Friday 5

1. What is the longest you’ve gone between haircuts?
2-3 years. I'm very bad at keeping up with that kind of stuff. I usually wait until it's soo long that it's annoyed me for months and then chop it all off and donate.

2. What is the shortest hour of the day?
Uhm, technically all hours are the same time frame. Perspective: any hour that I'm sleeping - I just about always feel like I need more sleep.

3. What is the longest line you’ve ever stood in?
Probably for some line at Disney before they came up with the FastPass system. Nothing I can remember specifically.

4. Who’s your shortest adult friend?
My friend Wendy, she is maybe 5'2" and shorter than Kaitlyn.

5. Who among your current friends have you known the longest?
That would be my friend J, whom I have known for 23 years. I'm not very good at keeping in touch with long-distance friends though, so I haven't seen her in years. My closest friend that I see on a regular basis would be M, whom I have known for almost 18 years.

Visit the Friday 5 main page to see other's answers. :)

Rock the Space

MySpace Records is giving out a recording contract to some lucky unsigned band/solo artist. Please check out one of my favorite local bands - One Night Crush. They are awesome! Personally, the song attached to the widget isn't my fav - I much prefer the non-remixed version. Check out their MySpace page and listen to their other songs - I love Maniac.

What's your Super Hero Alter Ego?

I saw a picture on one of my friends Flickr pages of her as a Super Hero and thought it was the coolest. Here's Super Me:


Create your own Super Hero here. Let me know if you do, I'd love to see what you come up with. :)

Holy Time Warp, Batman!

Man, it's been a while. If I waited just two more months, it will have been a full year since I last blogged. Bad blogger, bad! Alright, so let's skip the public flogging and move straight on to the updates. What has happened in the ever exciting and fast paced, thrilling life of Kelly in the last 10 months. HA! You really didn't think I was serious there, did you?

First and most life altering, after almost 5 wonderful years at my employer, the crappy housing economy forced several budget cuts, leading to me being laid off last September. It really sucks. There are some days when I really, REALLY miss working there and others when I happy and content staying home with the kids. We decided to allow me the opportunity to be the stay-at-home parent I always wanted to be and most days it is truly full-filling and I enjoy every moment. Other days, I just miss my friends from work, my boss (who I would probably count into the friends category), I miss the repetition of having a reason to get up and dressed and out the door looking presentable, social interaction with adults. But then, my little one runs full-out into my arms and just yells MOMMY! like it's the best word in the world, and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Camille is now 2(!) and into everything she can get her hands on. One of her current favorite activities includes stealing toilet paper (issue in Milly speak) and wiping down all reachable surfaces. She loves bubble baths and berries (strawberry, blueberry, you name it), although not together.

Celeste just turned 7 earlier this month and is still all princess. She had her first sleep-over at a friends house and had soo much fun, she and her friend have had several more sleep-overs. She is finishing up first grade next week and is such a good reader now, I'm so proud of her. Celeste is still involved in Girl Scouts and has a blast with her troop. They have volunteered twice at our local SPCA and were supposed to volunteer at a local big cat rescue center, but had to cancel due to inclement weather.

We are currently in the early planning phase for Kaitlyn's Sweet 16 birthday party. I can't believe my baby is going to be 16 in 7 months. We've had the thrill of first boyfriends and heart-ache of first break-ups this year. She's been asking about getting her driver's permit and a job over the summer! Eek! She'll be heading to High School next year and is a proud member of the marching band. They've already started practice sessions for next year's routine and there will be Saturday practices as well as a 2 week camp to look forward to this summer. She has a close group of great friends that will luckily be attending the same high school, so she is definitely looking forward to this.

I'm really going to try harder at blogging. If anyone can explain to me how being unemployed has interfered with my online time, I'd appreciate it. I barely have time lately to check out my favorite Twilight fanfics (newest guilty obsession), check my email and that's about it. I really need to learn to manage my time better. I'm looking for some daily reasons to blog. So far, I've got the Menu Plan Mondays (which I really need to get back into) and there's always Wordless Wednesdays. Got any suggestions for me???

Been gone and Twilight.

So, I've gone and done it again. Been a while since I've last posted, sorry about that. Kaitlyn just got back today from her 2 week vacation to visit her aunt in TN. Made me realize that I take for granted just how much she helps out around the house, and just how much I miss her when she's not here. I'm glad that she's home now, and not just because she sweeps the floors. lol

Work has also been surprisingly busy. The housing market is definitely not a stable environment, so I'm happy that we're busy, but (and I'll never admit this to my boss!) work is where I type up most of my blog posts so that's been slacking.


Oh, and I think I'm in love with another man. Maybe you've heard of him? His name is Edward Cullen - and btw, Robert Pattison is *NOT* the Edward Cullen I imagine (he better be good in the movie!). Oh, it's not like I'm going to leave my husband or anything, he is a fictional character after-all. But, I am embarrassingly admitting that I am ass-over-tea-kettle obsessed with the Twilight Saga. I bought the first book last Thursday, started reading it on Friday and finished the 3rd book yesterday. That's three 500+ page books in 5 days - I wasn't even able to get through the Harry Potter books that quickly. Embarrassed why? These books are aimed at the young adult section, that's why. Whatever.
Now I find myself wondering what I am supposed to do with myself until August 2nd, when Breaking Dawn comes out. As long as Stephanie Meyer (the author) doesn't pull a Christopher Pike and make it all have been a dream sequence, I think I'll be ok with however it ends. Who will Bella choose? Oh, please, we know the answer to that one - don't we? What will Jacob do? Will Alice go overboard on the wedding? - I think we know the answer to that one too. Should I re-read the first three? I suppose I should clean my house, or maybe pay attention to my husband. Eh. Shhh, I'm just kidding!

So will anyone else out there be at a bookstore at 12:01am August 2nd? I'm pretty sure I will be.

CVS Good Deal of the Week

Here's my haul for this week:

2 Febreze Air Fresheners

2 Febreze Air Effects

2 Olay Daily Regenerating Cleansers

2 Olay Regenerist Micro-Exfoliating Wet Cleansing Cloths

2 Pert Plus Shampoo/Conditioners

4 packages Always pads

1 package CVS brand pantyliners

1 package Pampers diapers

8 32oz bottles of Powerade (these are B1G1 Free this week)

1 case CVS brand bottled water

2 packs Juicy Fruit gum

2 Reese's Whipps candy bars

(what? the girls were well behaved and I had B1G1 Free coupons for each)

Total before coupons: $77.71

Coupons Used:
$3/$15 CVS Face Care CRT
2x Febreze B1G1 Free coupons
4x $3/1 Olay Regenerist coupons
2x $2/1 Pert Plus coupons
2x Always B1G1 Free coupons
$1/1 Pampers coupons
8x $.75/1 Powerade coupons
B1G1 Free coupon for the Juicy Fruit
B1G1 Free coupon for the Reese's Whipps
$28.99 ECBs
and the Water was free with a $20 P&G purchase

Total out of pocket after coupons: $7.66

That's more than a 90% savings! All of that for less than the price of one package of diapers. Woohoo!

I split this up into 2 transactions so that I could use the ECBs earned on the first transaction toward the next one. Best way to maximize your money - and I still have $9.99 in ECBs to use another day.

For more ideas on how to maximize your dollar at CVS, check out Alyssa's $5 CVS Challenge at Keeping The Kingdom First.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I'll have to spell it out for you because it's raining so hard, you can't really see past the rain drops. (Don't worry, I pulled over to take this picture.)

Everyday, on my way home from work, I pass by a new middle school being built. Everyday, without fail, they have the stinking sprinklers on. 4 out of 5 sprinkler heads are not properly aligned so the street and passing cars get more of the water than the grass it's intended for. Obviously, or maybe not soo much from this picture, this grass is not lacking water. How, you might ask? Becasue we live in FL. Ask any Floridian - summer afternoons = rain showers.
We aren't called the Lightning Capitol of North America (used to be of the world, but now that title goes to Rwanda) for nothing.

So why, I ask, is it necessary to water the street near a lawn that is already watered everyday!?! A few lawn maintainance tips:

Don't overwater your yard - overwatered grass develops weak, shallow roots which can lead to brown patches in the lawn (commonly a fungal infection).

Linked to #1, if rain is forecasted, turn off your sprinkler system. Even a light rain will provide enough water for your lawn.

Water early in the day/morning - watering early in the day will give the grass time to absorb the water needed before the day sun will evaporate the un-needed water. Excess water on the grass blades can also lead to fungal infections.

Regularly check your sprinkler system for broken or mis-aligned heads causing an excess of wasted water.

Another water-saving tip: Did you realize that if you cut your shower time by just 1 minute, you could save an average of 1,000 gallons per year - per showering person in your household! If everyone reading cut their shower time by just 1 minute, think of the amount of water that could be saved!

And my final word of the day: PLEASE, please be careful when driving in the rain and cautious of other drivers. I had the misfortune of passing by this accident on my way home yesterday and it really hit me right in the gut. I felt sick all evening, thinking of the drivers of the car and the driver of the truck that hit them.