Yet Another Tattoo

I know I'm late getting this posted, particularly since I'm not on the blog much anymore. But I wanted to get this up for my tattoo collection. I got this one in March. It's a Mayan glyph, meaning spirit companion. For Sentinel fangirls, this is particularly meaningful. And I'm definitely a fangirl. ::grins::

And...We're Back.

Well, the blog seems to be working today, so I thought maybe I'd try to start posting on here again. Maybe not as regular as I was, but hey...probably no-one even remembers this is here. LOL!

I won't bore you with tales of our Christmas holiday. It was good.

The newest news for the Brunos is that Joe and I got matching tattoos yesterday. I'd seen the idea on Pinterest, and loved it. Let me tell you, though, inside finger is a very painful, painful spot for a tattoo. LOL! Luckily Rob got it done in record time. And I love it! Here's some pics. Enjoy!

Dang Blog

Sorry I haven't been updating the blog. My internet is flaky and I usually can't get on it to update. Today I can, but it's not letting me do pics. Sigh.

Big news around here is that I'm test-driving an iPad for work. The Bruno boys are really enjoying it, I can tell you that. I'm trying to figure out if we can call Angry Birds an educational app - seems sciencey to me. LOL!

I'll try to get on this weekend and see if I can put some pics up. Stay tuned!

Tattoos and Cars

This weekend was all about tattoos and the family car. On Saturday, Joe took me out for my pre-birthday surprise - a new tattoo! It's one I've been wanting to get since January, just haven't had the money. Being a little more experienced this time, I brought my new library book and read while Rob did his thing on my ankle. Here's what it looks like:

If you can't make out the words, it says "We're all mad here." It's an Alice in Wonderland thing, which goes with my Hatter tattoo. I've designated my right leg as the Wonderland leg, so anything Alice-related will end up there. Not that I have any immediate plans. Joe got a tattoo also (naturally!). It's an ambigram, which means that when you look at it from one direction is says Saint and when you look at it the other way it says Sinner.

Also got the brakes fixed on the car today. Our friend Josh did it for free, we just had to pay for the parts. So now all my brakes work, yay! In the next week or so he'll also be repairing our tie rod and wheel bearing. Very handy, having mechanical friends. We hung out at Josh and Nancy's house all day. This meant Xander had to play with Tehya, who is only four. There were some rough spots, but for the most part they got along.

When we got home, Joe and Xander finished up a school project - diorama of Jack and the Beanstalk for the Fairy Tale Museum they're making. Didn't they do a good job?

Mother Bought A Coconut...

Whenever Xander comes grocery shopping with me, there are some standard areas where he needs to go. First and foremost is the toy department, where he checks out the latest in action figures and Legos, does a little begging, and compiles a mental list of toys he can't live without. Other hotspots include looking at the fish over in seafood, and checking out pineapples and coconuts in produce. Only this time we actually brought a coconut home.


Xander was chomping at the bit to get into that little brown ball. He pestered Joe and I until finally last night Joe hacked it open. He gave Xander the glass full of coconut milk and told him to have at it. What he had was one sip, followed by a water chaser. The coconut milk was a no-go. I think Joe drank the rest of it.

Next came an actual chunk of firm white coconut, which Xander nibbled on. (I did too, but I have to say I'd rather have it honey roasted. It's much tastier that way!) Once again, my son was underwhelmed by the taste of the coconut. I can't blame him - the raw stuff does nothing for me.

All in all, I'd say Xander was fairly disappointed in the whole thing. I don't know what he thought it was going to taste like, but clearly it wasn't anything he was hoping for. Still, now he can say that he's tried coconut. I wonder when he'll start asking for a pineapple...

Week In Review

It's been an entertaining week for the Brunos, which started on Sunday with dinner at our friend Nancy and Josh's house. It's the first time we've dined together that hasn't been in a restaurant, and they went all out. Josh BBQ'd these huge steaks (which were insanely delicious), and Nancy made twice-baked potatoes from scratch. Even Xander ate one! We'll be seeing them again on Saturday at the motorcycle club's annual dinner at the Heartbreak.

Tuesday we picked up our rental car (our regular car is having some issues at the moment). They gave us a Kia Optima and I'm now doing almost all of the driving because Joe just can't fit behind the wheel. Watching him try to get in the other day was hilarious! Hopefully our car will be back on the road next week sometime.

Wednesday we had dinner at Eli and Krissy's - corned beef and cabbage dinner number one. The kids played, the grown-ups hung out, and Joe immediately became addicted to something called Angry Birds on Krissy's Droid. Dinner was good, and followed up by a giant cupcake made with rainbow colors. It was delicious!

Yesterday was St. Patrick's Day, so there was lots of wearing of the green and more corned beef, just for us Brunos. Joe had it cooking in the crock pot all day and it was delicious! Next year we need to get a bigger corned beef or something, though, because there's not even a crumb left. Xander at corned beef both days, and some potato. I'm so proud of him for trying new food!

Today it's already warm, though we do have a wind advisory. It's a big conference day at work, and Xander normally wouldn't have had school but they used up all their snow days. Sorry, buddy! I've been up since 6am because Joe was snoring so bad I couldn't get back to sleep. It's going to be a long day!

The Camera Man

Xander loves taking pictures. I don't always love seeing them, though, since he finds everything worthy of a photo - dirty laundry, clutter, his feet. He got out my camera yesterday after Joe took some pictures of him. Among the many things he took pictures of (including numerous pics of the show he was watching on TV) these are my faves:

Stuart, snoozing on Xander's bed.

Xander's room, with all his posters and drawings on the walls.

Joe, taking a pic of Xander. (Don't tell him I posted him topless, LOL!)

One of these days I'll get my boy his very own camera. And it will definitely be digital - can you imagine paying for developing for fifteen blurry pictures of a movie on the TV? I don't think so!

Salad and PARP

The big news of the week is this: Xander ate salad! Yes, he willingly and without complaint ate something that was green. It was a big moment for the Brunos. As you can see, he didn't really have that much he had to eat. We did find out that he doesn't like bacon bits though. Now I wonder what my chances are for broccoli. LOL!

In other news, PARP (Parents As Reading Partners) started this week. Xander's school does it every year. At the end, he gets to join in an ice cream party and gets a coupon for a free book. So what we've been doing is having him read a book to us, and then one of us reads one after. On the first day it was Joe reading The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins. The other night he followed that up with How the Grinch Stole Christmas. (Can you tell we're big Dr. Suess fans?)

I'm happy to report that Joe qualifies for unemployment, so that's a relief. (If you didn't know, he was fired last Friday from Hospice.) We've been talking about making some big life changes, but it's all still in flux right now. As always, we Brunos like to keep things interesting! LOL!

More Snow

This winter seems endless. We got over a foot of snow on Friday, which was both unexpected and unwanted. Poor Joe got stuck in the driveway on his way home from work Friday morning and had to be dug out. Luckily we have a very nice neighbor!

Xander loved it, of course. He couldn't spend too much time outside because it was really cold, but he managed to get in some sledding, some fort building and some general snowy mayhem. As for myself, I'll be happy to never see another snowflake for as long as I live!

Hellooooooooooooooooooooo!

Anybody out there still reading this? Not that there's been anything to read. It's not that I gave up on the ole blog, but I don't have access to it at work anymore, and my new internet service at home is unreliable in the extreme. Today, for some reason, it seems to be working.

So what have the Brunos been up to in the last six months?

Xander's second grade teacher has left for Khazakstan to adopt a baby, so he'll have a sub for the remainder of the year. He's doing great in school this year, too. For the Fall field trip we went to Schenectady to the science museum and planetarium.

Joe and I hit a marital snag, but now we're in counseling and doing soooo much better! It's an on-going process, but it's worth it.

We got a new kitty - Grundy. He's one of Andy and Angie's kittens, and we brought him home on Halloween. Stuart wasn't too sure of him at first, but now they co-exist mostly peacefully. Except when they chase each other quite noisily first thing in the morning. Grr!

I've been writing fan fic, and posting it over at Fanfiction.net. If you're interested, by name over there is Brumeier. Lots of good reading to be had there, and I'm making some good friends. Writing is fun again!

Joe was made the Sergeant at Arms for his motorcycle club, which he was very excited about. He's the enforcer. We have a dinner coming up next month at the Heartbreak that I'll go to. Joe's friend Nancy is prospecting the club - she and her husband Josh have become friends of ours. (See, I'm making new friends all over the place!)

Now we're just trying to survive Winter. I don't know if I'll be able to update regular, but I'll keep trying. I know my mom at least has been missing the blog, LOL!

Technical Difficulties

I had a post all set to go for today, with pics of Xander's first day of school, but Blogger seems to be having technical difficulties and won't post any of my pics. I'll try again tomorrow!

Gearing Up for School

Well, it's almost time for Xander to get on the school bus and spend another year hating school. LOL! I keep trying to remind him of the fun things about school, and how this year they're supposed to be hatching chicken eggs in second grade. But the only thing he can get excited about are his supplies. He has a new, totally cool and pocket-rific backpack. Yesterday, Joe picked up his school supplies from the school. (It's a new program they started, where a company fills the boxes with supplies specific to each grade level. We paid in June, they arrived this week.)

Xander was very excited to see what was in his box, which actually wasn't very much. Lots of two pocket folders, pre-sharpened pencils, a composition notebook, some erasers and glue sticks, and a pack of colored pencils.

There was also a sheet of labels with Xander's name and the school address on them. Joe labeled everything except the individual pencils and the erasers. Xander was wondering why there weren't any crayons. I told him maybe they don't use crayons in second grade.

So now everything is in the box, waiting for the first day of school. And Xander keeps finding new things he "hates" about school. This is going to be a long weekend, LOL!

One More Tooth

Well, Xander lost another tooth over the weekend (top canine). This kid kills me - now when his tooth gets loose enough, he spends all day trying to pluck it out. This one took him several hours, but he finally worked it free and stuffed it under his pillow almost immediately. Of course, the Tooth Fairy paid him a visit and left him $1, which he was totally thrilled about.

I pity the next loose tooth. Xander won't let it come out by itself, you can be sure of that!

Just Another Day

It was just an average day for the Brunos. I took the day off work and so did Joe. We took Xander to pick out new eyeglass frames for school - SpongeBob, of course! - and then to see the doctor for his annual physical. I can report that he weighs 72 pounds and is 51 inches tall. Yikes!

We stopped for lunch at McDonald's, because Xander likes their nuggets the best. We both got Happy Meals so he could get two Batman toys, and Joe had something large and beefy. LOL!

Back in the car, this time to Walmart for groceries. Xander was excited because he got to get a new backpack for school, one that's loaded with pockets. Hopefully this one will be a lot sturdier than the two he had last year. It sure cost a whole lot more!

Back in the car to head home and have a little down time. Xander tried out his new chocolate milk cup, and I took a little nap. Then we went to Sundaes for some ice cream - before we had dinner! We haven't hit the ice cream places much this summer, so we were overdue.

Joe and I finished up the day with a movie, some Au Jus sauce and a loaf of peasant bread. I scrapped the day for a Xander scrapbook page, and then we all went to bed. Just another day with the Brunos.

Bridal Shower

My old high school chum and scrapbook buddy, Amy (aka Chippie) is getting married next month to her very cute fiance, Titus. On Saturday I attended a surprise bridal shower in her honor, and boy was it a blast!

Amy was so surprised she cried when she came in. There were about thirty of us there, with gifts and lots of food to wish her well. Titus stayed a bit for the food and some photo ops, and then he headed out to his very hush-hush bachelor party.

I sat at a table in the back with fellow classmates Kris, Donna and Janine, and we had waaaay too much fun back there. We caught up on gossip, wrote marriage advice on the plastic table cloth, and Donna tried to come to terms with my blue hair and tattoo, LOL! We were given the task of crafting the ribbon hat for Amy to wear at the end of the gift opening, and we approached it with much gusto and duct tape. Overachievers that we are, we also crafted a bra from paper cups and a skirt from wrapping paper. It was hilarious!


Before I left we had a group picture that also included fellow classmate, maid of honor, and hostess of the bridal shower - Aimee. Now I can't wait to see everyone again at the wedding next month, and Lord help us if there's alcohol at that shindig!

Inked!

Guess who got her first tattoo yesterday? Me!

I've been wanting one for several years now, but not badly enough to face the needles. But I guess part of the new me is to not be afraid of stuff like that anymore. So I made an appointment with one of Joe's tattoo guys - Rob, at Grateful Ink in Stamford - and last night after work Joe and I both went over for tattoos (of course Joe had to get one too!).

Did it hurt? Heck yeah! But I was so proud of myself. No crying, no flinching. I didn't embarrass myself. And the tattoo only took about an hour to do...maybe less. And I love it! It's sore today, but nothing too bad.

Today - getting some blue put in the hair! Stay tuned!

Budding Songwriter

Xander's Netflix movie this week is the SpongeBob SquarePants movie (feel my joy). At the end of the movie there's a big musical number, all rock and roll. Xander loves this part. He'll dance around, or sometimes get out his own guitar to jam along with SpongeBob.




After viewing this once, he decided he was going to write his own song. So he sat down with his little notebook and a pencil, and wrote this:

I am an idiot

You're an idiot

Everyone is an idiot ooooo

Please help me I am trapped

In idiot land

I am a real stupid idiot ooo

Help I am a wizard of stupid land

Okay, so this clearly isn't Top 40 material. But I think it's hilarious! Now he just needs to set it to music. My little songwriter!

Cleaning Day?

Xander's room is a Stage 5 disaster area. You have to kick things aside to walk in there. Papers, clothes, toys...it's everywhere. It drives me crazy. So I told Xander he had to spend the weekend cleaning it. He didn't actually get started until Sunday afternoon.

While he was cleaning, I was busy doing other things. Writing, washing dishes, fixing dinner, coloring my hair. Xander didn't end up getting very much done in there, surprise surprise. But he DID do this:


Now my mom will remind me that I had similar difficulties cleaning my own room. But I don't think I had quite the horrendous mess in mine that Xander constantly has in his. (That's my story, anyway!) We'll see how he does after daycare today. Not getting my hopes up too high!

Birth of a Scrapbook Page

After a bit of a break, I'm trying to scrapbook a bit more. I did a layout yesterday, and thought you might like to see what my process is sometimes like. Ready? Okay!

My layout started with a YouTube video, which featured a song I'd never heard before. It's called Everybody Loves Me, by OneRepublic, and you can see the video here if you're curious.

I really liked the song, so I downloaded it from Walmart.com and put it on my MP3 player. I decided to make it my theme song, that's how much I like it. And I'm not being braggy - I don't really think everybody loves me. Well, maybe sometimes! LOL!

So I decided I wanted to scrap this song and how it makes me feel. Which led to a photo shoot when I got home from work yesterday. Outside. In the rain.

I also took some headshots when I got back inside and changed. I went for a smiley one becuase it fit the layout and also because some of my critics (you know who you are, Mom!) don't like my serious face pictures.

Once I got on my computer last night, I uploaded the photos and created my layout. And here's the end result (if you want to see it bigger to check out the journaling, you can find it here):

Not all scrapbook pages are born this way, but for me a lot of them are. A bunch of pieces come together to create one totally cool page. And even if you don't love me, you gotta love the layout!