Feel Like Complaining

Since we are probably going to be spending more time at home this summer I thought we should buy something nice for ourselves. Last year we bought a portable fire pit and recently I bought a nice 3 seat yard swing. The reviews were pretty good and the swing was rated highly. Most people said it took about 2 hours to put together. We let him open the box All small parts seem to be there, do we need them all? Hmmmm, this is going to turn into a swing huh? We didn't have the time to do it all at once, but started Mother's Day weekend. The frame went together without too much trouble in an hour and-a-half and we were excited to finish the next day. The boss looks over the directions Uh, this one Dad We put it together under the patio so if we dropped a screw it would be easier to find. Hubby's knees were getting sore so I told him to kneel on the cushions which were still wrapped in plastic. He kneels down and his hand slips and he rolls over li...

I'm not sure how long this has been a tradition at my daughter's school but on Grad Night the kids get a tri-fold poster from their family. The poster contains photos and memories about each child in whatever theme they want. Some may choose to do the project together with their kids but I decided to make it in secret. She knows I'm making it, but doesn't know my theme. The Grad Night committee is selling kits in either sports or music themes to help those parents out to make it easier. Well since my kid does none of those things I decided to come up with my own idea and go with it. I told her it would be unique like her and mostly family oriented. The idea of Time just popped in my head; as in passing time, and it just evolved around that. I already had chronological pictures in a file on my computer that I was going to use for something else so I printed those off. I found some cool artwork on line that I had printed to use for the circle background. I was going to ...

If you recall last year about this time I wrote about the neighbors kitty corner across from us and their messy yard. Well, they forced my hand again by setting up shop with a perpetual yard sale. Who doesn't love a yard sale? But when it goes on and on and that's the view we have to look at everyday, I had to do something. I could tell they were making it a permanent situation by putting up wooden signs on both main streets and bring more crap to the house to sell. This wasn't a weekend sale, it was starting to look like a store. They taped a big price sheet on the garage and had large pieces of furniture behind their garage. Crap they weren't selling was stacking up on the corner. That brings more riff-raff around and they start throwing it into the alley and breaking it up. Traffic was getting more congested and their 'customers' were parking on the side of the street where parking is not allowed. Our side streets are very narrow and hard enough to get throug...

I really hate admitting this but I am a stress eater. It's gotten me in trouble for many years, but I've just been more aware of it recently. I guess that's a good thing--to be aware. But the fact that I am a stress eater, has me gained back 14 lbs of the 60 I had lost. That makes me depressed which makes me want to do what??? EAT! Such a terrible cycle I got into. I have no excuses but only reasons that triggered it for me. First, my trip to Alaska last October. In so looking forward to it, it was such a letdown and stayed with me for a long time. I just didn't care about much of anything and it was downhill from there. Then came the stress of having a Senior; culminating project, college apps, financial aid forms, and so many choices and decisions to make. Without hubby's help it weighed on my shoulders alone. To add to the mix my Mom got sick and My Lady's husband died. It was just all too much at once. I ate my way to the bottom of the potato chip bag. I...

All good things must come to an end. This year the Mozzarella family will not be taking their annual vacation. It's been a good run, 17 years with maybe one missed in that time. It's something we save and plan for the day after we get back from the latest one. But with finances up in the air--not knowing what financial aid will cover for college; we had to put our tax refund in savings for that reason. Come on, let's get the show on the road Got license? I can't walk or crawl, so I'm just gonna sit here Most of our vacations were spent at the beach, either in Washington or Oregon. Our Daughter's first time was at the age of 10 months. We have a lot of photo albums full of pictures and hearts full of great memories. I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. In time she'll be making memories with different people in her life and our trips together will be a distant memory. We will be taking one long weekend in Leavenworth, a closer-...

We're getting pretty used to changes around here lately. Well not really, but what choice do we have? After our last visit to EWU campus our daughter was getting more used to the idea of going there. In the meantime we had been getting mail regarding a special Honors program at the local community college; one to which she had applied and already been accepted (to the college that is). The American Honors is a special program with less than 200 kids accepted and she was urged to apply. We threw them away after setting our sights on Eastern. But they were persistent and called me to explain the program. Hubby and the kid went to an informational meeting and then explained the program to me. The kids take all honor classes in smaller settings and it included a lot of classes online too. They have an advisor for those two years who helps them pick their major when transferring. Both of them got excited about it but she still had to fill out a separate application for it which could ...