Sunday ...

Seems like it has been forever since I've done a blog post.  Things have been spinning wildly around here lately, and it hasn't just been the wind.  Wrestling season is winding down, baseball clinics have started, we're knee deep in gymnastics competition season and the little one is doing gymnastics lessons 1x/week and will start swim lessons in addition to that in a little bit.  Plus, I have had this nagging cough - bronchitis, the doc says - for 3 weeks already.  Long enough.  It's annoying.  It sucks not being able to walk to the ladies room at work without having a coughing fit and people treat me like I have the plague. Annoying, just like I said. 

Kids got their report cards about two weeks ago.  There was a significant improvement in DinoBoy's!  Seriously, I think it was the teacher who left to have her 2nd beebster in December.  The long term sub the district brought in is fabulous, first rate, can't say enough GREAT stuff about her!  She retired last year or the year before from our District, having taught the 3rd or 4th grade for many, many years.  She and I have been in email contact and she just seems to "get" our kid.  Which I love!!  And, he loves her!!  Twink's grade slipped up a little (LOL) not getting straight A's this marking period.  That danged B+ tripped her up!  She is doing great so far into this marking period, though, far as I can tell. 

We're readying our house to be put on the market.  We're out of space.  See the link on my sidebar for the "garage sale" type stuff I'm finding and listing daily.  If it is scrapbook stuff you're looking for, I've started a new id:  CoffeePlease2011 - I thought it was fitting.  Come check that stuff out too.  Yesterday I found an entire rolling container in the basement that I forgot.I.had!  Can you believe it?  Nope, I didn't either til I opened it.  All kinds of scrapbooking and cardmaking goodness was inside.  I've only listed a portion of my finds...I will be listing more as I find the time to take the pictures and write the enticing descriptions so that will make everyone have to have them!  Each time I turn my head, I realize how much STUFF we have.  Trying to figure that out will have to be a whole blog series.  LOL.  Right now, I am concentrating on "unstuffing" - and hopefully will do my book review of "unstuffed" this week too.  Have you had to do this recently?  How in the heck did you get through it??

Today is a beautiful day in NJ.  55* and sunny - really, can't ask for a more beautiful end to the weekend.  Grilling dinner outside tonight will be a stolen pleasure that we haven't been able to enjoy for a long time.  (I did grill last weekend, and froze my arse off while doing it!)  Last I saw, there was rain in our forecast for the next few days. 

Tomorrow, I begin the next step in my journey to ... fit in my "regular" pants.  I am going to once again participate in a Yoga Pilates Fusion class offered right up the road through our continuing education program in the District.  Followed by: (drumroll) KETTLEBELLS class.  If you're closeby or even far away, you may want to touch base with me on Tuesday.  Last time I tried the kettlebells class, I nearly died!  So - with this cough - and being out.of.shape, I have a long night ahead of me tomorrow night!! 

Circus!

Lessons Learned ...

SweeTart is feeling better... still sleepy but is generally her usual, rambunctious self.  This was evidently the case when I attempted to leave the house on Sunday morning with Twink but without SweeTart.  An extra large fuss was made and she even went as far as getting her boots and jacket on, after gathering her babies for a trip.  So, she won - and I put her in the car to head to Hubs office with me and Twink.  We were heading there because our house doesn't have a working printer and we still needed to make Twink's  valentines.  {main purpose of my trip to the office was to do the company's 1099s - trying to work and do valentines, not a good idea.}

On the way to the office, we had to make a stop at CVS to get candy to put into Twink's valentine treat bags. All was going well. SweeTart was a little miffed because I wouldn't let her buy Tinkerbell valentines but she'll get over it. Plus her party was on Thursday so she's done for the year. And I know I still have princess valentines somewhere in the cupboard -- which is overstocked with junk and no food (but that is a for another blog post.)  I'm sure we'll find them again around halloween and I'm also sure we'll lose them before February rolls around. We checked out of cvs. The girls trailing behind me as usual. When we were almost to the door, SweeTart darts back in to steal a box of tic tacs. Twink sees what she is doing and effectively clothes-lines her by pulling the hood on SweeTart's jacket so her feet go flying in front of her and the poor girl lands on her backside. Luckily Twink held tight to the hood or she'd have bashed her head on the floor. BUT - I got to explain things to both girls. to Twink - you do not clothes-line your sister unless she is in immediate and grave danger - i.e. like dropping skittles in the parking lot. You see, I was in front of her, and I simply could have caught her and told her "no" and we'd have put them back. To SweeTart - no stealing. I had candy for you in my bag. we must pay for everything. End of story. Otherwise you go home in a police car. Okay? Okay.

Bet you're glad you weren't in our CVS on Sunday morning.  We were a sight to be seen!

Show Me The Love Blogfest - Happy Valentine's Day 2011

Linking up today with author Stephanie Haefner for her first ever blogfest!  Simply click on the photo to the right to be directed to her blog and to others who are participating today! 

1- What is the most romantic thing anyone has ever done for you?  My Hubs is full of romance, although he'll never freely admit it.  So, shhh, please keep it on the down low.  I don't need anything getting screwed up now!  We were married in Jamaica - and once for Christmas he surprised me with a trip back for our anniversary.  How sweet was that!?!  We've planned other trips together but I think that was a very romantic and sentimental gesture.   Last night we dined at a very romantic spot in Philly ~ he set it all up without my asking or knowing until he sent me a copy of the reservation.  He is full of awesomeness! 

2- What is your favorite love song?  Our wedding song ~ I Cross My Heart by George Straight. I also LOVE two other songs - Jim Brickman & Donny Osmond (and others have sung it too) teamed up for a PBS special and performed "Love of My Life" and Jim Brickman & Wayne Brady  teamed up for "Beautiful" on the Disney Songbook CD.  I absolutely love all of those songs.  But, really, when you hear a love song playing, isn't it always one of your favorites and doesn't it always make you think of your sweetheart?  :-) 

3- Do you have a favorite romantic movie or book?  A few movies ~ it's really hard to pick just one!  I'll give you my top two:  both with Keanu Reeves (not because I'm a freak, simply a coincidence that he starred in both.)  A Walk in the Clouds and The Lake House.  'nuff said. 

4- Do you have any romantic plans for Valentine's Day this year?  Got a sitter for Sunday since we're both working, kidlets have practices and life just generally happens whether it is Valentine's Day or not.  :-)  We went to the Flyers game together and then drove down Philly's South Street to our destination at Bistro Romano.  Very quaint and eclectic romantic restaurant on Lombard Street in Philadelphia.  Love it!

5- What's your favorite romantic treat? (candy, chocolate, edible body paint, etc...)  Really, Miss Stephanie - WoW - what a question.  LOL  Really, I don't need treats of that kind.  I love just being able to spend quality, quiet time with the man I love.  We can create romance anywhere - it is hard to concentrate on each other though with "life" trying to assert it's priorities on us.  So quiet time and space is my favorite treat. 

Hope it is a Happy Valentine's Day for everyone!

Love to you Hubs! 

xoxoxoxoxo

Sunday, the 13th....

The day before Valentine's Day ... the day after my Dad's 61st birthday ... sucks that he had to celebrate it in heaven again this year, for the 6th year in a row.  Look how little the kidlets were at their last Christmas Eve with him.  All of those baby teeth gone.  Add a foot and a half to their height and lots of attitude, smarts and love.  But, know what?  I look at this picture and see his love for them.  And remember the last time we saw him at my sister's house, running with them and playing with them in the backyard.  Although, I'm crying writing this, it makes my heart happy that he had that time with them.  Sux some more that since they were so little, they won't really remember him the way they should; they will only have the "picture" memories.  Which I guess is better than nothing right? Shows right here how much  he loved them.  Six years without him seems too long, yet seems like yesterday.  Hope your birthday was happy Daddy.  We love you. 

So, on a lighter note ... the day before Valentine's day.  What to do??  How about go to a Flyers game then head to Bistro Romano my fabulous hubs??  Sounds like a plan .... I hope that I can kick this awful cold I have had all week.  I even called out of work on Friday and took naps yesterday to try to build up some strength ... kind of feels like someone is sitting on my chest and the coughing - I think I might actually have to go see the doctor.  Funny thing?  I think I caught it from our bedmate, SweeTart who has been coughing for about a week and a half.  Finally took her to the doc on Thursday:  an ear infection caused by all the stuff backing up in her sinuses from her nasty cold.  Since my ears don't hurt, I think I am okay on that front but between the two of us, we could probably knock the straw house down with our huffing, puffing and coughing.  I must run to CVS to get all of their meds for stopping the cough for a few hours at least to get some peace and quiet (Flyers game = quiet?  LOL Probably not.)

Since I got nothing accomplished yesterday, today I will need to get Twink's valentine's done for her class.  I found some really cute printables out there in blogland this year.  For SweeTart's class, we used a decorated treatbag topper that we found at http://www.anythingbutperfect.com/ - Twink loved them so I am thinking of either using those again or using the ones I found over at http://www.livinglocurto.com/2010/01/candy-kiss-free-valentine-printables/.  I am not sure which ones she will like better.  Since she is still sleeping, maybe I will decide for her?  Nah, that could be a disaster I would regret all week, and probably into next Valentine's day. 

Missed DinoBoy's last wrestling match of the season  yesterday with this cold.  Bad, bad mom.  He won one and lost won but I heard he battled well in both of them and didn't give up.  Kudos dude!  I couldn't be prouder of you!!  Luckily, I did take some pictures last week with my iPhone of him wrestling so I do have proof that he wrestled this year.  :-) 

Hope it is an awesome Sunday for you!  My day will be awesome!  (with loads of cough syrup and cough drops so I don't embarrass the Hubs while we're out!)  Go FLYERS!!

Saturday - what a day for a SCENTSY WINNER!

A Scentsy winner has been drawn from 38 entries received. 

True Random Number Generator

Min: 1
Max: 38
Result:
28
Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Lucky #28 is "anonymous" - but I know her better as Erin Kelly ...
   Anonymous said...


I liked Christine's FB page.
ekelly@XX.XXXX.XXXX

I think I've done this correctly..lol


Well, Ms. Kelly, you have 48 hours to reach out to me to claim your gift.  After hearing from you, I will forward your information to Christine so that you can work out the details of your prize!!!    Pass the word, you can't win if you don't play!! 

virtual yard sale - i'm clearing out!

On eBay, I'm better known as Jonahs_mom.  Take a quick peek at things I have for sale.  Other than the strange man who bought our dune buggy, I've had okay luck with eBay, especially after a friend of mine from work taught me how to use "calculated shipping" as opposed to flat rate shipping which has been saving me a ton of money.   I had been offering everyone the same shipping cost, no matter where they lived, not realizing that it costs more to send a "priority mail" to LA than it does to NYC from where we are. 

I first started using eBay, years ago - when DinoBoy was an infant and I was looking for inexpensive formula ... the breastfeeding thing with him just didn't work out although I had enough milk to feed him plus another ten kids ... he just wasn't buying it and I was spending more time pumping than I was doing other things - i.e. sleeping.  I was a train wreck.  I found people selling CASES of the formula we were using - my guess is they worked at doctor's offices and received the formula for free, so they were able to sell it less than the retail price.  It worked for me.  At the same time, my Dad also had a pretty good following selling and buying coins which is how I even thought of using eBay to begin with. 

Now, I consider eBay my virtual yard sale.  Who has time to gather all of the stuff and put it out on the front lawn anymore?  And, really, I think most people come, look at your stuff then come pick your trash on trash day.  I've seen it.   I've made a few extra bucks so far selling my old but new (unused) scrapbooking items, some baby items (quilt and selling a crib bumper now) and anything I notice is selling on eBay.  We've got an overload of kids toys and clothes, and not the same abundance of space that we once had before we had three kidlets and two dogs.  I am trying to figure out a way to keep my stuff to a manageable level ... and right now, eBay seems to be the solution.  How do you unload all of your stuff??

Orff Concert 2/7/11

Last night we attended Twink's Orff Concert which was rescheduled after the snow last week (or was it the week before?  All of the snow around here is truly turning into one large snowfall for me.)   If you are not familiar with an Orff Concert, I put a link in the first sentence for you to check out Wikipeida to learn all about it.  :-)  I can definitely tell you that Twink absolutely loved doing it and now wants piano lessons.  She has been asking for piano lessons forever and I almost had her sold on guitar lessons - I think after I explain that we have a guitar at home (somewhere) and we do not have a piano at home or anywhere nearby, she would be able to practice guitar but wouldn't be able to practice piano.  I think I am just wasting my breath though.  She wants what she wants when she wants it.  Got it?!

A photo of her group performing.  She wants to sign up to perform again on 5/25.  She loved it that much!  Awesome!!   

This weekend we also had a wrestling match.  DinoBoy lost both bouts that he wrestled but we are so proud of him for going out there and wrestling those other kidlets!!  Very proud!! (There is another match this weekend and I'm so bringing my camera even though he has already told me I am not allowed!)

Don't forget about the great Scentsy Giveaway.  Scroll down to the bottom of that post to see how to enter (super easy!) and leave a comment!  Only about 30 entries as of now ... it ends 2/12! 

Looking foward to spending some kidlet-free time with Hubs this weekend -- heading to the Flyers game and out to dinner on Sunday evening. Yippee!

Winner of The Search

This is what I used - 16 comments, 15 if you don't count the one by the author -- (kind of thinking she doesn't need a free copy of her own book!)  The number that was chosen by random.org on this calculation was #6. 

Angie:  Angie said...


new follower from Relax and Surf Sunday: http://angiewith2.blogspot.com/
January 30, 2011 2:09 PM

I'll be emailling you Angie!  Thanks everyone for stopping by, reading my review and entering the contest!

Contest ending tonight ... low entries ...

Just a quick reminder that the contest for your very own copy of The Search by Suzanne Woods Fisher is ending tonight.  Here is the LINK to enter.  Spread the word!! 

Another contest that I currently have open is the Scentsy giveaway.  This giveaway doesn't end til next Friday, 2/11/11 and there are quite a few ways for you to enter.  You can even get extra entries by tweeting about it or blogging about it. 

Ok - so a little about the craziness in our life.  Or the non-craziness.  Dare I say it??  Other than my snapping when my head hurts and I'm extremely tired, things have been relatively calm.  We're looking forward to the weekend - dinner out as a family (remind me to charge the DS's), wrestling match for DinoBoy on Sunday a.m. then Superbowl at the new McMansion of our good friends.  Seriously, I might recommend installation of an intercom system so that my kids can play in their beautiful basement and we can have adult time upstairs.  Maybe I will bring walkie - talkies?  Do you think they'll laugh or get mad?  It is such a beautiful (and large) house!  Something we are not quite used to.  LOL 

Twinkletoes had her first pre-team gymnastics competiton last week.  Her coaches did it at our gym so that the girls could get a feel for what it is like to participate in gymnastics competition.  All who participated did fabulous!  I'm so proud of them all!   And when Twink came home from practice last night, she told me that she nailed her *front* handspring on the tumbletrack and with a wedge.  Next stop:  floor, baby!  She's progressing well and I am confident next fall she'll be a member of the team! 

A few other tidbits.  If you head over to Amazon.com, you can get The Choice for FREE.  You might not realize that you don't need a Kindle to actually utilize Kindle books.  You can get the software download for your PC, your phone (I know for sure iPhone and Droid have the apps), your iPad (no I wasn't a winner at last night's FB party @ Suzanne Woods Fisher's page but someone was!!  I'm very jealous of them!!)  But, this is an excellent way for you to "try" the Lancaster County Secrets series if you're not interested in purchasing them or if the wait list is too long at the library ... free!! 

And lastly, not free, but less expensive than the paperback, Celia's Journey by Heather Muzik is finally available for your Kindle.  Again, you need not own a Kindle in order to purchase this book!  Kudos for Heather for following up until she got what she wanted -- her book, affordable for all -- and in an electronic edition!  Wahoo!! 

This blog is linked to "boost your blog friday" and "follow me friday".  Click on the buttons on my sidebar to see what it is all about!  Have a fabulous weekend!

A Scentsy Review and Giveaway!

A Simple System …

Scentsy Warmers use a low-watt bulb to melt specially formulated wax slowly, maximizing the fragrance time of the Scentsy Bar or Scentsy Brick.

With no flame, soot, smoke, or lead, the Scentsy system is a safe way to enjoy more than 80 delightful Scentsy fragrances.

I've so been down this lane before, getting caught up in each and every home based business.  Pampered Chef, Longaberger, Close To My Heart (giggle giggle), Tastefully Simple, Stampin' Up, Tupperware, PartyLite, ThirtyOne ... you name them, I have probably hosted a party or been to three of them.  I have cabinets lined with heavy Pampered Chef stones (which I do still love - anyone having a party??), Tupperware containers in  my cabinets, in my basement, in my shed ...., Tastefully Simple that I bought 3 years ago because it was "easy" yet I still haven't made.   Seriously, my Hubs thinks I'm a nutcase.   I fall hook, line and sinker for all of these.  I have enough candles in my house that I've accumulated from home parties during the past ten years to light up my house for a month. 

Enter into the picture my fave Scentsy Consultant, Christine Worrell ~ When I got an email letting me know that Christine was going to start selling Scentsy, I thought:  "Nope!! I am not doing it!!" Which translates to "I am not spending $200 on stuff that I will pile up in a closet and not use."  What happened?  I went to Christine's open house a few months ago.  I smelled about 50 smells -- probably more!  I placed a relatively modest order for a few bars of scents and two small "plug in warmers".  I put them in my upstairs master bathroom and my powder room downstairs.  I was a little "green" at trying to get the wax out of the plastic "brick" mold - but Christine set me straight.  After that little hiccup, guess what?  I loved them.  Are you surprised?  I hope to never light another candle in my house again unless, of course, the power goes out. 

Are you even more surprised that I placed another order a short time later for one mid-sized warmer (Hatteras) and one full-sized warmer?  No, of course you're not.  What will surprise you, however, is that my Hubs snatched the Hatteras warmer for his office!!  And then, after Christmas, he told me that the girls up front took it from him to put up "front" instead of in his office.  Go figure.  I'll now be giving him my full size warmer for his office and, aw shucks, I'm going to have to buy myself a new one to put in our kitchen.  I have my eye on the Celtic Knot full-sized warmer which is the February warmer of the month and is on sale!  

Oh wait, did I say sale??  For the entire month of February, all items (of course, with the exception of a few things - campus warmers, etc.) in the catalog are 10% off.  There is no better time to place your order with Christine.  There are scents that will be retiring at the end of March that you may want to stock up on such as:  Central Park Pralines, Christmas Cottage, Christmas Tree, Cozy Fireside, Clarity, Eskimo Kiss, Guava Nectar, Peligro, Pineapple Paradise, Rainforest, Rustic Lodge, Snowberry, Toasted Caramel Sugar, Tropical Twist and Vanilla Walnut (this is NOT a complete list of retiring scents and a few warmers are retiring as well!)

In January, Scentsy did a special promotion called "bring back my bar" of formerly retired scents.  Since I am still a Scentsy "newbie" I grabbed a few.  Now I'm not so sure I can wait to see if they come "back" again.  I have Flower Shop (I think that is what it is called) in my master bathroom - it is quite strong - but it definitely smells like when you walk through the front door of a floral shoppe.  You can almost hear the little bells ringing behind you as you enter the room.  Downstairs, in the kitchen, I have Berries and Bubbly, also a Bring Back My Bar scent.  Both of them are my new faves.  Unfortunately, I only placed an order for one brick of each - but that is okay.  There are many new scents coming out SOON that I will have to try as well. 

There are many, many items available from Scentsy -- fragrance foams (smell good antibacterial foam - perfect for diaper bags, book bags and stashing in the car); scent circles (think the old fashioned Evergreen Tree that our parents had in their cars revived into a cool purple circle -- I have OCEAN and it ROCKS in my minivan); room sprays (move over Glade(r)); Travel tins (now you can have your favorite Scentsy scent anywhere! Perfect for vacation and even in lockers!); and something that my girls are dying for .. Scentsy Buddies. 

What's a Scentsy Buddy?  A Buddy is a stuffed animal with a zippered pocket in it, especially for your little one's favorite scent.  Choose from six (6) different stuffed animals and over 10 different scents to stuff it with.  I am contemplating the Elephant and Piggie for the girls Valentine's Day Gifts.  Or maybe for baby shower gifts for the new babies on the way ... there is a Newborn Nursery scent that I'm sure smells awesome. 

Drumroll please!  Christine has offered one lucky person *a free mid-size warmer system* (holy schnikes, i want to win!!) - there are a few ways to enter but one is mandatory: you need to "like" Christine's FB Scentsy Page then head back over here to leave me a comment that you did so - please leave your email address so that I can find you if you win!  I will be confirming all entrants with Christine. 

For extra entries:

• Follow my blog publicly - and let me know in a comment (one extra entry) 
• Go to Christine's Scentsy Website and let me know what your favorite scent is (one extra entry)
• Follow me on Twitter @NeedCoffeePls (one extra entry)   
• Tweet about this giveaway and send peeps here (one extra entry) (can do once per day leave a separate comment for each)
• Place an order of your own or book your own party through Christine, even though we are in NJ, she has an open party in FLORIDA right now - she's pretty flexible!!  (5 extra entries)
• Blog about this giveaway (5 extra entries)

This contest will open as soon as this post is live and close on Friday, February 11, 2011 at 11:59 p.m. EST.  I will draw a winner from all entries on February 12, 2011 using Random.org.  I will email and post the winner who will have 48 hours to respond to my email.  I think that about sums it up.  Any questions???  Good Luck!!!

PS - I did not receive any compensation for this review and contest!  I just love consultant and the products!!!

Another Winter Storm ... February 1, 2011

and this time we're not taking the brunt of it.  Yippee!  (or should I say yet because it is supposed to last into tomorrow?)  All I know for sure is:  school is still on with no delays.  Last night, Hubs had to get up in the middle of the night to go in and meet with his crews -- the predictions were for snow starting around midnight then changing to ice ... then rain.  He was home a few hours later and is resting comfortably in bed ... or at least as comfortably as you can get with a toddler in your bed.  :-)

The weather channel is toting it as a MONSTER storm.  It is spanning over 30 states putting them into at least winter storm watches if not advisories.  The National Guard has been mobilized in Missouri.  Please, if your local news stations tell you to stay inside - stay the heck inside where it is safe. All else can wait.

Today is February 1, 2011.  D-day for me.  I kept saying WW is going to be starting ... now.  Then tomorrow.  Then next week.  While we have incorporated a few great WW meals into our lives during the past month, it has been nothing like it should be.  Today is the day.  For me at least.  Hubs is always careful about what he eats.  Me, not so much.  But here we are, again.  Overweight and feeling it.  Needing to lose the poundage in order to make myself, my wonderful hubs and my kidlets happy.  Maybe after I lose it, I won't "lose it" on them anymore - I won't be so snappish and yell so much.  *fingers crossed* I am trying to work on that regardless of the weight loss. 

Tomorrow, I will get up when the alarm goes off at 4:45.  I will get up and do either Fluidity or 1/2 hour on the treadmill.  I will. 

And, now, I will get off of my soapbox, finish getting ready and start waking the kidlets up for a new day!