Tagged

8 TV shows I LOVE to watch:

1. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
2. Colbert Report
3. 30 Rock
4. Big Bang Theory
5. How I Met Your Mother
6. Mythbusters
7. Extreme Makeover Home Edition
8. Food Network

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1. Red Robin
2. TGI Fridays
3. Taco Bell
4. Cinnabon
5. Los Charros
6. Jack in the Box
7. Applebees
8. Any chinese

8 Things that happened Yesterday:

1. Went to a playgroup with Keira
2. Cleaned up projectile spit up
3. went to two stores to find candles for the Jack O' Lanterns
4. ate way too much Halloween candy (tonight will be worse)
5. cooked two things of pasta causing every window in our house to cloud up
6. got a surprise visit from my dad
7. Had two of Rick's friends over to play Rock Band
8. Finally got to watch the season premier of 30 Rock!

8 things I am looking forward to:

1. Finishing work (I know, I haven't even started yet)
2. Rick getting a new job
3. Keira getting potty trained
4. Elaina passing off all of her milestones
5. getting a honeymoon
6. Christmas
7. Harry Potter movie (why did they have to delay it?)
8. Andrea coming home in 1 year!

8 things on my wish list:

1. Trip to DisneyWorld
2. Go on a honeymoon
3. New windows for our house
4. New appliances for our house
5. a great job for my hubby
6. everything in the world for my kids
7. a grand piano
8. eating as much chocolate as I want without gaining weight (I am a dreamer)

You can play if you want. Have fun.

The Conflict Within

I finally got a job for the holidays. However it is causing conflict. I got a job at Walmart but I HATE Walmart. I refuse to shop there and have nothing good to say about the company. Maybe working there will make me feel better about it or maybe just reaffirm everything I have always said and I will despise the place even more. There are many bad corporations out there but I feel that Walmart is one of the tops. So I will take their money, but I hope once it is over that I will never step foot in there again. I would be ok with that. Oh, I am working as a night stocker. So if you see me and I look like a zombie, or you wonder why my posts are speratic and crazier than usual, just know that my sleep has been severly compromised and I am planning on spending January in my bed. :)

Early Mornings and Movie Watching

I woke up this morning at about 3:30 am because the baby usually wakes up by then. She still hadn't woken up yet so instead of enjoying it I panic like I always do and ran into her room to check her breathing. All is well of course. So I went back to bed and started thinking about EVERYTHING and couldn't go back to sleep. At about 4:15, Elaina finally woke up and so I went and fed her since it is my night (Rick and I rotate nights. One plus to bottle feeding.) So while I was feeding her and getting more and more thirsty, for no reason, I decided not to go back to bed because I wasn't doing much in there anyway. So I have been on the computer since about 4:45. It is now just after 6. I was not planning on just posting about my night time sleeping habits but I thought I would start off with that because it is so unusual.

(Rick, notice my line break!) Anyway, I have been going back and forth on whether I should cancel Netflix. It is only $14 a month and it is our ONLY frivolous thing we spend our money on. Now that we don't have jobs I feel like I should cancel it but I also feel like it would just depress us more and do little good. Thankfully I am paid up until the 15th so I have a while to decide. There is nothing more that I love than getting a movie in the mail. Rick and I used to work at Blockbuster and at a couple points in our marriage had access to 10 free rentals a week. No we rarely watched that many but it was always nice to have the option. Then we both quit (Rick much sooner than I) and we were without movies. So we started Blockbuster Online because that was our former employer and we felt guilty for even considering any other company. I will say that back then Blockbuster Online was a better deal. They have even improved on their services a lot but with that have also raised their prices a lot. We finally ended up moving to Olympia, and were away from stores that we knew employees at. I decided to look up Netflix and it was way cheaper for almost as many features. So we have been loyal Netflixians ever since. It has actually been a way for Rick and me to spend time together because he rarely watches tv with me but if we have a movie that semi interests him, he will watch it. We have even been watching Star Trek Voyager together. We are almost to Season 7 which is the last season so we have to decided what series we want to tackle next. We are thinking Battlestar Galactica but if you have a better suggestions let us know. We are interested in a Sci-Fi show since I only tend to watch comedies on regular tv. Such decisions to be made. Hopefully our financial situation will be figured out before the 15th so I don't feel guilty if I don't cancel it. I have such issues. ;)

Honeymooning in San Fran

Rick and I have been married almost 5 years. We will be celebrating our anniversary Jan 3. We have never really had a honeymoon, just a two night stay at a hotel in Tacoma. It is our goal to take a honeymoon this year. We have never taken a trip that wasn't for work or family purposes. We really just want a long, "romantic" (aka, no kids) weekend away where we can do whatever we want. We have decided that since DisneyWorld is probably out of our budget for the distant future, that we want to go to San Fransisco. Rick has been there once and I have never been and he really wants to take me. I wasn't to thrilled at first. What could be there that would be interesting? But I started doing some research and it actually sounds like a really cool town with lots of cool things to do. My top two things I want to see are Ghirardelli Square and Alcatrez Island. I know that with Rick being laid off it will probably happen a little later than hoped (not our anniversary) but it is still our goal and we are looking forward to planning it when our future becomes a little more certain. Does anyone have any tips when planning a trip to San Fran or just in general? Anywhere we should go? This is just a beginner trip. Next stop: DisneyWorld. :)

Taking Care of Business

After hearing the heart stopping news that Rick had been laid off on Monday, I started applying to every major retail and grocery store in the area. I have been fortunate enough to get two interviews and almost have a temporary job at Walmart in place. I almost hope I get both jobs that I am interviewing for (or get another job that I may not have an interview for yet) so that I can feel more in control. Since I had Keira, I have never wanted to go work outside the home. I would love to have lots of piano students or just do some computer stuff that I have been doing. The world seems to think differently. Rick is really enjoying doing freelance from home, so I hope that I can keep us afloat long enough for his freelance to take off or for him to find another job that he really loves. For some reason I feel at peace right now. I have no idea why. We really don't know where the next paycheck is going to come from. We have both been praying and trying to figure out what to do. And yet I don't feel panicked anymore. I hope that it means that Heavenly Father is giving me peace and that everything is going to be ok and not that I am in denile. I am so grateful to all of those who have sent their well wishes and prayers our way. Please continue. We need all of the help that we can get.


P.S. HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, RICKYPOO!

A Crappy Week for a Crappy Economy

This week has not been our family's best week ever. Rick got laid off from his job and we are with no jobs in our house at the minute. We have just gotten on our feet after almost 5 years of marriage so we have hardly any savings and little food storage. I recommend that if you don't have these things that you start working on them RIGHT NOW! We were doing it but it didn't get done in time apparently. I hope that I can find some piano students soon. I have been advertising myself all over but no takers yet. Rick has decided to do some free lance for a while. He has wanted to always do that and feels like this is the perfect opportunity. I am proud that he has been so self motivated to work 8 + hours a day on it and is trying to get some more stuff out the door. So please pray that we will find gainful employment and that this economy turns around soon. Please vote for those people that you feel will help our economy the most and will hold those who made risky decisions that have ruined many Americans responsible.

I Voted!

I have been a registered voter since I turned 18. My mom insisted that I register because there was a school levy and she wanted me to vote. She really wanted me to vote yes (which I did) but she of course didn't make me. Ever since then I have voted in almost every election that we have had whether it is local or national. The last presidential election was my first and I was very into it like most of the country. This current election is no different. I am tired of the things that are happening in our government and with our country. I want a change. We need honest people in the white house that will listen to bi partisan advisers and also what the people want. I am incredibly anti-Bush (along with 80% if the country) and find my self less and less with the republican party. Not that I have EVER been republican or democrat. I have always been a strong independent and have never voted down a party line.
Anyway, our absentee ballots came in the mail yesterday and it was almost like a weight was lifted. All I want to do is vote and get this election behind us. I am tired of all of the ads and the news and listening to politicians from morning til night. So I sat down last night and voted. I had already made up my mind on the major decisions like President and the state initiatives but I still hadn't made up my mind for governor (I have voted and I still keep going back and forth.) or any other local leaders. So I went through the voters pamphlet one by one and voted for the person I though would do best without looking at their party affiliation most of the time. I am proud to say that I ended up voting for 9 democrats and 6 republicans. I really hope that this election makes a difference and that our country can get back to being a land of prosperity and stability. I also hope that everyone who is legally able, will go out and vote. You can't complain about what is going on if you don't at least voice your opinion.

My Grandpa

My Grandpa Williams died on Oct 1. He had been fighting cancer for a long time and his body finally decided it was done fighting. I must admit that his death brought on a lot of emotions like anyone's death does to those they are close to. I was sad that he was gone. I have never had anyone so close to me die before. I was also relieved that he was finally gone. I had a peace in knowing that he was no longer in pain and suffering as he has been for a very long time.
I have many good memories of my grandpa. He was always interested in everything going on in his grandchildrens' lives. He always wanted to know our grades and how we were doing in school. He always seemed very proud of all of our accomplishments. He made sure that we had money to put in our savings account. He even contributed to his great grand daughters savings accounts. He knew it was important and tried to make sure we did to. He loved food. We always had really good food whenever we went over to his house. He loved to shop for food, cook food and eat food. He loved to eat out and often took us out to eat when we were little. It was one of our favorite things to do with him.
He will be missed but I know that I will see him again someday and I can't wait for his temple work to be done. My mom wants Rick to do it and I am glad that I have a husband that is worthy to go to the temple to do that for our family.

Lazy Cleaner

I hate, I stress HATE, to clean most anything, but the bathroom would have to be my least favorite. Like all good moms, my mom would make us clean the bathroom every week and it had to sparkle and shine. I must admit that I never really did a good job on my section (we divided it up into toilet, shower, mirrors and sinks). Somehow our bathroom was ALWAYS clean though. I just thought that we weren't that messy and my mom must be way too anal and we probably didn't need to clean it as often as she thought we did. Wrong. She went in after we were done almost every morning and wiped it down. Not that she would admit it but she did. Fast forward to me moving out on my own for the first time with five other girls in one apartment. We had two bathrooms, one was three of ours and the other was for the other three girls. Our bathroom was always spotless and the other bathroom was sort of in need of help on a constant basis. Again, I just thought that we must be so much neater than the other three girls. This is partially true because both of the girls that I shared my bathroom with were cleaning freaks and made sure it was clean (me, not so much). Fast forward to getting married. I knew that I was going to be sharing a bathroom with a boy (I say boy because when it comes to bathroom matters, men are boys), something I had never done before growing up with only sisters. After only living in our place for a couple days I began to notice that our bathroom was a mess. Always. And I never wanted to clean it. I wondered where these magic fairies were that had always kept all of my other bathrooms clean. After almost five years of marriage they have never shown up. I keep waiting. My bathroom is always in need of a good scrubbing.
Where is this all going? Well I was watching TV one day (I know, shocking) and I saw a commercial for these gel guns for lack of a better word, that you stick on your toilet and they wash your toilet for you. They have had those things that you hang off the toilet seat that do the same thing but they ended up being kind of a disaster for us. The only place they would work with the toilet we had was right where someone had to aim something and this someone ended up making more of a mess usually then the toilet cleaner could clean. That is as specific as I am going to get. Anyway, the minute I saw this gel gun I HAD to have it and the next time I saw it in the store I bought it. They are absolutely great. You just need to make sure that your toilet is as sparkling clean as you want it to always be (this is something I am still working on), punch a gel "star" on the side of your toilet bowl where water runs when it is flushed and you will have a clean toilet for about a week. It says that it lasts a week but since I have two toilets that we use equally, mine has been lasting for about two. They also have two scents, original and citrus. I have only used the original and it smells nice and clean.
Now I want to try one of those shower cleaners that do it automatically for you (made by the same company, are these people geniuses or what?).

Winning Ideas

Many people blame there obsession for computers on blogs, online gaming, Myspace, etc but I have another kind of obsession. This one started a couple years ago when I was trying to figure out ways that I could help with some income as a new stay at home mom. I felt helpless just sitting at home all day not doing anything to help with our tightening wallet. One day I was watching TV and I saw this news spot for a website that gave you money to watch ads. I thought it was a great idea so I signed up. It was ended up sounding better than it actually was. You got about $.25 per ad you watched but they only had about one available per week if you were lucky. Not exactly big bucks. I kept it up only because it was better than nothing but I got really excited when they announced that they were launching a beta of a new version of their website and as a current member I could register on it. I did and was instantly hooked. Instead of earning cash you earned sweepstake entries to an ever growing amount of prizes and points that you can cash for gift cards to many different companies. Go to this webpage to sign up. ( https://www.spotwinner.com/Default.aspx?refcode=1262849 ) (one of these days I will figure out this linking thing. It just doesn't want to work for me these days.) You will be under my referal and help me earn more entries. It is a really easy way to earn gift cards and other cool things. I have won an Apple TV (which I sold on Ebay for $150!) and many gift cards. Oh and these days you get about 10 ads A DAY!

My other big thing I do online to help with the cobwebs in our wallet is online surveys. I have used many websites and investigated even more and I have come up with some that I think are the best. I decided that I would only use ones that give me points or cash for EVERY survey that I take (some give you entries into drawing only. Big rip off I think). Most of these give you cash AND drawings into sweepstakes for even bigger money. Now I have never won a sweepstakes yet but I do win enough cash or giftcards to help out with a bill now and then or for something fun to do with my hubby. Here are the websites I use. Check them out. You may get to earn some extra cash too.
http://us.lightspeedpanel.com/index.html
https://www.opinionoutpost.com/index.php
http://your2cents.com/
http://americanconsumeropinion.com/

I don't think many people are reading this but I just thought I would get out there things I like to do online. I have so many ideas for things I want to write about but this is a great place to start. Now if my husband would just get this blog looking good. He says he is "thinking about it."

A Blog is Born

So I decided to start a blog separate from my family blog to use to post my rants, raves and jabberings. Hence the name Netty Jabbers. I thought it was quite clever. :) This blog will be about everything and anything that comes to mind. It could be movie reviews, political views, product reviews, pet peeves, good news, anything is game. I have no hopes of anyone really getting into it I just need something to stimulate my mind and help me think. But if you are reading this I hope that you enjoy it and let me know your opinions and thoughts on any topics I might bring up. Now I just need my designer husband to help me make it look good.