A Few Quick Requests

Hey, guys, thanks for the feedback on the new layout. It is a bit less disconcerting now, isn't it? I'll tweak and fine tune a bit more later. Today, I worked on it until both my eyes and the children began to complain. And hey, if you ever wondered what a sepia text would look like, it seems we've found it! Just blends right in, doesn't it?

In the meantime, that little sidebar needs some lovin'. I got started, but obviously didn't get far before I gave up. Then PupDad informed me his blog has moved, which, honestly, I wouldn't know because I get to his blog from Alaska's blog, so I don't ever look at the URL. Actually, most of my blogrun is like that. You're in my speed dial, and I can get to you, I just can't tell anybody else how to find you. Please, if you know you really oughta be in there, leave a comment so I have all my info in one place. Think of it as your contribution to the Organizationally Impaired.

Oh, and for the record, that's not the Forever Home in the image. That's the barn. Just thought I'd mention that in case anybody was worried. ;-)

Kiss those babies!
~Dy

Who Made This Big Mess?

Egads, yes, I know. I know. Hideous, isn't it? Please excuse the absolute car wreck that is my color scheme and template layout at the moment. If I had little orange barrel images, I'd stick them randomly about the page as a warning for navigators that this area is currently under construction.

Code has been printed out.

I've sent out the Bat Signal for help.

It won't be long now, folks.

Thanks for yer patience.

Dy

NewBlogger Question

If you've migrated your blog to NewBlogger (formerly Blogger Beta), and you upgraded your template to the new layout, did you lose your old comments? And how'd your customization hold up? Lost? Shoot me straight! ;-)

TIA,
Dy

Pictures to hang!

With many thanks to Samantha, we now have photos! Yippee! Now if we can just figure out why Blogspot blogs are gobbledeygook for some people. Anyone know? I don't want to lose my favorite blog-sistahs b/c I'm suddenly unintelligible. I mean, if they've hung around deciphering my ramblings for this long... gosh.

So, hey, how about a picture? (Nothing new- just thrilled to have pics uploaded now!)

Here are our reasons for doing what we do... in no particular order...






And here's a relatively recent photo of me and my munchkins~


Thank you, Samantha!

Alrighty, I'm off to redecorate an actual room and will do a little virtual redecorating here this evening. Have a blessed Saturday, all!

Dy

Getting Settled

Ah, yes, this is going to take some getting accustomed to~ new look, new routine. I don't have any virtual pictures hanging on the walls yet, and the sofa is in the middle of the floor... just hop over the back. I'm going to get a cup of coffee. Would you like one? OK, I'll be right back...

***

OK, here ya go. Careful, it's hot.~

Well, it's Friday evening. Today was hot and sticky, but now it's raining and windy. It's wonderful. I have the windows open and the breeze is heavenly. Zorak is over at the neighbor's house, decorating a Care Bare cake for their little girl's 2nd birthday party tomorrow. The boys are sound asleep, and I have just finished updating my control journal, compliments of FLYlady. So now it's time to blog and play!

It seems we have some changes coming up in our actual home at the same time there are changes to our virtual home. I'll probably bore you a bit with hashing them out. (Sorry.)

We have given up on the idea of a school room. I want one very much, but this house isn't conducive to it- the layout, the flow, the lack of appropriate furniture. We had two choices: splurge on furniture for the room now and push back buying a house, or wait on the furniture and once we aren't paying rent, use the $ we'll save with a lower mortgage payment . Plus, if we wait, we'll be able to match the furniture to the room of a more permanent nature. I'm happy with the decision. That entire quadrant of the upstairs has been in limbo for nearly six months now, and it's sucking the energy from the rest of the house. So now, there will be a niche for it. Happy room, happy house, happy Mommy. (Relieved Zorak, who is sick of hearing me ask, "What are we going to do with the school room?")

This decision means that James will be getting his much-coveted room. He has ached for a room of his own since we moved, and was quite upset to find that he still wouldn't be getting one. We'll make the changeover tomorrow. He'll be thrilled to death, and so will John (although at some point John will have to share with Jacob, but he doesn't seem to mind that so much.)

I helped some friends do some housecleaning today. They have offered me the opportunity to do this with them regularly. I would really like to do it, but Zorak and I need to talk some more about it before I can make a certain commitment. It seems every penny we have is earmarked for something or other right now, all of which is wonderful and helping us to achieve our financial goals. However, every time I take money out for a museum membership or new books for the boys, I feel like I'm stealing from the cookie jar. It would be nice to find a happy middle with that.

Rainbow Resources shipped my order (again) yesterday. FedEx takes about 3-4 days to get here, so I'd say on Monday I can start oogling the truck as it cruises through the neighborhood. (Well, I do that anyway, but now I can do it with a purpose! Yippee!)

So, let's see- the rest of the weekend is coming up. I have a few goals:

1. MUST declutter the house. I'm sure we aren't slobs, but evidently when both parents are paper-addicts, the children inherit the gene. There is paper everywhere and I can't get it sorted through! Forget Calgon, I need FLYLady!
2. Schedule next week's lessons. The boys are ready to go bed the neighbors to give them recorder lessons.
3. Make it to church. We haven't been since the whole directory photo, German swimmer's neck fiasco last month... they're going to think we're hiding.
4. Round up the library books and find out what's due when. I went on a reserving binge last month and now have several due dates scattered around the house.
5. Buy a crib for Jacob and a dresser for James. (We currently have three boys sharing one dresser and a closet that is approximately 1/4 the size of a normal closet.
6. Get the upstairs rooms moved and find a new home for all our school room books (which have been living in the third bedroom... although James won't mind having a zillion and two books in his room, honestly, so this one isn't a priority.)
7. Plant the flowers we picked up today.
8. Pay off a few more bills and get a credit report in preparation for applying for a home loan NEXT MONTH! (I can't believe we are so close to actually doing this! That gives me shivvers!)

The fog is beginning to clear now. I'm reading the following (with notes):
Catcher in the Rye (SO not enjoying this, but have taken the notion that I'll plug through it like I did with Anna Karenina and hopefully will be able to glean something from it.)
The Dead Sea Scrolls (I am thoroughly enjoying this- it's a research-based history of the scrolls from the time they were found in the late 40's through current day. So far, it's a very good read.)
Middlemarch (This is good, but it takes some switching gears to get into the mindset to be able to enjoy it. It's under the pillow, b/c it seems best absorbed in the quiet of the evening with a hot cup of coffee and a thick, fluffy blanket.)
Who Killed Homer? (I am going to have to start over with this one. I cannot seem to get through a full page without interruptions. Perhaps I will ask for an unaccompanied trip to a coffee shop for Mother's Day? Just me, Homer, and a BIG cup of coffee! Mmm, heaven awaits!)

Hey- does anyone know how to do underlined with this thing? It doesn't look like normal HTML works. *sigh* More to learn.

Well, that's it for tonight. I am off in search of a file hosting company and a comment utility. In the meantime, you can email me at tbowmommy @ yahoo . com (minus the spaces) if you'd like to leave a note.

Have a wonderful night!
Dy

Will be returning soon.

Well, it seems as though the time has come. I have to admit that this time, it feels different. Still, I'm not happy with the way my other "home" treated fellow bloggers. All Standard users were simply locked out of their blogs without notice nor explanation. I can appreciate the need to restructure, but why burn consumer bridges in the process? Bad capitalist move, imho. So, I've got to re-sign up for comments, register with Walagata (or some other file hosting service for pictures- open to recommendations) and then just take a deep breath and m-o-v-e. (I hate moving- both virtually and in real life.)

Dy

Grrr.

So my comments have disappeared. I looked at the template, and the script has been removed. WTF??? I checked in the FAQ and the comment utility lists- and upon clicking on the chosen utility, received a note saying this account has been suspended.

NOW what did I do??

Urk-

Still not sure

But since I have pictures to post, I'll be at my other spot today-

Other Spot

I think I'm going home.

Sarah has some very salient points- not the least of which is that Upsaid is paid through May and I can put my photos there. I do like it here, though, and when the other is down (which, truly, I hope is infrequently), I'll blog here. This withdrawl crap is for the birds. ;-)

So, pop on in and visit at The First Classic Adventures, but if that's not there, I'll be here. Either way, I'll be around.

Hmmm...

So, I hear *the other place* is up and running again- now with a new server. I don't know what to do. The trust is gone. The romance isn't what it used to be not so long ago.

And yet, is the relationship worth saving? I dunno. But I AM going to be backing up regularly from now on!

What about you guys?

And a good morning to all!

I stayed up far too late last night working on the blog. *yawn* Still don't have it quite right, but that's ok. I don't have my home anywhere near ready for company either. As I've said before, if you're coming to see us, you're welcome anytime. If you're coming to see the place, you'll have to make an appointment.

We have a cookie making playdate with Melissa in MD and her two daughters today. I'm excited about it. Didn't get to play with recipes over the weekend as I'd hoped, but I'm hoping something we make will turn out well. (Wheat-free, dairy free cookies- suggestions, anyone?) John is wearing his bat-suit in honor of the occasion- I'm sure the girls will be thrilled to know that. :-)

Zorak is back at work. These three-day weekends are killing us. We get accustomed to snuggling in a little deeper in the mornings, and then *wham* come Monday he has to extricate himself from the snuggle spot WAY too early. Still, it's a wonderful thing to be able to complain about.

Oooh, hey, isn't Christmas this week? Wow. That went fast. Guess I ought to get my cards out, huh? And go buy wrapping paper. Probably should hang stockings, too. Ah, well, here's an irony for you. I've always said Zorak is the Grinch, but it looks like I've been a bit of a slacker myself this year. *sigh* I'm glad the kids are too young to be scarred by my inability to get organized amidst the moves. Next year will be good.

Oh! Yes. That's another goal- we are paying down our debts and will be buying a home in November, when our lease expires. I'm so excited. We've put a financial plan down to pay down the debts. Zorak is going to call the student loan people to make his payment arrangements (we go into repayment in April, but would like to see if we can adjust the payment according to his income). We've set up a savings plan and now it's just a matter of sitting back and DOING IT. (That would probably be the tricky part, eh?) However, as an archer needs a target at which to aim, so we need clear goals in order to attain them. So that's this year's big goal- purchase a home.

ARGH- John has had way too much wheat over the weekend. He's whiney and debilitated and completely incapable of doing anything for himself this morning. *aigh*
"Honey, eat your breakfast."
(tears bubble to the edges of his eyes) *But HOW? How do I eat?*
"John, you know how to eat."
*(actually crying) I don't know HOOOOWWWWWWWWWWW."

I wonder if Melissa will accept the pre-apology Jess and I instituted? We just apologized pre-emptively for anything our children would do in the future. It's worked wonders for us. Hee hee.

OK, so I'm off to wrangle the whinester and get more food for the bottomless pit that is my oldest. Have a wonderful Monday, all! I'll be back this evening to add all my favorite people whose blogs are available. ;-)

I can't put photos up here, can I? Darn it, and *the other place* still owes me six months worth of pre-paid hosting. Grrrr. So how do we get that back if they have disappeared for good? *sigh*

I'm quite the growly bear tonight. Sorry.

For something more upbeat, did you know it's much easier to set a budget when you have an income? And it becomes a virtual cakewalk when your income exceeds your expenditures! Wow, and here I thought I was just very bad at math. Nope. It wasn't me this time. (Although, for the record, we've become quite well-versed in the art of creative mathematics for budgeting purposes while Zorak was in school.)

So, it's a time for goals. I don't set New Year's Resolutions. It's not that I've anything against them, really I don't. I just know that I am G-R-E-A-T out of the gate, and then I start wobbling and slipping and the next thing you know, I'm face down in a heaping pile of good intentions and self-depricating guilt. That's no good. So I go for goals. Yeah, they sound better, you can extend deadlines, and they're more just suggestions if you get really desperate.

Ewww- the cranky baby is no longer cranky, but he smells awful. Be back later to talk about goals!

So. Here we are. I can't believe the week this has been, and nowhere to blog about it! Oh, wait, we have blogger! (As well as a mass-exodus to blogger from some other realm of the blogosphere! *Hi guys!*)

I have two highly-charged, cranky children who are fretting over impending bedtime, as well as a gassy and unbelievably un-cooperative infant trying to gnaw off my shoulder, so you're just going to have to deal with the lack of formatting for the time being. (Shyah- like I'm the format queen, right? These sidebars are going to be just like my poor kitchen curtains were in New Mexico unless something truly striking happens...)

However, I've heard the collective sighing all day from refugees as they marched bravely into new territory, searching for a blogging home. Perhaps we have found it. I think I like it- I'm not sure. My first thought was, "Look, Ma! No HTML!" But we'll see. :-) So who's out there? I'm going to have to rebuild all my out-dated sidebar links and "what we're reading" lists and, and, and ... ooooo, wait! That means they'll be up-to-date for the first time in ages! Well, weee-dawgies! Bring 'em on- you know who you are! I need your url info! :-)

Be back later to play a bit.

Dy