a dream come true

i might possibly get to meet, in person, rod, this summer. holy shit!!!! OMG!!!! my heart is beating so fast i can barely breathe. i will not be right the rest of the day. i'm beside myself with excitement and giddiness.

i will try to calm down enough to write this post. i will be in las vegas this summer for work and rod is giving a performance at the place i will be working, like for this specific group. he is scheduled to be in vegas anyway for a regular concert somewhere. the hubs said he's probably doing this gig so he can pick up some extra cash for alimony. no doubt.

people, you may not understand my feelings for rod. i have loved his music since i could hear music. trust me, i know what some people (like most of my friends) and critics think about him. but, how can you hear maggie may or someone like you or my heart can't tell you no, you're in my heart and not FEEL something? it's his voice. and his style. and yes, in the 80s, when i first saw him in concert, out of order, it was his physical appearance. i heart him.

up until that point i'd listened to the old stuff and loved most of it. i hate (as i've read he does to) do ya think i'm sexy? but the rest? music gold. i saw him in concert again in the 90s w/ the hubs. at that time he was married to rachel and we agreed they would be our swap couple.

i realize he's been married a lot and has kids with just about everyone and he's married again. i don't care. really. he has never been given enough credit for his talent. never. (hey, sort of like the critics scoff at stephen king. i seem to like underdogs; successful, albeit shunned from the critics, underdogs).

if i do indeed get to actually meet him in person (like i did rick springfield a few years ago) i hope i can hold my shit together. i don't want him to think that i'm this crazed middled-aged freaky woman who's obsessed with him. (ok, maybe i am.)

just look at him? he is a petite man (like prince) and that's not typically the look i like. but the style? and, i've seen him on interviews. he's very humble and witty. and did i mention i love his voice? frankly i thought he was really ugly when he was younger and w/ faces and jeff beck. but in the 80s he was incredibly hot.

who's afraid of the big bad wolf?

for me, the wolf is the dentist. i. hate. the. dentist. not the actual person, but everything else surrounding it. the dentists i have dealt with the last few years are perfectly nice people. however, it has not always been so.

i have to have my three remaining wisdom teeth extracted. that's a nice way of saying CUT OUT OF MY MOUTH folks. with something sharp. thankfully i will be heavily, and i mean heavily medicated. a nice valium like pill 20 mins before i get to the office. some lovely, and i do mean lovely, laughing gas when i get there. then an iv twilight drip of something that will prevent me from knowing anything that is happening. heavy sedation is the only way to go for me.

this is happening on june 27.

i'm sure i went to the dentist as a kid, though i don't really remember. i have a few fillings. the first time i remember a dental experience was in middle school and i had a root canal. i would rather have died. it was awful. i hate the smells. i hate the sound of the equipment. i hate it all. i get sick just thinking about it. i get nervous beyond belief. i went in for my consult today about the extraction and THAT made me nervous.

my second bad experience was about 17 years ago. the hubs and i had just moved here and i had an impacted wisdom tooth (hence the reason i only have 3 now). it was around new year's eve. i had an awful, horrible dentist. i don't remember getting any pain medicine, i think he may have pulled it out w/ just the benefit of Novocaine and i hated every second of it.

i think this time around it will be much much better. plus, as i said, there's all that medication.

this that and the other thing

here's a recap of our long weekend.

i actually got off work early friday--one good thing about the company i work for. the workday before a long weekend we usually get half a day off gratis. since starting the job i'm in now i've rarely actually been able to enjoy this benefit. friday we were to get off at 12:30 i got out of there around 1:30. the hubs and i had a quick lunch and then i took my hot little bath and body works coupon to the b &bw and shopped : ) i. love. that. store. i don't buy all the stuff i want there cos i'd surely go broke but they had a memorial day sale so i got soap and lotion and love them.

picked up the kids, got home at 5 and had a message from a mother of one of the girl's friends. she was sorry the girl couldn't come to the sleep over but hoped she could come for the birthday party. whaaaaaatttt? it was the first i'd heard of it. i called her back, told her the girl would be there and sleeping over and she could keep her if she wanted. no i didn't really say that last part. now of course the boy is wondering, ok, what fun stuff do we get to do since the girl isn't here? ah. so much for my original friday night idea which included lazing around, possibly cuddling etc. and you know, vegging out. i semi got my way cos the boy was all geared up for an indiana jones triple play. ok. i can do that. the hubs and i both fell asleep at some point and i woke up at 2:30 and the boy was still watching. he slept until 11:30 the next morning. unheard of for him.

saturday was cleaning and errands and i can't remember what else. sunday was mowing and getting the yard ready cos we had friends over for a cookout. when we have these get togethers i always say, days later and to myself, that i probably invite too many people. what's a good party size? i never know. it's such a mix of friends. it always includes my brother/sil (and now puddin and my nephew--hey SIL--we need a nickname for him) cos they're friends and family. then there are my groups of friends. there are my oldest friends from the job i had before the boy was born (and during). there are the people i work with now (or who used to work w/ me but lucked out and got new jobs). i think for the most part these groups mix well. or maybe i force it. i don't know. i think i need to do smaller groups. i never know where to be because people cluster. anyway, it was nice. my friend famous's man said he had a good time and he feels at home at our house. that made me feel good. i love them : ) of course he also wants famous and i to have a rematch of the wrestling match we had several christmas parties ago. all i remember about match was that i ended up w/ a bruise on my head i think.

monday we went to see indy (see previous post) and got stuff ready to start opening the pool this week.

sweet t's got me thinking about writing my memoirs. (see comments on the what would you do post).

i feel that, for the most part, i do not fit in with the mix of blogs i read. you will not find these words in any of their blogs--fuck, dildo, tongue, sex, shit, etc.

remember when i previewed the sex ed movie the girl is going to learn about? well, this is the week for "family living." for her. she tells us each evening, at the dinner table, what they talked about that day. she's pretty bored since she knows all of this stuff. though she said she did learn what wet dreams are. oh hooray. she said when the boy starts changing his own sheets that means he's having wet dreams. tonight the topic was hair on body parts. so what happens this evening?

she gets out of the bathtub and says she has hair down there. (i haven't told the hubs yet. he'll probably have a coronary.) i looked. sure enough, she does. omg. so we checked her arm pits. no hair. so she says, i have hair, my boobs are starting to grow--now all i need is my period. i (who started this weekend) grumble out of the room mumbling, no, no you don't NEED it.

pass the peanut butter m&ms please.

one of the many reasons i love the hubs

those of you who know the hubs in real life know that he has this bad ass, tough guy, i don't give a shit about things attitude. he has always been the bad boy, the one your mom (well, not my mom but some moms) warned young girls about.

however, when it comes to our family he's a mush ball. when it comes to our animals he's a mush ball though he tries to deny it.

yesterday was the girl's cat's appointment to get all of her shots and to get spayed. yes, we are slack ass pet owners cos we hadn't had any of this done and we've had her for awhile (like two years). however, our cats are strictly indoor cats and rebel (my ancient cat) is fixed. the girl's cat goes into heat like every other day. she was on her regular cycle (whatever that is for cats) and then when she gets stressed out, when the girl's not there, etc. she kicks into heat again. so, off he took her.

despite the fact that we both have hellacious work schedules right now he was there to drop her off at 8am. when he filled out the paperwork he said the vet looked at him funny about the cat's name. it is princess meow meow. (the girl named her. we call her meow most of the time, or some derivative of that). so, you have this brawny tough guy bringing in this petite little kitty named princess meow meow. they asked if she was a daddy's girl. lol.

they told him he could call to check on meow around 3pm. he called. no answer. so he went to the office to check on her in person. apparently that's not normal. he also made them let her see meow, not just have them tell her how she was doing. again, not the norm. they again made a comment about the cat's name : )

of the 5-6 people who took their cats in yesterday he was the only one who opted for the addition $10 pain meds for when the cat comes home. also, apparently not the norm.

he was there bright and early (7:30am) to pick meow up and got her home before the girl left for school. the girl was beside herself yesterday morning over the cat surgery. she wanted to stay home with the cat today.

anyway, the point is, the hubs, for all his denying he has a huge heart, went the extra mile w/ the cat and did it all (he says) so the girl wouldn't be upset, so she'd know he saw the cat and made sure she was ok, etc. in reality, he loves that cat as much as we do and he's a softy.

this is meow in the girl's pet purse. this cat, from day one, has let the girl hold her like a baby (she prefers it actually), dress her in build-a-bear clothes, cuddle her, etc. if the girl cries, the cat jumps up in her face and meows and rubs against her. if the girl sniffs, the cat comes running. the cat "talks" to all of us, she's quite vocal. she really is a sweetie.

what would you do?

did you keep a diary or journal growing up? at some point in life would you let your grown children read it?

i have these journals, old journals that i keep in a footlocker. the footlocker is like a memory book of sorts. it holds keepsakes from my childhood, high school and college years and from when the hubs and i were first married. there are birthday cards going back to when i turned 8; letters my dad wrote me when he was in korea and i was in third grade; probably every card and letter the hubs wrote me when we were dating; scrapbooks; my high school memory book; art projects, etc. and the journals.

i started writing a journal in middle school, but back then it was a school project and i remember not having much to write in it a lot of times so i made stuff up. imagine that : ) then there was high school and i wrote in my journal a lot then. it chronicles when i met the hubs, our relationship, my feelings, etc. at one point when we were dating the hubs asked if he could read it. being the paranoid kook that i am i went through and blacked out things i didn't want him to read and let him read the rest of it. i kept a journal through college as well. those were the bad years. and i documented a lot of things. a lot of things i'm not proud of. i'm sure i wrote about the first time i smoked weed and the sex partners and the drinking and the thinking i was in love with another guy, etc. these are not secrets from the hubs. and while i'm not that person any more, that time of my life did shape who and what i am today.

from time to time the hubs and i have discussed what should be done with these journals in the event of my death.

on one hand i want them destroyed. i don't know that i could do this myself. if i outlive the hubs i fear that i'd hold on to them for the memories and would then have to have someone, most likely my brother, come in and destroy them (and all the other incriminating things).

on the other hand i toy with the idea of letting the girl have them when she's an adult. while the journals do talk about things i don't want the girl to know about now (or probably ever) i do think it would be neat for her to KNOW me, to know that i too was young and went through the same thoughts, feelings, problems she went through. but then i think ok, do i really want her to know i was a slut in college? i'm not that worried about the drugs because i figure by the time she's an adult (i'm talking like 30+) she won't be that surprised that her parents smoked weed.

i do think it would be neat for her (and possibly the boy) to read about the beginning of the hubs and my relationship. i mean, i think it would be cool to know my mom's thoughts during that time of her life.

i don't know. i waffle on the issue. what would you do?

non sequitor:
do you ever wish you had a totally secret blog? like you've told too many people about your blog and if you knew no body you actually knew in person was reading you'd totally write some shit that would curl their toes?

harry still has it

we went to see the new indiana jones movie yesterday. i wish i could say i totally loved it, but i didn't. it was good. it was not great. if you are 8 and love anything that has to do with indy you will love it (the boy and my nephew did). if you really (or even slightly) enjoyed the original three you will probably walk away from this movie a little sad because it just doesn't quite reach the mark.


that being said, it's good. all of the indy movies had a bit of wry humor, allowing harrison ford to show off that sexy, smirky grin of his, and this one did not fail. he's still using the whip, which is alluring, though i'm totally not into s&m. harrison still looks good, but it is apparent that he's aged (like that's a crime?).



the things that bothered me about this movie are that it wasn't as realistic as the others (like a giant stone rolling behind you is realistic? but still) and it was just a bit far-fetched. plus, the villain's accent was almost too cliche, though it did provide an excuse for one of indy's funny quips.


shia lebeouf did a good job as well. (though the james dean hairdo was too much for me) not familiar w/ shia? if you watched disney's even stevens he was the brother and he was in holes and transformers. i think he's a good up-and-coming-actor.

sex meme

i stole this from another blog, feel free to do the same, if you have the balls : )

Sex in the Morning or Sex at Night?
this depends on the day actually. personally i think night time sex (when you have kids) is harder. you're running around like chickens w/ your heads cut off most week nights getting home from work, getting dinner ready, homework, etc. so by the time the kids get in bed you're too pooped to pop so to speak. i like daytime sex, mostly cos that's when there's more free time (on the weekends). we have experienced the rare, but awesome, someone wakes up, sort of, in the middle of the night and you have sleeping sex. that's awesome. the hubs has also woken me up in the morning w/ sex.

Better Sex Music - Sade or Marvin Gaye?
no doubt about it marvin gaye. hellllloooooo, sexual healing?

Naughty Pics or Naughty Home Videos?
pics don't do much for me. now throw in a raunchy story (madame xavier) and that's good. but for the most part i prefer videos (though not home, hell, i don't want to watch myself!)

Vibrator or Dildo?
vibrating anything (remember the egg i told you about?) is always better, especially if you're solo. however, i will just say three words. dildo. hubs. tongue.

Bedroom Sex: Lights Off or Lights On?
either one, i don't really have a preference. though sometimes doing it the dark (like in the living room when a kid is in your bed) adds a certain stealthy naughtiness to it : )

Word Preference: Pussy or Cunt?
ok, as for describing my naughty bits, neither fucking one. they're both gross in general every day conversation. cunt is very harsh (sounds dry to me).

More Exciting: Sex in an Elevator or Sex in an Airplane?
i've never done either so i can't compare. i think an airplane would be interesting, however certainly not in the bathroom because they're very tiny and nasty. if i was stuck in an elevator w/ the hubs then we'd have to try it.

Flavoured Oil or Tingling Oil?
tingling and flavored together.

there were other questions on the meme but i figured this was enough to get you going for the day : )

we're having a cookout today w/ some friends. they should be here in about an hour and everything is finally done.

MacGyver and the turd

last night the hubs and i were sitting on the patio and the boy was jumping on the trampoline. shortly he came walking across the yard. he was holding his arms out and walking like frankenstein.

me: what's wrong?

the boy: well, i was jumping on the trampoline and i thought i was going to fart but a wet turd came out instead.

(i'll pause while you laugh hysterically)

the hubs busts out laughing. i just shake my head. what do you even say to that?

he went in to get cleaned up and the hubs said: yeah, his wife is going to have a hard road to hoe when he gets married.

about an hour later the hubs, the girl and i were out spraying the flowers and the boy comes up to me with fear in his eyes.

the boy: something really bad happened.

me: what?

the boy: i locked your keys in your car.

uh oh. we have one key to my car because it is one of those stupid ones w/ a chip in it that costs $120 to have duplicated at the dealership. stupid. we double checked to see if any of the doors were unlocked. of course they weren't. (the boy was getting in there to get cds out because the girl gave him her cd player when she got the mp3 player) fortunately i'd left a passenger side window open a scouch (cool word). the hubs got a wire coat hanger and macgyvered the hell out of it and 15 minutes later had the door open. wow. he never ceases to amaze me. really.

two random things:

one of the things that has made me feel like a failure as a parent got crossed of my list this week. the girl learned (at 11) how to ride a bike. yes, it's true. despite the fact that both kids have bikes (still w/ training wheels) and the girl has had two bikes so far, she finally, two days ago, learned to ride a bike. (the boy is working on it). now of course she needs a bike and helmet that fit her size, but i'm so proud. : )

if you haven't watched the alaska experiment on discovery channel, check it out. that is if you like man vs. nature type of shows. discovery is famous for running a kabillion episodes of a show back to back and last night the hubs and i got sucked in to three episodes and now we're dvring it. it's fascinating. there are four teams and they're each at different camps about 30+ miles a part. they are spending 3 months in alaska, in the winter. they have to find their own water, wood for heating and food. sometimes an expert guide comes in to show them how to hunt a moose or goat, etc. but the participants have to do all the work.

i like have a big butt and i cannot lie

ok, well, no, i personally do not like big butts, but thank god the hubs does.

today i went to the dr to get a shot for this lovely poison ivy i have. what's the first thing the nurse ALWAYS does (that bitch). weighs you. yeah. stupid scales. so i knew i'd gained some weight, i could feel it in my clothes. i even knew what i weighed, give or take a pound. so the nurse takes me into the exam room. blood pressure, good. pulse, good. temp, good.

what do i do? i ask the fateful question.

so nurse ratchet, what did i weigh the last time i was in here?

well, you were here in december (my shoulder issue that also got me a nice shot in the shoulder) and you weighed x. x is FIFTEEN pounds less than i weigh today! oh.my.god.

seriously, i had no idea. omg. omg.

then the nurse asked me where i wanted the shot. i asked where it would hurt less (cos i'm a wuss and totally hate shots). she said, well, it's going to hurt regardless but it will hurt less in the butt because there's more back there. nice.

so i got a shot in my big fat ass and hopefully that will be the end (pun intended) of this poison ivy. just for grins i asked the dr when i had poison ivy last. uh, same time last year. you'd think i'd learn my lesson huh?

this evening when i got home i was telling the hubs about the weight gain and here's what that sweet man said: perhaps that's why i'm more content these days, there's more of you to love : )

looking for inspiration

*poll update---harry won (i knew he would). yeah harry. no doubt we'll be going to see the new indiana jones movie quite soon, the boy is fairly chomping at the bit and informed me (as if i've been oblivious to all the ads) that it opens tomorrow.*

and now back to our regular post. oh, and there's a new poll up. take it. now.

so posts have been pretty eh lately (at least in my opinion as i compare them to other blogs i read that make me laugh). so, to that end let's have a little interaction.

first, since this is my blog and in blogland i'm totally conceited and stuck on myself and like talking about myself, ask me a question, any question (in the comment section) and i will answer it. except you know, my name, ssn and address kind of stuff.

second, what are some OMG fucking hilarious blogs that you love to read? share the links please.

third, here's a little story about the...4th? time i was ever drunk. i'm sharing this now cos the hubs shared it with some of our friends at lunch today (who btw, said his beard IS hot thank you very much ; ) ).

the 4th time i was ever drunk was my freshman year in college (remember the first time i was drunk?) i went to marshall university in wv (this link is to an old post about wv/marshall and a tiny picture of a fountain...you'll see why in a sec).

it was in november of my freshman year. i was SO full of myself. the hubs and i had dated all through high school but i went to college, got too big for my britches and broke up with him so i could "find myself" and "experience life." eh, stupid girl i was. anywhoo. though we were not dating we still talked on the phone all the time (he lived in ok). so one night, my new found college friends and i drank purple jesus. for those not familiar, this is grain alcohol and grape juice. mmm, yeah, you can imagine. i have no idea how much i actually drank (probably not much). we were drinking in our dorm room (sooo rebellious, cos you weren't supposed to have alcohol in the dorms. we were sooo bad. (rolling eyes)) we played cards and then i drunk dialed the hubs. from my closet. he could probably tell you the conversation word for word, i cannot. he says i said i was so ashamed of myself for being drunk and asked if he'd ever been drunk (hello, he was 21 by that time). at some point my friends and i decided it would be a great idea to explore the campus. at night. in november. drunk. we were loud. we walked across the field in front of our dorm to the student center where the memorial fountain was (have you seen the movie we are marshall? the quad is in a few of the scenes) they had not yet drained the fountain for the year. the water was cold. how do i know? cos we thought it would be funny to walk around the edge of it. it was a big ledge, like people's asses big, people always sat there. so it wasn't like balance beam skinny, but i was, you know, drunk. yep, i fell into it. freezing cold. then we ran back to the dorm. i assume i changed and then passed out because the next day was hell. i didn't go to breakfast in the dining hall. too hung over. my friends brought me bread. i ate it. and then spent the rest of the day puking up purple jesus. not pretty or fun. then my 4'5" grandma came to pick me up for the weekend and we stopped at shoney's for lunch. mmm, yeah. i told her i had the flu and she totally babied me all weekend and did my laundry.

editor's note--the hubs made up the poll question this time. his other question is this--have gas prices gotten so high that we should now drill in anwar and off the pacific coast?

imagine, me needing more help?

: )
ok, so we bought the girl an mp3 player (remember two years ago she got one for christmas that i could never figure out and then the dog chewed it up so she never got to use it?) as an early 5th grade graduation present. don't spaz, it wasn't one of the hundred dollar version, paleeze. anyhoo. i did successfully sync a cd to it (love her choice, billboard's top hits of 1982) and now i'm looking around to figure out how to download stuff from web sites. does anyone do this on a regular basis and if so can you recommend good sites for this? thank you : )

big t asked if the boy that the girl is now dating is the same loser who told her she had small boobs. no, it is not the same boy, thank god. however, the boy that did say that to her is going to end up in jail some day. i can feel it. here's the joke he told at daycare today (a church ran daycare no less). he's a 5th grader. my kids told us this joke in the car tonight. get ready.

you know the joke--say i can spell cup (i can c u p) ha ha very funny right?
his version--spell IHOP and say ness at the end (i atcho peeness) yeah. nice.

random list

1. sooooo....guess who has poison ivy again? yep. that would be moi. though i cannot pinpoint the exact time and location that i contracted it it had to be saturday in the backyard. i did the weed eating this weekend while the hubs and bro were doing guy stuff. the hubs usually weed eats. i showered right afterwards. sunday i noticed a few itchy spots. yesterday, more. yeah, i have a dr's appt. for thursday unless she has a cancellation tomorrow. where do i have it? oh, there's some on my chin, arm, neck, stomach, breast, yeah, how the hell did it get all those places????

2. the girl has got this fucked up country song stuck in my head--our song? ....and when i get home, 'for i say aaaamen...something else. and she puts a twang in it no less. now, i'm partial to SOME country, seriously, i'm an equal opportunity listener. but she sings this all the time and now i can't get it out of my head! aiiiiiiigh.

3. teacher gifts. it is closing in on the end of the year and time to buy the dreaded teacher gifts. we did not do this when i was in school. wtf? ok. so any good suggestions? i'm looking at maybe $15 per teacher and i have three to buy for.

4. a miracle happened yesterday. we went to tarjay last night and spent a whopping $6! can you believe that?

5. this weekend i caught parts of trading places and fast times at ridgemont high on tv. uh, did i miss when i was younger or have i just forgotten that movies in the 80s were a bit more risque? half frontal female nudity seemed to be a requirement. and fuck apparently isn't such a bad word. ok, so i use it a lot here but i don't use it around my kids and i don't use it in every sentence in real life. did you realize that nicholas (coppala as he was known then) cage and eric stolzt were in fast times? i hadn't realized that. small, small parts, but still.

6. the girl has started "dating" the little boy she dated a year ago. from what i can piece together, this is what happened friday. they were at recess, running around chasing each other and fussing at each other and she said something like well, what would you think if we were boyfriend and girlfriend again? and he was like, well, i guess that would be fine. ah, young love.

allergic to water

ok, what the hell is the deal with kids not wanting to bathe? my kids LOVED baths when they were toddlers. loved them. now, at 11 and 8 it seems they have an aversion to being clean. wtf?

they have progressed to the point where they can bathe themselves and they usually take showers at night. we did go through a month or so when the hubs had to school the boy on what taking a bath meant. i.e. it didn't mean you were clean if you just SAT in a tub full of water. you actually had to use soap and a washcloth and shampoo. and wash ALL of your body, not just your arms and legs. i still sometimes ask him specifically if he used soap.

however, every single time i tell them, it's time for baths they start fussing.
"i went first last time."

like going first means the water will disintegrate you?

and the girl--hello, she's 11 and so very concerned about not being a "kid" but rather being a teenager and she's growing boobs, etc. but hell, she doesn't want to bathe?
tonight she said, but i just had a bath last night? uh, yes, and you've been outside most of the day playing and jumping on the trampoline and you need a bath! sheesh.

then there's the whole going out in public thing. granted, i'm a slackass mom. i do not inspect my kids every time we walk out the door and apparently i don't pay attention very well because invariably we'll get out of the car at the grocery store or library or target and i glance at the heathens and it looks like they've not washed their faces for a month. how does that happen? i used to do the nasty thing most every mother has done, yes, you know it, the lick your finger or tissue and wipe them off. yes, i still carry wipes in the car but sometimes we're out. now when i catch the girl looking like liza doolittle in pygmalion before henry higgins got a hold of her and i go to spruce her up she licks her arm and starts bathing herself like a cat!

oh, and that nifty clothes hamper we put in their bathroom? useless. their dirty clothes still end up on the bathroom floor. oy vey.

life is good

today is a good day. yesterday the bro and the hubs did man stuff w/ the truck. i'm chronicling the truck saga in photos and except for the fact that i don't show people here, i'd love to show them to you. yesterday they loaded my old, dead lawn mower onto the truck so my brother could take it to his house, fix it up and mow his yard. uh, with a riding lawn mower he will be able to mow his yard in like three passes : ) he can mow his entire cul de sac! LOL

the family came over for a cookout, it was puddin's (my baby niece) first time here : ) i don't think the poor girl had a moment to herself we were all passing her around like crazy. even the kids whined for their turns to hold her. such a sweetie she is.

the hubs got up at the crack of dawn (not the original butt crack of 4am that he intended) to start smoking some pig body part to make homemade BBQ.

see? he's pretty awesome, i think i'll keep him : )

while we were sitting out on the patio, drinking coffee and enjoying the morning, the girl made a discovery.

see that thing that looks like a twig sticking out from the flower? it's a twig caterpillar, like an inchworm, it is a "looper." so i googled this oddity and so far as i can tell they're from austraila and new zealand! really? wtf is it doing in north carolina? the girl is taking it in to her science teacher in the morning. here's another pic.

yesterday, while the kids were playing outside one of my nephew's threw this panda up in the air and it got stuck on the tree (it was later rescued) but how funny is this?

saturday shortie

we're having the family over for a cookout at 5pm today so this will be short and probably not sweet.

yesterday the hubs and i went to pick up his truck (he got an old used truck to do man-stuff w/. hauling stuff to the dump, picking up project stuff at lowe's etc.). though he got it for a steal it turned out there were a few things (radiator, brakes, lights) you know, LITTLE things, that needed fixed : ) so he finally got it back yesterday and today he and the bro are hauling stuff and doing man things. he's like a kid in a candy store. too cute.

we also went to breakfast, not kids butting in to the conversation...amazing and then did some other stuff i will not mention until i had to leave for the funeral.

that, my friends, was a cluster fuck of the millionth degree. i was feeling smug with myself as i left the house because we'd plugged the address into the gps and i was going to be 15 mins early. yeah i was hot shit. so, five minutes before i got there i realized we'd plugged in the address to where the viewing was the night before, not where the funeral service was to be. and the church is in serious bum fuck egypt. i'm not kidding. i tried to follow the mapquest directions i had to the church, but they were directions from my office, not from where i was. this place was so far in bfe the gps did not recognize the name of the road i needed to be on. i drove around for almost an hour and a half. i called the hubs to get mapquest directions from where i was to where i needed to be. the internet was down. he finally got me directions, said i should be there in 15 mins. well, the roads on that mapquest directions also may not exist. somehow i FINALLY got there, literally at the graveside for the last 2 seconds. i was wearing awful shoes w/ heels (something i NEVER do) and they were sinking like ships into the grass. it was a sucktastic thing all around.

(did i say this was going to be short? ha)

anyway, there are other posts to come because this whole situation, plus one going on with my brother-in-law who really is sick and in the hospital, has given me a serious wake up call. i'm having a hard time with the whole bit about being perfectly fine and then getting wiped out in the blink of an eye and also w/ being told (as in my BIL's case) you have a year to live. talk about putting shit in perspective.

change of plans

it's short and sweet today peeps.

earlier this week the hubs and i planned to take today off and actually do something together. anything, something without kids. i hadn't thought i'd be going to a funeral today. sobering indeed. we have a least part of the day though. the hubs is taking the kids to school (normally my job) and then we're going to pick up his truck that's been being worked on. then who knows.

the death of my friend's mom has stirred up a lot of thoughts that i'll share later, maybe over the weekend.

girls in my circle

(from an email i got today)

When I was little,
I used to believe in the concept of one best friend,
And then I started to become a woman.
And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up,
God would show you the best in many friends.

One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man.
Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom.
Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities.
Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be.
One friend will say, 'Let's cry together,'
Another , 'Let's fight together,'
Another , 'Let's walk away together.'

One friend will meet your spiritual need,
Another your shoe fetish,
Another your love for movies,
Another will be with you in your season of confusion,
Another will be your clarifier,
Another the wind beneath your wings.

But whatever their assignment in your life,
On whatever the occasion,
On whatever the day,
Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back,
Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself ..Those are your best friends.

It may all be wrapped up in one woman,
But for many, it's wrapped up in several..
One from 7th grade,
One from high school,
Several from the college years,
a couple from old jobs,
On some days your mother,
On some days your neighbour,
On others, your sisters,
And on some days, your daughters.

wednesday's lame title

do you say the word wednesday when you write it? i do. i say wed nes day. i know, i'm freaky that way. i do it because that's how i learned to spell it back in the day. it's grammar people. and though i loathe using caps (cos i'm a lazy bitch) i do judge people by their grammar. check this link out, too funny.

so i tried twitter briefly last night and took it down today. the things i read about it are that it's addicting and lord knows i don't need another addiction right? right.

so i did a little housekeeping there on the side, yes, over there, to the right. i put up my email addy, just in case ya know you want to expound some wisdom or something. and a poll--who's hotter? inspired by the movies the men in my house want to see. and i'm working on a play list for the blowout 20th anniversary party i plan to have in 4 years. (feel free to suggest songs) i'm totally serious. i want to have party with a dj and drinking and possibly a renewing of the vows type of thing. i've been thinking about it a lot lately actually.

ok, another random thought, my head is disjointed lately can you tell?

so several things have conspired to make me realize that i really need to get my shit together again and lose some weight and feed my family healthier dinners. a shrimp platter and corn dogs apparently aren't it.

what things have rocked my boat lately? well, two of my best friends, sweet t and broad have literally lost ass loads of weight and they look hot. i want to look hot. my clothes that i was soooo proud and happy to wear last year, cos i had lost some weight last year, are not as comfy as they once were. my brother-in-law may or may not be having serious health issues associated w/ diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. (all the things the hubs has--yeah for THAT gene pool) and may or may not have to start dialysis and may or may not die within a year. i say may or may not because he is like the boy who cried wolf and has been since i've known him. anywhoo, things like this always make me realize that the hubs does have health issues and from time to time we neglect them and corn dogs and shrimp platters aren't helping his issues. my younger sister (we all know how i feel about her) weighs less than i do. i can't have that. my kids need to eat healthier. seriously. i saw an empty bowl of ice cream in the sink this morning. it wasn't there when i went to bed. i think one of them had ice cream for breakfast while i was in the shower. fuck.

so, long ass story short--send me some EASY (remember, i.am.not.a.cook. nor do i play one on TV) healthy recipes or links. if you know of ways to get people you live with to eat vegetables and fruits rather than chips and ice cream, please share these ideas.

a mixed bag of stuff

one of my good friend's mother died today. she was walking across the street and was hit by a car. although my friend's grandparents raised her, it's still devastating. the woman was only 3 years older than me. makes you realize how quickly life can be taken from you. i can't imagine what my friend is going through. times like these make you feel so inept. there's nothing i can do to make it better or change what happened and when people say just be there for them? what does that mean? consoling someone who's grieving is the most hopeless feeling there is.

my mother's day, as i said, was awesome. it's a difficult day for the hubs, though he doesn't say so, since his mom died. the only comment he made was that he wished he could call her. because of his prodding we did stop in to visit my mom sunday. it was fine. honestly i don't know why i made such a big deal over NOT going over there. it was the passive agressiveness in me i think. like, i will punish you for being a suck ass mother by not coming to see you on a day i totally know you want me to come and see you on. we didn't spend a lot of time there so it did not take away from my day and the rest of my day was pretty near perfect.

we also visited my grandma sunday. the girl is as tall as my grandma. granted, my grandma MIGHT be 4'5", but still. it's so depressing visiting her. i know she's lonely, but she has isolated herself really. she's never been one to call or visit (she can't now cos she can't drive, but even when she could she didn't). she tells the same stories about me every single time i see her.

i am painfully unaware of so very much on the web. this twitter thing. ok, i signed up for it but honestly, i haven't the foggiest idea of how to use it or what it's for. i made a my space page once just so i could get on there to look at my brother's. it's just floating out there because it was too much for me to think about. facebook? i don't even know what that is. flicker? i know it's photo sharing something or another but honestly, i don't want just anyone to be able to see my photos. i do it the old fashioned way and just email them to people.

the new lawnmower i got a month ago? started smoking this weekend. badly. for no reason. the hubs and my bro took it back to the orange behemoth store and had some words with them and they finally took it back and gave us a new one.

the end of the school year is quickly approaching and man do they pack a lot of stuff in at the end. field days and picnics and assemblies and lions and tigers and bears ohmy. the boy even has a field trip yet to go. really? sheesh. and then there's the girl's fifth grade graduation. we didn't have such a thing when i was in fifth grade. people, do you REALIZE what a fucking basket case cry baby i will be on june 10th? i can't even talk about it. she's getting cleavage for god's sake. ok, if she squeezes her arms together it's cleavage, but holy shit, really? i can't deal.

it has been somewhat of a baby week for me this week. monday i had lunch w/ a girl who used to work in my office. her daughter will be two in august and she can already count to 10. i was dumbfounded. the baby also (literally) says ooohhhh when she sees jewelry. she's definitely her mother's daughter. today donut and i had lunch at my friend broad's house. broad also works but her hubs stays home with their little boy. omg, that boy, i just want to eat him up. he will be three in august. bluest eyes you've ever seen and he's just too cute. i heart him and want to snuggle him every time i see him. one day this week i'm going to see my niece at lunch. puddin will be a month old (how the hell did that slip by so quickly) on thursday. my SIL sent me some pictures of her this week and holy crap she's cute. actually, one of the pics looks like one of my baby pics. ; )

they boy has segued from star wars to the indiana jones movies. thank you harrison (hottie) ford. did you realize he's 66? harrison, not the boy. funny, 66 doesn't seem quite so old these days. plus he still looks awesome. so now the boy has pretty much abandoned the 20 kabillion lightsabers and dressing up as darth vadar and traded them in for a whip (it's cloth, from tarjay but when you flick it it makes a whip noise) and he's searching for an indiana jones hat. oy vey that boy has a one track mind. (much like his father). interestingly enough the boy also says he now wants to be an archaeologist. why did he forsake star wars for indy? "cos star wars isn't real." his words. i explained that neither was indy. he said, but it COULD be. mmmmm

i know this is a rambling all over the map post but that's just a sampling of how my brain works. hey, grab someone you love and hug them (or do the nasty if they'll let you) cos you never know if this is your last day.

nonconformist

in light of yesterday's post on katharine hepburn and kristin's comment on conformity i've been thinking about whether i'm a nonconformist or not.

the definition: nonconformist--a person who does not conform to a generally accepted pattern of thought or action

i like to think i'm a nonconformist but in reality i don't know that i am.

here are unconventional things (i think) about me:

i married the first guy i fell in love with and seriously dated. granted, it was an on/off relationship for many years, but we ended up together and, despite statistics, we're still very happily together.

we lived together for about a year before we got married. not that uncommon these days actually.

most of the people in our age group (this august i'll be 40 and he'll be 43) have kids much older than ours (8 and 11).

for about a year or more in college i had half of my head shaved (think cyndi lauper--not totally bald)

otherwise i guess i tow the line. are you unconventional? if so how? do you think i'm unconventional? if so, how?

happy birthday kate

i think this is from the best scene in guess who's coming to dinner when spencer tracy's character talks about why he loves katharine hepburn's character. simply the most romantic thing ever.

this is from the writer's almanac today:

It's the birthday of actress Katharine Hepburn, born in Hartford, Connecticut (1907). She became a Hollywood star by not doing anything that Hollywood stars were supposed to do. Her looks were unconventional: she had red hair and freckles and sharp cheekbones. She didn't wear make-up or dresses, she didn't cooperate with the media, and she had a habit of insulting other people in the business. She played smart, sexy, independent women who were always able to get the guy in the end.

She won her first Oscar for her role in Morning Glory (1933). After that she hand-picked each of her movies, and she often had a say in who the other actors in the movie would be. Sometimes she rewrote her own lines, something almost no other actress would have dared to do at the time.

In 1991, Hepburn published her autobiography, titled Me, and it was a best-seller. She wrote about her twenty-seven-year affair with Spencer Tracy, her career, and life in her brownstone in the middle of Manhattan, where she lived for more than sixty years.

Katharine Hepburn said, "If you obey all the rules you miss all the fun."

more quotes:

Acting is the most minor of gifts and not a very high-class way to earn a living. After all, Shirley Temple could do it at the age of four.
-- Katharine Hepburn

If you want to sacrifice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married.
-- Katharine Hepburn

Not much meat on her, but what's there is choice.
-- Spencer Tracy, about Katharine Hepburn

As one goes through life, one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move. –Katharine Hepburn

Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just visit now and then.Katharine Hepburn

Plain women know more about men than beautiful women.Katharine Hepburn

My fave Kate movies are Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, Philadelphia Story, Lion in Winter and African Queen.

oh happy day indeed

i do not claim to be psychic but when it comes to getting gifts i have a certain sense of things. i may not know exactly what i'm being given, but i have a sense of it if that MAKES any sense. especially when it comes to getting something from the hubs.


back in march, when i was out of town for the conf., the hubs had a mother's day plan. this was a MONUMENTAL first for him because although he is always planning and pondering and deciding on what to get, the actually gift shopping typically takes place the night before or the day of any said event. however, back in march he cooked up a little something w/ the kids. they had made these pictures at school and there was a company that turned the pictures into product. when i got back from savannah i had two cool fridge magnets based on pics each kid did. cool. i didn't think anything else about it.


about a week ago the boy was busting at the seams when i picked him up from daycare. apparently when they ordered the magnets they also ordered a paperweight and a coffee mug (one from each kid which were to be for mother's day). the boy inadvertently spilled the beans. they are lovely, cool presents and it didn't bother me in the least that i got them before mother's day. the hubs kept telling me, well, that was it, i wasn't getting anything else. while that would have been totally fine, really, i knew he was lying.


he picked the kids up from daycare friday. when we all got home i knew something was up. neither of the kids had said a word, but i just felt like they'd been shopping. i quizzed them (i know, i'm bad) but nobody gave up a thing. the hubs kept saying he hoped it was ok that i'd already gotten my presents so early. yeah, yeah.


he did have the foresight yesterday to ask me how early the kids could wake me. several years ago they brought me breakfast in bed at some ungodly hour of 7 am or something and i was less than thrilled. i am not a morning person. i said 9:30 was fine. 9:30 this morning they woke me up w/ coffee and hugs. then off to the kitchen where the hubs was making pancakes.


the kids gave me a gift and i opened it. it was a phone. after our hellacious storm the other night i reminded the hubs we needed to get a phone in the house that was not cordless. and so i got one. cool, but they were all still acting suspicious. the kids giggled as i opened it and the hubs wouldn't look at me directly. we hope you like it, that's all you got. : ) ok, yeah right.


then the hubs sent the kids to the garage to "feed the dogs." lol, my family would never make it in the spy business, but it's so endearing. the kids come out with another present and some envelopes.

the first gift was a willow tree statue, promise (do you know willow tree?) i love them and we have a few. i also got a gift certificate for a mani and pedi. how awesome is that? the kids got me these cards that sing but you can also record a message on them and of course the hubs pulled through on the tear jerker card that says everything you'd always want your husband to say. i heart my family.

fruits of the hubs' labor

i wish i could take awesome, artistic, well-composed pictures, but alas i can't. anyway, i have to share these beauties from our yard. i do not take credit for this bounty as the hubs really is more of the green thumb than i am. when it comes to yard stuff i mow and he weed eats. we usually pick out the things to plant together and decide where they'll go. he does most all of the planting. he waters and sprays this miracle grow stuff (but it's not miracle grow it's something else totally awesome that he got on qvc--all organic) and he's the one (mostly) that does the weeding. i take the pictures : )

first, my grandma's peony. maw-maw (that's a southern term) died 8 years ago and about two years ago my paw-paw sold the house and moved into a retirement home. when he did i dug up some of the peony bush in their front yard and we the hubs has been babying it and nursing it since then. this year, for the first time, it bloomed.

isn't it gorgeous? i think it's my maw-maw's way of saying happy mother's day : )

here are some other shots from the yard

sweet.....a quote fest

i get quotes of the day via email and the four today were spot on awesome.

enjoy!

Sometimes when you look in his eyes you get the feeling that someone else is driving.
-- David Letterman

I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me.
-- Hunter S. Thompson

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.
-- Philip K. Dick, "How to Build a Universe That Doesn't Fall Apart Two Days Later", 1978

I believe in looking reality straight in the eye and denying it.
-- Garrison Keillor

foiled again? i think not

(first, i'm running soooooo late today, yes it is almost 9 and i'm still at home but i HAD to do this post from home cos there are pictures from last night). he he he he he ok, seriously folks do you honestly think i'd put nude pics up here? hell fucking no.

however, they boy unintentionally tried to foil my bone jumping plans last night (he did not succeed). a while after the kids had gone to bed i saw this note on his door:

and then discovered this in my bed. (the boy is the brown head you see slap dab in the middle of the bed, that blue thing is a monster.)

many would have given up the quest at this point right? nah, it was a mission to accomplish now so we made out like teenagers on the living room sofa : )

true confessions

it has been a loooooonnnnngggg day.

my friend broad and i had an email conversation about motherhood and our mothers (which prompted the previous post).

another thread to that is on being mothers, specifically giving birth. both of my kids were born by c-section. the first was not planned. after laboring for two days the stupid assed doctors finally did an emergency c-section and the girl was born, still w/ complications. after that wonderful experience the boy was a scheduled c-section. yes, with a different ob/gyn thank you please.

a part of my womanliness feels like a failure for not being able to do what millions of women have done and that is have a natural birth. big picture, yes, i realize this is not the most important thing in the world. it doesn't matter how they got here just that they got here, but i failed nonetheless.

before the boy was born we decided two was enough. i was 32 when he was born and realistically i didn't want to try that again, plus we couldn't afford another. so, when he was born i had a tubal ligation. my head knows this was the right thing to do but in my heart, second failure because now i can no longer have kids. (ok, technically it could be reversed but not realistically). second failure as a woman.

(did i mention it's been a loooooonnnnnnggggg hectic work day? and that i'm having some beer tonight? and that i have not had weed for like six months or better?)

anywhooo. third female/motherly type failure is that i'm not a stay a home mom. growing up i always knew i would have a career. granted, when i was in college i thought that career would be a kick ass job as an ad copywriter like darren stephens on bewitched, but then i woke up and realized that probably wasn't the life for me. instead i get paid to write in another field. not nearly as creative and more and more not nearly as fun. i always thought there was no way in fucking hell i could enjoy being a sahm. i would go crazy. i needed adult interaction (well, not in THAT way, but i like that too). however, most of the blogs i seem to be reading these days are written by sahms and i envy them.

yes i realize, really and truly i do, that it is ball breaking, nerve wracking, omg hard work. especially because the blogs i read have more than two kids and most are younger kids. i swear to god i don't know how they do it and they should all get medals. but i am jealous of them and feel like there's something wrong with me that i can't do that. financially there's just no way in hell i could. but even that aside i think i wouldn't be good at it and this makes me a failure.

so tonight, i'm going to drink another beer, jump the hubs bones (cos i'm not a failure at that) and have a good evening.

fuck mother's day

i may have mentioned before that i do not like my mother. yes, of course i love her and respect the fact that she gave birth to me and fed and clothed me for about 19 years, but in general, if i met her as a stranger i would not be her friend.

i have my reasons that only a therapist might be able to decipher, but suffice it to say that she is a self-centered, manipulating, whining person.

my dilemma is mother's day. the day you are supposed to honor your mom and show her just how much she's meant to you and how much you love her. i just don't think putting a flaming bag of shit on her doorstep is acceptable. plus my wussy-self wouldn't really allow me to do that.

instead i will search in vain for a card that does not say i'm so glad you're my mom and thank you for all the sacrifices you made, for all the love you gave, for being my friend yadda yadda yadda. i could puke. here's a card: happy mother's day. bleh.

the thing is, i feel incredibly guilty about the way i feel. like i hate that i feel this way but i don't know how not to feel this way. and i don't want to work on a relationship with her that would involve me spending more time with her.

plus, now that i'm a mom it's my day too and i don't really feel like spending any part of my day with her. and i won't and we haven't for several years now.

one of my ultimate goals in life is to have my kids feel exactly opposite about me when they grow up. right now mother's day is different--i mean my kids aren't yet to the point where they actually plan ahead or think about mother's day (or father's day). right now it's still a day where the spouse is the one who honors you for being such a kick ass parent. i just want, when the time has come, for my kids to WANT to honor me on mother's day. does that make any sense?

can't help myself

i really am working, srsly, but this article caught my eye, then it just pissed me off. here's the full article, but i can't resist making some comments.

The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master

A Man Should Be Able To:

4. Score a baseball game--holy shit are you kidding me? i realize i don't know dick about sports but is it really necessary that a guy knows how to score a baseball game?
.
6. Know at least one musical group as well as is possible. ok, this one isn't so bad because i have found that this is pretty true. most people, not just guys, do have one certain group they are all over and know everything about. i think that's pretty cool.

11. Swim three different strokes. ok, unless they're a life guard or in the coast guard, who cares???

15. Calculate square footage. again, not necessary but useful.

17. Make one drink, in large batches, very well. --cos of course you aren't a man unless you can make massive amounts of alcoholic beverages? stupid

18. Speak a foreign language. i'm going to throw up. why do they need to speak anything other than what i need them to say????

22. Give a woman an orgasm so that he doesn't have to ask after it. ---ok, NOW we're talking. yes, this should be number freaking one!

29. Understand quantum physics well enough that he can accept that a quarter might, at some point, pass straight through the table when dropped. ---again, interesting, but not at all necessary.

33. Hit a jump shot in pool. --yes, if he's Minnesota fats or tom cruise in the color of money, this would come in handy, otherwise, not so much.

43. Install: a disposal, an electronic thermostat, or a lighting fixture without asking for help. Just turn off the damned main.---ok, my man can do most of these things, actually, i think all of them, but i do not think it is a requirement.

73. Caress a woman's neck. Back of your fingers, in a slow fan.---yes, this should be number TWO.

blah...that's me today

i was the mother of all mothers this weekend when i took the girl to get her tips. i was the mother of all mothers last night when i introduced her to lolcats. this morning i am the root of all evil because i told her the light green socks were a bit much with the orange shorts, purple shirt and black sneakers. oy vey just shoot me now.

the hubs and i are both battling freaking allergies and i am tired of not being able to fucking breathe out of my nose. plus, it is becoming more obvious that i am going to have to have this damned wisdom tooth cut out because it is moving my bite.

the hubs is finding more and more things wrong with the truck and it's becoming pretty frustrating for him. not huge, majorly expensive things, just piddly ass things that are adding up. like a cracked radiator. like a non-working horn. like jimmy-rigged electrical stuff that's messing up the lights. oy vey again i say.

mother's day is coming up and as usual the guilt is coming with it. i do not like my mother that much but still feel i need to do something, get her something, acknowledge that she gave birth to me. i have recently started emailing w/ one of my aunts, my dad's sister, the one i've talked about that's turned cool in the last 20 years but that we don't see nearly enough. she has by default taken over as care giver to my grandma. my aunt has never come right out and said that i don't spend enough time with my grandma, but i know this to be true too. more guilt for me.

i am becoming more and more disenchanted with my job. i told big t yesterday that i just want a job where i go to work, have no deadlines, do not travel and at 5pm it's over, no worrying or fretting about it. but, i also need to make a decent salary and have insurance. she asked to have some of what i was smoking. yeah, i know, not realistic huh?

this weekend we watched music and lyrics. it was not a stellar movie but i like both drew barrymore and hugh grant. really i do. drew's character totally nailed it when she described the difference between music and lyrics and said what i've been trying for years to put into words.

Sophie Fisher: A melody is like seeing someone for the first time. The physical attraction. Sex.

Alex Fletcher: I so get that.

Sophie Fisher: But then, as you get to know the person, that's the lyrics. Their story. Who they are underneath. It's the combination of the two that makes it magical.

lesson learned

so i've told you about how the boy has been having behavior issues at school this year right? weeeeeeelllllll, apparently it wasn't just him and i have learned my lesson about assuming everything the teacher says is right.

turns out his second grade teacher will be out for the rest of the year because she's having a mental breakdown. no, i do not think the boy caused it as the hubs said with glee. "maybe the boy drove her over the edge," he said proudly. uh, no, i don't think so. she's been in and out a lot this year i just never connected the dots.

this weekend we ran into one of the boy's teachers from kindergarten/first grade (he lucked out and got the same teachers both years). they, by the way, were awesome, and i don't just say that because they love my kid. his old teacher told me his second grade teacher has issues and the teacher that's taking over for the rest of the year is much better.

after his last fiasco where he lost the light sabers for two days and then tv for a week things, i thought, had gotten better but then on his last midterm note the teacher (the crazy one) said he was still having issues. i requested a conference and never heard back from her. i guess because that's when she went over the deep end and the brought the new teacher in.

we also ran into the new teacher this weekend (all at the town fair) and she was very excited about finishing out the year and said, without actually saying so, that the boy was fine and there was nothing to worry about and she didn't think we needed to have the conference and everything would be ok now. we'll see. i think i might want to meet with her anyway just to make sure we're on the same page.

second grade is also the year they are tested for AG (accelerated/gifted) students and i asked her about that. she smiled and said though the teachers hadn't been given the results yet she'd seen the boy's test results and he did well. honestly i had no doubt that he would. not to brag or anything, but i have pretty smart kids, despite all my efforts to the contrary. the AG program starts in third grade. i really think the boy needs it because even if most of his issues this year were because his teacher was a nut bag he still needs more challenging work.

on the hair front--he also wanted highlights and i tried to do that last night. uh, didn't turn out so much. actually, you can't even tell i did anything. his hair is dark brown and he MIGHT have a hint of some reddish highlights to it, but not so much. he wants me to take him to a salon to get highlights. good lord.

sunday afternoon

if i could type the way my head feels it would be bpmhmp thm lsemphm. the pollen has me under its spell. my head is full. i can't hear out of one ear and my eyes are itchy. yes, i'm taking not only my prescription allegra but also some over the counter stuff. not helping so much.

otherwise, not a bad weekend. friday night we went to our local downtown annual fair. my bro and sil came with their kids and my mom and sister w/ her kids. my dad never comes to stuff like this. that would require being awake after 6pm.

i think the kids had a good time despite the fact the girl was certain it was going to be lame (cos, ya know, 11 year olds just don't have fun playing games and riding rides.)

saturday the girl and i got our hair done. she finally got the black tips she's been wanting. i got my roots done and a cut. the girl was sooo excited to get her's done. there was an old lady getting her weekly wash and set at the booth next to ours and she said she'd never have let her kids do that. granted the woman was like 600 years old. i told her if tips on her hair are the worst things i have to worry about right now i'm doing good. i love when people try to give you unsolicited advice.

i watched boxing last night. i don't get it. not the fighting part, i get that. but the actual setting up of the fights. if one boxer is like the best in his weight class (as i assume de la hoya is) why would anyone want to fight him knowing they will most likely lose? it just seems like such a scam to me.

nothing terribly exciting to report. we've done some housework/yardwork errands, etc. the hubs has puttered a bit with his truck. did i tell you he got a truck? yeah, just a project truck. not a brand new nice one or anything. i think i already told you this. head is stuffy remember?

good to know

apparently if you stop at the grocery store on the way home from work, get home, put the groceries on the counter and forget you have a can of cinnamon rolls in there, go to the library that you thought closed at 9 but really closes at 6 on thursdays, come home and blog and then decide to heat the over to make cinnamon rolls, they open all by themselves.

i just went to the kitchen, noticed the bags (the cinnamon rolls were the only things that should have been refrigerated) and saw the can with cinnamon rolls popping out of the top. hmmm. i'm bakin' em anyway.

a stolen meme

i stole this meme from stimeyland. feel free to steal and complete as well.
(*be warned, i'll probably have a few posts tonight, the hubs is out of town)

5 things found in your bag:
my calendar--full of kids' school stuff, upcoming work trips, deadlines and happy stuff like when puddin' was born, donut's baby shower, the spring folly (our local street festival) tomorrow night

one of those hellaciously big pads i wrote about the other day

trident splash peppermint gum

pink reading glasses (cos contacts and regular glasses just aren't enough apparently)

a bath & body coupon that is DYING to be used

5 favorite things in your room:
my bed. we bought the king sized bed right after the boy was born 8 years ago. it remains the best purchase we've ever made, at least in my mind.

cedar chest--my maternal grandpa (who died when my mom was a teen) made it. it's awesome. it used to be my mom's but she gave it to me.

horribly trashed upholstered rocking chair. the hubs would love to take it to the dump, mainly because the cats adopted it as a scratching post and it is hideous. however, we got that chair when the girl was a baby 11 yrs ago. i rocked and nursed and held both babies in that chair. it isn't going anywhere.

art--an abstract painting i did a few years ago; a print of penguins i did in high school and gave to the hubs when we were dating; framed pics each kid drew when they were toddlers

half empty bottles of bath & body works lotions


5 things you have always wanted to do:
visit antarctica

write an awesomely good novel in which awesomely does not appear

successfully raise my children in a way that they'll still like me when they become adults

fly a plane

learn to make pottery

5 things you are currently into:
crossword puzzles--i just got a new book. good ones are harder to find than you might think. i do not like easy crosswords (though i don't like really hard ones either); i don't like puzzle books, just crosswords; i do them in ink, not because i'm that good but because my old eyes can't read the pencil.

lost--we are on hiatus since we've finished the 3rd season and did not start watching the 4th. i miss sawyer and sayid. mmmmm.

my new niece--i went to visit them at lunch today. omg. so so precious. i held her for a long time (like my lunch hour turned into like 2 hours!). she smells so good and even though she was asleep almost the whole time i loved it.

watching the flowers the hubs has planted come up and deliberate about which bulbs we're going to order to plant in the fall. i can spend hours w/ a bulb catalog.

icanhascheezburger seriously give it a try. the first time i looked at that site i didn't get it. yeah, it's kinda cute and kinda funny. now? omg i waste waaaaaaayyyyy too much time on that site. i have been sucked in big time.

another sign of my craziness

i have always known i'm a jealous person. i can't help it, really, i've tried. in reality my jealously is typically unfounded and totally stupid and has no merit whatsoever (can we say redundant phrase?)

after almost 16 years of marriage i have mostly gotten over any jealousy i've had over the hubs' previous relationships. i am secure enough in our relationship and our commitment to each other to no longer get (that) jealous when he gets hit on by customers or people he comes in contact with through work. i'm a possessive person.

these days my jealousy simmers over different things. again, i will say that i realize i am totally crazy for feeling this way, but i still do.

i have twinges of jealousy that my brother's kids have another aunt (not my sister cos she's pretty much a nonentity in our lives). in my perverted mind i view my SIL's sister as competition.

i also have twinges of jealousy over my friends. (this just means i love y'all, you know that right??) i am jealous that sweet t and broad now work together, though if they can't work with me i'm glad they at least have each other. still, i'm jealous.

i am jealous that big t is friends w/ my publisher, though i personally do not want to be friends w/ my publisher cos she drives me up a wall most of the time. then i wonder what big t can see in her?

i am jealous that donut seems to becoming closer and closer to sunshine and one of my co-workers/employees. again, i don't personally want to become closer to my co-worker (i'm close to sunshine) but they all go to lunch together all the time now. i am invited, but can't handle being around them that much so i sometimes make up other things to do to avoid them.

getting this out of my head and putting it in writing really makes it seem (because it is) very, very petty and selfish. again, it goes back to me being possessive. good lord, could there be ONE more flaw in this stellar character???