RSVP? Next time I'm writing "Lemme know, damnit".

So, my oldest turns 8 on Sunday. Like, holy crap, I can't believe she's already going to be 8.

We're doing her party at the skating rink, she requested a rock star theme. Pretty cool stuff, hubby designed her invites to look like concert tickets. I've reserved 12 slots at the rink, and luckily you only have to pay for the kids that show up (not like Chuck E Cheese who has you pre-pay regardless of how many show). So I've bought 12 buckets for her favors, figuring that in a best case scenario, everyone shows. We've decided to stick with girls only, and she invited the girls from her class.

So I send out the invites about 2 weeks ago on a Friday. And, like most invites, I asked for them to RSVP. I figured, if they couldn't come and would let me know, Arielle could invite some of her other friends. Friends from softball, our friends kids, etc. And no, it's not a "A List" or "B List" type of thing. It's more of a "mommy is paying for 12 slots, let's fill those suckers".

So out of 12 people, only 3 kids have RSVP'd. Two of them sisters from the same family. So two moms. I mean, what the hell, other 9 moms? Where are your manners? Arielle thinks that 6 of the girls said that they can't come. Well, gee slacker moms, thanks. And now if I send out some more invites to fill those slots, I look like the slacker mom who waited for the last minute to send out invites.

I just wish I had these mom's emails or something, but I don't think I should have to chase them down. Oh, and I put email and cell phone number on there, in case they had some weird phone call phobia.

Do you RSVP? Am I being unreasonable? Am I old fashioned, since I always RSVP whether it's a yay or nay? Do you get better results with putting "RSVP regrets only" and just assume if you haven't heard from them that they are coming? I know she's really excited about her party, I'd hate to see the look on her face if only a couple of people show.

Arielle on her second birthday. I can't believe she was ever so little.

My soon to be 8 year old. I might punch some parents in the head if they cause this smile to leave her face.

Co-hosting Creative Bloggers Party & Hop #7

So, it's official. I rock. SJ asked me to co-host today's Creative Bloggers Party & Hop.

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Oh, you don't know who SJ is? She's the blogger behind Homemaker on a Dime. Her tagline is a "Quest for a million bucks look on a dime's budget". I think that's what we all try to do, right? You'll find a bunch of great projects on her blog, and reading her blog feels like having a casual conversation with a girlfriend.

You wanna play along? Do ya? Do ya? All you have to do is

1) link up whatever creative post you'd like to share - can be a DIY project, decor, photography, crafts, recipes, poem, thrift finds, or that informative syndicated post that can make us laugh, or cry . Basically  if you've blogged about it, and you heart it, link it up, sista.

2) Then follow as many blogs as your heart desires, preferably starting first with the one before you and after you, before branching out. Following the host and co-host, too, will be very much appreciated, and we'll definitely follow back. We're awesome like that.

You’re not required to include the party button, but if you’re so inclined to display it in your blog or your post, you’re very much welcome to do so :)

This is a combination of linky party (where we can show off our creations) and of blog hop (where we can follow as many excellent bloggers as we like), hence the name Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop.

Link opens up every Sunday at 5:00 pm, PST.

Because we like something different, we're using the reverse entry for inlinkz - so the most recent participant will show up as number 1, giving everybody a chance to get the #1 spot.

Following me is awesome. Me following you in return is awesome. Let's both be awesome, k?

Highs and Lows: Number Four. Cuatro. Quatre. Net.

So here we are again. Time for Highs and Lows. Pretty simple. Share the highs and lows of your week.

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Highs

• Got my tattoo worked on. Next appointment is set for June 12th. 

• Had a great date night with hubby. Went to dinner at Mi Cocina (food sucked but the company was good). Then we went to see Michael Winslow at the Improv (he's the guy who does all the voice effects on Police Academy). He totally harassed me, which was awesome.

• Finished up a bunch of stuff for Arielle's party next weekend. The cupcake liners, the cupcake picks, the favor buckets. Good stuff. 

• Went over to our friends house for dinner on Thursday. Had a great time just hanging out. 

• Hung out with my mom a few times. Lunch, shopping, etc.

Lows

• Hubby finally got his car back after over 8 months. He drives it for a day, and the check engine light comes on. He calls the shop, and schedules it to be brought back in. Gets a ticket the next day for expired tags. WTF. $160 ticket. The cop said that we can go contest it. Ugh.  

So again, another week where the highs outnumber the lows. Booyah.
 

Curbside find + $7 = nifty thrifty dog bed

So, I love my dog. I'll just throw that out there. He's almost 9, and I've had him since he was 6 weeks old. I bought him when I was stationed in Japan, and paid to fly him from Japan to Dallas. Yeah, NOT cheap. And I do spoil him. Not in a "Look how cute my dog is in his new sneakers and doggy hair dye", nothing weird like that. 

I don't know how much longer he'll be around. About a year ago, he started yipping when I'd pick him up. I figured it was arthritis. You know, the whole "dachshunds have bad backs" thang. But after doing an x-ray, the vet said that Jasper has a inoperable golf ball sized tumor on the underside of his spine. Do you know how big a golf ball is to a miniature dachshund? So basically the tumor is putting pressure on two of his vertebra and caused small fractures. So we do pain meds and anti-inflammatories, and he's comfortable and happy and runs around like normal. And when his quality of life starts to decline, then we'll have to make that hard decision.

Anywho, back to the fun part, enough of the sad. 

About a week ago, we were pulling into the driveway, and I saw that the idiot neighbors that I hate had thrown out some wooden boxes. Now, as much as I love a deal, especially free, I can't dig thru the garbage. I mean, what if someone saw me? 

Can you do it? I can't. 

So I send my oldest daughter over there, and she brings home these three wooden boxes, and I knew that I wanted to make a new bed for Jasper. I originally was going to purchase a small low table off of Craigslist and make him one, but hubby wasn't thrilled with the idea of something else in our living room. So when I told him that I was turning one of the drawers into a bed, he said something along the lines of "I thought we agreed not to put something else in the already crowded living room?" I just said "Oh, I thought you meant that you didn't want to spend money on it?" Yeah, played dumb, did what I wanted to do originally. I totally knew what he meant. Sorry bebe. At least he loves it now. I always tell him that I know best, and sometimes just have to shove him in the right direction.

This is what I started with. Good size with those dovetail joint thingies that I always hear about.

And snagged these bad boys at Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon.

My first attempt sucked. Realized (luckily before the glue had a chance to set) that the legs weren't looking so hot there. So I popped those off and placed them along the lip. This picture shows my lame first attempt.

I used the color Beach Sparkle, it's a Valspar color (had to love that free sample giveaway they did). Don't the legs look better there?

Then I put on some stain with a foam brush, and then wiped it off after a minute. Make sure you get in all the crevices. The color I used was dark walnut. I would have called it done at this point, but hubby kept giving me dirty looks when I told him I was finished.

So one more coat, plus a sheet of $3 piece of foam, and a piece of fabric for a couple of bucks. And voila! Pretend that the fabric is straight in this pic. I just noticed that it's crooked. Grrrrr.

Hubby loves it, Jasper loves it, my pocketbook loves it. Score.

Freschetta Simply Inspired Pizza was yummy in my tummy

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA®. All opinions are 100% mine.

So, I'll admit it. I read all the blogs who were gushing about the FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizza campaign. And I was totally jealous, I wanted to try it too. We eat frozen pizza at least once every couple of weeks in our house. Sometimes it's once a week, depending on how lazy I'm feeling. So I was totally stoked when Freschetta contacted me and let me try one too.

We've always been loyal lovers of another pizza brand. But now I'll admit, I'm switching to FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™. And hubby, who's a creature of habit, told me he wants to switch too.

There are 8 new varieties. We decided to go with the Rustic Pepperoni Pomodoro.

Did you read that description? Pepperoni, shiitake mushrooms, roasted red peppers, mozzarella and gouda cheese... talk about yummy!

Hubby and I are normally strictly thick crust kind of people. So I wasn't sure if I was going to like the thin crust. I resisted the urge to get out my pizza stone (we love our pizzas crispy) and I baked it according to the directions (put on middle rack of oven, sans pizza stone or tray). It turned out nice and crispy. And yummy.

And are you drooling over that pic yet? This isn't a case where the picture looks a heck of a lot better than the food actually does. The pepperoni slices were HUGE, the mushrooms and red peppers were plentiful. Yeah, it was pretty darn good. No false advertising here.

The only con I did find was that while it was perfectly sized for two people (enough for hubby and I with leftovers for his next day's lunch), you'd want to pick up two so you have enough for the kids. But with all the different selections and great price, that's not a bad thing.

It didn't come in a big bulky box like traditional pizzas, which is great for those of us with limited freezer space. The FRESCH-TASTE SEAL™ Packing locks in the vibrant flavors, while using 30% less packaging material. So yummy in your tummy, PLUS good for the environment? Score.

Want to know more? Check out @FreschettaSI on Twitter and “Like” www.facebook.com/FreschettaSim… on Facebook. On the Facebook page they are offering weekly giveaways of awesome prizes through the rest of 2011. Also, starting soon, they will be offering the opportunity to download a $2 off coupon for FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ on their Facebook page.

So a yummy pizza for a great price, PLUS coupons to save you money? Score.

New ink makes for a very happy Jen

"Your body is a temple, but how long can you live in the same house before you redecorate?"

  ~Author Unknown

I didn't want to say anything, just in case I jinxed it, but I had my rescheduled tattoo appointment yesterday. I showed up at 1. Hubby worked through his lunch hour so he could come up there and help me pick out the flower style and placement. I figure, he's the one who's going to have to look at it for forever, right? 

The tattoo artist was Casey Cokrlic. Seriously, he's the man. We talked about the kinds of flowers I wanted, and he free handed them on me. Pretty cool not to have flash (the tattoo pics on the wall) just copied and pasted on me. Plus, he was able to work with the work I already have. 

Here he is, drawing it on me. He first sketched out everything in red, and then went back with the ink pen and finalized the drawing.

We went with just the line work today, and made the appointment to finished it for June 10th. Tattoos seem to heal better when you split it up and not do too much at one time.

So here it is now. We (I say we like I did anything besides sit there, LOL) did cherry blossoms around the whole thing, with a chrysanthemum at the bottom.

With a big peony on the back side. I think I'm going to have him add a few more cherry blossoms on the inside of my arm (ouch) but I think it'd fill it in better. Hubby wants me to do gray whispy smoke around the whole thing, but I'm undecided. He says it'd fill it in more, Casey said it'd make it a heavier piece. But I figure, I'm little and girly, I don't need a huge heavy tattoo. But I might change my mind, I dunno.

Hubby of course, starting jonesing for a new tattoo while he was there. So we scheduled him an appointment for the 10th too. He has a tribal shoulder cap and the upper part of his arm done. They're talking about adding some black Japanese waves and a big koi fish, and turning it into a 3/4 sleeve.

So, share. Tattoos, yay or nay? Do you have any? Plan to get any more? Love them but couldn't do it? 

Moms Rock.

If you haven't linked up to my Highs and Lows link party this week, it's still open. 

I hadn't planned on doing a Mother's Day post, but after seeing a bajillion other blogs do posts about their mommies, I didn't want to be lame and not do one too. But doing this post made me realize two things. 

First off, I suck. I see my mom 3-4 times a week, and I had to go back to May 2009 to find a pic of us together. I have a ton of pics of her, just not of us. Mental note to remedy that.

Second thing. Holy crap, I take a lot of self portraits. You might notice a theme of that in these pics. I'm usually the one with the camera, so if I want a pic of myself, I just take it. I can ask hubby to take the pic, but he's done after two, maybe three pics of me. But you know how it is. You want to take thirty pics, just to find that one good one (I'm not the only one who thinks that, right?). So it's easier to take it myself, I don't get bored and can take as many pics as I want. 

My mom is awesome. Besides the whole free babysitter thang. And the fact that she was a seamstress/tailor for twenty years, so she saves us a ton of money on clothes. Pretty cool. But besides those perks, she's just a lot of fun to be around. Completely selfless, so amazing to my girls. I can tell her anything. Growing up, we weren't close at all. But as I've gotten older and have grown up, and she's relaxed a bit, we're really close now. I heart her.

My oldest is going to be 8 in two weeks. Eek, where did the time go? She's completely independent, can be so sweet at times (when she's not trying to mother her two sisters). I'm a lucky mommy.

What can I say about my 5 year old? Most days I want to pull my hair out with this one. She's the epitome of a middle child. Can't be the boss because of the older one, but can't be the baby because of the baby. Kinds just floats in the middle. But she can be sweet, and I wouldn't trade her for anything.

And last, we have Miss Pumpkin Booty Girl, as I call her. Sweet as can be, has a smile for everyone.We went thru a lot with this one. 66 days in the NICU, 6 surgeries. But it was all worth it.

Some days as a mom are harder than others. I threaten at least once a day to punch them in the head, but I wouldn't trade these girls for the world.

Wanna know what I got for Mother's Day? Do ya? Do ya? Besides some lovely cards, an awesome book and some crafts from the older girls? I got me this bad boy. 

Silhouette, what what? Hubby The girls did good!