in a butt kicking contest. Thats just how busy this week is. Good grief! Going on vacation is hard work! BUT Its going to be so so worth it. THREE DAYS BABY!

I have gotten a LOT accomplished so far, but miles to go.

To Do-

Iron and pack for Steven

Iron and pack for me

organize dvd’s and cd’s

go to the bank *dont forget cash for the Thing’s movie!

get my nails done

attend 2 1 soccer game

attend church wednesday night

do an at home pedicure ( I decided that I am good with a home one.. save some cash that way)

buy mcdonalds gift cards for one of the Thing’s treats while we are gone (I have a little gift bag for them for each day)

pick up t shirts we had printed

mail invitations to Thing One’s birthday party (its on nov 9. two days after we get back)

Write medical releases for both Things and get them notarized

Notify both schools that we will be out of town and my Mother is in charge.

Im continuing my menu planning monday on sunday thing.Today I decided to do a photos only menu.. In a comment, see if you can guess what the menu items all are.The person with the most correct answers? Gets a shot glass from cocoa beach.. or some other kitchy item from our vacation :)   It just gets done a lot easier..This is a short week since Steven and I will be leaving on friday. without further ado…

Monday- ,, ,

Tuesday- , , ,

Wednesday-

Thursday- , , .

Wow. last week went way way to fast. We leave in 6 days. Its gonna be full speed sprint to the finish line. yikes!

One cool thing on the vacation front. My Dad is letting us borrow his awesome super nice new-ish truck to drive to Florida. It gets better gas milage than the van AND its all tricked out. YAY. I am so happy about that.

so anywho.. here is my to-do list as it stands.

TO DO

1. bake 180 cookies and 2 cakes and package for bake sale friday

2. attend 2 day marriage conference

3. work at Benefit chicken bog for Coley

4. get Thing Two’s school clothes for the week we are gone organized

5. attend 4  3  2 soccer games

6. get mani/pedi

7. get Steven’s Haircut

8. get my eyebrows waxed

9. pick up pocketbook from the monographers

10. plan menu for Thing One’s birthday party

11. write and mail invitations for Thing One’s birthday party

12. wash laundry for Steven and I

13.  find someone that can shorten and cuff Steven’s new dress pants

nevermind.. we arent taking those particular pants.

14. iron cruise clothes

15.  wipe down and spray soft sided luggage with febreeze.. let air on the porch.

16. pack for cruise

17. write medical releases for the Things.

18. notify both schools that we will be out of town.

19. download some itunes and update my ipod

20. organize dvd’s and cds to go on trip

21. puchase snack foods for the girls for while we are gone and for our roadtrip

22. go to the bank for CASH for the trip

23. go food shopping

24. send back current netflix movies to get ones that I want to watch on the portable dvd player on the road trip.

25.  get Thing One’s birthday party supplies

26. Organize desk area so important papers arent laying around for when house sitter is here.

                                                                         
  OBAMA’S ‘NOT EACTLY’S'                                                 
                                                                           
  1.)    Selma Got Me Born – NOT EXACTLY, your parents felt safe enough to
  have you in 1961 – Selma had no effect on your birth, as Selma was in 1965. (Google’ Obama Selma ‘ for his full 
  March 4, 2007 speech and articles about its various untruths.)           
                                                                           
  2.)  “My Father Was A Goat Herder” – NOT EXACTLY, he was a privileged, well
  educated youth, who went on to work with the Kenyan Government.                                                   
                                                                           
  3.)  “My Father Was A Proud Freedom Fighter” – NOT EXACTLY, he was part of one of the most corrupt and violent governments Kenya has ever had.                                         
                                                                           
  4.)    “My Family Has Strong Ties To African Freedom” – NOT EXACTLY Your cousin Raila Odinga has created mass violence in attempting to overturn a legitimate election in 2007 in Kenya . It is the first widespread violence in decades. The current government is pro-American but Odinga wants to overthrow it and establish Muslim Sharia law….Obama SUPPORTED his cousin before the election process here started. Google Obama and Odinga and see what you get. 

                                                                            
  5.)    “My Grandmother Has Always Been A Christian “- NOT EXACTLY, she does her daily Salat prayers at 5am according to her own interviews. Not to mention, Christianity wouldn’t  allow her to have been one of 14 wives to 1 man.                                                          
                                                                            

6.)    “My Name is African Swahili” – NOT EXACTLY, your name is Arabic and
  ‘Baraka’ (from which Barack came) means ‘blessed’ in that language. Hussein is also Arabic and so is Obama .

7.) “I will be the first BLACK President.”  NOT EXACTLY Barack Hussein Obama is not half black. If elected , he would be the first Arab-American President, not the first black President. Barack Hussein Obama is technocally 50% Caucasian from his mother’s side and 43.75% Arabic and 6.25% African Negro from his father’s side. While Barack Hussein Obama’s father was from Kenya , his father’s family was mainly Arabs.. Barack Hussein Obama’s father was only 12.5% African Negro and 87.5% Arab (his father’s birth certificate even states he’s Arab, not African Negro).                                   
                                                                            
  8.)    “I Never Practiced Islam” – NOT EXACTLY, you practiced it daily at 
  school, where you were registered as a  Muslim and kept that faith for 31 years, until your wife made you change, so you could run for office. 4-3-08 Article ‘Obama was ‘quite religious in islam”                                                               
  http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=60559                    
   9.)    “I Was Fluent In Indonesian” – NOT EXACTLY, not one teacher says   
  you could speak the language.                                           
                                                                           
  10.) “Because I Lived In Indonesia , I Have More Foreign Experience” – NOT EXACTLY, you were there from the ages of 6 to 10, and couldn’t even speak the language.                                    
                                                                            
  11.) I Am Stronger On Foreign Affairs – NOT EXACTLY, except for Africa   
  (surprise) and the Middle East (bigger surprise); you have never been   
  anywhere else on the planet and thus have NO experience with our closest 
  allies.                                                                  
                                                                                                          
                                                                                  
  12.) Voting ‘Present’ is Common In Illinois Senate – NOT EXACTLY, they   
  are common for YOU.  
                                                                            
  13.) I Was A Professor Of Law – NOT EXACTLY, you we re a senior lecturer 
  ON LEAVE.                                                               
                                                                           
  14.) I Was A Constitutional Lawyer – NOT EXACTLY, you were a senior     
  lecturer ON LEAVE.                                                        
                                                                            
  15.) Without Me, There Would Be No Ethics Bill – NOT EXACTLY, you didn’t 
  write it, introduce it, change it, or create it.                                                            
                                                                            
  16.) The Ethics Bill Was Hard To Pass – NOT EXACTLY, it took just 14 days
  from start to finish.                                                    
                                                                            
  17.) I Wrote A Tough Nuclear Bill – NOT EXACTLY, your bill was rejected 
  by your own party for its pandering and lack of all regulation – mainly 
  because of your Nuclear donor, Exelon, from which David Axelrod came.    
                                                                            
  18.) I Have Released My State Records – NOT EXACTLY, as of March, 2008, 
  state bills you sponsored or voted for have yet to be released, exposing 
  all the special interests pork hidden within.                            
                                                                            
  19.) I Took On The Asbestos Altgeld Gardens Mess – NOT EXACTLY, you were  part of a large group of people who remedied Altgeld Gardens . You failed to mention anyone else but yourself, in your books.                                                 
                                                                           
  20.) My Economics Bill Will Help America – NOT EXACTLY, your 111 economic policies were just combined into a proposal which lost 99-0, and even YOU voted against your own bill.     
                                                                           
  21.) I Have Been A Bold Leader In Illinois – NOT EXACTLY,even your own   
  supporters claim to have not seen BOLD action on your part.  A MAVERICK you are not.                                                          
                                                                            
  22.) I Passed 26 Of My Own Bills In One Year – NOT EXACTLY, they were not YOUR bills, but rather handed to you, after their creation by a fellow Senator, to assist you in a future bid for higher office.                                                            
            

23.) No One on my campaign contacted Canada about NAFTA – NOT EXACTLY, the Canadian Government issued the names and a  memo of the convers ation your campaign had with them.                   
                                                                           
  24.) I Am Tough On Terrorism – NOT EXACTLY, you missed the Iran         
  Resolution vote on terrorism 

                                                                            
  25.) I Want All Votes To Count – NOT EXACTLY; you said let the delegates 
  decide.                                                                  
                                                                            
   26.) I passed 900 Bills in the State Senate – NOT EXACTLY, you passed 26,
  most of which you didn’t write yourself.                                  
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                            
   27.) I don’t Have Lobbyists – NOT EXACTLY, you have over 47 lobbyists,    
employed by your campaign                                                            
                                                                           .                                                        
 28.) I Have Always Supported Universal Health Care – NOT EXACTLY, your plan leaves us all to pay for the 15,000,000  who don’t have to buy it

Interesting reading huh? I thought so. I dont have a proffessional fect checker.. but most everything in this could be found on google.com.  wow.

    In remembrance of Sgt Edward O. Philpot.

                       1969-2007

One year ago this week we lost an American Hero. When you say your prayers.. thank God for the sacrifice that he and others like him have made.. and for his wife and daughters who continue to live in that sacrifice every day without him.

I just HAD to post this most delicious picture of our little buddy Coley McGarity who is currently WINNING his fight with cancer at MUSC in Charleston SC. Dont you just want to smooch those precious cheeks?

If you are a local and still need chicken bog tickets for Friday, I still have a few left. OR if you just want to come by the firehouse and pick one up there will be plenty of plates available then too.. just $5 a plate Be sure to come in and check out the BAKE sale. You know those Church of God ladies can throw somethin in an oven But come early.. the good stuff will be gone early.

It seems that it’s the “in thing” to do to post a to do before our vacation list.. and since I am a joiner? Here are the things that must be done before next thursday night… in addition to my regular work schedule, cooking dinner every night, homework and whatnot.

TO DO

1. bake 180 cookies and 2 cakes and package for bake sale friday

2. attend 2 day marriage conference

3. work at Benefit chicken bog for Coley

4. get Thing Two’s school clothes for the week we are gone organized

5. attend 4  3 soccer games

6. get mani/pedi

7. get Steven’s Haircut

8. get my eyebrows waxed

9. pick up pocketbook from the monographers

10. plan menu for Thing One’s birthday party

11. write and mail invitations for Thing One’s birthday party

12. wash laundry for Steven and I

13.  find someone that can shorten and cuff Steven’s new dress pants

14. iron cruise clothes

15.  wipe down and spray soft sided luggage with febreeze.. let air on the porch.

16. pack for cruise

17. write medical releases for the Things.

18. notify both schools that we will be out of town.

19. download some itunes and update my ipod

20. organize dvd’s and cds to go on trip

21. puchase snack foods for the girls for while we are gone and for our roadtrip

22. Hire a personal assistant.

I think thats all I can think of right now.. but Im sure more will come up.

Pop music is a total guilty pleasure of mine. I love all those pop princeses. Britney, Jessica, Kelly Clarkson,  and Taylor Swift are all commonly running on my IPOD. Of course I do have the excuse of having pre-teen and teenager daughters.. but ummm….

 Brittney Spears is sweetest junkiest brain candy there is.. and I hate to admit it? But I like her alot more than my daughters. I have liked all her albumns.. and you can usually find her music blasting whenever I am cleaning the house or walking on the treadmill.

her new single is no exception. I LOVE the new Britney single “womanizer” check it out yall You can be a closet pop princess too!

A local blurb.. if you arent from around here.. disreguard :

Next weekend Steven and I will be attending a marriage conference based on the movie Fireproof (Starring Kirk Cameron) I am pretty excited to see what its all about. Im not saying that our marriage is in NEED of help.. we are GREAT.. but no one can say that there isnt ANYTHING that could improve. We went and saw the movie a couple weeks ago.. admittedly some of the acting is pretty cheesy. But we certainly enjoyed going to a movie where there was no chance we’d have to walk out of it! Steven boo-hoo’d all the way through it.

Sooo.. if you are in the Dillon area and are married, come and join us! It should be very informative.

Fireproofing Your Marriage

 Dillon Church of God

Friday October 24, 7 until 9 

 Saturday from 9 until 1.

The cost is $25 per couple and that includes conference materials and lunch on Saturday.

I liked the new and improved version of Menu Plan Monday so much I decided to repeat it.. the post, not the menu. And since I’ll never have time to do a post that involved on a monday.. sunday again it is.

Monday-  Salisburry Steak, mashed potatoes, corn and broccoli with cheese sauce

Tuesday-  Tuna Casserole with peas and garden salad

Wednesday-  My Own personal version of Red Robin’s Whiskey River BBQ chicken burger and steak fries.

1 grilled chicken breast ( pound them flat, sprinkle them with Seasoned Salt and grill them on my mom’s gas grill then in the last minute or so I paint them with bbq sauce)

3 slices of bacon fried crispy

2 slices of cheddar cheese

2 tbsp honey bbq sauce (we use Sweet Baby Rays’)

1 tsp mayo

2 slices tomato

1 thin slice of red onion

1 slice romaine lettuce

1 big kaiser bun toasted.

mmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm.

Thursday- biscuits and sausage gravy and scrambled eggs.  and fruit salad with vanilla yogurt.

Friday- Friday is our Neighbors Helping Neighbors fundraiser for Coley Mcgarity. I plan to purchase plates for us before Steven and I attend a marriage conference at our church.

Saturday-  I am thinking that tacos, mexican rice and refried beans along with this great virgin margarita recipe I have sounds good for saturday. I also make a really awesome guacamole… and avacados are on sale this week 2 for $1 at Wal-Mart and I picked up a couple hard ones that should be just about perfect by Saturday. YUM

Sunday-

Frozen Lasagna, tossed salad, pillsbury crusty french loaf. easy peasy for after church.

 well kids.. there you have it!