NaBloPoMo...

I am going to try something new! NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month. You blog everyday for a month on the theme that they suggest and it encourages you to make a habit of blogging everyday and you have a chance to win a $20 gift certificate at the end of the month.

The theme for April is LETTERS and I can interpret that into whatever I want! So here's to a wonderful month of letters!

♥ Elliemae

Weekend Recap...

Where did the weekend go? It really went by too fast!

Friday
afternoon, when I got home from work, I helped Jeremy finish up the backyard. One of his tenants moved out and left a ton of astro-turf. We put it in our backyard and it looks great. It looks like golf course grass! We picked up Lil'D and played on the new turf. Lil'D had fun. Jeremy left for his soccer at 6:45. Lil'D went to bed at 7:30 and I decided I was going to clean the entire house!! This is what I got done:

• organized all my clothes in the closet
• cleaned up my entire bedroom
• washed and dryed the bath rugs
• washed and dryed all white clothes
• washed all dark clothes
• bleached all the kitchen counters
• cleaned the dining room table with glass cleaner
• unloaded the dishwasher, reloaded and ran it
• picked up all of Lil'Ds toys

I finally sat down at 10:30pm. I was tired! Jeremy got home at about 10:45 from his soccer game. They had made the playoffs and lost.

Saturday
we had planned on finishing up the turf in the backyard, but Jeremy's brother needed help with replacing his water heater. Jeremy, Jeremy's brother and Jeremy's dad worked on that water heater all day. Things kept happening and they needed more supplies, they finally finished at 6pm. Jeremy was exhausted and had lost his voice. He had caught a cold. Lil'D and I walked to Jamba Juice with Auntie E and the kids (Andy, Z, & Nate). The kids wore Lil'D out. They bought everyone pizza for lunch. They also bought dinner. We had Pat & Oscar's...yummy. Jeremy and I did absolutely nothing on Saturday night. I had taken a nap when Lil'D did so I wasn't tired and stayed up till 1am. That is all we did all day.

Sunday we slept in. Lil'd let me sleep until about 7:50am. Lil'D and I had breakfast, cleaned up his room, watched The Doodlebops and the Mickey Mouse Club, finished all the laundry that need washing, drying and then folded it all. Jeremy finally got up at about 10:45am. He took us to Soup Plantation for lunch. It was yummy. Lil'D had lots of salad with ranch. He still doesn't like bread. He wouldn't try the soup yet either. He was hesitant to try the ice cream. I got him a little in a mini cone. I took the top off and gave the cone to him and he was stickin his finger in it. Then he decided he liked it and ate the whole thing. Then he wanted bites of Jeremy's. He couldn't get enough of that! After lunch we went to the grocery store. Lil'D rode in the cart with a car attached and seemed to get bored with it this time. He was ready to get out when we were done. After the grocery store we went home, put all the groceries away and it was time to put Lil'D down for a nap. J and I did nothing...totally relaxed! Lil'D woke up at 4:15. We went to Jeremy's parents house for my family birthday party. Jeremy's mom made a strawberry cake for me. It was yummy! By the way, Lil'D loves cake! He entertained everyone with his tiger growl and his jumping off of the piano bench. He would jump to his feet and then fall forward onto his stomach and laugh and look at everybody. He had everyone's attention. He also answered a very important question this weekend:

Mommy: What is your favorite color?

Lil'D: RED!

He doesn't know his colors yet, but he knew, very insistently, that RED was his favorite color. When we got home from the birthday party Jeremy and Lil'D chased each other throughout the house. They were both worn out. Lil'D got his bath and went to bed without a peep. Jeremy and I had the lights out at 9pm, we were tired and wanted to get a good night sleep before the week started.

Until tomorrow

♥ Elliemae

Mom song...

This is halarious!

♥ Elliemae

Bathtime with Lil'D...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thursday Thirteen ~ second edition...

13 Things I see everyday...

1. My alarm clock - 5:30am.
2. My sweet 21 month old son's big blue eyes.
3. My Kathy Van Zeeland handbag...I love handbags! I could buy a new handbag everyday.
4. I-15 South...EVERYDAY!
5. 6 coffee shops on my drive to work...I don't stop at one! Believe me, I want to, but I'm trying not to spend unneccessary money on coffee.
6. The big beautiful glass door that leads into my place of employment. I love where I work. I am 2 blocks from the ocean. Our entire storefront is glass and inside that glass are beautiful kitchen displays made of exotic veneer such as Block Mottled Macre and Curley Figured Avidure.
7. The stainless steel coffee dispenser at work...only 3/4 cup with french vanilla creamer. It's not heavenly or anything, but it gets me through my morning with no change out of my pocket!
8. My best friend Chica. Her office is right next door to mine. We have been best friends for 10 years. We have always worked together. That is how we met. It's so wonderful to have your best friend at work with you, especially when I'm having a bad day. The only downside...we don't spend enough time with each other outside of work.
9. Plans...whether its floorplans, elevations, plumbing plans, electrical plans, cabinetry..some kind of plans are always on my desk.
10. Traffic, traffic, traffic...who doesn't, but I see it EVERYDAY.
11. The evil tv! There is usually always something on that I like to watch. I will leave my favorites to another Thursday, but last night I was catching up on The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I really like that show. The finale was over 2 weeks ago and I just got to it last night.
12. My sweet husband's beautiful blue eyes. He is my soulmate, my best friend and I wouldn't want to face life without him
13. My strawberry chapstick. I put it on every night before I turn the light out. I am addicted to chapstick. I could probably write a Thursday thirteen on places I have my chapsticks stashed...mmmm.

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Wordless Wednesday...

Go to Wordless Wednesday to see more photos!

Blow out...

God is so watching over me. I took Lil'D to daycare and drove to work. As I was driving around looking for a parking space, my tire blew out. I am so glad that it didn't happen on the freeway! One of the guys at work changed my tire and put on my spare for me. I have 48,000 miles on these tires. I think I need four new ones.

At work I am working on MustardStone plans. I am labeling and dimensioning all the plumbing rough and finish valves. I am don't know plumbing that well, but I do my best. I really rely on the installers to help me out with this. The plumbing fixtures were ordered in 2005. (not by me) These fixtures were all delivered to the client's airplane hanger. It all finally got delivered to Montana last year. Because of the time span and how many times it has been moved, there are pieces missing. I will be working on this puzzle for a while.

I just had our big client call me personally to thank me for something I had done for him yesterday. This client has a condo by the beach-2 blocks from our office, a huge cabin in Wyoming, a huge condo in the works in Montana-MustardStone, a hacienda in Cabo San Lucas, a huge condo in the works in Cabo and now he is buying a home here in Southern California in a certain affluent area. "Senior Designer" had me call a particular school district to ask them all sorts of questions for the clients 2 boys in 1st grade and 3rd grade. They are currently living in the Cabo hacienda and want to get the kids back in school in the US. I emailed him all the info. I kind of did this with a bad attitude yesterday because that is not a part of my job description and why isn't the mother doing this. I did it because I didn't want to portray myself as a brat or too good to do certain tasks. The phone call made me feel really appreciated, especially that it was from the client himself and not from "Senior Designer."

That's my day so far. I get off at 3pm today. Here are my plans so far:

• clean master bathroom countertop and toilet
• clean kitchen
• sweep kitchen
• pick up everything in our bedroom
• wash a load of clothes
• make dinner
• go for walk with Jeremy & Lil'D
• in a perfect world I would like to go to bed at 9pm, 9:30 may have to do.

-Until tomorrow.

Have you had your coffee this morning...

I have and I've got so much energy. This is really a strange thing for me, especially on a Monday. First, want to give you my weekend recap:

Friday
we picked up Lil'D at 3:30pm and headed north to Carlsbad. Auntie E and her family had been camping there all week for Spring Break. Today was a perfect day to go. It was the warmest day so far this week. I got some great shots of Lil'D and the sunset:

Saturday
Lil'd let us sleep til 8am!! Wa-hoo. We went by to see Grandma & Grandpa Ham. We needed to borrow the weed eater. We got lunch, got home and Lil'D napped! Jeremy & I cleaned up the backyard. We had tons of weeds. Next weekend we are goint to be putting turf in our backyard. One of Jeremy's tenents left behind this great turf and Jeremy has to rip it out and get rid of it, so we will be putting it in our backyard! It's going to be wonderful for Lil'D! I can't wait to show you when it is complete!

We went to Saturday Easter service. We knew that Sunday services would just be packed so why deal with that with Lil'D. Service was really nice. Grandma Ham worked in the nursery, so Lil'D got to spend some good grandma time with her. After service we went to Blockbuster and rented some movies. After Lil'D went to bed we watched Enchanted. It was a great movie!! I absolutely loved it.

Sunday
we went to the grocery store. It was weird to go on Easter Sunday, but what can you do...Sunday is our grocery day. We got one of those carts with the car on it and Lil'D was entertained the whole time. He really liked it alot. I was really hot. 85 degrees hot. Now, I don't mean to complain because I know that there are alot of people that would love to see this kind of weather. I sweat really easily, so I was kind of miserable. We don't have air conditioning. Once I got the fans situated and sat on the couch with my magazine, I was very happy.

We went to Grandma & Grandpa Ham's for Easter dinner. The whole family was there:

• J's big brother B, his wife and their 4 kids.
• J's middle brother R, his wife (Auntie E) and their 3 kids.
• J's little sister
• J's Mom & Dad (Grandma & Grandpa Ham)
• J, me and Lil'D

That makes 17. It was a nice dinner. We also celebrated Nate's 10th birthday. Nate is Auntie E's youngest son. His real birthday was on the 3rd of March. Next weekend they will be celebrating my birthday. That means a strawberry cake will be baked! Yum! After dinner Lil'D entertained everyone. He was so much fun to watch. I haven't uploaded those photos to Flickr yet. He was also showing everyone where his belly button was. Too cute!

Happy Easter!

The saddest day...

Melissa at PinkPaper Peppermints wrote an incredible post and I really wanted to share it with you!

"I woke up this morning and the first thing I thought was,

"This must have been the saddest day in history."

The second day.

The day that Peter and John, Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jesus,
woke up and remembered what happened.

That Jesus was dead.

dead.

I just started crying. I don't know why I've never thought about *this* day
before. The second day.

You know, I've often thought how amazing it must've been to be one of Jesus'
disciples.

Imagine, getting to walk next to Him,
Hear His laugh.
Give Him a hug.
Ask Him questions.

And then this morning I realized that they also had to go through this day. The
in-between day. The not knowing day...

...the heartache of thinking that the Man they believed was not only the future
King, but God Himself...had been crucified and was laying in a dark, cold tomb.

...fighting the gut-wrenching fear and doubt...

I'm so glad this is just one day in history.

I'm so glad that Jesus didn't stay dead.

That death couldn't keep Him.

That He arose victorious over death, hell and the grave.

I love the relationship that I have with Him now. Even though I didn't get to hold
His hand and walk down the beach with Him while He talked about the love of
God for me....

I get to do that everyday now. Every. day.

I get to experience a *relationship* with GOD.

Because of what He did.

Taking my guilt and shame and washing it away with the blood of His Son.
Redeeming and restoring my relationship with Himself in only the way He could
do it.

He did that for you too.

He wants to know you. To laugh with you and listen to your heart and share His
with you.

You can have that if you want it.

Just ask Him.

Not that there won't be "second days" in your life anymore.

We still have those. The days in-between that we don't know what's going to
happen and we're afraid.

BUT

when you have that relationship with Him you can call out to Him on the "second
days" in your life

and He's there

with comfort

and peace

and grace.

It is an amazing experience to meet God and walk with Him daily.

I hope and pray that every single person that reads this experiences it.

"Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are
those who have not seen and yet have believed."-John 20:29

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." -Romans 3:23

"...the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ
our Lord." -Romans 6:23

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness." -1 John 1:9

"For Christ also has suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might
bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:" -1
Peter 3:18

"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if anyone hears my voice, and opens the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." -Revelation
3:20"

I hope that this had the same effect on you as it has had on me!

Until tomorrow

Thirteen Thursday ~ first edition...

13 Things about me in years...

1. I have been reading The Chronicles of Narnia for over 1 year now. I have 2 chapters left...16 pages!
2. I have been a Mommy for 2 years on June 16.
3. I have been blogging for 3 years on August 26.
4. I have been driving a white Chevy Avalanche for 4 years on June 22.
5. I have been working for my current employer "Senior Designer" for 9 years on November 6.
6. I have been married for 10 years on June 6.
7. I have lived in San Diego, California for 12 years in August.
8. I have been a kitchen designer for 13 years on October 30.
9. I twirled for almost 20 years of my life. Kindergarten thru College.
10. I lived in Nacogdoches, Texas for 23 years.
11. I have been a sister for 26 years on February 9.
12. I have been collecting shot glasses for 30 years. I started when I was 5. I have kind of stopped because I have no where to put them all.
13. I have been a daughter for 35 years on March 9.
    
    

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Until tomorrow!

Shut the front door...

I just found this blog today and there was so much about food I am starving right now. I liked it so much I added it to my Google Reader. You have got to go to Cooking...by the seat of my Pants! He has a brand new, shiny iPod touch. OOooooo, AAaaaaaa! I want one! I really want one. Have I told you I want one?

Head on over there and you could try to win it too...I guess I will share. Have fun!!

Let's have a tea party...

I'm always up for tea!!! Mommies United is having a tea party and invited us to join the fun!

Tea Selections:

1. Organic Yerba Mate by Eco Teas. What is Yerba Mate? Yerba Mate is a holly tree native to the rainforests of South America. Its leaves are brewed into a vital green beverage: mate (say mah-tay). Mate is the national drink of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. I have it with one splenda and a couple of drops of honey. Yummy! This tea is a natural energy and fitness tea. It raises your metabolism, regulates appetite, aids digestion, supports an active lifestyle and provides antioxidants, minerals, amino acids a& B vitamins.
   
2. Madagascar Vanilla Red by Celestial Seasonings. Located off the southeastern coast of Africa, the island of Madagascar increasngly relies on agriculture as a source of economic growth. Madagascar is the world's largest producer of vanilla and is responsible for more than half the global export market for the extract. Rooibos (Afrikaans for "red tea") is an herb tea made from the foliage of a hardy shrub grown only in South Aftrica's Cederberg mountains. madagascar Vanilla Red blends 100% natural vanilla with mellow rooibos to make a smooth, satisfying brew. It's also naturally caffeine free! Cake:
   
   

A lovely GIANT cupcake. A Wilton Giant Cupcake cake pan was used!

And a scrumptious Red Velvet cake recipe from Martha Stewart:

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, softened, for pans
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for dusting
2 1/2 cups cake flour, not self-rising
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons white vinegar
(the above makes 5 cups of batter)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter pans; line with parchment paper. Butter lining; dust with cocoa, tapping out excess. Set aside. Whisk together flour, salt, and cocoa in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Mix sugar and oil on medium speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk until combined. Add eggs one at a time; mix well after each addition. Mix in food coloring and vanilla. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with flour, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed.
3. Stir together baking soda and vinegar in a small bowl. Add baking-soda mixture to batter, and mix on medium speed 10 seconds. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake until a cake tester inserted into centers comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool completely in pans on wire racks.
   

I really want some cake now!! This post has made me hungry!

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday...

It's Party time AGAIN...

There are so many fun things going on in Bloggyville. I came across this new site a couple of weeks ago and they are having a Mega Launch Party!!

If you are visiting for the first time...Welcome! My name is Elliemae. Well not really, that is my blogville name. I have a 21 month old adorable little boy. That would be Lil'D. I have been married to my most awesome husband, best friend and soulmate for 10 years! He goes by J or Jeremy. I can't seem to keep him anonymous. It is just a habit to type his whole name. I am a full time working Mommy who loves to blog, read, and crochet. I am cursed with a creative brain that I wish I had more time for. I always have too many projects going and not enough finished. I have been a kitchen designer for 13 years. And...since I pretty much have to work, I am so blessed to REALLY LOVE MY JOB.

I love visiting Mommy Blogs! It is such an indulgence for me. Since my time is so rare on to the things I like to do in my spare time is visit these blogs. Sharing ideas, parenting tips, telling funny stories, reaching out for support and just sharing our day with each other is just what I need when I am winding down! I found some really fun places to visit through all these blog parties. I hope to get some new friends!!

Of course, what would a party be without prizes. Here are the top four prizes I have my eye on:

• Alli's Originals $35 gift certificate
• ImagiPLAY wooden puzzle
• Topless undershirt from Blush! These are really cool! They just don't make shirts long enough these days!
• A blue minky dot lovey from Alex Casey Baby

There are so many prizes to choose from! Please head on over to Mommies United and join in all the fun! It's going on for 2 weeks!!

-Until tomorrow

Boo on Mondays...

How is everyone on this beautiful Monday morning? It is a clear, crisp and perfect day here is southern California. Mondays are so hard to get through sometimes!! We had a really fun weekend!

Friday
after work I got my haircut and went shopping for a birthday present. Lil'D was invited to Lil'Rs 1st birthday party on Saturday. I found a fun Melissa & Doug wooden puzzle and a Thomas the Train book. I picked up Lil'D and finally walked in the door at about 5pm. Lil'D asked for yogurt and waffles. Why not? It was just Lil'D and I. My best friend, Chica, came over at about 5:30. We talked and played with Lil'D for a bit then went to Target. I had to get a gift bag. We scoped the toy isles with Lil'D and checked out all the Easter stuff. We found the cutest Easter baskets. It was so hard to resist all that Easter stuff. I only ended up buying bunny ears from the dollar area. I did good! Chica went home at 7:15. I gave Lil'D a bath and we watched our nighttime shows. Lil'D was out like a light. I stayed up til 12:30am. It was nice "me" time. I watched my tv shows, caught up on all my blog readings and read a little Chronicles of Narnia. I had survived the evening :)

Saturday
morning Lil'D woke up at around 7:30. I took a shower, fixed my hair and got completely ready before getting him up. We had apple strawberry oatmeal and yogurt. This kid LOVES yogurt! I cleaned up everything from breakfast, packed a bag and headed out for a little Lil'D and Mommy time! We went to Toys R Us. Once we got to the cars and trucks that have push buttons on them and make noise. Lil'D was in heaven. We looked at monster trucks, ambulances, firetrucks and motorcycles. We pushed every button, pulled every lever and touched everything that would move. I managed to avoid the whole bicycle, tricycle, "anything that you could ride on" isle. I found an abacus for $9.99. Lil'D is so into counting right now. Lil'D left the store with no problem. We headed over to IKEA. I went straight to the kid section upstairs. He went down the slide about 50 times. He was laughing and giggling the whole time. There were two mean kids. One put his hand on Lil'Ds face and was pushing him back. I intervened. Another one stood in the way and wouldn't move. His mama made him move. There were also these really fun pod like chairs that would spin, a see-saw and a rockin' horse. Lil'D tested all these as well. He wore that slide out. He was still going while all the other kids had left. It was a very popular area. It was finally time for us to go and Lil'D wasn't happy about it. Once we got into the elevator he was ok. I got him lunch, got him home and then put him down for his nap by 12. That slide wore him out pretty good. I made a card for the birthday boy, got myself dressed and ready, and got Lil'D up at 2pm. I got him dressed and out the door. We got to the party at 2:25. Here is my little cowboy:

Lil'D was a little unsure of this. After about 20 seconds he was "all done." I'm so glad I got this picture before he got off.

Here's my little sheriff! Look at that cute little smirk on his face. He is such a ham when I have the camera!

We finally got a bandanna on him. If only I could have gotten him with the hat, the badge and the bandanna! You know how toddlers are, can't keep them still or everything on. We had a great time at Lil'Rs party. Lil'D and I headed home and played the evening away. Lil'D went to bed without any fuss. I wore him out with all the toys and horses! J finally got home at 11:30pm. J and his friend Merchant had gone over to Arizona to watch the Padres spring training. He won the trip on the radio! They sent them on a bus, put them up in a hotel and paid for a couple of dinners. A little mini vacation for him.

Sunday
morning we all had a hard time getting up. Lil'D didn't even wake up until about 8. We went to Wal-Mart. Good 'ol Wal-Mart. The Easter bunny was there. Lil'D said hi. He said hi to everyone in Wal-mart. We ate lunch together and then went home and played with Lil'D. He was playing a lot by himself. He is really into pushing cars and trucks around. It's really nice that he can entertain himself. I put him down for a nap at 1:30. I had a little me time and was reading my new Real Simple magazine. I fell asleep for 2 hours. I must have been really tired because I do not like naps at all! I managed to get my grocery list done and my menu set for next week. We got Lil'D up and set out to Blockbuster and the grocery store. Lil'D got to ride in the carts with the car attached to them. He absolutely loved it and was entertained the entire grocery trip. We got Pick Up Stix for dinner. We used a coupon!! We are so into coupons right now!! We ate dinner, gave Lil'D a bath and then it was bedtime. Lil'D didn't get to bed till 8. J and I vegged out in front of the tv. We watched Awake with Jessica Alba and Hayden Christensen. I liked it a lot. I am not a Hayden Christensen fan. But this was a good character for him. He was definitely not worthy enough to play Anakin Skywalker! Anyway...we went to bed at 10pm. I'm not happy about that. I really wanted to get to bed by 9pm. I need sleep!

Monday
just got here too soon. Everyone is on Spring Break around here. The traffic was really light this morning. I was still running a half hour behind. I got up this morning at 5:50am. I HAVE GOT TO GET UP AT 5:30 tomorrow morning!!!! I've got to stop being late!!! Luckily, everyone at work arrives at 8:30am. I am the only one that gets there at 7:30, so no one really notices. My timesheet and my paycheck notices though. Senior Designer was preparing to go to Montana today. I had to get together some billing for him and print out all the plans he needed. He was meeting the client at the airport to fly out on his private jet. The client's private jet, that is. I gave Senior Designer invoices for $56,000. That is all for design time. We have five different projects going for this client and we are just billing him for our design time right now. MustardStone cabinets are about to be ordered. We are in the revision stage. Today is my long day. I can leave at 5pm. Off to get more work done....

~Until tomorrow

TGIF...

My day...

The work day went by so fast. Before I knew it 3pm was here! Love those kind of days. Unless I'm under an impossible deadline. J and I went to pick up Lil'D together. We visited Grandma & Grandpa Ham for about an hour. We got Easter plans and my birthday scheduled with the family. We also talked about a possible vacation. Grandma & Grandpa had a tax appointment they had to get to. We went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Yummy. Lil'D is so well behaved in restaurants. He played with a little toy car until the food came. By the time we got home we only have a half hour to play, then it was bath time. Lil'D was tired and ready to go night, night. We didn't hear a peep from him when we closed the door at 7:45. I sewed some buttons on a shirt. It has been on my list since Thanksgiving. Yeah, me. I'm wearing the shirt to work tomorrow...FINALLY. I watched Make Me A Supermodel, Celebrity Fit Club, and Lost. Wonderful brainless tv watching. We didn't get to bed until 10:30pm. This has got to stop. I'm never going to catch up with my sleep at this rate. I've got to get to bed by 9 or 9:30 one night soon, or I'm gonna crash.

Vacation...

We are thinking Panguitch, Utah. Camping in the motorhome. We had lots of fun when we went in 2004. This time we will have Lil'D. Lil'D will have so much fun he won't know what to do. I am looking forward to fishing on the lake the most. Ahh...nice and relaxing. We will be going on vacation sometime in the last two weeks of August. More specifically, August 20. Yeah, something to look forward to.

Lil'D...

His vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds everyday. When we went to Grandma & Grandpa Ham's he immediately remembered that their golden retriever's name was Samson. He spotted the vacuum right away. Vacuum, vacuum. Grandpa has lots of trains. Lil'D even remembered what the piano was called by himself. It is so much fun to watch him explore and discover.

Until tomorrow

I am still about 1/2 and hour behind...

Yesterday...

was a super busy day for me. I only saw Lil'D for a total of 1 1/2 hours today. I dropped Lil'D off at daycare at 7:20am. (I am still 30 minutes behind because of daylight saving time) I worked till 5pm. I got home at 5:40. We took Lil'D over to Auntie E's at 6pm. J and I made a fruit salad and fresh steamed green beans. We had a potluck at small group. We left the house at 6:50 and arrived at 7pm. It was a really nice spread. It was nice to just relax and socialize. I missed Lil'D a lot though. We left at 9pm and picked up Lil'D at 9:25pm. We got him him and in bed and he fell right back to sleep. He's such a sweet little angel! I am so in love with him. I really missed him. We decided not to take him to potluck because it is so hard for us to socialize if we have him with us. And one of us doesn't really get to eat dinner. The stairs at PK's house is the biggest problem. Lil'D loves stairs but I have to watch him the entire time because he's not used to them and might fall. J and I fell into bed at a little after 10pm. I just wish that one night I could get to bed at 9pm. I've got to catch up.

My nights...

I have been dreaming strange dreams all week. I don't know why. Weird!

Monday night I can't remember what, but it was weird.

Tuesday night I dreamt about being out in the old west and we ambushed a house of a really wealthy bad guy. We kind of took over his entire house. We could see the sheriff coming in the distance and we took as much as we could with us. Then we were at a waterpark and when I would go down a slide some of the bumps would throw me in the air and I would fly over stuff and then fall back in the water.

Wednesday night I dreamed about J and I were kind of like camp counselors and we had our own room and bathroom. We also had some people from small group in another room. Two girls, LC & EM, were up playing a game. Kaydee was walking around the room and there was a huge bucket of water overhead and she was curious about it and pulled on some chains and the bucket tipped and water flooded everywhere. We were in up to our waist in water. EM wanted something to make tea in for LC. I went to go hunt for a container. When I got to my room someone was breaking into our bathroom from behind the cabinets. It was an old co-worker from Home Depot Expo. (I used to work there 9 years ago) I made her get out and told her I was going to call the police. She couldn't just break in like that. There was also like a department store outside of our room and the salespeople were very disheveled and rebellious. I was very bossy to them and told them to get it together. This was completely unacceptable. They told me that this ladies house over her was completely organized and so much better than mine. It was my sister-in-law. (J's other brother's wife, not Auntie E) I told everyone what she had paid for that to be there at camp. After a long time of looking for that tea container I went back to the store and everyone had cleaned up and was a lot nicer to me. W.E.I.R.D!!! J said that I was really restless this morning.

I have got to stop dreaming. It is making me so tired!

My coffee...

I stopped to get a Starbucks this morning. I do this once every 2 months or so. I asked about the new Honey latte. He suggested I stay with the Vanilla latte because I like a lot of sweet flavor. I didn't pay attention what size he gave me. When I picked up the drink it was a venti. I NEVER get a venti. I probably paid $8(exaggerated) for that coffee. I felt so stupid. Oh well. I just blew my coffee budget for the rest of the month ( I only get one coffee a week).

-Until tomorrow!

There's a Blog Party goin' on...

Hi! I'm Elliemae and you may have been transported to my wonderful day from 5 Minutes for Mom! I'm so glad you decided to stop by. I am a little late in joining the party. I finally got a moment of peace and quiet to write a party post!

Wife, Mama, San Diegan...

I am a full time working Mom. I try to find time here and there to keep a simple journal of my life to let family and friends know what I'm up to. J, my husband of almost 10 years, is my best friend and soulmate. We have S.O. much fun together! J was born and raised in San Diego. I have been a San Diegan for almost 12 years. I am originally from a small town in Texas. Our son, Lil'D, is 21 months. He is jabberin' up a storm right now. It's so amazing to have small conversations with him. We have 2 cats: Dark, an orange tabby, she is 12 years old. Shadow, a black tuxedo, she is only 2 years old. Shadow keeps Dark young. (and really angry because she won't leave Dark alone.)

Work...

I feel very blessed that since I have to work that I have a job that I love. I have been a kitchen designer for 13 years. Specifically, I am the design assistant to the owner of a small, high end remodeling firm. My strong point is N.O.T. meeting with clients, that is why I am an assistant. I have no desire to be a lead designer...ever. I L.O.V.E. being behind the scenes. I go to client meetings with my boss usually to take notes and measure. Once we leave that jobsite, the job is all mine. I lay everything out in AutoCAD. I love to space plan. It is what I was born to do. I re-arranged my room almost every month as a kid. I design the floorplans, elevations, and electrical plans. I don't just design kitchens either. I design, baths, entertainment centers, outdoor bbqs, bedroom furniture, libraries, bars, wine cellars...you name it I design it. Once the designs are approved we move on to style of cabinetry. My boss does all this. I have my own opinions about what I like, but I'm not good at telling other people what to like. Once the style of cabinetry is chosen I put together a proposal package. I price out EVERYTHING from the custom veneers, woods, plumbing, electrical, appliances, countertops, flooring and much, much more. Once the client has signed the proposal package I submit working drawings to our cabinet shop. We go back and forth with revisions until it is perfect. Meanwhile, I start to project manage the jobsite, making sure it is ready for installation. I manage the sub-contractors and the installers during the entire installation. Once the job is complete it can look like this. I really love my job!

Creative, Favorite color, Hobbies...

I am a super-creative person. My only problem is I don't have enough time so sometimes my creative brain is a curse to me. My favorite color is PINK. My favorite crafting time is spent crocheting right now. I have just recently made two of the no-sew fleece blankets. Those are so awesome. I've got it down to one hour. I love to read, again not enough time in the day. I have about 60 pages left in the Chronicles of Narnia. I have been reading this book for over a year. I am so ready for a new book!! I have also been dabbling in making some jewelry. We will see where that goes, but again my time is so valuable I have to spread it out. I love handbags and Hello Kitty. The handbag I am carrying right now is Kathy Van Zeeland. I have Hello Kitty hanging from my rear view mirror. I try to keep her to a minimum...but I lover her so much!

So, now that I finally joined in the fun I have my list of what prizes I like best:

#74 - The Paper Goodies & Baker's Twine from Pink Paper Peppermints. I so love her site. It's just so yummy with all it's beautiful color, fabric, projects!

#11 - $40.00 gift certificate to Good For Kids. I love everything on this website! It is full of beautiful wooden toys, adorable stuffed animals and so many other cool stuff!

#58 - customized 6 Week Fitness Plan from Go Workout Mom. I would love this...with my schedule I really need help!!

I also love: #7, #72, #135, #111, #109, #103, #62. In that order!!!

Hope you enjoyed your stay in my day. See you tomorrow!

My birthday weekend...

This weekend has been a great birthday weekend.

ON FRIDAY...

I got off work at 1:30 and headed to whole foods for some special things I needed like organic brown rice, all natural blueberry waffles and yerba mate tea. For lunch lately I love steamed rice. It is my favorite. I mix it up with a salad here and there but I just love the rice. The waffles are for Lil'D. If he's gonna have waffles for breakfast, they are gonna be the best kind I can find for him. I usually get a box of homestyle and a box of blueberry. I try to get organic, but they didn't have any so I settled for all natural. I also like getting the all natural french toast from Trader Joe's. Lil'D really likes those. So, he basically eats waffles and french toast for breakfast every morning. I rotate them everyday. On the weekends he gets oatmeal, rice krispies, cereal bars, yogurt or fruit. The only breakfast item I give him that is not all natural or organic is rice krispies. He's gotta have some fun food every now and then.

After whole foods I had a wonderful sandwich from Schlotsky's. It was a treat. There is a Ross and Marshall's right next to Schlotsky's so I thought I would treat myself to a little shopping time. There is nothing like a Ross that I haven't combed in a couple of months. Oh, the treasure you can find. I found a great basket for our shoes at the back door, for only $12.99. I have been living with an ugly shoe rack in our kitchen. I have really hated it in there. This new basket I found is about 18" tall and 24" wide with a lid on it and a liner. It looks SO much better!!

I also found a new shirt for work. It was only $6.99. Woo-hoo, what a deal. I scoped the toys and found a mega block helicopter for Lil'D for $6.99. He absolutely loved it. He is so into airplanes and helicopters right now. I had a really nice time. When I got home we had dinner and J left for his soccer game at 6:30. Lil'D and I played, then I gave him a bath. We watched Fred & Fionna, Sali Mali and Tek. (don't ask, I'll tell you later) I put Lil'D to bed at 7:15pm. He was out like a light. I did nothing after I put Lil'D to bed. I just vegged in front of the tv and watched Celebrity Apprentic, Make Me A Supermodel and Survivor. I would have really loved to watch the last two episodes of Project Runway, but because the DVR just "decided" not to record them, I am waiting. I have the finale episode, but I don't have the one before. I have it "set" to record on Monday night. Hopefully it doesn't just "decide" not to record it again. Machines can be really annoying sometimes. J got home by 9:15. He won his soccer game 8-0. Wa-hoo go team! We went to bed at 11pm.

ON SATURDAY...

I woke up at 5:15am. I kept trying and trying to go back to sleep. At 6am I decided to get up. I organized my pantry. I had started spring cleaning last week and I still had some cabinets in the kitchen to go through. I actually got the pantry and the pot & pan cabinet done. I took a shower and got ready...I had a coffee date. There is nothing like having an hour to myself away from the hustle and bustle of my life. I had coffee with PK. We met at Starbucks. I had the BEST vanilla latte ever. It was probably so good because it had been a while since I had one. It was a really nice way to start the day. When I got home I started cleaning Lil'Ds room and thought of a new way to reorganize everything. I cleaned every nook an cranny, then it was nap time. I sat down to rest a little, but I just couldn't sit still. I started cleaning the office/guest bedroom. It was crazy how fast it all came together. J really didn't feel like cleaning, but once I started he came and helped. By the time Lil'D woke up, the office was clean. I just had to finish rearranging the furniture. Lil'D has 2 wagons. Grandma & Grandpa Ham gave him a wagon for his first Christmas and then J bought a wagon for the airshow. I put one of the wagons in Lil'Ds closet. He loves to climb in and out of it. He can't hit anything in the closet. I put the other wagon in the office and filled it with toys. I rotate Lil'Ds toys all the time, so he doesn't get tired of them. There is so much more room in Lil'Ds room now. J and I went to bed at 9:45. We were ready to get a head start on daylight savings time!

ON SUNDAY...

I woke up again at like 5:15am, but I managed to go back to sleep. I am so glad. We slept till 8:30am. We had decided not to go to church because Lil'D had the beginnings of a cold and we didn't want to put him in the nursery. I wanted to try and make Mimi's Corn Chowder Soup. I also put some things together in the crockpot for Beef Stew. I didn't get the soup done in time and by the time it was done it was too thin. We decided to go get lunch. We had Baja Fresh. While Lil'D took his nap, I went and got a manicure and pedicure for my birthday. It was very relaxing. I was the only one in the salon and I was the only one that didn't speak vietnamese. My toes look and fell awesome. The flowers are absolutely beautiful. The manicure was long overdue. I haven't had one since Mother's Day last year. I have recently stopped biting my nails. I have bit my nails since I was 5. I have quit numerous times, pregnancy being one time. After Lil'D was born I started biting again. What made me stop this time was when Lil'D grabed my finger to push a button on a toy. I saw what he saw and I hated it. I wanted pretty hands for him. They are pretty now.

After my "me" time, I sat on the couch and put together my new coupon organizer. I had to make labels and decide what sections to have. Just as I finished Lil'D woke up. We had the beef stew for dinner. It wasn't spectacular or anything. It was just ok. J is taking me out to dinner in 2 weeks instead of on my birthday. We decided it was best to make sure Lil'D got to bed on time each night so that maybe this cold wouldn't get him too bad. I think it worked. We will see later on in the week.

After dinner we went to Baskin Robbins and had ice cream. Lil'D had my favorite flavor, rainbow sherbert, for the first time. He has already had chocolate from J and loved it. The first bite he wasn't expecting it to be so cold, and didn't want anymore. But, after he saw me eating it, he tried more and loved it. It was a fun time. Lil'D kept saying ice cream, ice cream over and over again really loud.

That was our weekend. I really enjoyed it. I feel like I accomplished alot. It is a great feeling and I feel like old Elliemae is coming back around!!!

Until tomorrow!

This week is going by fast...

This week is going by really fast, work wise that's a great thing! House work wise it not great at all. I managed to get the countertop and the toilet cleaned in our bathroom. I still have to clean the floor and the shower. J cleaned everything in the guest bath except for the floor. We have stuck to the schedule with cleaning the bathrooms for two weeks now. Baby steps. That is what it is all about. I know a lot of people would think, big deal, you cleaned the bathroom. It is a big deal to me because J and I both work full time and every minute with Lil'D is so precious we don't want to do anything else but play and interact with him when we are not working. At 7:30pm, when Lil'D goes to bed, it is the HARDEST time to do any housework. All we want to do is rest and veg out on the couch and spend time together. House work just gets in the way!!! I am so lucky to have a husband like J. He goes in 50/50 with me on EVERYTHING! Cleaning, cooking, feeding Lil'D, bathing Lil'D, diapers, playing with Lil'D, picking up Lil'D, grocery shopping, ALL OF IT. He shares the responsibility with me selflessly!! He also plays on our men's church softball team and is the coach and plays on our church co-ed soccer team. These two activities are so important for him. It keeps him active and keeps him healthy, it gives him a stress-relief from work and life in general!

We also try to knock out a "project" of some kind on the weekend during Lil'Ds naptime. Last weekend we put up Lil'Ds curtains. This weekend we are securing the two bookcases to the wall in Lil'Ds room and we are also going to rearrange our entertainment center shelf to be more secure. Right now it is top heavy. We have a DVD player that stores 400 DVDs on the very top. This DVD player is about 9" tall. It's really heavy too. The bottom 2 shelves to this entertainment center are empty because Lil'D loves to push buttons. On the 3rd shelf from the bottom is the xbox 360 and the wii. Lil'D is pretty good about leaving those alone. He has discovered how the eject the game disks, but know that he will get in trouble if he does it. The 4th shelf from the bottom is our direct tv or dish network box and some other box. I don't know for sure, this is J's department. Lil'D can finally reach these boxes and knows exactly where the power button is and he will walk up to it and push it really fast and run away. He knows that he is not supposed to do this. But, when he pushed it last weekend the whole thing swayed. J and I didn't like the way that looked at all, so we will be changing it this weekend. On the 5th shelf is the stereo tuner, whatever you call it. It controls the tv volume and the surround sound. It is also about 9" high and hopefully by the DVD player going to the bottom, it will even the weight out and not sway anymore. If this doesn't work completely we will figure out a way to bolt it to the wall.

Back to workin' for the weekend!

From the recipe box of CHEF Elliemae...

Recipe of the week:

Watch out...with my new schedule I am cooking dinner 3 times a week. I thought I would share this recipe!! It is really easy and really good! J loved it! Lil'D picked at it, but that's ok, he is picky right now.

CHICKEN BREAST IMPLANTS (cute name..ha ha)
30min. prep time, 45min bake time= 1 hour and 15min.

4 chicken breasts
1 pkg of ritz crackers
1 pkg crumbled feta cheese
basil
oregano
garlic
melted butter

Slice breast in half, then slice them long wise to make it like a "pocket."
Combine feta, basil, oregano and garlic in a container with lid, and shake.

Melt butter and put in bowl that you can dip the chicken in.
Crush package of ritz crackers to crumbs and put on a plate.

Dip each breast in butter so that both sides are covered, then roll in crackers.
Place breasts on a greased baking dish.

Fill each "pocket" with the feta mixture.
Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes or until chicken is done.

That's it. If I can make it, you can make it!! I even let PJ, my officemate taste it and she was impressed! Yeah, Elliemae is cooking!

NEXT WEEK: Bruschetta 'n Cheese-Stuffed Chicken Breasts.

What's goin' on...

I'm just not very good at being consistent lately. I've been meaning to blog for the past 4 days. I have lots to tell you about!

First, I changed my work hours. I've been working M-Thurs 7:30-5 & Friday 7:30-11am. I'm just gettin' burned out. So, Mondays and Wednesdays I'm working 7:30-5, Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm workin' 7:30-3, and Fridays 7:30-1:30. It may not seem like a big change, but last week on this schedule was a really nice change. On these "earlier" days, I go straight home and get some housework done and make dinner. J picks Lil'D up from daycare everyday. This little bit of "extra" time helps me get a head start on the weekend. I'm just really burned out on cleaning the house in one day. It's exhausting and no fun!

I crossed off a couple of projects off of my to do list that have worn out their spot! Lil'Ds window panels are up! It has taken me a year to finally get this done. I was originally going to make my own panels with charger fabric, but the first one I finished didn't look good at all. In desperation, I went to IKEA and they had a dark navy that was perfect, all I had to do was cut it in length. I repaired one of the cushions on the couch. It was separating at the corner cording. It was fixed in like 20 minutes. Last, I completed my second no sew fleece blanket in an hour and a half on Friday night. It turned out beautifully. It was for my best friend, Chica. Her birthday was last Sunday. She loves leopard skin, so it was perfect for her.

J has been tearin' up in the ebay world. He has sold 90% of our ebay pile. The only things he hasn't sold is a couple of hats, some journals and one purse. It has been amazing to watch. He is slowly but surely getting rid of the stuff we really don't ever use. I'm super happy about that, which leads to my next item...

I am spring cleaning. Every Monday is guest bath cleaning, every Tuesday is master bath cleaning and every Thursday is kitchen cleaning. After those basic items are done I am focusing on cleaning every inch of this house. Last week I focused on the dining room. I started out easy! This week I am focusing on the kitchen.

Lil'D is growing up before our eyes. His little personality is just bustin' out all over! He is talking up a storm. Here is his latest list:

thank you
very much
your welcome
again
all done
up
eat
snack
milk
water
chicken
yogurt
waffle
corn
beans
cracker
fish
apple
juice
ya-hoo
home
car
light
shadow
snowman
swing
ball
hi
hello
bye-bye
lion
sock
shirt
pants
shoes
mop
broom
walk
run
clap
circle
book
bubbles
bath
ready
go
grandma
grandpa
hug
high-five
more
please
one,two,three,four,five,six,seven, eight,nine,ten.

He counted to seven all by himself on Thursday. It was amazing. Tonight he started saying "thank you very much."

Ok, I haven't felt good today at all. I am catching a small cold. I am super tired and I can't breath. I am falling asleep in front of the monitor. That means it is time for sleep!