Requesting Donations!! April 27, 2012

Okay – so if anyone reading this blog understands why it started, you also understand why I need donations.

After losing our son, Rogan, we were devastated. The only response we could come up with was to walk in the March of Dimes walk in honor of our baby. The following year we continued to raise funds and my husband walked while I was on bedrest. We are continuing the tradition and have become one of the top teams in the Long Island area.

This year, however, we are falling far short of our $2500 goal. As a team we still need a little over a $1000 to make goal. Please think about making a donation to Team Rogan so that we can continue to do our small part in helping those babies born prematurely as well as educating mothers and funding research to prevent birth defects and premature births. Thank you all in advance!!!

Just go to http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/rogan to make a donation.

Yikes! April 23, 2012

Guess who cursed? Yuppers…my lovely 2 year and 9 month old son. And he did it soooooooo well.
We were having dinner and he got up from the table, went to the living room and picked up one of his storybooks. Brought it back to the kitchen and I asked him what he was doing. His response “I want to read a book.” And I said “We are eating dinner, no books right now, put that back.” and my little angel said “Fucking Christ!”, threw the book onto the ground and got back in the chair.
Not really sure whether to laugh or cry I asked him what he just said and he repeated it, albeit very quietly…
I told him we don’t say those words, they are bad words and left it at that. Haven’t heard anything since, but still think it’s kind of hilarious and had to put it down for posterity – on the internet that is.

ByeBye Santa Fe April 22, 2012

Ah well….my Santa Fe is no more 😦
my faithful sidekick has left me – no more beach drives, no more off-road trips, no more curb-hopping. I will miss you so…
I know it sounds pathetic, but I love my cars – especially when they are MY cars: as in I decided this is the vehicle I like, I research to the “nth” degree, I price shop like a crazy person til I think I’ve found the best deal and then I baby my vehicle for all the days that I own it. And I hate, hate, hate giving up my vehicles.
My first car was a 1978 Chrysler LeBaron. I called it the green hornet. Bought it in 1983 for $800 and kept it for 7 years of body work, mechanical work and interior work. If there were a lemon law in those days this car qualified. When I was ready to move on I gave it to my brother who quietly (or maybe not so) made it disappear.
I replaced the Chrysler with a brand new 1990 Toyota Celica and I still miss that car. It was like going from a Sherman Tank to a Formula 1 car and I loved it. I put the best stereo system, amps and bass tube in it and drove it for 13 years and 120,000 miles. I trailered jetski’s to races in that car and spent many a night down by the water with a cup of coffee and the radio all by myself in it. That car didn’t give me a lick of trouble and was the easiest thing in the world to maintain. And then it started to have problems so I decided it was time to move on and sell her for a mere $1300 and a LOT of aggravation from buyers.
I then purchased a new 2003 Hyundai Santa Fe…and I can’t say enough great things about that truck. While not a sleek and fast as the Celica, the Santa Fe was another winner. I drove that thing on beaches, rocks, dunes and in the woods. I commuted in that sucker for 6 years. It literally saved my life when some guy plowed into me doing 65mph on the Long Island Expressway while I was at a dead stop. That truck just wouldn’t (or won’t) die. I’m sure the woman who purchased it is going to get plenty out of that vehicle. And I hope she takes care of it and loves it only half as much as I did, which she probably won’t but what can you do. 10 years and 213,000 miles is a lot and that truck owed me nothing, but I will still miss it.
So, now I’m driving my husbands used Tahoe. Not that I hate it, but it’s not my choice of vehicle and it hasn’t had the best of care so I feel like I’m playing catchup. But, it’s a good, clean truck and the engine has plenty of miles left in it so I’m going to get the most out of it that I can…and make it as much mine as I can…and hopefully in a few years I can sadly lament the departure of “my tahoe”.
Oh, and we bought hubby a 2009 Sonata that is a very nice car…good gas mileage, nice condition…but for some reason I am not in love with it…I actually feel like the Tahoe has more personality. So we have solved the gas mileage problem, now we just have to pay this new car off so I can think about what I’d like for a new car. 🙂

Okay so I’m poor… April 15, 2012

…and now that I’ve gotten that off my chest I feel better. On the upside,  I think  I have accepted poverty (for now) and will just deal with it.

We are going to try to battle it a bit though. Step One – get a car that doesn’t burn so much gas. We have two trucks right now and they both average 16mpg so we are going to dump mine and get a car that will get more like 30mpg.

And I’m going to start loving cheap stuff!!! Baking for example – cheap and gratifying…and Colin loves to sample the results so it works for everyone. I really like the decorating part better than the baking. And after months of trying I have finally figured out royal icing. And I’m starting to make biscuits for the pups…hopefully better for their skin and coats.

Also, running – have decided to run a marathon this year so I’m training now. Wish me luck on this one cuz it ain’t gonna be easy. Because for me I can’t just do a marathon, I have to do a trail marathon in the hills of Connecticut. Should be interesting to say the least.

Oh – and I have to share this Colinism: sitting at dinner the other night. He’s on my lap, hugs me and says “mommy i love you, you are the best mom” then looks over at Dan and says “and daddy you are my dad and you are the best dad”…Misty comes over cuz she’s looking for scraps and Dan says “and who is that”…Colin’s response: “This is my sister Misty!” and he gives her a big hug. Totally unprompted, we never say Misty is his sister and yet she is just a part of his family…And Stormy is his pest 🙂

So that’s my update – not much else going on…