What is wrong with people? Why do some folks start bidding on eBay auctions when there are days and days left until the auction is over? Don't they understand that it simply increases the price unnecessarily? That is the whole point of having a "watch" option, people! You don't start fighting for something when there are 4 days left! The point of shopping on eBay is to try to get something for a decent price - NOT to increase the price to ten times the actual value. They might as well have a note attached to their profile that reads: I don't know what I'm doing so please take me for all I'm worth.

I love the internet. There are so many things you can do without actually having to deal with people these days. I needed to check the status of my sister's flight because I am picking her back up from the airport this evening. My mother, being as computer/internet illiterate as she is, would have called Northwest Airlines, gone through a menu and had to listen to a recording to find out the information. I, on the other hand, just went to their website, typed in the flight number and there it is. Now I know what time to leave the house. How did people live without the internet for so long? *grin*

Well, I didn't get D for playstation as I was hoping for. The bid was up to $20.45 and I decided to start bidding two minutes before the auction ended. I put in a bid of $30.00, but the person who had put in the last winning bid had a maximum bid much higher than I was willing to go. Unfortunately for that person, I ran it up to $45.00 before it was over. I'm sure they weren't too happy that it went from $20 to $45 in a matter of ninety seconds. Oh, well. That's how the game is played. I have two other auctions in my "watched" items for the same game. We'll see how that goes. The 2nd auction I had my eye on (Sega/CD combo) is not over yet, but I doubt I will go for that one. I would rather get my hands on D right now.

I woke up yesterday with the stomach flu. Yuck. It's been a long time since I've had that. It is such a horrible thing to deal with. Jeremy had to come home from work and take care of the baby. There was no way I could take care of her from the bathroom. I'm feeling better today. I still can't eat anything, but I have been able to sip on some 7up. I really hope that neither one of the kids gets it - especially the baby. At least Evan is old enough to understand and be able to deal with it. Don't get me wrong. I don't wish for either of my kids to get it, but I just don't think I could stand to watch the baby go through something like that!

I have D for playstation in my "watched" items on eBay. I have never played it, but a long time ago I was watching someone play it and it seemed like my kind of game - survival horror. I can't for the life of me figure out where I was or who was playing it, but I can't believe it's taken me this long to get it. So far the bid is at $8.50. I can deal with that. It still has more than a day left though so who knows what will happen in that time.

I have all of my old game systems packed away in a tote downstairs. One of the systems I have is the Sega Genesis/CD combo which I used to love. My favorite game was Sewer Shark. I still have the game, but for some reason the CD portion of the system is not working. I don't know if we can fix it and I'm sure there is no place around that still works on them. I found the complete system with 8 games, including Sewer Shark, on eBay for $15.00. I am watching that one also, but there are still a few days left and I have a feeling the price is going to spike right at the end. There are already 7 people bidding and I am sure there will be a bidding war in the last few minutes of the auction.

Employee of the Month with Dane Cook was hilarious. I am not usually a fan of that type of comedy, but it turned out to be very entertaining.

I really didn't expect Saw III to be as good as the first two, but it was. This is the only movie I can think of that hasn't been ruined by sequels. It should probably stop there and unfortunately it doesn't. The fourth installment is due to be in theaters by Halloween 2007. I don't understand how they will pull it off after seeing the third movie, but I'm sure we will rent it when the time comes.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning was just OK. Sure, they spent a little time explaining how Leatherface came to be, but the remainder of the film was the same as the others. I wasn't very impressed.

Idiocracy was the dumbest movie ever, but it was still quite funny and I'm glad we rented it. It was directed by Mike Judge so that should tell you something.

Farce of the Penguins - as told by Samuel L Jackson was really disappointing. Jeremy and I thought it was going to be hilarious from the previews we had seen, but we shut it off after less than thirty minutes.

Haven was a pretty good film. It's one of those movies that you really have to pay attention to in order to understand it. A few times I had to ask Jeremy what was going on because I thought I had missed something, but I hadn't. It drives him crazy when I do that. His answer is always the same: "I haven't seen any more of the movie than you have." *grin* In the end, it was worth renting.

I just read an article stating that Resident Evil 5 is tentatively scheduled to be released sometime in late 2008. WTF? Resident Evil 4 came out in January 2005. Why nearly 4 years between releases? I know I babble about this game an awful lot and it may not make sense to most people, but if you are as addicted to the RE series as I am, you understand why I can't get off the subject. I just can't get over how long I have to wait for the next installment!

I don't know why I have such a problem falling asleep at night. As soon as my head hits the pillow my mind starts racing. Most of the time I just think of trivial stuff too. I could understand it if I had a lot of important things to think about, but this is just ridiculous. Tonight has been the worst. I have been laying in bed for two hours now and I'm still awake! This is not a good night for this crap either. I have to be up in three hours to drive my sister and brother-in-law to the airport.

The letter I sent to be excused from jury duty worked! I just received a post card stating that it has been rescheduled for December 3rd 2007. How nice of them to give me almost a year! I'm so happy.

So, me and the kids are sick with a cold today. Evan stayed home from school today. The poor kid lost his voice. He claims his throat doesn't hurt, but he could only whisper this morning because when he talked, nothing came out. I have sinus problems and the baby is very congested. I called the pediatrician to see if it had anything to do with her tooth coming in. She said no, it's probably just a cold. She said to use saline drops for her nose and suction it out or use Pediacare Infant drops. Jeremy is off work today so we are all just lying around, watching tv and sharing germs.

Gabrielle is cutting her first tooth already! She is only 11 weeks old. Why is she growing up so fast? It makes me sad. Before long she'll be asking me if she can go to the mall with her friends. :(

I decided to get Gabrielle's swing out yesterday and give it another try. She hadn't liked it for quite some time, but she does now! Maybe it's because she can sit up in it now and she is all about sitting up and looking around now that she can hold her head up.

Hey mom, this is pretty cool..

And now it's time to sleep..

Speaking of sitting up, look what daddy did for her the other night..

Only twelve days until the Incubus concert! I have never seen Incubus live (Jeremy has) and to see them at a small venue like the State Theater is going to be awesome - especially having main floor tickets. Jeremy's mom is taking half the day off work so she can watch our little ones. We are going to go out to dinner (an early dinner) and then getting in line so we can be as close to the stage as possible. I would love to take my camera, but would hate for something to happen to it during the concert so I think I will leave it at home.

Check out my new Dane Cook desktop on my side bar. I'm not going to post it in the entry because I am too lazy to resize it at the moment. Besides, my husband is waiting for me to watch a movie with him and I don't want to keep him waiting any longer. Anyway, we both think Dane Cook is the best comedian EVER. I hope he makes his way to the Detroit area soon.

It's 23 degrees outside and there is snow on the ground. It's also supposed to stay this cold and snow from tomorrow until Thursday. I hate winter! The kids and I are going to church in an hour and I am not looking forward to leaving the house. I would love to move somewhere warm.

I didn't get the job I interviewed for and I have to admit.. God answered my prayers. Sure, I need to go back to work and the company would have been a good one to work for, but I'm not ready yet. I just can't see myself sending Gabrielle off to be watched by someone else right now. Apparently, God also thinks it a good idea if I stay home for another month or so.

I received a jury summons today in the mail stating that I need to report three weeks from today. There is no freaking way I'm going unless they expect me to take Gabrielle with me. I've already written a letter to be excused, but even if they allow it they'll call me again before long. I've never served before, but know enough people that have to know that you can be excused once, but then you must go the next time they call on you. I think it's total bullshit.

Well, winter has finally made it's way to Michigan. I'm so glad I don't have to leave the house much these days.

Here is the first snow we've gotten this year..

Morning picture of Evan and Gabrielle..

Evan bundled up for school..

Evan waiting at the bus stop - right at our corner..

Monday, January 15, 2007
Gabby

I'm trying to get a video clip to post of Gabrielle and Evan, but he seems to be too busy playing video games with his best friend. Maybe tomorrow.

I just had to post this picture taken earlier today.

Here are some pictures I took of Gabrielle this evening. It's so hard to get her to smile when the camera is out, but I did get some cute ones this time. She looks like she's singing to her daddy in the last photo.

I wish this was a picture of my hand wrapped around the Apple iPhone. I really need to get one when they come out. Anyone looking for gift ideas for my birthday next month? *grin*

Jeremy and I just purchased the bike pictured below with his gift cards from Dick's Sporting Goods. It's not a top-of-the-line item, by any means, but it will help us accomplish our goal. We are both trying to lose about 20 pounds (yes, he gained with me during the pregnancy). We started taking dietary supplements and following the Slim Fast diet. We have a tread mill, but it's a piece of crap so we thought we would get a decent stationary bike to help us with our fitness quest. It should be here in about a week.

My interview went really well. I will definitely take the job if it's offered to me. The hours are good, the pay is good, the benefits are good. Not much to complain about at this point. The HR director is going to forward my resume, test scores and notes from the interview over to the manager of the department I have applied to and if they like what they see, they will call for a second interview. I actually hope I get the job - even though I wasn't planning on going back to work yet. I'm not going on any other interviews at this time though. If I don't get this.. I'm staying home until March 1st. It will still give us time to put some money away and be in our own place this summer.

Gabrielle had her 2 month check up at the pediatricians office yesterday. Poor girl had to get four shots - two in each leg. She screamed her head off. We felt so bad for her. I'm really glad that Jeremy had the day off and could go with us. She slept most of the day after that. The good part is that she slept in her crib again last night.

In other news... I have a job interview this afternoon. I'm not sure how I feel about it. It's a great company that's offering good pay with awesome benefits and it's closer than the company I worked for over the last 3.5 years (by about ten miles), but I really don't want to go back to work until March 1st. I want to spend more time with the kids before heading back to work. Also, Evan has a lot of time off school next month for winter break and I don't even have daycare arranged for Gabrielle at this point. If I don't get the job I'm going to stop sending my resume out until the middle of February. I was just trying to see what was out there. I didn't really expect to start getting calls this soon. Oops.

Gabrielle slept in her crib last night! I'm so excited. I might actually get my bed back. Jeremy and I may get to sleep in the same bed again after months of sleeping separately. Woo hoo!!

It's almost seven in the morning and I haven't slept at all. Gabrielle decided she didn't want to go to sleep last night. I don't know what her problem was, but at quarter to five, Jeremy and I figured we might as well move to the living room and watch a little television. She finally went to sleep - in my arms, of course - about thirty minutes ago. I can't even imagine going to sleep now. I have to get Evan up in about fifteen minutes to get ready for school. It's going to be a long day. Luckily, Jeremy has today and tomorrow off work so I will be able to get a nap today even if our princess chooses not to cooperate.

As you can see from the photos.. I'm the only one not sleeping at this time.

Here are a few pictures taken this past Friday, the 5th - the day Gabrielle turned 2 months old.

And here are a few from Christmas.. with daddy and enjoying her new activity mat from Nana.

Jeremy and I watched two movies last night. Both were absolutely incredible, but they were two completely different types of movies.

The Illusionist with Edward Norton was outstanding. We both enjoyed it a lot and recommend renting it.

Crank. Wow.. I don't even know how to describe this movie. All I can say is that it's brilliantly intense. Jason Statham has never left us feeling disappointed and this movie is no different. His character is still the bad-ass he usually plays, but he's completely out of control in this film. My head was spinning from beginning to end. Not one dull moment. It would have been even better in the theater.

Yesterday was January 5th and that means that my daughter is now two months old. Wow, time really does fly. She's changing so much all the time. She is smiling and laughing and cooing all the time. Before I know it, she'll be crawling and getting into all kinds of things. She has recently discovered her hands and once she gets the hand-eye coordination down, I have a feeling she'll be sucking on her thumb instead of her pacifier. I'll post some new pictures of her when I get the chance. Oh, I almost forgot to mention... she slept 8 and a half hours last night! She's such a good girl.

I've managed to find a video game that will hold me over for a while. It's called Rule of Rose. It's not comparable to Resident Evil, but it is a survival horror game and that is what I like to play. The first time I rented it, I lost interest pretty quicky, but I thought I would give it another chance and I'm glad I did. It will give me something to do until RE5 comes out.

This is my kind of winter. No snow as of yet. In fact, it's supposed to be 52 degrees and sunny tomorrow. I would be a very happy Michigander if this is how our winter was all the time.

Happy New Year! I actually managed to stay up - though it was a quiet event for this family.

I can't believe it's January 1st and we still haven't seen so much as a flake of snow this winter. In fact, it's raining at the moment. Pretty odd for Michigan, don't you think?