I wasn't going to post anything...

I wasn't going to post anything this week... I thought most of you would probably be taking a bit of a break while spending time with family, but I came upon a quote and thought I'd share it... It completely applies to me. :)

“People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas”



Isn't that the truth!? :)

Hope you all are still having a great holiday!

See you next year!

Love,

Happy Holidays... my card to you...

Hello out there!!! I wanted to send you each a card in the mail, but I understand having a relationship/friendship with you online doesn't warrant asking for your address... so instead I made you a card from our family!

Thanks so much for coming by and being my friends... I really do appreciate it and love the friendships I have made and that you guys read whatever I write... no matter how painful my grammar is.

Click to see it bigger! :)

Love,

I really do READ you guys! Check these people out! Great posts! My way of giving back :)

I do actually read from my reader and forget to come back and comment... it's a bad blog character trait.

So I wanted to link up to some great reads I read just this morning.

SciFi Dad has been one of my faves for a long time now... he put together a survey and figured out the html and everything for it I'm sure (cause he's nerdy like that :) and then posted the results.  Way interesting and I thought a really fun read!  Good idea for a post so you should steal the idea if you like it enough... only you have to be somewhat nerdy to figure out how to post a survey and have the results go to somewhere that calculates the percentages or whatever... Anyway... :) read it HERE!

Momma Sunshine is just cute.  Seriously.  And she's fun to read.  I read her mostly on reader and comment every blue moon cuz I suck like that... but I loved THIS post entitled, "I can't read your blog anymore"-- I hate this about some blogs and so I totally picked up what she was putting down.  It's worth the time to read it and I dare you not to comment with your opinion.  Love posts like that.

Now I love when people do great things for charity.  PapaK had a child he knew that passed away recently and he is doing something in his memory.  You can read about it HERE... but basically go over and comment on his blog... for every comment he will donate a dollar!  So if you have time then help a brotha out!

And I do need to mention my Real World blog.  I've been neglecting it yes, but I've had some great DEAR YOU letters written and if you have time you should hop on over there and read them and give your advice or opinions on them.  Fantastic stuff!

So see... I promise I read... I just have been way stick-me-in-a-corner-for-time-out bad at commenting!

Love you all,

I felt completely naked without it...

Image taken from HERE.  The actual phone I own-
except not my actual phone!

So my husband and I decided we needed to run to the store when it was close to midnight. Both of our cell phones were charging (we don't have a home phone-just another cell phone we keep at the house for our kids to get a hold of us while we are at work) so we decided we didn't need our phones, we would just run to the store and be back.

I should note right now that us "running" to the store isn't a physical run-- nor is it ever a "quick" run. We tend to go to Wally World because it's cheaper and we always, and I mean 95% of the time, take more time then necessary and find more stuff we "need" then we planned on buying before we got there in the first place. This phenomenon happens at Costco also... and sometimes a Super Target.

Anyway, we left without our cell phones.

As we are getting IN our car I am feeling a bit out of sorts and I realize it's because I don't have my phone with me. I didn't want my husband to think I was a complete ninny for worrying about not having my cell phone...you know, "just in case", but I felt completely naked without it (and remember nothing FAKE on me yet, so me and naked equals much therapy for anyone). See he badgers me about not being able to live without it already all.the.time... so I didn't need to provoke him anymore to further getting badgered. Those of you that know me, been to lunch with me, or hung out with me for any amount of time KNOW that I have my cell phone on me pretty much ALWAYS (and that may be understating it a bit).

We get in the car and pull out of the driveway. As we get to the end of the street my husband says, "I feel weird with BOTH of us not having a phone, you know, just in case the kids need to get a hold of us".

Of course I was like, "Babe, they are already asleep" I casually shrugged my shoulders and continued, "so it's fine. We can live without our phones for however long we are at the store. Plus Grandma and Grandpa got them if they are in dire need of anything. So stop worrying about it...seriously, paranoid much?"

He just looked at me...

So I was like, "Fine, me too, let's just hurry to the store and get back as fast as we can."

Fastest trip to the store probably ever. Never leaving my phone again...plus, it got mad at me, totally froze on me while I was checking my friends facebook statuses and wondering why in the world they were up past midnight!!!

How about you guys?  Anybody else feel this way with their cell phone?  Married to it?  Feel safer with one on hand? Think I'm completely insane?  Wait... don't answer that last question...

Love,

So we blew THAT fairy tale out of the water!

So Saturday I coherced my younger brother into taking our family pictures for us. There is a reason I stay behind the camera... I do a lot better behind the camera.

But for some odd reason I had it in my mind that MY family would be a bit different with pictures. That my kids wouldn't get bored after the first spot we shot, that they would smile and not make goofy faces, that we would all look right at the lense so that we could be fast and quick. That I would be creative since I've shot Upteen different families and they all have their own cute ideas of what pictures and settings they like...

Let's just say we blew that fairy tale out of the water.

My kids were climbing over everything and picking on each other. My husband couldn't open his eyes dreamy hazel green eyes for the life of him, they are sensitive, and he had a hard time looking straight at the camera... even I had a hard time keeping my smile or making it seem real!!!

My brother, however, loves to shoot Candid... and luckily he got us some that worked or fit our personalities!

I mean look at us... we are waiting for him to get the "right angle" he said... look at us all... I look like a mannequin, my boy looks silly, my girl looks bored, and my husband looks like he's ready to kill someone... probably me! :)

No creativity here... if you saw our last year's picture you'll recognize that this is our exact same pose.  We seem to rock the straight in a line all our faces together pose.

So my brother was like... okay, just be your normal selves... so we were--I think this is the best picture yet!!!

Now... all I need to do is get addresses of everyone special enough to receive such an awesome picture of us for the HOLIDAYS!!!

So how was your weekend? If you'd like a picture of us for the Holidays to grace your refridgerator send your address to my email at blokthoughts@gmail.com.

Love,

Real or Fake?

Well I get on Facebook once in a while and about a week ago a friend of mine asked the question, "Real or Fake".

I thought she was talking about boobs. So I chimed in, "REAL! Until I get fake ones or a boob lift".

No really I didn't chime in with that response, but I really did think she was talking about breasts.

But she wasn't.

She was talking about Christmas Trees.

Image came from HERE

It's a pretty big debate, which is surprising... okay, really it's not.

Anyway... here's my opinion on the matter because I know you want to hear it.

Fake is how I like them.

Here is reasons. First of all, I'm a self-proclaimed couch potato...or lazy. When I can rest from my jobs and home life, then you better believe I am NOT trucking up a hill to saw down a tree... for FUN. Doesn't sound like one OUNCE of fun to me... add snow to that whole scenario and it's a Helk no! Secondly, I like knowing I can make my tree look perfect or make it have that special hole in it where the fake squirrels lived. In other words, I have control of how my tree looks. Thirdly, no up keep. This goes along with being lazy, but I won't have to vacuum fallen pine needles or water my tree everyday.

Now I get people whining to me that the smell of a real Christmas tree is why they get real over fake.

Well that was easily solved. There are plenty of good smelling companies out there that make PINE smelling candles or scents. Hide that sucker and let the smell tease our senses and remind us of outdoors and pine syrup.

Another thing for those of you that choose to buy a real tree every year. I save money by buying a really good fake one, ONE year, and continuing to use it over and over again. That way I can spend that savings on someone for Christmas... namely me.

My fake one comes with lights also! I don't have to string lights!!!

So basically we slap some ornaments on there and stick a bow on top and we call it a day.... it's awesome and the kids always think I'm a super hero when it's done because they love it so much.

But my way isn't necessarily the right way... just the logical one. So tell me friends and foes and stalkers alike... Real or Fake?

And no... I'm not talking about boobs.

Love,

Take out your blankets and your pillows.

I was at Harmons today at 9:38 pm to buy me some popsicles. I had a craving and I needed some PACE BAR popsicles--the best ever popsicles, mark my word.

But anyway, I was at Harmons, picking up my popsicles and as I was checking out the checker said, "Isn't it a bit cold outside to be buying popsicles?"

I had never really thought about it before because I do SOOOO many odd things. But yea, I guess it is kinda odd.

So pull out your pillows and blankets and gather round for story time, let me reminisce:

When I was young I would go and visit my Grandma Louise and Grandpa Jack every summer for at least a week. I LOVED visiting them. They lived in this old mining town in Nevada and it had charm. Now, as I grew older I didn't appreciate the charm so much, in fact, I abhorred the lack of technology my grandparents lived without, but looking back it really did have charm.

It was simple.

Now the one thing I remember MOST besides the charm and simple was that every time it rained, and it got cold, even in the summer, every time it rained my Grandpa Jack would have my Grandma pull out the vanilla ice cream and the hard cones and take us outside under a tarp and listen to the rain, in the cold, while we licked our simple vanilla ice cream cones.

Because of my Grandpa Jack I crave ice cream when it rains. I eat popsicles in the winter. I dream of life more simple.

Thank goodness for being odd... and for cold air and cravings for popsicles!

So what's your oddity that you picked up when you were younger?

Next year I think we should skype!

So our Thanksgiving was a blast. For the first time in, well a long time, my whole family was here. All of my brothers and sisters and their families. There was a lot of eating, and laughing, and tons of fun. Maybe also some bloating and napping and tons of fun...

As you can see in these pictures below taken of my kids and nieces and nephews:

I just had to add this in here because my daughter seriously wants a career in fashion and modeling so I told her to pose for me and this is what I got... lol... I hope it works out for her because, I may be bias, but I think she has that something special :)... PASSION! hehe.

My 13-year old niece and the oldest of the bunch... that makes me super old... sigh... she's one of my best friends, love the heck out of her.

So here's the thing. We had SUCH a good time during Thanksgiving.  My cup filleth over with happiness to be around all of my family... I'm a big family person.  

There is only one negative that came out of all of this and will change my way of thinking of having family over ever again...

Come Sunday when everyone left... we all got sick.  The 24 hour flu bug.  EVERYONE of us.  23 in all.  From baby to Grandparents.  We all got hit with it from Sunday to Tuesday.

I didn't have it on Sunday... which was convenient for my family because I became their nursemaid aka slave for a full 24 hours.  THAT's HARD work!!! Just saying.  They were throwing up out of their mouths and out the back end.  It was bad.  

Then come Tuesday, if you follow me on Facebook (which you should) you would know that I was sick, sick, sick.  I haven't been that sick in FOREVER.  I didn't eat anything, I was afraid to. Everyone was working and going to school so I had to suffer it alone.  Moaning to myself... you know how sad it is to moan to yourself???  It's sad, take my word for it.

So as much as I love my family I think Skyping Thanksgiving to be together next year might be the way to go... just a suggestion.

So anything exciting happen with you guys???  How bad did you feel for me when you read I had to moan alone???  Don't hold back... tell me in comments.

love,