Heaven in the shape of an egg

I am a lover of all things chocolate & peanut butter.  My favorite are Reese Peanut butter cups.  I choose them only because Reese peanut butter eggs aren't available all year.  Oh, the humanity.  

JLL found a homemade Reese peanut butter egg recipe on Pinterest & invited me over to try out our baking skills.  First we mixed up the ingredients for the peanut butter 'insides' then we had to shape them into eggs.

They had to sit in the freezer for an hour & that's when her boys took the opportunity to entertain me.  Now - I get it - most kids are probably very good at home (I mean of course they have their moments) but when they're around someone new they like to act a bit out of the ordinary.  I am like fresh meat - chum in the water. if you will - when it comes to kiddos. 

  Plus they smell my fear...

Cooper made a funny face on his iPad & wanted me to save it as the background.  Well, being the 'I' expert person that I am I snatched that thing right up.... & I'm sorry to say it took me a minute to figure out where the dang picture was stored on his iPad to make it his background.  

Never fear, I came through for young Cooper...

Whenever I hear, 'Hey Jaime - come look at this...' my heart always drops because I know:

 A) it's gonna be dangerous.  

B) it's gonna be something their parents do NOT want them doing (& I don't want them to get in trouble just because chum is there) 

C) it's gonna be hilarious.

Cooper was standing on this shelving unit & I was like, "WHAT are you doing?"  He said, 'watch what I can do!'

Then he launched himself into the air to land on the chair.  

Lord, help Jami me...

After the air show, Jami & I watched a YouTube video about melting the chips just to make sure we thought we knew what we were doing.  The recipe called to put shortening in it & I haven't seen shortening since I was a little kid living at home!  (apparently it makes the melting chips a bit more 'fluid like' after they're melted & easier to coat with.)  God bless the internet...

There were lots of  'JAAAAAAAIMEEEEEE - come here!'  'JAAAAAAAAIMEEEEEE - come watch this!'  (Jami thought they liked saying my name because it's their moms name & they don't get to call her that.  I choose to believe it's because they sincerely wanted my attention & to scare the crap out of me...)  

This was a demonstration of how they jump on the bed & then dunk into the basketball goal on the closet door.  

I had to tell the boys entertainment time was over because we had serious business to attend to...putting the chocolate on the peanut butter.

The recipe called to stick toothpicks in the eggs but that didn't really help Jami much on the dipping.  She eventually just picked them up & used the spoon to coat them.

I mean have you EVER.... 

Some of them aren't the prettiest things, but who cares?  They are yummy!

Jami was the official chocolate coater person & her fingers were proof of that!

On one of the eggs I had stuck the toothpick all the way through (oops) & it broke in half while she was coating it.  We gave half to Cooper & half to Cameron to taste test.  Cameron declared, 'I DON'T LIKE IT.' & tossed it back on the counter.  

OH, THE HUMANITY.  

(I think Jami needs to have him checked out...)

We each ate an egg & we give them 2 thumbs up!  They are pretty rich but super yummy.  Jami texted me before I got home that she ate another one & it was even better after it sat.  I ate one after supper & she was right.  

We chit chatted for a while longer & the boys asked for some sort of liquid yogurt looking stuff (Like I know what it was?) & Cooper was putting his on that paper towel & Jami said, 'Are you wasting it?'

 

 'NOPE' he said as he licked it off the paper towel.  

Gag...

 Cameron wanted to show me how he could get down off the table.  The blurry pictures crack me up! 

 One last trick before it was time for me to leave... Cooper started on the right hand side & pulled himself all the way across.  Of course Cameron had to pipe in how 'HE' showed Cooper how to do it. 

 Thanks, JLL, for having me over to make my favorite treat & for the FREE entertainment!  

I should've known it was a set up...

Alicia's parents had a fish fry Friday night & Alicia was "nice" enough to invite me over.  Wasn't that just the SWEETEST of her?  I mean - she's a giver...  

(because when I say "nice" I really mean "she enjoys the torment her children give me".)  

All was well with the world when I got there...adults in the house, chatting & it was QUIET.  I only saw a couple of kids when I got there (but I knew the others were lurking somewhere...)  It was nice to catch up w/ Marcia & Alicia for a bit.  I had to fill them in on family gossip & other nonsense of course!  Alicia's foot is still hurt & she was wearing a boot so I asked what was going on.  She said, 'NOW I'm on crutches'  I said, "UHM - I don't see any crutches..."  So she tried to explain WHY she couldn't actually USE the crutches - to which I responded how her foot would NEVER get better.  

It's what we do, people...

 That was basically the end to any rational conversation...you'll see why... 

I'm not sure what Joe put on that fish but the kids lost their minds after we ate.  They all HAD to be in the middle of the adults trying to talk in the living room.  No, no, no it will never do to be loud & crazy in a room alone where no one can appreciate it.  DUH.   At one point Alicia was letting Nora ride 'horsey' on her 'good' foot.  I said, "Maybe you shouldn't be doing that since your foot is all jacked up."  And like a true friend she said, "You're right - YOU do it.  Nora - Jaime will ride you horsey."  Touche'.  

 I am no match for Sam, but his uncle Matt is!  Ya'll know Sam secretly (like deep down - deep, DEEP down...) loves me because of how much he loves to hit me & that he hates my hugs.  I gave him a kiss on the cheek & you would've thought it was burning his skin off.  

 Exhibit A.  An on-looker may think, 'oh - she is torturing that child!  She should let him go!'  Let me tell ya - Sam was hitting near me ALL night.... he likes to act like he doesn't like me - but he's not fooling me...  Tell me he's not totally laughing & smiling!

 Jake must've had pure sugar on his fish.... he came in bouncing around like this.  

And ya can't forget the screaming... I will never forget the screaming...

Even when he put his underwear on outside his pants he was still a blur.

At the end of my torture  the night they decided to take a family picture.  Of course I hopped up to take the picture, but they weren't having THAT.  Sam tried to tell his dad that I wasn't really part of the family (see how much he loves me?) but Daniel explained that argument was a bit silly since we have the same last name & all.  TAKE THAT, SAM.  (Daniel also included that even though they may not agree w/ cousins B-rad's decision they still had to support him...I love these people!)  

Alicia worked to get her phone set up, don't mind that beer can propping it up...

 The kids have to check everything out for quality control.

 The beer can was a necessity.  (See Alicia's boot?  But ya don't see any crutches, DO YA?!)

The Gettelfingers have a joke that the 'in-laws' always make sure to sit really close to the original family or hold a kid so they don't get cut out of the picture. (See how Robin hogged TWO kids?!)  When I found out they wanted me in the picture I immediately started to recruit a kid.  Jake agreed to sit on my lap so I couldn't be cut out of the picture but then he wanted to give Kaitlin & I bunny ears...  He was wired for SOUND.

 I decided it was time to head home when pants started coming off.  I did NOT sign on for that...

Thank you, Alicia AND Marcia for having me over!  It's always fun to catch up & remember why I don't have kids...

Week in review

I had a busy, hectic week last week!  Now that the weather is starting to get nice everyone is thinking about getting outside & working in the yard & inevitably that leads them to where I work & makes us busy!  Its been such a slow couple of months w/ all the snow & cold weather so I'm not ready to get this busy yet...but it does make the day go fast!  I went to Brian & Shauna's daughters choir concert on Monday night, on Tuesday night we had a meeting at Brian & Lora's house about farm financial stuff (EEEK!) & Wednesday my dad was in the hospital (more on that in a minute...).  Thursday & Friday night I came home from work & took naps even before I made supper!  

B-rad is getting ready for his next competitive shoot this weekend in Alabama.  Between running to the barn each night & working his day job he's been busy shooting 3D animals in our backyard.  (Which I lovingly refer to as 'wild kingdom'.)

On Saturday I went to see "The Lion King" at the Kentucky Center for the Arts.  I saw it when it was here a few years ago (I think its been 7 years?).  Everyone was doom & gloom about parking & traffic because of the flooding & suggested getting there early.  Ya'll know my love for being early so that was no problem for me but because of all the warnings I decided to get there even earlier than normal 'Jaime' early.  The road was closed just beyond the Kentucky Center's parking garage.  

The show started at 2:00 & I was walking off the elevator into the lobby around 12:45.  I would say I'm ashamed of myself but I'm not...  I was much happier 'people watching' than I would've been in the car not being able to get there & getting seriously pissed off.   

It was a good show & I would totally suggest you see it...BUT if you don't have tickets already you might be out of luck because I've heard it's sold out!

My friend, Rose, recently converted to the sunny side of cell phones & got an iPhone.  She had a TON of questions for the iPhone expert so we used that as an opportunity to get together for lunch on Sunday.  Debbie has had an iPhone but she still has much to learn...

Learning how to attach pictures to contacts requires updated pics & another lesson on how to 'quick launch' the camera.

 Ya'll know I love to boss people around help people learn their iPhones & I crammed a TON of stuff into our time together.  Debbie is a teacher & true to my other teacher friends she was the worst student.   No worries, I chastised her about it.

 I always tell the girls about Sonny laying on the quilt I made & Debbie seemed to think that maybe he laid on it because he got 'too hot' on the couch.   I tried an experiment - I put the quilt on the couch along w/ another blanket to see what he'd do...  UHM... (I know it's dark & hard to see since he's black) but he's on my quilt...

Ok - so what's going on w/ dad.... I struggled w/ including this because he's in politics & I think he thinks people view illnesses as a sign of weakness.  (Probably because he's guilty of doing that to other politicians...) But some of you know dad & it is what it is & I have a big mouth.  Obviously I'm not a private person (& neither is HE -  where do you think I get that big mouth?! {But it's ok for him to tell anyone he wants, but if it gets around because of me I will get in trouble. See how that works? ;)})  I won't go into full detail here because he would KILL me if he even knew what a blog was & that it was 'on the internet!'  Plus I figure a few extra prayers can't hurt (especially for my mom - she has to deal with him!

(He always wants me to 'punch in such & such' {Like famous people} so he can read if they're dead & when they died & what movies they were in blah blah blah.  Normally I let NO ONE touch my 'i' devices but he was especially irritating me this day so I said, "HERE!  YOU do it!")

  

  After a recent illness, his hospital stay & some tests, they removed a cancerous polyp from his colon.  The doctor said it was small, they caught it very early & he is optimistic that dad will be A-OK.  He will have to have another surgery to remove the area of his colon where they found the polyp in the coming weeks.  So, like I said - pray for mom!

But here's a funny story from when I visited him in the hospital.  

(Ya'll know I can't keep this all sad...)

We were never close to dad's family when we were young...I don't know why - we just weren't.  I 'know' some of my aunts, uncles & cousins now as an adult but some I wouldn't recognize if they walked in the room.  Example A: my Aunt Clara Faye (dad's sister)

She was quite the wild child from what I understand & even left this area for YEARS & no one knew where she was.  She has recently moved back & dad mentions her every so often.  She had 2 girls & the oldest, Jenny, is 1 year younger than me.  I have seen pictures of Grandma Smith (wondering why her last name was Smith & I was a Brown?  Lordy that's a whole other blog post...) holding Jenny & I but other than that I've got nothing...

So dad is all excited because Clara Faye is coming to the hospital & of course we hug & all that & discuss how its literally been like 30 years since I've potentially seen them.  I don't remember seeing them that many years ago but I'm sure I saw them at Christmas or something.  I don't 'know' Jenny or Aunt Clara so I don't know their personalities so I tried to be reserved at first.  You know - don't wanna unleash the crazy right away.  Well, I got the sense that Aunt Clara was a fun gal.  She was joking around & stuff & Jenny would pipe in every so often so I thought, 'ok, they seem cool.'  THEN I showed her (Aunt Clara) a picture of Butterfly & she said he was 'HOT'.  
She then proceeded to find it was hysterical that I was appalled that she thinks my brother is hot.  (And it's not appalling because she's our aunt - it's because he's my dumb kid brother...)

Dad complimented Jenny on a sparkly ring she was wearing (on her left ring finger) & she said that she couldn't wear her wedding bands because she had gained too much weight.  Mom mentioned that she could have them re-sized & she said, "No - I can't - John had them engraved." (Again, I have no knowledge of this girl but the super sleuth in me things this John person is her hubby...) so me being all, 'I'm a funny gal & I like to joke around & want to break up some of the tension of all the older people talking about the people they knew when they were young that have DIED' I said, "Oh - time for an upgrade!" & she just kinda looked at me.  Like blank stare.  

Uh oh.  

Then she looked at her mother.

I looked at Aunt Clara & I'm thinking, 'Shit - they're divorced...way to go dumbass.  But why would she wear the rings if they are divorced?' & Aunt Clara said, "Uhm, no - he's not WITH us anymore." (like in a weird, sarcastic way that he was a loser & not 'around' anymore)  I said, "OHHHH..well trade them in for something else!"  And then like a small child that has to have it spelled out for them- Jenny replied, "No, he passed away 4 years ago."  

SHIT.  

I said, "Oh - I'm sorry - I didn't know..."  

Open mouth.

Insert foot.

BLOCK HEAD.

Our nephew, Brady, got accepted into a prestigious program for heavy machinery operation.  (At least it's prestigious in the 'heavy machinery' world.) From a group of 40 applicants they selected 11 for the program so we're super proud of him.  It's like a school/work program thing.  He'll go to school for 8 weeks (in Illinois) & then work (in Louisville) for 8 weeks for 2 years total.  Brian & Lora had to take him to Illinois on Monday for some placement testing & since Cole had school, he stayed the night w/ B-rad & I.   He fits in fine around here...watching tv & playing on our phones.

 I did something I've never EVER done before - got a kid ready for school.  Granted he's 12 & all I really had to do was tell him stuff & he did it - DETAILS SCHMETAILS.  What's important is that I got him to the bus on time & I kept him alive for 2 days w/ no tears from me.

I try to do something plain & boring after I have funky nails.  Don't ask me why - I just DO.   My nail guy wouldn't allow me to JUST get pink nails so he did a design.  (He said, "Why no purple?"  Man does he know me or WHAT?)   He even put a hint of glitter on my ring finger...

In closing, I wanted to mention that I'm taking a break from Facebook.  It's not over any one person or any one stupid vague post, I just need a break from it for my psyche.  It has changed SO much since I joined many years ago when Alicia sent me a request back in her college days.   I don't want to be dramatic about it or anything & I didn't 'announce' it on there or anything dumb like that.   I only wanted to mention it here because many of you are my 'close acquaintances' & I don't want anyone to think I'm ignoring them or not 'liking' their stuff.  I have missed not seeing some things - like B-rad's cousins having their babies!  (I only know that because Alicia texted me!) 

I'm sure my need for nosiness will win out & it will suck me back in soon...     

But in the meantime if anything important happens - for Gods sake - TEXT ME!!!!

The final saga of 'the rug', new glasses & other minutia

If you have read the previous posts (& if you haven't - go do that!) you know I was going to attempt to return a rug that I deemed too small for the living room to Wal-mart... well God bless 'em because they let me return it no questions asked.  They gave me the money back on a gift card & I ordered the larger size (8x10) that very night.  The rug came one cold night last week.  The Fedex driver couldn't pull in our driveway because it was still covered in ice & he said it would be $150 out of his pay if he got stuck.  Of course I didn't want that to happen & B-rad happened to be home when the driver called so I said, "NO PROBLEM!  My husband will come right out & get it!"  So B-rad had to trek through the 'snowy w/ a layer of ice on top' yard to get this massive rug.  I knew there was NO way I could handle this rug by myself.  I had a helluva time w/ the other itty bitty baby rug & my finger tips hurt for a day from pulling it around (I moved the damn thing 3 or 4 times that night) so I knew I would have to ask B-rad to help.  I waited a respectable TWO days before I said to him, "Can you help me put this rug down before you go to the barn?"

And this is why I love B-rad (& also want to kill him...it's a delicate dance ya'll...) - to make sure the rug was 'straight' he put it down where I wanted & then he broke out the measuring tape...

He'd measure both ends, then make adjustments.  He'd measure again & realize he'd gone too far one way or the other & we'd start the process all over.  It took about 20 minutes to get it B-rad approved...

He went to the corner that wasn't under a chair or couch & pulled the rug to move it around.  Never fear - I was doing MY part - taking pictures holding up the recliner so the rug would move for him.  I've told ya'll I'm a giver...

 Sonny loves the tape measure.  He played w/ it when I had it out when this debacle first started & he immediately jumped at the chance to play with it.

 B-rad has a tendency to get distracted sometimes...

 Then tape measure was no where to be found - he was just harassing the poor cat...

After the measuring & distractions....

And I know ya'll love a good before & after.  I guess I could've technically turned it the other way, but my original plan was to fill the living room floor up w/ the rug.  If I turn it the other way it doesn't really do that & B-rad may kill me...

*****

I've had the same pair of glasses forever...like seriously its been years since I got new ones.  I don't really wear them unless I'm at home so it's hard for me to justify getting a new pair very often.  Glasses are stupid expensive plus it's a major process for me to find ones that I like so I try to put that off as much as possible.  My frames were in pretty bad shape & I knew it was time to shell out money for another pair.  My friend, Debbie's, daughter & son in law are entrepreneurs that live in Indy & they created an online company called Felix & Iris (www.felixandiris.com) & they sell glasses.   After you answer some online questions about your facial features, they suggest some frames for you.  You can choose those or pick ones you like from their selection & they mail you a kit with 4 pair of frames.  Debbie had gotten a kit from them when I visited her a while back & had told me all about how it works.  It was a really fun process online & it was cool to have the different frames to try out & wear around to get used to & see which ones you liked best.  When you pick your favorite pair, you have to mark the clear lens where the center of your pupils are (with a sharpie they provide) & mail them back (they pay the shipping.  Score!).  You upload your lens prescription, they make your glasses & mail them to you.  Easy breezy & the best part was it only cost $189.00.  My other glasses cost over $300 from the eye doctor. 

So I did what any normal, 21st century loving girl does & took 4 selfies w/ each pair of frames to see which looked best.  I liked the top & bottom left side frames best.  Debbie said, "Could you have picked out 4 frames that couldn't look more alike?"  These are the frames the site suggested for my face shape. I had no idea what shape my face was but the website helps you figure that out, too!  I decided mine is a heart.

I ultimately decided on the bottom left frames from above.  I'm still getting used to the thick, black frames that are so trendy right now.   I think they make me look smarter...

*****

I had to go to the dentist for a 6 month check up & it was time to get x-rays.  I don't do well with that because my mouth is small (I know, I KNOW - it's hard to believe...but the dentist says it so it MUST be true!) & when they put those things in my mouth to get the x-rays I get gagged really easy.  They tried to put salt on my tongue but the tech couldn't get it positioned well enough & I was gagging all over the place so they decided to do the panoramic machine thingie they use.  (I don't know what the difference is, but they said we hadn't done that since 2009 so it was time... who was I to question?)

I like my dentist because hes' cute really thorough & they explain everything to me & show me my x-rays & this visit was no different.  They were even nice enough to let me take a pic of the screen because of that strange looking bright tooth on the upper right hand side of my mouth.  It's because of that thing I now go to the dentist every 6 months religiously.

13 years ago when I lost my job I lost my dental insurance as well & when I got a new job my employer didn't provide it so I didn't go to the dentist because I was a cheap brat.  9 or 10 years ago I  tooth that started hurting & when I finally went to the dentist it was broken & could not be repaired so it had to be pulled.  BUT when you have a tooth pulled you have to do something to fill the space because your teeth will move & shift.  The dentist discouraged me from doing a bridge because of my 'young age' (I was in my late 20's...) you have to replace them every 10 years (which can get pretty expensive) & they would have to file down the perfectly good teeth in front & back of the missing tooth.  So he suggested I get a 'dental implant'.  They are costly too, but once it's done it's done...  It was quite a process (lasting about 2 years) & very expensive.  I think it was around $5000-$6000 by the time it was all said & done & I still didn't have insurance so we had to pay for the whole thing.  Basically what they do is after your mouth heals from having your tooth pulled they do x-rays to see if your sinuses dip down into the space where the implant will go & if you have enough bone for them to drill the damn thing into.  They gave me the analogy that it was a 'race' to fill the hole w/ tissue or bone after the tooth was pulled.  If it filled w/ tissure I would have to have a bone graph, if it filled w/ bone I was good to go.  Luckily mine filled w/ bone, but my sinuses dipped down just enough that they had to do a sinus 'lift' on me during the procedure.  Ya'll - I was numb but that hurt like hell.  My implant is in the second to last back tooth so I was basically laying upside down for the periodontist to do the surgery & he took a little metal HAMMER & 'tap tap tapped' it up & I could feel it up in my cheek under my eye.  Yuck!   After you heal from the actual implant you have to go & get a crown (tooth) put on it which is another $800ish dollars.  But what I love in this pic is that you can see the actual threads in the titanium post that is in my jaw.  I told the tech lady, "I've seen this a thousand times but my husband & blog stalkers never have.  I would love to take a picture of it to show him them."

*****

Since I rearranged the living room the cat who could do nothing but lay in the middle of the couch on my quilt does nothing but lay on me the foot rest of my chair when I recline it out...on my quilt...

*****

Lastly, my newest nail creation stolen from Pinterest.  I've got a ton of compliments on it & I do enjoy that... Black polish, check.  Chevron, check.  Glitter, check!