Master P

No, not the rapper...it's my new title for today.  P as in PROCRASTINATION!!  It's nearly 2am or 0200 and I'm now into the last day reviewing scholarships...and doing laundry.  I've been volunteering for the past few years and this year hasn't been up to par...that is, I haven't been up to par.  I've definitely hauled some serious tookus this past week and am reviewing my 123rd application.  Other than my procrastination, I seriously can't complain.  I've read some applications written by some amazing individuals and it's a constant reminder that I live a very good life...very.  Although the pool I've had so far isn't as impressive as past years, I do hope some of my applicants score one of the scholarships.

My little treat and incentive...a Nikon D90.  BUT...that is contingent on me scoring @ least 150 apps.  Totally doable...if I focus.  I've been eyeing this little investment for quite some time and with my little stinkers growing like crazy...I need to capture as many moments as I can.

Anyhoo...I will definitely do a better update soon.  Especially since the biggest news is Sean FINALLY got relieved as the WEPS last Friday.  FINALLY.

More on that with bad photos (another reason why I need a DSLR with a good lens to take better indoor photos)...

Figure it Out Friday...

It's the second week of Figure It Out Friday.  

So here is this week's photo:

What is it?

Could it be expensive designer pleated shades?  Oh no no no.  It is not.  They are the temporary blinds that are covering our windows that recently got replaced...

and by recently...I mean SEPTEMBER.  

So, I guess that the definition of "temporary" is relative to the person utilizing the word...whether "temporary" means "a couple of weeks" or "FIVE months"...it's all relative, right? (To our defense, our new windows have less than 1/2 inch to work with...that doesn't give us much leeway or options.  But...since we bought plantation shutters for our FL home...we're definitely going uber-cheap this time...apparently you can't get any cheaper than temp blinds.  Hahaha.)

Poor Melis...she was witness to our high-class "temporary" window treatments.  At least she had a good laugh. ;o)  She'll have a good surprise when she comes back over and sees we are in the process of trying to replace some of them...but procrastination is winning and we've taken a 2-week going on 3-week break.

Oy vey.

I. Suck.

First off...Happy Holidays!

Second....I. Suck.

Yesterday...oops, check that since it is already passed midnight now...the day BEFORE yesterday we take our beloved puppies in to get bathed. They came back several different shades lighter than when we took them in. They were THAT dirty. Anyhoo...we let our old lady sleep in our room for once and guess what...I got very little sleep. My poor baby Remi snores like my grandfather who, unfortunately, you can hear snoring even if you stood outside the house. He is THAT loud...and so is my girl. Add a sick hubby to the mix who is adding his own acoustics of snoring and throat-clearing in his sleep...and it's a veritable orchestra in our room...one that has vaulted ceilings so the sounds are just echoing everywhere.

I actually needed a bit of rest for once. I had to gear up for today...whoops...yesterday since Sean was going to stand duty and I had a butt-load of baking to do...not to mention all the gazillion loads of laundry and packing for the next 10 days for the fam. All needing to be done and ready to go by the time my wonderful hubby arrives in the morning so we can get on the road to The Fam ASAP. Oh yeah...did I mention gifts?

No, I did not. Why should I? The forward-thinking type A individual I am has devised the perfect plan the past few years of ordering my gifts and shipping them to my mom's house...where I stay up real late and wrap to my heart's content. I *heart* you Amazon Prime.

So...the kids were pretty good, baking was smooth sailing, laundry was smooth sailing, and I still was a pretty good single parent today. It was precisely at 1953...or 7:53pm for you civilians that my life...ok, less drama...my DAY took a turn for the worse. The doorbell rings. WTF? Really? Almost 8pm. I peek outside and there is a figure dressed in dark clothes standing at the end of my driveway. Crap. Really? Ok...my two crazy but CLEAN dogs are with me at the doorway. I see a box in front of my door, a truck circling around our cul-de-sac, and quickly surmise that this dude standing at the end of my driveway is a UPS dude.

What? Almost everyone knows we're going to be in DC...not here. It is addressed to me.

Hmmmmmm....

Oh...well what do you know? It's a portion of the huge order I put in on Tuesday...the order that was the most stressful since I needed to make sure that all and everyone were accounted for since with my Wednesday being insanely hellish...I wasn't about to add shopping to my list. No siree Bob...I don't think so.

Funny...why are these gifts being sent here and not to my mom's?

Oh yeah...because I'm an idiot.

In my stress-induced haze of procrastination, being sole-planner/caretaker of this fam, and again...sole planner...I neglected to double-check my order and see that I sent it to myself at my MOM'S address and not MINE.

Why? Because I suck.

So, no instead of getting on the road ASAP in the morning...we now will have to wait for this damn package to arrive...hopefully not close to 8pm like tonight..oops...LAST NIGHT. What's more...UPS actually was supposed to deliver it TODAY...crap...YESTERDAY but had to reschedule it to tomorrow...oops, TODAY (12/24).

I hate me. I really, really hate me right now.

Somehow moving my whole family up halfway up the East Coast by myself during the holidays...even managing to make HOMEMADE presents during a move and while my hubby was out to sea seemed a LOT less stressful.

However...a glimmer of positivity in all this mess...besides the 4 cakes and 3 different types of cookies I made in one day...I did manage to take holiday photos for a holiday card that will not make it out again...keeping up with the yearly tradition I have upheld since we last left here in 2006. So, after moves to CT and FL and now back here...at least I kept up with the tradition of taking the freakin' photo. Except...we couldn't take it in front of our lake since with all the rain we've been having it's a bit soggy back there...not to mention the dog poop that we still have yet to pick up!

I managed to screw up this year's photo by looking a little plasticky...so, enjoy one of the outtakes where I don't have a crazy fake smile on my face!

Oh yeah...like my Amazon order, I'm not rechecking this...so I look forward to my hubby pointing out all of my typos and grammatical errors! ;o)

Happy Holidays, Everyone! Please stay safe and enjoy the time you have with your loved ones this season. We're so thankful that we actually get to spend the holidays together and it makes all these petty problems just that...petty and insignificant.

Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza, & Happy Hanukkah!

We're coming, Talia...as soon as the Man in Brown (or Men in Brown...and def men since it's only males who do our route so far) comes...we're coming.

OTT

Ahhhhh...thank you to one of my most fave sub wives, the uber-talented and ridiculously gorgeous Liza, just gave me this award...in addition to the other two awards that she gave me a while back that I'm so behind on still posting!!! Sorry, Liza!!

So the rules are:
Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. You must use only one word answers!

Once you have filled it out you then pass it on to 6 of your favorite bloggers and alert them that they have been awarded.

1. Where is your cell phone? Kitchen
2. Your hair? Brunette
3. Your mother? Wonderful
4. Your father? Inspiring
5. Your favorite food? All
6. Your dream last night? Scary
7. Your favorite drink? Tea
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. What room are you in? FROG
10. Your hobby? Cooking
11. Your fear? Claustrophobia
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Secure
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren't? Satiated
15. Muffins? Apple
16. Wish list item? D90
17. Where did you grow up? DC
18. Last thing you did? Parent
19. What are you wearing? PJs
20. Your TV? BROKEN
21. Your pets? Canine
22. Friends? Friendmily
23. Your life? Nonstop
24. Your mood? Drained
25. Missing someone? Always
26. Vehicle? Sequoia
27. Something you’re not wearing? Contacts
28. Your favorite store? TJ's (Trader Joe's)
29. Your favorite color? Charcoal
30. When was the last time you laughed? Lunch
31. Last time you cried? Saturday
32. Your best friend? Awesome
33. One place that I go to over and over? Home
34. One person who emails me regularly? Sister
35. Favorite place to eat? In-N-Out

Now I'm passing the love to:

Melissa

Sopheak

Ben

Kelly

Ronee

Linda

Preps & Apologies

Two explanations for the photos above.

1. Sorry for the narcissitic moments! These were a necessity since I was going to have to send these to my sister for a fashionista consult. Sean's no help...I love the man, but he's no help in this department.

2. I'm not exactly sure why I didn't use my Gorillapod & set the timer! What a dodo.

It's the eve of our first, and probably last, sub ball. Mom is down and will watch the kiddies. I got my dress (black...and I'm doing a one-shouldered variation) this past Tuesday and have been playing around with different looks. Sean had to buy a new uniform since made O-4...so he better get some use out of it in the future!!!!

I couldn't believe I was wasting time doing things like practicing my hair & makeup when I could've been spending time with my hubby. Good thing is, I did spend time with him afterwards doing P90X. Bad thing, any gains from P90X were obliterated this evening at the sushi buffet. ;o) Then again, I feel more relaxed going into tomorrow knowing what I'm going to do and just having to worry about making sure Mom & the kiddies are set for the evening....I premade the lasagna & garlic mix for the bread today. Yea-uh! I guess the hair & makeup practice and pre-making tomorrow night's meal are anti-procrastination...whoooooooa...so unlike me!!! ;o)

Anyway...I had to choose between the two looks and the one with the bangs out of my face won because my hubby doesn't like bangs. ;o) I'll humor him this time...tee hee hee.

Oh...and apologies are in order for the following parties:

Poetic Wax: I am so sorry I made you work so hard to wax the jungle that were my pits.

Venus Razor: I totally apologize that you had to be dragged through the forest that was on my legs.

Toe nails: I am sorry you are part of me. I will try to take better care of you. Ok, I won't...there are other things more important to me...sorry!! But, you know I show you some love like 2-3x/year! ;o)

On a positive note, I'd like to send a shout out to my Mom for not only being here, but giving me part of your hairless (ok, barely-has-any-body-hair genes)...I would've had to replace the blade on my razor for each leg if it weren't for your genes.

TMI again? You're welcome.

;o)

YIKES!!!

I so want to update but I have to finish knitting a lil' somethin'-somethin' for my mama's birthday next week and do these scholarship reviews that are supposed to be completed by Monday! YIKES!! The project for Mom is almost done and I knocked out 7 apps last night. Last year I reviewed maybe close to 200 or so...sooooooooooooo yeah.........

No more procrastinating!