Not outside, but rather inside. I went to take a shower Saturday evening and did the typical turn the shower on and go do something else until it heats thing; except this time when I came back the water was no warmer than it was before. I asked Bobby to go check on it, and the pilot was out so he re-lit it, however the flame did not spread to the burning plate and the water did not heat. I ended up washing my hair in cold water as Bobby boiled water for a bath.

Sunday we went to a home improvement store and looked at water heaters with the idea of getting a tankless water heater and learned it was a complex installation costing between $2,000 to $3,000. So Bobby took me home so I could find a plumber while he went back to buy it, but after a half dozen calls I got the bad news that we would probably have an easier time getting one from the plumber themselves because that is what they are certified to install. If this is not possible, I am not against a tanked water heater, as long as they can get one bigger than my 60 gallon one which just does not meet the needs of 4 showers 1-2 loads of dishes, and 1-3 loads of laundry each day.

Oh, and if I did not have enough to deal with, the windshield wiper fluid pump on my van went out… UGH!!

Ebay has forbid the sale of cloth diapers on their website, lumping it in with used underwear. There is nothing wrong with used diapers, had I not been able to get my initial stash of diapers used, I would not have been so quick to try cloth diapering. Matthew still wears diapers that were used at one time. With proper washing there are no hygiene issues with using used cloth diapers. Please go sign this petition to allow the sale of used cloth diapers again on eBay.

I officially turned 28 today. It was a very nice birthday and despite a couple bad things, turned out to be a great day. My husband is a real gem and I totally appreciated him. Last night we went to a comedy concert called “Friends of Bob and Tom”, and had a real blast. This morning I woke up at 10:30am to the sound of the doorbell, I called down to someone that the door was ringing, figuring Bobby was playing a video game, and the boys were watching.

When it rang again, I got dressed to see who it was. I had a note on the door from the shipping company telling me that they had hidden a box they delivered for me, it was my shoes!! All but one pair fit, so I will need to send them back, but I was so thrilled. The boys were nowhere to be found, and the car was gone, so I figured Bobby took the kids out for the morning so I could sleep without interruption. I thought about going to get my hair done and get a pedicure (for the new sandals of course), but my capri pants were dirty so I washed them thinking I would go after they were clean and dry. Before they had a chance to dry, the boys came back bearing gifts, and sent me back to bed so they could set up. Bobby had a cake made for me, and they each had three well thought out gifts… three cute little cat nick nacks that can hold pictures with their tails, a basket/candle holder with my favorite scent for candles (cucumber melon) and a very nice rustic birdhouse for my birdhouse collection.

I had some asparagus I wanted to cook up and some chicken that needed to be used up, so Bobby grilled the breasts on the grill and I steamed the asparagus and we had a really nice lunch together, all three boys gobbled it up; all except Matthew who asked for a napkin to hide his asparagus in. He is only two, I cannot believe he has figured out the napkin trick, but I am not surprised he has not figured out it does not work. For the rest of the afternoon I played with the kids, did some more laundry, talked to my mom and my mother in law, and basically piddle-dinked the afternoon away.

Around 6 I finally realized I needed to shower if we were ever going to get to the restaurant so I went up to get ready and noticed we had no hot water. Bobby tried to re-light it, but the pilot light would not spread to the burner. We decided just to turn off the gas and mess with it later, and boiled some water so I could take a bath. Dinner was lovely, I love Korean food but Bobby really doesn’t; since it was my birthday I chose to celebrate it at San Chang, the best Korean restaurant in town. We got some really good bul go ki, teriyaki chicken and some beef ribs; the food was fantastic. After dinner we went home to watch Clerks, since I had never seen it before and Bobby wanted to see Clerks 2 (we watched that the next day, it was too late).

So despite not having hot water, I still had a really great birthday.. and 28 feels great.

Recently, we have been watching Deal or No Deal when it comes on. Christopher has a teacher who loves the show and he asked one day if he could watch it. I did not mind it at all since the language was clean, and their was no sex or violence. That was last season.

This season I was flipping through channels and Bobby happened to see Deal or No Deal and we ended up watching it because he had seen it somewhere else and he really liked it. So as a family, we all watched it and enjoyed it, except the baby.

Today I was looking for a place to play games online and I ran across this website where you can play Deal or No Deal, and to my surprise I took a deal of $88,000 since the only high case left on the board was $100,000. Good thing too, because I only had $300 in my case! Of course, this was only for fun, not for cash, but if I was a registered user I could have played for prizes like iPods, Wii’s, or gift certificates.
*This is a sponsored post.

This visual DNA test was pretty neat, and very accurate. It seems to really touch on my Pisces-esque personality. Make sure you click on “Read my VisualDNA” if you want to find out more about what each category means.

To sum up each description, it states something to the effect that:

Mood: Dreamer
It states that I am drawn to the drama and unpredictability of nature and appreciate its natural beauty. It also states that music is the soundtrack to my world. This is all true.

Fun: Escape Artist
It states that I never get enough rest, which is so true. It also says I am thoughtful and imaginative and I like to immerse myself in other cultures, and see life from a different perspective again this is true. However it says I am overindulgent on holidays, which may be true for gifts for my kids, but not for my spirit, I am a scrooge.

Habits: Junkie Monkey
It says I try to live healthy, but have more of a laid back approach and enjoy my indulgences. It also says I am easy going and carefree about my health habits and my home in general, which is pretty true. I try to keep a tidy home, but I am not neurotic about decorating and disinfecting.

Love: Touchy Feely
It states that my children and family are my everything and that I am a homebody and this is all very true. It also says I am comfortable in nature and this is true, however I am not as comfortable with my body as I would like.

Overall, I pretty much agree with almost everything in this profile and my descriptions fit me better than the other ones I saw, so they did good with this site!

When I took Driver’s Ed in high-school, I was immature and did not take it seriously. I also felt the information was outdated, the actual time behind the wheel was sparse and limited and I was in a class with all my friends and socializing was more fun than learning to drive. The class ended up being a waste of my parent’s money and nothing came from it.

When I was almost 17 I was able to convince my parents to try again, this time at a private Driver’s Training School. I passed with flying colors, however when I took the test I failed… of course the woman who failed me kept saying in a snotty voice “I never drove a B-M-W when I was a teen“, and then at the very last maneuver said I failed for not signaling when I changed lanes, even though the road was widening and I merged right before the lanes actually divided into two lanes. Second time was a charm, new tester and I only was docked 6 points for not being able to parallel park.

I love the idea of a Driver’s Ed DVD that a teenager or adult studying to take the exam for their license, I feel one can never be too safe on the road and any kind of training they can get is positive. It would even make a good refresher for someone who has moved to a different climate and may not know how to handle emergency situations for driving in snow, ice, rain, or other emergency situations.

And of course I cannot mention being prepared in emergency situations and not mention the importance of an emergency auto kit, I own two, one for each vehicle, as well as a small tool set with screwdrivers, ratchets, pliers, etc. and a first aid kit. The nice thing about the above kit, is it combines a lot of the items in my above three kits into one, making it a very handy, all inclusive must have for EVERY vehicle.

*This is a sponsored post.

So, Saturday I was complaining about how my favorite shoes are wearing out and probably died about 2 years ago. I remembered how my friend Tracy just got some darling Birkenstock’s on eBay and decided to test my own luck. I found the most darling slip on tennis shoes, much like my beloved, but dead shoes. The price was right, so I bid and waited. This morning I got the dreaded email from eBay, I was outbid on my auction ending in 3 hours… Wahhh!! So I bid again, and again, and again! When the price of the shoes, plus shipping and handling was within $5 of the retail price, I gave up and went to the manufacturer itself.

This is where it gets fun. When I got there, I saw SO MANY SHOES that I loved!! My one pair of shoes turned into two, then three, then four, and FIVE! Soon my total was almost $250!! I did remove one pair of shoes that were cute, but I could not see myself wearing often. Then I did something I should have done in the first place. I googled “skechers.com coupons” and found an amazing 25% off coupon plus free shipping on dealnews.com. Check out my screen shot below!!

[Click to Enlarge]

I am so stoked! In about 10 days I will have my brand new shoes without the hassle of eBay if the shoes do not fit right. However I have loved all my Skechers and have always been impressed with the consistent fit, so I am sure I will love them!

My home is 10 years old this year, even though this is not old, it is in need of a lot of updating. We have slowly been working on painting in neutral or earth-tone colors, and I would like to re-do the ceilings, which for some bizarre reason were finished with the long-outdated ‘popcorn’ finish.

When updating a home, something often overlooked is replacing outdated lighting fixtures, which can be an inexpensive change that will make a huge difference. I need to replace all the white and gold ceiling fans in my home, both Bathroom Lights, my florescent kitchen light, and anything trimmed with gold paint. All these changes will happen simultaneously with the popcorn removal, it just makes sense to do it all at once.

*This is a sponsored post.

I am so angry about all these commercials I have seen for tonight’s episode of Supernanny. I boycotted the show after an episode where the mom was berated for co-sleeping with her children and her babies were forced into their own rooms while mom cried, the babies cried, and the father was distraught to see his family in tears. The mom finally snuck the babies back into her bed while the nanny fumed and belittled the mother on camera, and the parents and children got a good night’s sleep.

Well, tonight they are taking on the issue of extended breast-feeding. So, you must be thinking this “child” must be 6 or 7, right? Noooo, this baby is only 14 months old, and the nanny wished to rip this precious little one off her mama and “give her a bottle” as the announcer says. What kind of idiotic advice is that??? Anyone who is familiar with the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) or the WHO (Wold Health Organization) knows that the bottle should not be used after 1 year of age, and breastfeeding should continue as long as mutually desirable, but beyond 12 months. In fact, I will go farther and suggest nursing to age 2 or 3 and letting the child decide when s/he wishes to stop.

Matthew is 2 now, and he still asks for “boo” between 3 times a day, to as little as every other day. If anyone told me to wean him (like my old doctor, with an emphasis on OLD) I would educate them, laugh in their face, ignore them, or in the case of my old doctor, fire them. This whole thing has really left a bad taste in my mouth and has reaffirmed my decision to quit watching this show for it’s poor advice towards mothers of babies and toddlers. I thought she had great suggestions for older children, but her backwards views and anti-Attachment Parenting styles for younger children have done nothing but infuriate me and make me doubt any other advice she gives.

So mamas, hold you babies close, and keep the love flowing, your little ones will continue to benefit from your milk, comfort, and love.

Have you ever wondered how some blogs seem to have it all? They have high Page Rank, low Alexa, and millions of hits every day? This is where Postie Con 07 can help! What is Postie Con 07 do you ask? Well simply put it is a blog conference for Pay Per Post Posties, Advertisers, and Staff to get together and social network, meet each other, and listen to inspirational speakers who know the secrets to running a successful blog.

The event is being held in beautiful sunny Downtown Orlando Florida, on June 1st and 2nd, with a special meet and greet on May 31st. The event is also close to I-4, which means fast access to the airport, or theme parks. So far they have half a dozen guest speakers who have interesting bios and seem to be quite successful entrepreneurs.

Postie Con ’07’s theme this year is “You’re A Rock Star”, and teaches you how to channel your inner Rock Star and make the very most out of your blog, making sure you have a voice and get your blog out there to be read and enjoyed by others. I really wish I had the means to take a mini-vacation in warm, sunny Orlando and at the same time meet other bloggers I have “met” online over the last few months, while being educated on being the very best blogger I can be!