The price of beauty

Since becoming a housewife, I have realized that I no longer have an acceptable reason for my appearance to be untidy. When I worked, I could just say that I was too busy or that the children at school were just hectic. With school involved, my personal time diminished even more. Now I realize I need to spend a little time cleaning myself up. In the search for the perfect lipstick. I came across Nars Red Lizard. Now this is a really nice color. A true red. Also cost $24.00 Is it worth it? Yes. Is it too much money? Well I have paid this much for lipstick before. Lancome is just as expensive. I am interested in checking out M.A.C.'s red lipsticks as well.

I also noticed my teeth not being as white as I would prefer. I am guessing this is attributed to the increased coffee and red wine drinking of my new lifestyle. So I invested another $25.00 in a whitening pen.

The price to keep up the maintenance is amazing. The time for all of it is even more amazing. I have started a typical day with getting up and immediately grabbing a mirror and plucking my eyebrows. Followed by a basic top coat on the nails to keep the red color vibrant. I do research online to see what fashions are trending. Then I manage to get out of bed, and douse myself in Aveeno lotion before getting dressed. What a life...

Monday

Ah. I am so thankful that it is Monday and that I don't work. This past weekend was just hectic crazy. First of all, bad girlfriend that I am, I forgot that it was K's birthday on Sunday. Oops. Anyway, I took him to Best Buy and we purchased a computer game for him to play. I'm sure it will only take him a few days to complete the game, but at least he has a new one.

Also, I got off of my normal medication routine. So I felt pretty crappy all weekend. I got up at 6:00 am this morning and took my pills and went back to bed. The headache is much better now. Hopefully I will be able to eat something and I will be okay.

Since I'm not working, I have decided to get rid of my cell phone. Basically for the fact that since I'm not working, I have no way to pay for it. Bummer. However, I still have a Google number and can be reached there and send and receive text messages. Not too bad.

My father has invited K and I up for Christmas. K did a very silly thing back in September/October and now feels very embarrassed to be around my father. Well as far as I'm concerned it was his stupid mistake. My father understands this and doesn't hold it against K. But K refuses to see my father.

Every time I talk to my dad, he mentions the thought of a marriage. Apparently it has become common knowledge that K was thinking about it. I'm not sure if he still is. I haven't talked to him about it. But since he has his orders to leave for Afghanistan this year, we will just have to wait and see.

OCD is not always a blessing. I spent Friday with Erin and we ended up finding our way to St. Mary's Catholic Church on the Independence Square. We felt the need afterwards to find rosaries. Well turns out, rosaries are getting to be expensive. At the least the nice ones are. So, I decided to create my own. Would the typical five decade one be enough? No! How about the not so traditional fifteen decade one? No! I had to do the research and find out that rosaries are now twenty decades. So, K suggested we go bead shopping and we got the supplies for me to make a twenty decade rosary. I finished it in less than nine hours. Quite impressive. It turned out really nice. Of course my mother suggested that I make rosaries for everyone now. Ugh. I am not making twenty decade rosaries for my family. Nope. Not going to happen. But perhaps I will ponder making five decade ones for a few family members.

Well I am thinking I need a nap and the possibility of making deviled eggs and egg salad. I will be back later today I'm sure.

Just another manic Monday...

Okay. So I am in bed wrapping up my day. Pretty much nothing happened for the first half, but the second got fun and exciting. Well I suppose some would call it that.

I went to the gym. I spent 45 minutes on the elliptical. Then worked the arm muscles a bit, followed by abs. Whew. I can definitely feel the burn. I ended up going with my "step-brother", Andrew. We came back to my house for some warm tea and a light snack of gingersnaps and homemade chicken noodle soup. I did a bit of laundry, washed the dishes that piled up this weekend, collected the mail, and started the coffee for K.

I ended up making homemade meatballs again. They are so yummy. I did good with the carb thing. I didn't eat too much pasta, so it was all good. Afterwards, I spent the evening in the newly created family room with K surfing the computer and watching YouTube and Hulu. By the way, I find Community hilarious for the fact that the Spanish teacher is Asian.

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Ah yes, so Friday evening we had our first argument since I stopped working. K is having some life changing events occur right now with his jobs. So he is the only one bringing in an income and he isn't sure when that will be at the moment. (Side note. When other issues bother K, he always turns those toward money. So the issue isn't necessarily about money. He just says it is. And this is also coming from a very good source, my therapist). So of course he was upset about money, and in reality probably about the fact that he is now more responsible for me and feeling the pressure of possibly leaving the country for work and me being left alone. Plus, he did propose marriage. But who knows when that will be. Anyway, I blew him off to spend time with my friend Karima and her family on Saturday. That was an adventure in itself. Sunday he seemed to want to spend time with me and was remorseful. Again, today the same thing. Remorse, compliments, being huggy and wanting to cuddle. So I am guessing whatever issues he had in his head, he is now done dealing with.

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As for Karima, she is my friend from Sudan. She is from the African tribe of Dinka. She is very very tall. I have missed her and have not really seen her since I left my job. So I finally told her I would go over and spend time with her and her family. By the way, the woman has nine children. Whenever I spend time with Karima, I know it isn't just for a quick visit. It is always time consuming and takes pretty much all day. I headed over there around 1 pm and didn't get home until after 11:30 pm. Yes, very long day. We ate traditional African food, which comprised of asida (sort of like grits) and fried fish heads. Always something new to try with her. But we had a good time and I was even able to practice my hand at doing African hair.

Ketchup...

So I haven't been able to blog for a while. My internet was down. Long story. But I finally got it up and running and it is even faster than before.

So what is new in my world? Still doing the housewife thing. I rearranged furniture in the house. The master bedroom is now the family room/office. The family room is now the living room (no TV), the office is now the master bedroom. My office is now the guest room. I'm pondering painting my kitchen. Though I'm not sure what colors.

I have been reading quite a bit lately. My evenings are spent making dinner. Afterwards I sit on the comfy sofa with a glass of wine, a canister of Swedish gingersnaps, music of either Michael Buble or Norah Jones and reading a book. It isn't a bad way to end an evening.

I am finding that spending time with my working friends is very difficult. Their free time is not the same as mine. My time needed at home is in the evening. Balancing friends is hard! I am going to upload pictures of things I have done since I have been at home.

Whew!

So today was a tough day. I had a tough week of dealing with the dogs being sick and scrubbing sofas. So I thought I should just relax today. I started the day by picking up Erin, because no one should be pampered alone. We stopped at Starbucks and got some Caramela Brulee Lattes followed by a little light tanning to get some UV rays. We ran by the gym for a bit and then headed over to Jason's Deli for lunch. We stopped by Borders to pick up a book with a 30% off coupon. We didn't have a chance to finish our shopping since Erin needed to get back to pick up her children. We plan on finishing our shopping excursion tomorrow.

Hump day...

Well I am getting ready to embark on a eventful Wednesday. At least I have a feeling it will be busy. I am hoping to get to the gym today. However I am not sure when that may be. I am also wanting to get to the book store. Nothing in particular there, just to look around.

Already I have been busy. K has asked me to send him photos of the cat. He found someone who may be interested in the cat. But the person wants photos and wants to know how big the cat is. If they want the cat, they want the cat. Why am I required to send photos. This is ridiculous.

Great. The dogs just threw up and pooped all over the house. Yeah! I am really loving being a housewife. Now I have to go clean up the sofa that I just cleaned yesterday because a dog threw up on it. At least I am hoping it vomit...

Catch up

Well it has been a busy weekend. To bring everyone up to speed and to get all of the information out of my head...here is what happened.

Well Thursday was interesting. I spoke to my mother at 10:00 am to verify that my brother and I were still getting together with our mother. On my way to my dad's house at 12:00 pm, my mother called to cancel our lunch at 3:30 pm. Fantastic! My mother is always letting me and my brother down. I can't believe she cancelled on
Thanksgiving.

At my father's house, I had to inform my father that Mom had cancelled. He wasn't happy about that. He requested I bring green bean casserole to the dinner. I didn't. My family is not big on eating green vegetables, so I brought home made bread instead. He gave me this huge guilt trip thing about how they were counting on the green beans. Ha! He won't even eat it. So of course he starts scrambling around to make vegetables. During dinner, he asked if I had time off from work. I then informed him that I am no longer working. That went over like a lead balloon. Of course he wasn't happy. At this point, I don't really care if my father approves of my life or not. K is extremely happy that I am home to help take care of the home front. At this moment, K is not wanting anything to do with my father. At this point, I am starting to agree with K.

Well, I left my father's house to spend time with my brother. I didn't like the thought of him being alone because of our irresponsible mother. But also, I felt the pressure of my father to care for my brother. I had him over for a bit. He was so much work. I can't believe how difficult he was being that day. Upon visiting my brother, my father called to inform me that the food and supplies he thought he loaded into my car were loaded into my cousin's car. He brought them to my home and dropped them off. When I was taking my brother home, I realized that I left my purse at my father's house. I then had to go back to Dad's house to retrieve my purse. Of course I had more time to talk to my dad about the lack of a job and of course his perceived idea that K would be upset about me not working. My father is pushing extremely hard for a marriage. At this point, that is important. But what is another year of working on our relationship to the stress of a marriage right now?

S came over Thursday. That was interesting. I informed him that I was off limits, but of course as usual he didn't listen. We hung out and watched a movie. He tried to hold my hand. I asked him why he was trying to do such a thing. Then when he was leaving, he gave me a hug. Which was fine, except he tried to kiss me...inappropriately. Needless to say, I am not interested in seeing him any time soon. He obviously doesn't respect my wishes or my feelings.

Friday was much less hectic. I put an ad online for the puppies. I sold two females that day. I still have the boys.

My friend T came over. I went to school with him. We just hung out and ate a little Thanksgiving dinner. It was fun catching up and reminiscing.

K came home and we caught up over his trip to OKC. I missed him while was gone. Life always seems less hectic when he is around.

Up before the crack of dawn.

Why yes Internet, I am up before 5:00 am. The reason? Oh, K is absolutely incapable of doing some things for himself. Now, to find the irony in this K is always talking about being an adult and personal responsibility. Side Note: he is 13 years my senior. So knowing that he is going out of town AND knowing that he waited to pack at the last minute. I get woken up at 4:00 am to help him locate his suitcase. Yes! Nothing like being woken up out of a nice warm bed to go rummaging through the house for a suitcase. Oh and he can't use one of mine, because that is just unacceptable. Even though mine is a more appropriate size. But it isn't his. That is the main point. So while he decides to get in the shower and shave, I am left with the finding of the suitcase. Of course I found it. Downstairs on a shelf where he probably put it last. Then as he is exiting the shower he asks half jokingly if I have him packed and ready to go. So my attempt to pack him up the night before was all in vain. I should have just waited to do it at four in the morning like any responsible adult would do.

Once I was up and moving around, I could obviously finish helping him. My mistake to think that he could do it alone. I finished getting his things together and put them in the car. I made sure his lunch box with healthy snacks were strategically placed where he could get them. I found him a "travel" bottle. Don't ask, we will just leave it at that. Hung his shirts up so they didn't get wrinkled. Put his pajamas in the suitcase. Made sure he had a hat to keep his head warm. Made sure he knew where the insurance cards were (which he didn't) and at the last minute remembered his sunglasses.

Sometimes I think this housewife stuff is for the birds. I look back at my former working days and realize how things seemed to so much easier. Hell, I probably would have stayed at my place and didn't even have to deal with him and his packing problems.

Well I am off to attempt to get back to sleep. Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Close of business.

The day is finally over. Whew. I'm exhausted. I didn't take the nap today. I didn't have much time. I finished making the bread. I made a double batch. That makes four loaves. I decided to make it slightly healthy and made wheat bread instead of white. I did the other dishes. Helped K get a card for his son, came home and made dinner. Cleaned up with that, then made snacks for the road trip tomorrow. He should be well supplied. I helped pack the car, because he is taking mine. It does better on long road trips. Getting him ready to go is taking quite a bit of energy and effort. More than I thought it would. If I was going, it wouldn't be this difficult.

After taking care of the things around the house. I was able to settle in and watch a movie with K. However he passed out after an hour. We decided to watch a movie and hadn't even gotten 30 min. into the movie before he fell asleep. Now I am watching a movie and getting ready to head to bed. Same as last night, the dogs are all snoring. What a wonderful life.

Oh, update on my friend that I sent a photo to. We had a nice time talking on the phone for a bit. Catching up from high school and from the last party we attended a few weeks ago. We didn't plan on going to the party together, but I am glad that he showed up. We had a good time. I did send another photo. But it was agreed upon before sending photos that neither one of us were available. But just a bit of fun never hurt anyone.

Welcome to the Family

K's sister recently got married. Shortly after the nuptuals, she announced she was pregnant. Good timing.

Madden Kendrick
November 16th
6 lbs. 7 oz.
19 inches

And we are off...

Got up this morning at the ungodly time of 8:30. Yes, I know for some this is sleeping in, but not for me. Regular time is anything after 9:30 or 10:00. I had to go over to my place in the city. Took Rome (the big dog) with me and took care of a few errands there. Headed back to my other home in the suburbs and stopped at Lowes to pick a Dremel tool for K's son. Forgot I was out of eggs and stopped at the little grocery store near the house. One must have eggs to make bread. Came home and let the dogs go potty. Just finished eating a little something for lunch. Nothing amazing. Pizza rolls. Easy and fast. Now I am relaxing in bed contemplating a nap before I start the bread adventure.

The guy from high school is texting me today. I sent him a PG13 picture of me. No nudity, just a hint of it of skin. Ha. I love being a flirt.

The dogs are laying around me acting as if they have had the most hectic morning. I did grab a few movies from my place in the city to watch with K. He will enjoy them. Pink Panther movies.

Oh, I need to print my bread recipe before I forget.

Sleep? What is that?

I am sitting in bed while my animals and K is next to me. All of which are snoring. So even if I was sleeping, I doubt I would get much of it. Fun fact... Dogue de Bordeauxes are supposed to snore. If they don't, you have a defective dog. Hmmm.

As I sit here thinking about sleep, other things occur to me in my little head. Oh, this could be dangerous. Am I really going to bake bread tomorrow? Really, seriously? Or is it something I just say I'm going to attempt to do. I haven't made bread in a while and it would be a great gesture to send bread with K as he goes to Oklahoma to visit family for Thanksgiving. Also, I could take some to the many Thanksgiving meals I am attending that day. So far I count four. Yep. As always if I do something, I have to overdue it. Who on earth goes to four Thanksgiving gatherings in one day? I do. Why? I have no clue. Well actually that isn't true. I do have a clue. Typically if I am not attending Thanksgiving in Oklahoma with my other half, we spend it at my father's. Well since we have a house full of dogs, it is a bit difficult this year for the entire household to make the trip down south. So, it was agreed (more like I stated) I would stay behind and care for the animals. So I am going to see my father. My mother has guilted me into seeing her this Thanksgiving since she would like to spend it with her children. She always asks me when she can have a holiday with me. Well, it is a rather tough thing to do when there are so many turkeys to eat and just not enough stomach room. However, I should point out that my mother's idea of Thanksgiving as of past few years is to find a restaurant that is open. Now, my friend Erin is having a family gathering at her place, but I won't be able to attend, but I don't want to be alone that day so I have decided to hang out with her. Her husband may have to work that day. Bummer. Then there is my friend Karima.

I think Karima is awesome. She is a mother of nine. Yes, nine children. She is from Sudan and is part of the African tribe of Dinka. She is the third wife. Well in their country, a man should have as many wives and children as he can afford. So, with her own nine children in her three bedroom home, she often has other children from other wives or friends come to visit. Not to mention this lady works a full time job and goes to school. I don't know how she does it.

Anywho, she has invited me to a gathering of Dinkas in celebration of this great country that they love more than most people I know. Who knows what will be included in that celebration. Dancing, music, food (nothing like it in America), and talking. Perhaps I will attend if I am not overly tired from my day. But I think my day will end at my friend Erin's.

Now of course since my mother usually eats out for Thanksgiving, I have graciously offered to open my home to her and allow her to hold a small gathering here. That way I am not going to a restaurant. Which means I will have to clean my house tomorrow since I won't have time on Thursday. Ugh. Tomorrow will be busy. Oh and not to mention I do keep a place away from my home. Sort of like a bachelorette pad. Both of my roommates are gone and I have been asked to pop in and take out the trash, since I will be in town. I do need to grab a few things while I am there. But trash must be done before 11 am. Sure for anyone else this isn't a problem. But I'm still AWAKE!!!

On a small side note. A guy from highschool who I always found rather attractive has recently come back into my life. Nothing is happening and he is married. But there is some flirting. But just to clarify, even in school this guy would flirt when he had a girlfriend. So this is nothing new. But it is an interesting turn of events.

Okay, I really must attempt sleep. Wish me luck.

Hulu or not to Hulu...

Well last night "D" IMed me. I told him I was not interested in him. He didn't seem thrilled. Oh well. Not only am I not interested in him as person, but he physically repulses me. Not a good quality in looking for a potential boyfriend.

So update on today...

I spent a good portion of the morning with my favorite website - hulu.com. It is amazing and aweful at the same time. Who needs regular tv when you can watch your shows in a automatic queue that you set up and it just continuously plays. My new favorite show is "Dirty Sexy Money". Then I was informed that a new "Lie to Me" and "House" was also in my queue. Man...I need more hours in a day.

Had lunch with Erin. We went to Hooters. It was actually fun. Food was good. I even tried the fried pickles. They were decent. Though I didn't care for the amount of pepper on them. While at lunch, Erin's school called to inform her that she needed to come pick up a child who was ill. Not fun.

Before lunch, I took a prepaid phone back to Wal-mart. Decided it wasn't a good match for K.

After I got home from shopping at Target, I was busy. I did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, hand washed the floors, hand washed the bathroom floors and countertop, cleaned the cat litter box, and gave the dog a bath. I know that sounds trivial, but convincing a 150lbs. dog to enter a shower so I can hop in with him and scrub him down is not an easy feat. After his shower, I had to lead him outside and brush him. By the time I was done, I was exhausted. I came in and then worked on setting up K's new prepaid phone. Got that finished, started his coffee before he got home, and thawed meat for dinner. Now I am surfing the internet for a deal on a gift for K's son. When is bedtime again?

Ninjas, Cougars, and Puppies - Oh my!

So I took my puppies over to my friend Angie's to play with her children. We had a very fun time. Of course her children seemed to be thrilled with the dogs. The puppies were exhausted as well. They slept all the way home. They had to have a bath when they got home, but they are back asleep again.

I took Angie a few "cougar" gifts. She is definitely a Team Jacob fan. Though I do keep reminding her that Jacob is a fictional character and that he won't get the girl. But he is still great "eye candy". I do have to agree on that fact. Also, Edward just has a strange skinny body that isn't hot in any realm of hotness. At least not by our standards.

Now many people are not aware of Angie's adept ability of being a ninja. So of course I do often remind her that she could go get her werewolf by impressing him with her many ninja skills. Such as walking across a room and not tripping. Or preparing dinner and not severing a digit. She has mad ninja skills. Watch out Jacob! Here comes Angie.

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So the holiday is almost here. This year is a bit crazy for seeing family and friends. "K" is going to visit his family down south and I am here to take care of the pets and see my family. It just works better that way this year with the puppies around.

So far my plans are as follows, lunch with Dad and family followed by dinner with Mom and family and then off to see Erin and her family and then perhaps a stop with Karima and her family. Whew. I'm tired just typing it all out.

Back to the Basics...

So after conversing with my friend, she inspired me to start a blog. My name is Anna and I am newly appointed housewife. I will only take the position as long as the benefits outweight the rest of the job.

A bit of background... So for the past 10+ years, I have been out in the world slugging my way through it all. I have lived in Kansas City, Florida, NYC and back to KC. I have been married, divorced, and dating all over again. The current boyfriend and I have been together for 7 years and counting. I have worked as a secretary, accountant, personal assistant, and teacher. Not that I don't love the jobs, but they are not exactly where I thought I would see myself. So recently due to the economical cutbacks, I have taken on a new job for the first time in my life...housewife (or the equivalent to it).

I have no clue what a modern housewife does. I mean no business calls, faxes, copying, emails, etc. Along my journey I am guided by two great friends from highschool. They are housewives, slightly different, but still housewives. Angie - mom of three, homeschools, lives in the country (or there abouts) and Erin - mom of two, public school, and lives in the city in an apartment.

During my first week as a housewife, I had lunch with Erin three times. Light shopping followed and even coffee was added to the schedule. Angie informed me of the most sacred thing a housewife could do...naps. There was no way I could fit in a nap in my prior life, how does one do it now? According to the ladies, naps are done whenever you can. Interesting...this will require further investigation.

So other things housewives do, lunch with friends, shopping, cooking, cleaning, and who knows what else.

Now, just because I'm a housewife now, doesn't mean I don't get out and see friends. On the contrary, I have all kinds of friends I would like to see - male, female, friends, something more than friends. I suppose the trick is to see if it can be done and how a person goes from working girl to Martha Stewart without the freakiness of Martha.