After 25 years in the Navy Jim, the husband, finally retired. We found ourselves in the small town of Otto, North Carolina living next door to his parents. With three beautiful little girls that are coming into their own, everyday is an adventure in this house!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
My New Year Resolution.
I resolute...
1. To remain calm when all three girls have covered themselves in their dinner and spilled the last of the milk.
2. To no longer holler at my children for a slight misbehavior.
3. To try to be a little nice to everyone that I meet, no matter how I really feel about them, or how easy it is to forget them.
4. To stop considering text, IM, facebook, twitter, and blogspot, are sufficient ways of communicating with friends and relatives.
5. To put myself in timeout at least once a day.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Geocaching 12/29/09
Christmas 2009
Merry Christmas everyone. I haven't posted in a while because we have been awesome busy with 25 people around for the Christmas holiday. How wonderful it was to have most of Jims side of the family here to visit. I love it when they come.
Thanks Gram and Pepere for this little gem. Its the cutest apron and chefs hat that she just LOVED. She wore it all day and refused to take it off to go to bed that night.
And finally, mom with her new "redneck" wind chimes. Just imagine it and you are probably right as to what it looks like.
I hope everyone got the Christmas they wanted and have a happy new year!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Geocaching at a glance.
- You know the zip codes of all your out-of-town relatives off the top of your head, and you actually look forward to visiting your in-laws.
- You no longer talk to your friends or relatives about geocaching ... none of them will allow it.
- You find yourself having to explain to your significant other why there is a never-ending shortage of Tupperware containers in the kitchen.
- You begin making grocery purchases based on the items' usefulness as cache containers.
- You will willingly hike through wet woods - and ford a stream - in the dark - in your "business casual" attire to bag a find.
- When you tell your spouse you "have to work late" or "run a quick errand" you're not fooling anyone.
- You travel everywhere with a flashlight and tweezers.
Christmas Tree Ornaments
Monday, December 21, 2009
7 Years Married
This is an interesting place that we stopped at on the way that is really not that far from the house but we have never been there. It is a nice little gift shop with some dust collector items, homemade jams and jellies, and even a fire pit in the front. Do you see the real goat on the roof? They have a whole playground up there its really neat!
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Geocaching x2
I will not spoil any fun and tell you where they are but I promise to take plenty of pics (maybe you can guess if you live here in NC!)
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Geocaching
Okay, so I have totally been interested in this thing I have recently heard of from now a total of two people. It is called Geocaching, its like a form of a world wide scavenger hunt. You get some GPS coordinates, type them into your GPS enabled device and off you go onto the adventure. The official website is here.
I have decided that this is a really cool hobby and you can literally do it anywhere at anytime. Of course there are some basics that you need in order to do this...First a GPS enabled device (duh) and a compass. And it is something that you can do for FREE. Yes, I said it...FREE. The only things that it will cost you are for the GPS, gas, and some exercise. Okay, nothing is ever free in this world. What more could a gal ask for? Some time to go hiking with the kids? Nice, the kids will love it.
I have also decided that I cannot simply make subtle hints to my husband about what I want for Christmas, I literally have to point out to him what I want and which brand to get and give him enough money to go and buy it. As anyone with a husband can guess, he may still get the wrong one (like a vehicle GPS?) but it is the thought that counts...Right?
Basically, friends and family, the GPS's are not cheap so if you would like to help him in deciding which one to get feel free to donate money or Walmart gift cards to his cause and I am all for the cheapest one on the block! Although the $500 one is COMPLETELY awesome! The cheapest one I saw was $48 on line and the one that is local here at Walmart is $150 this one I can handle.
Oh and one more thing. It is my anniversary this weekend and Jim and I will be heading off to Atlanta for the weekend with no kids. Just him and me and some other adults and acting like children ourselves. We may catch the hockey game there but I know for sure I want some Olive Garden! I don't know why I insist on living in places that do not have one, then again when I lived in VA there was one less than ten minutes away and I still did not eat there very often. Oh well, life's a beach right?
Since this is turning into a HUGE blog I am going to sign off with one last thing. Happy Holidays, I love you all!
PS this is the 50th post to date! Congrats to me.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Things I will never do again!
- I no longer open a public bathroom door without using a paper towel or have them put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel.
- I can't use the remote in a hotel room because I don't know what the last person was doing while flipping through the adult movie channels.
- I can't sit down on the hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed.
- I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking ones nose (although cell phone usage may be taking the number one spot).
- Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of Trans fats I have consumed over the years.
- I can't touch any woman's purse for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public bathroom.
I MUST SEND MY SPECIAL THANKS
- to whoever sent me the one about poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing.
- Now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
- I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.
- I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.
- I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's Novena has granted my every wish.
- I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutant freaks with no eyes or feathers.
- I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
THANKS TO YOU
- I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
BECAUSE OF YOUR CONCERN
- I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.
- I no longer can buy gasoline without taking someone along to watch the car so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.
- I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put 'Under God' on their cans. (This is totally NOT true since I can't leave my house without a DP in my hand but it was funny anyway)
- I no longer use Saran Wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
AND THANKS FOR LETTING ME KNOW
- I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face ... disfiguring me for life.
- I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with some disease.
- I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.
- I no longer receive packages from UPS/Fed Ex/Australia Post since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.
- I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our troops or the Salvation Army.
- I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I'll get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore and Uzbekistan .
- I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.
THANKS TO YOU
- I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.
AND THANKS TO YOUR GREAT ADVICE
- I can't ever pick up $5.00 dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.
- I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!
- I can't do any gardening because I'm afraid I'll get bitten by the brown recluse and my hand will fall off.
So Thank you my friends, family, and E-mail pals, I will never forgive you.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sleeping Babes
Has anyone ever "watched" their kids sleep. They look like the little angles I know in my heart that they are. No more little demon that has spent the last 8 hours on my last nerve. This is Trista with her elephant and water dripping on my couch.
(I have found a feature on my camera that does black and white pictures and I just HAD to test it out of course.)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
The Exploding Closet.
Before.
After.
Seven bags of donation items like clothing, books, computer nonsense. Four bags of trash (old paperwork and other misc stuff). I also found some old stuff of Jim's from when he was in the Navy. All of his awards and things that he got. I plan on framing them all and putting them up for Christmas. I even have a copy of his very first enlistment!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Follow me on twitter!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Veterans Day
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Really...?
I have to be the worst "blogger" ever.
Either that or I/we as the Hill family no longer have a life. We used to go out and do things and I was able to post them here and let all you wonderful friends and family know what we were up to each week. Now, Either we do not have that life I spoke of earlier or the things we are doing now are not post worthy.
Either way I think I have gotten lazier and lazier about taking pictures on my own and getting them posted. I would totally have Halloween pictures if it wasn't for the fact that I forgot my camera and the camera phone S-U-C-K-S. I would have random pictures of the kids hanging out on the swing set if I was not lazy and refused to get my butt off of the couch to take the pictures. Funny, that swing set sat at the bottom of the hill, lonely and unused for all of the summer months. Now that it is freezing outside the kids refuse to come inside until they cannot feel their toes and their lips are purple.
I am terribly sorry and I promise that whether I am just that boring or just that lazy I promise to post more stuff and/or random pics from this moment on. You know whats even worse? I sit at a computer ALL day and I come here everyday to read your blogs but I still have not posted anything. I am amazed.
Love you all! TTFN.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
New piercings.
Jim feeling a little left out of the piercings fiasco decided that he as a man should also get an earring to show Trista that it does not hurt. That worked out well because anyone who knows Jim knows that he is a wimp. He flinched when she wiped his ear with the alcohol swab ha ha. But he struggled through it and it is done. One gold earring in his left ear, I hope that's the right one to do that in. So for Christmas Jim would like a skull and crossbones for the new earring go ahead and get it for him since I will not be buying that ha ha ha.
New hair cut.
P.S. if you are worried, I did donate the 17 inches to Locks of Love. Maybe I won't wait another 11 years to cut my hair again ha ha ha.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Dear Bad Driver
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Did I mention that I hated school? Part Duex
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Did I mention that I hated school?
I told you that to tell you this. On Saturday I take part one of a three part exam. I have been studying for two years and I still feel like I know nothing about taxes. This exam will allow me to practice in front of the IRS and prepare taxes professionally. Anyone can prepare taxes but not everyone can stand in front of the IRS. As much as I dislike the IRS as everyone does, this will also give me a raise at work if I pass all three parts. Anyway, I am going to take this test which cost me $100.00 just to take the first part. Yes, my company reimburses me for this but I have to pass all three parts first. I guess I will let you know how it goes.
Secondly, I have enrolled in a REAL college this time. Not just a technical college but a real honest to god college. I was accepted. I start in January and I will be taking cyber crime technology courses. Whoda thunk it, that I would be a computer geek?
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Biltmore
One of the many gargoyles outside.
You are not supposed to take pictures on the inside of the house but this little cubby was irresistible. I had my mom stand behind me while I took it. This is the front of the house from the 3rd floor.
The view from what we would call a back porch. What I would call the freaking amazing patio! All that you see (except the mountains) is owned buy the Biltmore Estate.
This is the winery. I was allowed to take pictures here. They did not start making and selling wine until 1985. I bought a bottle and it was AMAZING, just like everything else. This is the ONLY wine that I did not have an allergic reaction to.