I am suffering a tremendous case of ‘mom guilt.’ My 2 year-old (almost three) has been acting horrible and I’m sure it is because I have been working a lot lately. I usually work evenings, but I have been filling in for our assignment manager this week. Therfore, I have been leaving my house by 7:00am all week. Kelan usually isn’t up yet, so he hasn’t been getting AM mommy time. I’ve also worked some extra hours… so I’m sure he’s missing me.

It is hard to explain to a toddler why I have to go to work. Today he asked if he could come with me and play with the TV cameras. I explained to him that we don’t have any toys at work and that I don’t work at Nick Jr. so he wouldn’t get to watch the Wonder Pets. That seemed to do the trick. I once told him I had to go to work to make money to pay bills. He told me we didn’t need money. If only…

I am planning on taking some time off in early December. Hopefully that will get my little guy back on track. Until then, I hope a game of Candyland will do the trick!

I have lived in Ohio for 4 years and I would have to say this is the first year I am excited about the Ohio Michigan game. 

My neighborhood is actually having a tailgate party.  rather then just hanging out and watching the game inside someone’s house, we are going to tailgate outside starting at 8am.  Brats and burgers will be served for Breakfast.   Should be fun

What are your plans for the big game?

Many of my friends have Blackberry phones and sing its praises. My husband and I have been wanting one for a long time now, so when our phone contract ended, we finally made the splurge. My husband is on the road a lot for his job, so he wanted a way to easily access e-mail while on the go. I run around a lot being a reporter, so being able to e-mail from my phone is a nice addition. I can e-mail story updates, or let my producer know how a story is going, without stepping away to make a phone call.

Now, when we got the phones, I was sure that being able to do more from the palm of my hand, would save me time. Now that I actually have it, I’m not convinced. Now, I may just not have mastered what I can do on this phone…. (In fact, I remind myself of my parents with their phones… “How do I write this text? What if I want to…”) but there’s aspects of the blackberry that drive me nuts. I am constantly getting “notified” every time a new junk e-mail comes in, or about a posting on Facebook. I wouldn’t normally take the time to check my e-mail or Facebook as much as my phone likes to “notify” me, so I feel like it’s taking up more time than saving. I’m also not that impressed with how long it takes to connect to the internet or send a message.

Unfortunately, no matter how great an advancement in technology may seem, I feel like in the end, we serve it, rather than it serves us. Think about it… do you ever feel like a slave to your phone/computer? Or that your phone or television recorder (DVR) acts more as a leash than a connection to others? Every now and again, try turning everything off, take a deep breath, lay your head back and feel the freedom/relief that comes with being unconnected.

So, I’m sitting at my desk and Tiffany Tarpley is torturing me. She has Five Guys for dinner, and I can see the grease outside of the brown paper bag. The food looks so good, and it’s getting close to dinner time. ugh.

I have only had Five Guys one time. My brother-in-law swears by the food there, and so we went to a restaurant location in D.C.

I am pumped that Five Guys has opened in Toledo, Ohio.. I have heard from other co-workers that more franchises will be on the way in our area. Woohoo!  If you didn’t know, the current location is at Westgate.

Have you tried Five Guys??? What do you think?

P.S. Work has been fun today. I think I felt Kristi’s baby kick. haha.

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“Okay well, lets get this over with.”

Joi had a habit of being a little crass sometimes. As annoying as it was I was used to it, and she is my matron of honor but I swear if we weren’t sisters she would definitely be an usher. The three-year age difference gave us a lot to be competitive about. Being the youngest of the pair, I was often passed over by our mother sometimes not on purpose of course. Only when Joi’s ‘problems’ out weighed my own which was very often.  However, no one ever accused my sister of being over dramatic. Being named after our grandmother Joilinda Kelley, blues singer/songwriter, Joi’s artistic talents were few and far between, but try to convince her of that.

The door opened and my mother stuck her head in.

“Come on girls, it’s show time, everyone is seated. Sam and the groomsmen are all waiting at the altar, let’s go! Hustle” she called.

“Ok, let’s get ready to rumble,” I said, trailing behind the ten bridesmaids into the chapel.

Before letting go of my hand, my last bridesmaid kissed me on the cheek wishing me good luck as she got ready to march down to Kenny Latimore’s “For You”

“Will everyone please stand,” I heard the Reverend say.

Ok Lee just breath, count, 1,2,3,4…

Glancing over, I smiled at my mother as we walked down the aisle hand in hand to the wedding march. My father, for the little presence and account that he was in my life, had decided to boycott.  His own religious and personal beliefs had propelled him to it.  I decided not to be sad about it, this was just one more to add to the long list of past disappointments.

I can hear the excited whispers of my friends and family, as I pass each pew: she looks so lovely, look at her, she finally looks like a grown woman, are those boobs real, her smile is just to die for, her mother is gorgeous… I hadn’t expected so many people; the groom’s side is stuffed.  There had to be more than the original three hundred guests, fortunately we had paid for an additional one hundred as well.  As I got to the altar and stood next to Sam I noticed that everyone, except my father, is here.  Even people I haven’t spoken to in ages. I noticed a woman sitting to the far left in the third pew, she looks uncannily familiar, but where have I seen her before? Suddenly it came to me she was my piano teacher, Mrs. Bartlow. Now who had thought to invite her?

“Do you, Leeanne Smith take this man Samuel Ethan Shine to be your lawfully wedded husband…?”

There was Ms. Mendenhall, my fifth grade elementary school teacher. She remembers me? There’s Tommy, Angela, Steve, Mary, Ashley and Carlie.  Carlie? She’s not even a friend of mine and whom is she sitting next to, that guy looks awfully familiar.

“LeeAnne, do you take Samuel Shine to be your lawfully wedded husband…?” Reverend Daniels repeated.

That can’t be who I think it is.

The crowd began to whisper.

That can’t be Gray Jackson!

“LeeAnne…Lee sweetie, say something,”  Sam’s whispering to me, he’s watching me closely.

What should I do now?  Why is Gray here, who invited him to my wedding?  This isn’t good.  This isn’t good at all.  Why is the man I love at my wedding?

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Tune in next week..

I love a bargain as much as the next guy (or gal,) but my sister is the sale guru. Over the past few years she has taught me that I need not pay retail for anything – thanks to the World Wide Web. Now I am passing the deals on to you.

A few years ago me sister showed me the ropes of online couponing. It is easy. Most of the time all it takes is a Google search, the name of your favorite retailer, and the key words ‘printable coupon.’ I swear this works. I printed off a Bath and Body Works coupon just last night. It is now a ritual in our household to print off coupons from our favorite stores before we head to the mall.

There are also some website you need to check out. These are great for finding deals and knowing where you can find items for a steal. Check these out:

dealcatcher.com

dealnews.com

printable-coupon.blogspot.com

Hopefully these will help save you some money as we head in to holiday season. I’ll post more in the future. Happy shopping!

Yes, I’m about to go into a rant. You’ve been warned.

When I was a kid in the 70s, the mainstream environmental movement centered mostly around not littering. Dioxins, including PCBs and Agent Orange were grabbing most of the headlines. Recycling on a large scale was still many years away. But school kids got it drilled into our heads that you put trash in a trash can. Seemed simple and clear enough to me.

Yet in late 2009, someone (maybe several someones) is/are throwing entire fast food bags out their car window in rural western Lucas County. Plastic bottles filled with tobacco spit, too. I pick up their trash every week or so from my front yard. Not a big effort, but more of an effort than it would have been for the original owner of the trash to dispose of it properly in the first place.

Why do they do it? Are they that lazy? Are they hiding an eating disorder or nasty habit from someone? Do they just not care about the environment, anyone else’s property, about behaving like a responsible adult? I keep hoping to catch the offender in the act. Maybe get a license plate number. I know the world has worse problems, but this one is just thoughtless and yes, trashy. If you litter, do try to clean up your act. And if you share my frustration, keep picking up your little corner of the world and at least take satisfaction in the fact that you care enough to do something.

I am not only on Facebook and Twitter but I am trying Linkedin.  I know it is a networking tool for professionals but other than that I don’t know much about this site.
I received an email from someone I’d interviewed in the past asking me to join and I said “hey, why not?”

So if you have any advice please let me know—OH and follow me on twitter: www.twitter.com/tiffanytarpley

On Sunday my daughter, husband and I met Shaun Hegarty and his family at the zoo.  We always enjoy taking our daughters to the zoo together.  And definitely try to get a visit in just before winter. 

This weekend we took advantage of the nice weather and did not have to bundle up to check the animals out. 

Usually we go through Africa pretty quick.  But this time we spent most of our time there.  The seals and polar bears were so active and very entertaining.  We also hopped on the train and got a great look at the animals moving around. 

Another crowd pleaser was the natures neighborhood.  We had a hard time pulling my daughter away from the goats and outdoor play area.

It looks like it is shaping up to be another nice weekend.  I would recommend a trip to the zoo for you and your family.

So, one of my goals before the baby comes is to get my two-year-old (28 months) potty trained. I just really don’t want to be changing two sets of diapers.

I must say, I am a bit discouraged. I bought her a potty chair at about 18 months, just to get her used to sitting on it… so far that’s about as much progress we have made.

I started out just having her sit on it 5 minutes here and there, and giving her a treat for doing so… with the promise of a bigger treat for “going” in her potty. She went one time.

Since then, I bought her a “Potty Power” video, and put up a sticker chart. Each time she “tries” she gets a sticker…. again, with the promise of a treat if she actually goes.

So far, just one “success” since I started that methodl. I have also tried buying a potty seat that goes on the adult toilet. That hasn’t made any difference. So basically, I feel like I have tried everything short of buying her underwear and letting her have accidents.

Now, I know I shouldn’t push it too much… (I’ve heard that can lead to bed-wetting) but it’s especially frustrating because my daughter has been so quick to learn other things. She knew basic sign language at 8 months, knows how to speak in full sentences now, knows several songs, the alphabet, can count to 15  and can do basic tasks on her own. … eat, clean up, put on shoes, brush teeth, etc.

So got any tips for me? Anything I’m doing wrong? I would LOVE to get at least this feat out of the way before baby # 2 arrives!!!