Spring is here!

Spring has sprung!!!!  There are signs all over place:

These little cuties were newly planted last year.  LOVE!




The Rhododendron's are opening!  One of my favorites!  Beautiful!



Spring is such a lovely time.  All the beauty of the outdoors awaken, shiny and new.  The blossoms come quietly then explode into color where the was none.   I want to see your favorite thing about spring but I can't figure out how to let you post pictures as comments.  Feel free to drop them on my facebook page or e-mail them to me.  I'll make a collection and post here.  How fun!  Please share!

Take some time to enjoy the beauty that is emerging.  Breathe and be thankful for having seasons to remind us of all the important things.

Presidential Hand Me Downs

I saw this story and it cracked me up so I had to share.  Sasha Obama wore a dress on Easter that was seen on her older sister Malia back in 2008.  **GASP** 



I think it's funny that this is even newsworthy.  The Blogger commented that it was a "good call from Mrs. O."  First, this is the most normal presidential family ever and I love that!  Secondly, I think it's great that they don't care if it's been seen before.  Third and finally, who among us didn't wear hand me downs?  I remember waiting for certain items to be outgrown and passed on to me.  Praying they wouldn't be too well worn when they got here.  Haha those were the days!

This here is a very lovely dress.  It looks beautiful on both girls.  I'm glad this made the headlines.

Easter is weird...bah humbug!

I hope you had a joyous Easter!  I tend to be a scrooge and this post will surely prove that.  Sorry, it's not sac religious as much as it is just general scrooginess. 

I wish we celebrated for 5 days like some European Countries because I would be in bed right now. 

I notice that everyone celebrates in a different way.  I think that's great!  For me a wonderful service and potluck at our church and a quiet day at home was just perfect!

I love my birth family very much but the holiday celebrations are a bit overwhelming for me.  There are on average 30-50 people, some of whom I don't know.  I went to Easter last year and it was fun.  There's no way I'm going to sacrifice my body for the adult fight to the death easter egg hunt.  It's always just a bit too loud and raucous for me.  I'm sorry if that hurts any one's feelings.  I think everyone knows it but I have yet to say it aloud.  I must own it.  It has nothing to do with my love for them!  I think they know that I'm good for a couple full gatherings a year.

Snohomish County residents should be aware that on Easter, their hard earned tax dollars were spent paying 3 sheriffs to sit in their cars outside the Catholic Church near my house.  Apparently they were there to monitor traffic.  Since they were in their cars and not out on the street I'm not sure what the concern was.  They were there on Christmas Eve and Christmas as well.  I will admit, I don't care for it.  I think the church should pay for their own security or traffic monitoring.  I sure as hell don't want to pay for it!!  Maybe what I'm pissed about is how long it takes them to arrive at the scene of an actual crime. 

Easter food is scary!  Cadbury eggs are fairly good but they make me sick after just one.  Peeps should be outlawed just because they're gross.  There's no way I would put one of those in my mouth.  I would however watch it blow up in a microwave, that is pretty fun.  I will consume the ham!  So Yummy!

As for the Easter Message, yes I'm a Woman of faith.  My beliefs may be a little far reaching from the traditional message.  Suffice it to say I celebrated Jesus' Resurrection yesterday and I will leave it at that.

What rating would your life be?

If this blog had a rating system, which perhaps it should, mine would probably be PG13.  That was never my intention.  My thoughts are a bit on the edgy side so I guess it's fitting.  Having this thought made me wonder how they define PG13 for films?  Here's an interesting interpretation:

PG-13 - Parents Strongly Cautioned - Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. These films may contain sex references, up to four uses of explicit language, drug innuendo, strong crude/suggestive humor, mature/political themes, moderately long horror moments and/or moderate action violence. There are usually no restrictions on non-sexual nudity. However, bloodshed is rarely present. This is the minimum rating at which drug content is present; with the exception of Austin Powers and Click. Marijuana smoking is the only illegal drug use that can be depicted in a PG-13 film, with the exception of Forrest Gump, in which a brief scene depicts an actress snorting cocaine. While PG-13 films usually have more profanity than PG films, this is not necessarily the case. A film that is given a PG-13 rating due to profane language and/or racial insults is given this rating because it contains more of these elements than a PG rating would permit, or the film contains uses of stronger profanities than a PG would permit. A film rated PG-13 for "intense violence" is given this rating if blood is present in a violent way. The films Gremlins and Indiana Jones: Temple of Doom are well known as the movies that PG-13 was created for. In recent years, this rating has been used for the majority of American films released. Some films that have received a PG-13 rating have a director's cut with an R rating. Daredevil is just an example of this practice.^[15] Examples include The Simpsons Movie, Eat Pray Love and Casino Royale.

Ok, truth be told my actual life should be rated R.  I'll try to keep the blog to a PG13.

What rating would you give your life?

Spreadsheet Eyeballs!

Sorry Guys, I have 3 or 4 blogs creating in my head but it's really hard to post right now.  I have a serious case of spreadsheet eyeballs!  Work has been so balls to the wall right now and I love it!  The constant data manipulation gets tiresome on the eyes.  The work is riveting and that's a very good thing.

Thank you MS!!  I love Excel!  I use it for everything in my work and my personal life.  For a person like me that's not able to do math in my head, I'm so thankful!  Could not LIVE without it!!

I can do check boxes, formulas, pivot tables and vlookups pretty easily now.  Have you ever gone to http://www.youtube.com/ and gotten free Excel training?  It's an endless supply of resources!  Check it out...

I'm not sleeping at all to speak of, not sure why.  I just picked up some Melatonin and I hope to finally get a good nights sleep.  Wish me luck.

Sweet Dreams!

Spring Cleaning!

Waking up on this cold Monday Morning I feel satisfied!  Spring Cleaning has begun at the Petersen Household.  It's such a healing to purge, organize and clean in, under and around everything!  The shift in energy is astounding! 

I can't wait to get to work so I can spring clean my desk!  I'm going to spring clean those filing cabinets too.  Hell, I might move everything and clean under it and put it all back!  I'm so excited!  The kitchen at work could use a deep cleaning but I might have to gather a committee for that. 

My yard is a mess but I must begin the process inside.  It's almost as if I clean inside first then the outside will be ready for  me.  That doesn't make any sense as is often the case with feelings.  Mostly it's a case of being too cold to do yard work yet. 

I'm supercharged and ready to go!  Got the master bedroom and bathroom done this weekend.  It's shiny baby and looks amazing!  Me, my dear husband and our two best friends will conquer all:

Miele Sweeper:

Shark Steam Mop

How about you?  Has the spring cleaning bug bit you yet?

Mama Bear is PISSED!

I asked my daughters permission to post a blog about a situation she has going on.  She said no so I'm posting an abbreviated version.  Sorry Honey, please forgive me!  I will only say this:  Her situation makes the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up.  It raises the Mama Bear in me to an ENRAGED ROAR!!!

Obviously, when it comes to our children our main purpose is to protect them.  When they become adults nothing changes.  The defensive instincts of a parent are so strong they are indescribable!  I know that my daughter can hold her own.  She is strong willed like me and she is physically strong and smart.  I know, because I taught her self defense myself (beginning at a very young age).  Somehow, knowing this is not one bit helpful.  I want to charge forth, roaring loudly and rip the face off anyone that wants to mess with my kid! 

I'm trying to respect her wishes and not get involved.  Truth be told, I'm waiting and watching for now.  If this continues, I make no guarantees.