My Family Room in Progress

I wish I had taken before pictures but didn't think about it until it was too late. My DH is laying out the floor to make sure we have enough boards for the whole floor. When he gets some time, we will get some material to make the floor level, then put down the padding, then lay the floor out for good.

I guess we didn't need to worry about whether or not we had enough as we even had enough to go under the stairs.

What does a Trillion dollars look like?

My brother in law sent this to my email. I have a hard time imagining what a billion looks like let alone a trillion. So to give you all an idea, thought I'd post it here.

All this talk about "stimulus packages" and "bailouts"...
A billion dollars...
A hundred billion dollars...
Eight hundred billion dollars...
One TRILLION dollars...
What does that look like? I mean, these various numbers are tossed around like so many doggie treats, so I thought I'd take Google Sketchup out for a test drive and try to get a sense of what exactly a trillion dollars looks like.

We'll start with a $100 dollar bill. Currently the largest U.S. denomination in general circulation. Most everyone has seen them, slighty fewer have owned them. Guaranteed to make friends wherever they go.

A packet of one hundred $100 bills is less than 1/2" thick and contains $10,000. Fits in your pocket easily and is more than enough for week or two of shamefully decadent fun.

Believe it or not, this next little pile is $1 million dollars (100 packets of $10,000). You could stuff that into a grocery bag and walk around with it.

While a measly $1 million looked a little unimpressive, $100 million is a little more respectable. It fits neatly on a standard pallet...

And $1 BILLION dollars... now we're really getting somewhere...

Next we'll look at ONE TRILLION dollars. This is that number we've been hearing about so much. What is a trillion dollars? Well, it's a million million. It's a thousand billion. It's a one followed by 12 zeros.
You ready for this?
It's pretty surprising.
Ladies and gentlemen... I give you $1 trillion dollars...
(And notice those pallets are double stacked.) I know its hard to see in this illustration, but the man is still standing by the corner of these pallets.

So the next time you hear someone toss around the phrase "trillion dollars"... that's what they're talking about.

Late Over Birthday Party

My daughter is turning 7 in a few weeks. We decided to have a late-over party where the children are picked up late instead of a sleepover. I got lots of postive feedback from the parents on this idea.

We had pizza then decorated cupcakes. I was surprised how little time this took.

Then we decorated foam purses I bought at the dollar store. I also bought 1 package of stickers and 2 packages of alphabet stickers so the girls could write their names. I also picked up a package of 4 glitter glues in case any of the girls wanted their purses to sparkle. (They are girls after all). When the girls were done decorating their purses, it was time to fill them with the essentials. Okay, they were not all essentials but it was still fun. The purses were filled with small boxes of candy, a ring pop, and a plastic bracelette. I also gave them tiaras. I think most of them wore them for the rest of the night.

Then, we opened birthday presents. She was very nice and thanked everyone for being so thoughtful.

The last thing we did was pop popcorn and watched the twelve dancing princesses. The girls choose which movie they wanted to watch from a selction of "G" rated movies.

I overheard one girl telling her it was the best party she'd ever been to and thanks so much for inviting her. She got a thank you note from another little girl at church today telling her the late over was "grate". Personally, though I'm glad they all had fun, I'm just glad its over. No more birthday parties until June.

My New Job

I have a new job. I trained at the office for a week and a half then they gave me a computer and I started working from home. There are ups and downs working from home.

First, the downs.
1. No designated time. The work is always there. I don't get to leave it at the office.
2. Distrations. I have to deal with all the home things while I'm working. And if I really don't feel like working, there is always laundry, cooking, cleaning, etc.

3. My pay is based on how many documents I can do in an hour.

4. I listen to books on tapes/CD while driving/sitting in traffic. Don't listen to many anymore.

The Ups

1. I love being home for my children. They are confident that I am here for them.

2. No babysitter. I can work while my three-year-old plays next to me.

3. No designated time. I can work whenever I want as long as I get my hours in.

4. The commute is amazing!

5. I can go to work in my pajamas and no one makes comments.

6. I can rearrange my office anytime I want. I can have an office with or without a window, move my desk just because.

Looks like the pros win.