Number 1- DONE!! (and part of number 40, too!)

WHOOO HOOO!!  My first official completed thing! Hubby took me to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 at 12:01 am.  And, I LOVED IT!  Plus, it doubled as a date night for the month of November because he took me out to dinner and we window shopped to fill time in between dinner and the movie.  It was a very successful night!

Here's a picture of our Applebee's leftovers.  We took them to my brother-in-law (who works 3rd shift at a hotel) after the movie.  He loved it!

I wanted to get a picture of Edward and Bella on the big screen but the movie theater people were on high alert.  SO, I got a quick pic of some words!

tickets :)

It's a sign..

I cruise the internet when I'm bored.  These are the things that I find...

Be careful of those no hooking zones!

I often fish for dinner in a public restroom.

Nicotine IS fairly addictive...

No, not the poor cockroach! 

Sharp sign edges are very serious.  Way more serious than a bridge that's out.

I often stand during my "performances." Just for fun.

Can you feel the concern for the zoo visitors?

This is good information.  Take note.

I've never had curved yellow fruit.

No problem!

Number 50 - Still in progress!!

Seven more Operation Beautiful stickies officially stuck!  Woo Hoo!!

Kroger-drink isle

Kroger-international isle

Kroger-change thing at checkout

Woman's hospital-outside elevator

Woman's hospital-inside elevator

Woman's hospital-bathroom

Woman's hospital-sign thing by exit doors

11 down, 89 to go!

Will it ever be my turn?

Please be prepared because I am about to express my deepest, darkest feelings on the topic of having children.  

It's no secret that I want to be a mother.  Badly.  I want to be a mother so badly that when one of my friends tells me she's expecting I want to call her a bitch before congratulating her.  I want to yell and scream and ask her why she has to point out the fact that she is pregnant and I am not.  And, it's not just with my friends that I have these feelings.  I feel like this toward every pregnant woman I see in real life or on television. I feel like every time someone announces that they're becoming a parent that they're doing it just to rub it in my face.  Every pregnancy post is just another stab in my uterus saying "HA HA HA  I am expecting and you're not!"  I can't stand watching television shows or reading articles about parenting.  I want to slap women who can do nothing but talk about how awesome their kid is or who say they are jealous of the freedom that my childless self has.  I just don't want to hear about it.  I don't want to hear about your morning sickness.  I don't want to hear about how different this pregnancy is from your last one.  I don't want to hear about diapers, clothes, baby steps or words or anything else that has to do with the fact that you have children and I don't.  I don't want you to even think about uttering the words "it'll happen when you stop trying/thinking about it," or "your time will come."  You're not comforting me at all.  You're just making it worse. So just stop.  Stop. Stop. Stop.  For the love of God just let me be.

But...I do want to know why.  Why are careless children getting such an awesome gift that they don't even want?  Why is it so hard for me to get this gift that I want so badly?  Why do people who have multiple abortions (because they accidentally become pregnant and don't want to be responsible for this glorious gift they've been given so they just say "hey, let's get rid of it") get to have children when they want to?  Why is it so easy for them and so hard for me? Why do people who abuse, neglect, molest, or kill their children get to have them in the first place? Why do they get to have a full womb but mine is left empty?  Why have I been given this deep, deep desire but am left childless? Why does it have to hurt so much?  Why do I have to hurt so much? 

Do you know what hurts the most? I feel like I'm disappointing Hubby.  He deserves a woman that can give him offspring that will carry his name. What good am I to him if I can't give him a child?  Isn't having a child something that bonds a couple?  Will our marriage change without this bonding experience?  Will I ever give him the joy of finding out he's going to be a daddy?  When does he get the joy of knowing that he helped create another human being?  It's not fair to him.  He didn't ask for this.

Please stop asking me when we're going to have children because I'm going to say never.  Please don't ask me why we don't consider adoption because I'm tired of explaining why we can't adopt.  Please stop offering me your children as a joke. It's no joke and you're likely to make me very upset.

Please, please don't get me wrong.  Deep down I am truly happy for my friends and random pregnant women.  I can't even begin to imagine the happiness that they are feeling knowing that they have a precious life growing inside of them.  I'm just angry and tired of waiting for my turn.

Number 50 - In Progress

Hubby and I had to drop some papers off for his Mom today and I thought, "This is the PERFECT opportunity to start sticking Operation Beautiful stickies!"  So...the first two of my stickies are in a Women's Health Hospital!!  I couldn't have started in a better spot!  I was so nervous about sticking the first one up!  Isn't that crazy?  I had already planned to stick one in the elevator on my way up.  But I wanted to be in it by myself.  That was easy.  But then as I was snapping the picture of it the doors opened!  I was caught!  A lady saw me taking the picture :(   Maybe she thinks that I just thought it was cool and snapped a shot?  Hopefully!  Anywho,  I stuck the next one in the bathroom before I headed back down.

#1 elevator in hospital

#2 hospital bathroom

I needed to get some pants that were longer than mid-calf since we are living in a below freezing state again.  So, off to Old Navy I went and that's where I left two more stickies!

#3 old navy bathroom

#4 old navy dressing room

4 down, 96 to go!!

101 in 1001

I stumbled upon this Day Zero project and was immediately intrigued.  The title pretty much explains itself.  Make a list of 101 things to do/accomplish in 1001 days (roughly 2.75 years).  Obviously you need to list things that you can actually accomplish in less than three years.  It took me FOREVER to make my list but I think I'm pretty happy with it. I'm also really motivated to get some things completed right away so there's less to do later since I'm a horrible procrastinator!  So today I have spent the day working on this project.  I have a few items in progress.  I am most excited about the Operation Beautiful stickies.  I think I have a system going and hopefully it works out!

 You are Amazing!  You are Beautiful! :)

Ink, Ink, Ink

Why did I name my blog "The Tattooed Family"?  Well, I'll show you!

Here are my tattoos

I think this is by biggest one!  I love Lilys :)

Stars and Bars..The tattoo Hubby picked out.

Left wrist- Just because I liked it.

My lower back.  This was two separate, unplanned sittings.

Right wrist-my zodiac sign

The tiny one was my first tattoo.

On my thigh, for my Momma :)

I got this one so I would know how it would feel...

..when I got this one!

Hubby's Tattoos
He has too many to add captions to!  HAHA!

I picked this one out for him :)

I'm pretty sure I've probably missed some but you get the picture!

You can never go home again...

Well, that's not completely true.

After three years living in flip-floppy winter weather we have moved back home.  It's exciting and depressing in the same instant.  The exciting: being close to family and friends again.  The depressing: living with my in-laws, snow, ice, living with my in-laws, the bad economy, lack of year round warm weather.  Did I mention living with my in-laws?  Ok, ok, they are not THAT bad.  I have actually been blessed with wonderful in-laws.  They're very supportive and are always willing to help us out when need be.  And, they're currently in the middle of renovating the attached garage into a living space for Hubby and I to use while we're searching for a place. Plus, my Mother-in-law and I now have a joint coupon book for our savvy shopping which is nice. Still, most days I find myself daydreaming about the home we had in Louisiana and wishing we had never left.   But, there's no use dwelling on the past.  What's done is done and now we're headed into a blistery winter!  (oh, yippee)

Extreme Couponer!

Ok, not extreme.  But I do love to coupon!

I'm sure you've seen the show or at least have heard about it.  Don't believe everything that you see.  The show is exactly that, a show.  You, the normal, everyday shopper are not going to pull off a big haul like that.  Nobody will.  The show is a HUGE exaggeration of what goes on at the register.  And, it's starting to annoy me.  I work hard to cut and organize the 10ish inserts we get every week.  I work hard compiling a grocery list for 5 different stores to save us the maximum amount of money.  I work hard in the grocery store going up and down every isle hoping that the product I am looking for is still in stock.  I work hard at the register making sure everything is ringing up correctly and trying to stay within the stores coupon and transaction limit (and I am super polite while I am doing it).  I work hard organizing the mini stock pile we have.  I WORK HARD at couponing!  And I am NOT a horder, either.  Most of those people on that show have a huge hording problem.  There is absolutely no reason at all for you to purchase 77 bottles of mustard in one shopping trip. NONE!  Unless you're like that guy who donated EVERYTHING in his basement to those less fortunate (he was awesome!). 

(Please be prepared because I am about to go on an extreme rant about the show!)

When the Extreme Couponing show first debuted I was in love.  I though "this is AWESOME!  Maybe I can learn a few things that will help me at the register!"  Nope.  They cut and organize just like I do. What I did learn is what is depicted on the show is not an accurate portrayal of what happens at the register.    I have yet to find a grocery store that will double ALL of my coupons in one transaction or double my coupons when they don't have a doubling policy.  I have yet to find a grocery store that will let me have 21 different transactions in one shopping trip (that's just plain greedy if you ask me). I have yet to find a grocery store that will let me use coupons for one item when they're suppose to be for another.  I have yet to find a grocery store that will let me call ahead and order a ridiculous amount of things and haul them away for me.  Where is this grocery store?  How do I get there?  Does Peter Pan live nearby?

The worst part about this show is that it's telling people that you can get all your grocery's for nothing which isn't true at all.  Here in there real world we eat meat, fresh produce, and lots of other things that don't usually or only in rare circumstances offer coupons.  Also, it's very rare to find a grocery store that will give you an overage.   Because everyone has this idea that you can get so much for free it's hurting those of us who don't abuse the system and are polite at the register.  I have no problem with anyone who wants to clip coupons to save money.  GO FOR IT!  It's so much fun!  But, please, PLEASE, don't ruin it for the rest of us.  It won't be long and coupon policies are going to go out the window.  Let's just hope not!






(That stupid show is giving me such a rash!  BAH!)

If we didn't have bad luck, we'd have no luck at all....

Oh the day I've had...


let's rewind, shall we??...


On Sunday our car was stolen!  Right out of the driveway of a family members house!  My brother in law had driven the car there and when he went to leave the car was gone!  Can you believe that?

They called the police, who wouldn't take the report because the car wasn't registered to them.  When I finally found out what was going on and made the call, I was told that if I wanted to file a complaint I had to be inside the city limits.  REALLY??  SO, Hubby and I go to Kelly's house (their cousin) and wait for an officer to arrive so I can finally report our car stolen.  I called 911 at 12 am.  The officer finally arrived at 6:30 am.   They're so quick, right?  The officer took the same information that the 911 lady took 6.5 hours earlier. Thanks for wasting my time, buckwheat.


Fast forward to this morning.  We get a call that our car has been found.  Hallelujah!!!  After calling the records department about 3,500 times and getting no answer, my father in law and I take off for the police department.  45 minutes and $160 later (yes, if your vehicle is stolen YOU, the vehicle owner, must pay for it.  Lovely isn't it?) we got the release paper to take to the impound lot.   We go to the impound lot and get all that fun stuff squared away and are ready to take the rescued car home only to figure out that the transmission is completely jacked.  The lovely people who stole our car had no idea how to drive a stick and there for drove it till it wouldn't drive any more. The car wouldn't go into any gear, at all.

The best thing I could do was sell it to the impound lot for $300. 
(which turns out to be $140 once you subtract the $160 for the cost of impound)


ugh, ugh, ugh



Welcome to my unlucky world.


Please leave your horseshoes, trolls, and four leafed clovers at the door.