My hard working husby

Framing in the bathroom downstairs! Yesterday, Jeff's bro came over and plumbed the whole bathroom for us! I am getting so excited!




This is our new front door - unfinished, of course. Jeff's best friend, Jason gave him this for adio video tradework! We are going to clear coat the inside to match our new cabinets and then the outside will be a black glaze!

2 posts today! Whoo hoo!

Found this on Yahoo! today and thought it was very blog worthy!

Utah was found to be the happiest state!


Utah, Hawaii, Wyoming top 'happiness' poll
ABC News WASHINGTON – Looking for happiness — it's family-friendly communities for some, tropical paradise or the rugged West for others. A survey of Americans' well-being, conducted by Gallup in partnership with Healthways and America's Health Insurance Plans, gives high marks to Utah, which boasts lots of outdoor recreation for its youthful population.

Speaking of outdoor recreation, the islands of Hawaii took second place and Wyoming was third in the poll that rated such variables as mental, physical and economic health.

But fun outdoors obviously wasn't the only criteria — "wild, wonderful" West Virginia was ranked last among the states.

And the bluegrass state of Kentucky was 49th, with Mississippi 48th on the list.

In general, highest well-being scores came from states in the West while the lowest were concentrated in the South. The happiest congressional districts were some of the wealthiest, while the lowest scores came in some of the poorest.

Jim Harter, a researcher at Gallup, said he was reluctant to explain regional differences without more study, but he suspected that some of the variations are explained by income. For example, when people were asked to examine their status in life now and five years from now, wealthier people tended to score higher.

The survey attempts to measure people's well-being. It examines their eating and exercise habits, work environment and access to basic necessities, just to name some of the criteria.

"It's not just about physical health," said Eric Nielsen, a spokesman for Gallup. "It's about their ability to contribute at work and be more productive, and it's about feeling engaged in a community and wanting to improve that community."

The massive survey involved more than 350,000 interviews. Examples of the questions include: Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday? Are you satisfied or dissatisfied with your job or the work you do? Did you eat healthy all day yesterday? Do you feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where you live?

The survey, which takes about 15 minutes, involved 42 core questions. Those taking the survey could get a score of up to 100. The actual difference between states wasn't great: The average score for the highest-ranking state, Utah, was 69.2 points, while the average for the lowest-ranking state, West Virginia, was 61.2 points.

But Harter said that he believed geographic divides could be overstated and even the states with the highest scores had significant work to do to improve certain aspects of their residents' health and happiness.

Researchers hope the findings will help employers better understand what they can do to create more productive workers. Eventually, the data could even be used to compare health and happiness by ZIP code. The survey is going to be generated for 25 years, according to current plans.

To that end, the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index also ranked congressional districts. Residents in California Rep. Anna Eshoo's coastal district south of San Francisco generated the top well-being score, followed closely behind by residents of Georgia Rep. Tom Price's district, on the northern edge of Atlanta. Both districts rank in the top 10 in median household income.

On the opposite end, Rep. Harold Rogers' district in eastern Kentucky's coal country and New York Rep. Jose Serrano's district, which includes the distressed neighborhood of the South Bronx, had the lowest well-being scores.

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cabinets are ordered!

I ordered the kitchen cabinets yesterday, finally! They should be ready to install by April 4th. I can't wait! We are going to be busy, busy putting in the new floor. We are also ordering the new windows really soon. Jeff is at Lowe's right now buying all of the wood to frame in the bathroom downstairs.

The current Jeff and Elise plan is to have, the kitchen completely remodeled, the new windows installed, the exterior of the house painted, and the bathroom downstairs built by the end of May 2009. That's the goal and the plan. Cross your fingers for us. I'll upload some pics of our new front door, and the new stuff as we get it done.

I'm a Flexatarian! :)

Some of you may know, I've decided not to eat meat unless the animal was hunted by Jeff, I've been this way for a little over a year now. My reasons are more because of the torture and awful lives mass-produced livestock live. Just because the meat is "organic" or "all-natural" doesn't necessarily mean they had been humanely treated from cradle to grave (slaughter house). As an additional benefit to not eating meat, or eating Jeff's once a month, it's been easier to transform my fat into lean muscle. There have been many studies done that prove eating meat as much as you crazy Americans do :), is linked to cancers and diseases.

Our good friend Karrie, and her sista Jill have started a "flexatarian" blog. Flexatarians are non-orthodox vegetarians who choose not to make a religion out of their diet.

These chicas will be posting yummy meat-less recipes, if you have any feel free to post a comment and they'll try it out. www.flexatarianmamas.blogspot.com

The Worst (and most common) Etiquette Mistakes

I found this on Yahoo! today...

Party Poopers When you receive an invitation to a dinner or party--whether by Evite, voicemail, or casual email--RESPOND. Yeah, that’s what that little “RSVP” thing means. Everyone knows it, yet it’s amazing how many don’t respond. Even for weddings! Planning a party or event requires a lot of work, so do the host a simple favor and let them know if you're coming or not.

Nickel & Dimin’ How annoying is it when you go to dinner with four or more people, the check finally arrives, and one of your meal companions begins to divvy up the check down to the last penny? Sure, we get that Sally had a shrimp salad, and Janet had two iced teas, while Beth only had water, and you ordered a slice of peach pie (a la mode, which is extra). The point is, if you go out to dinner with a group, be prepared to split the bill more or less evenly. If there's an outstanding cost differential, fine, estimate it and be done with it. The person who spends twenty minutes dividing the bill to the dime comes off as a cheapskate –- and kills the festive mood.

The Line-Up Lines are a fact of life. At the post office, the supermarket, just about everywhere these days. For starters, moaners who huff and gripe about standing in a line of three people for all of five minutes are tops on our list. Get over yourself -- if you don’t have a few minutes to wait to buy that loaf of bread, then pick it up another time. Another thing: Don’t show your impatience by creeping up so close to the person in front of you that they can feel your breath. Crowding those around you will not get you to the front any faster, so give them some space. Finally, cutting in line or trying to ignore the fact that there IS a line –- stop it! Everyone’s time is valuable.

The ME Show It’s great to hear all the crazy, wacky, wonderful things happening in the lives of others. Jobs, engagements, breakups, boyfriends, puppies, pregnancies, vacations — very good stuff, all of it. But once you’ve listened to a friend, family member, or colleague spout about their own fabulous life for an hour (or two), it’s normal to expect them to ask, “So, what’s going on with you?” Those who blab on about themselves while you listen intently, then don’t ask a thing about you in return are just plain rude.

Baby Biz Changing a poopy baby diaper around others is nasty -- and we're moms. Changing the other kind of baby diaper in public is one thing, but still should only be done when absolutely necessary!

Mobile Madness As much as we love the modern age, there are days when we long to go to a coffee shop, movie theatre, bookstore, or post office and not hear some teen queen dishing to her friend about last night's hot date with Todd or eavesdrop (unwillingly) on a screaming family feud. Mobile phones are essential, but please, people, pleeeeeeease, use a little restraint on the when's, what's, and where's. We're happy that Todd is "totally built" but we're going to have to start walking around town and slapping people with "TMI" tickets (yes, too much information).

Smokes Everyone has a right to smoke in public, but be conscious of whose face your smoke is blowing into. Are there kids nearby? And we just might kick the butt of the next person we see throwing their burning butt on the ground without putting it out. Really, find an ashtray or trashcan where you can extinguish and dispose of it properly -- that thing is garbage, not decoration for our streets and sidewalks.

The Pee & Flee Public bathrooms get used by everyone -- yup, they're public! So, making a mess of the toilet seat, and then prancing out without bothering to wipe it up -- not cool. Leaving a mess for the next visitor is completely unacceptable (and disgustingly unsanitary, of course). Take 10 seconds to rip off a piece of toilet paper, toilet seat cover, or a paper towel, and do your due diligence!

Stealing...a parking spot that is. Yeah, you know who you are. If someone has their blinker on and is patiently waiting for a spot, it's theirs. And if you've already passed a spot up, it's gone. Treat others as you expect to be treated, and the parking goddesses will smile down upon you... eventually.

Belly Baring Men, women -- anyone who's passed puberty, everyone who isn't lounging poolside or oceanside -- resist the urge to bare those bellies. They may be beautiful, Buddha-like, jolly, but sometimes they can be flabby, hairy, and not ripe for public consumption. If you're jogging, fellas, t-shirts or tanks won't hurt your workout, so throw one on. Gals, midriff fashions are never really on our "Do" list, and that goes double if your age doesn't contain the word "teen." There are plenty of ways for all of us to flaunt what we got without sharing our tum-tums with the world.

Spitting This gets especially yucky when it's one of those enormous globs that looks like it could be alive. Some people (males, in particular) think it's kind of a cool-guy thing to do. We're here to tell ya that no one wants to see you hock a big gooey one out of your car, onto the sidewalk, or anywhere else for that matter. Try a tissue.

Honking Problem People who honk too often, too unnecessarily, or just to express their emotions are on our list of Most Etiquette Challenged. If you're trying to warn someone about a collision or problem, fine, otherwise it's not that serious. Give it a rest!

Garage door broken?

Some of you may already know, Jeff is not working right now. No, he didn't get laid off, he resigned. Yes, I know some of you are thinking he's crazy to do that in these tough economic times, but he REALLY hated who he worked for and didn't agree with how things were being managed. I support him 100% in whatever decisions he makes and know that we will be fine and work with what we have until we figure it out. He's been sending his resume to employers, but is not too excited about going to work for someone else. What he is excited about, is starting his own garage door business. He has over 15 years experience, and really enjoys the work. If your door needs fixin or know somebody who's does, give him a call. Spread the word. Thanks! :) Life is too short to be miserable, life is what you make of it. Make it great!

Fun with Emily and Annie

This was Annie's favorite part of the sleepover! She loved bath time!



Emily is a little model, she's always posing and loves to have her picture taken!

Rogue, the Harris Hawk

She was THE coolest thing I have ever seen at work! I LOVE birds! From far away that is. Otherwise, I'm kinda scared of how unpredictable they are. They fascinate me, maybe I'll take up bird watching...




Yesterday, one of the guys from the IT department brought in his pet Harris Hawk. She was so cool and unexpected on my part. He said he built a big cage for her in his backyard and it eats rabbits, mice and rats! He takes her hunting in fields and she comes right back to him when he calls her names, just like a dog.

no longer lost

The night before we went to Mexico, I was trying to get everything in order. I still had stuff to pack, I needed to make sure my dishes were done and I still had to shower AND blowdry my hair! So, needless to say, I was pretty frazzled. By the time I got out of the shower, it was already midnight. I get really really cranky when I'm tired, same goes if I'm hungry. Watch out!!

Being really tired, and not thinking clearly, I decided I would hide some things that I wouldn't want stolen if my house were to get broken into. All of my ideas are BRILLIANT and logical, until I say them out loud or tell somebody, then... well, let's just say, there not as BRILLIANT as I had assumed. :)

Listed in the order in which the hidden items were found. 1. my car keys - I didn't want my beautiful car to get stolen! 2. my broken cell phone - I had my new one with me, and if the old one were to be stolen and not sent back, I'd have to pay $300.00!! and finally (i hope..) 3. My wedding ring - I didn't want to have to worry about losing it in Mexico, or it being too flashy where I'd end up getting robbed or something...

I should mention, that i don't usually hide things, and I don't have regular hiding places. When we got home, it hadn't occurred to me that I was missing anything. Everything looked normal, the house hadn't been robbed, the kitties were nice and plump and their water dish was full. Everything was fine.

The next morning, I had to go back to work. It was about quarter to 8 when I noticed my car keys were missing. Where are my car keys?!?! Poor husby who is sleeping soundly gets awaken to me panicking. "I was on time, now I'm late, have you seen my keys? Are they in your pants? What did you do with them?" Being the amazingly wonderful husby he is, he immediately gets out of bed and is helping me look for them. After a few minutes, I decide it's not worth all of this, and I grab a spare, kiss husby goodbye and head out the door.

After work, I went home and remembered I had hidden my keys and my phone but had no recollection at all of what I had done with my wedding ring. This is rare for me, I have an excellent photographic memory. I looked high and low. Literally, I looked in candles, the kitchen cupboards, the fridge, the silverware drawer, then finally found my car keys in the junk drawer in my kitchen! Still no phone or ring! I moved on to search the bathroom and then the bedroom. I finally found my phone in the bottom of my sock box! The bottom of my sock box?!?! What the heck was I thinking?? Augh!

This morning, after looking for a week, i found my precious wedding ring.... in my jewelry box! All has been found, I think, but then again, I have no idea what I hid or where I hid it. As you can probably tell, the Mexican vacation was very much needed and did the trick by erasing my at-home stresses.