June Must Be Drunk Again!

The very first mommy-blogger that I fell in love with is June Cleaver After A Six-Pack.

June, or Cris as she is sometimes called, is a natural blonde with perky boobs, with 4 beautiful children & a hunky hero hubby, Carl, who has been halfway across the world keeping us all safe.

Oh, and did I mention that she has spent years homeschooling these children? Hmm, almost makes me feel guilty for shoving mine out the door so quickly every morining. I personally think she's a saint & deserves at least a 12 pack.

Carl is home for a couple of weeks R&R, so June is taking a little time to, uh, you know, rest. Since she will have a little less time for blogging while he's home she was recruiting stories from some of her fans.

I am proud to say that today, the humiliating story of my grocery store/underwear incident is prominently feature on her blog.

Why don't you stop by & say hi to June & all the Cleaver gang. While you're there don't forget to send them cyber hugs for being a brave military family in today's crazy world!

I R Tiny Kitteh

The oldest pet here in Mimi-ville is Chloe. Say hello Chloe.



Chloe is fat full-figured. I, myself, happen to be on the plump side. I was very skinny (size 0 or 2) up until I got pregnant for the first time. I am still struggling to lose that baby weight. (Yes it does too, still count even if my first baby is almost 17!)

There is not a day when I do not realize that I am chubby. Chloe on the other hand seems to have no issues with her size. She is quite good at wedging herself into things that are really too small for her.




I hate having my picture taken if I think I will look fat. As you can see, Chloe has no issues exposing her shortcomings, or largecomings as this photo with her belly shows!



She is so unfazed, she just went back to her rigorous schedule of napping.



O.K., cute chubby kitten aside, what is my point, you may be asking...

My point is this. While I realize that Chloe is a cat with the brain the size of a walnut, a lot of us can probably learn something from her. At 41 years old, I can count the number of times I have ever been happy with my body on one hand.

When I was a size 2 who could eat everything in sight with not consequences, I was not happy because I had small boobs & no real curves. I so wanted to have cleavage to show off. When I went up to a size 10, I was apalled at my fatness. Now at a 16 I would gnaw off a couple of toes to go back to a 10 & be sag-free.

Chloe is happy with herself just as she is. She has not wasted years of her life always feeling badly about herself. Maybe we should all try to learn a lesson from Chloe!

After laughing along at with my friend Mimi on Not Me Monday, I decided to play along.

It was totally not me who was rushing my hubby & kids out the door this morning so I could have my house back after vacation.

It was not me who ignored the dishes, laundry & construction mess to take a long, hot, soak in my new tub after they left.

It was not me who chastised my husband for not getting his clothes ready last night so he wasn't running around like a chicken with his head cut off this morning, when I was totally not trying to get him out of my house.

It was not me who burst out laughing when I made the crude remark "I'll be helping Chris (my hubby) screw" in front of my teenage sons, possibly causing them to need therapy.

It was also not me who laughed when I ended up punting one of my kitties who didn't get out of my way fast enough. No animal lover would laugh at that.

It was not me who pouted a little bit last night because I didn't get to spend any quality time with my hubby on his last weekend of vacation. No one who's husband was working his hardest trying to give his wife a beautiful new bathroom would be selfish enough to pout about something about that.

Anything you didn't do that you care to share?

For more Not Me Monday fun, check out MckMamma.

My bloggy friend Diane over at Good Mourning, Glory introduced me to Music Memory Monday. Last week she featured one of my favorite songs ever, Just Like Heaven, by The Cure.

Music Memory Monday is hosted by Jeff & Me + 3

I knew I wanted to play along this week & was trying to figure out what song to choose. I love TONS of music from Sinatra to Suicidal Tendencies, John Denver to Bob Marley, Elvis to Depeche Mode.

My 13 yr. old Jack solved this problem for me in a rather unfortunate way. His first girl friend broke up with him this week. He was laying around listening to sad music & I said, "you can't listen to break up music without listening to Last Night I Dreamt, by The Smiths." Voila, my selection had made itself. Jack didn't dig The Smiths too much, but he does share my undying devotion for The Cure, so he is forgiven.

This is the original 5 minute version with the loooong instrumental opening. The second version shows Morrissey actually singing it in 2006 & is only 3 minutes long.

Put on your black eyeliner, your old Doc Marten's & your sulky attitude & enjoy The Smiths.

Bathroom Update

Well my husband worked late into the night & all day again today. My tub & shower surround are beautiful!

Unfortunately, there are 2 leaks in the plumbing. My husband has not really done any plumbing before & was soldering his little heart out. I really think that 2 leaks is not bad for someone who hasn't done this much, but obviously he just wants to be done & is really disappointed.

He could have had it fixed tonight, but he took back some of the parts he needed already. Once he gets that fixed, my dad can come in & work on the walls.

The bathroom will be done in crisp white bead board & a pale green apple color. This is similiar to what I'm doing.



My guys have worked their hearts out & I love them so much for all of their effort!

This is what the inside of my bathroom currently looks like. Now I should mention, that when I say "my bathroom" I don't mean my personal bathroom. I mean the one bathroom that we have in this house. The one bathroom that I have to share with 2 teenage boys & my husband.

The good news is that as our Christmas present my dad is paying to update our one sad bathroom. The bad news is that my hubby & dad are doing it themselves. They are wonderful men who I love immensely. These are men who should never, ever be allowed to attempt any plumbing work.

Jack fled the house last night at 10:00 p.m. He called his dad, Asshat , and complained that they would be starting on the bathroom at the unheard of hour of 8:00 a.m. Fearing that this would disturb his vacation sleeping-in time he was gone in a flash.

John is stuck here. We let him know that his 6 ft. tall teenage strength may be required. He said bad words.

Now that the tub & surround are ripped out, my workers have discovered that all of the plumbing needs to be changed. They are still planning on doing it themselves. *whimper*

If any of my Michigan bloggy friends want some company this weekend, just let me know. I may be a little smelly from lack of shower, but I fear the testosterone/frustration level around here may be more than I can handle! *help me*

*Update #1 - This is a piece of the bathroom wall that is currently sitting in my living room.

This particular wall was scheduled only for painting, not demolition. Perhaps the thinking is that it will be easier to paint this way. *sigh*

Update #2 -

My new tub is set into place. It's extra deep, I'm SO excited. No jets, but I'm thankful for what I've got.

On the negative side, my dad's patience is wearing thin & they are only about 1/3 of the way through the project...

Update #3 - Eek! Chris is currently sitting in the living room using a small blow torch to do some type of welding. I'm not too comfortable with the words blow torch & living room being so close together! My dad has gone home for the night & Chris plows forward with the plumbing. Please pray for him to have steady hands so my couch does not ignite!

Update #4 - Thankfully my couch is flame free. I love how Chris looks like he's in jail here!

Camera Critters

Jack found this praying mantis on his walking stick this summer. I'd never seen one this close up before. I'm sorry to say that in my opinion, his creepy factor outweighed his coolness!

Check out more Camera Critters here.