Brandon's Puppy

Let's see, I did:

*Renew my license and registration.

*Took the boys to the zoo with my sis and her boys.

I didn't:

*Have either of the two playdates, or meet up with C. C's hubby was in the ER on Thursday, so she's playing nurse these days. Her birthday is on Friday, so I'm sure we'll get together sometime this week.

*Get a mani or a pedi. My aunt closed her salon for a few days between Christmas and New Year's, and I didn't want to spend money somewhere else.

*Scrapping....HA! I knew that was a long shot. I do, however, have to finish up this post soon because Brandon has a crafty project due tomorrow.

*Ghost ants- still a problem. Nobody suggested anything, and I didn't go to Home Depot to buy the granule thingies that I think might work.

*Replacing the freon in my car...yup, gotta worry about the car actually running first! The good news about that is we ordered the part, and it was less than $10. Hubby talked to a mechanic at work and he'll do it after work when the part comes in for $20. The bad news is, it's a dealer part, and it had to be ordered. It won't arrive until Thursday.

And just because it will make me feel better, here's what I did do that wasn't on the list:

*Take the boys to the Seaquarium

*Go to Knaussberry Farm with my mom, Godmother and the boys on Friday for yummy cinammon rolls and milkshakes. Well, everyone else had their milkshakes. Matthew stole
mine.

*Have family fun night with hubby and the kiddos, playing Monopoly Jr. and Connect Four last night.

*Hubby and Matty got haircuts.

*Hubby set up our new printer-copier-scanner, which we've had since October (!), and he's currently changing the water in the fish tank.

Not bad, right?

Posted by Amanda at 5:06 PM In My Crazy Life!
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I’m happy to report that I go back to work tomorrow and there’s still money in my bank account (not much, but something's something). I didn’t want to spend a lot of money while on vacation, and I definitely achieved that goal (not the case with my to-do list but that’s a whole other blog entry). I thought I almost didn’t make it through the week when I saw the bamboo blinds I think would be perfect for the boys’ room on clearance yesterday, but I reminded myself about our impending auto work expense, and that was that. I miss frivolous spending.

Posted by Amanda at 4:00 PM In Moolah, Shopping
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Can anyone tell me why it looks like all the links on my sidebar look like they've been "striked"? They are all functioning properly, but those black lines everywhere have me worried...it wasn't like that this morning! Never mind...apparently, I can't spell "strike", so when I closed the code, it didn't take. DUH! Thanks, CTG for pointing it out!

Posted by Amanda at 6:56 PM In Techie Stuff
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Reader Ibiza and I were just having a little chat on Facebook, and our conversation mostly revolved around the Twilight saga. I'm posting the chat below for those of you interested in our little exchange. And for those not interested, and to not take over the entire main page of this blog, I posted it below the fold. I'd love to hear what other twilighters think in the comments! If you haven't finished the books or seen the movie, there are no real major spoilers, so no worries.
Also, the chat history was cut off, so there's a little bit missing. I've included a quick summary of the beginning of the conversation. Enjoy!

Continue reading "Twilight Talk" »

Posted by Amanda at 8:19 PM In Friends, Girly Stuff, Movies
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As we were driving to the first of two New Year's Eve parties yesterday evening, hubby noticed my car was giving him a bit of resistance when he turned the steering wheel. By the time we left party #2 and drove home (thankfully just across our community), the power steering was gone. He noticed a puddle of fluid on the driveway before parking, and concluded the power steering has a very big leak. We had two hoses replaced related to the power steering in April 2007, so if it's not one of those, it's the pump, which will cost us a pretty penny. Yup, you guessed it, money we don't have. I'm hoping my friend Angie's boyfriend can come by and take care of it tomorrow, and I can give him a post-dated check or something...
I hope this is not a sign of how the rest of the year is going to be.

How's your New Year been so far?

Posted by Amanda at 6:15 PM In Rantings
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It should not be 84 degrees on December 29th...it's unnatural, even for Miami! We spent the day at the zoo with my sis and her two boys, and a few friends, and it felt like late spring/early summer. We did have a great time though, and we've decided to take the boys to the Seaquarium tomorrow before our annual passes expire on Wednesday. The following are just a few of the pictures I took. Now it's time to take a shower, and going to bed. Good night!

Checking out the meerkat exhibit.

Pointing out the "gee-af".

Levitating.

Close encounter.

My boy the ferocious jaguar. LOL

The kiddies.

Batboy Mikey

Cousins and BFFs

Posted by Amanda at 8:58 PM In Animals, Family, Friends, Happenings, The Boys
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Among the many things I would like to do this week while I'm on vacation, I need to contact my auto insurance agent's office. My renewal is coming up, and although my premium only increased by $79 for the upcoming coverage cycle, I was looking for a decrease, not an increase. I have to talk to them and see what benefits we can do without, or what deductibles we might be able to change in order to lower my rate. I'll put them back for the next cycle, but right now, even those extra $13 a month hurt.
All that to say: Self, remember to call them tomorrow and see what can be done.

Posted by Amanda at 10:51 PM In Moolah, Rambling
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I finally saw the movie this afternoon, and I loved it! There are definitely some key moments from the book omitted from the film, and thus the story doesn't flow as well as it should on-screen. For example, you don't see Bella and Edward's love evolve, it seems as if Bella just happened to become infatuated with the dangerous hottie in school. They also omitted a lot of Bella's clumsiness, which is a key element throughout the story. The baseball scene was awesome, as were the beautiful landscapes when Bella and Edward spend time in and around the forest.
I found that at times Kristen Stewart's acting was a bit forced, and I don't think she and Robert Pattinson had enough chemistry to pull off the illusion of their characters' overpowering, dangerous, eternal love story (am I sappy, or what?!). However, Robert Pattinson as Edward...wow. I wasn't too keen on him as Edward from the interviews and trailers, I saw, but he convinced me throughout the movie. He played the character, or a version of him at least, with perfection, and I'm glad to read he'll be in the sequel.
There's a lot more I could say, but I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't read the books or seen the movie. I won't go see it at the theater again, but I'll definitely buy the DVD when it's released. That's what, a thumb and a half? I won't promise you you'll love it, but there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

Posted by Amanda at 9:58 PM In Movies
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I plan to:

-Renew my license and registration (yes, I know my birthday passed. I was waiting for my time off.)

-Have a playdate with an old friend and her kids.

-Have another playdate with my co-worker and her little boy.

-Go to the new exhibit at the zoo with my big sis and the four boys.

-Replace the freon in my car. The A/C system has been having trouble cooling. We know it's not the air conditioning compressor because I already had a mechanic check it out. He told us what to do, and it's easy enough that we can do it at home. I'd like to get it done before it gets hot again. Being in Miami, that could be any day now.

-Do some scrapping.

-Get a mani and a pedi (preferrably after I do some scrapping so that I don't mess up my nails).

-Figure out how to kill the ghost ants that have inhibited my home. They are everywhere. I'd rather not buy the expensive pellet things at the home improvement store. Does anyone have any home remedies for it?

-Meet up with C for coffee/shopping/lunch/all of the above. ;-)

I'll be adding to this list as I think of things. I know there's more, but it/they have slipped my mind.

Posted by Amanda at 7:29 PM In Happenings, My Crazy Life!
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It seems like Matty is finally getting over whatever he has. He had no temperature, and he's been more playful throughout the day.

I'm finally going to go see Twilight tomorrow! YAY! I'm so very excited...I know a lot of people say the movie doesn't do the book justice, but I don't care. I just need my Twilight fix. I'm between books right now, not sure when I'll get to read Breaking Dawn, and the movie will hold me over for a while. I hope...

Brandon will be six two weeks from tomorrow. Since we'll be going to Orlando sometime in the spring, we're having a "small" (HA! nothing with us is ever small!) get-together at our house the day of. I'm glad I'm on vacation next week, I can go buy the party supplies and order the cake. All that will need to be done the day of is picking up comestibles. I know I'm ordering food, I just don't know if it will be cheap, quick and easy, like pizza, or more expensive but filling, like Imperial Rice. Any suggestions?

I realized earlier today that we did not take a family picture, of just the four of us, on Christmas Day. Didn't do it last year either. There are, however, three hundred pictures of every inch of paper being torn off of every gift the boys received. Next year I'll have to remember: less gift pics, more family pics.

Posted by Amanda at 6:08 PM In Birthdays, Holidays, Huh?, Movies, The Boys
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