my 25 - a facebook thang

(These are in no particular order........)
1. My Mom died of stomach cancer when I was a 15 (sophomore in high school). She was 43.
2. Toilet Paper must be put on the bar so that it ROLLS FROM THE TOP.
3. My husband, Karl, and I met through a dating service.
4. Although I have always been a true blonde, pregnancies have darkened it. And so now, my "hair color" comes from a box. And not a Salon Box. From the shelves of Target, or Hy-Vee, or Wal-mart. It is #93 *Honey Butter*. Classy, huh?!
5. We have a Rule at the Larson House: we tell each other we love them at least once a day and the person leaving gets kisses & hugs and *I Love you's*. Everytime they leave.
6. My favorite song is "Song For A Winter's Night" by Sarah Mclachlan.
7. I absolutely think that Ron White is the funniest comedian in the world!
8. I do not particularly like sheep or squirrels. I totally L-U-V llamas & giraffes.
9. I sometimes talk about TV show characters/plots as if they are "real life" and I personally know them &/or are involved in the drama. (I do know that they are NOT)
10. I won every Speech Tourney I competed in my Senior Year...including Conference, Districts and STATE (Informative Speaking).
11. I grew up on a farm. Dad planted corn, beans & alfalfa. He milked cows. We sometimes had pigs, chickens, horses, a dog, many cats. I tried to name all the cats.
12. My older brother taught me how to do left-handed lay-ups in our barn's hayloft...he punched me in my left arm whenever I went off the wrong leg or used the wrong hand.
13. I would rather stay up late than get up early.
14. Eric Stoltz is one of my favorite actors (he was most recently on "Grey's Anatomy").
15. I collect reindeer and leave them out all year long!
16. Our dog (Belle, The Boston Terrier) sleeps behind my knees. Our cat, Puddy McFluffkins, will try to come on the bed on Karl's side, but Belle freaks out. My dog & cat ARE family members!!
17. Chocolate & fruit should not be mixed. ever.
18. I was an Executive Training General Manager for an Applebee's over 8 years ago.
19. I look at people's teeth when they talk.
20. I love doing hand-stitched embroidery (without a pattern...just start stitching and see where it goes...).
21. I love to read - books, the newspaper, magazines...I love quotes, words, letters!
22. I would rather loose my hearing than my eyesight.
23. Bent ears makes me almost want to throw-up. They were not made to be bent forward.
24. I have 2 older sisters, 1 older brother, 3 nephews and 3 nieces (on my side) and 1 niece on my husband's side.
25. I am a Nebraska Cornhusker by birth; Iowa State Cyclone by marriage. When the 2 football teams play one another, I AM A HUSKER! GO BIG RED!

"fighting weight"...or thoughts about that mickey rourke movie.

years ago i heard this quote:
"i'm at my fighting weight. too fat to run so i gotta fight."
unfortunately, i do not recall it's origin, so i am unable to give kudos or props to the *author*. but what a truthful statement! i told a friend of mine today that being over-weight really stinks! and for anyone aspiring to be over-weight...DON'T DO IT! PUT THE CUPCAKES DOWN! seriously...it seemingly went on sooooo easily. quickly. but it doth not come off as easily. or quickly.

so, "fighting weight" made me think about "the wrestler" which stars mickey rourke. (warning: clip has a a few words probably not okay for kids' ears...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRDainAvvrk

he is back acting. and apparently doing it well! he was nominated for a golden globe, is up for an oscar...pretty darn cool. i have to admit that "back in the day", mickey was h-o-t! he starred in a number of racy movies that i have not seen, but he had a killer bad-boy image, chiseled face, and his hair was so perfectly non-perfect. he was fabulous eye-candy! but now? not so much. years of addictions. some legal. some not. a stint as a boxer. then some botched plastic surgery (recall jennifer grey's nose-job. now no one recognizes her...not so good for her career either). and the hair?? he appears more of a "carnie". the past few years, and some choices he's made, have not been kind to his physical appearance. or his acting career. but...when i have seen him in a couple interviews...he is very honest about the path & choices that have led him to this place in his life. and he has been off of hollywood's radar for years. it is nice to see a success story! so, for those who have been on the band-wagon of britney spears being the "biggest comeback this year"....get over it. get over her. because mr. rourke gets that title!

now...as for hot actors from the '80's who have aged well? let me just admit publicly: rob lowe. adorable in "st. elmo's fire", "about last night". but...caliente on "brothers & sisters"! seriously, he is a good chunk (err, hunk? ha ha) of the reason i continue to watch the show i think...he doth age well. despite some poor choices he's made...but i digress...

the *annoy-o-meter* is buried!

so it is monday, monday, monday. normally a "no big deal day" for us. but with a couple inches of snow, we are not going anywhere. well, i will venture out later to pick up a stamp set & go to scrap-class, but totally "sans girls".

as i titled this, the *annoy-o-meter* is buried...as in "dukes of hazard driving too fast buried speedometer" (coo coo)...here is what all has me chapped. today. and not necessarily in any particular order. hmphfgh!

* t.v. stayed up way too late last night, watching way too many back-to-back episodes of perhaps the most mind-numbingly annoying show & cast of people E-V-E-R. that is 2.5 hours of my life i can never get back. "train wreck tv" is so annoying.

* coffee...i brewed the last of my yummy dunn bros. and only have enough of the yummy jamaican brew (that hubs' aunts gave me for helping to dog sit for them...while they cruised) for one (1!) pot and i really, really, really, really want it. now. but am trying to have some self-control. i mean i can easily brew up some maxwell house and be okay. but i really, really, really, really want yummy.

* "sid the science kid". well, actually it is his friends. i really need to not let my girls watch this show anymore. i feel like i have been poked in the ear until it bleeds with the voices of these kids. seriously. are there boo bandages, errr, i mean band-aids (i really am a grown-up, i think?) for internal ear bleeding?

* the cat. who seems to think that he is supposed to walk on my desk, right in front of the computer moniter. all this morning.

* time. seriously? how did it get to be 11:00am and i really have nothing to show for my monday morning besides one clean closet (don't get all "atta girl" with me, b/c it is the linen closet that merely houses the ironing board, iron, light bulbs and the vacuum & it's accessories. whoo-hoo....slow down with your organizing/cleaning self, huh?!). well, i have done some "work". and i did find an adorable stamp set for making valentine's for the girls to give. and i have caught up on the blogs i read. and the girls and i have made some fabulous pictures with crayons and sparkley pom-poms. but really. seriously.

* our garage door. everyone (and by *everyone* i mean ME, THE GIRLS, THE LIL DOG AND THE CAT) was still asleep at 7:08am when hubs opened the door to go to work. does it everyday. but this a.m. i was hoping for some sleeping in b/c of "no nap" sunday. now it's just "no luck monday".

* pet owners who should not have pets. if you cannot properly take care of your pet, you should not be allowed to have one. and i believe that the humane society fully backs this. so, if i see our neighbor's pet tethered to the back end of the yard, again, laying in the snow, for more than 15 minutes, i am calling. again. the article in the paper last week stated the no dog is allowed to be tethered for over 15 minutes without supervision by an adult of 18 yrs or older. this type of *activity* can cause dogs to become mean. really? so...despite that, i do like the neighbors. and i think they are reasonably smart people, they just do not know how to properly take care of a dog! seriously. there are kennels for large-breed dogs. there are really nice pillows for said kennels. and with, again, proper training, dogs l-u-v their kennels...they become their own little "cave". okay...i need to move on. you get the point, right?! but i will continue to stand behind this statement: if people cannot take care of their kids or pets they should not have either.

* husband who change the wallpaper of the computer. no warning. so that photo at the top of my rant is what i see right off the bat this a.m. when i turn on the 17" screen. really? how annoying is that?!?!?! (retorical question, 'kay)

* hubs, again. i *accused* him of hugging someone who was wearing "old lady perfume" yesterday. i was not annoyed that he might hug someone. just that the someone left behind their "old lady perfume" smell on him. yeah...l o n g d r a w n o u t y eee aaa h...see, it was the cologne he chose to wear yesterday. which is the cologne that i gave him. i picked out for him. i (apparently at some point?) must have thought smelt (yes, i know that ain't spelled right...) good. sometime. just not yesterday. seriously stinky stuff. i just smelt the cologne bottle whilst i was in the bathroom "on other business" which when i saw the cologne bottle it reminded me of my annoyance yesterday. and, yeah. THAT was the "old lady perfume" smell. ey-yi-yi. so i think i shall recommend that he wear that to his workplace. every single day of work. monday thru friday.

* me. i have thoroughly annoyed myself at this point. really. shouldn't there be something of more substance to be annoyed about? hmfph! and double-hmfph!!

coulda, woulda, shoulda...blah, blah, blah

almost every friday i get this burst of energy and plan a weekend full of things/projects i want to do or get done around the house over the weekend...those 2 days that hubs is home...and i can have some leeway with my time. and yet, every weekend comes along...and well, my lists remain unmarked off. the little pockets of clutter remain. i get in a couple really, really great naps. we get some little things done. we have some really, really great belly-laughs with the girls. we get to church and sunday school. and then monday morning is there, again, and the list might get a couple of things marked off. but most, if not all, will be there again on next friday. so when i tell people that i have this *saying*, it really, really is true:

"if you want to come over and see me &/or the kids &/or the hubs, great! come on over! if you are coming over to see the house, you better give me two weeks notice!"

boring...sigh

so...my almost 4-yr-old (& her 2.5-yr-old sister) really, really like "The Imagination Movers" on the disney channel. but i might not let them watch it any more...here's why:

i am getting dressed the other day. i had chosen jeans, a dark brown t-shirt, and then was going to wear my aqua-blu vest (& planned to wear my rockabilly, kick@** steve madden boots!). after i got on my t-shirt, the almost 4-yr-old says:

"momma, you look just like mr. nickknocks from ""The Imagination Movers"! he just loves boring things and brown shirts, too!"

note to husband: apparently our budget will need to have a larger "momma clothing allowance", as i think i will need to *add* to my resolutions: become a cool & hip momma, not just boring ole momma. sigh...

these are those amazingly, beautiful bows that my girls made for their new cousin, hannah. if you need to read the story, see my post on saturday, january 17th titled "wisegirls".

enjoy! oh - big sister's is on the left; lil sister's on the right.

i am SAHM. SAHM i am.

what i l-u-v about being a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom):

* snuggles on command. err, demand? i can stop what i am doing a have a snuggle in the brown chair with one, or both, of the girls. if they are feeling sad and just need a hug, i have plenty! (sometimes the "momma hug" really is all they need or want.)

* we get to have leisurely breakfasts & lunches. (and i never have to worry or be ticked off because someone used my delicious coffee splink or ate my lunch that was in the employee fridge.)

* we can run errands at "off times" & usually take our time. and avoid some of the crowds. (so if one of us has a hissy-fit, not as many people are annoyed.)

* we can go to the Y everyday & swim. or not.

* we normally do not have to *be* anywhere before 9:30am...or at least not anywhere where we have to be "pretty"...no need to shower before working out at the Y. (although, not sure anyone at the y has ever seen me with anything other than "leftover hair".)

* if one of the girls is sick, there is no discussion or scrambling to figure out who will miss work, who can miss work. even for *well visits*, no one has to miss work, or take a long lunch break. we do not complain about paying for that day of daycare that we are home from work with a sick child. because you pay whether the kid is there are not. and usually you have to wait 24 full hours after the fever or blow-out to come back. (fevers and blow-outs never happen at the most opportune times.)

* i get to watch my girls play, work out differences, learn and explore everyday. no *report* from someone else on what they did all day, each day. i know. and if they were in daycare or preschool, they would not be together all day and might not be as close of buddies as they are.

* i can take a nap (or a dr. phil break) in the afternoon is i deem it is necessary.

* i get to spend each day with 2 of my most favorite people! and when the weekend rolls around, we do not have to spend the entire 2 "daddy stays home days" cleaning or running errands. most weekends. (not always though). and we can spend saturday and sundays with our other favorite person: the daddy!

* i can teach my girls how to do some of the housework, laundry, pet care, etc. (but please do not assume that our home is immaculate. or even dust-free. or the the laundry is always done. or that clothes actually make it from the laundry baskets to the dresser drawers or closets.)

* i can stitch, or paint, or do uppercase living projects (http://jodilarson.uppercaseliving.net/MyGallery.m), or scrap, or put together a puzzle, or whatever we girls feel like doing. or feel like needs to be done.

* i can watch the entire inauguration coverage (and not have to worry about my boss catching me on the internet & not working).

"wisegirls"

i have been busy stitching for our families' newest member: baby hannah. my husband's brother & his wife had her just last week. they live in alabama, so i wanted to make a hand-embroidered blanket and this adorable owl pillow. so the other night i was in our bedroom stitching and my *almost* 4-yr-old come in and clamors up on our bed and wanted to watch me stitch. then she decided that she should make her cousin "the most amazing & beautiful bow ever!". so i gave her some ribbons and embroidery floss and she began her "stitching". her little sister came in & decided that she must also do a *project* for baby hannah. as wren was compiling her "amazing & most beautiful bow ever" ever for baby hannah she got to chatting with me. here's how that went:

"we are making these gifts for that Lil Baby Hannah and we are like the wisemen, only we are wisegirls..." she says.

"how are you like the wisemen, wren?" I asked.

"well, we are bringing gifts for the baby, just like they brought gifts to Jesus. but I don't think that Jesus wore any bows in his hair, because he is a boy, not a girl, like us and our cousin hannah." she says.

"yeah, we are cousins and have to make hannah pretty bows and she will really like handy manny and dresses just like nea-nea." Linnea says.

oh they L-U-V their new cousin!!! i have to show them her pics almost everytime we come downstairs. i am thinking i will just print out one for each of them to have...

cold does not even register...

it is below zero outside. no, i have not ventured out - i am merely trusting our thermometer and the weatherguy. although i did let our lil dog out (and wowzers! it IS C-O-L-D!) and when i did that, i noticed that our neighbor's pup is outside, on a leash, with no food/water (it'd freeze, i know...) and no shelter, just a couple toys. this has gone on all week! in the ground blizzard, he was out there. in the cold. in the wind. in the windchill. i know that i should "mind my own business", but i feel so bad for that pup (and he is a pup...just 10 months old...even though he's a siberian husky and looks bigger...). i know that not everyone percieves their animals as family members. and, yep, our lil dog & fuzzy cat are probably spoiled. but they are members of our family! okay, enough about that. we will be spending a chunk of our day in the basement - outta sight, outta mind, right? not so much i am afraid...

Update: 11:02am
the humane society just left after visiting the neighbor & the pup is not outside. yeah!

how 'bout them resolutions?

i thought i ought to "check in" on my progress on the resolutions that i have for 2009:

1) workout/exercise more: "CHECK" - still good! still swimming a few times each week with the littles. still working out 3-5 x's each week - and am setting goals for each workout. to burn "x-amount" of calories in less time, for example.

2) less soda, more water: ummmm, so does brewing coffee with WATER count as drinking more water? it is crazy cold lately & i have been having a couple cups of coffee in the a.m. and late afternoon...i am thinking that i have to admit to "no check" on this one. rats!

3) budget: "CHECK" - continuing to work with hubs on this one. cutting back in areas is actually feeling good, not easy, but good. there are *things* we want our money to do, so this is really a good thing!

4) tidier home: partial-CHECK...i have taken down the christmas tree & other decor...& i have found that i really can organize...& i really do love to rearrange our living areas...but TIDY? not so much. but i am not only trying, but vowing, to make it happen!!! (seriously!)

5) become more faithful & graceful in my walk with God: work-in-progress...i think i get little checks here & there. this is the hardest one for me. i have always been spiritual, in my own private ways. but i enjoy church and the volunteering that i do there. i sometimes struggle with my "whys"...and it is such a personal thing to delve into this. but i am praying more and working on being a better wife, mother and friend.

that's the update. that's where i am at. personal reflection is truly a good thing...and so is the delicious food that is cooking in my crockpot!

"You Want Some Potatoes?" (or..."Why Can't I Watch My Shows??")

I am doing some work in the basement on our computer and I thought I could watch a few shows that were recorded this past week (my "Trash TV"...y'know...a Dr. Phil episode, Grey's, Private Practice...some Intervention episodes...). Well, Hubs was defragging the computer (I always have to sing the FraggleRock theme song whenever he does this..ha ha) and I could not get the remote to access the Media Center. Here is how our conversation goes:

"Why Can't I Watch My Shows??" I hollar up to him.
"You Want Some Potatoes?" he replies (he is making dinner - yeah! Go Hubs!) (I instantly think of Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman": "It was so good I nearly peed my pants," she says. As the elderly woman's eyes pop wide-open, Richard Gere tells her "She said it was better than 'Pirates of Penzance"...)
"Ummm, no, I WANT TO WATCH MY SHOWS!" I hollar just a bit louder. This gets him to come down the stairs...
"Is it still defragging?" he says.
"Nope. All done..."down at FraggleRock!" I sing.
"Well, have you rebooted? That is like the first thing you do when a computer won't do something you want it to do, right?!" he says, with an accompanying eyeroll.
"Really? REALLY?! Careful there Geek-Squad or I'll reboot YOU!" is my answer.

Seriously, he is a DataBase Adminstrator (aka My Computer Geek), so I thought maybe there was something else to why it was not working.

Deep breath.

The rebooting worked.

Okay, fine He Was Right.

This One Time.

flat tire = great day!

woke up to a flat tire on my car. not just a little low, or some air still it, but f-l-a-t! so, after trying to unscrew the valve cap (we have a small air pump...but i could not even get the cap to budge) and then trying to take the tire off to put on the donut (again, no luck on getting the lug nuts off...), i finally call AAA, in defeat. but the super-nice AAA gal was really, really super-nice and within 20 minutes AAA tire-guy was here, donut on and about 30 minutes later the girls & i were at jensen tire awaiting the diagnosis of our "sick tire" (my 3-yr-old's words). well...no luck, again, as the tire was ruined. since we had to get 2 new ones back in october, i opted to go ahead and replace the other 2 now. as i sat listening to the president-elect's short talk about the economy and my girls have imaginary conversations about lunch with their buddies, i was not very happy. argh, not a good time to have to spend $200 on lousy tires. no fun. humphff. and double-humphff.

but my day entirely changed when the guy came to tell me our car was ready. my oldest, who i remind you is 3-yrs-wise...says in her usual upbeat & just plain h-a-p-p-y voice, "come on momma, let's go and see those new tires!" everyone else waiting for their cars' diagnosis laughed. i couldn't help but laugh, too. which then got my 2-yr-old laughing and then the 3-yr-old, which got everyone laughing even more. it was THEN that i realized i was looking at this whole tire thing wrong, and needed to adjust my thoughts to that of my 3-yr-old! so i decided to ENJOY my purchase! by golly y'all i got two new, amazingly treaded tires today! i am quite certain that the car is riding better, less bumpy, than before. i know i am a better driver because of the new tires...and i was not even one bit peeved when little dude in his big ole hummer cut me off and nearly ended up with my new tires in the back end of it. i was totally like "whatever...I have NEW TIRES....look at 'em! gorgeous, huh?!"

resolutions: check!

new year's resolutions:
(or, things i seem to think i can do better this year)

* workout/exercise: check! joined the Y a couple months ago and hubs & I try to workout 3-5 x's/week and i take the littles swimming a few mornings a week!

** drink less soda, more water: not so much a *check*. me luvs my diet coke.

*** make a budget/stick to said budget: check! hubs & i start "Financial Peace" next week!

**** keep a tidier home: not so much a *check*: i hate housework. give me a reason NOT to do it, and yeah, i'll not do it. i do the basics, it is no unsanitary here. but my mantra has been "if you are coming to see me, come on over! if you're coming to see my house, give me 2 weeks notice" and that really is NOT an exageration. anyways...huge *work in progress* on this one.

***** become more faithful & graceful in my walk with God.

but for now, i am starting with a shower and cleaning our bathroom and starting on the 3 laundry baskets of little girls clothes (really, dressers are for their buddies beds & forts, not clothes, right?!).

happy wednesday!

Let Us Begin at The Beginning, huh?!

blog #1 of Llama Drama...what will this be? a place, a journal for my thoughts, funnies and what-nots of my daily life...and probably the lives of my fam, too!

so who am I?
i am the wife of an amazingly perfect (for me!) man named karl
i am the mother of a beautiful curly-haired 3-yr-old lil llama named wren
i am the mother of a spunky growly-beared voiced 2 yr old lil llama named linnea
i love my lil dog (belle), my fluffy cat (puddy mcfluffkins) and llamas. no, i do not own a llama, but i love the llamas. and reindeer.
i am a stay-at-home mom who dabbles in selling Uppercase Living (see my website at http://jodilarson.uppercaseliving.net/)

today has been good. the little girls and i have been to Y to workout & swim. we are "dog sitting" and 3 pups are in love with the lil honeys...are shown in their licks and nuzzles. the lil honeys are napping before heading to Wren's dance class. the fuzzy cat is plopped right in front of the monitor purring. loudly. and i am done typing for today.