KateSpot: December 2002 Archives

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December 31, 2002

New Year's Rockin' Eve

I love Dick

CLARK! Dick Clark! LOLOL!
:rotfl:

Posted by Cate at 01:55 PM | Comments (4)

New Year's Eve - Day

Not too much going on at the KateSpot household. The kids are mellowed out (finally) and I am getting ready to make a big ole turkey!! Yum! Gonna make <a href="http://mealtime.blogspot.com/2002_12_22_mealtime_archive.html#90087511"target=_blank>Irish Turkey</a>. M is going to help.
Speaking of M.. I have a couple questions for you Moms out there..

Do your kids freak out over the smallest things? M is 6 and is becoming extremely whiny. Cries over the smallest things, like when we tell her to put socks on her feet. Refuses to do things, like dry herself off after a bath, brush her teeth, get changed.. It's becoming really frustrating. P gets so angry that he yells at her which, naturally, makes the situation even more tense. I am truly at a loss as to how I should handle this. Any advice would be appreciated!

Posted by Cate at 11:09 AM | Comments (4)

Lovely Party

O loved her birthday! She got to pick her own dinner (Salisbury Steaks, broccoli and rice) and of course, chocolate cake for dessert!
Earlier today, Mom came down and brought birthday gifts. The girls were thrilled to see her - she hasn't been down to my place for several months. She was pretty impressed with all the work that has been done since her last visit. She only stayed for about 45 minutes and headed back home. She wasn't feeling that great but wanted to see O on her birthday.
After Mom left, I made O's cake. The girls were standing on a chair, right next to my mixer. I just knew they wanted some of the cake mix. Of course, I gave them spatulas with the mix! When the cake was done baking, we headed out to ShopRite and picked up the usual supermarket stuff. I am cooking a 21lb turkey tomorrow. Yummy! I will be making potatoes (mashed and roasted), broccoli, rice (for M) and I will have cranberry sauce too. Gotta make the gravy too. YAY!
O loved her cake - couldn't wait to get through dinner tonight. She ate up a pretty big piece too!
Pics below - mouse over each for a description.

Posted by Cate at 12:07 AM | Comments (4)

December 30, 2002

Visit

Mom is coming down for a visit today! YAY!

Posted by Cate at 10:43 AM | Comments (1)

December 29, 2002

O - turns 3

Tomorrow will be O's 3rd birthday :cry: My baby is growing up so fast. I can't believe it has been 3 years already. She starts preschool next week!

Posted by Cate at 10:20 PM | Comments (6)

Thank GOD this day is over!

The girls have been driving me nuts the past couple days. :banghead: I just want to scream!! In fact - I think I will! :yell: :yell: :yell: :yell:

Whew! I feel better now!

Nothing too exciting going on - just MORE home inprovements. Man - it feels like they will never end. I know it will end.. in fact, they will pretty much be done by 1/6 so the carpet can be installed. As you can tell in the previous pictures, I have stuff everywhere and it's killing me! I am not a neat freak but what my house has become in the past couple months...ai yi yi! Plus, we have been staying up late at nights so I am pretty cranky too. Good thing I have been watching the James Bond movies on TNN - 7 days of Bond. I prefer Connery over all of the others but I certainly wouldn't kick Pierce out of bed for eating crackers.. if ya know what I mean? :lick: :wink: God - I gotta get... out more.
Hehehe!

Posted by Cate at 09:57 PM | Comments (2)

December 28, 2002

Home Improvements

More pics <a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1501776&uid=446796">here</a> baby!

Posted by Cate at 10:26 PM | Comments (7)

HOLY CRAP!

I cannot believe that Hildi nailed a gazillion FAKE flowers to an entire bathroom wall!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: Hell - I can't believe that TS is even DOING a bathroom, which, by the way, is bigger than my living room. Sheesh. I can just bet that this will push Crying Pam into second place. I would flat out cry if that happened to my room.

Posted by Cate at 09:39 PM | Comments (2)

Saturday

Howdy gang! Yes - I am home today.. getting a lot of things accomplished. I woke up early, thanks to Miss O. I got an early start on the tomato sauce, meatballs and sausage. My house smells pretty tasty right about now!

I talked to Mom called this morning. She isn't feeling too well. She placed a call into her doctor this morning and he called in a script for her. Thank goodness.

M got back home around 1030am this morning. She had spent the night at a friend's house. Of course, she had a great time. Now, she is at another friend's house, playing until dinner. Yeehaa!

P has been working his butt off around here these past few days. The big bonus - he was off Thursday and Friday as well as the weekend. My walls are ALL primed and painted. He repainted the front door, the trim around the windows, wood puttied all the nail holes, cleaned the window and pulled out the icky caulk and has just been busy busy busy! I took a bunch of pics and I will upload them tonight! I promise!

Gotta run - gotts stir the sauce!

Posted by Cate at 01:08 PM | Comments (1)

December 27, 2002

Shelley and Scott

I haven't heard from them and it's 1045pm. I hope they call me soon so we can plan for tomorrow. Guys - IM or call me!! You can call until midnight!

Posted by Cate at 10:47 PM | Comments (2)

Thank GAWD it's Friday

Man - I am just SO freakin' tired! I am recovering from Christmas. Thanks goodness it only comes once a year.

I never hooked up with Scott and Shelley today. They were supposed to call me when they got to NYC last night. I was concerned when I didn't hear from them. Thank goodness Scott called me this morning, around 11am. Talk about missed flights, delayed flights, flights that never even showed UP! I will let him recap that. I know he will be calling back tonight so I am hopeful we can at least meet for lunch tomorrow ::crossing fingers:: I have the bus schedule all printed out and I am SO ready!

Husband has been working SO hard today. We (I helped a little!) framed out the doorway to the dining room. He also painted a lot of the molding and is curently in the process of installing it along the hallway floor. At least we were able to borrow my brother in law's chop saw. SO much faster! I took a few pictures today and I'll post them up ASAP.

I've got dinner in the oven.. meatloaf. Rice on the stove. Eldest will be leaving at 5pm to sleep over a buddy's house. Woohoo! 1 kid down! I want to go to Blockbuster to rent a couple dvd's...maybe I'll run over after dinner..

Gotta run..catch ya later!

Posted by Cate at 04:13 PM | Comments (2)

December 26, 2002

Recovering

We survived Christmas.

The girls didn't get to bed last night until midnight! They are pretty cranky today..heck, Husband and I are pretty cranky too!
I am supposed to meet Scott and Shelley tomorrow in NYC. I hope they call me tonight when they arrive at the hotel.
I am just pooped and not up to blogging right now. Maybe later when the kids go to bed.
Big hugs and kisses to everyone. I will visit your blogs later!

Posted by Cate at 05:11 PM | Comments (2)

December 24, 2002

Christmas Wishes from South Jersey

You had better have a Merry Christmas or else THESE 2 will show up on your doorstep.

Merry Christmas from the South... Jersey.

Meet Chris..

and Frenchie..
<img alt="PopXmas.jpg" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PopXmas.jpg" width="450" height="600" border="0" />

I love you guys! :laugh:

Posted by Cate at 03:15 PM | Comments (9)

UPS guy

He *just* stopped with P's gift! Hooray! I was worried I wasn't going to get it in time. Go Amazon! Go UPS! My driver is awesome. I can drive by him anywhere in town and he toots his horn and waves. :wave: I guess I do a lot of shopping! I just gave him a small bag of cookies.
Now- the Fedex guy - he just sucks. :laugh:

Posted by Cate at 02:27 PM | Comments (7)

Drinking and Baking..

sure is a lot of fun!
:crazy:

Posted by Cate at 01:23 PM | Comments (0)

Norad and Santa

<a href="http://kids.noradsanta.org/english/home/index.html">Track Santa</a>

Posted by Cate at 12:25 PM | Comments (0)

Recipe

The recipe for Irish Turkey.

(cross posted at <a href="http://mealtime.blogspot.com/">What's for Dinner</a>)

My Mother in Law, who is from Ireland, makes her turkey this way and it is SO good. That's why I call it Irish Turkey. Prep the bird and place it in the roasting pan. Place strips of bacon (using a 1lb package) over the turkey breast and drums, making sure that there is no exposed turkey. Then bake as usual. The bonus to using the bacon is - no basting... the bacon drips over the bird. Therefore, no need to disturb it while it is roasting! Nothin like a self basting turkey. When the turkey is ready to be carved, pull off the strips of bacon and eat them. Oh my God - it is sooooooooooooooooooo delicious. Talk about heaven! Not recommended for people with any cholesterol problems. My kids fight over it!
I will be making this on New Year's Eve... with a 24lb turkey! I might have 2 use 2lbs of bacon for such a big bird. LOL!

Posted by Cate at 09:54 AM | Comments (1)

Visitors

I have noticed in my stats that I have had quite a few new visitors. Leave me a comment.. sign my guestbook.. I'd love to "meet" you!
:cheerful:

Posted by Cate at 12:40 AM | Comments (0)

Holidays

For all the wonderful people I have met, both online and off line, have a wonderful holiday and a very Merry Christmas.

Posted by Cate at 12:29 AM | Comments (6)

December 23, 2002

Monday evening

Man - another whirlwind day!

I managed to get a lot of gifts wrapped this afternoon. The gifts were for Husband, my inlaws, my Mom, her boyfriend, my brother.. It was a lot of wrapping! I have to wrap for my niece and nephew as well as stuffing a card with cash for my 14 year old nephew..
Husband went shopping after he got off of work so just the 3 of us ate dinner. Afterwards, the girls and I drove around, looking at Christmas lights and decorations. Some people really do a nice job - I was pretty impressed with a couple homes and yards!
My sis in law, who is a district manager for a major candle company, was in a car accident earlier today. Another sis in law called to let us know. She is ok. I don't know many details about the accident but apparently she was worried about the Christmas gifts in the car! So - she must be somewhat ok! Seriously, I am very relieved that she is ok. Thank God. She does a lot of driving for her job.
Tonight, I had to go to Wal-Mart to return a smart media card. It was crowded but not unbearable. Let me tell ya, there are some weird looking people out there. Ai yi yi!
I have a lot of baking to finish tomorrow.. cookies and a pumpkin pie. Yum!

Posted by Cate at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

Bessie Pease Gutmann

I love her artwork. I have bought some from <a href="http://www.tssphoto.com/vt/bpg/bpg.html#other">this place</a>.

Posted by Cate at 12:15 PM | Comments (1)

Grandparents

Joan has written a beautiful post, remembering her grandparents. Read about it <a href="http://www.dagoddess.com/archives/001124.html#001124">here</a> but be warned that you will need your tissues handy. :cry:

Posted by Cate at 11:27 AM | Comments (1)

Sunday Recap

We had our Christmas at Dad and Millie's place yesterday. It was a load of fun. My niece was there as well as my step-sis and brother in law and my brother. I didn't take a lot of pictures... I forgot about it! Duh!
The girls got some great stuff - Eldest got games for her Pixter, some Hello Kitty things, a PPG computer game. Youngestgot a Barney activity mat (which is getting a good workout today!), a horse (not real!), a talking Po, a baby doll, Bob the Builder viewmaster and reels.. they love their stuff! Thanks Dad and Millie!
We got Dad and Millie a DVD player and a couple other small things and my brother got them some DVDs. Husband will be setting it up for them after the holidays, when they get back from Vegas. LUCKY them!!
We didn't get home until about 730 and then Husband decided that he wanted to hang Christmas lights! WTF? Whatever. I love to decorate but I don't really give a rat's ass about outside lights/decorations. He wants to cover everything with lights...
They didn't get to bed until 930 but luckily slept in until about 830-ish this morning. I was a little sleepy because I stayed up late watching "Harry Potter and the Sourcerer's Stone". Again.

Wait - phone.

WOOHOO! The carpet guys called - installation will be on January 7th! ::happy dance:: :cloud9:

Posted by Cate at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

Updated Home Pictures

Check 'em out <a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1460684&uid=446796">here</a>

Posted by Cate at 10:52 AM | Comments (0)

Saturday Recap

Whatta weekend.

Mary came over and brought a couple gifts for the girls WHICH, by the way, she did NOT have to do! O loves the huge drawing pad and M is now all excited to learn how to crochet. Me too kid.. me too! :cheerful:
 
<img alt="PC210033.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC210033.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />
 
Mary also got a small present from the girls... PLAY-DOH!
 
<img alt="PC210034.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC210034.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />
 
The kids and Mary watching TV - on the "couch" aka Areobed. Note the 3 of them having a load of fun while P gets cranky at the insulation. Heh!
 
<img alt="PC210036.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC210036.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

Posted by Cate at 10:35 AM | Comments (1)

December 21, 2002

Another busy day!

Mary came down for a visit today. We had a load of fun. The girls are absolutely crazy when she is here - they love her visits. I got my crochet lesson and basically... I suck at it. Hopefully, Mary wasn't too freaked out today (by my lack of crochet ability and the girls acting like little nitwits!) and will come back and give me more lessons!
Of course, now she is in Atlantic City! Lucky her! I stayed home to wrap gifts and get things ready for visiting my dad and step-mom tomorrow after church. We are doing a Christmas dinner and I am looking forward to it.
Husband was doing a lot of work on the walls today, including replacing the insulation and putting up all new sheetrock under the living room windows. He has had a tough day today with the sheetrock and he's pretty grumpy.
Anyway - I am way pooped. I am gonna go read some blogs and then hit the bed. Hard.

Posted by Cate at 11:25 PM | Comments (3)

December 20, 2002

Finally posting!

How was my day? Oy - it was BUSY! :crazy:

Eldest had her last day of school today (half day) before Christmas break. After loading her on the bus, in the pouring rain, Youngestand I headed back home. We are in the midst of some serious potty training. She is doing fantastic! She yells "I gotta PEE!" and runs into the bathroom. We have a potty ring that fits over the toilet and she needs a slight boost to get on it. She is SO proud of herself when she makes it, which is most of the time. We have the occasional accident but no big deal.
Anyway, I putzed around, doing laundry, the dishes, attempting to clean the house until lunchtime. I fed Miss O and then we zipped over to the bus stop to wait for Eldest. Still raining. Hard. She gets off the bus and we headed off to Blockbuster to rent some flicks. Hey - I've got her for 16 days - I need the damn movies! LOL! Picked up Lilo and Stitch, Ice Age and the Crocodile Hunter movie. Next stop - Home Depot, to pay for the carpeting. Ouch! Then - a trip to ShopRite. I just love to food shop when it's pouring rain. We stopped at the police station to drop off toys for the township toy collection. Off to Bruno's to pick up deli for the week, back to Debbie's house for Girl Scout paperwork and FINALLY home! WHEW! We were out for over 2 hours, running errands. The kids were pretty good although happy to be home!
I popped in "Lilo and Stitch" while I was making dinner. I didn't like it. Some scenes were funny, like with Cobra Bubbles - gotta love that name! After dinner, we watched "Ice Age" and I liked that SO much more. I was cracking up through most of the movie. Doesn't hurt that I love John Leguziamo and Denis Leary ain't too shabby either!
After the kids went to bed, I did a bunch of filing (I hatehatehate doing that!) and paid bills. I had to rip up a lot of old papers and my hands were starting to hurt from all the folding and tearing. I have a shredder but it is SO noisy to use. I know the kids would have woken up if I turned it on. Husband is priming the last 2 walls. He has a lot of repairs to do on 1 wall. That is a project for tomorrow.

Whew - I am pooped! I am gonna surf some blogs then head into bed! G'nite ya'll!

Posted by Cate at 11:29 PM | Comments (1)

December 19, 2002

Feelin' Lazy

Had a busy day today - mostly filled with house cleaning, laundry and baking. Oh, the lovely life I lead! :wink:
P borrowed his brother in law's pickup truck and chop saw. He also stopped at Home Depot (home away from home!) and picked up sheetrock (MORE SHEETROCK! :eek: ), floor molding, door trim and other bits. It will be a busy weekend around here. <a href="http://www.bookblog.net">Mary</a> is coming down again! Yay! The girls were excited to hear about that. I have no furniture but my AeroBed arrived today. It's pretty comfy! The girls were ALL over it when it was inflated.
I am heading off to bed. M has a half day tomorrow then she is off for 16 days! ACK! :banghead: I had better set up some playdates ASAP!
G'nite everyone! :puckerup::hug:

Posted by Cate at 11:17 PM | Comments (3)

Christmas Carols

My favorite is "Walkin' Round in Womens Underwear"

(lyrics below)

(by Bob Rivers)

Lacy things -- the wife is missin',
Didn't ask -- her permission,
I'm wearin' her clothes,
Her silk pantyhose,
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear.

In the store -- there's a teddy,
Little straps -- like spaghetti,
It holds me so tight,
Like handcuffs at night,
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear.

In the office there's a guy named Melvin,
He pretends that I am Murphy Brown.
He'll say, "Are you ready?" I'll say,"Whoa, Man!"
"Let's wait until our wives are out of town!"

Later on, if you wanna,
We can dress -- like Madonna,
Put on some eyeshade,
And join the parade,
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear!

Lacy things... missin',
Didn't ask... permission,
Wearin' her clothes,
Her silk pantyhose,
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear,
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear,
Walkin' 'round in women's underwear

Posted by Cate at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)

Hero

Go Now. Read <a href="http://mysinglemomlife.rain-cloud.com/">Kat's blog</a>. Especially <a href="http://mysinglemomlife.rain-cloud.com/archives/2002_12.html#001956">this</a>, <a href="http://mysinglemomlife.rain-cloud.com/archives/2002_12.html#001957">this</a> and <a href="http://mysinglemomlife.rain-cloud.com/archives/2002_12.html#001958">this</a>.
Those children were blessed to have you right there.
{{{{Kat}}}}
You are a hero.

Posted by Cate at 04:52 PM | Comments (4)

Baking

Mmmm! Baking chocolate chip cookies and they smell so good!
:goofy: :goofy:

I have a ton of errands so I will blog later tonight.. I hope!
:puckerup: :hug:

Posted by Cate at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)

Christmas Story Quiz

(link snagged from <a href="http://www.dagoddess.com/">Joanie</a>!)

<a href="http://quizilla.com/users/kundavega/quizzes/Which%20A%20Christmas%20Story%20Character%20Are%20You%3F/"><img src="http://images.quizilla.com/K/kundavega/1039331010_Somniumdad.jpg" border="0" alt="Mr.%20Parker"> Which A Christmas Story Character Are You?</a> brought to you by <a href="http://quizilla.com">Quizilla</a>

Hahahha! I can sure cuss like him too!

Posted by Cate at 09:31 AM | Comments (1)

DougWatch!

::hyperventilating::
<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1945749700">Doug is over $1000.00</a>!
:cry::cry::cry::cry:

Yes <a href="http://majik.hrtrac.com/">Marc</a> - I think I am a bit obsessed!

Posted by Cate at 08:07 AM | Comments (2)

December 18, 2002

Codename DOUGWATCH

<a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1945749700">Doug</a> is over $800!

Posted by Cate at 01:30 PM | Comments (3)

Back Home

I had to go up to the mall today and get gifts for my mother in law, brother and my Mom's boyfriend. They are now done. Next on the agenda - wrapping.
LOL

Posted by Cate at 01:13 PM | Comments (1)

December 17, 2002

Holiday Eating Tips

You must read <a href="http://sessex.blogspot.com/2002_12_01_sessex_archive.html#90058000">these tips</a> from <a href="http://sessex.blogspot.com"target=_blank>Susan</a>. :rotfl:

Posted by Cate at 11:07 PM | Comments (1)

Christmas Tree

As requested -

The tree..

View image

Ok - just remember that we are doing a LOT of remodeling around the house!

Posted by Cate at 11:00 PM | Comments (6)

Doug

Looks like the <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1945749700">lunch with Doug </a>is now over $700!
:sigh:

Posted by Cate at 01:11 PM | Comments (1)

We have a tree!

Well- the tree finally has lights on it. Heck - I even got the star on as well! When M gets home from school, we will start to decorate.

Posted by Cate at 01:04 PM | Comments (1)

Computer

I didn't get home from Bonkos until 1030 last night! Let me tell ya, these ladies can party! I decided to stay on with the group. What better way to get to know some other people.
I couldn't blog last night because P was doing maintenence on the computer, running defrag, etc. So - I decided to organized some of the other gifts for my Mom and Dad and StepMom. I found some little things for the girls that I had forgotten all about. :eek: Guess I'd better hustle and get things wrapped!

Well - the carpet guy is coming out (between 830 - 1030) to measure the living room and hallway. I get to hang around for 2 hours - Yippie!

Posted by Cate at 08:44 AM | Comments (0)

December 16, 2002

Off to Bonkos

Well - I'll be heading out for my final game of Bonkos. I decided to leave the group. My neighbor is leaving the group and so is her mom. They are the only people that I *really* know.

Anyway - I gotta boogie for now! Bye!

Posted by Cate at 06:24 PM | Comments (1)

Uploaded pics

I uploaded a bunch of pics to PictureTrail. If anyone wants to check out my living room and see all the work we (well - mostly P :mischievous: ) have done, check it out <a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1460684&uid=446796"target=_blank>here</a>!

Posted by Cate at 09:38 AM | Comments (6)

Crap

Don't ya hate getting sucked into a movie? Even worse, getting sucked into it and not seeing the the beginning. Swordfish is on HBO and I am SO into it right now :sigh: Hugh Jackman - holy cow is he sexy!!! And he's a hacker too. ::drool::
I think I am going to need a cold shower after this movie! Although - John Revolta just killed Halle Berry! Holy ****!

::edited at 1231am::
The helicopter LIFTED a bus? Get the **** out of here!! Although - way cool effect. Did I also mention that I am the only one awake right now?

Posted by Cate at 12:22 AM | Comments (8)

December 15, 2002

Feelin' the DougLove

The lunch with Doug is over $500 dollars! What a great Christmas present he would make!

Posted by Cate at 11:03 PM | Comments (2)

What a day!

Long day today but we got a lot of stuff accomplished.

Husband pulled up some ceramic tile by my front door. The previous owners had put them in - I always hated them. Too slippery. Well, after he pulled them up, a bunch of the plywood underneath them was wrecked. Off to Home Depot I go - purchasing plywood and electrical crap. We also had to replace the sheetrock in my hall closet. The old front door must have leaked and water wicked up the wall via the shitty carpet. So - I put up the vapor barrier over the insulation and Husband installed the sheetrock.
We finally set up the Christmas tree. Oh - it's not decorated or anything like that! I have Bonkos tomorrow night so Husband and the girls will put up the lights and the garland. On Tuesday, we will decorate! Woohoo!
I am going to surf some blogs - I need to catch up!

Posted by Cate at 11:00 PM | Comments (1)

Heh heh!

<a href="http://www.sovereignmagic.com/">Shannon</a> just left me a comment about the Trading Spaces auctions will be shipped.

<a href="http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/tlc_tradingspaces/?ssPageName=CharitySpot6">"TLC's Trading Spaces will pay shipping and insurance costs. All items will be shipped FedEx, therefore the winning bidders must provide a physical address (no PO Boxes!), phone number and be aware that a signature will be required for delivery."</a>

Hmmm - Doug in a box? Hehehehehhe! That has SO much potential! :lick:

Oh - and check out <a href="http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2080878423">Ty's handmade candle holder.</a> Not only is it crooked, which is NOT surprising, it's pretty easy to make. Get a drill and a router...

Ok - off to church..

Posted by Cate at 10:11 AM | Comments (2)

December 14, 2002

All I want for Christmas is..

...lunch with Doug!

Posted by Cate at 09:54 PM | Comments (5)

It's all gone!

Well -my furniture is GONE! What the hell was I thinking?! :crazy: But, the family that was going to get the furniture was so happy. They were from <a href="http://www.liberia.net/">Liberia</a>. This family won a lottery so they could come to America. Wow. They have been in my town for 3 months and their one daughter (13/14 years old) is already on the honor roll in school. I am so glad I was able to help them.

Before:

(the loveseat, 2 green chairs, recliner and end table were going to be donated. They also got 2 chair slipcovers and 1 for the loveseat as well as a queen size comforter and sheet set)

<img alt="PC140030.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC140030.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />
(sorry - really crappy photo)

After:
<img alt="Where's my stuff??" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC140033.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

Wide empty space! Now we can put up the tree! Woohoo!

Posted by Cate at 07:51 PM | Comments (3)

December 13, 2002

Busy busy

The usual running around today. Eldest never got a chance to finish her homework last night so Husband woke her up at 6am to finish it. It wasn't much but she also managed to eat her breakfast too. Yay!
We have the Brownie Christmas party today. Debbie brought over the rest of the cups and I finished filling some of them up with little things for the girls.. holiday ponytails, a pencil, candy cane. stick on earrings and a really pretty holiday patch. I have been sewing patches on Eldest's vest. I hate sewing. I had to take 3 numbers off and resew them. Twice. GRRR! Did I mention that I hate sewing!
Well - off to get some more stuff ready. I will post some pics of the holiday cups. They are pretty cute!

Bye!

Posted by Cate at 12:31 PM | Comments (0)

December 12, 2002

Duh

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:
Note to self..
Do NOT take young children to Home Depot and try to buy carpeting. EVER.
:arg:
:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Posted by Cate at 08:55 PM | Comments (4)

Birthday Wishes

<a href="http://kdblog.com/">Happy birthday kd</a>
You are the coolest!

Posted by Cate at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)

Lunchtime

Youngestand I had our usual flurry of errands to run this morning. I did manage to stop at Home Depot and checked out the Berber selections. Not too bad. I am dragging Husband back there tonight to also check them out. I want to order it tonight. I need it installed BY Jan 10th. One of the associates said there shouldn't be any problems ::knocking wood:: especially since I do not want it done by Christmas.
I stopped at Bruno's and picked up our deli order as well as 4 lbs of sweet sausage. Personally, I do not like sausage but the kids and Husband love it. It does flavor the sauce taste pretty damn well!

Posted by Cate at 12:06 PM | Comments (4)

December 11, 2002

Star Trek

Ya know, the guy who played Q (<a href="http://us.imdb.com/Name?de+Lancie,+John">John de Lancie</a>) on TNG is just adorable. I just love him.

Posted by Cate at 11:13 PM | Comments (2)

No Depot trip

Well - we never made it to Home Depot tonight. P got home an hour late due to the rain. It kinda messed up the rest of the night...threw things off course. The kids got to bed by 915 - which is at least 30 minutes later than I prefer. I hope they aren't little monsters tomorrow!
Right now, we are watching Star Trek - TNG marathon on TBS. Woohoo!

Posted by Cate at 10:02 PM | Comments (1)

RAIN!

Tons of rain here in Ocean County NJ. The good thing - it melted all the damn snow! YAY!! :thumbsup:
M's bus was 25 minutes late today. :arg: There was a substitute driver today. I am spoiled. M has an awesome bus driver. I really like her.

:rotfl: O just ran over to me, cracking herself up because M said the word "underwear". She looked up at me, said "UNDERWEAR!", laughed and ran away. Dopey kid!

Posted by Cate at 04:43 PM | Comments (4)

Good Morning!

I never did get a chance to update yesterday. I missed my very own bloggerversary! :cheerful:

The girls had a follow up appointment with the allergist. Long story short - I had to reschedule the appointment from 11/28 to yesterday. My referral expired within those 2 weeks. :arg: I had the girls seen by the doctor anyway. I did manage to get everything straightened out but it involved me going to the pediatricians office to fill out another referral form. :sigh: But, it's done. Just a pain in the ass..
My living room will be empty by Saturday night. I won't have furniture until January 10th! I think I might get an <a href="http://www.abedstore.com/fulsizdelaer.html"target=_blank>AeroBed</a>.Anyone out there have one? Do you like it? I will get some future use out of it when M has some of her friends sleep over.
Today - I need to finish up my craft cups for the Brownie troop. Tonight, P and I are going to Home Depot to check out carpets. Wheee! I HATE HATE HATE the carpet I have now. So icky! Some wonderful friends of ours (yes Chris - I am sucking up! LOL!) will be coming up in a couple weeks to help P put up the moldings. They will be bringing their nail gun/compressor and chop saw! Woohoo! Frenchie is an amazingly talented millworker. They now make pipe racks and custom cabinets. (check out their site <a href="http://www.mypipedreamz.com/"target=_blank>here</a>). Anyway, I am psyched to see them and I can't thank them enough for coming up to help. You guys RAWK! :hug: :puckerup:

Posted by Cate at 10:06 AM | Comments (5)

December 10, 2002

Cutest EVER

We saw Santa this morning...

Posted by Cate at 12:26 PM | Comments (6)

Good morning

Well, I had a great time last night! I met <a href="http://www.bookblog.net">Mary D</a> at Ikea and she helped me shop. I picked out a black leather sofa and 2 of <a href="http://www.ikea-usa.com/product_presentation/show.asp?productnumber=00010027&type=III&id=6396,415">these</a> chairs with a medium color birch frame and leather cushions.
We browsed around and I picked up a couple tiny stuffed animals for the girls stockings. When we were downstairs, I grabbed some more napkins with cute snowflake designs on them. I paid for everything and wandered over to home delivery to make arrangements for delivery.

Well, the soonest I could get was January 10th :sigh: but I knew that could happen. The older man working at the delivery desk said for an extra fee, Ikea could deliver it sooner. "How much?" I ask. $76.00!!! I was like Whaaaaaaaaat?? No freakin way! I said the 10th would be fine. The guy was really pushy - "You can have it tomorrow!". I don't WANT it tomorrow. I still have furniture to get rid of in my house! I don't have a garage. He tsk tsked me but wrote up the delivery papers.
While Mary and I were waiting, he said, to another Ikea worker standing by the desk, "Did you see the Whitney Houston interview the other night?" The other guy said he did and thought it was pretty pathetic. The older man said "She has got to get rid of that bum she's married to!" Mary and I were busting up laughing, as well as participating in the Whitney banter.
After we left Ikea, Mary took me over to Chilis, located in Jersey Gardens. After eating a humongous (but delicious) meal, we walked around the mall. I bought some toe socks for for M. In another store, I picked up some Hello Kitty pencils, pens and a keychain. I know <a href="http://progoddess.blogspot.com">Rachel</a> would have LOVED this store. There were Hello Kitty rice cookers, Hello Kitty tv's, Hello Kitty everything!! Pretty cool indeed.
The mall closed at 10 so Mary and I said our goodbyes and I headed home. I got home around 1130pm and I was beat. I was chatting with P and I kept dozing off. At 1215am, I just gave up and went to bed.
Have things to do today.. the girls have doctor appointments and we are also going to see Santa today. Cool! Oh - I think I caught the cold BACK from P. Grrr!

Posted by Cate at 08:43 AM | Comments (1)

December 09, 2002

Time... finally!

Where on earth did I leave off??
Ahh yes, Saturday...

(warning - long post!)

I bought tickets for Olivia, my 2 yr old niece, sis in law and I to go see Blues Clues Big Birthday in February. Eldest doesn't want to go so she and Husband will go do something cool - maybe Liberty Science Center.
Husband drove the girls to my inlaws house. He got back home around 430pm. I was wrapping gifts. In fact, I managed to wrap all of Youngest's gifts and I just have a couple left for Eldest. I wrapped Husband's gifts too. I would mention what I got him but I think he reads this occasionally. Sorry babe! You have to wait until Christmas!Anyway, he painted the hallway. All that is left is the cutwork along the ceiling and floor. He also spackled/sanded another wall in my living room. It is slowly but surely pulling together. We broke for a quick pizza around 615 and went right back to work until 9pm. While we were putting gifts away, cleaning, vacuuming, my inlaws called. They were on their way back to our house with the girls. They got here at 10pm! The kids were SO toasted. My father in law carried Youngestin the house and into her bed. I pulled her sneakers off and she woke up enough to sit up so I could take her coat off. She immediately flopped over on her face, pulled her legs up underneath her (so her bum was sticking up - LOL!) and went back to sleep. Husband brought Eldest into her room and got her into her pj's. She crawled into her bed, pulled the covers up and said she was going to rest for a couple minutes then come back into the living room to talk with Grandma and Grandpa. Sure. She conked out too.
Turns out they had SUCH a good time. They went to McD's, ate their Happy Meals and played on the inside jungle gym thing. My 2yr old niece and Youngestwere all over the place, just having a blast. At one point, someone got stuck and one of my sis in laws had to climb up and get them. Better her than me! They loved the lights. They all got there at just the right time. When it came time to see Santa, Eldest and my niece wouldn't go near him. Olivia, on the other hand, trotted right up there, sat on his lap and asked him for a computer!!!! Santa apparantly said "Maybe" - heh! Thanks Santa! Of course, what's Saturday night without Trading Spaces? Kia's pyramid was pretty freakin scary. I have to go on record and say I really like Edward.. even if he's a little creepy looking.. I also had a nice chat with
Shelley and Scott. They crack me up!
Sunday - I had to teach Sunday School. Husband is still not feeling well. He was up all night on Saturday, hacking and coughing. Poor guy. Eldest is sniffly and coughing so I kept her home instead of dragging her to Sunday School and getting the rest of the kids sick. Husband managed to prime the one wall he started Saturday night before I got back home. We decided that we needed to check out some furniture so we headed to ValueCity. Some nice stuff there but we really like Ikea's furniture style. I want (need) to replace ours, which is very dusty and hairy (from the cat). It was my grandmothers furniture and we got it when she passed away last year. We are going to donate the loveseat, 2 chairs, recliner and table to the church and planning to replace them with a leather sofa and 2 chairs. The carpet is going to go too. It's pretty gross. I hate it. I've always hated it. We were going to replace it with Pergo but decided to get an inexpensive Berber. Our living room is SO high trafffic that we would wreck the Pergo. We got the kids to bed at a normal bedtime and we settled in to wath the Sopranos. HOLY cow! Pretty good episode even though no one big got whacked.
So, tonight I am headed to Ikea to purchase the sofa and chairs! I am SO excited!! Plus, I am meeting Mary there and we are going out to dinner afterwards. Yay!

Whew! I am finished with the novel and I am off to eat lunch! Ta!

Posted by Cate at 12:55 PM | Comments (1)

Still alive!

Hello!

We have been SUPER busy around the house and with the girls. I promise I will update later!
:puckerup:

Posted by Cate at 08:33 AM | Comments (0)

December 07, 2002

Wrapping

Well- I have 3 cd's of Manheim Steamroller loaded on my stereo. Wrapping will commence as soon as I have printed out labels for the girls' presents. See - M already knows my handwriting. Crafty, eh? :mischievous:

Posted by Cate at 03:45 PM | Comments (2)

December 06, 2002

Olivia

Well - poor Youngesthas a double ear infection - poor kid. She has some wicked heavy duty antibiotic, which is icky tasting too.

Right now, I am watching "Extreme Christmas" on HGTV. These people are nuts!

Posted by Cate at 10:10 PM | Comments (3)

Too busy!

O's got another ear infection.. the only doctor's appointment I could get is at 4pm. M has Brownies from 315-415pm. P has to leave work early so he can take O to the doctor :arg:

Will write later!

Posted by Cate at 02:40 PM | Comments (3)

Delayed opening

M had a 2 hour delayed opening today. Of course, it wasn't broadcast on the radio. It was on the school hotline and on the school website but not on the radio. :banghead: DUH. Good thing one of my neighbors called me to let me know or I would have been out there too, waiting and waiting for the bus.

Posted by Cate at 09:41 AM | Comments (0)

December 05, 2002

Snowman? You decide.

Posted by Cate at 09:12 PM | Comments (9)

Snow pics

I took the girls out for about 30 minutes while it was still snowing. We had a small snowball fight :laugh: I have to say, it's great snowball snow!

Damn snow
<img alt="PC050002.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC050002.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

A tree in my backyard
<img alt="PC050007.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC050007.JPG" width="480" height="640" border="0" />

We love snow!
<img alt="PC050018.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC050018.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

Snowball fights make me c-c-cold!
<img alt="PC050019.JPG" src="http://sugar-plum.net/kate/PC050019.JPG" width="640" height="480" border="0" />

Posted by Cate at 02:30 PM | Comments (3)

<a href="http://www.comcast.net/smedia/entertainment_anonymous_full.jsp">Whitney Houston admits using

<a href="http://www.comcast.net/smedia/entertainment_anonymous_full.jsp">Whitney Houston admits using a smorgasbord of illegal drugs and hints she nearly died from overdoses in a new television interview.</a>
Nooo way Not Whitney! Is anyone truly surprised

The interview goes on:
"I don't like to think of myself addicted. I like to think ... I had a bad habit ... which can be broken."
Nail biting is a bad habit. Cracking your knuckles is a bad habit. Sucking on a crack pipe and drinking until you turn into a screeching fishwife, especially on a daily basis, is not a "bad habit". It's more than that. WAY more

"The platinum-selling songbird tells Sawyer she also is addicted to "making love." ( Umm - yuck) She adds that she was addicted to a "few things" - but insists drugs weren't among them. (talk about denial)"It's not easy," she says of her battle to stay straight. "But I'm not going to tell you I'm somebody's junkie. No, I'm not.""Riiiight. How 'bout I tell you? YOU ARE A JUNKIE.

Still, Houston never says she's sworn off drugs. "I'm not going to tell you that," she says. "I'm not the strongest every day, but I'm not the weakest, either. And I won't break."
But her crackpipe might. Then, what would happen?

She says prayer will get her through. "I know I'm on the right path," she says. "Jesus loves me. This I know."
Whitney, I know that song too. Give. it. up. Please.

Houston, whose hits include "I Wanna Dance With Somebody," "Greatest Love of All" and "I'm Every Woman," also defends her stormy 10-year marriage with rapper Brown, who also appears. "Love is where you find it," she says. "And I found it in him. And he found it in me."
Can you say "cash cow" boys and girls? Moooooooo.

"A lot of people, you know, that are married go through worse problems than us," says Brown, 36, who has had several brushes with the law. He admits using marijuana but insists he smokes pot in moderation to alleviate what he says is bipolar disorder. "It helps me to keep ... a level in my life," he tells Sawyer.
Now he's bi-polar? Seems like he has a slight anger management problem instead. If this current arrangement is level, I would hate to see how bad he is when things are unbalanced

Posted by Cate at 11:26 AM | Comments (7)

Let it snow...

Well - it snowed. M has off. I hate snow.

Looking out my front door. It's still snowing and will porbably keep snowing until this evening. We may accumulate 3-6 inches. Oh freakin' JOY! P will have a lovely commute home.

Posted by Cate at 09:42 AM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2002

Home Improvements

More pictures

Welcome to my mess! And, no, my walls are not pixelated! :laugh:

Posted by Cate at 10:27 PM | Comments (2)

Snow Alert

Ok - people down here are officially freaking out about the snow. :banghead: It's.just.snow.
We are only supposed to get up to 4 inches of snow - Whoop dee freakin' doo.
If I lived further north, I would certainly be worried. I bet the supermarkets are packed right now. Milk and bread! Gotta get milk and bread! :sigh:

So glad I did my shopping this morning - hehe!

Posted by Cate at 04:35 PM | Comments (3)

Shopped out

Did a marathon food shopping trip this morning. It was so frickin' c-c-cold this morning! Brrrrrrrrrr! It's that bone chilling kind of cold. Heck - we might even get some snow tonight.. just a couple inches.
Oh - a bonus! One of my local gas stations has regular unleaded at $1.19 per gallon. Another bonus - someone else pumps it!
What do YOU pay?

Posted by Cate at 11:19 AM | Comments (5)

Oooh!

Sale over at <a href="http://www.yankeecandle.com">Yankee Candle!</a> 20% when you purchase online! I am SO there!!

Posted by Cate at 10:16 AM | Comments (3)

ARGH!

My computer tanked on me 3 times last night! :arg: Gonna try to post one more time!

I had a great chat last night with <a href="http://www.indierocklibrarian.com">Mary C</a>. We had so much fun <strike>gossipping about</strike> discussing her co-workers and the holiday festivity planning. I have SO been there and done that! Better you than me babe! :wave: How did it go today with you being back to work?
Be sure to send some healthy vibes over to <a href="http://maxx_the_bird.blogspot.com/2002_12_01_maxx_the_bird_archive.html#85434905">Shelley</a>. Not only is she sick, <a href="http://www.littlemeanfish.com/blogstuff/weblog.php">Scott</a> was acting rather, well, odd! I can't wait to meet them when they fly out to NYC at the end of December. Party!

Posted by Cate at 10:09 AM | Comments (0)

December 03, 2002

Reunited

Piglet's home!

Posted by Cate at 12:47 PM | Comments (8)

Off to rescue Piglet

O left her favorite stuffed piglet at my Dad's house on Thanksgiving. She has been missing him so much... poor kid. We didn't know he was left behind until we got all the way home. :sigh: She cried. Once we explained that Piglet was having a great time sleeping over Grandpa and Nana Millie's house, she calmed down. M loaned O her piglet and 2 other little plush pigs. How sweet.
So, O and I will be going off in a few minutes to pick up Piglet. She is so excited about it!

Posted by Cate at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

Headin' off to bed

Perhaps I can dream up ways to get more traffic to my blog! :rotfl:

G'night!

Posted by Cate at 12:40 AM | Comments (7)

Fun chat!

I had a great telephone chat tonight with <a href="http://www.hooptymike.com/joanie/">Joanie</a>! We laughed and laughed about all kinds of things! We were SO bad! :devil: Joan, if you need help or have questions about any of the planes, give us a call!

Posted by Cate at 12:25 AM | Comments (1)

December 02, 2002

Try it!

I found a link for <a href="http://www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi">The Slogan Generator</a> from <a href="http://www.rowdigrl.com/">Shannon</a>.
Mine was:
Things go better with Kate
Come see the softer side of Kate
When it absolutely, positively has to be Kate overnight
The joy of Kate
Better ingredients, better Kate
and... my favorite...
Kate just feels right

::hehe::

Posted by Cate at 11:58 PM | Comments (3)

London

<a href="http://sessex.blogspot.com/">Susan</a> is visiting <a href="http://www.randomoddness.com/">Lee</a> in England. Lucky her!

Posted by Cate at 02:48 PM | Comments (2)

Late start

Ugh - I woke up this morning at 8am! M has to catch the bus by 815 - guess that's not going to happen. Heh
I drove her in by 905am. Not bad at all, considering the sign in sheet at the school was already on it's second page of the morning! Looks like I wasn't the only parent to oversleep!
I have some errands to run.. will catch up more later.
:puckerup:

Posted by Cate at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)

The party..

was a lot of fun. I took a zillion pictures (like any of you are surprised) and I will post some of them up tomorrow. My niece got a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/detail/-/toys/B0000669FE/qid=1038807715/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/002-9621256-5780000">Baby Anabelle</a> and she loved it!
Joanie - call me tomorrow sometime so we can chat!

G'night! :puckerup:

Posted by Cate at 12:43 AM | Comments (1)

December 01, 2002

Online Game

<a href="http://www.popcap.com/">Insaniquarium </a>
You must play this game!

Posted by Cate at 11:49 PM | Comments (3)

1 year Bloggerversary

Wow - December 10th will be my 1 year anniversary of blogging!
Go Me - Go Me!

Posted by Cate at 12:24 PM | Comments (4)

Off again...

Today is my niece's 2nd birthday. My sis and brother in law are having a family party for her. It should be fun. I haven't seen my nephew since the christening.
Hope ya'll have a great day!
:hug:

Posted by Cate at 12:22 PM | Comments (1)