Triangle Head

Every few years I get the urge to do something, anything, to my hair. I tend to shy away from anything drastic, but I think that's because I've always had good, responsible stylists who would discourage me any time I suggested something a little, well, stupid. Unfortunately, my last hair cut was performed by someone I had never met before and who didn't give a whit what I looked like after I walked out the door. What was I thinking, you ask? Well, I was at a super fancy-pants resort with a world class spa and salon, and I just thought I'd throw caution to the wind! The gal chopping at my locks kept reassuring me that I would look great, and that it would be easy-peasy to style. But she doesn't have two kids nipping at her ankles while she operates a flat iron, and maybe she didn't notice the full, wavy texture of my hair. The resulting cut, short with shorter layers and long bangs, sticks straight out to the sides when I let my hair air dry, My hair takes on the exact same dimensions of a character from Super Mario Brothers. 

Here is my triangle head in it's full glory.

Horrid. Horrid, horrid, horrid. It's like The Rachel, only awful. So every time I wash my hair I have to spend time I don't have flat ironing it so that I can get it to look a little less puffy. Like this:

Not quite as horrible, but more annoying. Why? Well, there's the time factor. Then there's the 'slowly killing my hair with heat and products' factor. Then there is the 'have to wash my hair more often because of products' factor. You can see how it becomes a vicious cycle ending in me pulling a Brittany shaving the whole lot. (Wouldn't that be weird, Lora?) 

But if I've learned anything over the years from this whole blogging deal, it's that fake mustaches make everything a little bit better. 

Have a good weekend!

This Is Why I Call it the Cave

The basement is my husband's domain. I venture into the little room where the washer and dryer live, but I try my best to avoid the rest of the space. He has all of his brewing equipment down there and it's filled with tubes and buckets and spare refrigerators. That's my one and only reason to duck into his brewery cave. I use the one freezer for storage of extra nuggets and pizzas for the kids. 

Yesterday we got a cake from the neighbors for a dinner party we're having tonight. Since it has a cheese cream based frosting, we needed to refrigerate it until tonight, but our kitchen fridge was packed to the gills. SOB suggested I take it into the basement and stick it in the fridge down there. Since he only keeps bottled beer in that one he was confident I would find room. 

As I shifted around the beer bottles to make a little more room for the box, my eye caught a glimpse of something covered in aluminum foil towards the back. A little more rearranging and I was able to discern what was lurking back there.

Left over pumpkin pie. From Thanksgiving. That I recall asking SOB to throw away, oh, on December 1st. I'm half surprised that he didn't try and collect some of the mold for a new brew. That piece by the crust is sure to have some yeast in it, right?

Check back in later to hear all about my triangle head. Here's a little preview: BANGS!?!?!!? WTF WAS I THINKING?!???!?!

This Is Where I Am

BLOAT! 

I already look five months pregnant, despite the fact that I'm only a mere five weeks. This happened to me with Lucy, and I read over here that the much-loved-other Amy also had a great deal of bloating early on. But still? Bloat. I took a ton of nice pictures of me and SOB on the vacation. From the neck up? Lovely. But from the neck down I hate all of them because of the bloat-baby. 

So there's that.

My thirtieth birthday is Sunday. I'm kind of ambivalent about that. I'm excited to watch the Superbowl (GO STEELERS!) but otherwise? Not really expecting much. I know I'm supposed to dread turning thirty, but Meh. Is it really going to be so different from twenty-nine? Nope. Other than having another baby, I think my thirtieth year is going to be rather normal. On the plus side, my parents got me an incredibly lovely watch for my birthday, which was nice. 

So there's that.

SOB is home this week, so if things get quiet 'round here it's 'cause we're busy making sweet, sweet love all day. Or we're off at Lowe's buying a bunch of crap for the house. 

So there's that.

I think that's all there is. I'll let you know if something else comes up!

Vacation BSMs

Tea and architecture. Ah, heaven. 

--

Visit Mother May I for more BSMs. 

Love Is...

Going to dinner with someone you love so much you don't even have to wear spanx. That's the kind of relationship you have after twelve years. I couldn't be happier! 

On Vacation

We're going away for a few. We'll have internets, but I might rather go spa-ing than sit and blog. Hope you'll forgive me!

Three Is the Magic Number

The other day I thought I was getting this, but instead I got this: 

Just thought I'd let you know. Since this lady sleuthed me out elsewhere and this lady has some super psychic ability and just randomly asked me if I was pregnant the other day because she had a dream about me and a baby. Weird, huh? 

In the Bag

I am a lucky woman. I have a lovely collection of designer purses that have been purchased for me, in large part, by my mother-in-law. The remaining few have come from my husband. I've bought myself a little sack here and there, but usually I pick mine up at TJ Maxx or Ross. Except for that one time, with that awesome sale. But that was four or five years ago, and I still hear about it from time to time, so I generally let others but for me. 

Every Christmas, all of the girls in my husband's family salivate over the big Coach boxes tucked under the tree, all tied in neat trimmings. I can't think of one time that I have been disappointed with what was in my box. Here's this year's offering, which is what I'm slinging around right now: 

Pretty nice, no? I wish I could say exactly how much it cost, as per the rules below, but since it was a gift I can't be sure. I would guess somewhere between $200-$300. It has two good pockets inside and a bigger zippered compartment, which is perfect for all my junk. It's a nice robin's egg blue inside, by the way, which is nice to gaze upon on these dreary winter days. 

Here are Beth's rules:

1) Post a picture of whatever bag you are carrying as of late. No, you cannot go up to your closet and pull out that cute little purse you used back before you had kids. I want to know what you carried today.
2) I want to know how much it cost:) And this is not to judge. This is for entertainment purposes only. So spill it. And if there is a story to go along with how you obtained it, I’d love to hear it.
3) Tag some chicks. And link back to her post so people know why the heck you’re showing everyone your diaper bag/non-diaper bag.

So here's who I'm tagging:

High Heeled Mama. An old ATL friend who was always very smartly dressed. Even when we were at stroller strides! 

The New Girl. I hope she plays along, 'cause I kind of have an internet crush on her. 

Mrs. Chicken. She lived in NY and now she interviews celebrities, so you know she's cool!

And anyone else who wants to show off what's on their shoulder! Impress me ladies!

I Can't Explain

Why I sat on the edge of my bed, wrapped in a towel, while the water ran from cold to hot to cold again, and wept. 

Can you?

Snow Day

Because of the holiday all of the kids are home from school, and it's been snowing all day! If you open the door you are greeted with the sound of giggles and shouts. After Lucy went down for her nap I decided that Sam and I needed to go out and play. In the past he hasn't been too enthusiastic about snow play. But he's another year older, and the interests of an almost three year old can vary greatly from those of an almost-two-year-old. This year the snow was a big, big hit. 

Until he tried to make snow angels. When explaining to him how to make them, I left out one important detail.

Lay down on your back. I believe my instructions simply said 'lay down' and so my son planted his face right into the snow. Poor little fella. I distracted him by taking him into the back yard to make a snowman.

The snow isn't great for snowmen, so we just made this little one to guard our porch. Then we came inside for some hot cocoa with marshmallows. Well, for me. Sam just fished the marshmallows out of his cup and made a big, chocolate-y mess! 

It's been a great day.

--

For more great shots visit Mother May I. 

Potentially Awesome

Today could potentially be a totally awesome day. Why? Well, here's what is going on:

1. We're going to baby Lily's first birthday party! Which means that now she is officially toddler Lily! I can't believe she's already one! Totally awesome!

2. NFC championship game. If the Eagles win? Awesome. If the Cardinals win? Not so much.

3. AFC championship game. If the Steelers win? Awesome. If the Ravens win? Not so much.

(I mentioned this before, but if they both win? MEGA AWESOME!)

4. Big Love premiere. Awesome.

5. Flight of the Concords premiere. Awesome.

I know that 4 out of 5 are television related, which makes me lame to the highest degree, but I am both a football junkie and an HBO junkie. Just because these things happen to be occurring on the same day doesn't mean I have a problem, right? 

Right?

Truth

I fed my children bread and water for dinner. It was fancy artisan bread, but bread none the less. This was their choice, I swear! I offered them many other realistic dinner options including mac&cheese and even PB&Js, but they only wanted the bread. Correction: Sam only wanted the bread. Lucy is into doing whatever Sam does these days, so, you know. Only bread for her! Then, because Sam refused his nap today they both went to bed at 6pm.

Sometimes I wonder about my skill level in regards to this whole mothering thing.

Don't worry mom, I can rough it.

Dear January - Phbbbbbbbbt!

I went outside the other day, determined to find some small sliver of beauty in our frozen, barren January landscape. My hydrangea, once so lovely in it's powdery blue and pink, now looks like this:

Sort of pretty, but in a dried bridal bouquet kind of way. More depressing, if you ask me. Then I came upon this little fellow. Or lady? 

Amazingly, this fly was alive and would react if I got too close, but otherwise was completely still. He/she was perched on a ridge of our grill cover. 

(A grill cover that later, our cat puked on. I didn't notice the puke until the next morning, when it was frozen in place and completely un-cleanable.) 

Have I mentioned how much I just love January?

I think this guy/girl does to. Can't you just see it on his/her face?

Stuff...

Some new stuff from me over at Philly Moms...

Retribution

My punishment for staying out late last night with my best girlfriends? Ten police cars on my street, several large, menacing police dogs and an even more menacing gun being toted by one of the seventeen cops crawling my street. Why? No one would tell us. Needless to day, we locked the hell out of our doors last night!

You Know You Want To!

DO IT!

WINNER ANNOUNCED!

Here are the results for the camera and PhotoShop Elements giveaway! 

List Randomizer

There were 28 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. micaela6955
2. Jeanette
3. 2KoP
4. Katie
5. Jori
6. momma
7. Heather grabbagreview
8. Janna
9. Tammy
10. Arizaphale
11. Bonggamom
12. Linda
13. Heather
14. Dawn
15. carogonza
16. valmg
17. valerie2350
18. sherry
19. WAHMgroup
20. Selfish Mom
21. Angie
22. Book Spot
23. Kristen
24. Thien-Kim aka Kim
25. Stacie
26. Suezette
27. Katarina
28. Tori

Congratulations to micaela6955!

Now that my week-long giveaways bonanza is over, I've decided that I'm going to try and hold some sort of contest every month. It was fun for me, and hopefully fun for you guys, too! So make sure you check back in!

And don't forget that it's de-lurking day, too! So much fun all at once! I can hardly stand it!

I Think They Call This 'Hedging My Bets'

Maybe it's a coincidence, but the Superbowl just happens to fall on my 30th birthday. And my two favorite teams are in the championship games next weekend. Which means that there is a decent possibility that they will be playing each other in the big game. Which means that there is no way I could be disappointed with the outcome of the game. Wouldn't that make for a great birthday present from the universe? 

--

Click over to Mother May I for more best shot monday action!

And don't forget, you have until noon today to enter to win a new camera and PhotoShop Elements 6! 

Pleasant Reminder

Lora just emailed me to remind me that Monday is Delurking Day!

Don't forget!

The Grand Finale! Day Five of the Cheese Party's Giveaway Extravaganza!

The Omega. Here we are at the ends, my friends. And boy is it a biggie. Relatively speaking, of course. I mean, I'm not the Pioneer Woman, though I kind of wish I was. 

ANYWAY!

Getting right down to it, here is part one of today's prize:

See on the bottom left there? That's a brand new digital camera! Now don't get too excited. I got this camera for free from Macy's, so I doubt it's anything to write home about. However, it does take pictures, from what I can tell. 

'But Amy Jo', you ask, 'what if those pictures come out all wonky?' Well then you can just use part two of today's prize, AKA your new copy of PhotoShop Elements 6, to fix them up! 

This comes bundled with Premiere Elements 4, so if you are into taking movies you can pretty them up as well.

In the interest of full disclosure I have to add that the box is open on this. Here's what happened: I was so excited when I got this that I sliced through the security seal and popped it into my computer right away. Then disaster struck. Nothing happened. Only then did it occur to me to check the box. Alas, I was dealing with software for pc, but I am a mac user. Insert forehead smacking sound here. Since it's been opened it can't be returned, but it's never been used and it's brand spanking new. 

So, since we're doing it up big for the finale, you have until Monday 1/12 at 12 noon sharp to leave a comment. Do so and all of this could be yours!

The Results are In: Day 4

Here are the day four results!

List Randomizer

There were 11 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Tammy
2. valerie2350
3. Wife and Mommy
4. Stacy
5. silverhartgirl
6. Jori
7. Killashandra
8. carogonza
9. Arizaphale
10. momma
11. linda

Check back in later today for the big finale, which will be open for entries all weekend! I don't want to give too much away, but trust me, it's awesome!

Giveaway Day 4 - A Mixed Bag of Goodies!

Today I am giving away the mixed bag of goodies. A little something for everyone, if you will! This gift set includes:

For the kids, a Dora the Explorer hand held beginner video game. This is listed for three and up. I also have another random Dora toy that is kind of hard to explain. It is like a mini see-and-say. The button is easy to push on this one and it would be great for a younger child, say if your older kid was playing with his/her new video game! See below for a photo.

For anyone, there is a microplush throw. We got two of these, and let me tell you they are snuggly. I can't imagine a person (or pet) who wouldn't like to cuddle up in one of these on a cold January night. Sam carries the one we kept around with him, and he's not really a blankie person, so you know it's good!

Also in the 'for anyone' category is a bottle of Kiehl's Bath and Shower Liquid Body Cleanser in Coriander and a scent matching Non-Soap Moisturizing Cleansing Bar. If you haven't tried Kiehl's products before, please, please enter. Then we can form a support group for people who are addicted to Kiehl's products. I got a huge bottle of the tea tree oil liquid body cleanser from my MIL this year! Since I'm less than a quarter of the way through my first bottle, I'm willing to share. 

Finally, for the ladies I have a bottle of Bath & Body Works Tropical Passion Fruit Body Splash. I received a major haul of soaps and smelling good products this year, and I can't possible use them all up in a timely fashion without offending the noses of every person I share a 20 foot radius with, so I'm offering this one up to you!

Enter from now until 6am on friday 1/9 by leaving a comment! Tell me what you're doing today. Me? I'm digging through my medicine cabinets trying to find a stray pain pill left over from Lucy's birth to help ease the throbbing in my face from tooth tumor extraction. Good times! Thank god the kids are at school!

Winners Winners Winners!

Here are the results from yesterdays book giveaway!

List Randomizer

There were 10 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. Linda and Greg
2. ChefDruck
3. Stacie
4. susan
5. momma
6. Feener
7. valerie2350
8. Tammy
9. carogonza
10. M.J.

Congrats Linda and Greg! Coming up, a mixed bag of goodies for one and all! Just as soon as my pain killers kick in! How on earth could we appreciate pain without oral surgeons? I mean, I guess there's that whole giving birth thing, but...

What Was That Thing Called Again? Oh Yeah, Content!

What with all of the shit I've been giving away, I've forgotten to, you know, actually write about things. 

This week has been highly productive in that I've made no less than 267 appointments for the coming weeks, including a trip to my friendly neighborhood therapist. And Sam's first dentist appointment! And three separate appointments to three separate OB/GYNs! How exciting is that? Plus I had my car in the shop (twice), my dishwasher repaired, I spent the day with a friend and her daughter, worked out three days in a row and I'm getting a tumor hacked off of my jawbone tomorrow morning.

Ew! And also Ow!

I'll break it down bit by bit, because together it's just a little much.

I guess the whole giveaway thing came about because I was feeling pretty crummy about 2008 and I wanted to start things off right in 2009 by putting some happiness out into the universe. That kind of ties into the whole going back to therapy thing, too. SOB has been hinting since summertime that maybe I should revisit the couch at least a couple of times a month. Since we're back in our old neighborhood and my old therapist is still just around the corner it wasn't a horrible idea, but for some reason I wasn't keen on it. I just shrugged him off and dismissed the idea as soon as possible. 

But then.

Well, I realized last week that throughout december I hardly took any pictures, even when we were back in Pittsburgh and celebrating Christmas. I know it seems silly, but that was what made the light bulb go on. Most months I take literally thousands of photos, but the numbers had been dwindling month-by-month through the fall and into winter. When I realized what was going on in my head I couldn't un-realize it. I made the call because I don't want to wait for things get worse. 

And then there's the whole three OB/GYN appointments. But that's another story for another rainy day.

So let's just say that I'm hoping that by clearing some things out and helping to make some other peoples' days that maybe at some point in 2009 I'll clear out my heart and my head and have a good day myself. 

All that I have to look forward to

Giveaway #3: For the Book Lover in All of Us!

Today I will be award one lucky reader with six new(to them) books! Four of these books would be considered in new condition and the other two are more worn, but interesting reads none the less! There are two novels, one anthology, one diet-type book and two that might fall into the self-help/parenting/inspirational category. Here's the rundown:

1. A SIGNED, paperback copy of In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner. Believe it or not, I have two of these. (Side note fun fact: Jennifer Weiner used to keep a fairly personal blog before she got famous, and it was the very first blog I ever read. Truth.)

2. Mama Rock's Rules by Rose Rock and Valerie Graham - I reviewed this over The Cheese Says... for PBN a while back and though I should spread the knowledge around. This is an uncorrected proof, so don't blame me for the typos!

3. When Parents Hurt - another book I reviewed for PBN, although this one is a hardcover, fancy corrected copy!

4. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks in paperback.

5. The Ultimate Tea Diet by Mar Ukra - yet another PBN book review! Are you seeing a trend? Again, this is a nice, essentially new hard cover book. 

6. The Collected Tales and Poems of Edgar Allen Poe in hard cover. 

Books 1, 3, 5, and 6 are in such good shape that they could be easily re-gifted, if you're into that sort of thing! 

Just like yesterday, leave a comment (with an email address) by 6am tomorrow 1/8 and you could win. It's just that simple! 

Happy Hump Day!

I Wish I Had Cashmere for Everyone...

But there can be only one. Winner, that is! In the interest of full disclosure, here is the list randomizer generated. I plugged in the names of all nine commenters in the order they were received and then pushed the button! 

List Randomizer

There were 9 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

1. valerie2350
2. super des
3. Tori
4. De in D.C.
5. Angi
6. Tracey
7. Tammy
8. Tech Savvy Mama
9. Bonggamom

So congratualtions valerie2350! Check back in later on today for a big book giveaway!

Yesterdays Winners and Todays Prizes!

Congrats to quitecontrary1977! You won yesterday's contest!

On to today. Up for grabs are some fashion items. From Anne Taylor I have a lovely light blue sweater that my mother gave to me. And I loved it. Until I tried it on. Unfortunately my mother wasn't wearing her reading glasses when she got the wrong size. It is a large petite and so soft I want to cry. Why? Because it's cashmere. Sob.

Along with it I have a brand new t-shirt for Target that I bought without trying on. It does absolutely nothing for me. It still has the tags on and it is also a large. It is a blue-ish green color. 

Oh, and there might be an extra bonus prize in the box when the winner receives it! Just like yesterday, you have till 6am to comment! Pass along the info to your friends!

My Best Shot Monday and Giveaway #1!

*Make sure to read all the way to the end for some sweet giveaways!

My little bruiser

(Read more about that awesome shirt here!)

My little climber

It's been getting very interesting around here lately, what with the kids all developing and stuff. They are both all over everything and each other. Each one of them has gotten a black eye since we've been home for Christmas. Sam was responsible for both of them, although Lucy seems to be trying pretty damned hard to obtain an injury all by herself. They alternately love and hate each other. I think I'm getting a pretty clear glimpse of my future these days!

Click over to Mother May I for more best shot mondays!

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Speaking of love and hate: Christmas presents! I love 'em, don't get me wrong! But sometimes when we get home it seems like someone dumped the contents of a small mall into our house. Therefore, I'm starting the Annual Cheese Party Post-Holiday Giveaway - 2009 Edition. It goes a little something like this: For the first full week of each year I will give away something every day. It might be something that we got duplicates of, or something that didn't quite fit, or something that we just, well, didn't need. It serves two purposes. First, it helps me clear out some of the clutter. Second, I'm hoping that by putting some positive vibes out early in the year I can recoup on those later when I'm needing some of my own! Selfish, but true!

Disclaimer: If anyone out there sees a gift here that you gave to me/us, please don't be offended. I would totally tell you if I didn't like said gift. In fact, all of the gifts we received this year were great. We just got too many!

So let's get it started! Today we're featuring two kids items, so if you don't have any needs/wants/desires for toys then come back tomorrow when I'll be doling out some Anne Taylor! 

First up! One Melissa and Doug Classic Toy Stacking Train. This is an awesome toy. I should know because we got three of them! One lives at our house, one at my mother's house and now one for you!

Secondly, a LeapFrog Baby Little Leaps Thomas and Friends game. You have to have the Little Leaps Grow With Me Learning System for this, which we don't.

Since you have to have the proper system for the Thomas game, I can give these to two separate people if necessary. 

How to win? Just leave me a comment before 6am tomorrow January 6th! Make sure you provide a valid email address so I can contact you. Also please let me know if you are interested in both items or just one or the other. A random commenter will be selected. And make sure to check back in tomorrow for updates and more contests!

Giddyap!

Hey Cheesers! In order to start 2009 off right I'm cleaning house. Make sure you check back in next week for some big giveaways. Every day another prize! Toys, clothes, books, bath and beauty prizes and a digital camera! It's going to be great!

My Vote for Super Hero of the Year 2009