The great thing about being self-employed: hiring myself out as a freelancer gives me the opportunity to work on several projects, while being available to my family (sometimes ALL at once) and I am not committed to any one particular employer, long-term. The not so great thing about being self-employed: I am not committed to any one particular employer, long-term. This week, I'm starting a new project that I am hoping will lead me closer to my goal for 2013: long-term employment. Yeah, I'm totally banking on the Aztecs being wrong...DAMMIT! I'm looking at 2 kids in college by 2014, with 2 more out of high school before this decade is over and, well, enough said. Either way, as a self-employed-work-at-home type for the last 6 years, I've accustomed myself to working with and/or around other people's schedules. That said, my hours are about to increase substantially (YES, that is... Read more →

My brother and sister-in-law are big-time World of Warcraft fans and recently gifted my 13 year-old with 6 months of game time. Considering my son has been BEHHHHHHHHHHHH-ging us for a subscription (it's free to play up to level 20 or something, which is like 5 minutes to a 13 year-old) inviting him into their guild effectively up-ped my brother's and sister-in-law's wow-factor by a hefty: "WOW, you guys are SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, AWWWWWWWWWWWESOME!" Yeah, as if they needed any help in THAT department. Aaaaaaanyway, my son has been hinting at an expansion pack for WoW, for a couple of weeks now, and mentioned it again on the way home from the pediatrician's on Tuesday. "I know, Mists of Pandaria, it was released today." What?!? I read Game Informer. "You could add it to your Christmas or birthday list." Aaaaaaand, my coolness factor dropped by an unsurprising: "UGH! You ALWAYS say that!"... Read more →

Gathering my thoughts and enjoying the nothingness of a day off from school, before the kids wake up I mean. Aaaaaaand, yet another quiet moment is interrupted by a good morning snuggle and, well, when did my shadow's legs get so gosh-darned long?!? I have NO words. Other folks going wordless today: Wordless Wednesday. © 2003 - 2012 This Full House Read more →

I don't know what it is, exactly, but it happens to me every time the seasons change. I get all fired-up about redecorating, reorganizing, renovating and re-re-ing the h-e-double hockey sticks out of This Full House of mismatched scks and crunchy floors. For years I blamed HGTV for fueling my DIY and design envy. Not to mention, my having a slight girl-crush on Candice Olson and Amy Matthews. Then Pinterest came along and...well...as if I needed yet ANOTHER reason to feel inadequate or delusional in believing renovating a house...for the last 18 years...is perfectly normal...not to mention, using pretend words like re-re-ing. On the other hand: my kids bring their friends over who are all, like, "Ohhhhh, your house is sooooooooo cozy!" and...YES!...I allow those kids sleepover...A LOT! Aaaaanyway, I tend to focus on creating cozy little gathering-type areas (unavoidable, seeing as we live in a small house) like our... Read more →

Raise your hand if you NEVER thought you would EVER read THAT blog post title here at This Full House of crunchy floors and sticky socks [raises handed] me, either. Unlike my house, I like to keep things light and airy on my blog. Then my oldest daughter Holly and I were invited to NYC to tape a segment of Katie Couric's new daytime television show and I never thought I would say THAT (out loud) either. The show on Dating Violence aired on Katie yesterday and my husband was more than just a little surprised to learn that I did not watch it. "What do you mean you didn't watch it?!?" Honestly, a part of me was all, like, I wonder if the camera caught a glimpse of us -- we were in the front row, to the right of the stage -- truth is, it was VERY difficult... Read more →

This weekend, my husband Garth (not his real name) kicked us ALL out of the house and we liked it. Read more →

Having a smartphone really DOES come in handy...whenever you remember you have one...I mean...or something like that. Read more →