I Love These!

I couldn't help myself! I freakin love these shoes for Kman, so I had to buy them. My favorite color is red and these will be so stinken cute on him! I can't wait til they come!

I'm a horrible wife....

I know I know. This past Thursday February 19th was a very special day. It was my baby's 31st Birthday. I usually post that day and make sure I am up to the minute but man I have been so busy with everything. I didn't want to just post something and say "Happy Birthday" because really this day means so much more to me.

Nicholas Stocks, where do I start babe? You are such an amazing husband and I am so very lucky to have you in my life. You truley complete me. To this day I can say that I love you with all that I am, and I am so proud to call you mine. You are not only good to me, but to all 5 of our children. I don't think there is anything that you "don't" do.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday baby, and I hope you know how much I miss you now that I am in school. It's so hard not spending all of those hours together, driving in the car, making dinner, hanging out at night. I have to keep going knowing that one day we will have that time again, and until then we will cherish the time we do have. Thank you for being so supportive, and for being there when I need you!

I love you so very very much! Happy Birthday baby!

Check Up Time

What's that on my face? A little artwork done by yours truly! Ok, no really...do you want to know what it is? A few years ago someone told me about a little experiment you can do to check your iron levels. I am mildly anemic, and always low on iron. Iron has a lot to do with a person's energy level and since I have been extra tired lately I decided to do a little check.

So here's what to do. Find a ring made of precious metal. It must be real gold, white gold etc. This is also a good way to put your hubby to the test and make sure that ring your wearing is in fact genuine gold! (Sorry ladies, this doesn't work on diamonds. HAHA!) Alright, so take the ring and drag it down your face. If it leaves a nice black line, you are low in iron. If your iron levels are normal it will not leave mark.. Nick tried it after I did tonight and he didn't have a single mark on his face. I promise it's not just that my ring is super dirty, it really only does it if you are low in iron.

Try it out!

Time to go buy some iron!

Valentine's Day

I bet you will never guess who these are from

No really, I bet you will never guess, because I was surprised myself. Nick's wonderful parents sent these to me for Valentines with a card that says how much they appreciate how good of a mom I am too the kids and how great I am. That was very special to me. They are such genuine people and I love having them in my life. Thank you so much mom and dad.

Happy Valentines everyone!

Cellulite

Ugh. I hate even hearing the word. Cottage cheese, mmmmm.



So there you are, in front of the mirror, feeling good about yourself. You're toned, you've lost weight, you're even tan, and then.......you turn around. There it is..... wait, look for it....yep it's CELLULITE AHHHHH! Why won't it go away? You've worked so hard. You've tried creams, excercise, drinking lots of water, just about everything possible that google suggests to get rid of it. But, there it is, taking over your thighs and buttox!

Ok, no really. I don't like it, can you tell? Since I was in highschool I have been plagued by it. At my heaviest, at my skinniest, it's always been there. Not bad, but there. They say you can blame it on your mom, if you get it. I tried that. It didn't work out so well! So, now I am hoping someone out there has a success story because I can't figure it out and it's going to drive me crazy!

School Update

Well, I am on my 6th week of school. That is pretty crazy really. It has gone by fast already. I am done with nails at the end of the month. I really think I have the hang of them. My last few sets have turned out pretty good.

I start barbering after nails. Barbering is everything from mens and womens cuts, razoring, open blade shaving, and a bunch of other stuff. I am excited! It will be fun to learn the technique behind cutting hair. I have done it for so long, I can't wait to finally learn the "correct" way to do it.

I have met some really cool girls at school too. It's weird because everyone told me "you will meet some of your best friends in hair school" and it is so true! There is such a variety of students. Old, young, moms, highschool students - just about every walk of life. So far there isn't really anyone that I "don't" like.

I can't believe after 26 years I am finally doing something for me. There were supporters of my decision to go to hair school, and there were people who thought I was just downright crazy, but I must say so far I am super happy I have started and I can't believe it is all for free. :)

Economic Woes

Man, aren't we all feeling the wonderful effects of our economy lately. My girlfriend Christi has a daughter who is 7 years old, very cute and smart little girl. Christi and I were talking and she told me a story the other day about when she and her daughter were driving in the car about a week or so ago. It was quiet and her daughter began to talk. She said "mom, 2009 has sure started out bad and our economy is just not doing very well". Reminder, she is 7! Christi didn't even know how to respond. Even our kids hear and feel the wrath of what is going on. Pretty scary.

Each time we do anything even as simple as turn on our TVs we are reminded of how horrible things really are. It's like every commercial I see lately is geered around "economic stiumulous sale, or bailout deals on all items". I even saw a Hundai commercial the other day that claims "if you lose your job, bring your car back"! WHAT IS GOING ON PEOPLE?

Nick and I work for UnitedHealth Group. About 6 or so months ago they laid off about 4,000 people. Everyone was in shock. Now every day you hear about a different company closing down, laying off, cutting salaries. It's madness! Our company announced the other day that we are not going to be receiving any sort of anual increase (raise) this year, and the way it looks possibly next year as well. Bummer. As bad as that sucks, I thought really hard about it, and you know, I really am just happy to have a job at this point.

I hate thinking about it, or worrying about it, but how bad will it get before it gets better? Will it turn around in time for our kids to miss it? Can it still get worse? Have we not seen all of the effects yet? Hopefully a new year, a new president will help. Who knows.