Lovi's Log

Here Comes the Bride!

2007-09-30T10:28:00.000-06:00

They're engaged!!!!!!!!
OS and FDIL are officially engaged now!!!! He asked her last night and of course she said YES!!!! Everyone here is just so excited over the news! These two are so meant for each other and we are so lucky to have her in our family. And, as the mother of the groom, I have to say she got quite the catch too!
I'm not going to ramble on about it right now cuz I'm still giddy and weepy with happiness, but to them I do want to say:
Congratulations, I love the two of you dearly and God bless you both!

William 8/31-9/21

2007-09-24T05:13:00.000-06:00

It was a sad day in our house Saturday morn. YS came and got me, crying one of those cries that no mother ever wants to hear. It tears your heart out. William was dead.
William was the guinea pig that OS bought YS for his birthday. YS did everything right. He took care of him like a new born baby. He even read to him every night so he’d grow up and be a “smart pig”. DH and I were in awe of this little creature who could turn an otherwise wound up tight 9 year old boy into a gentle caretaker.
We’re not sure why they little guy passed and that made it even harder to explain to YS, who was absolutely inconsolable. He did everything right. Why did it happen? Gosh damn, I can’t harder write about it without tearing up. How do you explain death, the unfairness of it to a 9 year old?
Of course practically the first thing out of my mouth after “it wasn’t your fault” was “we’ll get another one”. What the hell was I thinking? That I want to go through this time and time again? That you can replace the love for one by replacing it with another? No I wasn’t. I just wanted the pain to go away. Plain and simple.
So I called OS because YS wanted him to accompany us on our new search. He was kind enough to come over and off we went. One store didn’t have any, the second store had a couple but they were older. They told us that because the animal was so small (and he was) that he probably wasn’t weaned or hadn’t been weaned long and the shock could’ve to his system might have been the cause. But 3 weeks? I’m not sure. I wondered about vitamin C, and then dismissed it after talking to the store and reading up on it. I do wonder about the celery though. It had to be small bites since the strings are hard for them to digest. I sure thought they were small enough but who knows. We went to another store and found “Rascal”. Rascal is all white and just the most playful little cute pig. He’s small too so we’re being really careful about food with him. Just pellets for now and we’ll go even slower trying new vegetables and fruit.
Later that day, DD took YS to the circus and out for dinner. DH and I went out for dinner ourselves and then the races out at the speedway. We stayed until my back and big old butt couldn’t take the seats anymore. It was a beautiful evening and we enjoyed being out together. We laughed and talked like teenagers again. Two burials in one day take it out of you I guess. Wow! Here I went on about the guinea pig and my poor DH had to bury him and then go to his aunt’s funeral. She passed in her sleep with her family around. He wasn’t necessarily close to his aunt but close enough that it hit home and you look at your own mortality. So the evening out was sorely needed by all of us. DD brought along a friend of hers and her niece who happens to be the same age as YS. She brought home some pretty good stories. Maybe later on the week I’ll get them posted.
I finished up all of the painting I had to do in the bedrooms. I’M DONE PAINTING!!!
DH is finishing up the painting of the doors/closet doors with his nifty little spray gun, But, I’m DONE!!!! Did I mention that already!?!
Now, the fun really begins – I get to go carpet shopping!!!!!! Man, that was a fast weekend.

Weekend Workings

2007-09-05T06:10:00.000-06:00

What a weekend! I need a few more days to recoup, I’m thinkin’.
Friday was YS’s birthday. He loved it. Got some great gifts. We got him a new target to practice with his bow. Damn good shot that kid is! We also got him a new video game to use this fall during the ”downtime” of hunting. OS got him a guinea pig. Cutest little thing really. I spent a great deal of time Saturday researching them since I had no clue how to take care of one. Now William (the pig) is adjusting to his new home and we’re adjusting to him.
Saturday (before I started researching) I began the long, hard task of cleaning out the bedroom next in line to be painted. This room had been a storage room of sorts for about 2 years. It’s right off the kitchen and had gathered EVERYTHING. I made a pretty good dent in the mess and had reached the back corner. Had a bunch a pictures and mirrors and sorts leaned up against the wall. Well, not being stupid (giggle), I did take my time moving each picture. Lord only know what I could’ve found lurking in the dark corner. I moved a mirror and then a picture when I saw it. The spider. Not just any spider either, but a BROWN RECLUSE spider. So I jumped, squealed and grabbed a box to kill it with. Yeah. A box. A cardboard box. I smashed it (or attempt too anyway) and it sunk down into the carpet and crawled out laughing at me. I yelled at DD to bring me something as I looked around and found this package of cassette tapes. I picked it up and smashed the thing and turned around. There stands DD with The Swiffer. I’m like, “are you gonna dust it?” Anyway, it was dead and my job was done for the day. DH had to spray the whole property down before I’d go back in there, and after wiping out wally world, the hardware store and the local feed store, so spray he did. He sprayed the property so well, that NOTHING could live in/on it.
Hence a good time to head to Flo’s.
Dinner at Flo’s was awesome. I just darn near made myself sick I ate so much. She made this lasagna stuff that was awesome and DD threatened anyone who went near the rolls. See we’re she was raised on brown-n-serve, so these were like candy to a baby. It was just ducky, the whole thing. Of course there were a few margarita’s! Everyone I talked said to have one for them and well they would all be pleased to know I kept my word….times three over. It was an nice, enjoyable evening all the way around.
Monday I turned into a couch lizard. I left only the couch to make the potato salad to go with the ribs that DH smoked all day. Good eats for sure. OS and FDIL came to enjoy the fruits of his labor and weren’t disappointed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2007-08-31T05:09:00.000-06:00

Happy birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy birthday dear YS. Happy Birthday to you!

Love
Mom

College Prep

2007-08-30T04:46:00.000-06:00

I just have to brag on DD! She took her placement test for the community college that she will be attending at the first of the year. Because of her LD issues she had to schedule the appointment so that they could provide the help that she needed.
Well....she did awesome!!!!!!!!
In fact they told her she blew the Reading section right out of the water! She did so well that she won't be required to take ANY reading courses! For those of you who know the difficulties that we've had through the years, this was unbelieveable news. She did so good that they asked her if she wanted to become a paid tutor!
Even her math score - which is also a very difficult subject for her was respectable. In fact all of her scores were! When she called me at work when it over to tell me, I was so excited you'd have thought the Chiefs had just scored a touch down!
All of these years of meetings with the teacher, making phone calls to the state education board, fighting to get her the help that she needed have paid off. The school district might have considered me the "mom from hell" but right now I'll wear that title proudly!

Birthday Presents

2007-08-29T06:50:00.000-06:00

This has been a busy week. Well, busy for me anyway. Not that I’ve done anything important. Or anything at all really. In fact, I can’t think of anything I’ve done. So, I guess I’ve been busy doing nothing. Geez, no wonder I’m so tired!
Friday is YS’s birthday. He’ll be 19. No wait, he THINKS he’ll be 19. Reality says 9. So, being the good mommie that I am, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday. A new toothbrush? A jar of pickles? He looks at me like a had just grown 3 heads. I can’t figure out why. He likes when he gets a new toothbrush. Every year at Christmas time whether I remember or not he gets one. (just kidding). He loves pickles so I’m thinking those are good choices, but YS begs to differ. So he asks what the limit is. I tell him a dollar. And not just ANY dollar but an AMERICAN dollar! Can’t beat that! Good ole’ US of A currency. Again the 3-headed look comes my way.
With shoulders drooping and head bowed it finally dawns on him on that I’m joking, so he perks up and says, “I saw something I’d like to have for my birthday… and before you say no…. you can afford it in 2 EASY payments of $19.95.”
I’m laughing so hard I’m actually snorting as I tell him he can’t watch any more TV – or at least the commercials!

Christmas in August?

2007-08-12T20:26:00.000-06:00

Ahhhh to be a kid again……
DD and I spent our Sat evening playing like 9 year-olds on Christmas morning.
See, she’s big girl now and wanted her own cell phone plan. Didn’t want to have to “share” minutes with “The Mommie” and she didn’t want to have to put down a huge deposit for her own account. She just wanted a plan to herself but billed under my account. Fine by me – cuz with this new big girl plan also comes a bill – one that “Mommie” doesn’t have to pay for. I’m thinkin’ – I like this plan already.
So, I spend 40 minutes on the phone with our carrier discussing options, plans, phones, etc. trying to figure out the best rates, plans for our lifestyles. Nothing fancy I say, for we be simple people. Well, may be ought to add that unlimited text stuff to the DD’s plan. She’s kinda liken that but well hell, I type all day at the J-O-B and I don’t want to do it on a phone too. What’s that you say? You just don’t type onto the phone – you tap? Huh? Well, I learned myself how to type on them there keyboards and really, and I mean I really don’t have any wild hair going up my arse that makes me inclined to learn a new way to communicate with my chilluns. Used to be I didn’t even have to SAY anything – “the look” was all I needed. Apparently the look is outdated. This new-fangled way of communication will keep us closer than ever. Bonded you might say. Well, I’m all for expanding the parent/child relationship. Honest Injun. Quit laughing – I do like communicating with my kiddies. Except, of course, when they’re getting on my nerves or somethin’ like that.
So I tell them there sales people to give me a small “bundle” so that when DD forgets that I don’t have the unlimited plan ( and she WILL forget) I won’t be charged an outrageous amount of money for these here messages.
Later that evening DD “instructs” me (cuz remember I’m O-L-D) on the fine art of texting. I suck at it. Big Time. No sense in pussy-cattin’ around it. I wrote out this sentence and looked up to see nothing but gibberish. Did I mention that I suck at this? Big time? So, again, DD tries to help me out and of course in her drama diva way has to let me know that SHE learned this easily – and it’s not a big deal and geez, why can’t I get it? Cuz I’m O-L-D damn it! Just ask MYS! Remember now? Is it all comin back to ya now? So there we sit on the couch, DH is at a friend house where there’s a big party going on, live bands, plenty of beer for a hot summer night, and I’m sitting at home on the couch texting DD who is sitting right next to me. Yeah, it was ridiculous. She was right frickin’next to me. So I went out to the porch and sat. To text her. Sitting on the couch. Inside. In the air conditioning. I’m thinkin’ this too, was ridiculous, so I went inside. She went to her room. To text me. Sitting on the couch. Cuz, you see, by now I’m getting the hang of this tapping stuff and I’m thinkin’ I’m kind a likin it. Till 1 AM we played with these phones. Yeah, I know what you’re thinkin’. Party ANIMALS.
Sun morning I got up and remembered that the sales people told me how to check and see how many text messages I’ve used before I run out of my allotment. Yippee!!! A new way to use my new toy!!! So I looked and I’m thinkin’ no way! There is absolutely, positively, the cow jumped over the moon, NO WAY I used that many already. My phone only shows 31 messages! How did the h*ll did they come up with that number?
Well, ring, ring, hello? Customer Service? I just looked at my numbers you see and wow – someone has made a mistake. I mean come on, it only shows 31 msgs here. Can you explain this to me?
Did I count the ones that I had deleted you ask? Deleted? How do I do that? Oh, oh, oh, you mean when I cleared those ones? Uhhh, hmmmm…ok my bad. I just got this ya know and I’m trying to learn it and all and yeah, well, I din’t think of that and no, I’m not normally that air-headed. Guess maybe I jumped the gun a little here, that huge number kinda caught me off guard a little (ok a lot) and sorry to bother you. Have a good day. Anytime you say? That’s what you’re here for? Wow, thanks – cuz I’m thinking I might need to upgrade to unlimited.

Age is just a number, right?

2007-08-10T07:10:00.000-06:00

Ok yeah, so I’ve taken a small break here. I mean, I’ve got this J-O-B now and frankly, it was kickin’ my *ss. Going from being a homebody to a fulltime employee (for someone else mind you) , wife and mother was/is a change. Some adjustments had/have to be made.
I’m settling into a routine here finally. Even after the allegedly broken foot fiasco, family holidays, and an extremely disappointing Puddle Jumpers Day.
Anywho, I’m driving home from work yesterday thinking I’ve got this “bring home the bacon and fry up in a pan” thing licked. Hell, it IS possible to teach an old dog a new trick or two. I can still do the same things as before – it’s just a matter of organizting my time right? I’m at peace here.
My windshield time is broken up by the vibration of my phone. I’m still trying to get used to that. I jump every time the d*mn thing goes off. Mz. G (and some of you know who I’m referring to) thinks I have gas or something the way I move around at my desk.
I digress.
I’m on my way home when the phone rings and it’s MYS calling. He’s laughing so hard I can’t understand him. He laughter wanes slightly enough for me to get this jist of what’s he’s trying to say. It seems that I received a letter in the mail from the SCOOTER store., letting me know what my options are.
My first thought was “who the h*ll taught this kid to use a phone?” immediately followed by “this kid watches waaaay to much TV if he knows what a scooter is for” and finally, “the little sh*t:”. I can picture his dad standing next to him, the both of them sharing this private “we got your mom” wink, wink moment.
I tell MYS he’s grounded and hang up (jk). I mentally see the two men of the house, doing the “we are so good” strut while grabbing themselves and topping it off with the armpit farts.
Yes, it’s the simple things in life that please my men.
As for me, I smiled and thought to myself that what the little stinker is something I would have done. Oh yeah. That had me written all over it.
Age is just a number but memoreis are forever.

The Quest

2007-05-31T05:33:00.000-06:00

...is over.
For the past month DH and I have been out pounding the pavement in search of a new(er) car for DD. Every spare moment we had- and even some that wasn't spared - we spent searching. My birthday and our anniversary consisted of shopping for cars.
And now it's over. Finally. DD is mobile again. No more late nights picking her up from her job, no more running out of milk 5 minutes before dinner, having to stop, turn everything off and going to the store. No more racing to daycare to pick up the man-child before they charge me $15 for every 5 minutes I'm late.
Needless to say DD is a very happy young woman. She's learning new things like "full coverage" and "you will not be a taxi", etc but she's ok with that. She is mobile and that's all that matters.
We're happy with the buy and won't worry about what she's driving when she moves out.
So, I told DH, "now that we are done looking and have all this "free time" now and DD has a car - we can go to U-WRENCH-IT to find the parts to fix my old, broken down, high-mileaged van" .
He sooooo did not get the hint.

10 years ago today...

2007-05-24T06:38:00.000-06:00

I married my husband.
In some respects it seems like yesterday; in others, it seems like forever. Maybe because I've know him since I was 11, we were best friends through junior and senior high. Who knows - doesn't matter. We're here. 10 years. Would I do it again? You betcha.
We've seen some rocky days, some really rocky days and some really really rocky days; but we've seen more of the most beautiful, life touching days and moments that some can only dream of. Those are the days we cherish on our hearts, give thanks to our mates for and live for. I know in my heart how lucky I am. To find the kind of love that will endure "the test". I've found it not once - but twice.
Happy Anniversary to the both of us 'cuz we deserve it. ;)

Today is the first day.....

2007-05-21T05:43:00.000-06:00

...of the rest of your life.
Today is DD's 18th birthday! She's graduated now and all grown up. Her first decision as a high school graduate and an official adult is to sleep the day away. She is exhausted she says. Graduating Friday night and immediately attending Project Grad until 6 AM, coming home to get 4 hours of sleep before we race off to watch FDIL graduate nursing school and later attending her party until the wee hours of the morn and then Sunday we had her party. Then she spent half the night on the phone with her friends talking about all their parties. Yep, she's tired.

It Ends as it Began

2007-05-13T13:40:00.000-06:00

It was the first day of kindergarten for DD. Back then they had half day kindergarten and DD was in the afternoon class. It was unbearably hot and on the first day of school they canceled the afternoon class due to heat. DD inconsolable. She cried and cried. She had been waiting and waiting to go to the "big kids school" along with her older brothers. It just wasn't fair. She really wanted to go. She'd have to wait another day.
Fast forward thirteen years.
DD is standing there in her cap and gown. It's warm outside. DD is dressed for Bacceloreate and she's all teared up. It's not fair. She's afraid to go. She doesn't want it to end.
To see her in her cap and gown, to see the light of excitement and yet a glint of uncertainty in her eyes; to see her face what we both have literally fought for; I can't think of a better Mother's Day gift. I am truly blessed.

Turkey's: 3, Rambo, Jr.: 0

2007-05-07T05:15:00.000-06:00

Well, spring turkey season is over and there isn't one turkey in my freezer. Now I've heard all the excuses before A) there weren't any turkey's to be seen, B) the weather wasn't right for hunting and C) the animal was just out of range. I could go but I'll stop with these. The thing is now YS is learning them!
Seriously though, I'm disappointed for YS, for it would have been "the bomb" for him to shoot a turkey his first season out. It's taught him a lesson none the less, and that is that it takes patience. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. "Just one of those seasons" is what this season will be chalked up to and that ain't all bad really. When you learn something, frustrating or not, it's not a waste of time.

Deja-vu

2007-05-05T23:06:00.000-06:00

Wow! What a movie! I highly recommend seeing this movie. It's out on DVD and it's incredible! The story moves at a quick pace and the "techie-parts" aren't too bad. By the time you get to the "ahhhh so that's how that happened" you're at the end of the movie. Well worth your time!

The Queen

2007-05-05T16:55:00.000-06:00

I was able to finish watching the movie "The Queen" today. I have to admit I enjoyed the movie although I'm not sure why really. The story line was only so-so, abrupt in places and long drawn out in others.
The movie relvolves around the Queen of course, starting back when Tony B took office and during the untimely death of Princess Di.
Helen Mirren showed over and over why she received the Oscar for Best Actress. She bloodly well earned it! The only thing I could say negative about her performance - and it's not really a negative point as much as an observation - is is her mimicing The Queen's walk. It looked very unnatural for Helen, almost painful to watch in one particaular scene.
The rest of the acting left something to be desired, and again it shows what a professional Ms. Mirren is. To have to work with the less-abled actors had to be difficult at best. All of them, from James Cromwell to the actor who played Prince Charles, all over-acted their parts to the point of unbelievability.
I have one more movie to watch this weekend. It's "Deja-vue" with Dentzel Washington. I love this man as an actor. Kind of like Tommy Lee Jones and Nicholas Cage. They very rarely make a bad movie!
I'll let you know how it turns out!

It's coming

2007-05-03T04:06:00.000-06:00

The weekend that is! The time is flying by right now. I'm starting to get the hang of my new job and that helps the lower the tension factor and make it enjoyable. The fact that I got so much accomplished last weekend has also made an easier week for me so I've been able to come home after work and do nothing but hang out with the family.
This upcoming weekend, DH is taking YS turkey hunting again. DD is going to spend the weekend with a friend so that leaves me all by my lonesome. While I have a list of things to do, none are "gotta have done yesterday" items so I can take my time. The only thing that should be done is the planting. I have my tomato plants and some flowers that need to be planted but I have everything I need so I'm good to go there and I have all weekend to do it!
I bought another movie too! "Dejavue" with Dentzel Washington. Gonna finish "The Queen" and got me a back up!
All in all the weekend looks promising!

DD made her statement to the insurance company yesterday and the adjuster came out and sure enough - they considered her car totaled. We're looking for a new(er) car for her now so she can become mobile again. That's what's been the hardest on her and I can so relate to it! It's been quite the reality check for DD. Life ain't fair sometimes and you just gotta make lemonade out of those lemons or you'll drive yourself nuts and that my friends is a hard lesson to learn whether you're 2, 20 or beyond!

...And what did you do this weekend?

2007-04-30T03:29:00.000-06:00

Well, the menfolk returned from their “spring slaying of the turkeys” empty handed. According to DH, they didn’t see a tom or jake all weekend. YS said he had a good time since he got to ride the 4 wheeler and go fishing. The best part though was when DH shot the water snake’s head off. That, according to YS, was totally cool. I didn’t ask for details. I figure ignorance is bliss in situation. It’s either that or I’ll never go down to that lake again.
My weekend however, was extremely productive. I managed to get those bathrooms painted, every stitch of laundry done, cleaned my bedroom and the rest of my house and put back into order, the lawn mowed, the grocery shopping done and DD’s graduation announcements ready for mailing.
It wasn’t all work and no play though. We stopped by OS’s place Sat night. He had called earlier to invite me to dinner (steak out on the barby!) and I had taken an hour or so and started scrap-booking DD’s prom. I had left my phone downstairs so I missed the call and dinner. We did get to see the new addition to his aquarium! The canopy had finally come in. It’s gorgeous and really makes his tank stand out. Next weekend he’s going to get his first fish. By the time the quarantine period is over he’ll have the rest of the tank ready to go. I’m excited to see it finished! He’s put a lot of time into getting this up and running so it’ll be nice to see it come to together.
I also bought the movie “The Queen” and watched half of it. Helen Mirren earned her Oscar for Best Actress with this movie. She is incredible! I do wonder how accurate the story line is. I realize that it’s a movie and made for entertainment purposes but, with the Queen still alive, it just makes me wonder how close to the truth it really is. Maybe it says at the end and I’ll find out soon enough!

TGIF

2007-04-27T04:30:00.000-06:00

Boy....I have learned to appreciate that little ditty.
DH is taking YS hunting this weekend and I have a list a mile long of things I want to get done. Like sleeping. Lots and lots of sleeping. No fighting for covers, getting kicked in the shins, just plain old deep sleeping. I want to finish painting both my bathrooms cause it's getting old to have to move a tarp to take a wee wee and I want to get my house back in some semblance of order.
If any of the above happens - I'll consider myself lucky!

Hmmmmm....

2007-04-26T04:39:00.000-06:00

NEVER

FART IN A WET SUIT

You've been warned!

Prom Weekend

2007-04-23T04:12:00.000-06:00

Man what can say about Prom weekend but…..what a ride it was!!!

It started out when I got off work on Friday with a frantic phone call from my DD. She had just been rear-ended and her car was totaled. She said she was ok and the rest was just heavy drying. While rushing home I called my husband and got some details. OS and FDIL happened to be passing through minutes after the accident so he was able to calm her down and take care of things. When I got home, DD was on the floor and having a hard time getting up because her back hurt, so we loaded her up and off we went to the ER. She sprained her back, so The Big Guy upstairs got an actual real live prayer of thanks from me and not one of those “I’ll go to church if you just do this one thing for me” prayers! It could have been so much worse.
Doc told her she could go to prom if she felt like it just to take it easy, so that’s exactly what she did. She went to the hairdressers early in the morning (with pillow in hand to help support her back) and lo and behold! Guess what we found out?!?!? It was the hairdressers son that had hit her! Boy if that didn’t make for a few awkward moments! But it all worked out ok and DD looked beautiful. Soon afterwards we had girls showing up (and one guy who needed his hair straightened….we won’t talk about that) and the festivities began. YS went to a friend’s house to spend the night so dad took him there while my friend and I ran out to where the prom was being held to take pictures and just plain be nosy! Man! Was that place gorgeous! My friend and I promptly decided that this was THE place for OS and FDIL to be married!
We hurried back and with FDIL’s help we got Amber into her dress. What a sight she was! Just absolutely beautiful if I don’t say so myself!
Then came pictures – lots and lots of pictures. Then the limo came which meant more pictures and finally it was time to leave. Off they went – the lot of them to dinner. We fired up the grill and OS, FDIL, DH and myself had just sat down to a KC Strip steak dinner (why not treat ourselves I say?!?) when the cell phone rang. The restaurant had lost their reservation and wouldn’t be seating them for another 30 minutes. I called the restaurant and asked for the manager and was told that they were busy and could I please call back later? Oooooh I don’t think so I said, and she quickly got the manager. I explained very nicely how the reservation had been made 3 weeks ago, their establishment lost the reservation, that the kids were on a schedule and I was SURE she was going to do everything in her power to accommodate these kids. Amber called back a few minutes later – they had just been seated and thanks mom!
SO, the four of us finished our meal and then turned our formal living room into a movie theatre and our kitchen into a concession stand. It was the cutest thing! The kids all loved it and appreciated the work and detail that we put into it. All the girls crashed here so we were literally wall to wall girls!
Sunday brought back the real world of laundry, cleaning the house and all the usual daily grind kind of things!
Life is back to normal!

I'm a wimp

2007-04-19T16:52:00.000-06:00

I couldn't do it. I had to quit my 2nd job. I've only been working the fulltime job 3 days. I thought I could manage both but I'm a wimp - just can't do it. My schedule would've been:
Mon - Wed: 8-5
Thursday: 8- 5, then 9-1am
Friday: 8-5, then 9-1am
Sat:9-1pm
Sun: 9-1pm

Never a day off. Screw that
Yep. I'm a wimp!

He's History!!!!!!

2007-04-18T20:17:00.000-06:00

Finally!!!!!!!
Sanjaya has been voted off of AI! I can't tell you how long I did the "happy dance" - but I can tell you it was for quite a while - and I whooped and hollered the whole time! Somebody upstairs put those tweenies to bed!
We can FINALLY have a competition now and focus on the singers. There will be some credibility to the show.
I was sorry to see Laskisha in the bottom two, but I can see why she's there. And Blake? I think he's good - but yeah....he sucked last night.
It's going to be a tough go from here out - every week - you gotta hit the mark or you're gone.
No pressure.

Just Plain Funny

2007-04-14T06:59:00.000-06:00

I got this in an e-mail and about spewed coffee all over. Just had to share!

Thanks America!

2007-04-12T05:31:00.000-06:00

Can I hear a "thank gawd"?!!?!? Haley has been voted off AI! It's about time. She's a mediocre singer who used her body to score points. I don't like that.
Haley is actually a very beautiful young woman. Her long flowing hair goes right along with those long legs. She is a looker - and I'll give her that. Her voice though, is just ok. Good enough for high school choir and that's it. She isn't anywhere near the same league as Melinda, Jordan or Lakisha. She just didn't belong. Yet every week as her clothing started disappearing little by little, she was voted to stay because of it. Worst of all - she knew it.
While AI is by far not my favorite show - it is one of the few that I felt could be watched by the entire family. I didn't have to worry about explaining anything to YS well before his time - or mine. I didn't have to this season either - don't get me wrong. But it was on it's way. YS is still too young to catch the sarcasm in Simon's voice when he gave his opinion. That helped a lot along with the fact that Haley was kicked off before she came out with pasties on and a top that "malfunctions".
Thank you America for voting her off.
Please take Sanjaya out next week.

Trick or Treat?

2007-04-09T22:59:00.000-06:00

Ok so fire me. I’m a bad bunny. I also suck at the Santa thing. And don’t even ask about the tooth fairy – it ain’t a pretty story.
I vowed this Easter to do better. Since it all started last year with Easter I figured if I made good this Easter I’d have it made and things would turn around.
I went and bought the basket filled with goodies and hid it until the big day. I remembered the day before and kept telling myself – “don’t forget – put the basket out before bed”. In fact, I was in my room Saturday night, getting ready for bed when I remembered the basket was still hidden. I threw on a robe and headed downstairs to tend to the task at hand and somehow ended up distracted. Don’t ask me how – I couldn’t tell you. I just know that’s what happened.
Easter morning DH and I awoke and I remembered then that the deed was never done. I threw on my robe – again - and headed out the door with DH in tow. I saw that YS’s bedroom door was open and he wasn’t anywhere around. DH and I tip-toed down the stairs and walked into the kitchen where we were confronted with the carnage. There were candy wrappers everywhere, a basket tipped on its side – empty, and a trail of “filler” grass leading into the family room.
DH and I approached the room only to step back so YS could fly by us at the speed of sound. Yep – he had eaten every piece of candy in that basket and was now on the sugar high of his life.
At the rate of 3000 words per minute, he explained to us that he came down to look for his basket and when he didn’t see it on the table he went hunting for it. He only had to look where the bunny had left it last year – in the spare bedroom’s closet. He just figured since he found the basket he should go ahead and have a piece of candy, or two – or what the hell – all of it. No one was up to tell him not to so he can’t get into trouble. Oh, and by the way, if the bunny is going to keep “hiding” his basket – he should pick a different spot each year. This made for a “boring” hunt.
What could I say? I told him I’d pass on the message.

HB

2007-04-06T05:32:00.000-06:00

Happy "Sweet 16" to MFN!!!! Flo is going to document the day in pictures and pick up momentos so that I can scrapbook the special day for her!
Happy Birthday sweetie!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-06T05:26:00.000-06:00

Have a safe and wonderful Easter! I'll be back next week when the kids are in school!

Turkey: 1, RJ: 0

2007-04-02T05:42:00.000-06:00

Well....no luck this weekend. According to Rambo Jr (RJ), there was one turkey to be had this weekend and DH wouldn't let him take a shot at it, said it was to far away. DH tells me that Mr. Turkey probably wasn't that far away but for RJ's first attempt he wanted him up a little closer. DH kept saying, "that's why they call it hunting and not killing". You had to be there I guess.
The wind was blowing fiercefully all weekend - not good for hunters they tell me. I guess they'll head out again in a few weeks and give it another try. We have 3 tags to fill now so it'll be a busy spring!

A huntin' We Will Go...

2007-03-30T05:40:00.000-06:00

It's time I guess. My little guy isn't so little. Tonight DH and YS leave for the first of what I'm sure will be many weekend trips. It's Youth Turkey Hunt weekend and YS, DH and GP are all looking forward to it. YS loves his new 410 and he's pumped (get it?!? pumped? the pump action shot gun?! Funny stuff here!)
So off they go, these men of mine. I on the other hand plan on spending the weekend with friends doing what else? Scrapbooking!!!

MO...what?!?...and other ramblings...

2007-03-27T19:32:00.000-06:00

What DID he do to his hair?!?! Was that a mohawk??? Of course I'm talking about the talentless Sanjaya on AI. What a waste of time to watch this idiot. Surely by now the teenie weenies have had enough? I don't think I can stand much more.

Well...DH too YS target practicing over the weekend. As per all rules pertainign to this particular family - it didn't go as planned. No big surgprise here.

The big daddy gun that GP bought was just a tad to big for YS. He shot it once - hit the turkey target dead on, sat down and cried. Not because he would've killed the turkey but the kick of the shotgun spooked him. Then he got embarrassed and cried more....then he felt like he let his dad and GP down and cried even more. It's rough comin' into manhood I guess.
I gotta give DH credit though - and I don't do that very often I suppose. He handled that situation straight on and made it all come out good. I even admitted to him that he did a good job. :)

Tonight DH went and bought YS a 410 (a smaller shotgun for us dummies). They're going practicing tomorrow and if all goes well they turkey hunt this weekend. It's all up to YS. Ball is in his court with no pressure. He's excited though! He looked it over and he's ready to rock!

Dh said that if they make it they make it and if they don't - he'll have a blast this summer practicing for deer season.

Guess I better learn to bump bellies.

Testosterone at it's Highest

2007-03-21T05:47:00.000-06:00

I am not a "gun" person. They just scare the bee-jeebies out of me. For the enthusiasts - don't even try. I'm not gonna change my mind. I've shot them (hand guns to shotguns), cleaned them, and even had a bad day when one was actually pointed at me (loaded). With that one exception, I have only been around people who have the utmost respect for what a gun can do. It doesn't matter. I just don't like them.
Don't get me wrong here - I believe people have the right to own guns. I don't believe that guns are the root of all evil. I don't believe that guns kill. I believe that people USE guns to kill. And I can't believe that some people practically have an orgasm just describing their guns.
Anywho, DH is an avid hunter as mentioned in previous posts (remember Rambo?). So we have avid hunter, spring turkey season, and now entering the picture is YS. The Youth Hunt is only a couple of weeks away and DH is already strutting around. Hunter Safety courses have been taken, equipment checked and rechecked, provision lists made. Hell, even Santa doens't prepare this hard.
But this year is special. DH says says so. I smile and nod.
Apparently Grandpa (GP - also an avid hunter - probably where DH gets is from) has been waiting for this year too. Seems like a couple of years ago he ran across this "sweet" little Mossburg (pump action) and thought this was the weapon of choice for YS to begin his hunting career. So he bought it for him and has been keeping it, just waiting for this year to come. When DH called and told him that this was "the year", GP got it out, polished it up, shot it a few times (said they looked "virginal" after being shot - can you BELIEVE that?!?!?), re-cleaned it, and it's sitting in it's "rightful " place now, waiting for when YS comes to practice with it this weekend and take over ownership.
So this weekend, father, son and grandson are going to be target shooting. Learning. Preparing. Watching.
And afterwards? They'll all clean, polish, store their weapons; drink Iced tea, beer and root beer. Bump bellies, high five each other and tell stories. There will be so much testosterone in the house, grandma will grow a beard.

All's right

2007-03-19T05:24:00.000-06:00

It's been spring break here for the kids. YS spent his vacation with Grandma and Grandpa, while DD spent her time working and being with friends. Typical, age-approprate, busy offspring -type activities.
Wednesday evening DH and I were watching TV and I made a remark about how quite the house seemed. Even if YS was home and in his room playing video games there would've been some noise. The fit of laughter, the whine of frustration or the playing with the dog and his toys would've produced some noise. If DD was home then the steady beat of bass from whatever song she has blasting would've been felt. So, had the kids been home, we'd have had the usual "home" noises. Nothing loud or obnoxious, just the undercurrent of our kid's daily muses.
But Wednesday night there was nothing. And it was quiet. Dead quiet. So I made the remark - it was that quiet. A different quiet than during the day when the kids are in school. It was a deeper quiet. Did I mention how quiet it was? Like it had some kind of finality to it. That kind of quiet. I liked it.
Wednesday turned into Thursday, Thursday into Friday, Friday into Saturday. We hadn't seen much of DD. She was in and out with work. friends to see, places to be - just the way it should be for someone her age.
By Saturday night it had begun to sink in. The house was too quite for me. I was missing the little guy (ok so he's not that little anymore, but he's still MY littlest one). I saw DD just often enough to know what was going on in her life. I've talked (and seen) OS and FDIL a couple of times and even talked to YS over the phone but there was still something missing.
It was the bedtime hug. Every night YS gets a hug and a kiss when tucked into bed for the night. Safe and sound. I"ve been giving those things out for over 25 years now (boy iof that doesn't date me!!!). I hadn't had that reassurance in 4 days already. I know that's he's ok at Grandma's and grandpas, don't get me wrong here but there's something to be said for the night time routine of a child - even if it's really for the parent.
Last night YS came home, full of stories of all the things he had done over the break. We listened to them all, laughed when it was funny and showed fake horror when the occasssion arised. And then it was time. Off to the shower and then on to bed he went. Hugs o'plenty for everyone. Kisses too. And then it was time to turn out the light and close the door with wishes for a good night's sleep.
Hubby and I went back downstairs to finish watching our program before we retired for the evening. We had just settled back down when we heard the bathroom door upstairs close and the dog barking (he doesn't like to be seperated by a door - he's kind of weird that way). I smiled. All was right in my world.

Geez....

2007-03-16T06:40:00.000-06:00

First of all, Sanjaya is STILL on AI. I'm going to actually vote next week just to help make that not happen.

The kids are on spring break right now. YS is at Grandma's for the weekend. Yesterday he calls me at 7:15 am to tell me he loves me and misses me. Isn't that sweet? I'm thinking it would've been cuter at, say, 10:15am. No big deal I thought. I had three more days to sleep in so I'll enjoy this while I can, right?
This morning our annual "stupid" bird arrived. This is the bird that sees it's reflection in our window and throws herself against it in anger (she builds her nest right outside our bedroom window). So at 6:58 am this morning, I awoke to splat!.........splat!.......thump.
I thought stupid bird had killed herself so I got up to look and there she is looking at ME with the look of disgust. Yeah, like I'm the one banging my stupid head against the window. Anyway, I opened the curtains so the reflections would tone done and she could get down to the business of nest-building.
DD thinks we should contact Windex and tell them about it. Wouldn't that be funny? Stupid bird would be famous -and I'd never get any sleep

Reminder

2007-03-14T06:40:00.000-06:00

P.S. The kids are on spring break the rest of the week so I'll be sleeping in! I'll post if I get a chance - but doubt it!

A Plea

2007-03-14T06:13:00.000-06:00

Will the parents of all of those 11-12 year old girls who's fingers are stuck on redial.... please please please pleeeeease quit voting for Sanjaya?!?!
For those of you who don't know who I'm talking about - it's American Idol.
This is the first year I've ever watched the show from the beginning and have not missed a show. Watching the auditions got old real quick. I'm not one to watch, over and over, some kids make a fool of themselves. Then it was over and the "chosen" were on their way. Once they get to Hollywood though - they're supposed to be able to sing - and more than one song. I think that's were the problem lies.
Sanjaya did sing well for his auditon. I remember seeing it. I remember agreeing with the judges that he sang better than his sister. Then he went to Hollywood and lost all credibility. he has yet to sing one song decently. I'll give him credit though - he's a cute kid - but a cute kid does not make a good singer. He can sing ONE song good enough but he's no where near good enough to be the winner. Yet every week he gets voted for to stay on.
Most of the top 12 can sing pretty well. In fact - there are 4 of them (all girls) that are down right awesome. It can be so frustrating to listen to this great voices only to follow with some who can't sing and who can't sing above a whisper. It's just proof positive for me that America is more focused on looks than than talent.
It's got to be those "tweens" who love his hair - or the fact that he can hula. Regardless - I'll be rooting for him to leave almost as much as I did for Antonella to leave.

A Mission

2007-03-12T06:01:00.000-06:00

I almost felt bad for DH over the weekend. Notice I said “almost”. You see, he’s on a mission –not one of choice really but one that he’s capable of accomplishing easy enough – but if he keeps in mind the alternative, he can come through it. It’s all in how you look at it.
I guess I ought to explain. We have an oversized three car garage. In it is 1 mini-van (if the weather is bad and I shove everything to the side or stack it on top of other stuff I can get it in there), one hot lookin’ Harley and bunches upon bunches of pure crap.
The man is a pack rat and can’t help himself. It’s been this way for 10 – count them – 10 years. I have been after DH for several years to clean it up to no avail. Something is always coming up. There’s fish to catch, deer to shoot, NASCAR to watch, and some understandable overtime at work.
On Jan 1 of this year I finally put my foot down. I gave DH “the ultimatum”. He had until June 1 to clean the garage and be able to get 2 - count them – 2 vehicles parked in the garage – and at the same time. If he failed then I went in on June 2 and cleaned house. It seemed to have worked. He’s been hard at it out there. He filled 4 industrial sized trash bags with stuff and barely made a dent, but he did it. It was hard for him and I know it. I watched him stand over those 4 bags with his head bowed down like he was at some funeral for odds and ends pieces of a ceiling fan that was taken down 6 years ago and the 2 weed eaters that were dismantled because “some day” they’ll get fixed….maybe. Oh and don’t forget the dismantled 12 inch bicycle that Amber used to ride before she outgrew it….never mind that fact that a neighborhood boy took the bike for a joy ride and a car ran over it (don’t ask) and bent the wheels (DH said if you replaced the wheels and the tires and the bent frame – maybe even put on a new chain – it would be in great shape). Yeah, he is taking this hard. The end result will make him happy though – if for no other reason than I’ll quit harping at him!

Women's Shelters

2007-03-09T06:39:00.000-06:00

I thought I'd end the week with this - an e-mail from a friend of mine.

Dear Friends:

You probably never thought of this, but women's shelters in the U.S. go
through thousands of tampons and pads monthly. Assistance agencies
generally help with expenses of "everyday" necessities such as toilet
paper, diapers and clothing, but one of the most BASIC needs is
overlooked - feminine hygiene products.

Seventh Generation, a green paper products and cleaning products
company, will donate a box of sanitary products to a women's shelter in
your chosen state - just for clicking the link. Talk about easy (and,
yes, it is legitimate)

http://tampontification.com/donate.php

See you next week - I'm off to this weekend to celebrate "Scrapbooking month" in Richmond!

It Can Happen

2007-03-08T06:24:00.000-06:00

Recently, a well-known actor was arrested for assaulting his son. This isn’t his first arrest for these types of charges either. His marriage (to a famous actress) made headlines on a regular basis with allegations of domestic violence.
As a former victim of domestic violence, this subject sits right close to my heart. I’m a passionate advocate for the victims – both male and female. Years ago, before I moved back to KC, I became involved in one of our church’s ministries, a battered women’s shelter. It was there that I learned “the pattern”.
A friend of DD’s is in a relationship that is in the beginning to middle phases of “the pattern”. It’s so classic it’s frightening. The control, the manipulation, the isolation – it’s all there. DD has tried to talk to her only to have it fall on deaf ears. The parents are totally clueless.
“You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink”, is a hard lesson to learn at their age. It’s so difficult to watch this young lady go down this path and DD is having a really hard time with it, which makes it even harder. I can only be there for DD and watch over her the best that I can.
I’m writing about “abuse” again because I think it’s important for people to be aware of it and face it. It happens everyday and everywhere. There isn’t a line drawn anywhere that keeps people safe on the other side of it. So be careful out there – and don’t forget to hug your kids today.

Aquariums

2007-03-07T06:16:00.000-06:00

My OS is looking into starting up a salt-water aquarium. I’m really excited for him…I love the looks of them but I’m very intimidated by them! I don’t even know if I have the patience or self-discipline to take care of one! Not OS though – he’s jumping right in! He’s in the beginning stages now, he’s done his research and he’s looking for the tank (125 gal and up). He’s already found a couple that he likes – he’s just thinking about which one will become the winner. Then it’s time to build it up with filters, heaters, etc. There’s a lot of money wrapped up in this hobby so I know it’s important to take your time.
I’m going to be watching him step by step to see how hard it really is. I have three aquariums now (2- 55 gal and 1-30 gal) that I have decorated to suit the “theme” of the room it’s in. For example, the aquarium above is in my office and done in Southwest décor. I have one in the family room that has plants (for hiding) and wood (for the cichlids). My last one is in my living room and features an old Roman ruins.

The fanciest fish I have are the cichlids but I'd love to have something unique in one tank.
So I’ll watch and see how hard the salt water set up is to maintain; I’ll learn the upkeep process and who knows – I might convert one 55 gal. tank to saltwater. Any advice is always appreciated!

The Victims

2007-03-06T06:29:00.001-06:00

Last week I was reading an article that was in the KC Star about rape victims. At first I was shocked and then it down right pissed me off.
Did you know that in this wonderful state of Missouri, there are rape victims who must pay for their own rape kits (approx. $500)?!? So, not only are these victims physically, verbally and emotionally victimized, they are victimized financially – and by the very system in place to protect them. There is a Crime Victims Compensation Fund in place to help reimburse some. The thing is – you gotta APPLY for the funds. IF there’s money in the fund and IF you qualify then you MAY be reimbursed UP TO full payment. Basically, if you have any money and you’re raped then you pay for whatever your insurance won’t pay – if you have insurance. Simple as that. There just isn’t any money.
The article brought up a good point. A rape victim’s body is full of evidence. In order to prosecute, the body must be processed – and at a most vulnerable time. A necessary evil if you will. However, if your house was burglarized and the scene was processed, you’re not billed for that. How in the hell can that be? How can there be so little regard for these victims? Is it any wonder that only 1 of out 10 sexual assaults are reported?
On Feb. 1 of this year the senate had a bill placed before them – SB 429 to change this injustice as well as increase the sentences for repeat offenders. I for one will be watching and strongly suggest you check the laws in your state. I truly hope that yours isn’t one of them.

Wild Hogs

2007-03-05T06:41:00.000-06:00

Ok – Let me start off by apologizing for not posting. I bought a fancy new toy to scrapbook with and I’ve spent the last 4 days playing with it. My bad…I ask for forgiveness (insert stick figure kneeling humbly here).

DH and I went to the movies this weekend and saw the new Disney movie “Wild Hogs”. It was a great movie with some hilarious moments and well placed lines in it. We thoroughly enjoyed it. It might not be Oscar material but it definitely entertains you!
The story involves 4 middle-aged men who decide to take a road trip on their motorcycles and it well worth the price of the ticket! Hearty laughing is just plain good for the soul. There are very few movies that I just positively can’t wait to see until they come out on video but I’m glad I didn’t wait on this one! I highly recommend an afternoon/evening out to see this one!

Ramblings

2007-02-28T06:38:00.000-06:00

Whew! Ok, so I went scrap-booking all weekend. Monday I got the kiddies off to school and went back to bed. Because I can do that ya know. I’m one of “those” moms that don’t “work”. Well, I work….I just don’t get paid for it unless you count sticky fingers and kool-aid kisses – my favorite actually.
Anyhoo, I figure even the Good Lord took a day off, so I’m entitled to one also. Got up in time for my 5 hour lunch with my girlfriend and then the fastest trip through wally-world I’ve ever taken. Had to get home to the family, fix dinner (pipin’ hot chili), help YS with his homework and then it was lights out for me by 8:30. Didn’t even make it through “24” which is my husbands favorite show. That scrap-booking stuff is exhausting!
I read Flo’s post on her pet peeves when it comes to medical shows. I can totally understand her feelings but – not being in the profession – it doesn’t bother me that that much when it comes to ER or Grey’s Anatomy– unless it’s really hokey and then it’s an all new ballgame.
Having said all that and adding the fact that I’m not now nor have I ever been in any type of law enforcement – I can’t hardly watch “24” because it’s so far off base. DH hates it when I watch the show with him because try as I might (and sometimes I really, really do try) – I can’t help but nit-pick the “power of Baur”. So I slept. The entire time. Yeah – DH was happy.
Then yesterday was a “catch-up” day. Well was supposed to be anyway – hopefully Thursday will be a little better. I managed to get a few things done in between phone calls. Not many but enough that DH thought I was busy all day – mission accomplished.
So now that I’ve rambled on and on about nothing important – I’m going to go get ready for my errands and lunch with my MIL. If I don’t blog in a reasonable amount of time – come look for me. :)

S-L-E-E-P

2007-02-26T06:58:00.000-06:00

Gotta have some. The weekend was full of food and friends (I did manage to get some scrapbooking done) and I am exhausted. That is all

Slumber Party

2007-02-23T07:15:00.000-06:00

Going to A "Scrapbooking Slumber Party" this weekend!

It's going to be a great time. I'm picking up a friend around 6-ish and we're off for an entire weekend of food, friends and scrappin! I have a lot to get done before I leave so no blog today :(

Nascar

2007-02-22T06:29:00.000-06:00

Did anyone watch the race (Daytona 500) on Sunday?

I felt so bad for Mark Martin. I would’ve like to have seen him win that race. Would’ve been a nice little snub to Roush Racing too.
Mark gave them 23 years of faithful, good driving, a lot of wins (i.e. a lot of money) and they wouldn’t work with him on his retirement. He wanted to retire two years ago but they didn’t have a driver to replace him so he stayed so they could find the “right” driver. After all, this is big business and they don’t want someone in there who will learn all they can and then split. No, they wanted another Mark Martin. A loyal driver – one in it for the long haul, so to speak. So loyal Mark stayed, rearranged the plans he made with his family and stayed. This year, he wanted to drive part time and work on his young son’s up and coming career. But Roush said no. No thanks for the memories or anything – just an ok see ya – I got a new driver now so you can go.
Yeah, it would’ve been nice to see Mark win. With all the durn cheatin’goin’ in the Waltrip camp – a win for a good guy would’ve been sweet.

Scrapbooking

2007-02-21T06:37:00.000-06:00

I’ve really gone and done it now. My husband is thrilled, just thrilled. Thrilled with a capitol T. Did I mention that he was thrilled?

A poor crafter is one that can’t come up with any ideas or even be able to copy an idea; a fair crafter can do one or the other but not both. A good crafter can come up with an idea or two – three on a good day, and copy just about anything and have it look good and a great crafter is one that can look at a coat hanger and come up with 101 uses – and they all look/work great. They are the “creative” people.
I fall into the good crafter range. I can copy just about anything (except floral arrangements – I suck at that). I also have several hobbies that I enjoy: sewing, ceramics, crocheting, gardening, needlepoint, arts & crafts, and now my latest one.
I’ve gone and done it. I’ve become “one of them”. I am a scrap-booker. (They say the first step is to admit it.)
A couple of years ago my friends started this hobby and invited me into the fun. I resisted. Big time. No way – no how. I have enough hobbies and things going on in my life that this is just another hobby for me to get into, invest in, get behind in and get frustrated with. No way, no how was I going to start. Then DD turned 16. Jr/Sr prom was a reality. Graduation was a reality.
It hit me like a ton of bricks that life is moving waaay to fast. Not like it hit when I turned 40 and wow! Was I getting old, but more of wow! Life is m-o-v-i-n-g.
For the most part I take pictures on all the holidays, birthdays, etc – all of the usual “landmark” days. I can stick those pictures into an album as good as anyone else I suppose. I can flip those pages and remember when they were taken, I don’t need a date printed on them to remind me. I even brought out an old album to prove my point.
Then it hit me. A simple question. “What’s the story behind these pictures?”, I could remember them but what if I’m not there to tell it?
I wanted DD to be able to take her prom book and show it to her grandchildren and tell them the story of how she felt like a princess getting ready for the evening, how her friends all met at our house and joked about their “limo” (mom’s van), how her feet hurt at the dance and she had to take her shoes off and she wondered if her feel smelled and how the “after party” went great (playing Texas Hold’em) – and she won. I wanted her to be able to tell that story with the help of this album drawing them in. I’m hooked.
I’ve done most of my scrapbooking here at home by myself. I’ve been slowly accumulating a few tools. This is one of those hobbies that can be expensive if you let it. For me the challenge is more of – how to make a page look good for very little money. I’ve gone to friends houses and worked with one or two people but I’ve never had the opportunity to attend a Crop party. Several of us have made the gesture of at least trying to get together as a big group for a while now but it’s always fallen through – it’s a lot of schedules to try and coordinate. January was to be the big one. It was finally coming together and we were all going to be there. The snow and ice canceled the plans for us however. We finally met last week but it was a smaller group. But that’s ok. We’ve decided to set a date (first Monday of the month or something like that) and whoever makes it – makes it and the ones that don’t – we’ll see at another time. We’re also thinking of every other month maybe doing a “weekend” crop and alternate houses. A huge slumber party! I’m thinking hunting season would be a good time for my house!
This thrills my husband in a good and a bad way!
I love doing this and I’ve mentioned to Flo a few times that she should take this up too. She’s one of those “creative” people and would be so good at this! Maybe I can hook up with Holly and get Flo going – then we can make a trip to Texas for a cropping party! That could be her “themed” weekend get away!

Hail to the Queen

2007-02-20T06:22:00.000-06:00

It’s been hell here. I spent most of last week as “Queen Lovi”. That’s how I was referred as – and not in a nice way either! Can you imagine?!?!
Seriously though, why is it that I’M the one labeled when, on a monthly basis, men’s brains turn to jelly, the children run with scissors and even the dogs forget that begging from the table pisses me the hell off?!?
Welcome to Hell Week. Years ago after screaming at my late husband that I wanted a divorce because the !*&#@ vacuum cleaner wouldn’t stay plugged in, I went (“ was sent” is probably more accurate) to see my physician. After a few questions and a couple of blood tests there in the office, I was given some pre-printed sheets in which we (my husband and I) had to “graph” my behavior. We did this for 3 months (not looking at each others graphs).
Surprisingly, we both graphed about the same. We basically agreed that, for a few days every month, everyone around me lost the ability to think rationally, to chew with their mouths closed, drive a vehicle according to the laws set forth and just plain live sensibly. It took several days with my eyes turned fire red and my head rotating 360 degrees when I spoke before they realized the wrong path that they had chosen and that I had had enough. Once they realized that, things settled into a more normal period. Until the next month....I can only take it for so long, ya know?
Most people call this PMS – we call it Hell Week. “A spade is a spade” they say, and years ago my late husband and I donned the term to this monthly occurrence before PMS became “fashionable”.
It really wasn’t as bad as it sounds but now that DD looks to be carrying on the tradition, it makes for a mighty interesting week around our house. The fire and brim stone, the power plays. Ahhh….it’s good to be Queen.
Till next month….

Tomorrow

2007-02-19T07:37:00.000-06:00

New blogs are coming back starting tomorrow....I promise!

Hugs and Kisses

2007-02-12T08:24:00.000-06:00

I'd just like to thank everyone who comes here to my blog and clicks on my ads. Over the weekend I was able to put together two more care packages to be shipped overseas to a couple of our soldiers.
So, a HUGE thank you and big hugs and kisses to you all!
Keep on a clickin'!

Lovi

How to Stay Young, Part 2

2007-02-09T06:27:00.000-06:00

1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them "
2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.
3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.
4. Enjoy the simple things.
5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.
6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.
7. Surround yourself with what you love, whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge
8. Cherish your health: If it i s good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.
9 Don' t take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.
10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Ageless...

2007-02-08T06:23:00.000-06:00

It seems like this week has been nothing but jokes and jabs about age - especially mine. It's not my birthday either! Nonetheless, my friends and family have made it their minssion in life to remind me how old I am - like I'd forget or something!
Anywho...I received this in my email yesterday. I've seen it before but I love it and wanted to share it.

George Carlin's Views on Aging

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions. "How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key.
You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead. "How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life .. . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!
But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?
You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away
Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.
But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would! So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.
You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!
You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime
And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."
Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

Tornados

2007-02-07T06:53:00.000-06:00

Man, I feel for those people in Florida. The storms that ripped apart their communities last week were vicious – and quick.
The severe storms that produced the 3 deadly tornados happened in the wee hours of the morning when most people are still sleeping, getting those last few zzzz’s. Nor did they know, until it was too late, that the noise they heard was not the alarm going off signaling the start to a new day. Most only had minutes to find shelter.
This scenario is a big fear of mine. Don’t get me wrong, I love thunderstorms and everything about them, the noise, the smell of rain, the vivid lightening. BUT, I only love them when I know that they won’t produce tornados.
I’ve been frightened as well as fascinated by severe storms as long as I can remember. As a young girl I clearly remember hovering in the southwest corner of our basement with my brother, 2 sisters and two dogs. (I also remember looking at that same corner as an adult wondering how the HELL we all got into that little space). I remember one time, running to our neighbor’s house because the police were going around the neighborhood telling everyone to take cover and our parents were at Safeway getting groceries. We were scared witless and yet we got into trouble for leaving the house. (I remember thinking a lot of things at the time that happened most of which can’t be put into print and still to this day think we got a raw deal on that one.) I also remember a time where my dad got upset with Fun House Pizza (they make the BEST pizza EVER) because they wouldn’t deliver during a tornado warning! I remember on our honeymoon, winds so strong from the thunderstorm that the trees were bent in half and howled for hours (not much of a mood-maker for me!).Not all are bad memories though. I recall a time that my mom was running through the house, throwing robes at us three girls yelling “get to the basement”! We got to stay up and watch this movie about these “blog-type” monsters on this ship. They had balloons on their feet and it was scary as hell but oh so cool! I can remember being in my mobile home in Minneapolis when a tornado went through and my dad talked to me on the phone for 3 hours to keep me calm (that bill sucked big time!), and on the day we signed the papers to our new home in Owasso, Okalahoma a tornado formed right above our new house.
Really, anyone who has lived in the Midwest has these kinds of stories. And there isn’t any one time that scared the bee-geebies out of me bad enough to develop a phobia so I’m not sure why I have one.
I think the biggest fear is something like what happened in Florida. Middle of the night, it’s dark and can’t see it until it’s too late. My house has a tall tree line on the west side of our property so we can’t see anything coming here so that doesn’t help and I live in a house that doesn’t have a basement – but I’ll have one next time for sure!
You can’t live your life in “What if….” mode and I try not to do that when it comes to these storms. Most of the time it isn’t to difficult. In the 15 years I’ve lived here we’ve only had 3 tornados that were close enough to worry about. Oh and one “wind sheer” (burst of wind coming straight down) that didn’t produce a lot of damage to my home (thankfully). So I guess I can “suck it up” once every 5 years or so and brave the big bad storms!

CRS

2007-02-06T06:53:00.000-06:00

Yesterday YS came home from school all excited...he lost another tooth! Yippeeeee! While this means more money in his pocket, it is nothing but a mere sign of old age to me.
For the past year or so I’ve had problems remembering little things….the tooth fairy (twice), the Easter Bunny, and yes….even Santa Claus’s cookies. I’ve had to come up with some pretty creative reasons as to why the Easter bunny left a basket in the room we use for storage (he must’ve been hiding when dad came down for a midnight snack and left it so he could move on to the next house), or why the tooth fairy left the money on the bathroom sink (couldn’t make it to the bed with all the dirty laundry and toys on the floor). Luckily Hubby has a sweet tooth so he reminded me about the cookies and milk.
I can’t seem to help it. I just plain forget. And it’s catching up to me. See, YS believes. Yes, it’s only because he know the consequences to not believing, but he believes none the less. Since he is my youngest, I can afford to be lenient here, but it’s costing me. Each time I forget is a reminder that I’m no spring chicken. That phrase “you’re as young as you feel” is sort of true and most days I feel in my 20’s….well 30’s anyway. My body can tell me one thing and my mind will tell me something else! And on the days that both body and mind feel old – well, hell, that’s a new blog in itself.
My dad use to have a shirt that said “CRS Syndrome”. It stood for: Can’t Remember Sh*t. At the time I thought that shirt was hilarious.
Now that I have CRS – it ain’t so funny

Super Bowl Ads

2007-02-05T06:20:00.000-06:00

I love Maxine!

However, I for one was disappointed in the commercials for the Super Bowl. I mean, that’s the whole reason for watching the game really. Oh sure, there were a few commercials that made us chuckle. Blockbuster, with their version of high tech pc knowledge was pretty cute, as well as, the Bud Light’s rock, paper, scissors ad.
All in all though, there wasn’t any one ad that really stuck out - the one that everybody has to talk about around the water coolers - kind of funny. It was all just to “bland". Bummer. I can't help but think about the 2.3 million dollars (for a 30 sec spot) that was spent. Man...what I could've done with that money......
One final note – congrats goes to the “amateur” commercial maker who made the Doritos commercial. Good Job! It was as good, and in some cases better, than the guys who were paid the big bucks!
Till next year guess!

Survivor

2007-02-02T08:57:00.000-06:00

I got this in my e-mail the other day and it gave me a good laugh!

A new series:

Six married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 3 kids eachfor six weeks

Each kid will play two sports and either take music or dance classes.
There is no fast food.
Each man must take care of his 3 kids; keep his assigned house clean,correct all homework, complete science projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of "pretend" bills with not enough money.
In addition, each man will have to budget in money for groceries eachweek.
Each man must remember the birthdays of all their friends and relatives, and send cards out on time.
Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentistappointment and a haircut appointment. He must make one unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the Urgent Care (weekend, evening, on aholiday or right when they're about to leave for vacation).

He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a social function.
Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house,planting flowers outside and keeping it presentable at all times.
The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep andall chores are done.
There is only one TV between them, and a remote with dead batteries. Each father will be required to know all of the words to every stupid songthat comes on TV and the name of each and every character on cartoons.
The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, which they will apply to themselves either while driving or making three lunches.
Each man will have to make an Indian hut model with six toothpicks, atortilla and one marker; and get a 4 year old to eat a serving of peas.
Each man must adorn himself with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylishshoes, keep their nails polished and eyebrows groomed. The men must try toget through each day without snot, spit-up or barf on their clothing.
During one of the six weeks, the men will have to endure severe abdominalcramps, back aches, and have extreme, unexplained mood swings but neveronce complain or slow down from other duties. They must try to explain what a tampon is for when the 6-yr old boy finds it in the purse.
They must attend weekly school meetings, church, and find time at leastonce to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting. He will need to read a book and then pray with the children each nightwithout falling asleep, and then feed them, dress them, brush their teethand comb their hair each morning by 7:00. They must leave the home with no food on their face or clothes.
They must clean up after their sick children at 2:00 a.m. and then spendthe remainder of the day tending to that child and waiting on them hand and foot until they are better.
They must have a loving, age appropriate reply to, "You're not the boss ofme."
A test will be given at the end of the six weeks, and each father will be required to know all of the following information: each child's birthday,height, weight, shoe size, clothes size and doctor's name.Also the child's weight at birth, length, time of birth, and length of labor, each child's favorite color, middle name, favorite snack, favoritesong, favorite drink, favorite toy, biggest fear and what they want to bewhen they grow up.
The kids vote them off the island based on performance.
The last man wins only if...he still has enough energy to be intimate withhis spouse at a moment's notice.
If the last man does win, he can play the game over and over and overagain for the next 18-25 years...eventually earning the right to be called
Mother!

A Blonde Moment

2007-02-01T06:44:00.000-06:00

DD has asked me not to repeat this story but I just can’t seem to help myself. We sometimes tease her about her “blonde moments” and her “DD-isms” (these are normal everyday words that DD has managed to rework in her own way, in other words, she mispronounces and then accepts them as gospel) but it’s all in fun. A few times though, I just have to shake my head and wonder about her.
DD had to put gas in her car so off she goes. She comes back and is laughing because she didn’t realize just how little she had been paying attention when gas has been put into her car. She’s worked the nozzles, hubby always told her which nozzle but not why he picked a certain nozzle, etc. So she stands there on this day looking at the pump and starts the decision-making process with “eenie, meanie, miny, mo”. The man on the other side of the pump hears this and offers his services. He kindly walks her through the gas-pumping process and she fills her car and heads home. She comes in the door laughing at what a goof she had been and how thankful she was to this man and how she really should have paid more attention to dad, and wow! Did I realize that that was the first time in a year that she has put gas in all by herself with no one else there? (She says all of this is a span of 2.5 seconds. Those of you who know DD know exactly what I’m talking about.)
Anywho, I asked DD how much she paid for gas. She puffs up like a toad and our conversation proceeds like this:
DD: I paid 87 cents or 89 cents. Shoot I can’t remember!
Me: You paid 87 or 89 cents per gallon for gas?
DD (proud as punch): Yep I sure did
Me: At Casey’s?
DD: Well duhhh of course where else?
ME: And you know this is the price you paid because……
DD: It said so right on the pump
Me: Really? Like on a little yellow/orange sticker with black border and numbers? Perhaps right on the front of the pump – maybe underneath a clear window with a changing digital number?
DD: Yeah? Is that not right?

Duhhhhhhh.
Ok – maybe hubby and I should accept a little responsibility here. We probably should have explained the octane numbers on the front of the tank. We assumed (another mistake we made) that DD was paying attention when being helped with her gasoline needs. DD passes the Casey’s store at least twice daily. Did she ever notice the big sign on the corner that has the prices of unleaded and premium gas? Yep, she noticed– and she noticed how much the gas was – per gallon…..and it’s no where near 87 cents a gallon. That just didn’t occur to her that they meant per gallon at that particular Casey’s. Yep, she’s a blonde

I-U-D (Idol Up-Date)

2007-01-31T06:10:00.000-06:00

Wow! What was with Paula last night? Was she drunk again? Did anybody else notice that she couldn’t stay in her chair - that she was dancing in her chair - that her words were slurred and Simon had to keep her focused on the here and now?
Paula also had missed the second day of auditions due to a family obligation but that was a good thing. She was such a huge distraction before that it was actually more frustrating to see and watch her than to listen to some of these people who honestly think they can sing.
I would like to say too that, from what they showed, Birmingham as a whole is one of the most polite cities that Idol has visited.

Single most "wow" factor: 50 year old Big Bird

Brrrrrrrr

2007-01-30T07:59:00.000-06:00

Bugs

2007-01-30T06:28:00.000-06:00

Eeeeewwwwwwww - our house must have ‘em - and not the creepy crawly ones – but the viral ones. Hubby has got it again. Poor guy – I had to tell him “Nothing personal but don’t come near me”.
What is it this year with all the damn bugs?!? Usually the kids and I get the “crud” once throughout the winter and it’s over. Meanwhile Mr.-I-never-get-sick-but-when-I-do-it’s-a-doozy struts around the house spouting “cleanliness is next to Godliness”. We can only figure he means we are all sinners for being sickly, going to h*ll and he’ll reap the benefits of heaven because of his good health. Either that or my housekeeping skills suck.
I’ve had the stinkin’ flu shot every year and it ain’t made a bit of difference. This year I saved the $15 and hubby gets sick! Not once – but twice now!!! How’s that for justice! I don’t think anyone could pay me enough money to get one next year either!
He does have it bad though. I feel for him and tell him so when I wipe down the house with antibacterial wipes, the whole time spouting off something along the lines of “cleanliness is….”.

It's beginning to Look a Lot Like....

2007-01-29T06:31:00.000-06:00

PROM!!!
Last year around the 3rd week of Feb., DD and I started out on the adventure known as “Prom Dress Shopping”. After visiting several stores and trying on thousands (or so it seemed) dresses we found the one. This dress was DD’s favorite and indeed it was “cute”, but she needed a size bigger. Of course they didn’t have it and it was getting to the point where it was too late to order online (if you could find it). DD was horribly disappointed so we made a pack to start earlier next year.
So that’s what we did. The Prom theme this year is “Garden of Dreams” so there are several directions in which to go if she wanted. DD is very big into anime of any Japanese art, black is her favorite color (for a dress) and she wanted some kind of straps. She’s not comfortable in strapless gowns she says. Okey-dokey. So after dinner Friday night, DD and I took off to the city. We decided that we would start at the store where we bought her dress last year and move onto the mall from there. We were looking around the racks of dresses when I found this dress that, on the hanger just looked ok, but I loved the colors (black and turquoise) and the cut. I deemed it “this is the one” (tito for short). DD liked it enough to put it into the “try-on” pile. Once we gathered enough dresses to make any runway model exhausted we headed towards the fitting rooms. Grabbing the biggest room we could, we started the “ritual”, I take them off the hangers, put them over her head, she adjusts as necessary and I zip, button or smooth whatever.
The dress I picked out was the 2nd dress she tried on. She put it on, adjusted, I zipped and smoothed and we both looked up into the mirror at the same time and said “this is the one” and started laughing. We tried on all the other dresses and put them all back, they just didn’t compare. We headed off to the mall and tried on what seemed like every dress in every store. Didn’t like a one. Every time she put on a dress, we both compared it to “tito”. At the end of the night we went back to the first store and bought the dress. It was marked $50 off so that helped. I told DD there’s no sense in us shopping anymore if we keep comparing the dresses to this one and we could end up like last year and not have the one she likes best (there was only the one in her size). So now we have the dress, (one HUGE headache out of the way) and shoes. We only have to find the jewelry, hair, nails, etc…
Good thing we have 3 months to do it in!

Reality....Check

2007-01-26T06:19:00.000-06:00

Ok – we caved. The whole fam-damily did. We are reality show junkies.
We are hooked on Idol, Runway Model and Top Chef (go figure).
DD and I enjoy watching the young models go from “everyday plain” to down-right glamorous. Our only complaint is that they don’t give make-up tips! Honestly, some of these girls wouldn’t get a second glance on the street but add some sultry eye shadow and wow! They really pop! The locations they get to see are absolutely gorgeous and it’s really made us realize that it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be. Did anyone else see the photo shoot that had to be done with tarantula’s climbing on their necks? No flippin’ way would/could I do something like that. I couldn’t even watch the shoot. DD had to tell me when it was over!
Now Top Chef is liked by all of us. I think YS thinks he’s going to be the next Chef Boy R Dee (I hope not – I hate that stuff!). The season finale is next week and it’s down to two chef’s. I don’t particularly care for either one – personality-wise. Marcel is the better chef I believe but he’s soooo dis-likeable it’s hard to root for him. Ilan isn’t any better really. I think he presents his food in a more attractive manner than Marcel but I don’t think he’s the risk-taker that Marcel is. He likes to make “safe” dishes. We’ll find out next week who the winner is.
Now Idol…..what do you say? We all love being the arm-chair judge and we’re getting pretty good at picking out the good ones. Although to be fair- this year hasn’t been too tough since they’ve seemed to focus on the really, really bad ones. And yes, I agree – this year they’ve really gotten mean. I’m all for the “you gotta be tough in this business” and “you have to be able to take criticism” but some of the things that were said had nothing to do with the persons ability to sing/not sing, but were personal attacks against their physical appearance. Yes, Hollywood is a superficial town of anorexic beauties and beauty sells but the things that were said were “over the top” and uncalled for. Shame of the judges and shame on the producers for airing it. And speaking of producers….why the h*ll did they have to show the man from Memphis who – while singing – pulled a garment from his pants zipper? This is during prime time; supposedly a “family” show and I have to explain that to YS?
All in all though, we enjoy the reality shows and as long as we watch them together and talk about them, they can be learning tools as well as entertainment and inspirational stories.

Chef YS

2007-01-24T05:34:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite channels on cable is the Food Network. I really enjoy watching all the different dishes made by all the various chefs. As a little kid I remember watching “The Galloping Gourmet” while dissecting a Ding-Dong. The trick would be to have enough of the center left so that you have something to eat when he sat down to his newly made creation. How many people do you know that can take 30 minutes to eat a Ding-Dong? Quite the feat, I’m here to tell ya.
Anyway, one of my favorite personalities on TFN is Paula Deen. Her southern charm along with her wonderful recipes makes her fun to watch. YS has also become a huge fan. He watches her with me everyday. Last Friday night I let him stay up late and watch “Paula’s Party” with me. It’s a little different format than he’s used to with her but he liked it. She was making snacks, deep-fried ravioli, gator tails and macaroni and cheese. He just knew the cheese was gonna melt everywhere and was humbly surprised when it didn’t.
During the commercial we were talking about the show and the people and he questioned why she never put kids on the show. She had adults on the show but not any kids and she knows how to teach kids how to cook since she taught her sons (they have their own cooking shows and are part owners in the restaurant). I told YS I didn’t know the answers and his immediate response was “Let’s e-mail her!” so we did. We’re now waiting on a response – if we get one. We did get the automated one letting us know that our e-mail had been received so we’ll wait a little while.
E-mail is such a versatile thing, isn’t it? And yet, it just helps feed the “immediate gratification need” that some folks seem to have these days (and yes, I’m like that too sometimes, as hard as it is to believe sometimes). In any case, YS feels very grown up now that he’s ventured into the techno-version of communication and I’m left to think that we’ve come a long way since the Galloping Gourmet in more ways than one!

A-A-A Update

2007-01-24T05:25:00.000-06:00

According to a couple of news websites, the All-American-*sshole company has fired the customer service representative that sent the disgusting e-mail reply (the least they could do imho). They have also had to shut down their web-site for a short time. Awww shucks....

MEME

2007-01-23T07:33:00.000-06:00

ok - I know it's not tomorrow yet but it drives me nuts to have people waiting on me. So here ya go:

1. I received a “Best Gyrating Waitress” plaque from my two favorite customers (Tanner and Scott) when I worked at Baby Does Restaurant and Bar. (It’s been a few years (and a few pounds) ago). Still got it (the plaque that is)
2. When I was a Junior in high school, I flunked child development (it was 4th hour – right after lunch and I needed a nap so I could party all night…I had my priorities in order back then - can ya tell?!?). I’m now a proud mother of 5
3. I wanted to marry Captain Kirk and still like him to this day.
4. I actually counted the number of licks to the center of tootsie pop. I can’t remember how many it took though – I’ve slept since then.
5. The only real car wreck I’ve had was when I was 16 – in my dad’s car – I hit a cop. It was a bad day for sure.

Now since everybody I know ( and those I just read) has already been tagged then I'm tagging people who I know read my blog and they can email their meme's
Gloria, Connie, Kim, Tammy and Jill

Tagged

2007-01-23T06:32:00.000-06:00

I've been tagged - and being that the sun isn't even up yet and I've only had one cup of coffeee....this blog will continue tomorrow!
Five meme's coming up!

All American *ssholes

2007-01-21T08:28:00.000-06:00

The following information came to me via e-mail. I checked it out on snopes.com to be sure. The information on top is for those of you who are as disgusted with this company as I am - and want to let them know (as I did).

WEBSITE INFO:Registrant:Faisal KhetaniPO Box 270693Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53227 United States
Registered through: Teknon DomainsDomain
Name: DISCOUNT-MATS. COM
Created on: 23-Mar-05Expires on: 23-Mar-08Last Updated on: 03-Mar-06
Administrative Contact:Khetani, Faisal sportsfitness@ gmail.com3259 S.106th Street West Allis, Wisconsin 53227 United States(414) 543-9634
Technical Contact:Khetani, Faisal sportsfitness@ gmail.com3259 S.106th Street West Allis, Wisconsin 53227 United States(414) 543-9634
this is a wisconson based company

"Below is an email exchange between a friend of mine's husband and acompany that sells different types of mats. He is stationed in Iraqand was inquiring as to whether or not the company ships overseas. Hewanted to get the troops better gear to sleep on. This is thecompanies response. I am floored. I am floored as a military wife andas an American. Please repost this so that this company will hear usloud and clear that we do not stand for this. Whatever your view ison this war - these troops are just following orders. Most arepassionate about what they are doing. You can disagree with the warwithout disrespecting our troops."

From: contact@discount- mats.com [mailto:contact@discount- mats.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 16, 2007 9:44 PM
Subject: Re: Feedback: from discount-mats. com

SGT Hess,We do not ship to APO addresses, and even if we did, we would NEVERship to Iraq. If you were sensible, you and your troops would pullout of Iraq.
Bargain SuppliersDiscount-Mats. com

On Tue Jan 16 3:25 ,
contact@discount- mats.com
sent:To Whom it may concern:
Do you ship to APO addresses? I'm in the 1st Cavalry Divisionstationed in Iraq and we are trying to order some mats but we arelooking for who ships to APO first.
SGT Hess

Storm Claims 46 +1

2007-01-17T00:40:00.000-06:00

An “unprecedented” winter storm past through our area this past week. That’s what the NWS has claimed it to be. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost power from the Midwest to the northeast. As of Tuesday morning, 46 people have lost their lives due to the storm.
Well, +1.
See, it’s not just cold. It’s damn cold. To cold for the kids to go to school cold, and my dogs (aptly referred to as “pup-sicles”) are waiting until the very last minute before heading outside – not that I blame them.
Inside, the children and I are wearing sweats with a jacket, heavy socks with slippers and watch tv with a blanket. Why? Because my husband likes it cold. We’ve had to reach a pre-marital compromise on the heating situation in our house. I kid you not.
For example, before we were married, I had to call him and let him know I was on my way (he lived an hour away from me) so that he could turn up the heat – or I wouldn’t come to his house. All the guys referred to his house as “the lodge” where they all gathered to hunt, fish or whatever. There are stories of having waken in the morning only to see their breathe it was so cold in the house! My hubby takes these stories all in stride. He likes it cold.
However, for the past 18 months we had a bird (caught the word “had” did ya!?!). Birds like it warm. Now to be fair, I haven’t had real good luck with animals of the aviary persuasion, but Taffy has been a trooper and had been my diehard (get it?!?!? Sorry – I’m in mourning) guinea pig while I learned the ways of the bird. Anyway, Taffy had been doing fine – and I’d been keeping a close eye on him for a week now looking for any sign of illness. He’d been great. Singing up a storm. I looked for signs of stress that never produced. He was fine. Hubby went to uncover his cage this morning and found him.
Now I know I’m not a vet and we’re not gonna have an autopsy done on a parakeet but we all kind of figure it’s hubby’s fault – course now he says that if it was to cold we should have turned up the heat. YS took it better than we thought, DD stated referring to hubby as the “BM” of the house (bird-murderer she claims) and I’m just thinking I’ll stick to dogs…and fish….oh! and the turtles are still alive too!

Good to be King

2007-01-15T02:52:00.000-06:00

I know the suspense is killing most of you. So, what did you pick? Yahtzee or Monopoly?
Well, the winner is……
Neither!
It turned out to be a fun filled weekend of (drum roll inserted here) Crazy Eights! Oh yes it’s been fun. I thought I was gonna be the card-carrying champion but YS pulled it off at the end. He did his best impression of “Happy Feet” for all of us which made it worth while really. So until the next snowed-in day - YS retains bragging rights. Ah yes...it's good to be king.
It's been a quiet weekend overall in more ways than one. I've lost my voice completely now and my loving family is having a ball with it. I've been reduced to "discplining by cue cards" in which YS says he can't read (what are my tax dollars being used for in this school system?) and DD says that there is some grammer rule that you can only use so many exclamation points-per-sentence. Say what?!?! Did she miss the words "you're grounded"?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No respect. I feel like a Rodney Dangerfield side-kick - and I truly disliked that man. Of course, DD's response to that was "who's that"?
Now I have no voice and I'm old

Tournament Time

2007-01-12T06:21:00.000-06:00

Another winter storm is on it's way! Looks like a 3-day weekend closed up in the house due to weather so the big decision is.......monopoly or Yahtzee?!? I'm leaning towards Yahtzee personally but YS has decided in the past. He's done with Monopoly JR and regular monopoly loses his attention after a while (understandbly so, it's a mood thing), but you never know what he's gonna pick. Remeber the game Connect 4? Yeah. It's great. It really is. Good problem solving skills game. For a few games - not a tournament. So Mom now gets to pick the choices
and from those YS gets to pick the winner.

2007-01-11T23:30:00.000-06:00

I’m back! Not 100% but working on it!
After spending a week within the confines of the “House of Illness”, I decided maybe someone with a degree on the wall could help my kids out better than me. I’m feeling a little better – better than they are, so while I’m healing – they’re not, hence the visit to someone in the medical world.
Now this isn’t just any visit. We are on a quest. Our objective is to find a new family doctor.
For the past year our previous doctor’s office has been doing some “questionable” and very fancy accounting. It has been more exhausting to keep all of the billing straight than any illness I ever had. Ok fine. That’s not true. The allergies totally sucked. But….it’s all straightened out now and that makes it perfect timing to find a new office that knows billing procedures.
So, I take the kids to the other office here in town. We arrived 15 minutes early, walked up to the desk and gave our names. The receptionist handed me a HUGE amount of paperwork to complete (very politely as well as apologetically). Knowing this was coming; I took the paperwork to start in on it. When I turned around, DD was talking to a classmate of hers (their CNA-in-training). I called DD over to me and asked her if she was comfortable with her classmate in that position. She said she wasn’t sure. I said that if it wasn’t that’s ok – we’ll do this visit and find someone else – that I for one will not using this office.
Don’t get me wrong here. This is a nice girl. Not perfect but not horrible. But because she’s friends with DD, I’ve heard every drama that has passed through this child’s’ life, and there has been a lot of it. It there wasn’t something happening – she made it happen. I've heard the gossip she’s spewed amongst her friends – about her friends. She’s young, that’s what some teenagers do I guess. All fine and dandy but not what I want out of someone whom I going to entrust my medical information too. So I’m headed elsewhere.
I digress.
Miss CNA calls us back to the main hall and proceeds to take YS's vitals. DD’s jaw drops to the floor when she finds out the Miss CNA will now know her weight. Yep, I knew it was coming, but it was buck up time at the point. After YS came DD’s turn. She went through all the vitals like a trooper (giggle) and then Miss CNA asks what we came to see the doctor for. Now, we’re in the main hall, where Lord and all can hear and I’m thinking “I just signed sh*t loads of papers about our privacy and you want me to tell you and all these people in the hall here what’s wrong with my children’s health?” Me don’t thinks so. I asked if we could go to our room to discuss it. Not that what was wrong with the kids was something to keep on the hush but come on here! She showed us to the room and left.
Now try and picture this: I’m coughing so hard and so much that I made promises to whoever I could name at the time that I would do the Kegal exercises faithfully if I could just get home without peeing myself and please, please, please don’t let me fart sitting on this metal chair! So we’ve got that going, plus DD is sneezing (and some kind of moaning in pain at the same time, it was just creepy) and YS is sniffling/sucking up snot like there’s no tomorrow when the NP chooses that moment to walk into the room. I’m thinking we’re making a great first impression here with all these bodily noises when YS – in a manner only he could do – looks at the NP and says “We’re thinking of starting a band – like our sound?” You gotta love this kid!
Anywho, I thought the NP was ok – enough to give her a second visit if the other issue hadn’t surfaced. But then at the end of the visit, the NP was explaining all the options which will come with the tests results when in pops Miss CNA. She just stood along the wall. She wasn’t in there to do anything other than to listen. I literally bit my tongue - I’ll pay for that for the next few days. One of the disadvantages of living in a small town I suppose.
So we’ll continue our quest for the new family doctor – in another town.

Whoops! We've Got it Again!

2007-01-08T23:10:00.000-06:00

It's 11 PM and I'm up writing this blog because - although exhausted - I can't sleep unless I'm sitting up. YS has the flu and now I have the flu. It's baaaaaack!
YS had seen the Dr twice over the holiday break was on a 12-day antibiotic and Sunday he starts running a fever. Mine is only low-grade and came today - lucky me. The worst is the sore ribs from coughing so hard. I regret every cigarette I ever smoked on days like this!
Anyway - this is it - no blog till I feel better.

Could've, Should've...Didn't

2007-01-07T19:53:00.000-06:00

(Heavy sigh…) Well, the Chiefs are done for the season; they lost to the Colts Saturday. It was difficult to watch. In fact it was one of the most painful games I have ever watched. Not because we lost, heck all teams lose some more than others, but it was hard to watch because we could have won it. Truth be told, we should have won it.
Our defense was awesome. Ty Law was outstanding as a thorn in Payton’s side. It was exhilarating to watch Manning’s jaw drop after each interception; on the flip side it was just as disconcerting to watch Ty stand up from the bench seat with the look of frustration after the offense couldn’t capitalize on the 1st, 2nd or 3rd interception.
But a defense alone can’t win a game. There has to be balance. The offense never developed a rhythm. It’s been said here in KC, that QB Trent Green, RB Larry Johnson and coach Herm all had off days. Well, yes they did. They weren’t alone however. The entire offense lost this game – not just a few people. Trent’s timing was off; our blockers on the line didn’t block, our receivers (when the rare pass play was called) didn’t catch and Larry, well I don’t believe he showed up mentally or physically (I’m not an LJ fan – can ya tell?!). But it was like that on ever play, not just a few. Every play had a total breakdown.
The entire offense was nothing more than a comedy of errors really, but what could’ve been done? When someone has a bad day – and everyone has that occasionally, the rest of the team steps up to the plate. They rally around and pick up the slack. When it’s your entire line though, what do you do? Just what Chief fans did. They sat back, watched in horror, complained mightily the rest of the weekend and turned their attention to the Super Bowl and next year. Because we’ll be back.
For now though, it’s over.

Round 1

2007-01-06T08:37:00.000-06:00

Today at 3:30 (central time) the Kansas City Chiefs take the field against the Indianapolis Colts! They've beaten us twice before in the playoffs (the dodo-heads), so......bring it on!
I got the buffalo wings marinating, meatballs ready to go, all the dips made (except one I have to re-make since hubby did a major "quality-control" taste test last night), all chips and paper products ready to go and beer properly iced downed.
Go KC!!!!!!!!!!!

Sew What

2007-01-05T06:27:00.001-06:00

I visited a fabric store the other day with a friend of mine. As a beginner sewer, I enjoy looking at the different patterns, fabrics, and notions available. I can sew a straight line and can, for the most part, read a pattern. I’m not going to ever be a great seamstress but if I can make the things I want to be able to or mend what’s needed, then I’ll be happy. I’ve been at it a year now (OS bought me a machine last year for Christmas!) and so far, so good. My most recent accomplishment has been the curtains in my new office. They’re perfect and there’s no way I could’ve bought them for the price I paid to make them. That’s my “hampering” point. By the time you pay for the fabric, pattern, elastic, buttons or whatever needed, it just doesn’t pay to sew your own clothes anymore. It’s quickly becoming a lost art, of sorts. I’ve seen clothing with stitching that truly is beautiful. I know they have machines now that you simply download (from the internet) the pattern into your machine and it embroiders for you, but years ago (and not that many years really), they didn’t have those machines and the women did it manually. That truly is an art form.
I understand that wally-world is going to quit selling bolt fabric (only the prepackaged fabric will be sold). Some stores have already stopped and the one in my area will end when they remodel this summer. That will leave only 2 fabric stores left – and those are in the city. Wally-world is the cheapest (outside ordering bulk online) way for me to obtain the fabric needed, so discontinuing the sale of fabric will hurt; not to mention that when I get a wild hair and want to “whip” up a pair of pj’s for YS, it just wouldn’t pay for me to go all the way into the city for the material.
I sew “cooling ties” for an organization called “The Hugs Project”. These cooling ties are sent overseas to our soldiers to help keep them cool during those incredibly hot summers. The need for them is incredible. One order alone last year was for 10,000 ties and needed within weeks. There are about 2200 members now and everyone pitched in to complete it. I buy fabric on the average of once a month (unless there’s a great sale) so I’m going to have to rethink and re-plan my shopping sprees to the city to include the fabric stores!

The Big Switcheroo

2007-01-04T08:16:00.000-06:00

Now that Christmas is over is time for the big shuffle. Shuffle what you ask? Well, TV’s of course! FDIL bought OS a big screen plasma TV and OS bought me a 13-inch TV (with DVD) to replace one that finally bit the dust.
Well, YS is now going to get OS’s “old” 27 inch (replacing the 13-inch that the poor boy had to play his x-box on…boohoo) so he’s pumped up, and with the big shuffle, DD is getting a different TV (the color went out on hers – oh no!). Hubby moved all the TV’s into place last night and YS is hooking all the media (x-box, ps, surround sound, etc) to the said TV’s today if he remembers or isn’t too tired (he works nights this week – yuck).
I was not allowed to move the TV’s. Not because they’re heavy or awkward or any sensible reason that like. No, I’m not allowed to move anything furniture-like. I have a habit of getting things stuck, even myself. So, I’ve been “banned” from moving things (oh darn!).
I like change, I can’t help it, I just do. I rearrange the furniture in my house every 6 months or so. More than once I got a couch stuck in a door way, and once I got myself stuck in the attic and had to have DD call OS to come and get me out (that one was a little hard to explain – it didn’t help that OS was laughing so hard he couldn’t hear me). Hubby doesn’t care for change so my little habit drives him nuts. He never knows what room is going to be what when he gets home from work (only the kitchen is safe), but, he’s resigned himself to this little fact and is learning to live with it – under one condition…I’m not allowed to move anything without help – and I can’t use DD or YS. Someone who has the ability to say “it won’t fit through that doorway” and mean it. Not move heavy furniture? Only supervise? I can live with that!

Movie Madness

2007-01-03T05:33:00.000-06:00

I took DD and YS to the movies yesterday to see Happy Feet. It’s a rare treat for my kids to go to an actual movie theatre with us (hubby or me) anymore since the availability and convenience of DVD’s is so alluring and frankly, there just aren’t many movies made these days that I absolutely can’t wait to see until they come out on DVD. Happy Feet was to be our holiday “treat” though, a few hours away from the hustle and bustle, so off we went.
It quickly came slamming back all the reasons why I don’t go to a theatre anymore. We arrived early enough to pay for our tickets and then waited our turn in the snack bar line. For 1 popcorn and 2 drinks cost only 34 cents less than all of our tickets to the show combined. Ridiculous that less than $1 worth of product costs that much.
The show time that we picked was an early one and the theatre wasn’t very crowded at all which made it nice. It was a kid’s movie so obviously kids were there. Kids make noise. They cry, laugh, talk, cough, fart, basically whatever they feel the need to do - when they feel the need to do it. They can’t help it and to expect total silence at this type of movie would be unrealistic.
However, when a child cries – or rather throws a screaming hissy-fit, because they can’t have anymore candy – it’s time to take that child outside the theatre until said fit is over. Telling the child (talking over the screaming) that they aren’t getting anymore and throwing the fit isn’t going to work until the parent is mad is not only rude but shows poor parenting skills. (Stepping down from my high-horse now).
The movie itself was “just ok”. I’m glad I saw it and even gladder I didn’t have to pay out the nose to see it (matinee’s rock!). This is not a DVD “gotta have”. YS really enjoyed it though and I'm left to wonder how this kid - who can’t remember 2 simple tasks in a row (clean your room and then feed the dogs) can recite the entire movie almost verbatim after only seeing it this one time.

We Will, We Will, ROCK YOU

2007-01-02T09:32:00.000-06:00

Woo-Hoo! The KC Chiefs are in the playoffs! Thanks to the lousy playin’ Broncos (who couldn’t even buck a less-than-500 team (sorry San Fran)). Did ya hear that Raider fans? You rotten, cheatin’, dirty; we-give-the-league-a-bad-name kind of team? Neenerneenerneener!!!
Ok – so what if we made it in by the skin of our teeth? It doesn’t matter – the only thing that does is….WE’RE IN!
I’m normally not such a poor winner but this year the Broncos – who think they are Gawd’s gift to football – DIDN’T make it to the playoffs. Their season is over. Done. Finito. No More.

On a more serious and sad note…I am sorry to hear that the Bronco’s cornerback was shot and killed early yesterday morning in a drive-by. Whatever the reason – it was a high price to pay.

So, next Saturday afternoon I’ll be where every true-blue KC fan will be….in front of my TV. Course, if OS REALLY loved his mommie, then he’d have her (and all the guests that she invited) over to HIS house to watch it on his new big screen plasma TV. Just a thought. No pressure. Hmmm….wonder if he reads this blog daily… or if I should just send the link?

What a Year!

2006-12-28T22:02:00.000-06:00

This year has gone by so fast! It seems the older I get – the faster it flies by! I blame it on Flo. She keeps having all these birthdays – and drags me along with her.
This year has seen a lot of changes. Some good, some bad, some happy, some sad. Oh lookie!!I rhymed!
My OS and FDIL moved into their own place this year and have been setting up housekeeping to their likes. They recently added to their little family – they got a puppy!
MS joined the Marines, graduated from boot camp and is in training now.
This was a year of firsts for DD. She attended her first prom, got her driver’s permit (finally), and started her first job. Her last year of high school has started – and we’ve been busy picking out Senior pictures, ordering cap and gown, etc, etc.
SD graduated high school also and is attending college here in KC.
YS kept me busy this spring and fall with baseball and football. (Is lawn-chair butt permanent?)
Hubby has had some hard losses this year with the passing of his best friend and then another close friend. Both were sudden and difficult to deal with. He also learned his boss has cancer, so poor hubby has been looking at his life and making some good choices. He’s cut back on his work load and spends more time at home. (Not that that’s always a good thing!!) He’s been able to do some things that he’s always put off thinking there’s time to do, so some positive things have come about.Been a busy year for nephews! I had two nephews get married this year. One has moved to Canada to attend school there. The other lives with wife and baby down the hi-way a wee-bit. Another nephew graduated high school and is attending college here in the home state.
And me you ask? Well, I started what was to be a simple, quick remodel job in my house. So what if it took 11 months and a few more dollars to complete? It’s done and looks great. I’ve joined two volunteer organizations this year. Both help our soldiers overseas. I have had a wonderful time with these two groups and find it so fulfilling and it keeps me busy and off the streets as they say! I had surgery on my foot early this summer and that has been and still is quite troublesome. I did manage to find shoes that I could wear before the snow storm hit so I’m grateful. I was beginning to think I’d have to wear my flip flops year-round!
I also took some nice little mini-vacations this year. My family went camping over Memorial weekend. We left a few days early to have extra time at the lake and just really enjoyed ourselves. We also took a canoe troop over hubby’s birthday. We went with OS, FDIL, and her parents and it was a blast! Gonna make it an annual thing now! I also went to San Diego with OS to see MS graduate from boot camp. We went a day early so we could go to Sea World and see Shamu! Awesome trip!
Our extended families have had some major health issues this year, but we’re so grateful that everyone is still here with us and we were able to celebrate the holidays together.

It was a wild and crazy year – and I’m looking forward to next year!

May you all enjoy the happiest and safest New Year!

part 2

2006-12-28T10:36:00.000-06:00

I awoke Christmas morning at 5 AM. Had to get the ham on, breakfast ready and a zillion other things before YS and DD got up and OS and FDIL showed up. I managed to stay ahead of schedule and even had time to read a few blogs before the day just snow balled!
I tell you, it just doesn’t get any better than watching a young child open their gifts on Christmas morning! The excitement is contagious and Santa must have decided we were all very good this year! Everyone was surprised and very happy!
After the opening of the gifts I began in earnest preparations for the big dinner. DD moaned because she always gets stuck peeling potatoes. I offered to trade her places but she declined so her rights to moan and groan ceased to exist and she had to muddle through – and she did well I might add.
Dinner was a half an hour late to the table due to late arrivals (hmmmm….flo?), a deep fried turkey that was taking unusually long, and all around craziness, but it was well worth the wait. The spiral ham turned out beautifully and the green beans were awesome. YS said the blessing and it was every man for himself. There was so much food that if anyone left hungry – they had no one to blame but themselves!
After dinner we got the chance to really visit and that was nice. Everyone was gone by 6:30 and the our family gathered to watch the movie “Cars”. It was a great movie and a nice way to end a nice day.

Naughty or Nice?

2006-12-27T10:33:00.001-06:00

And how was YOUR Christmas?!?!?
Was Santa good to all of you? Let me tell you about my holiday weekend!
Friday started off with a frantic phone call to the dr. It seems that YS had developed an ear infection. I wasn’t sure what was up with him – just that something was. So it was either I beg the office manager to find time in their double-booked schedule for him – or I knew an ER visit was coming. I admit I groveled but I got him in! A z-pack later he’s on his way to full recovery.
DD and I ventured to the mall (yuck!) and finished up the shopping that we had to do there – made good time so I couldn’t complain too much. Hit all the stores I needed for gift cards and loved the in and out way of shopping! I felt like I had accomplished so much that way! I even managed to stop and pick up some great throw pillows for my couch…I’m really pleased at that point and head to the local grocery in that town hoping to find me a whole spiral ham. I can find half-spiraled hams all over the place. Finding a whole one is a different story. I had already shopped at all the markets between home and this town so it was this or I’d end up with 2 halves. Not my first choice but will pork in a pinch. I found one and soon DD and I were home with our goodies! Then it’s was hubby’s turn to take off and get a haircut and finish some shopping that he wanted to do without little eyes around (which is good news for me!) so DD, YS and I started watching Ice Age 2 and all three of us ended up taking an afternoon siesta!
After we woke up we checked our list (we made a daily list up until Xmas of things to do so we wouldn’t get behind) and found out that we were behind now! We doubled-timed it and got everything taken care of and even managed to watch the movie we had slept through. It was a great movie! I do question the rating though. I’m not a prude by any means but this movie is rated PG and I’d have to say it should have been PG-13, but that could be another topic!
Saturday rolled around and it was time to prepare for the next days festivities. I started making the cookies for Santa – and all the little “elves”, the fruit salad (love the foods I can make ahead if time!), made some deviled eggs and generally got things lined out. A friend of mine stopped by for a few and it was nice to be able to give her a Christmas hug and wish her happy holidays. Hubby finished his shopping and YS was feeling well enough to go with him and get that special present for Mom. The evening brought a casual-ness to it with frozen pizzas for dinner and another shot at watching Ice Age 2 – which we all managed to stay awake for.
Christmas Eve started early for me. I was up and had pies in the oven by 7 AM. I baked pies all day, boiled more eggs for the next day and readied myself and YS for the evening. We went to Sis’s house (Flo’s) for the evening and had dinner with the step-family. We were given a tour of their new house (almost completed!) and just fell in love with the architecture. I’m looking forward to seeing it completed and Flo getting all her things out of storage and into the house – as I’m sure she is too! It’s a beautiful home, well worth the wait and well earned by her whole family. Their family has worked hard, done without when needed and been through two deployments and heartfeltly deserve everything going their way. Moving on, the evening was nice and I enjoyed seeing everyone but Santa was n his way, so we had to move on home and get YS into bed, and all that was accomplished by 10:30. We had gone onto bed about 12:30 and about 1:30 – hubby got up to fine YS watching the discovery channel on TV. He said he couldn’t sleep and oh yeah….Santa had been there already – can he open his presents now? Hubby explained how that just wasn’t gonna happen and helped YS back to bed where he sleep peacefully until Christmas morning…

To be continued

To Be or Not To Be

2006-12-21T21:50:00.000-06:00

I attended YS’s class Christmas party at school. I’ve been to many of these over the year. I kept saying to myself that someday I’ll be done. I’ll never have to do another one of these and then I realized that I only have 2 more. YS will be in middle school – and they don’t have parties in that school..
Anywho, this party was well organized and went as smooth as butter! The kids cooperated nicely and were very well mannered.
My job was to take Polaroid pictures of each kid standing next to Santa and then the kids decorated greeting cards (that the pictures went into) while they waited for the pictures to develop. One boy told me that he had seen a camera like the one I had in a really, really, really old movie that him and his mom watched. He thought his mom told him that the movie was made in the 80’s. It was time to change the subject.
The party was moving along and all the kids and I got into quite the discussion on whether or not Santa really exists. There was a wide gambit of opinions, and feelings ran high on this subject. Very passionate these kids were, on both sides of the “issue” and the whole time I was thinking “gee – wouldn’t it be nice if this was your only concern in life!” I did have to step in once and remind them that everyone has an opinion and everyone has a right to that opinion and that kept things under semi-control.
It got me to thinking of when we were kids and the lengths that my parents went to in order for us kids “to believe”. I remember one year – and I was about YS’s age, when the thought of just who Santa really is and does he really exist was a troublesome question for me. We went to midnight mass and when we got home our presents from Santa were all laid out. Now both of our parents attended church with us – all four of us kids kept on eye on them! So if it was dad and it wasn’t mother…who was it? Well it just HAD to be Santa! My beliefs were good for another two years! Seriously though, my parents did go to a lot of trouble for all of us. Christmas was a magical day for us. I hope my kids look back on their childhood Christmas memories just as fondly as I do.

May each of you have a safe and wonderous holiday season! Spend your time with those you love, think of those you can't be with, and have a hug on me!

Merry Christmas!!!

A Stinky Situation

2006-12-21T08:27:00.000-06:00

Years ago, I took my Girl Scout troop camping. We went to a camp down by Warsaw. Beautiful camp, absolutely gorgeous. Wonderful place to take hikes, rappel off a cliff, watch the wildlife, learn archery, study creatures in the lake water. Just an incredible amount of opportunities for the girls to learn something and have fun doing it
We stayed in a site that had perma-tents. One had electricity but the girls didn’t know it and I wasn’t telling. That perma-tent was left empty.
We had the usual fire ring – the ranger (a good friend of mine) had brought us a stack of firewood. Only the big stuff, the girls had to find their kindling. We were still learning different camping techniques so this was a compromise.
Our latrine wasn’t bad. It was a cement block building of sorts; long sink with spouts on one side, and three stalls on the other side (with porta-potty type toilets) with cement floor in between and open on both ends. There was one light bulb that was on 24/7 hanging in the middle of the building. Roughing here was not bad. I’ve been worse places for sure!
We had a great first night there. The girls were in a good mood and cooperative. We sang songs around the campfire and ate smores – it was girlie – and it was fun!
The next day we kept the girls busy with KP duty, and as many fun activities as we could squeeze into the weekend. All the while we were working on badgework. The theme for the weekend was “direction” so we learned to use a compass and played games to enforce it. The archery instructor even showed the girls how important it was to know which direction the wind was blowing. It was a great fall day and the girls worked hard and played hard, so it didn’t take much convincing to get them to bed down for the night.
We spread the adults out amongst the girl in different tents. They were still a little young and a few got nervous and so it wasn’t a problem. We did our nightly checks – no food in the tents. (It’s amazing how many times you tell apparent – do not pack food…or at least tell me that you’ve packed food so I know to remove it at bedtime. There isn’t anything worse than a pissed off raccoon who wants that food!)
Anywho, as my luck would have it, nature called in the middle of the night. I quickly dressed, grabbed my flashlight, and dashed off to the latrine (the girls’ would’ve had buddies).I’m almost there when I hear a noise. I look towards the picnic area and there sat the fattest raccoon I’d ever seen in my life. The summer camp kids were good to this guy let me tell you. His cholesterol had to be over 300 for sure. But, that wasn’t the noise I was hearing either so I stopped just short of walking into the open area of the latrine. The light of course was burning and luckily so, because in front of me was momma and baby skunk! I froze, didn’t so much as blink while momma got between me and baby. I’m thinking “oh sh*t”. Real Girl Scout-like isn't it? I stood like that – and blinking only when necessary for 22 minutes. I cannot think of a time when 22 minutes went any slower. That baby was all over the place exploring and momma had her eye on me the whole time. Kept between me and the little one – she was a good mommie. I tried to back away once and I saw the tail rise up. I froze. I didn’t know how far she could shoot that stuff! So I froze – and I stayed frozen. Now you know I waited until the very last minute to get out of my bunk to pee in the middle of the night so after 22 minutes of waiting, I’m about to the point of crying. Baby finally decides to head off in the other direction and momma happily followed. As soon as they were out of sight, I hear “Are they gone yet?” I about lost it! Scared me to death! My assistant leader was in the middle stall (it had a door with slats on it)! I had no idea she was in there! I mentally thanked my OBGYN for telling me about the benefits of the Kegal exercises and swore upon my flashlight that I’d do them faithfully for the rest of my life. Told her not to go anywhere till I got out and went to do my business.
When I was recovered, she explained that she was just about to leave when she thought she heard something. She looked out the slat on the door and saw the baby skunk and knew momma wasn’t far away so she just stood there watching me. She was afraid to say anything to me for fear it would scare momma and she’d shoot with her stuck in that stall! We both got to laughing.
Course the girls were bummed since they didn’t get to see the baby but we had seen enough!

Better

2006-12-20T06:44:00.000-06:00

Man! It is amazing what 24 hours of antibiotics will do for a person! That Keflex is some good stuff! Anyway, I'm feeling better but still not up to snuff so maybe I'll write more later - but it might be tomorrow. Gonna get the YS off to school and head back to bed. You all have a great day!

Blog

2006-12-19T06:05:00.000-06:00

Due to the fact that I have a severe (not a mild one - they said severe - I just know it's painful ) sinus infection and a general feeling of poo...there will be no blog today :(

Holiday Eating Tips

2006-12-18T05:10:00.000-06:00

I wouldn't normall pressume to tell anyone how, who or what to eat but with Christmas only a week away and office parties, dinner parties and the like keeping everyone busy this week; I just thought I'd pass these tips along

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. it's rare. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Dinner for Two

2006-12-15T04:54:00.000-06:00

MY DD and I decided to do some Christmas shopping last night.
We left as soon as Hubby got home, leaving him and YS to fend for themselves when it came to dinner.
Now my Hubby is not a bad cook by any means. His menus might be limited but he’s more than capable of fixing a well balanced meal for the two of them. If all else fails – he can read the back of a box and turn out one of those “helper” meals or slap together a mean PB & J. So I left giving neither one of them (nor their stomachs) a second thought.
DD and I trudged through shop after shop, store after store and managed to knock out 90% of my list. I was thinking everyone on my list will be pleased with the results and my feet were killing me – so it was time to head home for sure.
We arrived home and were lucky enough to get all of the sacks and bigger items into my spare room (to be wrapped at a later time) before hubby made it off of the couch. YS had been to bed a couple of hours already and DD headed to her room to do the same. I regaled hubby with stories of our shopping adventures and, when done, asked him about his evening with YS.
Things went well he said. They had dinner, watched some TV, and had gotten their showers taken. All in all a pretty quite night. I asked him what he fixed for dinner and he answered (oh, you’re gonna LOVE this), “frozen pizza and scrambled eggs”! I busted out laughing! It was just so M-A-L-E! I’m trying to explain this to him (still laughing) and he’s totally confused by my thinking (and laughing). He saw nothing wrong with the meal plan at all! I explained that it isn’t necessarily wrong – just different. Male. Very bachelor-like. No female (or at least one I know) would put together that particular combination of foods. He still didn’t get it! I told him to never mind – it didn’t matter. It was funny to me and provided my blog for the day!

Dancing Drama

2006-12-14T06:08:00.000-06:00

Recently I had the pleasure (really – someday I’ll actually think of this day as pleasurable) of attending the Nutcracker with my son’s 2nd grade class. I have been on many a field trip with children this age and groups this size, so I knew exactly what I was getting into. Or thought I did. I suppose it’s kind of like childbirth – once it’s over – you forget all about the pain preceding that point.
Now I am a firm believer that children should be exposed to the fine arts – at an early age even. However, I believe it should be done age appropriately. Having an entire school of 2nd graders sit for 2 hours without moving, talking, kicking, farting, picking their noses, picking their neighbors noses, yawning or humming is unrealistic. It’s just gonna happen.
The first act is not my favorite by any means, however, I really did want to see the ballet – or most of it anyway. I spent the entire first act patting the knee of “the kicker”, giving the “look” at “the Mexican jumping bean”, shaking my head no at “the tattler” and “ssshhhing”(finger over lips – not actually saying it) at “the talker”. I looked around the auditorium and noticed that there were several age groups represented there. We were not the youngest there but they were in the balcony so I wasn’t able to watch them. On the main floor was our age group up to middle school (say 6th grade?). First I was pleased to see that it wasn’t only my little group (all parents had 4 kids they were responsible for) that couldn’t sit still. It was the entire school – which explains why we were all seated in the back (the older kids were seated up front). The groups directly in front of us were 3rd maybe 4th graders. They sat in their seats quietly, not moving for the most part. I watched and wondered if they were better behaved than our school or if their little lives were threatened if they moved.
I don’t believe it was either. I spent a great deal of time observing “our” kids. They were really well behaved kids. There was the one or two that needed special “attention” (every group has them) but for the most part – they were really good. The kids in front of us were good also. I jus think they were older, more mature and could sit for a longer period of time.
I asked our classroom teacher who chose the field trip. Is it teachers collaborating or music teachers or administration? The particular trip was spear-headed by the music teachers. Which explains a lot. The senior teacher – is just that. She ready to retire. Very nice woman, don’t get me wrong, very, very nice woman. Good with kids but a little out of touch with today’s kids. The other music teacher shouldn’t be allowed around small children. Her maturity level is that of a 3rd grader. (I don’t like her – can’t you tell?) I mean really, who wears a form-fitting see-through mini dress to a second grade field trip to the city?
Anywho, as I said before, age appropriate exposure is the name of the game. Instead of being delighted by the dance, the costumes and the story, these children will not be giving ballet a second thought. On the bus on the way back to the school, we talked about our favorite parts (processing is what they call it now). I, for one, am not a huge fan of ballet but I can appreciate the beauty of the dance as well as the work and stamina needed to do the dance. The children couldn’t name anything off the tops of their heads that they liked about the ballet. Oh, the bathrooms were cool and had lots of toilet paper, and the lines weren’t too bad, there wasn’t any candy or pop or any refreshments, the balcony would’ve been fun to sit in. But for the actual ballet, the only one to say anything (and yes, it had to my YS), he liked the sword fight where the mouse died cuz’ he’s an action kind of guy and not a “dancing drama” kind of guy. How sad for these kids. Hopefully, these kids will be exposed to this dancing art at another time when they can appreciate it a little better.
Me? I came home, took 4 advil and a 15 minute power nap. When I got up, I emailed the teacher thanking her and volunteering to go on the next trip.

Update

2006-12-13T06:27:00.000-06:00

I’m happy to report that all of the parties involved with the mid-term grade issue met and resolved any and all questions
DD – 1, rotten apple - 0

The Haircut

2006-12-12T06:35:00.000-06:00

It’s a new day. It was Friday and I awoke knowing I had a list of things to do that day. I needed to get them done so I’d be free for the weekend, forgetting all about the week’s child-rearing frustrations.
Hubby is off to work, the older kids off to school, YS is fed, clothed for the day and coloring with his new crayons in his new book that Santa had given him the week before. I ran around putting a load of laundry in, gather up the bills to be paid, ran the vacuum, laid out a pound of hamburger for dinner and straightened up the bathrooms.
I looked at the clock and Lo and Behold!!! It was SESAME STREET TIME!!!!!
I went into the family room and turned on the TV to PBS and the show was just beginning. YS came around and sat down in front of the TV (and NO – it’s NOT a babysitter) and began to watch his show. I picked up the crayons and book and set them aside. I told YS that I was going to do the dishes but he was so engrossed in the show he didn’t even hear me.
I was putting the breakfast dishes into the dishwasher and in my haste, I spilled a bowl of half-eaten cereal all down the front of me. I quickly cleaned up my mess – I didn’t have time to doddle that day – and I finished the kitchen. Sesame Street was only half over so I had time for a quick shower. I checked on YS – who still didn’t know anything existed outside of his show and I ran take a 10 minute shower. I was dressed and ready to go in that 10 minutes too, mind you. I had mentally made my list of things I still needed to do and had put them in order. Top on my list was YS’s hair cut.
I had grabbed his jacket and walked into the family room when I saw it. YS was sitting in front of the TV, watching it, the way I had left him. Only now there was this orange crayon scribble all over the front door, TV and paneling.
It was ugly. I sat YS down and told him all of the reasons why we color ONLY on the coloring books. I explain that punishment will come later when I had calmed down and that unfortunately for him, Santa had seen the whole thing. What was Santa going to do? I spent the next hour cleaning that mess up, half crying, half talking to myself (about different forms of birth control).
We’re finally on our way to our first stop which is the barber shop. Hubby had insisted that his son go to a barber shop – not a beauty shop (that was then - now it’s up to whoever takes him).
We entered the shop and took our seats. YS patiently sat there and took the whole scene in. There are several old time farmers in having their hair cut, reading the paper and catching up on the week’s gossip. He watched as each man got up for his turn, sat in the chair, told the barber what kind of cut and then proceeded with the gossip. (As God is my witness – men are worse than women when it comes to gossip.). YS still sat there quietly, waiting for his turn. I was so proud. And relieved.
Finally his wait was over. He got up, climbed onto the seat and waited while the barber adjusted the booster seat. He waited while the barber draped the cloth around him and then told him to give him a “little boys’ hair cut”. I thought that this was one cute kid. And then it happened.
YS proceeded to tell this barber and all the little old men (all of them stayed) what kind of week he had. How he ate momma’s chocolates. How he then tried to hide them – several times. How he then colored the walls and TV orange. How Momma was gonna have to beat his butt later cause she was to mad to do it then and how (heavy sigh) Santa was not going to come cuz’ he messed up big time.
Now to his credit (and all the old men), the barber never said a word during this heartbreaking confession. He nodded and grunted at the appropriate time, tsking here and there and expressing his sorrow over the troubles that had occurred. YS was very serious about everything and the barber understood that. As I was sitting in the chair, mortified; the barber was biting the insides of his cheeks so that he didn’t laugh out loud and all the old men were looking down to their laps, shoulders jerking.
The barber finished the haircut and told YS that he’d give me the bubble gum (he gives to all kids) to hold until I deemed his behavior good enough to receive it. YS hung his head and agreed that this would be a good idea. We solemnly walked out of the shop and I closed the door – only to hear that entire group bust out laughing, saying they couldn’t wait until the following week when he came in for a trim to find out what happened! I started laughing myself (and at myself) and all was right in my world again.

The Candy Dish

2006-12-11T05:58:00.000-06:00

I had a couple of requests for more of YS stories so here’s another one:

At Christmas time I always put out a decorated jar that I fill with chocolates (wrapped in holiday colored foil). One day, while cleaning the house, I came upon a pile of wrappers sitting on the floor next to the jar. Since I was the only one home with YS and know that I didn’t eat them and they weren’t there that morning – it was pretty easy to figure out who ate them. So I called for my 3-year-old (at the time) and asked him about the candies. He looks at me totally confused with the biggest brown eyes, wide with innocence, and asked me how I knew it was him. I explained to him first – you don’t eat the candy without asking for it and second – how I figured out it was him and third, (I jokingly told him) that if you’re gonna try and hide something… don’t leave it in the middle of floor for me to find. In my holiday euphoria I forgot who I was dealing with and I never gave the situation another thought.
The next day, I found a pile of wrappers behind the fish tank. Frustrated now, I called my YS and asked for an explanation (thinking the whole time – “does he not learn?”). He tells me that yes he had eaten them, but they weren’t in the middle of the floor so how did I find them? I showed him how the tank sits out from the wall and anyone walking by can see behind it. He’s put into time out again.
The next day I’m cleaning the room. I pull off the cushions to the couch and what did I find? Yep. Candy wrappers. Once again I called my YS and ask for an explanation. He tells me yes he ate them, and yes, he knew it was wrong, and did I clean under the cushions everyday? AAAACCK!
These are the kinds of days that I meet my hubby in the driveway when he gets home - with child in tow. My hair all messed up, my eyes bugged-out, my shirt untucked and wearing two different shoes. I smile that smile and hand the man-child over.
I went to my room, locked the door and waited for the next day. The only problem was – the next day I had to take him to get a hair cut. THAT is tomorrow’s story.

S-M-A-R-T?

2006-12-08T06:51:00.000-06:00

Every parent believes that their child is smarter than every other child the same age. They believe that because their child teethes first, walks first, says their first word before another that that somehow makes them better. It’s their right as a parent to think so. To argue would be futile. Accept it and go on.
Shortly after the birth of my last son, I realized that my youngest child wasn’t necessarily smarter than other kids – but he was quicker. Worse yet, he was quicker than ME. I had to learn to stay on my toes with this one.
His vocabulary was well beyond what any normal 2-3 year old should have. I had become one of those parents. My child was S-M-A-R-T. At 2, he was all but negotiating discipline contracts with me. By the age of 3, he found loop holes in everything I said and exploited them. I’m thinking, “Surely this isn’t one of MY kids. He had to have been switched at birth!” I quickly became an expert at picking and choosing my words for my own protection.
One day after coming home from a particularly exhausting trip to my favorite discount store, I’m walking up to the door with my arms loaded with sacks. My youngest beats me into the house and thought it would be cute to push against the door so that I couldn’t open it. I played along with him for a few minutes but the sacks I was holding grew heavy. Much to his chagrin, I told him enough was enough and proceeded to push the door (along with him on the other side) open and walked through. I barely made it through the door when WHAM! The door slams shut. I turn around ready to shoot bear. I was furious! Slamming the door in a fit of anger - I don’t think so! There stands my 3 year old, backed up to the door with eyes the size of silver dollars and all the innocence he could muster, “Whew! Is it ever windy out there!”
Yep. He’s S-M-A-R-T

Part 2

2006-12-06T21:09:00.000-06:00

Jump forward 8 years.
With a family of 4, laundry is pretty much a daily thing. If you do laundry once a week then expect most of the day to be gone once you put the last bed sheet back on. Now since I’m one of the lucky ones who can stay home with my children then a load of laundry a day worked well for me. Until a year ago.
I only had another week left at my job. I was trying to be responsible and get everything I could in order for the next supervisor so that the transition would hopefully be a smooth one. I was concerned about the people who worked under me since I was leaving at the busiest time of the year. I only had 5 more days to go through all of my files and make my notes, deposits, etc. Needless to say, laundry was not a priority that week. My last day came and went. I sighed a heavy sigh and went about the task of putting my personal life in order. Priority number one was laundry. I got up early Saturday morning, sorted all the different colors and started my first load. I got half way into the 2nd load when kaput! The motor went out on the washer. Great. Just peachy. Now, my husband is mechanically inclined (yes!!!!) and he was able to replace the motor himself with only a hundred dollar bill and some grumblings (yes, he does that a lot). A few short months later, my dryer quits working. My husband tears it down, finds the problem and gives me the name of the part and model number of the dryer. I’m to call and get a new part. Well, I called. Then I called DB back. It’s cheaper in the long run to buy a new dryer. A few more grumblings later we’re on our way back to Kenmore Manor. Did I want a new set, he asks me? Nope. The washer is fine and nobody sees it but me. It doesn’t mean a hill of beans to me if it matches. I just want one that works. So, I get a new dryer and DB thinks I’m thrifty.
A few short months ago, my refrigerator/freezer (side by side) doesn’t make ice anymore. I call a repairman. He comes out, blows out the back of the refrigerator (says it’s dirty and needs to be done once a year), claims victory over the machine and leaves. It works fine for a few short weeks and then poof! It quits making ice again and our frozen food is thawed. I call the repairman back out. This time it’s a young man who went to school with my middle son. He tells me he has good news and bad news – which did I want? Give me the good news first I tell him. He starts off telling me I’m getting a new refrigerator! That’s the good news! The bad news is the compressor is going out so I HAVE to buy a new refrigerator. Wonderful. A new compressor for this would have cost $689 but, he says, it does come with a 30 day warranty. I showed him the door.
Back to Kenmore Manor again. We had bought our refrigerator on clearance and it had all the bells and whistles. Almost 9 years later I’ve learned I liked those bells and whistles and wow! We got a good deal 9 years ago! So our salesman (or stalker – whatever adjective you like to give them) asks us what we have now and then starts us off going down the aisle where not one refrigerator has a price tag of less than $2000. I stopped and told him that there was no way in hell I was spending that much money on a disposable refrigerator. Disposable he asks? If I have to buy a new appliance every 8-10 years then it’s disposable. Parts to fix the appliances are so expensive; it’s cheaper to replace the appliance than fix it. That makes it disposable. Oh, he grunts. He shows us the cheapest models he has, the ingrate. We ended up with all the bells and one whistle for a price we considered reasonable. Now my dishwasher soap dispenser is not working properly. We’re back to the dilemma of to fix or not to fix? DB says the stove is safe since it has to be USED in order to break down.
He’s a funny little man.

Disposable Appliances

2006-12-06T06:43:00.000-06:00

Most women would be ecstatic at the thought of getting a new appliance. Not me. It’s like punishment.
About 9 years ago my stove went out. So we get a new one – right? No big deal. All we needed was a basic stove – not a fancy one. I’m not Martha Stewart. I’m not a baker. I cook – not bake, so a basic 4 burner (electric) with oven would work great for me. We headed for the nearest Kenmore dealer to pick it out.
White – it goes with everything and never goes out of style. Right? Well, white with a black finish across the top back (knob thingy part) anyway. We bring it home, install it and it works great. A few days later I’m looking at my dishwasher and thinking that the front has interchangeable panels in it. So, I unplug it (it has a HUGE sign across it that says unplug before servicing) and I proceed to tear it apart only to discover that it doesn’t have the interchangeable front panels. Well I put it back together and only ended up with a few extra parts. Needless to say – it didn’t work. And I now had to tell my husband (DB) what I had done. Shortly after he got home I confessed my dirty little sin. He mumbled a bit (loud enough for my benefit), grabbed his flashlight and took a looksey at what I had done. Three days later (and a LOT of mumbling now) my husband declared the dishwasher officially broken. Now I had been doing the dishes by hand (gawd help me) for three days. That’s my penance. I accepted that. But indefinitely? No way. I’ve heard those stories about how my parents walked 6 miles uphill (both ways) to school. It was rough on them. I don’t care. I’m spoiled and I like it.
DB tells me that we’re going to have to buy a NEW dishwasher. Oh darn it, I remember thinking. Well, the next day I happen to be putting away some trash bags under the sink when I noticed that the dishwasher was STILL unplugged. DB had never plugged it back in. What to do? Do I tell him and not get my new dishwasher? Hmmmm…..
Well, he came home from work and solved my little dilemma for me. He took one more looksey at the dishwasher and then noticed it unplugged. I had my shoes on and my purse in hand, standing by the door. I was ready to go and that’s when he notices?!? (insert heavy sigh).
Well, as luck would have it, DB decided to go ahead and look at new dishwashers. He picked one out that has the stainless steel tub and a garbage disposal in it that would eat small children. Yippeeee! (New dishwasher – not eating children). Anywho…when walking out of the store a refrigerator on clearance catches his eye. This is too good to be true. I must have been a very good girl ‘cuz I got me a new stove, dishwasher, AND refrigerator.
All this and only a few short months after getting my new washer and dryer set. Yes indeedy, I must have been a good girl.
Little did I know that the damn things are disposable.

To be continued.....

Tagged

2006-12-05T06:34:00.000-06:00

I’ve been “blogger” tagged! So here goes:

1. Three things that scare me:

losing a member of my family again
critters (snakes, spiders, ALL them ickie things)
driving on ice covered roads

2. Three people who make me laugh

my kids
Jeff
Robert

3. Three things that I love

A good book
Snowed in
My house

4. Three things that I hate

mean people
slow people in the fast lane
asparagus

5. Three things that I don’t understand

html
cars
Republicans

6. Three things on my desk

coffee cup
mechanical pencil
my glasses

7. Three things I’m doing right now

drinking coffee
waiting on the dogs to finish their business
answering this silly thing

8. Three things I want to do before I die

Visit South Dakota
Get the garage cleaned out
Win the Lottery

9. Three things I can do
crochet
organize huge events successfully
be a good friend

10. Three things I can’t do

travel in a car for long periods of time
the Sunday paper crossword puzzle
knit

11. Three people you should listen to

your spouse
your boss
your doctor

12. Three people you should never listen to

phone solicitors
A fortune teller
A drunk

13. Three things I would like to learn

how to solve the rubic cube
how to establish world peace
why men can't put the seat down

14. Three of my favorite foods

steak
taters
all of the above

15. Three beverages I drink regularly

coffee
diet pepsi
water

16. Three TV shows/books I watched/read as a child

The Waltons
Hee Haw (my dad made me)
Speed Racer

Who's Laughing?

2006-12-04T06:39:00.000-06:00

It’s done. Completed. Finito. My 8 week remodeling project is finished. Ok, so what if it took 11 months to complete - the point is that it’s totally done as of 11:30 Friday night.
I have been remodeling 2 rooms (and a hallway) in my house. I have had all of the major work done and the rooms have been functional for several weeks now, it’s just been the odds and ends, those final details, which I have been slowly working on.
The last thing that needed to be done was to assemble the entertainment center. I’ve had it for a couple of weeks now but a few pieces were broken and I was waiting for the replacement parts to arrive to fully assemble it. Well, the last part arrived Friday. I had until noon on Saturday to call and report any damage or other missing parts. Not a problem I thought.
As you know from my earlier post, hubby was out pushing snow. Delightful daughter (DD) was working hard making sure that all Friday night pizza lovers had the best dining experience possible, so that left me and little britches, the youngest son (YS), to hold down the fort. And put together the entertainment center. Yeah, like that was gonna happen. I suck at those kind of things. Since hubby was gonna be gone all night, I decided to call in back up.
My oldest son (OS) was kind enough to spend his Friday night here along with FDIL (future daughter in law). FDIL and I supervised OS putting together this center – after he’s put in a day at work and after his car breaks down on the hi-way and had to be towed. I’m so lucky, I have such nice kiddies and I really enjoyed the evening. YS was busy playing games on OS’s phone and ordering gawd-knows-what from T-Zones, I got to visit with FDIL and DD made it home well before they left so she had time to visit also. As always, when she gets off of work, she loves to share her stories of the day so she entertained us with her tales. I found myself stopping a few times and just watching my kiddies, just enjoying them being here, talking, laughing, teasing. Just us. It doesn’t happen very often so when it does I try to remember to stop and just live the moment, just enjoy being. I truly treasure these times. Course, I figure I better enjoy them since they are all the time threatening to throw my old wrinkly butt in a home when the time comes and I’m gonna need something to remind me that they are good kiddies. The last laugh’s on them though. In 6th grade, the Ouija Board (remember them?) told me I’m gonna live till I’m 86. I’m supposed to go into the “home” at 84….so they have 40 MORE years of me left!

Oh the weather outside is....

2006-12-01T07:56:00.000-06:00

AWESOME! We ended up with about 10 inches of snow!!!! Just finished breakfast and hubby is on his way out to start up the snowblower (that way I don't have to walk through the snow to get to our sled). It's days like today that remind me of how much I enjoy being home and being with my family.
I do plan on being outside with the kids later on today when it warms up to 15 degrees or so but for now I' going to work on my little project I have going.
My eldest son and his girlfriend (whom I adore) moved into a place of their own last Feb. She has been busy making a home for them and every holiday brings new challenges. Both families have helped with contributions to home decor for Christmas since it just adds up so fast when starting from scratch. My son has decided that there isn't any reason to decorate the outside however, since no one but the people across the street can see it . Now, anyone who has seen my house during the Christmas season knows how I feel about outside decorations. If I knew how to posts pictures - and I will learn soon - I'd post a picture of my house with the lights lit up.
Anyway, I am making an outside sign for their place. It's a personalized snowman and the mrs. wishing all a happy holiday. It's turning out really cute and will look great next to their front step. I have a bow left over from the wreath that I made for their front door so maybe I can incorporate that into the sign - if not - no big deal.
Have a great day!

It worked!

2006-11-30T06:20:00.000-06:00

It looks like the ice storm is over - we ended up with about an inch of ice. Just enough to be pretty and not hurt the trees to bad. The main roads have been treated, and the kids are home from school along with hubby!
We have until early afternoon to get ready for round 2, which is 8-18 inches of snow! And here I apologized yesterday for taking a wrong turn - and getting the wrong weather. Geez, almost like a real weatherman!
Hubby has decided that we don't have enough bread for 4 days (or 5, 6 or 7) so we must venture out in the ice and cold to get it. He just wants to go out. Get a feel for the storm as they say.
He'll be pushing snow tomorrow. His boss's brother owns a trucking company and asked if he'd pushed snow for him. Heck yeah! When you're choices are staying home, couped up with the wife and kiddies or out playing in the snow? Hmmmmm, I wonder what he'll pick? Course he'll say he's doing it for the money, one for the gipper, all for one and one for all kind of thing. Yadda, yadda, yadda. I know the real reason is to be out in the snow. He loves it. He'd rather play in the snow year round then work in the horrible heat and humidity. His reasoning is he can always get warm, but there are days you just can't get cool.
I have a big pot of ham and beans on already and fixin's for a batch of cornbread at the helm so I can sit back, watch the storm and relax. My job here is done.

Upgrade

2006-11-29T09:29:00.000-06:00

Apparently when I did my Indian weather dance, I took a wrong turn. The NWS has now issued an "ice storm warning" with significant ice accumulation expected. No snow. Just ice. For this I apologize.

Winter Watch

2006-11-29T06:47:00.000-06:00

Our local weathermen have put our area under a winter watch! I LOVE winter storms! Okay, okay – I only LOVE it for two days, and then it’s all brown and dirty and icky and needs to go away. (The drivers around here really are bad in the snow and ice…and rain…and hail…..and clouds in general just really mess them up).
Growing up, we used to get those monster (giggle) snow storms with totals of 6, 8, 10, 12 inches of snow all winter long in this area. It was great! Now we get that one time a year or every other year. Global warming? El Nina?
But, I miss those types of storms! The excitement of an unexpected day off from school, the bucking up of the tears when your sled hits the tree and you don’t want your siblings or friends to see you cry, the hot chocolate (with mini marshmellows) waiting at home along with your mom yelling at you to get your dripping wet clothes off and into the dryer.
But the best, the absolute best thing about these types of snow is the sound of the silence. After it finally stops snowing and you step outside on your way to garage to start up the old snow blower, you stop and listen. The silence is so incredibly LOUD! You can almost feel it! You look around at this pure white blanket of untouched snow, watch a squirrel head back to it’s nest, you notice that the snow is taller than the bird bath and make a mental note to check the bird feeder too, and all the while you can’t get over how deafening the silence is. Almost like the town has been abandoned. (Reminds me a show that I saw as a little girl on “the Twilight Zone”. Cool show - but that’s another blog.)
Anyway, it just doesn’t get any better than a huge snow storm so bring it on! I already went to the grocery store so we’re good to go for 4 days, 5 if we stretch it, 6 if we have tuna and 7 if we have a meatless dinner! So bring it on!
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!!!!

The Curse

2006-11-28T06:42:00.000-06:00

My father was a member of the National Guard ever since I can remember and then some. When I was little he used to go away every summer for two weeks to “summer camp”. I think they call it annual training now. Away, every year it seemed like when he went away something always happened. Something caught on fire, someone got sick and had to go to the hospital, the car broke down, etc etc. “ The curse” is what it has become known as.
My Dearly Beloved is an avid hunter. Or he tries to be. We’ve even nicknamed him Rambo during “the season” just to make him feel like a real hunter. Now, when he was single, he claims to have killed any and all deer that moved. His freezers were full. It was the only meat he ate. Since we’ve been married however, he has partaken to “trophy hunting only” status - or at least that what he claims. And by the look of our freezer every winter – he’s obviously telling the truth.
The very first year we were married and hunting season came around, I ended up with double pneumonia. He went hunting. Yep, you heard me right. He went hunting. (He pays for that little mistake every day….trust me.)
Ever since then, something has always happened. “The curse” - that lovely little tradition has now been passed down to my family. Unfortunately, I am usually the recipient of the particular demise of the year. Twice now I’ve been hospitalized with pneumonia during rifle season. Last year my doctor actually suggested I get the pneumonia vaccine. Yeah, right. And miss the wonderful guilt trip my DB goes through every year?!? And right before Christmas?!? I may be sickly in the fall but I’m not stupid.
However, if it’s not me – it’s someone or something. This years’ rifle season began and it was my youngest that had been chosen. I had my usual cold but it was better but my little one (ok – he’s not that little – but he’s still my baby) had gotten a stomach flu virus. Of course it ran the full gambit: fever, aches, pains, and my favorite – hurling groceries.
He managed to sleep most of the day, which was a good thing and a bad thing. Good because he needed the rest, and bad because I couldn’t get fluids into him while he’s sleeping so he became a little dehydrated. When the dry heaves came the poor thing starts spitting up blood. Hence the call to the doctor – and one to Dad to come home.
The curse had arrived.

P.S. The man-child survived and Rambo killed 2 deer.