Winner!!! announced from the "browse week" giveaway

CONGRATULATIONS....

Andrea L.

For winning the "browse week" giveaway.

Not only did Andrea receive a box full of some of "my favorite things."  But, because I know her personally, we get to hang out together the next time I'm in Spokane.  Lucky girl!   ;)

Don't forget...there are more giveaways to be won. 

Currently: $10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway.

Check back on Friday for our HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY TESTOSTERONE OVERLOAD CELEBRATION/GIVEAWAYS!
Just one easy click!

"But it's not 'cold cereal' day."---Adventures in Frugalness

I woke up, or at least got out of bed, this morning to the sound of "a waterfall of little somethings" cascading down onto the floor in my kitchen.

"Little Red" (the informant...aka the tattle tale) comes bursting into my room, "Mom, [Mini Rob] just dumped Kix out all over the floor."

UGH!.......

I get up, put on my robe, and head out to survey the damage.  I brace myself as I turn the corner into the kitchen.

"Mini Rob" is standing there with the, now mostly empty, box of cereal, outside the pantry door (while Little Red and Mr. Golden Locks are squatted down shoveling as much of the contraband into their mouths as they can).

I look inside the pantry and groan....it's EVERYWHERE! (they were on the TOP shelf, after all).

"[Mini Rob] what are you doing?"

"I want these...I'm hungry."

"That's great, but, it's not 'cold cereal' day, you can't have them," I say in my frustration.

"But.....I waaaannnnnneeeeemmmmm."

"Too darn bad....it's not 'cold cereal' day.  Now, go get the vacuum and clean up this mess."

Ah.....the weeping and wailing.

(I've gotta hand it to the kid, though.  He has never been one to shy away from getting himself food when he is hungry...(while my older two will just whine and complain until someone else gets it for them) and he is pretty efficient at cleaning up after his messes...(since he has been doing it since he was just 20 months old).

No...I'm not a bad mom that wants my kids to go hungry.  I was just enjoying the warmth of my bed this morning rather than concerning myself with the welfare of their empty bellies.

And....it's not my fault he can't have the cold cereal he just worked so hard to acquire (although like I said, "Little Red" and "Mr. Golden Locks" were enjoying the fruits of his labors).  I am merely following the "Breakfast Menu"...the one we all worked together to come up with and agreed to follow.

Anyone can see that Monday is NOT cold cereal day.  It's oatmeal day.  Hello!  (despite the fact that "Mini Rob" is only 4 and can't read...it's in plain sight)

(please don't be jealous of my insanely good photography skills...

oh...or my crafty/scrapbook-y skills either....

they just come naturally.)

We are now on our third week of said "Breakfast Menu".  After having many many days of "breakfast issues" (see Stubborn Syndrome vs. Starving Children in Africa), I was given some very solid advise to make a menu and stick to it.  And we have (other than one of the days my family was in town and my sister and I tried to put cut up apples and cinnamon in their oatmeal....heaven forbid).

This way, there are no surprises as to "What's for breakfast?"  Plus...it has been a HUGE money saving devise mostly because we only eat cold cereal twice a week now (oh, how I miss the days when I used to make $22 by picking up 21 boxes of cereal at the store---story from my other other blog).

All in all it's been so nice to have.  Thanks MOM (aka queen of frugalness and good ideas)!  :)

Just one more "adventure in frugalness", saving my family from being eaten out of house and home.

Even if they don't appreciate it every morning....they'll thank me in the long run....when the snow starts falling (IF the snow starts falling) and they are snug in their beds instead of freezing to death on the streets in a cardboard box somewhere.

What's on the menu for tomorrow?  Eggs and muffins....YUM!

SO WHAT DO Y'ALL FEED YOUR FAMILIES FOR BREAKFAST?
Just one easy click!

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)

HELP! I need you!---creating jeans that fit

This post is the first in a serious of posts entitled, HELP!  I need you!, where I, Melanie, am asking you, my readers (old and new) for help on a project/task/or parenting issue.

Let's face it....I'm just not as smart as I profess to be.  And I need help and advise from the outside.

Problem of the day:

 

Fall weather is now settling in...shorts are being put away...pants are coming out to play. 

For me, in a house full of testosterone this presents two problemas.  #1 holey knees  #2 fitting issues (either too short, too long, to fat, too skinny,...you get the idea).

After publishing the post Eclectic Fashion in our home of XY's, I was directed to an awesome blog, Living Locurto, where I found a tutorial How to Sew Monster Knees (both very cute and very doable).  I'm sure I'll be trying out this tutorial in the next few weeks, since that is about how long it will take for the newest crop of pants to go from the "someone must really care about you" to the "no one seems to care about you" stage.  I'll post pictures.

Until then, I am currently dealing with problema #2.  

That is why I need YOUR HELP!

In the latest batch of "we feel bad for you because you have a million (4) clothes destroying boys" (aka gratefully received clothing donations from friends and neighbors who are either a. very generous or b. trying to save themselves a trip to Goodwill, DI, Salvation Army, etc, and choose to drop them off here instead.  Either way, we are thankful for them)....anyway....in the last batch of these were a few pairs of jeans, big enough for G-McBabe (#1) that are still in very good, very useable condition.

Sort of.

They are definitely long enough....but are so HUGE in the waist (G has his daddy's superman build---broad shoulders, narrow waist).  G refuses to wear a belt and they do NOT have an adjustable waist band (that should be a crime, don't you think?).

So....to the point.  What do I need your for?

Ideas.  How do I make these pants into something usable for my 8 year old without the use of a belt, also keeping in mind that I HAVE a sewing machine but am not as savvy as to it's usage as I would like to be (aka I'm not much more than a beginner.)?   

Any ideas?

Please come to my rescue...(he is wearing the same two pairs of pants over and over and while that may be enough for some kids, it is not enough for him).

Feel free to either leave a comment (directing me to your totally awesome tutorial idea) or e-mail me at testosteroneoverloadXY at gmail dot com.  Thanks!

P.S. You don't have to have an idea to leave me a comment. I love hearing from you regardless.

Just one easy click!

"Best" of Testosterone Overload

I spent the morning working on a few subtle changes around T.O., while trying to watch LDS General Conference.  My kids were driving me CRAZY and I found myself very far from patient with them.

Lunch time rolled around and I decided it was time to pull back together.  I turned on some soothing music and filled their bellies.  Then boys and I tried to put the house in order before the next session of Conference started (and before Rob got home to see what I mess I had let it become while neglecting the kids).  

I hope all the work has not gone unnoticed.  Yeah, it's subtle but I think it looks better.  Don't you?

Please tell me I didn't spend all the time and frustration (because I definitely got frustrated) for nothing.

Like the times that I go to the store and spend several minutes trying to pick out the perfect shade of make-up (which takes forever because I am SO indecisive), while my kids are running around, knocking things off the shelves and making a general nuisance of themselves....I get home and actually take the time to apply said make-up (which is a GIANT feat in and of itself), while my kids continue in their M.O., tearing apart my house, while I am back in my bathroom, oblivious to the going ons....Roberto finally get's home from work, I saunter up to him (all proud of myself-like) and ask, "What do you think about my "new look"?  He looks, and looks, and looks at me for several second and finally says, "You changed something?"

Are you kidding me!?!?! 

Yeah...so please tell me it's not like that.  Tell me you like it....lie if you have to.  :)

I've also been working on a story about our super awesome date last night which includes the launch of a new blogging challenge/giveaway.  Keep your eyes peeled.  It's going to be awesome.

In the mean time, I wanted to draw attention to the newest published page here on T.O.

The "Best" of Testosterone Overload. 

It's a list of....you guessed it....the "best" posts ever published. 

I'll be adding another category of "best"'s soon...but, need to focus on one thing at a time...at least that's what my hubby tells me...so I will let you know when I get it done.

So...go...have a look, especially if you are new here.

If your not new but want to spend some time reading something totally funny and AWESOME (he he he), it's good for that too.

One more thing... 

Testosterone Overload is having it's 4 year anniversary in 15 days (I can't believe it has been that long). 

I want to do something fun. 

Like a super awesome giveaway. 

So here's where I need your help.

If you have a product, or service you would like to donate to the "celebration" contact me at testosteroneoverloadXY at gmail dot com.  It's great exposure for you and your product and a good opportunity for me to give back to my readers/supporters.  :) 

Thanks you.  I wouldn't be here without YOU!

I hope you are having a fantastic weekend...go eat some Peanut Butter Panic ice cream (Blue Bunny) if you are not.  I can almost guarantee you will feel better afterwards.  :)

Love,