Weekend Wrap-Up

Martin and I had a productive weekend. Friday afternoon we picked up the dresser we bought for Marisa and Anna's room. As we were moving it into their room, some friends called and wanted us to join them for dinner. We rushed out the door and enjoyed an early dinner so we could get home to watch the debate. I thought McCain did a good job of freaking us all out with his creepy laugh and Obama did a good job of explaining in easy to understand terms what his plan is if he is elected.

Saturday morning we got up early and ran some errands before meeting with a financial planner. We then scooted (literally) over to Dad's house to deliver his Obama yard sign. That reminds me - a promise was made it would be up in the yard by Monday. I need to check that out......Dad invited us to go have lunch with them. We went to Bottega Cafe and had an amazing lunch! While sipping on Greyhounds, I enjoyed the deviled eggs and the chicken tortellini salad. Martin started with a delicious beef and lentil soup and then had the mussells (insert jokes about how he already has muscles here....). Katie, Dad and JB were rushing off to see Rent so we skipped desert but I heard they had a sweet potato coconut cheesecake - yes please!! We hadn't had a Bottega lunch in a long time and it was wonderful!

Martin and I then went on a long search for a mirror to hang above the girls' new dresser. After going to five different places we randomly walked into the new store, Garden Ridge, where we found the perfect one!

The rest of Saturday included watching two football games. Auburn had a painful win and Alabama had an even more painful win. I think there were a lot of stunned dawgs Sunday morning.

Sunday I spent way too many hours moving all of Marisa and Anna's clothes downstairs and getting the room ready for them. I think their room is FINALLY finished.

The Cowboys had an unfortunate loss on Sunday which made Martin very unhappy.

Tavi came over Sunday night and we went through piles and piles of college paperwork. We had a nice evening and I think were able to help her sort some things out. We scheduled campus visits for the local schools and came up with a to do list.

This is my last week to sleep in. Next Monday it is back to getting up at 5:00 a.m. and loads of boot camp paperwork to do. I better enjoy this while I can!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Oh Sheila

Sheila: "Oh, yeah I saw his wife the other day at the Oriental shop."

Me: (thinking......rugs?)

Me: "Really, what was she doing there?"

Sheila: "Getting her nails done."

Me: (biting my tongue)

McWhite Guy

I found out last night that one of my best friends, Stacey, is going through a very hard time. Please keep her in your thoughts.

So Stacey, this is for you - Friday morning Rhyme Time:

It's finally Friday, who wants to debate?
Will McCain show up or send his running mate?

There is no better way to spend a Friday night,
Than watching Obama and McCain start to fight.

We want to hear from you, Senator McCain,
Don't tuck your head and run it makes you look lame.

The people want to know what you and Palin beleive in,
Other than that gays, abortions and telling the truth are sins.

I have faith in Obama to do the right thing,
Vote Obama/Biden, lets defeat the crazy right-wing!

Question of the Day

What would YOU do with $700 billion?

Mooch

So we have made it to Thursday without spending any money other than the $3.99 for Monday's potatoes!

Only problem is I think we are officially mooches.

Last night we went to Dad's house and Katie and JB made the Bottega vegetable lasagna. I thought it was great - Martin thought it was a little too green for his taste (what does he know). We finished the meal with a piece of red velvet cake. Note to thighs: don't let JB cut the cake. We got to enjoy the outdoor fireplace after dinner and the weather was wonderful!

Here's the question - who is buying our dinner tonight???

Just kidding of course, that would be rude..........................

I was a little disappointed when I got to work and realized today was Thursday. For whatever reason I was convinced it was Friday. Now I have to work tomorrow too! And by work I mean show up.

What does everyone have planned for the weekend?

Weathered the Storm

So things are looking up. Turns out when you blog about being broke this will show up at your house!

Yes, that's a BIG bottle too! Thanks K!

Last night Katie went through her house and brought me things she had leftover from her meat eating days. She also brought a pack of spaghetti noodles and a can of black olives. I was able to make Martin's lunch (brown rice, green peas, can of chicken (thanks K) and soy sauce), our dinner (spaghetti, the sauce we had and black olives) and my lunch (left over spaghetti) without spending a dime.

She also brought her dinner over which was fake chicken nuggets. They were quite tasty. I think she was hoping to have leftovers for her lunch - but - Martin and I both liked them so........that didn't really work out for her.

With stuffed tummies we retired to the sofa to enjoy the wine and watch Dancing With The Stars. That show is crazy. How can Warren Sapp be so freaking good - quick and light on his feet oozing personality. Then Kim Kardashian is just TERRIBLE. She is like watching Pinocchio dance before he became a real boy. She follows the steps but she is stiff as a board with a blank stare!!

We had a very nice evening - especially since it started with me and Katie walking Jake and Layla. Something I kept saying I was going to do but never got around to.

Thanks to my dear, hard working husband, we are getting back on top financially. This week has shown me if you have to live off very little - you can do it. (Especially if you have a sister that will bring you food and wine!)

Happy Hump Day guys. I have high hopes for today after my morning started with lots of laughter. I made my breakfast - oatmeal and cottage cheese. I know, some of you just threw up a little in your mouth. I asked Martin if he wanted to taste it - he took a BIG bite and proceeded to literally gag and SPIT IT OUT (on the carpet!). I couldn't help but laugh. And this is the man who will eat anything.

To each his own....

Peace out people.

No Dollars No Sense

So the Juarez family is broke. Again. Those that know me know this is a pretty common occurrence. This time we are down to only the change left in our drawers. I made a mistake and forgot to deposit a check before I paid the power bill. I know, stupid. I just forgot. That of course went unnoticed for a while because it takes things a while post. It wasn't until yesterday morning that I realized that purchases from the weekend were going to bounce. Don't you like how it's called "bouncing"? Makes it sound like a pleasurable experience. Good times.

I left work yesterday and knew we had no food in our house and no money. The only thing in the fridge was a container of homemade meat sauce that the Nadlers had sent home with us Saturday night. I needed to save gas so I knew I had to stop at the store before going home. The only money I would have is what I could find in my purse and car. I found 82 cents in my purse. I searched and searched the car until I found $4 dollars in change. I stopped at Bruno's and got a pack of three baking potatoes for $3.99. So dinner was taken care of. Baked potatoes (2 for Martin, 1 for me) topped with the meat sauce and some cheese (that I found in the back of the fridge, we aren't sick yet so it must have been ok).

Now lunch would be tricky. I dug deep in the cabinets and came up with enough items to make a filling lunch for Martin. Brown rice, frozen green peas, a can of tuna and some soy sauce. Hey there smells bad face, it was actually pretty tasty!!!

For now we will have to be creative as we patiently wait for pay day to roll around. Looks like no more of these for a while

Good news is I found a jar of spaghetti sauce yesterday when I was searching my cabinets so I just need to come up with enough change for a box of pasta for tonight!

Having no money tends to get me down. Luckily my good friend, Stace the Face sent me these kind words this morning:

I don't care if you lick windows, take the special bus or occasionally pee on yourself..You hang in there sunshine, you're friggin' special.

What a great friend, always knows how to pick me up when I'm down.

Have a great Tuesday!

Weekend Wrap-Up

Isn't it amazing how quickly Mondays come around?? We had a very good weekend but like most - it was very short!

We didn't see Tavi this weekend because she was in Atlanta for a theater camp. We picked up Marisa Saturday and took her to breakfast and to run errands while Anna was at dance practice. We then picked up Anna and we went to Party City to get an early start on Halloween. The kids wanted to do group costumes this year so we started our search. However, it was hard to get Martin and Marisa to focus

After many laps around Party City we all agreed on The Wizard of Oz. Anna will be Dorothy, Marisa the cowardly lion, Martin the tin man and me the scarecrow (my costume feels like I'm sitting inside a haystack or rolling around in pine straw- I am itching just thinking about it).

We then headed to Fern Street to meet Betty and John, a couple Martin knows from the JCC. They have two grown boys who are off at college. One of the boys left something behind that Betty and John have been dying to get rid of..............

Anna and Marisa were happy to take it off their hands!

See Martin's hand holding on tight? Turns out they were great drivers in the grass but when they got out on the street - they forgot everything they had learned. It made for many many laughs and just as many high pitched screams! (Girls, remember you cannot push the brake and the gas at the same time!)

Saturday night we had a dinner party to attend at the Nadler's house. We all enjoyed it. There was a football game on Saturday night but we won't talk about that.

Sunday morning Anna and Marisa were supposed to go to Jeannie's house to put in some hours of work earning their Wii. Turns out Aunt Jeannie is the best boss ever. Their first task was to read this

Which included Marisa's favorites

I was a little confused. How was this supposed to be "work"?

Then Jeannie put the little Mexican workers to work. They headed into the backyard and pulled up weeds ("Jeannie is THIS a weed??"), they carried books up the stairs to the office, they watered all the flowers,

And then it was doggie bath time. Anna was Jeannie's little helper. Together they washed Layla, Roscoe and Sam.

Layla says thank you Aunt Jeannie!

After the baths, Marisa was in charge of drying the dogs.

Roscoe was not amused......

The girls ended the weekend with some additional go-cart riding and a quick dinner at Subway. Then it was time to make the long trip back to Clay.

Martin's weekend ended on a high note with his Dallas Cowboys beating Green Bay.

At least one of our teams won this weekend.

International Talk Like a Pirate Day

Ahoy me hearties!

Ol' Chumbucket and meself plan to hoist anchor at the galley Los Arcos tonight. Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of tequila! Me hope me buckos will come join us.

Fairwinds!

I leave you with the top ten pick- up lines for pirate day:

10 . Avast, me proud beauty! Wanna know why my Roger is so Jolly?

9. Have ya ever met a man with a real yardarm?

8. Come on up and see me urchins.

7. Yes, that is a hornpipe in my pocket and I am happy to see you.

6. I'd love to drop anchor in your lagoon.

5. Pardon me, but would ya mind if fired me cannon through your porthole?

4. How'd you like to scrape the barnacles off of me rudder?3. Ya know, darlin’, I’m 97 percent chum free.

2. Well blow me down?

1. Prepare to be boarded.

Names Can Be Deceiving

The name Sheila means "Smart and Wise", from the Latin caecus.

"I wish they would address the parking issue. Yesterday I had another man come up to my car and he was actually white. But still I really am beginning to get concerned for my safety."

Outlook is Dim

Today I had to attend Microsoft Outlook training. The firm is converting from Groupwise to Outlook. The training sessions were separated by practice groups. There were only seven of us participating from the general litigation group. The attorneys refused to attend - didn't want to mingle with the little people.

I sat through two terribly boring hours and didn't learn anything I didn't already know. We were unable to even complete the class because an old lady up front (wearing her best Golden Girls outfit) had to ask question after question. "Wait, how'd you get there." "Wait, my screen doesn't look like yours." "Wait, how' d you get to the internet."

SHE CLICKED ON "INTERNET" BRAIN SURGEON! Can this woman please get a private tutor?

Icing on the cake - teacher calls me out. We were told to create an email and send it to the class. We were sending from training computers so the only identifying information was Trainer 1, Trainer 2, etc. I created my email - subject "Sleepy" and body "1 hour left". Everyone (minus Ms. Ican'tfindthatonmycomputer) sent their test emails out (most of which involved a shoutout to Bama or a Rolltide! - gross). I had no idea teacher knew which Trainer id went with each computer. When mine popped up she looked over at me and said to the class "I guess someone ate too much".

I guess someone should have stayed in bed today.

Meet the Family

For those of you who haven't met the other members of our family, I would like to introduce you to our dog, Layla. We rescued Layla about two and half years ago. She is not a huge fan of men (right, Martin?) but she is really sweet.

In case you are wondering, that is fear in her eyes. She is not only afraid of Martin but she is also afraid of thunder, Dallas Cowboy football games and cell phones. And, yes that is one of my shoes laying in the floor and Marisa's stuffed animal behind her. I never claimed to be neat.

So it's blurry but here she is again. Anna and Marisa like to "tuck her in" for her naps.

The other member of family is our cat, Talem. Talem has been with us one year this October. He is Martin's only son and the girls say that he's Martin's favorite child. He is very sweet but I find him to be pretty annoying. Love ya T!

Some might say this is not a very good picture. Well, here's the truth. He was an adorable kitten and then he grew into...........well............not so adorable. Anyone seen Tommy Boy? Our dear Talem is a fat guy with a tiny head. Not just that, he can't take a good picture to save his life. We have tried. Repeatedly. Finally, we had to admit it's not the camera or the photographer, he just is indeed ugly. We love him anyway.

Christmas in September

It drives Martin crazy that I start Christmas shopping in September. He doesn't want to think that far in advance and thinks it is just an excuse for me to spend money. Of course, I do love to spend money but this is the only way we can get everyone a gift and still pay our mortgage each month. I spend a little out of each paycheck from now until Christmas. Anyhoo, I have to be careful how much I tell because I don't know who will read this.

I have purchased Jeannie's gift and received notification that they shipped it today (and it is awesome, if I do say so myself).

I got Tavi a vintage-style locket from Etsy.com, a 40's inspired headband with a huge peacock feather (that I totally fell in love with and want to keep for myself) and a cool pair of shoes.

When it comes to gifts for Marisa and Anna it is very difficult. They are selling the same crappy toys they sold last year. No one has come out with anything new. Here is what I have so far:

I have ordered them Apples to Apples for Kids and The Ungame. Sjon introduced us to Apples to Apples and I knew right away we had to have it. The Ungame is the "paper version" of a game we love to play when we go out to eat. It has questions that you ask each other. For example, "if you could be anyone in the world who would you want to be" "what is your biggest regret in life" "what do you want to be when you grow up". I have been running out of questions lately to ask so I am excited to have an entire game full of new questions!

I also found a game called Lightning Reaction - Shocking Game. It's a two player game where you hold onto poles and when the light changes you have to push the buttons down. If you lose, and aren't quick enough, you get shocked. Like actually shocked. Like ouch, I just put my finger in a socket shocked. Should be quite amusing.

Marisa will be getting a Glow in the Dark Ouija Board. She's never had one and come on, who hasn't had fun getting all freaked out with their friends playing on the Ouija Board!! She will love it because she is very much into ghost stories and scary stuff.

I am ordering Anna and Marisa each a Picture Puzzle book from Books-A-Million. If you have kids and haven't discovered these books, they are so fun! It is like the bar game Photo Hunt but you can take them with you to restaurants or play at home.

I am still searching the BAM website and anticipate all three of them getting more books.

Martin's dad will be getting a wedding picture, just need to print it and find a frame.

So, left to go for Christmas: Mom, Dad, JB, brother/Mikel, Katie, Grandma and then finish the kids. Now that I have written it down - doesn't seem like I am as far ahead as I thought....

If anyone has suggestions for the kids or anyone else - let me know!

We also have birthdays coming up. But no worries, The Planner has it taken care of. I have Katie's birthday present done. I ordered Marisa tickets to see High School Musical 2 in Atlanta for her birthday. Still remaining, the hardest one - DAD. That task is even too difficult for The Planner - suggestions welcome.

Oh, I just remembered, I haven't even started thinking about Christmas cards! Looks like I have my work cut out for me.

How can you mess up Mexican food?

I left work yesterday and for the first time actually enjoyed the walk to my car. The weather was amazing and no one asked me for money. I thought about how I would spend my evening. Martin had to work until 7:45 p.m. so I knew I had almost three hours before I would pick him up (he's not driving the Vespa right now because the tire needs to be replaced). My first thought was I would take Layla for a walk. She could use the exercise. I could REALLY use the exercise. The closer I got to home the less appealing that idea seemed. I got home, remembered Layla was out of food, scratched the walk idea, tossed on a moo moo sized t-shirt and headed to Walgreens for some cheap puppy chow. On the way, I called Katie and suggested we go enjoy the afternoon and sit outside at Hacienda Grill, sip on wine and snack on guacamole.

It was great weather, great company and horrible food. The chips tasted like old oil, the guacamole was thick with no taste at all and the cheese dip was the consistency of Pond's cold cream. It did end on a high note - a cheesecake burrito. See Katie's blog for more information! One word of advice though, if you want a cheap buzz - come to Irondale. Wine at Hacienda is $3.50 a glass.