It really sucks

We got a terrific new addition to our family last night. We were at Costco and after we filled up the cart, we magically ended up wandering down isles. That's when we saw her, the Hoover Wind Tunnel 2. She is a beauty.
Erik for sure has taken pity on me. Right when we got home I put it together and vacuumed all of the carpets. They look like new again. I couldn't be any happier. Maybe this will be the one to end my curse.
Notice my model? She for sure has a future (Price is Right beauty?), what a funny pose she did for me.

Erik and Melissa sittin' in a tree...

Thanks for the tag Crystal, this was fun to fill out.

ERIK AND MELISSA
How long have you been together? 9 1/2 years
How long did you date? We are still dating, but before marriage 10 months.
How old is he? 34
Who eats more? I eat more often, but he consumes more in a day.
Who said I love you first? Erik did.
Who is taller? Erik
Who is smarter? Obviously I am, I chose Erik.
Who does the laundry? I do. I do. And I do.
Who does the dishes? I do mostly, but Erik does whenever he is in a chipper mood.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me I think.
Who pays the bills? I used to, then I made some serious errors (like not paying some), and now I can happily say Erik pays the bills, and I very much appreciate him for doing that.
Who mows the lawn? Erik does, but sometimes I get a whim and mow it. It mostly stays unmowed as of late.
Who cooks dinner? We both cook (I love it when he cooks), but I try really hard during the week to make dinner for my hard workin' man.
Who drives when you are together? Erik does, how else would we get to places so quickly?
Who is more stubborn? Erik is because he is a Masitis and he is his father's son.
Who kissed who first? Erik kissed me first and I kissed him right back.
Who asked who out? He asked me out twice with rejections both times (I was working) so I felt bad about that and asked him out.
Who proposed? Erik did. Best idea ever!
Who is more sensitive? I am, but Erik is very sensitive to my sensitivities.
Who has more friends? We've never stopped to count. Most of our friends are mutual, so he might win because he has co-worker friends that I don't know.
Who has more siblings? I do, I have 3 and he has 2.
Who wears the pants in the family? We are a team. We rely a lot on each other for support and friendship and just making it through each crazy day.

We live to fight another day

So part of posting the dumb picture of myself was to make myself post a whole bunch more to push that post to the bottom.
The other part was to complain about my day and apparently voice my hostility toward Dora (I don't know why that came out except that Kenzie was watching it at the time). Sorry friends.
Today I won the fight. The day did not get me down. I declared it a day free of TV and my computer. It is night now, so here I am. It did make our day better. I showered before it was even 9am. I did laundry (two words, clean sheets). I played a lot with Kenzie and Henry, I even got out the play-doh that I keep hidden. I also read a book from start to finish. And without the nuisance of TV, Kenzie found time to dump two containers of glitter in the office room. Sure wish the vacuum could fix that (but I'm not complaining).
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. Get it. Read it. Love it! I just finished it moments ago and I still can't stop thinking about it.

Why I am in a funk today

First off, I just took 20 pictures of myself, and this was the only good one.
I still have laundry sitting in the dryer from Monday.
I fought with Erik in my dream last night and I haven't gotten over it yet.
My vacuum cleaner sucks, and by that I mean it won't suck. I have a vacuum curse, every vacuum I use breaks.
For lunch today I had a twinkie and tortilla chips.
I need a shower.
Dora the explorer irritates me. Why is she always yelling at me? Why is there a fox that steals from others? Why does Dora never know where her house is, she is obviously not old enough to be out alone. Why is there a lake full of crocodiles? Why is the grumpy old troll grumpy?
OK, I feel a little bit better now. Maybe even better enough to restart the dryer...maybe.

100 Legos

Sam is having his 100th day of school today.

I have no idea why this is a joyous event, but they get to have

a little party in class today.

Each student also had to bring a collection of 100 things

and display them in a fun way.

Since I didn't know about the assignment until last night,

we were up a little bit late counting 100 legos.

He is a master builder. I really like his ship.

My CTR kids

Sam is in the CTR 7 class, and Mackenzie is in CTR 5. This is just starting to sink in. I paused and realized that Sam will be 7 and Kenzie will be 5 this year. Why is this causing reflection? Because thinking of their ages reminded me of how long we have lived in AZ now. It will be 5 years in February. 5 years. I do recall when we moved down here something about a 4 year plan of staying in AZ for Erik to get going with his career, then back up to Idaho. Well, we aren't showing any signs of leaving AZ for a long time, and I have had time (a year) to come to grips with this. I have decided 3 important things: 1. that life will go on no matter where we live, 2. I have met so many great people and I want to build on those friendships, and 3. I haven't fully lived here yet. I would like to explore this state and get to know more about it.

Because of Dixie

This is an ode to my very favorite friend ever, Dixie.
I am going to make a list of the happiest times I had with her during what little time we had together. It won't be a complete list though, some memories are too personal.
1. She let me dress her up as the Skipper so that I could be Gilligan for Halloween.
2. She agreed to let me be her roommate while we attended BSU.
3. She and I pretended to be Russians while eating out one day.
4. She made me a lot of good meals.
5. We loved watching Julia Childs together, and pretending to be Julia while cooking.
6. She was ill pretty often, but I thoroughly enjoyed taking her to the hospital.
7. She introduced me to Jane Austen, and pretty much reading in general.
8. She painted pictures with me.
9. She is amazingly creative, and probably has a thousand stories in her head that need to get out.
10. She used to leave a few bites of food on her plate after every meal, and I teased her about it. (sorry)
11. We used to watch The Golden Girls together, and decided when we are old, we are definitely going to be like them, she's Dorothy (but a beautiful/feminine one) to my Rose.
12. We used to make up operas while we were getting ready in the mornings.
13. She wore great clothes and used to let me borrow them.
14. She once ate a whole watermelon in one sitting.
I miss you Dixie.

Tidbits

I took this photo in Idaho. We were driving from Boise to Kamiah, and Erik was enjoying the scenery so much, I decided to save our lives and take pictures so that he could focus on driving.
Today is a great day. It is Sam's last day of winter break, so I took the kids to Peter Piper Pizza. It was really fun because it wasn't crowded (I have a slight crowd phobia) so it was easy for me to keep track of my little ones. Henry just ran from game to game squealing. Sam loved the gun games, there is a shocker. Mackenzie spent all of her coins on a candy crane game.
Now they are all taking a nap. Like I said, today is a great day!