So. I had the weirdest night of my life last night.

Well. That might be an exaggeration... But it ranks up there.

First. I'm losing my voice. I'm not sick. At least, not sick that I know of. But yet, every day my voice disappears a little bit more.

Maybe God is answering someone's prayers. I'm not exactly sure. But I sound like a frog.

And then the weirdness continued last night with me falling asleep on the couch at the late, very late hour of 9:15. Yep. I hardly even got to enjoy those precious few hours after the kids finally fall asleep!!

Zach woke me up at 10, and I tried, I really, really tried to stay awake... But it just didn't happen. So off to bed I went, only to be awoken by one of my children at 3:35AM to solve a very complicated, drawn out problem that didn't let me get back into bed until 4:35!

After that... It was all about the nightmares. Yep. I was plagued with them.

The worst part was, they were not your typical, run-of-the-mill nightmare where I'm chased through a thick forest by some maniac and his chainsaw, whilst tripping over branches and fearing for my life.

Oh. No.

These nightmares were much worse.

They all centered around this upcoming Competition Weekend and me not being able to get Stella there on time! Like one where we were lost in the basement of the convention center and we kept running into homeless people who were offering me money to buy Stella. Or one where I could see the rest of her team lined up, waiting to go on stage and we couldn't get to them. I forgot her costume. I forgot her makeup. I couldn't find the place.

And then at some point, Brad Pitt showed up, trying to convince Stella to be in one of his movies and forget dance all together. This was the weirdest part. Mainly because I think Brad Pitt has gotten kind of scruffy in the recent years with the bizarre facial hair and cane and I have a hard time respecting him for what he did to Jennifer Anniston.... Plus, mostly I was appalled that he would try to talk Stella out of dance! Obviously, he doesn't know her at all.

Yes, that is what my nightmares are made of.

Needless to say I tossed and turned and woke up in a cold, panicked sweat!

And then I took a deep breath and realized everything was just a dream. Brad Pitt didn't really want to destroy my daughters dream. I do know how to get to the competition Saturday. And. Her suitcase is already preliminarily packed.

Not saying I'll remember everything.

But. Hopefully at least the most important things!

Although, last year, during one competition, we lost one of her shoes and so she danced with only one. Yep. I'm that mom....

And they're not really shoes. They're called Dance Paws. And they are ridiculously expensive for what you get. Like $40! And then I had to buy a whole new pair!!!

Here's a picture. You tell me, from a non dance background, if you can really justify spending $40 on these suckers!!!


Just kidding Lindsay!!!

Plus, I really shouldn't complain, since it was my own child's fault we had to wear those to begin with. Last year she had itty bitty, teeny, tiny feet. This year. She grew.

Like. A lot.

Anyway.

So that was my weird night last night. And hopefully today is better. Although so far, I have just been working on bills and budgeting and for whatever reason this takes forever with me!

Oh. Budgeting.

Yikes.

Right?

At least yesterday I got back into my Menu Planning.

For the last few months I have basically been spoiled with a husband who took over the majority of the cooking so I could write. But now.... Now... Spring is here and he will be going back to working his 12 hour days, 6 days a week and the cooking will be left up to me entirely.

Save for Saturday and Sunday nights when he feels like experimenting with a brand new recipe.

See, the difference between us is that he is a Chef. Or should be one. He challenges himself in the kitchen, he tries the hardest recipes and everything he touches turns to gold.

I am a cook. A decent cook. But just a cook.

I throw meals together, and make them easy. I do not look, or at least not often, at recipes, nor do I ever abide by their step by step instructions.

I never ever, ever (Well, maybe when baking...) measure anything. And usually whether my meal is edible or not is quite the gamble!

Although, last night I did make an Italian Dressing I was pretty proud of myself.

The night before however, my fried okra came out.... Well, it didn't really come out at all.

But the other difference between Zach and me are that his meals are expensive. I mean, he uses the real-deal ingredients and the best cuts of meat.

My meals cost five dollars. And I like to completely clean out our pantry before I go grocery shopping again.

So. Although I would prefer to eat his meals every day of the week. My budget can't support that!!!! :)

Yesterday, I went back to the painstaking, time-consuming task of writing out a two week menu and working through the ads to make sure I was getting the best bang for my buck.

I'm pretty happy with what I came out with.

Even if it took me a good two hours....

Oh, good grief.

For a while I used E-Mealz. Which, let's face it, they do all that hard work for you and it's kind of amazing.

But. They were a little expensive for my taste. :) Yep, $90/week is expensive for my taste. Don't judge me!!!

And today, I'm catching up with the Bills.

My house is cleaned. My meals are planned. My budget will soon be in order. And I have play dates scheduled for this week.

It sounds like I'm on top of this whole housewife/motherhood thing right?

That can mean only one thing.

Oh yes, I haven't written a word in five days. I've apparently forgotten I'm a writer too. Shoot!

Speaking of....

As an update for Nook Users. Smashwords is being extra, extra, extra slow this time around and I am still Pending Approval for their premium catalog, which basically means Endless hasn't even been sent over to B&N yet! It's frustrating, I completely understand. And I apologize. Today I resubmitted it in hopes that I will remind them that I've been waiting for a while!!!! Thank you for your patience and as always I will keep you updated the very MINUTE it becomes available!!!