M&M's and love languages and a giveaway

I know every last one of you is on the edge of your seats wondering what I think about the M&M's with pretzel. I won't hold you in suspense any longer. They are fine. They ain't no Peanut Butter M&M, that's for sure. I usually love the sweet and salty combo, but these fell a little flat. I'll admit: a big part of it is texture. Closely resembling a malted milk candy (excuse while I go dry heave) it put me into a mild panic attack over what was actually in my mouth. The chocolate was more crunchy than the pretzel- a huge NO! in my book. Vote (over there on the side) for which M&M flavor is your all-time fave. Mine? Peanut buttah. MMmmmmmm. Or dark chocolate. Mmmmmm.

Do you speak my love language? I just read "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman. Excellent, I say. I had a major epiphany. I've meant to read it ever since Julie mentioned it a while back. (Read her post- it's worth your time.)

Turns out, I'm bilingual in the love language department. (Well, I took two different tests. The first one said I was bilingual, the second showed only a difference in one point.) My two love languages? Verbal affirmation and gifts. This book explains why some people really don't feel it necessary to (gasp!) receive gifts from their spouse. Also, I don't need to have a guilt complex over wanting verbal affirmation anymore. No, I don't have some inner self esteem issue, it's my love language. I was really sure that my husband's love language was also verbal affirmation. Wrong. After a little kicking and screaming and sulking, he took the test. He scored a big, fat zero on gifts. It's not even on his radar screen. Apparently. So I am even more thankful for the flowers he shows up with from time to time. And for the Verbal Affirmation I receive. *happy sigh* He was on to something unknowingly...

*Love languages can also be applied to anyone around you: friends, family, kids, etc. So bffitwww: you really did make my day. I feel so loved!

What's your love language? Tell me your love language and I'll automatically enter you into a drawing for a random prize. Even if you don't do the whole gift thing. Drawing on Friday, February 4th. (And for crying out loud, read the book! It's almost February, the month of love.)

TY, BFFITWWW!

OF COURSE I KNOW WHO MY BFFITWWW IS! Why wouldn't I? Seriously, bffitwww! I cried. You made my day. And that says a lot. Because I woke up with a migraine today.

I have the bestest friends in my life. I'm so blessed. And giddy.

Thank you, again.

*this just showed up~I don't actually know who my bffitwww is~how fun is that?*

soon to be short and stout

I've made it a tenth of the way to Boston. Did you notice? At this rate, I'll make it in time to Trick-or-Treat. I can't wait. I might dress up like a teapot.

In other news, I just printed off five, yes five, of PW's recipe. I know. I won't be able to step on the scale for 100 days, but I'll be in heaven while the food lasts. It's worth it. My best friend in the whole wide world is buying me her cookbook- I collect cookbooks. I don't know who my bffitwww is, but I will find out soon enough. Won't I? Won't I? Right? Doesn't anybody love me? Or maybe y'all love me enough not to. That's what I'll tell myself if I don't get the book. Which'll probably be the case.

And last but not least: I almost missed the Superbowl. Are you kidding me?! I love Superbowl Sunday. If for nothing else except good company and sinful food. I usually have concrete plans one month beforehand. And it's in like, what? Basically a week? Breathe thru it, Mindi, breathe thru it. Whew! You can do it... Seriously, people. Warn me about such things. I hate emergency situations like this. You know I need to be prepared.

It just goes to show how much is on my plate these days, and I ain't talking about PW's food or football food. Yet.

Bringing up the rear

I want a caboose. And not a honky-tonk-badonkadonk/baby's-got-back type of caboose. Well, I mean, I do work out for a reason... I won't lie- I do so enjoy it when my husband comments on my caboose. Oooh-eeeee! Did I just say that out loud? Oooh. It was a bit sassy, wasn't it? But I don't take it back, because it is true. And keeps me motivated at the gym. I just hope my dad doesn't read this post, as he does read my blog from time to time.

Anywho. I want a railroad type of caboose. Ever since I was young and I read "The Boxcar Children". That was before they went and ruined it by adding a whole series. I refused to read past the first one. But I fell hopelessly in love with the thought of having my own caboose. And now as an adult, I still have that childhood dream. Where does one find a caboose? I realize that I can't get one until I decide to settle down at least semi-permanently. And you know us. Heh.

What would I do with it? Good question. Children's playhouse. Guest house. Storage shed. Sauna. The options are endless. And fun... dreamland...

I will get that caboose. Both of 'em.

Wise words.

Stolen, er..ah.. borrowed from my friends Ami & Wendy on FB:

"If you can't flatter them with brilliance, baffle them with b.s."

"Kid, life's hard. But it's harder if you're stupid."
(Sounds like it came from the book "Sh*t! my Dad says." Which, like the title, is a little rough. But funny.)

16 things I've learned in 30 days.

I was in Jimmy John's yesterday and I love all of the signs they have for your reading enjoyment. They had a "16 things I've learned in 50 years". It inspired me. What have I learned in the last month?

1.) When you use the gas at the dentist, it makes paying your bill easier after the appointment.
2.) However. You shouldn't text while under the influence of nitrous gas.
3.) I win when I play bumper cars with mailboxes. That'll teach them mailboxes to get in my way.*
4.) January is good for something: clearance racks.
5.) After hitting the clearance racks, I have a hard time paying even 70% of the original price on clothes.
6.) Jimmy John's is freaky fast.
7.) I am 100% addicted to coffee. I paid more for a cup of coffee than most of my clearance items.
8.) I need a tropical vacation.
9.) Never take a laxative and sleeping pill on the same night. (Okay, I'll admit- I learned this one from the sign at Jimmy John's. But it's worth repeating.)
10.) Adults wear their pajamas to Walmart. For realz. You'd hate to get dressed for the day.
11.) I can count on Izzy to lift my spirits. After playing bumper cars, she promptly asked me if I still have bruises from falling at the bowling alley. Thank you, Isabel. I love you too.
12.) I'm not feeding her supper tonight. **
13.) My van is super tough. My pride, however, is somewhere between the van and those mailboxes on the toughness scale.
14.) Sometimes you really do have to just take life one day at a time.
15.) My husband will not wear the "Kenny Chesney" jeans that most stores sell these days.
16.) I need another pair of shoes. But then again, who doesn't?


*Not bad. First time in all of my years of driving that I went off the road.
**Don't take me or life too seriously.

Kaija-bearsy

All that's going on in this world and my world starts to give me a little anxiety if I think about it too long. So I'm going to give my mind and heart a break and post about my beautiful baby who has is officially ONE. Oooh, I love her.

My babies.

It's unreal that it's been a year!

Like her, so much in my life has changed.

I'm still coming to grips with some of it, I won't lie. But her? She makes my sun shine.

My little walking mess: She leaves a wake of household items and toys behind her everywhere she goes. Makes her easy to track. She also loves to put necklaces on.

Costco cake. Enough said.

Cool as a cucumber

Ice schmice! Where a person really needs to be worrying about slipping is the bowling alley. In case you didn't realize, they oil those lanes. You aren't cool until you've slid down a lane like a kid on a Slip-n-slide in July. In front of a bowling alley full of peeps. I entered the ranks of cool today. My finger and my pride are jacked up to prove it. And believe it or not, I wasn't embarrassed when it happened. The embarrassment sunk in when I got back to my seat and realized I had to keep going up in front of all of those people again for 4 more frames. Cool as a cucumber.

Do you hear what I hear?

Wedding bells. My sister Holly and Kevin are getting married! Wahoo! I know this is old news to most, but she's over-the-top excited. So I really wanted her to bask in the excitement of it all and be the one to put it out on her blog before I put it on mine.
Congrats, you two! I wish you a long, happy life together.

The Rundown: January

Did you see the beautiful snow falling? It was exactly like this when my baby was born in New Mexico. Big, fat flakes, falling gently to the ground. Time flies.

Do you see what happens to those flakes when the wind starts to blow? How they whirl around in a frenzy, like a snow globe? That's my brain. I got a million things going on in my life and they just keep on a coming!

*We spoke with the school and they have a Homebound program that I will take advantage of. Who whudda thunk? A teacher comes out to help with the lessons. Nice. One less stress in my life.
*He will not be sitting 90 degrees in his cast, as I had hoped. Such a small change causes so many complications. Sigh. One of them being that we will be unable to go anywhere all together as a family during his cast time. He needs to lay across the van seat.
*We have a cast removal date. Yay! Exactly 6 weeks after surgery. That will be a quick, quick trip for whoever goes with Logan. Again: Vehicle situation.
*I do need a root canal. Within the next week. That's good, since life is really slow, boring and cheap at the moment. Drip, drip, drip... goes the sarcasm.
*Logan is drama-filled. You should have seen him at his dentist appointment. Seriously, I don't know how he is going to have surgery. Seriously. I'm a little worried.
*Oh, and because life is so cheap right now, we get to start paying a chunk of gas money out of our pocket for Zane's work vehicle. That's always fun. Drip, drip. The commute he had in NM is looking very appealing right about now.
* Izzy did see a different Doc about her eyes. I love him. He had the same advice as the other guy, but he explained it to me instead of just telling me. Thank you. If I don't understand it, I generally don't believe you completely. And. He was amazing with Izzy. He made a game of everything. When he was looking into her eyes with a light, he told her he can see what she is going to be in the future. He first made the grave mistake of telling her she would be a singer. (Apparently he doesn't know what kind of a gene pool she comes from.) She burst out crying. "I don't want to do that! I want to stay with my mom!" So I spelled out D-O-G for him. He didn't realize that she actually wants to be a dog, not just take care of them. Be she accepted that answer. When he said that he could tell what she had for breakfast, I thanked my lucky stars that I only had to spell out y-o-g-u-r-t and not p-u-u-r-o-a. Long story short, her eyes aren't terrible at the moment. We are going to wait a little bit for any changes. That way, the Doc can see if she is improving or declining. Makes sense.
*We're off with a bang. Spending a lot of time at the gym because I signed up my kids for activities there. Makes life almost too busy. With approximately 1.5 hours of free time for the kids between school and bedtime. But we were able to cut out our PT appointments and we continue to do the same stretches at home. It works and keeps the clock ticking quickly. We all need distractions right now.
*This may be irrational, but I am a little worried that people will think I am one of those stereotypical new gym members that only show up for the month of January and only because I had a resolution... the kind the regulars joke about because we have to deal with an unusually packed gym for a month. Irrational, I know. But once Logan is in his cast, actually making it there is going to be a major feat. I guess it is all about motivation. I'll just have to do it and if I don't, I'll try not to be hard on myself. However, not being able to make it is a worry for me. If I am edgy, an hour at the gym transforms me into a much more peaceful person. I'm going to need that during that time.

Now I'm just getting rambly with these thoughts blizzarding in my head. Can you get a glimpse of my mind? Yikes. I know. If you made it through my post, say "I". Even if you do it anonymously. I'll be impressed by you. I bet a few dropped off back at the root canal.

Boston!

I've always wanted to go there. So now I am. I've gone ten miles thus far. And Sharyn is a Wonder Woman, test or no test. It was half test, half statement.

If you can't lick 'em, join 'em.

Fine. I'm in. Like my inspiration, Sharyn, and the reinforcer of the inspiration, Jan, I'm putting on the miles this year. Since I am walking, running and biking, my goal is between the goals of the other two. It's more than 750, but less than 800. Depends how distracted I get. As in: I might take short detours if I find a good landmark to check out on the way. Originally, I wanted to include swimming in that, but I realized how complicated that would get. So, if I swim this year, it'll just be extra credit.

Join this movement (get it?) that the Wonder Woman Sharyn seems to have started, would you?

Izzyisms

Izzy likes her hair one way and only one way. Down, brushed, straight and soft. She came downstairs today telling me her hair was "too curly". (A.k.a.: a rats nest.) I ignored her, as I had let the kids sleep in and that meant I had to drive them to school to get them there on time. By the time we got back home, she was really impatient with me.
"Mo-o-o-m!" She whined, "I need to get my haiw bwushed! I wook wike a cwown!" (clown)
Oh, my Izz.

****

We had summer sausage in the fridge, which my kids absolutely LoVe. I sliced it up for them for a snack before bed.
Izzy: "Mmmm. This tastes wike dog tweats!"
Me: "Dog treats! Have you had dog treats before?"
Izzy: "Yeah. I found them and I thought they was snausages. So me and Anna ate them."
Shudder. And giggle.

How I love that little one. But, seriously. Dog treats?

HELP!!

I know! My background is boring. I can't even spice it up with changing the colors of my words. The only way you can pull up my blog is if I have it on Minima. What the? I can't even pick out another (boring) template provided by Blogger. Ugh. Help?! Anyone? It says I need to upgrade, but when I do then you are unable to pull up my blog. If I do not upgrade, I cannot pull up the widget to put in a new code for my background. It's all very irritating. I never should have decided to try to change my background...

ETA: I figured out part of my problem. Now if I can just figure out how to add a different background from another site...