Hello :)

How is everyone doing?

I thought that I would come in and chat a little, say hi, let you all know that I am still here even if I seem to have once again disappeared.

Oh friends, you don't even understand the craziness that has been going on around here, there is so much going on and so many things happening at once.

But let's sit down and have a little chat shall we?

First and foremost, it is my husband's birthday today, he turned 41.  I am so incredibly blessed to have him as a husband and a father to my children.  I am one lucky girl, for sure.

We haven't done anything special, his request, I think at this point he feels like I do whenever our birthdays come around...it's just a day like any other.  Long gone are the feelings that we had as little children, that excitement and the countdown to the actual day, the anticipation of the presents we would get and the cake, and the candles and all the fun in between.

As we get older we tend to just take those days as any other.

However, this year, I just have to tell you about a present I got him.  Sometimes he is quite hard to shop for, and I didn't want to buy the same things I tend to get him every year, I wanted something different.

That is where Man Crates comes in.  Oh boy, if you have a husband/boyfriend at home and are not sure what to buy them for their birthday or father's day or that special occasion?  You have to check these out.

My guy is a gamer, he has always enjoyed games and still does to this day.  Then again, I think it must be a guy thing because no matter how old they get, they still enjoy playing their games don't they?

Here is the crate I ordered, and this exactly how it arrives.....along with a little crowbar for them to pry it open.

Here he is prying it open.  I don't know what it is about guys, but they love tools and stuff and this was one of the reasons I thought this Man Crate would be fun for him.

How neat is that?  Tons of candy, a retro gaming system and two games.  He was definitely surprised and excited with his gift.  I'm just glad he liked it, I've never given him anything of this sort and was worried about his reaction.

I also made him a Chocolate Cake with some Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.  Can't wait to dig into that one....and yes I'm still watching my weight, and proud to announce that since I started watching my calories and portion control, I have lost 6 pounds.  Yay!!!

It hasn't been easy at all, there are some days that are easier than others, and then there's moments where I just want to cry, because I want a piece of chocolate or some chips or some random bad thing that I know I shouldn't eat.  I've stuck with it though and I've done my Zumba every day and I'm doing great :)

On the house hunting front, we have 6 houses to check out the next few days, and then some more next week.  I am just hoping to walk into a place and KNOW that is my house, at least for the next year or two.

I'm excited, I'm looking forward to checking out the houses.  I think that's the fun part of this all....well that and then moving in and making it my own.

There's still a lot of packing going on, we've got the garage and the laundry room pretty much ready to move, as well as a lot of things around the house.  If it's not being used, it's been packed.

What else has been going on????

Well school is coming to an end, the two boys are done, but the poor girls are still struggling to get it all finished by next week Friday.

Is it just me or does it seem that school nowadays is so much harder than when we were attending?  The work they do in high school is sometimes things that you wouldn't even see before college, and even the 5th graders have work that I don't ever recall doing until high school.

And let's not talk about the amount of work, it's just absolutely nuts.  But we'll get it done, matter of fact my niece is sleeping over tomorrow night and the girls are having a "finish school" slumber party.  Should be fun.

I realize I have now blabbed on and I'm hoping that at least one of you made it all the way to the this point, without nodding off to sleep.  HA!

I just want to show you my corner to corner blanket real quick, I've already started the decreasing and it's going pretty fast.  It should be done by this weekend.

Now I am going to get the dinner dishes done, my family is coming over shortly for some cake and coffee. I am looking forward to it, but also hoping for an early night to watch some movies with my husband.

Anyway, like I said, I just wanted to say hi and chat a little and let you all know that I haven't forgotten about you, just been busy.

Have a wonderful night and I'll see you tomorrow for Friday's Letters.