :)

Bronzed Seniorita

I have never been one of those 'I must be tan all year round' people, but I will admit that I have gone "tanning" before.  I usually went before a spring break trip or in late spring before I broke out the shorts for the season. After all, I was really tanning for others right?  It would have just been a crime to blind poor, innocent bystanders with the paleness of my skin!  Right?  :)

Well after college I decided enough was enough and I gave up the 'fake bake' if you will, in hopes to save my skin for use later in life.  But now I am stuck with looking like the ghost of Christmas Present each winter and I'm not a big fan.  So two winters ago I gave the old spray on tan a whirl... not good!  My skin looked more orange than 'bronzed' and the color only really stayed in certain places like my elbows, knees and wrists... FOREVER!  I think I had orange knees until nearly July.  It was awful, never again!  So last summer I opted to try the self tanning lotions.  I was fairly pleased but I hated the smell.  I don't know what they put in those things, but they smell just horrible.  So what's a girl to do about this paleness dilemma?

Out of pure desperation, I decided to give sunless, self-tanning lotion another try this spring.  I did some online researching and tried to "test" out a few in Wal-Mart to make sure they smelled OK.  I settled on this:

Nivea' Sun-Kissed Beautiful Legs Lotion.  It's supposed to be one of those lotions that keep your legs soft and allow you to shave less, I figured that was bonus.  I was a little nervous that the packaging focused so much on the legs, so can you use it on your face and anywhere or only on your legs?  I didn't find anything that said for legs only, so I just applied it everywhere and figured what the heck.  It's great!  It doesn't smell bad, it doesn't turn your skin orange, as long as you rub it in thoroughly and most of all it works.  I am by no means tan, but at least my skin is no longer blinding and I feel like I can go to the gym or outside in short sleeves and not injure others.  So if you are looking for an inexpensive way to 'get a little sun' before summer, I would recommend Nivea!

Seriously, What Does a Girl Need to Do...

So I get it, I have Crohn's Disease, have for 11+ years now!  Which, that being said, means that on any given day, for no apparent reason at all, my stomach/ ab area is going to swell and make me look slightly pregnant.  I get that, accept it and have moved on... until recently! 

I diet and watch what I eat, I work out 5-6 days a week, 5-6 freakin' days, I'd say that's a decent work out effort wouldn't you?  But in the last 2.5 months I have been asked 6 times "if I am expecting" or "when I am due" at the gym.  Really people, 6 times?  I haven't been asked 6 times in 11 years, even when I was pregnant!  :)  And usually when I am I asked, I try to find some sort of humor in the situation and just laugh it off, but when the question sparks 10 people in the locker room to immediately glare at my stomach... it's just too awkward!  I mean what do you say?  :)

Do you try to make the person asking feel better by making up some sort of excuse, because by now they are clearly embarrassed?  But why should I do that, they are the ass who asked you in the first place.   :)  Do you just ignore the comment all together like you didn't hear it?  Do you just laugh and say no and walk away?  After pondering the issue a bit, I truly believe the appropriate response is "F-Off" or at least in this case when I had just completed bodypump and ran 2.5 miles, but even I am not that brave.  So, I am just at a loss... how do you answer that question WHEN YOU ARE NOT PREGNANT? 

And really, why would you ever, ever, ever ask someone that question in the first place?  I mean just save yourself the trouble of looking like an ass, it's just embarrassing for everyone, including the poor, innocent by-standers in the room who want to crawl into a hole just to get away from the situation.  :)  I promise you, unless you are giving birth to a child in my presence or you have personally told me that you are expecting, I will never ask you "when you are due!"  Ahh, just shake your head and laugh... that's all anyone can do!  Hope my fabulously blessed life made you smile!  :)

* I almost forgot... on an upside, Graham actually told the gym daycare lady he had to go potty AND he went!  WooHoo, at least the trip wasn't a total loss!

To Buy or Not to Buy?

It's that time of year again and again the debate is on... do we buy Hawkeye Football season tickets or not?  Of course your gut reaction is YES, you always buy Hawkeye Football tickets anytime the opportunity presents itself.  And while this is my reaction every year, I have yet to bring myself, or rather Tim's self, to actually buy a whole season.  When we were students there was no question, in fact we would wait by the computer until midnight the morning they went on sale just in case there was some ticket 'shortage' or something that year.  But now that we are "Alumni," as you'd say, this is quite the financial decision we are talking about.  For Tim and I to buy 2 season tickets would cost $720.  Those would most likely be the worst tickets available, so if we'd like better seating, we'd have to start looking into donation options.  So we are looking at $1500 to $2000 for decent seats to every home game (7 games).  Then you start to add in the cost of sitters to watch Graham and the money spent on tailgating food and equipment, we are talking a big chunk of change here.

I love Hawkeye Football and all it entails with all my heart, but do you know all the things we could do with that kind of money?  So the frugalista in my struggles.  The last few years we have been getting tickets game by game.  Sometimes there are tickets through the City Chamber or other things Tim belongs to, sometimes we are given tickets or we end up just buying on craig's list etc.  It's much cheaper, as there is always someone looking to get rid of tickets... but no one wants to be that guy, the guy who is always looking for tickets, forever!  So we are back to our original dilemma, should we buy tickets or not?  Ugg, I just can't decide or think about it anymore... let's just bring on the football season already!



I mean really, how can you say no to that?