Ozarks of BUST!

This weekend we are heading to Osage Beach, Missouri for three days! I am really excited to be leaving Kansas for a few days and enjoy some different surroundings. The last time I was in the Ozarks, it was in the Branson area and it was just so beautiful.

We rented a cabin and it was so much fun. In the morning, I would wake up to watch the ducks play in the backyard and enjoy the misty morning on the back patio. I love watching the lake also, so I hope our cabins are near the water this time. We will be there with a bunch of Beau's family so it will be fun. Some activities we are planning on doing is swimming, volleyball, and basketball. Beau mentioned bringing our small tv and playstation too. hahaha.

I am also attending a wedding for my friend Amy who just so happens to be getting married there on the exact same weekend we will be there. A nice coincidence, since I don't get to Osage Beach every weekend!

Tonight, we will be giving my car an oil change, and buying lots and lots of OFF Deep Woods for me. Beau says I am just so sweet. Uh, yeah. Baby wipes will also be bought since it's supposed to be in the low 90s and I am a BIG heat wussy. I once got heat exhaustion at an all day concert in 91 degree weather.

We are also using this as an opportunity to celebrate us being together for almost 2 years. August 23rd, 2004 was our first date at Planet Sub. We enjoyed yummy subs to the sound of tornado sirens (we were in a tornado warning, so we had to stay put). I also had just came from the gym, where I had forgot to pack underwear and so I was undie-less. haha. Memorable night. (NOT THAT! I'm not that easy!)

I hope you have a great weekend! I will post some pics when I return.

Saturday was just beautiful.

Saturday was just beautiful.
Originally uploaded by Normalcy Overrated.

This weekend it was all about BBQs and cleaning. We went to a BBQ on Saturday and hosted one on Sunday. It was nice, but the cleaning involved with hosting was overwhelming.

Usually we just cram everyone inside and bring the food in, however, it was so beautiful out that we ate outside. This meant that we had to clean the garage, since going through the garage is how one would get to our backyard.

Now, months ago, Beau and I had started cleaning the garage and also had a garage sale. Unfortunately, we are both slackers and just left everything there - garage sale was still nearly set up and trash was in a big box. So we cleaned like we have never cleaned before.

Last night, I was so tired by the time the actual BBQ time (5pm) had arrived, I really wasn't hungry and just wanted a nap. By bedtime, I was covered in bug bites, sore, and exhausted. I was so wired on caffeine that I was in that wierd I-am-so-tired-but-I-can't-sleep mode.

The rest of the night was sucky. My allergies were in high swing due to all the dust and my nose was completely clogged up. No amount of medicine was helping. This meant that I couldn't wear my nasal mask and use my CPAP machine for my sleep apnea.

This morning was....bad. I made it to work, but, I actually was 30 min late because I fell asleep in my car in the work parking lot.

After 4 shots of espresso, I am functional, but a lunchtime nap is in high order. Update: Lunchtime nap was great!

Hope you all are having a kickin Monday morning!

Happy Birthday B!!

Birthday
Originally uploaded by Normalcy Overrated.

Today is my cutie B's birthday. He is now 22 years old. Wow, I can barely remember when I was 22. What the heck was I doing???

That was way back in 1998. My kids were 5 years old. I was working at Kwik Shop and going to college. Those were tiring years. I really don't know how I survived it. I guess the reason I don't remember it is that I didn't do anything but work, study, eat and sleep. Oh yeah, don't forget all the work that goes along with children either.

Here I am now, age 30, having the time of my life. I am actually really happy that I am at a place in my life where I can let my hair down. I have learned some lessons, my life is stable, and I know myself really well. So, I guess 30 for me is like being 22, but better!

Cat's In The Cradle

Oren is 1 year old now.
Originally uploaded by Normalcy Overrated.

From my previous posts you may not know it, but I am very much interested in what is going on in my country. I don't plan on making this some type of political/social blog, but it is a part of who I am and I love discussing different points of view.

Today, I want to discuss how I believe that increasing child education, reducing poverty, and educating/supporting parents are the ways in which we can prevent children from getting involved with drugs and criminal activity.

The saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." is one of the truest statements I have ever heard. It seems that the number one thing that influences who we are when we grow up is our family. People wonder why today's youth is into drugs, gangs, and violence. I say just look at the parents of those youth and you will find your answer. Neglect, poor or incorrect discipline, abandonment, abuse, drug or alcohol use are all things that can affect generations of families. One family passes down the affects of whatever their parents did wrong until hopefully someone breaks the cycle. Some families don't even realize that they are the ones who are creating the problem in their kids. How exactly do we help families become aware and break the cycle is the real question. Are social programs the way to go or what about banding private programs and groups together to reach out to the source? I feel that until we get rid of the demand for drugs and guns, then any attempts of the government to control them or "War on them" will be incompetent.

What do you think would be an effective way to reduce crime and drug use? Do you support the prevention position or do you have another idea?

Finances are tight.

My savings account.
Originally uploaded by Normalcy Overrated.

I am on a quest, a quest of financial freedom. A freedom from debt.
There is just one problem.

I love to shop. Some people eat when they are bored, some people drink or do drugs - I find emotional happiness when I buy something new. A new shirt or a new pair of shoes can sustain me for weeks, but after about 3 weeks, I start itching for a new lipgloss or a new Victoria Secret bra.

I am also in love with home improvement. I have more plans on how to redecorate or renovate my home than Lowe's weekly circular. I am a frequenter on Lowes, Home Depot, and HGTV websites. I love Crate and Barrel, West Elm, and Pottery Barn. I feel the need to change my home once a week to my boyfriend's dismay. The problem is that I never actually do anything because I don't have any money or I change the plan yet again.

So, I am on a path to financial freedom so that I can shop whenever I darn well feel like it. I have the income, but old debt has sucked up all my open resources. So, in order to get on top, I have to do without.

This is proving to be more difficult than I thought it would be. I have resorted to ordering free samples off the internet and entering promotions and sweepstakes at my favorite stores. Its just a sad sad world when you look forward to getting your mail and maybe recieve a sample of Dove shampoo (they have a bunch of free samples on their website).

To see how well I am doing, check out the picture of my savings account. I have a jar like this at home too.

Compliment you wish you heard in the bedroom.

How can you resist those big eyes?
Originally uploaded by Normalcy Overrated.

"It’s great! Its even better than I imagined. Thank you so much."

- email I received today from a colleague

I dreamt of Britney Spears last night.

When he gets up, he leaves a white shadow.
Originally uploaded by Normalcy Overrated.

No seriously, I did dream of Britney Spears last night.

It all started with Beau and I riding his motorcycle down a country road, when we happened upon her estate (which oddly featured a strip mall, but whatever). She was walking by, looking like she did in her most recent interview with Matt Lauer, and I got very jealous that Beau was looking at her.

So I yelled at him, and he drove off.

She asked my why I was so angry and I said that I thought she was a bitch. We then went into her estate and K-Fed was there with Sean Preston in a stroller. I held Sean for awhile and discussed my feelings of jealousy and anger towards her with her. She seemed to care at first, but then was irritated with my obvious immaturity and low self esteem. I realized what a pest I was being by venting my low self-confidence on her and decided to leave. She seemed pleased with my decision and walked me out to my car (which mysteriously appeared). She said that alot of people feel this way about her but that there is nothing that she could do about it, thats why she was irritated, not that she didn't care. She said that I should go find Beau and happiness, like she has found with K-Fed and stop worrying so much about little things. She said I should work on my self-confidence. As I drove away from her estate, the guards closed the gate and thats the last time I ever saw Britney Spears.

Dreams are so wierd. Perhaps I have been keeping up on celebrity life just a little much lately.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July!
Originally uploaded by Normalcy Overrated.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! I spent the weekend with my sweetie and both sides of his family. Good food, good people, and good fireworks means a great holiday. Oh yeah, and the two days off work wasn't to upsetting either.

B's uncle Rex has a pyrotechnic liscense, so his display is always terrific. He had Roman Candles that were nearly 5' tall. Then they had shells about 3" big and one of the guests there was lighting one, might I add that he had 6 in his other hand. The sparks jumped from the one to the 6 and KABOOM! Now THAT explosion was impressive. I am just glad that he dropped them and ran. Thank god noone got hurt. Its just not a holiday until a family member loses a limb.

Chocolate chip cookies were also the highlight to the weekend. At B's other celebration, there is a lady that makes THE BEST chocolate chip cookies I have ever tasted. From scratch. Once I saw them, I was taken back to last year and how much I appreciated their chewy yet crispy, substantial but light, chocolatey but not overloaded goodness. *wipes tears*

I thought that I came out of this weekend completely unscathed. I spent quite a bit of time outside and no sunburn. I fumigated myself in DEET. I laughed to myself and felt that I have successfully warded off flying, biting enemies when I got home at 11:45 pm on the 4th. Not so fast. Those little suckers had crawled into my clothing in search of non-DEET-ified body parts, and OH BOY did they find them. In the cracks and crevices of the back of knees, anywhere there was elastic or perhaps a bra strap, around my UNMENTIONABLES! Little bastards. Apparently their body-part-feast was set on DELAY until the next day when the histimine alarms went off - LOUDLY. There isn't enough calamine or hydrocortisone cream in the world (cough) to take care of the itching I am forced to endure. To a stranger, I could seem slightly inappropriate to have around children.

On this day, let out your joy for our country that allows friends, family, food, fire, DEET, and misquitos to all come together and the freedom to either praise or bitch about it (country, misquitos, etc).

Hope your 4th of July was as enjoyable (if not more) as mine!