3 days to private and this and that

3 days to go until T.O. will become "private"....only 3 days.  Makes me kinda bummed (sniff, sniff)....but, it's time.

Don't forget that you can still follow along with me and mi familia at Methodical Musings of an Unbalanced Woman and Adventures in Frugalness.

In the meantime, check out some of these random going ons in our household.

Roberto and I FINALLY got the coat rack up and useable.  YEAY!  It's been awesome

(I will be posting more details on AIF soon)

Little Red's Painted Lady larvae arrived

Sometime in the next 2-3 weeks we will have beautiful painted ladies flying around in this net here.  We'll keep you posted.

Uncle Caleb and Aunt Holly came to visit for a few days after the new year.  It was good fun.  We like having them around (even if Caleb did put his big foot though the side of our tub)

Here the kiddos are enjoying "quality" time with him---"G" family style.

Holly also got a shot of Roberto and I hanging out on the floor while the monkeys were otherwise occupied.

As she took this shot she said, "See....proof you guys still love each other."

Yep....we do.  We just don't always have the time to do stuff like this. 

I thought it was a super funny statement coming from a newlywed.

Give them 10 years and 4 kids.

She'll understand then that having an opportunity to even hold hands is a novelty.  :)

Anyhow...so that's how it's going with us.  How are you?

Blogging Challenge/$10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway--Date night brings out the "best" in Melanie

Last Friday night topped "Melanie's 2011 Good Times, Noodle Salad" Chart (what?  It means I had a good time) and shows promise of staying in #1 for a while.  (I only wish the week following could have been as great).

I had such an awesome time.  Wanna hear the story?

At church, Roberto, was recently called (asked to volunteer) to be an adviser/teacher to the male youth in our ward (congregation) ages 16-18 (Mormon Lingo:  Priest Quorum Advisor).  Quite a few of these youth are stars, or at least starters, on the local high school football team.

Roberto, in his love for both football and these boys, has had a strong desire to support them. We tried to get out to a game a few weeks ago but were both disappointed when I was completely laid up with drug withdrawal issues from coming off of anti-depressants , and Rob stayed home to take care of me (at least it was being broadcast on a local sports channel here so he got to watch and cheer from a distance).   

"Next time," we said.

Well, "Next time" just happened to be last Friday night.

Roberto and I headed out, without the boys, for a much needed (MUCH NEEDED!) date night. 

I was so happy to get out of the house, away from my lovely boys. I felt very giddy and excited even before we left.  "Goodbye......," we said, after dishing out hugs, kisses, and warning of misbehavior to each of the boys.

 We hopped in the car....Destination....Richland High School Bombers football game.....but first, a pit stop at the local gas station.

Roberto had been fighting a lingering headache all day and was looking for some caffiene to heighten the blood to the brain flow-age thing.  I don't normally endulge myself in such frivolities (I prefer to expend my calories on things much sweeter with much more saturated fat) but decided, why not?....I'm on a date...I'm free...and there is no one here who will demand I give them a sip and throw a tantrum when I deny them.

It was then that I was knocked over the head with a SERIOUS case of nostalgia.  I was taken back to the days of high school-hood when my friends and I would go to the nearby Conoco station at least 2 times a day (AT LEAST...seriously) and ALWAYS before a football game or dance, to grab a "much needed" Pepsi Cola.  Although really it wasn't "needed" at all...we were just trying to "be cool" since that particular Conoco was "the hangout" for the "coolest of the cool" people at our school.)

Funny enough,12 years later, I felt "cool" all over again.  Because "cool" people go to the gas station to get drinks before football games.  "Cool" people drink Pepsi...and I SO got a Pepsi (my favored beverage in high school but of which I rarely ever drink now).

I felt young, giddy, and carefree before we even left the station.  It's like I was back in high school again.  And let me tell you....that's kind of a scary thing.  Let's just say I was a bit of a "goofball" (aka totally awesome) in high school and had a tendency to be somewhat silly.  And I was feeling it again....

After leaving the convenient store, we head toward the school and I was hit with another case of the nostalgia's.

The song "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" by The Hollies, come one the radio .....NO FLIPPEN' KIDDING!...I love this song!  It reminds me of my all time favorite FOOTBALL/FALL movie..."Remember The Titans"(which I watch EVERY fall....at least twice).  We're singing along ( well, at least to the words we knew) rather loudly (caffeine?  freedom from responsibility?  Don't know, don't care...it was fun), and I was way beyond excited now....and I couldn't hold it in any longer.

(uh oh....here comes "lady spastic"....)


I look at Roberto and yell....."IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON!   WAAAAHOOOOOO!"

Rob-o just smiles from the seat next to me.  Just content to see the lighter side of me, I'm sure.

We get to the game...we're without our kids ... we're laughing and joking together... we're holding hands.  The fall air is crisp and pleasant, the sound of the announcer over the loud speaker is loud but somehow soothing... the rebellious way I sneak in my not-quite-empty soda cup, and the "graceful" way I trip up the stadium bleachers just as we catch the attention of our good friends who flag us over to sit with them ("My wife is so graceful," Roberto says to them with a smile)....these were all contributing factors in making me feel happy and free.  And even more goofy. 

We sit...we chat...we cheer for "our" Bombers...I watch the cheerleaders (of which there was a particularly fantastic one of the male species who, let me tell you, has better jumps than I ever did) and...I watch the students in the "student section" envying them, remembering "back in the day" when I was one of them... and was far less weighed down by the cares of the world. 

But I'm not one of them...my body reminds me.  By the third quarter my back is killing me (dang SI joint injury), and by the fourth, I have to get up and walk around.  "Okay,"...Rob jokes, when I tell him I will be back, "maybe you should go cheer in the student section."  I laugh, "Funny, real funny."

And yet, after a few minutes of wandering, I find myself there....I double dog dare myself to jump in and pretend to be one of them, just to see what kind of reaction I get  (see what I mean, a total "goofball").  I wander down the bleachers into the crowd and take my place below a group of boys and next to a group of girls.  The girl next to me kept looking at me, with her sideways glances, and I finally ask her,

"Do you think I could pass for a high schooler?"

"Um, yeah, sure," she said.

I chuckled and couldn't resist backing her into a corner (my husband says I am quite good at this), "So you are saying I look OLD?"  (he he he...poor girl).

She looked like a deer in the headlights...I reassured her that I was just joking and laughed it off. (funny ending though, after several minutes she turned back to me and said, "You could totally pass for one of us."  he he he...too awesome).

I finally caught Roberto's attention from across the bleachers and was only egged on by his laughter and the shock of our friends (who, I'm sure, never believed, in a million years, that I would do it).

I found a girl in our ward (congregation) in the row in front of me....decked out in all her green and yellow glory.  I tap her on the shoulder...."nice outfit," I say.  "Thanks," she says as she throws back a quick glance....and then...a double take.  When she realized who I was she again repeated her  "Thanks," only with a bit of confusion in her eyes (like "what the heck is she doing here?").

Eventually I made my way down into the crowd...to the railings...you know, where all the "really extra cool" kids are.  I'd like to say it's because I am super cool and was WAY into the game....but mostly it was because my back was hurting and I needed the support (he he).

Let me tell you...I can cheer with the rest of them (and even complemented the very effeminate yell leader on his jumps).  It was awesome.  And the best part...being an adult and be able to do something so stupid, and yet have the maturity and security to not care what other think about me.  It's empowering.

Unfortunately the Bombers lost (ugh).  I made my way back to Rob and our friends.  They couldn't stop laughing at my "daring" attempt at returning to high school (the kind of thing that just fuels my fire).

I tell Rob, "Next time I'm gonna do it again...only all decked out."

I know he believes me....do you?  I'll take pics...you can count on that.

It was such a fun night I wasn't even bothered when I had to come down off my "cloud of nostalgia"(aka come home to two sleeping children and two not so sleeping, more like naughty, children who refused to go to bed for the babysitter).

It was the best date night we have had in a LONG TIME!  LOOOONNNNGGGG TIME!
(not to be topped by our "sit on the couch and watch a movie together after the kids are in bed" date night tonight.

 So...that's my story....I hope you liked it.

Now I want to hear from YOU!

Melanie's Blogging Challenge/Giveaway! 

(this giveaway is part of the Happy 4th Birthday T.O. Birthday Bash/Giveaways--which will be announced NEXT Friday (Oct 14th) where you will have a chance to win even MORE stuff).

Choose one of the following topics....FALL, FOOTBALL, DATE NIGHT, THE GOOD OL' DAYS or 30 YEAR OLD WOMAN PARADING AROUND PRETENDING TO BE A TEENAGER (or any other story of you as a "not so acting your age" person)...which ever one tickles your writing fancy...

...and BLOG ABOUT IT.

(story can be a previously posted, yet related, post as long as you re-post it a. with the current date (so it comes up the first post on your blog page) b. with the challenge rules and c. with proper links to this post). 

What can I win?  

The winner of this blog challenge/giveaway will randomly be chosen to win a $10 Amazon.com gift card (provided from my very own pocket lining).  

How can I win?

One entry will be counted for every "valid" comment/entries left on T.O. (Remember to leave a separate comment for each of the "valid" entries).

"Valid" comments include:

#1 a personal story entry (see below)

#2 a referral story entry (see below)

#3 by signing up to "follow" T.O. and leaving a comment to tell me that you did (if you already "follow", just leave a comment stating that you already do.)

What is a "personal" entry?

A personal entry is a single comment left on T.O. by you consisting of a link to your Melanie's Blogging challenge/giveaway entry (aka your posted story).

What is a "referral" entry?

A "referral" entry is a single comment left by one of YOUR READERS listing YOU as their "referral" to Melanie's Blog Challenge/Giveaway.  The more of YOUR readers you can engage in this challenge, the more entries/chance YOU will have to win.

Things to remember:

 

#1  BE SURE to link back to this post (any submitted story NOT linking back to this post will be disqualified from the giveaway) and post the challenge/giveaway rules for your readers (copy and paste from the pink text down).

#2 BE SURE to leave a comment linking me to YOUR challenge/giveaway entry (again, your story) as well as your e-mail address so that I can contact you if you win. (your "personal" entry)

#3 BE SURE to tell your readers to A. come back here and post a comment linking me to THEIR story (which will be their "personal" entry) but also leave ANOTHER comment telling me who referred THEM (which would be one of YOUR "referral" entries).

Do you need an example.?  I know I would (if I hadn't thought it up myself...and even that confused me).

"Personal" entry comment example:

Hi, Melanie, that was a great story.  :)

My name is ____________ and here is a link to my Melanie's Blog Challenge/ Giveaway Entry http://_________________. 

I hope I win.

"Referral" entry comment example:

Hi Melanie....I was referred to your Blog Challenge/Giveaway by (insert Name) at (blog name or address you came from).  OR just leave the blog name if you don't know their name personally.

Does that make sense?  If you have any questions please contact me at testosteroneoverloadXY at gmail dot com.

Challenge/Giveaway ends two weeks from today---Friday, October 21, 2011.  The winner will be announced and then I will ask for your e-mail address so I can get you your prize. 
 

So go....write your stories....and don't forget to link back, post the rules for YOUR readers, and leave your comment(s).

Happy Winnings!

This post may or may not include affiliate links

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE HERE!  (Just one easy click)

long lost treasures

Since I dropped our camera, and no longer have use of it, we have been using our cell phones to take pictures.

I wanted to finally post "first day of school" pictures (which will be coming soon...they need a bit of cropping first) but couldn't remember where the USB cable ended up.  When I inquired of Rob all I got was a,  "I don't know."  It was then we realized that in the two years we have owned these phones, neither of us have ever actually tried to get pictures off the them.  Huh.

Needless to say, that when we finally downloaded the pictures today (all 60-ish or so), we discovered some long lost treasures.

Mini Rob and Little Red at Rob's work party TWO years ago...this month.

Look how little and cute.  Sigh....

 

and here is G-McBabe and the same time.  So so cute.

  

Little Red sometime in the fall of '09 (I'm guessing)

He's just so little...and chubby...I can't get over it.

 

Mini Rob and Little Red---I think at Costo (Dec '09 ?)

coveting those wire framed horses

 

Pictures of the cool "Star Wars" themed room at the pediatricians office

we took Mr. Golden Locks to when he was a newborn.

my boys LOVED this room.

Mr. Golden Locks--I'm guessing this was taken in November of 2010.  

Before his hair turned into a mass of golden curls.

How I love my curly haired little thumb sucker.

 Little Red--the ever photogenic one.

I can't remember when this was taken.  I'm guessing fall of 2010 or spring of 2011...

but I do remember him asking me to take a picture of him in the tree.  

He smile melts my heart every time (except when he's being mischievous and naughty).

These last three we found on Rob's phone.  He's way more into taking picture of "scenery" than people.

Now...I'm not much into the scenery kind of things but these beauties were pretty cool.

 Picture of a sunrise---infused with mist---over the river.

(taken from Rob's office)

Mural on the wall of a Carneceria in a neighboring city.

Too funny!

The fountain in front of Rob's office building.

Apparently someone forgot to shut the water off for the winter.

I wonder if they had any pipe problems after that.  :)

Makes for a pretty cool picture, though.

Just one easy click!

Ignorance may not be bliss...but in some cases it's better

Rob always asks me what time the kids got up in the morning.  He's very persistent.  He wants to know.

I, on the other hand, never know because I try hard not look at the clock when they come waddling into my room.

Especially if it's still dark outside (even worse in the summer).

I'd rather just not know.

If I know how little sleep I've gotten it makes me irritable and anxious.

I choose ignorance.

I choose to pretend it's been over 8 hours.

I'd rather just not know the truth.

How about you?
Just one easy click!

A boy, a girl, and a football jersey

So, I know I have posted this story before.  In fact...more than once.  But I love to read it...and I love to tell it...and I found a blog that is hosting a  "project marriage" (a way to reconnect as a couple and make your marriage stronger).  I find the idea intriguing so I decided to give it a try.

June's challenge for "Project Marriage" is: Your Love Story

 So...without further ado....(if you have already read it...just go find something else to do)

A boy, a girl, and a football jersey  

(revised for the 2nd time)

There once was a girl named Melanie 

 

who fell madly in love with a "hot" football player named Rob. 

He sat in front of her in Spanish 2010 and, although she was dating someone else, found herself smitten by his charm. She vowed, to her roommates, that one day she would marry him (and they totally didn't believe me...true story). All she had to do now was convince him of her interest (which was pretty hard to do...he was pretty dense back then.  Girls flocked to him and he had no idea).   After a shameless amounts of flirting Rob finally realized that Melanie might actually like him.

Each day Melanie would come home from class and sit at the front window of her apartment (which just so happened to be located across from the field where the football players practiced). She would happily gaze out at the field and dream of the day she would discover which player he was.  

 (picture actually taken while watching practice one day...I'm in the center)

One day, while sitting at her persistent perch, Melanie spotted a head full of orange hair (a bleach job gone bad--he's actually a brunette) and knew it had to be him

(she would later discover that she could pick him out by his football pants clad backside rather than his hair...yowsers).  

 

Could it be? Had she finally found her "true love" in the sea of white jerseys?  

It had to be...and it was.  #40 was never far from her sight or mind again.

A week or so later, Melanie returned from country swing dancing (that's right....laugh it up) to discover something lying on her bed. It was football jersey #40. It had been ripped down one side (oh no....was her beloved Rob hurt?) and a note was attached. 

It read,

Dear Melanie,

I love you. I have always loved you. Will you marry me?

Love, 

#40

A moment of hope.  Rob had discovered his love for her and had come to ask for her hand.  Wait a second.  Reality settled in around her and Melanie knew that, even though her heart longed for it, this could not be true (I mean, we had only known each other for a few weeks).  

She was brokenhearted.  Who had played such a cruel joke on her.  Who?  Who?  

She needed answers...and she got them.


The culprits confessed immediately...and without conscience.

The boys that lived downstairs from her (who knew she sat day after day watching #40 from her window) happened upon the jersey lying on the football field while walking home earlier that evening. 

They couldn't believe their luck. What were the chances?

They plotted their evil scheme and waited for the girls in apartment "B" to leave for the night. They wrote the note, broke into the apartment through a side window, and laid everything on Melanie's bed.

It was a cruel, cruel joke.

Melanie was furious. How could they toy with her emotions like that?  She returned the jersey to the villains and fled. 

But they would not be deterred.  They continued to taunt her and refused to take the jersey back.  

What could she do?

And then...a though...a plan...maybe fate...who knows?...Melanie had an idea.

"Yes.....that will do”, she said to herself, as she tacked the jersey to the siding on the front of her apartment building (true story).

The next day, Melanie went to Spanish class and executed "phase 2" of the plan.

Melanie (boldly): "Hey Rob, what is your football jersey doing on the front of my house?"

Rob (looking confused): "My jersey? I don't know? What do you mean?"

Melanie: "I mean, your jersey is hanging on the front of my apartment building. #40, right? How did it get there? Did you put it there?"

Rob (even more confused): "NO? I don't know how it got there. It got ripped off me during practice yesterday. I gave it to one of the managers.  She took it. I haven't seen it since."

(ah...so that's how the boys got it, I thought)

Melanie: "Well, it's there. I guess you will see it at practice today."

And sure enough, at practice that fine day, Rob did, indeed, see the jersey. In fact, the whole team saw the jersey and began their inquiries.

"Rob, how did your jersey get over there?" "I thought it was destroyed yesterday." "Ow Ow Rob....way to go," etc, etc, etc.

A few days later Rob's parents arrived from Washington to watch Rob play in the Homecoming Game.  They were astonished when Rob pointed to the Stadium View Apartments and said (all proud like),

"See that jersey over there?.....yeah, it's mine."

"How did it get there?" they asked.

"I don't know."

"Well, do you know someone who lives there?"

"Yeah, this really cool girl in my Spanish class lives there. Her name is Melanie."

"Hmm," they said.  

Little did they know that it would not be the last time they would hear about that "really cool girl in [his] Spanish class."

Within a few weeks Rob and Melanie were dating.

Eventually the jersey was retired from the front of the apartment building and after several washings (including a two day soak in a garbage can of bleach water), was lovingly stitched back up the side and hung on the wall in Melanie's bedroom. 

This treasure of hers soon became the centerpiece of what was known as the "Shrine De Rob".

A year and a half later (after experiencing an almost break-up, a summer apart, a reunion, a lot of marriage talk, an actual break up, him begging me to take him back, an acceptance, a proposal, and a lot of good times), Rob and Melanie were married on May 10th in Manti, UT.

Melanie knew all along it would happen and cant help but think it was the #40 jersey that brought them together.

Sappy, I know...but very, very true.

So as you see, the boy got the girl (or should I say the girl got the boy) and they lived Happily Ever After

...or so you would think.

Man, I suck.

Four years of marriage, two kids, and two moves had taught Melanie that life was simpler without clutter, no matter what that clutter may be.  As preparations unfolded for move #3 (while pregnant with child #3), Melanie decided a bit of de-cluttering was in order (and she looses all sentimentality when she is pregnant).

She did the unbelievable.  She tossed the jersey.  Yes!...THAT jersey. THE #40 Jersey.

To this day Melanie has no actual knowledge of doing it.  She does not believe that she could have been so uncaring and unfeeling to have banished it from the house but, alas, Rob vows that she did (seriously?!?  We kept some of Rob's practice jerseys from high school. Why would I have gotten rid of the white #40 and kept those?). How could she do such a thing?

After posting this story the first time, including a plea to any of her roommates who might have any pictures including the jersey, a miracle happened.  One of the roommates found some pictures of "The Shrine De Rob" (pictured above) and sent them to Melanie.  It was a glorious day.

So while it still makes Melanie sick that she got rid of the #40 jersey, she at least has a few pictures to bring her comfort and fond memories.

The END

11 years, 1 break-up, 1,000,000's of kisses, 1 marriage, 8 moves, 4 jobs, and 4 boys later, we are here.....we are thriving....and sometimes, we laugh together like the weight of parenthood and responsibility has been lifted off our shoulders.....like the good 'ol days.

It's awesome.  

And yes...
 

I still love this boy.

And I bet he would STILL look awesome in a pair of football pants.  ;)

Just one easy click!

Is that a caterpillar? Or a mustache on your face?

Rob thought it would be funny to grow out his "cheesy  mustache" again. 

 

And this is his..."you wanna piece of me" former correctional officer look.

Are you scared?

People at work loved it.  His wife....not so much.  Not only does it age him about 15 years but more importantly, the hairs grow STRAIGHT out and it pokes.  LIKE CRAZY!  If it were a caterpillar (which I think it looks like) it would be one of those spiky poisonous ones.  At least that's what it feels like.

I prefer clean shaven thank you very much.

My hero---and his "supers" in training

I knew I married my hero....what I didn't expect was to have a household of "supers" to follow in his footsteps.

How to successfully perform a "super" push-up Step 1...

Step 2...

Step 3...

Good form. Especially when you consider having over 110 lbs on his back. He's such a good dad. I love him. Glad he's mine.