United we stand, divided we e-mail.

Today I got an e-mail that literally made my stomach fall. It had no typed words, just an attached picture for me to download.

I see this sort of stuff all the time, especially recently and this one disturbs me more than any other e-mail "forward" I've gotten in a long time. Why? Because some are equating their new President with the horrific and desperate act of suicide.

I have a (fairly distant) relative who committed suicide not long ago and I can assure you it was not over the President. That seems obvious, right? I just can't let it go that this "headstone" was made by someone who put such little thought into what that bottom word means.

I e-mailed back the person who sent this to me and I like to think I was level headed and to the point without being accusatory or a crazy liberal, but I hope that if you get this e-mail forward and you agree that you will carefully select who you send it to.

If you get this forward and are as disgusted as I am, thank you, I don't feel so alone in my shame of some of my fellow human beings.

:::::::::

Today has been a trying day for some reason. Jackson has officially welcomed his Terrible Two's into our home. I have asked Terrible Two's to be a nice guest and stay out of the way but it seems that he's just here for a long stay to be an asshole. He probably won't even pick up after himself.

:::::::::

I need a nap.

Finally, I found love.

Remember my very recent post about my stove? How someone (Eric) left a plastic bowl on the coil and it melted? Well, I didn't get much into the disdain I have for my stove. It is not fancy by any means, it doesn't even have an oven light for goodness sake! I won't even talk about how it lacks a timer or clock or even self cleaning capabilities. It's literally the cheapest model my home builder could find short of picking one up on the side of the road.

After I posted that blog my mother read it. This is nothing new, she reads my blog often (Hi Momma!) but the thing that makes this time special is that she was in the middle of the ocean on a large cruise ship, surfing the Internet and read my blog. How sweet, right? Well, it turns out that there was a Home Depot gift card sitting at my parent's house because they had returned some of the left over flooring from when I did my massive home improvements. Because my Momma read my blog she sent me a text when she got on dry land and told me to go get a new stove. Sweet Jesus, I literally thought I was going to jump out of my skin.

So, dear readers, I am here to sing the praises of my lovely stove and how if I could, I'd marry it. But I'm sure that's illegal because some people think they need to be in the bedrooms of others unnecessarily.

Behold....the love of my life for the moment:

Excuse the fingerprints smack dab in the middle of the back of the newest addition to my household. I was too excited to notice them until now. These prints belong to the gentleman who installed (read: plugged in) my range. This is the same gentleman who saw me in my pj's and pink fuzzy slippers.

Do you see it? FIVE places for pots! FIVE, PEOPLE!!! The middle spot in the back is a warming burner! It keeps things warm! And the front two burners can be either small or large! And I got a smooth surface cook top instead of burners! (Can I add any more exclamation points!?)

Oh, it's so shiny. Even with my horrible picture taking capabilities. This range has an oven light, self cleaning, a clock AND a timer! I've hit the mother load.

See! Warming zone!

I was extremely fortunate that my brother and sister-in-law came with me to help in the selection process and I was able to get the best deal for my price point. Also, they helped to save me 20% off the list price which makes me even happier. I cook almost every single day, often more than once a day so this new appliance is sure to make life a tad easier and Lord knows I need all the help I can get.

As for the old range, I plan in fixing the coil and donating it to Habitat For Humanity.

:::::::::

This is not even remotely related but do you guys watch The Biggest Loser? Did you absolutely CHEER when (evil) Vicky's husband was sent packing?

Can I talk about money for a second? Oh, and a makeover.

I've been tracking my spending, every red cent, for about three weeks now. I'm eleven days from adding up all the columns and falling over dead at the shock. When I decided to track what I spend, I knew I'd be surprised a little, sure, but I had no idea that I might be looking at needing CPR to bring myself back to life.

I've actually been mindful of what I've been spending and careful that I don't go crazy. Hell, I bought the $1.39 container of cooking spray as opposed to the fancy $3.79 container. That counts right? But I think I may have screwed myself this month with eating out which I rarely do. Eating out for me is a treat, it just doesn't happen often. But since I've been on vacation for the last few weeks I've been splurging and eating the yummiest Thai foods and Taco Bell (lots of vegan options!) and pizza.

Oh and I also decided to revamp my boring bedroom. This costs money, sadly. Of all the rooms in my house, including bathrooms, my bedroom has remained untouched since I bought it in 2005. To keep myself in check I gave myself a budget for the entire room. Holy shit people, I'm making budgets left and right! Is it possible I'm becoming a REAL adult?

After purchasing (500 thread count Egyptian Cotton) sheets last night, a bed skirt and satin pillowcases (tacky?) I'm at a grand total of $109.84 and my budget is $500. What remains on my list of things to procure are as follows:

• Comforter. I have one picked out at Linens N Things and because that store is closing it's on sale, 20% off but I may wait it out and see if it will be discounted further. That's where I got the sheets from regularly $79.99 and I got them 20% off.
• Pillow shams. I want lots of pillows, ones to sleep on and ones that just look pretty. I want a Martha Stewart bed. Minus the Martha Stewart.
• Rug. Since I replaced the floor from carpet to wood I'd like an area rug around the bed to warm up the space some. I found one I liked at Target that's on sale through Saturday, but I think I'll hold off because it may not be the perfect rug.
• Paint. OK, I know this sounds so tacky but I want to paint the headboard wall gold. I'm sure I can buy gold colored paint. Trust me, in my head it's fabulous.
• Chair. My bedroom is quite large and I have room for a seating area. I want something comfy, medium sized and not expensive. Damn the budget.
• Small lamp. This is a maybe. I think a small table, lamp and the above chair would make a nice sitting area. But I'm still on the fence about it.
• Art. Even though I have art on the walls in my bedroom now, they are too small for the space and need to be moved. Plus, they won't fit in with my color scheme.
• Curtains. Curtains are my nemesis. I want drama but I know with drama comes a big price tag. And usually I hang curtains and hate them.
• Throw blanket. Momma gets cold at night in the winter and I'd love to have a coordinating blanket as opposed to the army green blanket I have now.

That's a lot for a budget of $500 isn't it? I'm already sweating! I'm up for thrifty ideas if you care to share.

Also, here are some pictures of what I have and what I'm thinking about getting. I'm always leery of sharing my design ideas because what if someone looks at it and thinks it's a sucky idea? I feel the same way about cooking for people, I don't want to be judged. (So much for the grown up feeling.)

The color scheme is a glacier blue, gold, browns and white.

This is the comforter and pillow cases I have my eye one. In person it's a pretty slightly shiny glacier blue. I love the alternating monochromatic stripes in different sheen's. To me, it looks rich. And the comforter is plush and not at all flimsy. I don't want all the bedding to be this color. I want accent pillows in brown and gold and white. The bed skirt will be a crisp white. God, I know it sounds awful doesn't it? But in my head it sounds lovely.

Here are the gold satin pillowcases I got. I think the color combination will be lovely with the whites and browns.

See the top sheet? In white? That's what I got yesterday. The 4Th sheet from the top is the same color as the comforter.

And lastly, here's the rug I'm eyeing. It's way out of proportion, but you can see the idea. It has the shades of the blue and brown. I'm not normally a floral fan but this rug coordinates so well and I actually like the graphic pattern of the mums.

So far I've not even thought much about curtains. But if I paint the back headboard wall a gold color and keep the other walls white I'll probably get gold colored curtains or maybe white. See, I suck at curtains. So, what do you think? Lame? Perfect? I think I have enough colors to make it interesting if done right, but not so many colors that it won't be a restful place.

ETA: Sarah asked to see pictures of my bedroom. So I grabbed my camera, attempted to straighten the bed somewhat so it didn't look like someone was sleeping in the bed and took a few pictures. I'd like to point out that I'm a single mother to a toddler and a teenager and therefore my bedroom is my dumping ground for all things with no home. Feel free to feel bad for me instead of judge me.

Upon entering my bedroom:

That pile you see? I told Derick that I was confiscating all his clothes that he leaves on the floor and I now have a pile as tall at the dresser.
And a random roller skate. I have a todder, remember?

:::::::::

Also, thanks for the suggestions for my stupid coil on my stove. I have yet to attempt to fix it, but I will soon. But the only reason I'm fixing it now is because I want to sell it for a few bucks. That's right, I got a new stove!!!!!!!! I'm positively giddy! Pictures to follow soon because I know you want to see my new range.

Are you handy? Or maybe you could ask your husband?

I have a problem. It's a house problem and I honestly don't know how to fix it. I've been dealing with this for months now and I'm so embarrassed to say I've done little to remedy the issue. I thought I could figure out a way to fix it, because I try to be self sufficient as much as possible, but no amount of power tools or shop vacs will help me know.

Months ago I was cooking something on my (electric) stove top and someone (Eric) put a plastic bowl on my still warm burner and I didn't notice it until the bowl had melted over the entire coil.

I removed the coil from the stove and carried it to Home Depot and begged for assistance and they showed me where replacement coils were but apparently my cheap ass home builder left me with the shabbiest oven/stove in the history of appliances and I'd have to special order the coil for over $50.

What's really sucky about this is that it's my biggest burner so I've been cooking on the tiny, itty bitty burners for months. Why my stove only has one large burner and the others are tiny is more proof that my builder sucks and should have karma come bite them in the ass. While they are cooking on their billion dollar 8 large burner stove (covet!!).

So, ladies, can you help me? Can you tell me how to remove burned on plastic from a coil burner so I can just use it again instead of spending money on a new one? Maybe enlist your husband's to answer? Or send one of the over here? I pay in cookies.

Change starts now

It's 10:31 pm on November 4, 2008. Approximately 30 minutes ago it was declared that Barack Obama is our countries newest President elect. As I heard the news I walked around the living room pumping my fists in the air and felt goose bumps form on my arms. I thought of my Dad, far away on a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean , and hoped that he is watching the news while in his state room. I wanted to wake Derick up to tell him the news, to tell him that his new President has been elected. I felt proud to be one of the ones who voted for my new President. I'm waiting anxiously for my new Presidents speech and I just know that he will not disappoint.

The thing I am most proud of right now, though, is John McCain's concession speech. He was gracious and honorable and humble. I got tears in my eyes when he said that Barack Obama was his President now. For some reason it had never occurred to me that the loser to the Presidency would have a President of his own. That must sound ridiculous but I never thought of it that way. McCain was a gracious loser and I respect his decision to call Obama and congratulate him. I admire him for his desire to tell his supporters to project that support to their new President. I've not paid much attention to many concession speech's but I think that was a respectful, mindful and honest speech.

To me, this election was not about black or white, male or female, Republican or Democrat, it was about the best person to fix our broken country not just slap a band aid on it and call it a day. I hope this is the beginning of new things to come and positive changes heading our way.

I hold out hope that my children will live in a more peaceful world and I hope that change starts today.

Kids really are smart

I was chatting with Derick a few minutes ago and I told him that in 2 days we would have a new president. I'm the most excited about this election than I ever have been. Derick is excited, too. In his school (and most schools in the area it seems) the kids voted for president and it seems that kids these days are really getting into the voting process.

Case in point. Nickelodeon has a special page set up for kids to vote. I think this is way cool. There is information on each candidate and I think this a positive step for kids to see that they do matter, even if they are only one vote. Plus, it seems that kids are smart. They voted for Obama. (There's my one and only plug for who I support.)

If every person who didn't vote because they didn't think their one vote would make a difference would just go out and vote, our country would be completely different, I'm sure of it. Don't be lackadaisical, people. Get out there and vote.

I honestly don't care who you vote for, I just care that you do vote. People who don't vote and have the ability to do so don't get the right to bitch and moan about what happens. Period. So, go vote for real. Let your voice be heard.

After the candy high went away

We had a great Halloween. Saw some cute kids, told a guys dressed as Darth Vader that he was NOT Jackson's father and ate my weight in Twizzlers. Still sort of in a sugar coma, so pictures will have to replace normal sentences and strung together thoughts.

He's got a tail, people. It was my sole criteria for his costume. Oh, and the ears, too. Pay no attention to the weeds behind him.


See my yard? See how it needs to be edged? My HOA is probably mad at me for being the only house that doesn't have a perfect yard.

Derick wore an old mask that belongs to my dad. Every time Jackson sees it he smiles and says "Silly Garrett" because he can't say Derick yet. Also because I didn't want him to be scared so we laugh at Derick when he wears the mask. Eric is an (aging) hippie. If you know Eric, then you know why this fits him perfectly and made me roll my eyes.

He has some hairy feet and needs his nails trimmed. Also, his stroller is on it's side so I can replace the wheels.

What does any sane person do when their stroller is on it's side? Bite the tires, of course.

Derick had a friend spend the night and this is the aftermath. Apparently people give away sodas in large quantities which I find odd. It's also important to note that they didn't sleep at all last night. Also, it's more important to note that I had no idea they had the entire candy bucket in the room with them. I'm waiting for them to crash hard.