I really should be in bed now. 4:30 comes really early these days, no matter how many times I push the snooze button.

I've just finished uploading (finally) some pictures from our trip to the Alligator Farm and am throwing around a silly post in my head. I even made a slide show of the whole thing. I really do need to step away from the camera for a while. Oh my, digital cameras are so much fun, and I have a hard time figuring out which pictures to delete. Good thing I don't have to spend money on developing.

***

My other half had month end processing today and generally that means he's not home until midnight. Imagine my surprise when he walked through the door at 10:30. AWESOME! Except for the fact that I had to have Joe, Tony and Sam (to name a few) crawl out the window before he saw them.

***

Question: Why did the piece of gum cross the road?

***

Carry on. There is nothing for you to see except for me bashing my head on the table. Have a wonderful evening.

Well, suffice to say that while the second game of the All Star Tournament went better, we still did not win. They have some really good teams which I am told eat, sleep and drink softball nearly year round. I guess that makes sense because the counties that these kids are from are not, how shall we say, filled with a myriad of things to do. I suppose you could count Cow Puck Hocky as another sport, but I don't think it's ready for the Olympics yet. All in all, I feel proud of the girls, even though I had to have updates texted to me during the day. I call it being "virtually" present. I am a good parent that way.

I'm really glad that Meelie participated in softball. Not only has she made several new friends, I have as well. In fact, one of them contacted me last night and asked if "Mimi" (they call her that) would be interested in a travel team. While the thought of driving hither and yon for softball games does not fill me with glee, if it is something that my daughter wants to do, I would be willing to give it a try. We go Saturday morning to see what it is all about.

* * *
Last night was kind of crazy all the way around. I got home from work just after the girls returned, and then we had some neighbors stop by. After they left, I had to do my "wildlife" feedings, making sure they all had enough food and in some cases water. On of Meelies friends then called and asked if she could come over and spend the night, so I had to help her get ready for that. I then took Chickie for a quick dinner at Wendy's and we came home and I died. The end. When do the kids go back to school again?

* * *
Chickie is now back together with her boyfriend. I am confused. Are we Is she going to stay with him or what?

* * *
I bet all you smart computer people did not know the real story on how the Internet was founded. Well, you can thank me now for sending this to you and giving you the correct info.

Click here: HOW THE INTERNET BEGAN

In most cases, I have pretty much stopped reading or watching the news. It's always something bad and has a tendency to bring me down. In a lot of cases, it's simply idiotic.

Take this for example:

"POLITICO (Washington) - The president has been getting lots of kudos for a lightning-fast, Mr. Miyagi-worthy swipe he employed to slay a pesky house fly that was buzzing him in mid-interview during a taping with CNBC that aired Wednesday.

"He stopped the interview to track and kill the fly," said talk show host Conan O'Brien.

"That's some pretty impressive hand-eye coordination right there," Jimmy Fallon gushed. "Makes Obama look like a bad ass."

But now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, calling it an "execution," wants the commander-in-chief to show a little more compassion to even "the least sympathetic animals."

If that doesn't make you roll your eyes, the article goes on to say this:

"The group has sent Obama a device that traps a fly so it can then be released outside.

"We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Freidrich explained."

Okaaay.

What amazes me is that this made the news, and that PETA has a serious case of heartburn over the issue. Does this mean that I will get coverage when I blog about how I vacuum up spiders instead of capturing them and releasing them outside? I just find the whole thing humorous, really. There's even the video footage of the "incident" all over the internet.

For example:

I'm not particularly a fan of Obama, but I do think it was impressive that he got the sucker.

We had what seemed to be an incredibly long winter this year, and at times I didn't think that I would ever be warm again. It just seemed a lot colder than it normally does (so much for Global Warming). I've admitted several times on this blog that I am a weather wuss. I much prefer the warmer temperatures. I absolutely abhor being cold. So how is it, that just a month ago, during a hard freeze, I was dreaming of sun, beaches, frozen drinks and my very own personal Cabana Boy and I am now thinking that the hard freezes weren't so bad after all?

That just goes to show you that I'm a hard woman to please.

No, it's spelled correctly.

I have been a parent now for a while, and questions continue to pop up. I've been off work for a bit, and since the kids have been out of school, we have had a lot of togetherness. It comes in the form are "what are we doing today," "I'm bored," "there's nothing to eat." You get the idea. It's not that all of those things result in close up and personal family time, it's just that everything is MY responsibility. I've been trying to figure that one out. Do you know the answer?

In light of the current situation, there is a small part of me that is looking forward to going back to work. I have a great job, one that I really love. At the same time, I have really enjoyed being at home with the girls. We've become closer in a lot of different ways, and Chickie and I have had a lot of really good talks. I will miss that. It's not to say that the relationships we share will go downhill once I go back to work. It's just been nice "being there."

One of the things that I have noticed is that wherever I am at, the kids seem to follow. This is no different than when I come home after work, except for the fact that it is ALL. DAY. LONG. I am thankful for the locks on the bathroom door because there is no telling what would happen in that case. Generally I don't mind, but come on people, I would really love to poop in peace (you're welcome).

Bowel movements behind me aside, there is another thing that has been bothering me. We have two TVs in our house. A 32" big screen TV in the living room, and a 20" in our bedroom. When the girls are out in the living room either watching TV/Movie or playing with the Wii, I will go into my room and watch a program that I enjoy. That lasts approximately 12 minutes and the next thing I know, I have a bedroom full of kids watching TV with me. What I want to know is, should I get rid of the 20" or the 32"?

Now that we have covered bodily functions and electronics, let's move on to another painful and confusing topic. What do you do when your daughter has a "boyfriend?" Before you all tackle me on this subject because my daughter is only 14, let me go a little further into my explanation. Yes, she has a "boyfriend" so to speak. They text back and forth every day and sometimes talk on the phone. The "dates" they have would not be considered conventional by any means. She goes over to his house and there is a mom, dad, three brothers and 2 grandmothers. No closed doors. No being in any room alone. The same goes when he comes over here. They have dinner or watch movies, go to the beach or water park. All with adults. The funny thing is, both of them are ok with that, at least for the moment. It's sweet, this whole first love thing. I don't know, would you call it puppy love? There is a part of me that is happy. Chickie is so happy. The boyfriend is happy too. His parents have the same set of values that we do, and rules. He is sweet, and polite, and very outgoing. He does well and school and works part time in his parent's business. Be that as it may, and taking into account that I am happy for Chickie, it is still hard. Is this normal?

I'll stop here because all of these questions without any answers is giving me a headache. Besides, the kids and I are going to ride our bikes while Chickie goes for a run and then come back and make pizza.

I look forward to your answers.

Chickie wanted me to pass on this Public Service Announcement:

"Always practice safe lunch. Use condiments."

Thank you for your support. I guess I shouldn't bring up that she has a book called "Zombie Butts from Uranus." (I'm not kidding)

Moving right along...I am nothing if not parenting of the year material.

**

When my husband was young and living in New York City, the Dodgers were in Brooklyn. He was reminiscing about some quotes he remembered, which were mainly when they played the Yankees and got thumped pretty badly.

1. "We wuz robbed"
2. "Wait 'til next year"

That would pretty much sum up the first game in the tournament for the mighty Warriors last night. The Umpires made some really bad calls and even I could see that. The other team used whatever tactics that they had to get their way. I must admit that I have never seen anything like it. There was a large part of me that wanted to get in the face of the head coach a few times (as well as some of the parents from the other team) but I held back my smart alec self and decided to be a mature adult. It appears that the coaches from our team, as well as the parents will be protesting the game. It was that pathetic.

For me, it really doesn't matter. The girls did great! They are one AWESOME team! GO WARRIORS!!!!

***

Speaking of the game last night, Amelia finally lost her tooth (now that was a big change of subject). This would be the one that was hanging by a thread for the last week. She was sitting in between her sister and a friend in the back seat of our truck on the way home, and bumped her mouth on her sister's shoulder and out it came. This, my dear internuts internets, is one of the reasons I have a healthy supply of napkins in both automobiles. My husband is now a true believer.

***

I need to close this entry now as I need to choose and edit some pictures that I will be using in my first ever srapbook. I blame my girlfriend for getting me started on this. Don't get me wrong, I won't be heavily into it (I hope) because I simply won't have the time, especially when I go back to work. But it's fun to play with, and something that I can easily pick up and then put back down again. Oh but Lord, I would love me a Cricut.

Must go now...before I salivate on my keyboard.

This will be a quick post tonight. Meelie's team has a tournament and this is the first game. We had some pretty heavy storms earlier today, but they stopped in the early afternoon and the weather is sunny and warm (HOT!). I thought I would share a video with you that I made for the team (each member got a CD at the end of the season party). It was fun to do and was made using Photo Story, which is a simple and easy program to use.

I give to you, "Woodbine Warriors." Click below the fold. I will warn you that it is lengthy, but the music is great and fits the team perfectly, though it appears to skip a bit on Vimeo.

I'm giving my fingers a good workout today. It's been a while (to put it mildly) since I've posted (understatement). I would first like to thank two of my special readers (you know who you are) who emailed me to let me know my site was down. Luckily, I contacted my host and they had me up in no time.

***

Most of you know that I had major surgery mid-April, which, God willing, will take care of the problems that have plagued me the last five years. It ended up being a bit more complicated than we hoped, but I am coming along nicely and the doctor has finally given me a return-to-work date.

***

School has ended for the girls, much to their delight. I will admit that it is nice to be able to spend some time with them. They both have pretty busy social lives and we either have kids at our house our they spend time with their friends.

Chickie is done with dance and has the summer off. The end of the year recital was fabulous. It always amazes me that the instructor seems to make them better every year. She has every intention of going again next year. I'm so happy that she has found something that she really loves to do. Speaking of finding your niche, Meelie tried softball this year and did amazingly well. Using my bragging rights as a mom, I need to share with you that she made the All-Star team! She really loves it and is already talking about playing next year. I'm hoping her interest holds. It doesn't hurt at all that one of her best friends is playing also. I also must share with you that she will be starting middle school (6th grade) next year. All bets are off as to how that will go. Time will tell.

***

We were headed to Wally World the other day and I had Meelie, Chickie and a friend sitting in the back seat. Chickie was raising her arms above her head to try to get a signal on her cell phone. Meelie promptly said: "Put your arms down, you're losing friends."

***

That's about all for today. I figure it's a good start. I've finally got my brain going again, the the lethargy and writer's block are beginning to lift. Hope to be back on the road to regular posting soon.

Chickie had to make a box for her Spanish class that signified what Valentine's Day (or love) meant to her. She used quite a bit of scrap booking items, as well as pictures from magazines, and whatever else she could come up with. This picture is of the inside of her lid on her "box." She was instructed to use both Spanish and English for the contents. She used a rather large shoe box for the start and went on a decorating spree that would make Kevin O'Connor proud.

One of the things that she included in "The Box" was a poem entitled, "How Do I Love Thee?" The following is her poem, with no editing.

Happy Love Thursday everyone. May love be so simple in your life. It's all around you, you just need to look.

Always one to be a conservationist, Chickie is good at coming up with ways to cut down on our electricity, which in turn, lowers our monthly bill. I think she's on to something here.

Solitary Beauty

It's all good.

Surgery is scheduled on March 23rd. It's all good. Considering all that it could have been, it's really good. All tests (and there were about 20 of them) came back negative. I am unique! I am unusual. That's what the surgeon told me. Tell me something I don't know. All I can tell you now is that I have a surgeon who is proactive. CAN I GET AN AMEN!? Instead of telling me, "I don't know" and treating the symptoms, he says "I don't know, but let's check everything out to see if we can find any answers." Another plus is that he actually LISTENED to me, and took what I had to share into consideration. Good stuff people! I'm actually optimistic for once.

This is what I found on my garage ceiling this morning. Anyone want to take a guess as to what it is?

Sunset in Georgia, Part I, taken from my driveway

I have a distinct inability to capture beautiful things on camera. Granted, sometimes I get absolutely lucky. For some time now, I've been taking pictures of sunsets and have never really been able to capture them, and embrace the beauty before me.

Sunset in Georgia, Part II, taken from my driveway

I decided to post some of them tonight. By far, these are nothing to write home about, but they do some (a tiny some) bit of justice of the beauty of the sunset here. I'll keep working on this, and next time, I'll remember to start earlier in the evening.

Tonight, I took some shots of the moon, kind of in sequence. Be thankful I didn't post all of them. You would have been here all night.

The three stages of moon in Georgia, during sunset
(click to embiggen)

Does anyone remember Mr. Rogers?

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood....for some reason, I've had that song stuck in my head all day. I have no clue how it got there.

I remember back when I was in college, when I would occasionally meet my mom for lunch. She was an RN at a local community college, and we would go to the cafeteria, and I think that we would sometimes go out (Mom, help me out here. My memory of the "where" is fuzzy). I have fond memories of those times because we would talk about anything and everything. It always made me really feel good because I had mom all to myself, even though it was only for an hour or so.

The folks in her office were always nice to me. I remember when I was in high school, her boss would give me some "hand-me-down" clothes from her daughter. Most of those clothes were hardly ever worn and it was like Christmas time when she would bring a box home.

After I started working at my current place of employment, when I was in California, Dad and I would commute together. Almost every day, we would have lunch together as well. In the mornings, mom would make us a breakfast, usually things like fruit and cheese or toast, which we could eat on the way. Dad knew a lot of the back roads so we could avoid most of the heavy commute. On Fridays, during the ride home, we would go to a little mom and pop ice cream shop and get an ice cream cone. The joke was that we always tried to hide it from mom, so she wouldn't know. Inevitably, Dad or I would dribble some ice cream on our shirts and give ourselves away. I'm not sure how that all started but it makes me smile every time I think about it.

As time went on, and I moved out to be on my own, Friday nights became something to look forward to. My mom, dad and I would take turns picking out the restaurant we would go to for dinner. We would all do research to try something new, and we tried out a whole bunch of places and a whole bunch of different foods; Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Viet Namese, you name it, we would try it. That was something that I looked forward to every week. We would keep it a secret from each other until the night we would go out. Again, it was a special time for me because I had my parents all to myself and our conversations covered a variety of topics, though I suspect I directed the topic to "all about me." I was selfish like that.

Whether it was lunches or dinners, my parents always gave me their full attention and made me feel so special. That was important then, just as it is now.

When I grow up, I hope I can be just like them, and pass that on to my own children, so they can cherish the memories, just like I do.

• It's interesting to me that things in life, albeit personal or professional, appear in two ways; feast or famine. You either have absolutely nothing going on, or everything happens at once. I just wish that life would make up its mind already.
• Chickie is struggling in her Physical Science class. It's a tough one, to be sure. She's in honors, which basically means they really have to work hard for the grade. She's not used to that. She's also having a problem with studying. Tomorrow she's got a big test so we'll be spending the evening helping her with it. I think she just needs some guidance in that area.
• Meelie has started softball. So far she really likes it. Then again, she’s only gone two times. She's a puddle jumper. Chickie, on the other hand, played softball for three years, and then played softball and danced for a year. From that point on, it was dance all the way. Meelie has tried so many sports, and hasn't found any that have kept her interest. We shall see. She knows that now that she has signed up for softball she is in it for the season. She never has to play it again if she doesn't want to, but she has to finish it. Keep your fingers crossed.
• I really am frustrated with doctors. They tell you one thing and get you psyched up for major surgery...and then the air gets deflated out of the balloon, and guess what? You don't need surgery after all! But we still don't know what's wrong with you and we still don't know what's causing it. Not that I'm bitter or anything.

  The tests all came back clear. No cancer, no infection. "A cyst with benign fluid and unknown origin." To be fair, I have a face to face with the surgeon on Friday to discuss my follow up on this. The cysts reoccur, but they don't know why. My question is what are you going to do about it? Have me come in periodically for a CT scan and then drain them again when they pop up (BTW OUCH!)? I'm going to wait to see what he says on Friday and then go from there. I'm thinking more and more it might be a good idea to get a second opinion. If both doctors say the same thing, then I will live with it. Does that make sense?

• All in all, I am happy, for the most part. I'm dealing with lots of anger. Way too much anger and I'm not entirely sure where it's coming from. My self confidence is at an all time low. I feel beaten down, and betrayed and I couldn't tell you why. It's not me. It's not what I'm all about but right now, I feel as though I'm powerless to do anything about it. I know it will change. I have faith that it will change. I just hope that it will happen soon.

If you have made it this far, I thank you for sticking with it. I'm not much fun am I? Wait, don't answer that. I might not like it. That's about all I have to say for tonight.

Right now, I'm gong to make dinner for the crew, and then do up a crock pot full of homemade chicken noodle soup. The stuff that's good for the soul. The thought of that makes me feel better already.

Today I made some homemade Chili. I just let it simmer in the pot all day. I bought some sour cream as well as shredded cheddar cheese to top it off. Everyone loved it. I made a double batch.

Lefovers. Mmmm.. Over potatoes, over hot dogs. Taco Salad.

Leftovers rule.

Note: I was going to go back to work tomorrow. Now, I''m not too sure. Mr. Moogie is pretty sick. The girls have Strep. Life goes on.

And so do I.

I hope so. If it's true then we should be done. What, with the health stuff going on in my life, the complete turn around in my youngest daughter's personality (by the way, the conference went really well, better than I could have hoped, we have a plan. Meelie doesn't like it, but there you go).

Guess what the third thing is. Go on. Guess!

It's cold here. Well, it's cold by my standards. It was down to 19 degrees F this morning. There was a blanket of white frost that covered everything. The sun was shining brightly and reflecting off of every available surface. Everything looked so bright and alive. But it was cold.

Today is my Friday off which I have found out doesn't really mean anything. I always think that perhaps this will be the day that I can sleep in. Wishful thinking? Most definitely, but it gives me hope. As the girls are getting ready for school (or NOT - MEELIE I'M TALKIN TO YOU!), and dad is running around yelling at them to hurry up (Chickie! Get a move on! The bus will be here in 5 minutes! Meelie...this is the last time I'm going to tell you. Put your pants on and go brush your hair! Unless you want me to do it for you!). Ah yes, music to my ears.

This morning I have to attend a parent-teacher's conference for Meelie. I'm given to understand that all of her teachers will be there, including the Vice Principal. Over the past few months, my little one has developed some behavioral issues that we all would like to see turned around. They all agree that the behavior they are witnessing is NOT Meelie. I’m crossing my fingers that it is a phase, and that she will get past it. Meelie will be there, and as horrible as it sounds, I was amused to watch how uncomfortable she was about that fact. I'm not even ashamed to tell you that I have done nothing to make it any easier for her.

After the meeting is over, I'm heading down south to a small beach town to meet my girlfriend for the afternoon. I don't know what we'll do. Maybe go into town and browse the small shops. Perhaps I'll pay a visit to my favorite store and pick up a new elephant for my collection. I'm looking forward to it.

At this very moment I am going to take a shower and get ready for the day. Then I'll hop into my car and go down to the little store and grab a cup of coffee and perhaps the paper, and come back and relax. Just for a while. And bask in the silence.

Life is good. The road is not always smooth. It is what it is, and it's what you do with it that matters. After all, I can always look at the sun reflecting on the frost covered earth, and marvel in the beauty of it all.

As soon as I find my gloves, that is.

I had the last two weeks off from work and on Monday I went back. I don't know what it is about coming back from a nice vacation (or is it because I'm older?) but it was really hard to get back in to a normal routine. When the alarm went off on Monday morning, I was confused. Nothing unusual about that but it took me an abnormal amount of time to get ready. Needless to say I was a little bit late but so was just about everyone else.

I think that we were all running in slow motion that first day. Don't get me wrong, we were working but there was so much that we had forgotten in such a short period of time. I can't tell you how many co-workers were saying the same thing. One of the ladies I work with summed it up quite nicely when she came back from lunch. "Is it just me, or is anyone else ready for a nap?" There is something about being on your own schedule for two weeks. It really destroys you for real life.

***************************************************************************************
Both of the girls will be going back to school tomorrow. It's the start of a new semester (GASP! Chickie is halfway through 9th Grade! Nooooo!) and neither of the girls has mentioned the impending return. I'm so thankful I have the early shift and will not be around for the normal morning routine. I keep patting my husband on the head and telling him it will be alright. It does not hurt that there is only two days left this week so we can start slowly. Of course, my eldest has just informed me that we need to make a trip to Walmart. She needs to have new folders, and goodness knows what else. Apparently I don't know how things are at high school any more because it's been ages since I was there.

Moving right along....

***************************************************************************************
My husband is making dinner tonight. On the menu? Dad's famous, never the same way twice in a row spaghetti sauce. I have been drooling all day. Which reminds me, I need to go make the salad. Some kids are playing on the trampoline, one on the computer and one is one the Wii, playing Guitar Hero (song: Heart Breaker). Now I'm not going to be able to get that song out of my head all night, thank you very much Chickie!

***************************************************************************************
All in all, I am, well coping. Probably better than that. For those of you who emailed me due to my last post, and recent twitters, I thank you. Your support means a lot to me. I can't go into details, at least not yet, and maybe never, because it's personal but it's so awesome to feel your support across the internet. I got kind of angry and the man upstairs for a bit, but, we are working things out. I have to have faith that it will work out. I do, but it's really, really hard.

And on that note, I shall sign off. After all, I need to make a salad. I need to remember that I am home now, with family and friends who support and love me and are willing to say a prayer here and there. No matter what, I'll always have that. And I am eternally grateful.

WTF?

Mental Illness. You have to prove that someone is a clear and present danger to themselves. Or to others. There has to be fucking witnesses to the fact, even though family members have had numerous conversations with the person in question, both on the phone and in fucking person. What more do you need?

What does it take people? For this person to kill or injure someone else or himself?

Nothing makes sense. Nothing. And it really, really hurts.

First off, I want to thank you for all of your get well wishes. They really made me feel special and I'm sure they sped up my recovery. I'm nearly at 100%, but am a bit tired tonight after a full days work. Last week I had promised Chickie that we would go shopping together, and tonight was the first night I felt up to it. Have you ever shopped with a picky teenager? You haven't LIVED until you have experienced that, let me tell you.

I am glad to be home. The shopping expedition was successful, though there were many times I wished long and hard that there was a bar in the mall. Darn these small towns anyway.

That being said, I will keep this short and perhaps go to bed a bit early tonight. My beloved IT God has kindly offered to do the bedtime routine tonight and at this very moment, I hear my pillow calling my name. "DUDE! You really need to get in here BEFORE you fall asleep at the computer, AGAIN!" Yes, I have issues, and talking objects piled on my bed are only the tip of the iceberg.

Enough, she says! I was going to make this post short. I'm not entirely certain that feat is in my realm of capabilities. Without further ado, I present to you "St. Mary's Tree Lighting Cermony."

Enjoy!

I always have a difficult time getting back into the groove at work after enjoying some days off. I was lulled into a sense of relaxation, with no real discernible schedule. I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some quality (as well as quantity) time with the kids, and even that other parental unit that I'm married to. In other words, no worries, no stress (if you don't count the arguments between the kids I needed to break up). It makes it tough to even think about going back.

I'm fortunate enough to be one of those people who really loves what they do at their place of employment. I've said it here many times before; it's like I have finally found out what I want to be when I grow up. This makes actually returning to work a bit easier. It will be tough tomorrow morning to drag my sorry rump into work, but once I get there, and dig in to the ever growing workload and the regular shouts of "I needed this yesterday", I'll be fine.

In other news, today was a blustery, rainy and downright nasty day. My husband had to go into work for a bit so I took the girls and two of their friends out on errands with me. We needed to go back to Walmart to get some more lights for the house because our original estimate on how much we would need came up short. We then headed deep into the heart of the city, which was interesting due to the torrential rain and traffic, to pick up a leotard and tights that Chickie needed for the upcoming Tree Lighting Ceremony to be held downtown on Tuesday. They are first going to perform at the local convalescent hospital, and then go join the festivities, first in the parade, and then in the performance on stage.

On that note, I believe I'll shut down the computer and watch some more episodes of "Untold Stories of the ER" with the girls.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving (in the US), and for the others, a wonderful weekend.

But not in a bad way.

Due to the extra days off, my schedule is all messed up. I wouldn't change it mind you, but I'm all discombobulated. It's been really great just hanging out and doing whatever we want to do. There are times that it makes me yearn to be a SAHM, but I also realize that there is something called "too much of a good thing" and after a few weeks, I'd lay odds that all of my hair would be "gone with the wind" (if you get my drift).

Meelie is at a sleepover right now, visiting with her "bestie", Chickie is snoring away on the couch where she fell asleep last night. My husband and I are sipping coffee and surfing blogs. I would say that life is pretty good here at Chez Moogie.

In a bit, after we get ready, we are going to head on out and buy my husband a suit. Yes, I know. I was surprised too. I will be sure to post a picture of him in it so you can be just as dazzled by his amazingly good looks as me. Then again, it's been three weeks since I've lost my glasses making it difficult to see clearly, so I might be wrong. Somehow I doubt it though.

After we get home from that, we'll start the task of decorating our front yard. I'm so excited I feel like a little girl standing in line, waiting sit on Santa's lap gently whispering in his ear that the thing I want the most in my life is the baby doll that pees. You know, that one with the blond hair that comes with an extra set of diapers. I had several dolls like that growing up, and as I recall, my poor dad was the unsuspecting victim more than once. What is amazing is that he still loves me. Hi Dad! I would like to add that this was the man who ate my Easy Bake Oven cakes, complete with 4 inches of frosting on the top on a regular basis. That's my kind of father.

At any rate, we are going to be decorating on the outside today. We've never done that before and I'm really looking forward to it. For some reason, my husband is really getting into the holiday spirit. For the record, I’m not complaining. We went a little overboard in getting some of the decorations, but hey! It's a start and we plan on adding a little here and there over the years to come.

In a nutshell, that will be my day. To top it off, Mother Nature is going to be gentle to us. We are supposed to reach a high of 80 degrees F. Looks like I may be pulling out a pair of shorts while playing Mrs. Elf!

I have a quick temper. I know, I know, this surprises you (my mother and father are NOT allowed to comment). The problem is, my anger tends to multiply and fester these days. There are times that I would love to spell it our here on my blog. Give you names, places of employment, where they are living, phone numbers, you name it.

But I can't. I want to but I can't. Suffice to say that one of my family members is hurting, and I don't know what to do about it. They are keeping me out, shutting me out, battering my heart because they won't even talk to me. And even if they did, I suspect they wouldn't want to listen to what I have to say.

It's happening all over again, just like a few years ago, and I'm am as helpless now as I was then. There is nothing I can do except to give my unconditional love and acceptance. And pray. Really hard. And hope that God listens.

And hope it works.

I love you buddy. I've got your back.

I should me making my grocery list for the Hobo Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow. I should have already showered instead of sitting here in my pajamas in front of my lap top posting and alternately watching Saved By the Bell with Chickie. That is what I SHOULD be doing.

Instead???

Instead, thanks to Alexa, I have been playing this. Because everyone needs a virtual pinguin to smack around in times of stress.

Warning: If you are busy and have any ounce of self respect, do NOT click on that link. If you do, don't say I didn't warn you. It is highly addictive people.

Now, will someone please come and pry me away from my computer so I can get some stuff done?

UPDATE: My record is now 321 feet.

I don't have to do the turkey this year, nor the stuffing. We'll still go home with leftovers mind you, but I don't have to deal with the rest of it.

We have what is known as a Hobo Thanksgiving, in which we invite friends and family over who are basically alone for the holidays. For example, we have two friends whose husbands are either out to sea or in Afghanistan and they both have kids. They are coming. The person who hosts the dinner (this time it's my neighbor) makes the turkey and the stuffing, and everyone else brings the rest, generally a dish. Unless you are me.

I'm making Yum-Yums, Sausage-cheese dip, Green Bean Casserole, Homemade Rolls and Apple Pie. I suspect I will be busy but will have a blast doing it all. It's the next best thing to being with my parents. My husband has stated a preference that he would like to be here (home) either Thanksgiving or Christmas but it was my choice. I, of course, immediately chose Christmas because to me there is nothing better than being "home" (my parent's house) over the Christmas holidays.

But back to Thanksgiving. I am going to attempt something new, and exciting, and not a very good idea to do if you have never made it before. I'm making some homemade rolls from scratch. I got the recipe from here and decided to forgo the Brown 'N Serve variety, for a good old fashioned, yeast using, OMG what in the heck am I doing making these for the first time for a big dinner, roll.

The way I figure it, everything else I'm making is a slam-dunk. I've made all the other things on my list too many times to count. Of course, now that I say this, I'll probably burn the pie and under cook the green beans, but there you have it. I'm going out on a proverbial limb, and truth be told, I'm excited about it. I'll go ahead and by the old standby rolls in case they don't turn out but I'm optimistic. I've not worked much with yeast so it should be interesting.

I'm making up my grocery shopping list now, or after I publish this post. Tomorrow morning, Meelie's gymnastics practice is from 8-11 (thanks so much for letting me know this at 6:30 tonight coach). Chickie and I will head on out to Walmart, and she'll get her brows waxed (don't ask) while I pick up the food. We'll pick up Meelie after that, and then head on out to the movies. We are going to see Bolt and I'm looking forward to it. It's just going to be a girl’s day out, no BOYS allowed (sorry Dad). I don't know what else we will do but I do know we will have fun. The girls are excited, and of course I'm only doing this for them. Ah, the sacrifices we mothers make.

Five days off. Fun and food with friends. Trying new things. Spending time with my daughters. What more could a mom ask for?

We're back! Did you miss us?

Ok, we were only gone for 2 days, but to be fair to me, I didn't even get to go on my computer the whole time. Even though OWW and I both brought our laptops. The kids, and by that I mean our two, and one of my nephews hijacked them the entire time. Truth be told, I really didn't mind. We had such a good visit, albeit way too short.

Our original plan was to leave early Saturday morning. The car was packed, and the only thing that needed to be done was to get the bathroom bag put together. I tend to forget my most intelligent husband is employed as an IT God, and there is such a thing as being on call, and things breaking during the night. Luckily, it didn't take too long but we still got a late start.

Not to worry! We arrived safely at our destination (my parents, in SUNNY Florida vs. FREEZING Georgia) and promptly settled into our routine. The girls love to bring crafts and things to do while we are down there, and it never fails that they have plenty of jigsaw puzzles to do and this weekend was no different. My mom's good friend Mrs. B and her husband do a couple of jigsaw puzzles a week, so we ended up with about eight new ones to take home. We decided to keep some of them at my folk’s house for when we visit, and keep some here. The girls are interested in getting some "jigsaw puzzle glue (?)" after they finish one, and then hanging it up on the wall.

We are planning to go down again next month, over the Christmas holidays. I have some vacation time coming so I will go down early with the girls, and Mr. Moogie will join us for part of it as he doesn't have as much vacation as me. We are starting the official countdown!

Now, I just need to do my Christmas shopping, not to mention my Christmas cards. All in all, we are ALL looking forward to it. It's going to be a great Christmas!

When I left this morning it was 26(F) degrees outside. I have not been able to get warm all day. Let's just face it. My internal thermostat does not do well in temps under 60. Preferably, no lower than 70 but I don't want to sound too picky.

We have our "Amazin Grazin" luncheon tomorrow (I'm not kidding, that's what they are calling it this year). Basically, the managers provide the meat (Smoked Boston Butt, and Turkey) and everyone else brings other dishes. I have been asked to make my sausage-apple stuffing. I am procrastinating going into the kitchen to prepare it. I mean, I have to post on by blog, and I have to do laundry, and I have to listen to Meelie tell me about her chapped lips and how they started bleeding today because she accidentally picked at them. What could possibly be more important than that?

To get back to the stuffing, my girlfriend asked for the recipe and I'm thinking "oh Lord, I just kind of throw it together and Bob's your Uncle. I will have to keep an eye (and remember to write it down) as to the measurements I use. The problem is, I tend to do it a little differently each time, and over the years I have kind of fine tuned it. Come to think of it, that's pretty much how I cook a lot of things. It seems to always turn out better that way.

Do you all cook that way? Are there any recipes you have that are family favorites? If so, share the recipe! Either here in the comments or email me at moogiesworld at gmail dot com (mom, that means you too). What about Thanksgiving? Do you have any family favorites?

I'm getting hungry posting this. I'm looking forward to the "Amazin Grazin" lunch. It's always fantastic. There are so many good foods to choose from. I kind of like the name of it this year. It grows on you. At any rate, I really do need to make up the stuffing so I can throw it in the oven while I am getting ready for work in the morning.

The kitchen is really going to smell good. I wonder if that will make Meelie wake up in a better mood. Probably not, but it's worth a shot.

Don't forget to send me your recipes. I'll post them here on my blog and if you include a link, I will link back to you (you can even post the recipe on your blog and I will link directly to that).

Have a good evening. Stay warm. Stay safe.

Some of you are aware that my blog was down and out for most of the weekend. Thankfully, I have devoted readers who check my blog when I can't be bothered to look. Which is to say that there are many weekends that I don't pay attention to it because I am so busy doing the "Mom" thing. I don't regret it, except for times like this past weekend when everything seemed to go up in smoke.

Has this been a long week or WHAT? I don't know whether or not it's because of the time change or the whole election process. I'm just glad it's over. I do have to work tomorrow, but at least it will be quiet so I can get things done. I'll just be glad when the work load gets back to something more manageable.

I have found that the older I get, the harder the time change is on my body. By 6:00 it's dark, and my mind is telling me it's time for bed, and I'm all for it. Until I look at the clock. I really don't like being on Standard Time. It seems like my day is so much shorter, and I have less time in the day to get things done. I feel as though I'm always in a rush. I really love Daylight Savings Time. I love how it stays light until about 7:30-8:00. I love how I can go for my walk once it cools down. I find that I'm much more relaxed and don't feel as rushed. Sure, the first week, that loss of an hour is killer and my rump is dragging on the ground, but after that, it's smooth sailing.

So here are my questions for you. Do you prefer Standard or Daylight Savings time? Does the time change either way affect you? If so, how? If you have kids, does the change do a number on them?

This morning was one of those. Let me give you a small list as to why I should have just turned around, went back to bed and hid under the covers. At least until Pluto becomes a planet again.

1. When my alarm went off this morning, I rolled over and hit the snooze button. Wait! Let me rephrase that! I THOUGHT I hit the snooze button. As it turned out, I was wrong.

2. After a marathon which included taking a shower, getting dressed and gathering all of my stuff, I raced out the door and hopped into the car. When I started it up, I remembered that I needed to get gas. I'm already running late and I need gas. Do the math.

3. As I'm heading down our rural road, I pass the rather large curve that is accentuated by a huge, eerie looking Oak Tree. Even though I have my brights on (there are NO street lights), I narrowly miss making ham and pork chops out of a huge pig (hog?) and her three babies. I may have wet myself a little (sorry Mom). This in turn, causes my purse, lunch and cell phone to plummet to the floor, summarily dumping all of the items out of my purse and causing the top of the container to come off my lunch. Thankfully, the cell phone was safe. There is a God.

4. Due to the fact that I was running late (see #1 and remember I normally go to work at O'dark thirty), the gate was lined up with cars waiting for entry. When I got up to the guards to flash my badge, I belatedly realized (you could see this coming couldn't you, come on, tell the truth) that I had forgotten my badge. I had to turn around and head on in to Pass and ID to get a temporary one. Lovely.

In brief, let me summarize the first 60 minutes or one long hour of my day. I woke up late this morning due to a malfunctioning alarm clock (not human error you understand). I had to fill up my gas tank because my husband doesn't love me enough to instinctively know when I am too lazy to do it the night before need to have it taken care of. I nearly made a ham and cheese omelet on the grill of my car, and spewed the entire contents of my purse and lunch on the floor. It's important to note that no cell phones were harmed in the potential bacon fest. To top off the morning festivities, I forgot my badge.

Despite the inauspicious start, I had a fantastic day. I accomplished what I needed to get done and it felt really good.

To hell with it, maybe I should be late more often!

I'm sitting here at the dining room table while I am typing this post, and as I glance out the window to the left of me, I see Tiny, our biggest dog, gazing sorrowfully at me with her big brown eyes (OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!).

"I'm watching you. Yes you, sitting there on your comfy chair where it is WARM, while I, YOUR dog, is out here with the other two insufferable mongrels where the weather is frighteningly cold. I hope you are happy when I come down with pneumonia!"

Yeah, like that is going to work. Moving right along.....

We have gone through a big reorganization at work, which requires much moving of desks and offices, and did I mention the dust? I do have one important question for you that I have never understood. How in the WORLD do you collect so much stuff in a short span of time? Even though they moved the desks themselves (so we didn't have to empty them), I went ahead and cleaned and organized it. I believe I had approximately 27 pens, 12 highlighters, and 22 pencils. I have so many post-it-note pads that I could probably wallpaper our office. I have documents that dated all the way back to 2005, and they were from when I was in Finance. Now tell me please, why in the world did I still have these?

Speaking of dust, there was so much of it I was afraid that it would all come together in one blob (do you remember that movie?) and scoop me up, swallowing me whole. I'm quite sure that I sneezed more times today than I have in the past year. I felt like I needed to take my eyeballs out and clean them with Clorox and vacuum my nose out. Your welcome.

Despite all of this, it felt really good purging all of the contents of my office. I could feel the immediate gratification of having a clean and organized area. Now, I have to just put it all back together tomorrow morning, but that should be fun. I have so much more ROOM! The bets are now on as to how long this will last.

As children grow up (and mine are no exception) they lean towards the desire of owning a pet. Experienced parents know that this translates to the kids taking care of the pet dutifully for about 1 1/2 days. Then begins the endless nagging. Did you check their food and water? You need to clean the cage. Before you know it, presto! The parents become the caregivers. Does this sound familiar? I thought so.

The Parent Bloggers Network is asking us to write a post on your blog telling tales about our pets, the ones that we had growing up as well as the ones we have now. Now this is something that I can talk about.

Many Sundays around Chez Moogie are spent lying around, relaxing or paying games like Monopoly or Uno, imbibing in wine, beer, things like Crystal Light or Hot Chocolate, depending on the weather. Generally I start the day by heading on out to Wally World to do my weekly grocery shopping. If I'm really lucky, the girls go with me (cough). After I get all of my purchases put away, I'm generally ready to do.....whatever.

Sometimes that just involves going through my email, surfing some of my favorite blogs or curling up in the sun room with a good book. Sometimes the girls and I will go shopping. We don't always have anything specific in mind, just hanging out. We might go to the movies, or as a family do a day trip. It's really a "come what may" kind of day. Take this past Sunday for instance. It was raining pretty hard, and generally gnarly outside. My youngest was off to a play date with her best friend, my eldest and her friend shifted between watching TV or playing on the computer. My husband was relaxing, reading a book and I was getting my daily blog fix.

Relaxing. Nice and easy. Stress free. Just what the doctor ordered.

Read More I'm not done talking yet... »

Eventually real life breaks through and I realize that I do need to do some work. I've got the never ending pile of laundry to do (with help from Mr. OWW and Chickie) and I really need to tackle the kitchen. The floor looks like I have 3 dogs and two kids, the more destructive of which is debatable. Oh wait! I do have 3 dogs, and two kids! Never mind.

The living room, dining room and sun room need to be picked up a bit. I let it get ahead of me over the week. I've already told Chickie she needs to clean her bedroom because it is a disaster area and an accident waiting to happen.

I actually don't mind doing the pick up because generally, we've been able to keep it at a minimum because I am constantly after the girls to PICK.UP.AFTER.YOURSELF.ALREADY! Sound famliar? I love to clean the kitchen, and then the floors. It smells so great afterwards, and you see immediate results. After that, it's a bit of dusting and some vacuuming and I'm done. I generally try to tackle one part of the house a night so I don't have to do it all on the weekends, but the last couple of weeks have been a bit hectic due to work schedules and me generally feeling crappy.

Before I do any chores today though, I'm going to bake a cake. Why? No reason, just because I want to. Well, there is that and of course, because of these two. How can I resist making them happy?

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The cake is now in the oven, and it is filling the house with wonderful smells. The living room and dining room have been picked up, most of the dishes are done and I'm about ready to get the steaks ready for tonight, and marinate some of my meats before freezing. Things here are still relaxed, and Chickie and her friend got the cleaning bug and are helping out by polishing the furniture and vacuuming the floors. I'll take any help I can get.

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With the kitchen now clean, I present to you dinner, and dessert.

Steak, it does a body good!

Decorated entirely by Chickie and Miss S.

I really couldn't have asked for a better Sunday. What about you? What do you do on your Sundays, or whenever you have time to relax, either as a family or just yourself?

« I'm done now!

This morning I drug my sorry body to the Urgicare Clinic because I had finally realized the whole sinus issue was not going to go away on its own, as it so often does. After waiting an inordinate amount of time (typical) I was seen by a wonderful doctor, who I really love when my doctor is not available (she does not work weekends). In the end I walked out with prescriptions, which, when added to the other daily medicine I take now, qualified me to open up my own drugstore.

Before I left to go to the doctors, Mr. Moogie, Chickie and I had agreed that we would meet somewhere for lunch when I was done. I called home to let them know I was through and we met at a little family diner that is popular for its home cooked, comfort food meals. It was wonderful.

After we were through, Mr. Moogie had some errands to run and I really just wanted to go home, take my meds and just rest for a while. I decided to take the back way, and it was really the best thing for me. The impending panic attack I felt dissipated as I let myself soak in my surroundings.

The road I took was a winding, rural (almost country) road, filled with trees and greenery beyond belief. Imagine going through a tunnel that was not made of cement, but of trees, with branches curved over the path to provide a tranquil setting in which all of your troubles fade into the background. Interspersed between the trees you will find broken down shacks mixed with trailers in all forms (some good, some on their last leg) as well as beautiful homes, complete with breathtaking landscape. There are several small churches nestled deep in the woods, most of them small. There are three rather large crosses, (right after the storage facility) in front of and old, yet well kept up mobile home. I always have a sense of peace when I pass that spot. Perhaps it's because I feel God's presence?

The route, while a bit farther than taking the normal way, does so much for my piece of mind. When I'm stressed, when I feel helpless or when I'm sick or just want to give up, this road brings everything back into perspective for me. Old, new, junk, beauty. All coexisting on one road.

There is a dilapidated building that sits on the corner that I need to turn down to continue my trek home. I want to take a picture of this building, but so far, I have not remembered to take my camera to capture the aura it represents. When I reach this building, it never fails to amaze me at how at peace I feel. It reminds me that I am going home. No matter how hard things are, I am going home. My home. My family.

Friends and family are what make life complete. No matter how hard things are in your life, there is always your family, and your home, no matter where that might be.

I guess it really is true. Home is where your heart is.

It's been brought to my attention that I have been somewhat remiss in the posting department lately. I'm guessing that's a bit true, considering the date of my last entry, the cobwebs on the ceiling and the dust on the furniture. Things have been a bit hectic around here. Nothing out of the ordinary, but I felt that any family free time we had needed to be spent together, not with my nose mashed in front of a computer screen (because I forgot my glasses at work. Again.).

I do promise that I will try to post on a more regular basis, try being the key factor here. In the meantime, I feel it my duty to post a picture of my eldest daughter. It's one of my favorite self portraits that she has done. It's not the best quality, but my computer went belly up and I haven't uploaded my photo editing programs on the new one yet.

My comment on THIS? Is somebody watching me in the bathroom?

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I think I'm coming down with a cold, but hope I'm wrong. I've had a bit of a sore throat and cough for a couple of days and now my ear itches. Go figure. I'm holding off the worst of the symptoms with Ibuprofen so far. The allergies have been pretty intense around here because of all of the rain we've been having. The funny thing was, when I was young? I didn't suffer from allergies at all and now I'm taking medication for them. It seems that once I hit 40 years of age, everything started to fall apart or break. I guess I should be thankful that nothing has fallen off yet.

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Remember when I poured out my sole to you in this post? Murphy's Law much? Guess who decided she is going to stay in dance after all, at least for the moment? She came to me and said she is going to see how it goes and if it gets too tough to keep up, she'll drop a class or two. I think she missed it more than she thought she would. Leave it to Chickie to make a fool out of me. I should have learned by now, don't you think?

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I don't think I told you this but I received a Tom-Tom GPS for my birthday. I am excited beyond belief. I have to admit to you that I am the most directionally challenged person on the face of the earth. Of course I've named her Mandy. We are having a secret affair. Don't tell my husband.

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The progress reports came out today for both of the kids and I have to tell you that I was surprised. And proud. And really, really surprised. Especially with all that Chickie has gone through. She pulled it off. The kids never cease to amaze me at their ability to get through the tough times.

Meelie was having a really rough time with 5th grade in the beginning. I mean after all, they don't tell you what books or folders you need to take home! They make you write down your homework and don't remind you to do it! Can you imagine that? The poor child. She is so mistreated. I refuse to write her teachers any emails regarding this. If she doesn't write it down, she doesn't know what to do. Which means if she doesn't know what to do, she can't do her homework. If she doesn't bring her textbooks home, she can't do her homework. This results in her having to sit out the ENTIRE RECESS so that she can finish up. How horrible is it that I make her take responsibility for this? How horrible is it that I don't step in and help her out? Goodness, you would think that I was preparing her for higher grades or something. I should have never been a mom. She has told me several times that she is going to call the police because of it. There are days, when the whining, moaning and screaming JUST.DON'T.STOP, that I am tempted to hand her the phone.

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I leave you with "Classic Meelie." I hope you all have a wonderful evening. I look forward to your next visit.

Contrary to the title, this is not about bowel movements and headlights.

I don't know how many of you have heard of Mad Libs but they are a popular item in my household. I probably have no less than four that are in the back of my car, along with a various assortment of pencils to fill them in. At any given time, the girls will pull one of them out of the pocket in the back seat and I will hear: "Give me a noun, give me an adjective; give me an adverb, etc." I'm not proud to admit that when we started in with these I actually had to look up what some of the definitions were (adverbs, adjectives). It had been so long since I have had to identify basic sentence parts that my mind was rusty. Go ahead and laugh while I just roll my eyes and put my lack of memory down to being old and having children. Or something.

We play this game almost every time we are in the car, rocking out to various artists that my kids love, and I, for the life of me, can never remember the names of. Yesterday it suddenly occurred to me that in almost every one of these that the kids fill out, the words "constipation and/or boobs(ies)" are used. Sure enough, when the girls looked through the book, we found that to be true 80% of the time. They then proceeded to read every one of them to me again.

I'm not sure if this is a reflection of my parenting or that my children are crazy. I'm voting for the latter and then calling my mom to apologize about the title. I'll also thank her for not killing me before I became an adult.

This has been an interesting week so far, and it's only Wednesday. I don't believe that I would classify it as bad, just interesting.

I've been sitting in for my boss this week. It's all good and I am amazed at the things that I learn while doing so. But good Lord people! How does that woman get ANYTHING done? I have been constantly barraged by phone calls and questions. That doesn't count the status requests from management. I have not been able to do much of my own job. Now this is not a complaint, despite the fact that it may sound like one. I value the experience but I think I just might wash her feet when she gets back.

On the way home from work tonight, we had a severe lightening/thunder/rain storm (cats and dogs!). It was one of those storms in which you could barely see three feet in front of you, much less the car you were about to rear end. It's a time when a large portion of the people unfortunate enough to be on the road visit their inner old lady self (including me) and pull to the right lane, immediately slowing down and putting their emergency flashers on. After about five minutes of driving, I heard a strange noise coming directly from my windshield wiper. I said to myself; "self, this is not good." The noise was the result of my wiper breaking, and the screeching (think nails on a chalkboard) was happening because the lower end of the wiper had come off and it was metal on glass. This, in case you didn’t know, renders your wiper useless. Oh, and did I mention it was on the drivers side? Luckily, as storms normally do, the sky cleared and the rain slowed to a trickle so I was only "blind" (ish) about 3 minutes or so, but if you based that on the rate of my heart beat and the constant muttering of "OH SHIT!" (Sorry Mom) you would have felt it lasted more like an hour.

A few miles later, I pulled off the freeway and on to the main rural road that takes me down to my house, only to spot a fire truck about 500 yards or so away in the opposite lane. That in itself is not a bad thing. What made things a bit awkward was that there was a student driver directly in front of me who must have been confused. I'm guessing that his instructor had been breaking out the bong because he just stopped. In the middle of the friggin lane. To make matters worse, right after the fire truck passed us; he started up again, and proceeded to go 30 miles an hour on a 45 mile an hour road. For six miles. By the time I turned off (AMEN!) I had approximately 18 cars behind me. Folks, in case you don't know this, 18 cars is considered a traffic jam in my part of the world.

So if you don't mind, I'm going to hit publish on this post and go make a carrot cake. Because I can. And I don't need windshield wipers to do it.

Some things are better left unsaid. Check out the full article HERE.

For those of you who have asked, no, I don't know the results of the blood test on Monday, but if I hear anything before my follow up appointment on July 7th, I'll let you know.

Hey! How are you? Good? Good! Me too! At least right now. I'm waffling between being excellent and having the world collapse directly underneath me. I really hate this in between feeling, because I can't get my feet planted on firm ground so I can walk a steady path. But that's neither here nor there. It will work out, whatever "it" is.

Tonight was "Mom doesn't have to cook night" and I am thrilled. Subway baby! It's been in the high 90's and I don't know about you, but it's really hard to cook when it's that hot. Nothing sounds good to anyone in my family, including me. I wonder if I can have more than one night a week of no kitchen duties.

My husband took Chickie to the Orthodontist today, and she was told that if she is diligent on wearing her rubber bands she will get her braces off on the next visit. Chickie has asked me to remind her about this and I must use this permission wisely. In other words, keep the bugging for the rubber band issue alone. Originally, I had grand plans for doing things like reminding her to clean her room, to pick up the clothes off the bathroom floor, to put the milk away, etc. She really, really, really (I mean REALLLLY MOM!) wants the braces to be off before high school so somehow, I don't think that getting her to wear them will be a problem.

My youngest got to go to the Aquatic Center today with her girlfriend and Mom. This is good because, quite frankly, I get tired of the calls to work, telling me just how bored she (and/or her sister) are. I would guess that approximately 75% of the time, I have activities for her and her sister to do. It's just that in the remaining 25% they are bored. And it's my fault. I have tried to gently explain to them that it is not my responsibility to entertain them at all times. They aren't buying it.

That's it for now. Until next time, remember this:

"Listen and silence are spelled with the same letters."

PS: Chickie wanted me to share the above quote with you and let it not ever be said that I don't do what my children want me to do.

"The motor, she is running. She is a hearse, in reverse. I must not put my foot on the gas pedal. I must NOT give in."

• I went in for some blood work on Friday. I got a call Monday morning from the doctor's office saying that my Calcium level was slightly elevated. People, I will tell you here and now, what I am sure you already know to be a fact. I am stupid. I googled it. I probably am going to die. No really! I am in control! It's probably human error! My kidneys are fine. I do NOT have a tumor! It is what it is, and I will meet it head on with strength and strong faith. It's just that sometimes, it's hard to make your heart believe what your head tells you is true. Am I the only one who does this?
• Speaking of blood tests? The one today was kind of unpleasant. Blood tests are fairly easy for me, even though I generally have a bruise to show for it after all is said and done. The first attempt failed as, apparently, my vein "rolled", and we had to start over. My hand (YES! The HAND!) is somewhat swollen, and sore. The second attempt went in like peanut butter on jelly. Ok, score ONE on a positive note.
• Today we got our stimulus check. I have already told my husband it's all mine, and good lord man! Why are you rolling on the floor laughing?
• My father-in-law is not doing so hot. If you pray, or light candles, or whatever you do, will you do it for him?
• We had a WONDERFUL weekend at my parent's house. My brother and his wife from California were there as well. My other brother, and his kids joined us and it was nothing but fun, and laughter, and memories. I already miss all of them. My Mom and Dad were, as always, the most gracious of hosts. Here is a picture of the most wonderful parents in the entire universe. I am not biased. Why do you ask?
• If my oldest daugher lives to be 14, it will be a miracle.
• If you are taking an anti depressant/anti anxiety drug and you are about to run out? Make sure you fill it right away. Do not wait for four days to do it because you keep forgetting to have it refilled. Not that I did that or anything. I'm just saying. People, it will mess with your mind.
• Embrace the fact that your 10 year old daughter knows how to run the ride-on mower better than you do. Embrace it I say! Offer allowance. Chocolate Chip cookies. Web-Kinz, whatever. Because that means that you or your husband don't have to do it! Can it get any better than that? I wonder if she'll clean the bathrooms?
• Hey, have you met Old Blue? This is a shot from my parent's back yard. He was rather shy, don't you know? Every time I would get closer, he would move. Right now, we don't have a zoom lens (we are working on it!). I could have used it then.

I'm going to be ok. Repeat after me. "I am going to be ok." Oh mah Hell. It's hard.

As anyone from the south knows, the summer (even spring/fall) can be brutal. We hit 96 degrees today, with humidity just as high. I'm one big puddle of sweat. Be that as it may, I still really love it here. You just learn to mow your lawn in the morning, or after the sun sets a bit. You tend to go from one air conditioned place to another. In other words, you learn to cope. No big deal.

One of the things I've learned about the south is the people are friendly. I know several of my neighbors by their [first} name and I can call on them for help when the need arises. It's been a little over four years since we moved into this house and I have not regretted packing up my house and family, and moving them across country.

I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. Even though our schedules here at Chez Moogie prevented us from visiting Mom on Mother's Day, I still had a marvellous chat with her, as well as my dad and brother. I'm sure it helps that we are planning to go down on Father's Day (if not sooner), and my older brother and his wife will be there (they live in California).

The past few weeks have been a whirl wind of comings and goings, and goings and comings. Don't get me wrong, it's all good, but we are looking forward to a slower pace of life, coming in the next few weeks (crossing fingers).

And now, an update:

1. I would appreciate any prayers, or lighting of candles directed towards my FIL. He is having surgery on Wednesday to fix (we hope) an aortic aneurysm. The medical complexities of this surgery still confound me even though my lovely SIL sent a detailed explanation of what was going to happen. There are so many things that can go wrong (he could end up on dialysis for the rest of his life) and so many that can go right (it worked!). I try to remain positive and focus on the good things. It's doubly hard being all the way across the country. I can't do the whole see, touch, feel. I can't physically BE there, but I can pray, and I can offer support, via telephone and email, such as it is.
2. Meelie's Cheer Leading team went to the National Championships a couple of weeks ago in Virginia Beach. They took six place, with an honorable mention. You can't beat that. I went with my girlfriend, and her daughter who is on Meelie's team. We had so much fun but I was really tired by the time we got home. This old bod can't do that kind of thing and recover as quickly as it once could. It took me about three days before my hearing came back and the ringing in my ears stopped.
3. Chickie has her big recital this Saturday, and has rehearsals almost every day this week. Tonight, she told me she finally feels comfortable with her solo. She had been worried because she was having trouble remembering it all. Tonight she had one-on-one time with her instructor and she feels fairly confident, albeit somewhat nervous, about the piece. Since I'm the sole taxi driver (see #1) this week, it's turning out to be an juggling act of schedules, making sure the kids have dinner as well as clean clothes to wear to school. It's all doable, but requires some heavy thinking on my part. I'm beginning to learn the value of the "LIST."
4. Speaking of Chickie, she has her 8th grade prom this Friday. My girlfriend's daughters saved all of their prom dresses and Chickie is wearing one of them. SCORE! We got her a really beautiful pendant to go with it as well as some shoes (both on sale - DOUBLE SCORE!). The only other thing I had to pay for was sending the dress to the cleaners. I'd say I made out like a bandit. We'll be taking pictures that night over at her friend's house. They have a beautiful backyard, complete with a swimming pool. My girlfriend is catering the event, so she'll be sure to give me all the details. I'm really excited for her.

That's about it for now. I'm hoping to update the blog a little more than I have been doing. I decided to take a bit of time for myself and family, and I must say I've enjoyed it.

I hope you all are doing well. Until next time.....

I'm sitting here in my garage, keeping my husband company while he is putting a new radiator in the truck. I wish I could say things were going smoothly, but that would probably be considered a bold face lie a slight untruth.

Him: We haven't had any certified disasters yet! I am reminded of Tim the Tool Man.

Pray with me people!

My husband? He is quite the mechanically inclined type. Me? Not so much. He is trying to remove the old radiator, which I gather is somewhat difficult if his language casts any light on the subject. Something about having to remove the doohickey from the watchamacallit before you can take it out.

Moving right along...

Since moving here, the girls have started to take the bus to school, which is almost a necessity because this is a small county and the schools are far apart. It's really not bad though because both of their buses stop right on the corner, two houses away. On my Fridays off, as well as those I work (I get off an hour earlier); I generally walk to the bus stop to meet Meelie. The only reason I don't do this for Chickie is because that would be categorized as "Most Embarrassing Moment" in her "Book of Mother's Faults." "Helloooo, Mom? I'm 13 now and NOT a baby any more!" I guess I can understand that, especially after she has finally forgiven me for shouting out "MAKE GOOD CHOICES!" as she was climbing on the school bus one morning. She didn't talk to me for over two weeks.

I'm bringing this up because I needed to go into work today (on my day off) and finish up some work as I'll be heading down with the girls to my parent's house for Easter and a few days during the week. I specifically stopped early enough so that I could be home in time to meet Meelie at the bus stop. And the bus is late. As in over 35 minutes late. Understanding that she attends a public school helps me realize that this should not surprise me one iota. These kinds of things tend to happen when a driver calls in sick or a bus breaks down, and they have to cram four routes into one vehicle.

I still can't help but worry because I remember at the beginning of the year, Meelie's bus was late. Or so I thought. I realized there might be a problem when I saw other kids playing out on our street who took the same bus as she did. I ran headlong into a wall of bricks when the reality of the situation hit me. My child did not get off the bus, or worse yet, was not on the bus.

My mouth felt like the armpit of a gorilla with a side of Tabasco sauce as I called the school and calmly (on the outside) inquired as to the whereabouts of my child. I could hear mild pandemonium in the background as two-way communicators were going off while they furtively tried to contact the driver. When the lady came back on the line (it happened to be the principal) she told me that apparently, Meelie had fallen asleep on the bus and they were well into the second route before it was discovered (when I called).

So you see, while it turned out this had a happy ending, I don't have a lot of faith in the school bus system. If you'll excuse me, I need to go call the school now.

Meelie stayed home sick today with the flu. All kids have different ways of communicating that what went down is about to come back up. It was tough when they were littler because they couldn't verbally express what was going on. I learned early on that Chickie would pace while holding her blanket. Back and forth across the carpeted floor. She would wander aimlessly, giving a bystander the impression that she was terribly worried about where her next meal would come from. After a few missed queues, I learned what to watch for and when she began her inevitable pacing back and forth, clutching her beloved blanket, I would run to get the "bucket."

Meelie really had no identifiable reaction when she was small. It became easier when she was older and had begun to talk. When she was ready to worship the almighty porcelain god, she would cry out "it's stuck!" It came out more like "it tuck!" I quickly realized that this was her signal that the volcano was about to erupt and if I didn't get the "bucket" soon, I would be cleaning up and unholy mess. To this day, she still uses that, albeit she can now speak in what we know as English. "Mama, it's stuck!" And that's what I heard at 1:18 am this morning.

And about every hour afterwards, poor thing. It was my husband's turn to take care of her (stay home from work). I'm fortunate enough to have a partner that will take turns being off of work when the kids are sick. It was still hard because, with all of my being, I wanted to be home taking care of her. Don't get me wrong, he is more than capable of taking care of her himself, but I wasn't there. What my presence would have done couldn't tell you, except perhaps make me feel better.

By evening time, she was doing much better, although she was terribly exhausted. Thankfully, she was able to get some food (popsicle, toast) down, which seemed to help her out a lot. We got her to bed fairly early and before I had even turned of the lights, I heard a faint snore coming from her parted lips. I'm hoping this means we are through the worst of it.

Upadate: Meelie made it through half the day at school today. I go a telephone call from the nurse stating that she was in her office crying because she felt so horrible. Currently, she is sleeping on the recliner with Fergie playing softly in the background.

1. I come back to my blog after a few days away and find that someone left the lights on, and there are dirty dishes in the sink. It never ceases to amaze me that no one does any work while I'm gone. I was hoping that the Posting Fairy would pay a visit but alas, it seems she had a root canal it was too painful for her to type.
2. It is raining like cats and dogs here today. A more appropriate terminology would be elephants, but that thought scares me because I don't think my roof could handle a barrage of elephants landing on top of it. I don't even want to contemplate the mess. I would delegate the job of Pooper Scooper to my husband, that's for sure.
3. Last week, Meelie performed in a Black History Month (in the Chorus at school) program that was very well done. My camcorder decided to decimate it's battery so I was stuck using my digital camera for short little clips. As a result, the picture quality is not the greatest (the lighting was difficult, to say the least), but when all is said and done, you don't need to SEE the Chorus to enjoy it. You just need ears to listen, and believe me, I have listened to them over and over again. I'm Mom. It's my job to be proud.
   
   
   "Chariot's Coming"
   
   

   "I Am a Small Part of the World"

4. Why is it raining on my day off? It seems that's the way it always goes. So much for spreading the Weed 'n Feed today. I sure am sad that I won't be able to do that. NOT!
   
5. Speaking of rain, there is a tornado warning a little up north of here, which, coincidentally, is where my girlfriend works. We had made plans to have lunch today. They had to evacuate the building so they all went somewhere to get breakfast. We have to reschedule.
   
6. Chickie's school competition was to be held today up in Valdosta. Because of severe weather conditions, that has been canceled as well. I felt really sorry for her, but mostly I am relieved. I'm just glad they are being cautious and not taking any risks.
   
7. I've been working on time management here at Chez Moogie. I'm trying to figure out how to juggle everything we have on our plates, without simultaneously pulling my hair out and poking myself in the eye with a sharp stick. Wish me luck. If I'm successful, I think I'll write a book. What do you think I should call it?
   

I have nothing of importance to say, or rather, I can't decide what I want to write about. Subjects keep flowing through my mind like a flooded river filled with debris (Hey! There goes a Big Wheel!) but every time they pop into my mind, I drop them like a hot potato. I cannot focus. I feel like a Mexican Jumping Bean. Boing! Boing! Boing! Oh look, is that a penny on the sidewalk? Yeah, it's been one of them people.

Right now, one of my dogs (Tiny) is sitting here staring at me as if to say "You are on the computer again? What about our one-on-one time? The other two four-legged rodents have been banned to the backyard. It's just you and me baby! What about my tummy rubs? Woman, you are so lacking." This, coming from a dog who is a professional escape artist, even though we have an electric (underground) fence. We have now had to break down and buy the "BIG DOG" collar because she blows through all of the frequencies on the smaller ones. And we actually have fenced in back yard. But heck, a fence is no big deal. You can just dig under it. After all, what's a little shock? So she is stuck inside, until the new collar arrives. Personally I think that was her plan all the time. She is evil, that one.

I need to close this out now and finish up dinner. The girls will be home soon from their activities. I'll be lucky if I can get dinner on the table tonight. I'm so easily distracted.

Tell me, do you ever have days like this?

I first saw this over at Mommy Needs Coffee, who credited Karen Sugarpants, who credited Avitable for the idea. All three of them wrote 10 things that they wish they could or should say to someone. Here mine are, in no particular order:

1. You really need to curb your pessimism. Try looking at a glass as half-full for once. I'm tired of your petty complaining and it's really getting hard to be around you.
2. Why is it that the color of my skin makes you dislike me so much? Tell me. What have I ever done to you to deserve your hatred?
3. I'm sure your children are wonderful and perfect in every way. I just get tired of hearing about it. Oh, and by the way, I hear your teenage daughter is pregnant. Is she having a boy or a girl?
4. The thought of either one of you dying, scares the crap out of me. I don't know if I will be able to pull through when it happens.
5. Can you stop with the gossip already? Why not try to be friendly and supportive of those who need it?
6. I really wish we would talk more. About the important stuff. The stuff that really matters. And that you would listen.
7. When are you going to realize that your child is a pathological liar who refuses to take responsibility for his actions? You need to realize if you consistently believe him, when all of the evidence is stacked against him, that he will end up with his prisoner number tattooed on the back of his neck.
8. Why is it that your job and family life make you too busy to call me? Why can't you respect the fact that I'm busy as well? What makes you so much more important than me?
9. If you have a problem with me, then you need to come and talk to me about it. The backstabbing is reminding me of high school years, only worse. Because you are an alleged adult.
10. I really admire you and your work. You have gone through so much and yet somehow managed to make it all work for you. I wish I had the guts to reach out more and try to become our friend.

What do you wish you could say to someone?

I was all ready to sit down and write a post about how hard the last few weeks have been, both physically and emotionally. But when I started to put it into words, my problems seem so minuscule in comparison to what other people are experiencing. It's just not that important.

So I'll stop here and change the subject! Subject changes, it's what awkward situations call for!

In other news, I took Meelie to the orthopedist for a re-evaluation of her toe. Much to her disappointment, the doctor told her that she had to wear the shoe for another two weeks. She had a complete meltdown right then and there. I understood why Meelie was so upset, and did my best to comfort her. After all, TWO WEEKS is forever and lord love a duck, she will have graduated high school before she no longer has to wear "the shoe." Stupid old shoe. The entire time I was trying to calm her down, her poor doctor looked as if she had just amputated the wrong limb. I'm just thankful she didn't cry as well. Ah, the mind of a 9 year old. It boggles the mind.

I need to cut this post short because I have to go empty the dishwasher, the dish drainer and then wash all of the dishes which will probably fill both of those up again! Oh, and then I need to prep the dough for the homemade pizza and go pick up Chickie and her friend from the soccer game they watched after school. Other than that, not much is going on.

But I'm not complaining! Honest! I mean, there are people there who have to wash everything by hand and they have 7 children, and have to eat stale bread and drink warm water every day because they can't afford to make pizza.

No complaints here.

Change of subject anyone?

That is totally a word, in case you were wondering.

I've just uploaded a bunch of photos from the weekend. They were mostly from Sunday, when we were cruising around the park. Seriously good times. If you'd like to see them, just click HERE. Comments are welcome (hint).

On Saturday, I took a rump load of photos of all of the teams. It seems that my memory card decided to have a fit (just like a woman) and get its panties in a wad. I was able to retrieve ONE photo from that card. I'm hoping that the other parents will have more to share.

Happy!

Things here are moving right along. The toe is healing and if you were to listen to Meelie, it's all better. "So can I go jump on the trampoline now?" This kid is testing my limits. She knows just what buttons to push and by the time she's through, the fuses are all blown. I'm having a hard time making her realize that the more careful she is with the foot, the quicker she will heal. Of course, this theory is blown right out of the water because she seems to be one of the lucky ones that heals really fast. Lord love a duck.

Besides the fracture of the big toe, and the fact that I'm NOT letting Meelie do anything (because I live to make my daughter's life miserable, doncha know?), Chickie got some awesome news last night. She found out she was picked for a solo for the big recital in spring. She's been dancing for five years. It's always been a goal for her to be in a solo, but the funny thing is, she's always been happy for the kids who have been picked in previous years. She just loves to dance that much. She came running in last night after dance practice and was screaming at the top of her lungs. I thought perhaps that Hillary Clinton was ahead in the polls, or her best friend died. I'm not sure which would be worse. She found out that she had been picked for a solo piece, BUT the teacher wouldn't tell her which dance it was for. They aren't going to announce the solos until February, so she should find out then. That, of course, didn't stop Meelie from giving her opinion. I'm thinking it doesn't really matter to Chickie. She's stoked.

We've got a busy weekend ahead of us. Saturday, Meelie has a Reading Bowl Competion, and the we have to head on out to her cheerleading competition on the island. At least this one is only an hour away. I'm interested to see how the coach is going to integrate a child with a designer shoe into the competition. I'm hoping to get some better pictures of this one.

That's about it for now. I'm just focusing on making it through the weekend. How about you?

This weekend, my husband traveled south to the Ft. Lauderdale area to attend a memorial service for his Aunt. His father is unable to travel great distances, and asked him to stand in for him. My husband was more than willing to do this, even though he hadn't seen her in at least 10 years. He left Friday, and returned Sunday which meant I was on my own for the weekend.

In all honesty, it's not a big deal for me. The girls are old enough that they do not require supervision (me keeping them in my site) during all waking hours and have many friends to play with. And play they do!

What I find most irritating is that I am someone who likes some type of structure. I'm very flexible, and able to change where required, but I like to at least start off with a plan. Herein lies the problem.

I am not fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home-mom. This is perfectly acceptable to me. I came to terms with it long ago. If I were to be quite honest, and this will probably irritate several of you, I don't think I would be happy staying at home. I enjoy the stimulation of a challenging work environment. I would need to do something, even if it was being an active participant of some charity, or at the very least, work part-time. I like working. I would even go so far as to say, I love working. Do I still have days where I would prefer to stay home? Absolutely. Do I look forward to retirement (waaaaay down the road)? Most definitely. I always enjoy the time I spend with my family on holidays, and various days off. They come in short bursts, and I'm always happy to go back to work, yet kind of sad at the same time. That last sentence didn't make a lot of sense, but it's how I feel.

Sorry, got side tracked. Where was I?

Oh yes. Structure. Schedules. I'm more than capable of flying by the seat of my pants, but I try to keep those situations to a minimum. Short bursts of single parenthood allow you no time to get into any kind of a "groove." I am so used to having a partner who helps me out it throws everything out of whack. It's not impossible to take care of everything by yourself, but if you're not used to it, it can be a little nerve wracking. Take this weekend for instance. Shuttling the kids around to their various activities was quite taxing on mad scheduling skillz. The bathroom toilet clogged up. Twice. Once, dumping water all over the floor. I don't even want to talk about the leak coming from somewhere in the refrigerator. Kudos to all of you single parents who handle all of this on a daily basis.

It takes a day or so to get my feet back underneath me, and then what happens? My husband comes home and promptly messes it all up by being there. Which just means I have to adjust all over again. The poor man can't win (Hi honey!).

So now he is back. We are are a whole family again. The kids happily played Wii with their friends, and I made homemade pizza.

Oh, and got to go to work today, which means has both the kids to himself (plus two other kids). He definitely will have his work cut out for him.

I went back to work today. Yawn. I had to forgo the usual nap, though truth be told, over the last week or so, I had been forcing myself to stay awake during the day, and not go to bed until at least 9:00 p.m. It is now just a little bit after 7:00 p.m. and I'm ready to sink my head into a pillow and drift off into never-never land.

When I came in this morning, I was really discombobulated and generally had no idea where to start. Then there was the influx of folks coming to welcome me back, ask how I was feeling, and poke their noses into exactly what my problem had been. After about the 4th person, I wanted to just say, "I was sick, I got better, the end." I must admit that the interest was flattering but, because I am infused with a lack of self confidence, I wondered if they weren't just trying to get the low down on what was going on. The communication in my department on things such as this is basically nada, so no one really knew if I had taken a page out of Miss Spears' book, and checked myself into a drug rehab facility. Who knows? After all, I am from California.

I had 1,293 emails waiting for me upon my return. Yes, you read that right. It took me a large part of the day to go through them all. My boss, bless her heart (I owe that woman ALOT for the way she covered for me - no joke) had forwarded my phone to hers during my absence so at least I didn't have to deal with the voice mails. She took care of all of the problems, and those that had to wait until my return were meticulously jotted down on paper so that I knew exactly what had to be done.

It feels so good to be back (though I miss spending time with the girls), and I'm much more grounded now that I have some type of schedule to adhere to. It also helps me figure out what day of the week it is. If I were lucky enough to be able to stay home, I could develop some sort of a schedule. I would have to sleep with my calendar (sorry honey, but there is the fold out couch in the sun room), but with the inevitable return to work, I found it impossible to adhere to anything.

All is well though. The kids are back to dance and cheer, my husband is again, working hard on the flooring and I am once again, taking up residence in the kitchen. I didn't realize how much I missed cooking, especially now that I'm not living on Jell-O and Popsicles.

Dear Grammy,

I just wanted you to know that I was informed that you had the best ever Ravioli in the entire world. It's even better than Chef Boyardee! I just had to share this information with you because I KNOW how happy that will make you. You beat out CB! High FIVE! You should be proud.

Love,
Tootsala
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Dear Interneters,

Curling really long hair with sponge curlers requires 3 things:

1. Drying hair until there is little or no moisture left.
   
2. 162 curlers.
   
3. Large bottle of wine.

Yours, in blogging,
Moogs
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Dear Children,

When I tell you that it is time to change your clothes for cheerleading/dancing, I expect to you get up and go change. I do not want to hear "just a minute" or come back into the room, only to see you sitting in the same place I left you, staring at the TV, drooling.

Secondly, I do not know where your uniforms are. It is not my responsibility to keep track of them. I wash them and I put them on your dresser. Don't blame me if you have to go naked to practice.

Love,
Mama
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Dear New Doctor,

Let's not mince words, shall we? I do not like you. I gave you TWO chances. I didn't think it was possible but the second time made me despise you even more. If it weren't for the PA, I would not set foot in your clinic. Your bedside manner is deplorable. Once I get my current health issues under control (with the help and advice of the PA), I will be switching to a new doctor.

Sincerely,
Pissed off patient
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Dear Philip Pullman,

You're kidding right?

They are hoping that unsuspecting parents will take their children to see the movie, that they will enjoy the movie and then the children will want the books for Christmas. That's the hook. Pullman says he wants the children to read the books and decide against God and the kingdom of heaven.

Love,
A devoted fan.
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Dear Readers,

Thank you for sticking with me through bout of pneumonia and all that goes with it. You have been so patient and kind, and your emails make me feel warm all over. Ok, enough of the mush already. What I really need you to do is think of some good topics that I can write about during National Blog Posting Month. I've been mulling some ideas in my head, but don't really think I would have enough to write about if I chose a theme. Unless of course, it was my children, or cooking, but that might get boring after a while.

Do you have any ideas? Any questions you would like to ask and have answered next month? What are your topics of interest?

Love,
The Moogster

Nearly fat free, and less sodium too!

I'm nursing a rather nasty cold, which seems to have grabbed me by the ankles, shook me up and caused all of the loose change to fall out of my pockets. There goes the ice cream money. Sorry kids! It's still not done with me yet. If you don't mind, I'll keep this short and share some obligatory photos as well as a video I took of the kids and their friends yesterday evening. Hopefully, things will be back to normal soon. I would really like to be able to taste things, as well as not be stone cold deaf. At the rate I'm going through Kleenex, I'm going to have to get a second job. Wah, wah, wah.

Read More I'm not done talking yet... »

Here are some photos that my neighbor took when they went to the zoo. The girls had a blast I'm going to try to use a tool I came across for Flickr photos. Given my drug induced state, let's hope this works. It appeared simple enough when I first took a look at it.

If it's easier for you, just go here for the actual Flickr set.

Next up? Some more bouncey lurv. Come on now. Did you really think I could let too much time pass without the obligatory picture of kids on the trampoline? And for an added extra bonus (my aren't you lucky you visited today?) there is even a video. Look at this closely. They are getting along. In addition to that, they are making sure Bullet Boy does not get hurt. What I want to know is why we aren't allowed to do this? The simple answer, for me personally? I would end up in the hospital in traction.

Click to biggie size picture - at no extra cost!


Bounce, bounce, bounce from Moogie on Vimeo.
No children were harmed in the making of this video.

« I'm done now!

As we move forward with the great GHIP, I find myself reeling with all of the decisions I need to make. What color do I paint the rooms? What flooring do I use? As far as the flooring, I know that we'll be putting tile in the kitchen/breakfast nook area, and most likely, some type of laminate flooring throughout the rest of the house. I've gone so far as to explore area rugs and have pretty much decided (I think) that we'll probably utilize Flor for a good part of it. For the tile and laminate, I am leaning towards a very light color, to keep things bright. My husband has expressed very little preference in the paint area, only to state that he would like the kitchen to have a soft color, perhaps a yellow. I was thinking of making a blue accent wall to compliment it. The girls change their mind constantly, so I will probably wait to paint their rooms until last.

I really have no theme at this point. I do collect miniature elephants so I would imagine the living and dining room would be fashioned after that in some way. My girlfriend is good with colors and has promised to help me. I really have no decorations, so to speak, nor do I have much in the way of paintings to hang on the wall. There is a large part of me that is excited to actually be able to pick things out, a little at a time, to finally make this a place that I could call home. Something that paints a photograph of who I am.

So there you have it. You know just about as much as I do right now. I'll keep you posted on what I end up doing.

The photo in this post, which kind of explains the title (but not really) is the handle on our 19 year old Webber Grill. Yes, we still have it, and use if faithfully. The soldering finally gave out when my husband was lifting the lid. This grill has gone through so many things including a rather powerful storm that lifted the fence in the back yard up, and promptly dropped it on top of the grill. She's a little off kilter now (think Leaning Tower of Pisa), but works like a charm. My husband and I have talked of getting a gas grill, which we probably will eventually do, but we both agree that we won't be getting rid of "Old Blue" any time soon.

They just don't make things like they used to, do they?

Bless Pete Seeger. I don't think he would appreciate me changing the words, or the Kingston Trio for that matter.

If you peruse around the blogosphere you probably have noticed folks talking about how the comments seem to have dropped to an all time low. Why is this? I don't think anyone really has the definitive answer. I've noticed a decline in the number of comments here on Moogie's World as well. Until I started reading that other bloggers, even the popular ones with multiple hits per day, were experiencing the same thing I really thought it was just me. Let's face it. I don't have all that much to offer, and there is nothing really to bring back readers time after time. The strange thing is, when I take a look at my stats, the number of visitors hasn't dropped significantly.

Tomorrow is the day for all lurkers to come out of the closet. Come on peeps! It's time to show yourself. Tell me a little bit about you. Say hello! Leave your anonymous self at the door and come on in for a drink. Everyone is welcome. This wonderful idea was started by three fantabulistic ladies, Schmutzie, Sweetney and JenAndTonic.

Schmutzie wrote all about it here.

I will admit that comments make me feel really good. Granted, most of you (and me) don't have a lot of spare time to comment on all of the blogs that we read. I think that's why it feels so good to hear from you when you do.

To give you something to comment about, I thought I would let you know about a terrible tragedy that happened yesterday. I'm still trying to move past it. Perhaps you can help.

Read More I'm not done talking yet... »

RIP Peep

Sometime yesterday, Peep escaped from her cage. She resided on a dresser that was approximately 5' tall. Apparently, she went off the dresser and on to the floor. You can see where this is going, can't you? She somehow made it to the bathroom, and it was there she chose her final resting place.

My youngest daughter Meelie found her. I was on my way home when I got a hysterical call from her. It took me several minutes to calm her down enough to find out that everyone was ok, and then a couple of minutes to find out what really happened.

When I got home, Peep was huddled in a corner in the bathroom. I will spare you with the details, but it was obvious that she had gone to be with Gingi and Shoestrngs up in Heaven. We held a small burial for her. We found a shoe box, and wrapped Peep in an old, soft towel The girls and their friends wrote messages to her on the outside of the box. I just about lost it here, especially when Chickie asked me to write something (Peep was her hamster). We fashioned a cross out of some twigs, and Peep is now resting peacefully, under the oak trees in the middle of our backyard.

Meelie was devastated. Chickie has yet to cry, but that will come. I've learned with her that you need to give her the space and the time to grieve in her own way.

Bless you Peep. Thank you for giving my kids so much joy while you were alive. I will miss you rolling in your little ball all over the house and getting stuck behind the toilet.

« I'm done now!

I was filling in my parents on all of the happenings here at Chez Moogie. What with the GHIP (are you sick of hearing about that yet?) and South Cackalackee, my parents got an earful. I don't know if they really enjoy the conversations that we have (my dad just listens-he says it's because Mom and I do all the talking and he can't get a word in edgewise), or they just pretend they do to spare my feelings.

Towards the end of the conversation, my mom said "you sound a lot better." At first, because I am one nugget shy of a Happy Meal, I didn't understand what she was referring to. When I questioned her, she told me that I sounded more upbeat. That might not have been the exact terminology, but I was so taken aback by that statement, I don't remember her exact words.

Am I feeling better? I guess I really hadn't put so much thought into it. We've been pretty busy this last month with Fiscal Year End looming a week away, and all of the work we have been doing on the house that I really hadn't given it a lot of thought. I think I am doing better in many areas, but I know that it has to do with the progress we are making on the house. It's exciting. Case in point? We worked on the office this weekend and it looks fabulous. We threw away quite a few things, including old computer parts, and sorted through mounds of paperwork. We found a couple of boxes of old bills that dated back to 1989. Since Southerners do not believe in coat closets, I now not only have a closet that I can close, I have one that I can hang up all of our winter coats in.

I won't even mention the boxes of photos we found. I'll be lighting the fire under my trusty scanner to upload some fabulous pictures. I'm itching to get started on that but I know it's a HUGE undertaking so I've decided just to do a little at a time.

But I will leave you with this.

M and C (Step Kids) when they were about 8 and 9

Shave and a Haircut….Two Bits!

I was with the kids this weekend running some errands when we ran into one of Meelie's former teachers when we were at Arby’s..

Me: Hi there, how are you?

Her: Doing just fine! How about you?

Me: Great! I didn’t recognize you! I love your new hair style. I didn’t recognize you because you look so young and tall!

Would you please “biggie” size that order for me?

There have been many times in my life in which I have carried a "Chip" on my shoulder about the size of Hawaii's Mauna Loa Volcano. Today it nearly errupted. I don't, and won't, talk much about work on this blog, so let's just say that I was "this close" to verbally taking someone down. Luckily, I kept my mouth shut and walked away. I talked with my boss about it, and I must admit that she was supportive. Sometimes it doesn't matter how nice you are. There are some folks out there who are just unpleasant. It felt good to know that she understood exactly where I was coming from and told me that what I was doing was correct. It also felt good that I have grown up enough to realize that if I open my mouth in a situation like that, both feet go straight in. All the way to the hip baby.

Via email....

Him: Just saw an armadillo stroll across the parking lot - a couple of customers had to wait in their cars while he waddled down the drive-up lane.... Ò¿Ö

Me: Heeee…does he have an account?

Him: Nope - he no speaka de Eeenglis.....

Me: ILLEGAL ALLIEN!!!!!! HE MUST BE DEPORTED!!!!

Him: Yeah! He doesn't have a valid AI number! Call the Border Patrol! Notify the Media! Warn all the churches that they'll lose their tax-exempt status if they offer sanctuary!

Me: Where is the honorable Reverend Jackson? Why, he’s getting ready for a press conference!!! Save Juanita Dillo! The little Dillo’s are all American citizens and if you deport her, they will be left with no one.

Him: And then? Why, Brothers and Sisters, we will demand reparations to compensate the descendants of the victims of this evil.....

Me: This is Betty Battschittz reporting for the 6:00 news. The judge refused the reverse the deportation order for Mrs. Dillo. Neighbor’s are rallying around the rejected Dillo chanting “Save the Dillo, Punch a Pillow.” It is reported that there will be a candle light vigil later on this evening. The Rev. Jackson is expected to make an appearance.

Him: Thank you, Betty. CAAR, the Council on American-Armadillo Relations has called for the ACLU to represent the Dillos in a Federal Court action to ensure that the Dillos receive free housing and medical care for the forseeable future. In other news, Tour de France officials are blaming the positive doping test of the Norwegian national champion on the CIA....

This is Barry Blowdry signing off.

Really quick. A semi-busy, but fun evening. Homework, taxi service, baths, and playing each other in a massive tournament over on Webkinz. The girls beat me into the ground! But they caught me in a weak moment.

Meelie landed her ROBHS (round off back handspring) several times tonight with no assistance. Then there was that time that she kind of fell on her head, and I had to get up and leave the gym, trusting the coaches to handle it.

Godzilla Math Teacher has arrived for Chickie. She told them that for the first few weeks she was letting them off easy, but now all bets are off. The textbooks have been assigned, and homework (if tonight is any indication) will be flowing out the wazoo. I'm thankful this happened after the whole probabilities incident.

Birthday weekend was AWESOME (if you don't count the blood).

I'm trying to remain calm about my dentist appointment on Wednesday. So far so good, but then again it's only Monday.

Lots of thunder and lightening and RAIN! And power outages! When I walked out of the house, and through the garage this evening, I was reminded of a scene from the Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds." About 25-30 birds were swarming in circles all around our front yard. In this particular instance they weren't attacking humans but were intent upon feasting upon all of the insects that showed up after a particularly nasty storm.

As for me? I'm coping. Schedules are falling into place and as we are getting into more of a routine (loose), I've come to realize that this year is much better than last. It's all good. I just need to keep plugging away. Your words of support and encouragement have done a lot for me. For that, I thank you.

On that note, I bid you adieu. I need to put my youngest's hair in a braid, and then we are off to read another chapter of Charlotte's Web.

As you can see, there really was nothing here but us chickens for this post. But, if you are still with me, I thank you for reading this far. As for tonight? I'm feeling like things are going to be ok. Tomorrow is another day. Life is good.

I've always hated probabilities and next to word problems, they are the bane of my existence in the subject of Math. Chickie is smack dab in the middle of said probabilities and needing some help. I did what any mature, sane mother would do. I handed that one over to Dad. I don't particularly care for probabilities in real life situations either, but at least they deal with subjects that are near and dear to me, instead of "spinning Spinner A and Spinner B a predetermined number of times, and what is the probability that the arrow will land on Spinner A?" That one was simple. It gets ugly after that.

I hate that question. Why? Because I never know the answer. I should probably point out that, for whatever reasons, it's not hard to come up with ideas for my parents. I generally ask for clothes or household items from them. Mom has awesome taste in clothes, and knows just what I like. She also knows that I love all things practical. It's easy to come up with stuff for her (and Dad).

But for my husband? Not so much so. I can't really tell him clothes, because unless I can point him to exactly what I want, and where to get it, it's not going to work. For the record, I am NOT bad mouthing him. He admits it, I agree, and I'm fine with it. He's gotten me some beautiful jewellery from time to time and it's been wonderful. Last Christmas, I asked for a deep fryer and a photo printer. What I got was a deep fryer and a printer that could do everything but cook your dinner and clean your bathroom. I LOVE it! I can even scan pictures!

But I digress. This shouldn’t be a big surprise to you.

Hi there! Remember me? Well, we are going to move away from the extreme and cleverly disguised Pitty Party I threw for myself in the last post, and talk about something really important!

Do you remember how I talked about not finding any cheer leading shoes (not the Cheer Leading again, anything but that!) that I hadn't been able to find for Meelie? Well, I didn't really cop out. Well it was a semi-cop out. We did go to the big city, and fought with traffic, and drivers that were maniacs and sitting at an inordinately long red light observing a grown man trying to find a bat in a cave. Would you care for a tissue? Three points and a shout-out to anyone who gets that reference.

Author's note: I'm about to to discuss breast feeding in public. Any questions? If you don't want to read about boobies used as feeding machines, you may want to skip this.

Breast feeding. Oh the controversy. Should it be allowed in public? You decide.

I normally love the warmer weather. In fact, I crave it. I hate everything about cold. This last week or so, I have discovered that there definitely can be too much of a good thing. It's been seriously hot. Like in the 100's hot, with a heat index anywhere from 110 to 115 hot. Not. Fun.

No one had any energy to do anything, and that includes my children and dogs. Not that I am putting them in the same category, but there are days that the similarities are there and the only way I can tell them apart is that the human terrorists use silverware. Sometimes.

I forgot where I was. Oh, I remember now!

It's hot.

Read More I'm not done talking yet... »

The kids were grumpy. And whiny. Nothing I suggested for them to do met their approval. And then I had an idea. Suddenly I was brilliant. No! Better than brilliant. I was the best! People, you have no idea how hard I work for that title.

Ingredients to a successful idea on a hot summer day:

1. 2 storage bins from Walmart (these had not yet been filled with "stuff')
2. Garden hose that can squirt out water (in other words, it works)
3. Naked Barbies (you do not want to ask)
4. Leggos (any size will do)
5. Old Rags (make sure they are clean)
6. Goggles (duh, how can you get wet without them?)

Now, if you will excuse me, I'm going to lie on the floor with the dogs and pant under the fans. Suddenly, that scene from Stick It, where Haley lowers her bad self into a tub of ice cubes doesn't seem like a bad I idea.

Maybe being cold isn't so bad after all.

« I'm done now!

We are back.

We arrived home a little after midnight last night. The trip was wonderful and did us all a lot of good. I think we all needed it. The drive was long but we passed through South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and then reached our final destination in Ohio. The girls, true to form, are EXCELLENT travellers in the car.

Today was spent picking up the various school supplies, plus school shoes because there is nothing like coming off of a truly relaxing vacation than braving the crowds at Wal-Mart and other various shops. I have honestly come to HATE shoe shopping with my kids. Chickie wears a size 10 in women's shoes and has particular taste which lends itself to name brands and what's popular. This generally means I need to pick up a few shifts at Huddle House in order to pay off the debts incurred. Luckily, there was a back-to-school sale, which enabled me to skip my temporary stint as a waitress. I would also like to point out that it is extremely difficult to find shoes in that size at stores that offer discounts.

Meelie No wears a size SEVEN in women's shoes. Might I remind you that she is only 9? I wear an 8. I am doomed. She is difficult to shop for because she hates trying things on. Her tastes are easier to accommodate, but it's difficult to get her to sit still long enough to find a pair of shoes that actually fit. I was finally able to halt her in mid whine by telling her that I was NOT going to pay a lot of money for a pair of shoes that she wouldn't be able to wear.

I honestly am ok with spending money on the "name brand shoes" because they are made better and will last longer. The added bonus is that they are a lot better for the feet. The girls both need that now, and because they are not so rough on their shoes, it's a lot easier to justify adding a second mortgage to the house. Again, we lucked out with the sale, so I can't complain too loudly.

Right now I'm a bit tired. I've got some photos I'll be sharing over the next few days from the trip. We've got Open House for school tomorrow, so it's going to take me a while to get caught up on everything. I hope you all had a fantastic week. I look forward to getting back in the swing of things.

You fold one up,
You put it away,
And then you start another one!

I know, don't quit my day job.

I'm packing. And doing laundry. And packing, and doing more laundry so I can pack. To say that I am a bit behind the 8 ball on this is to be kind. I've had the last three days off with the girls, and we have just been bumming around, and playing games on the computer. And drenching ourselves in fruit smoothies, and munching on frozen grapes and strawberries. In other words? I have done NOTHING to prepare for the trip. And I am paying for it today.

You should see my living room floor right now. Piles of folded clothes, and other items we need for the trip. I am nothing if not methodical and I like to lay everything out, and make a story. Perhaps it's a little eccentric but it's the only way I can make sure that I don't forget things. I generally would put the piles on my bed but the bed? She is full of laundry that still needs to be done.

It doesn't help that it has been 102 degrees outside to day and humid as all get-out. Add the fact that our washer and dryer are in the garage and I have turned into something that you definitely want to stay down wind of. I think I have lost a few pounds by sweat alone.

All is good. I'm starting to get excited. The more I put things in order, the less overwhelmed I am and the panic is subsiding to a manageable level.

I plan on taking lots of pictures! We'll be out of pocket for most of the time so I won't be on the computer much, if at all.

Hope all of you are well and I'll see you next week!

Last weekend I took the girls and their friends to the pool. There were five of them. Five. Girls. Gabfest! Actually, it was pretty fun. I love to go there because I actually get to do things like read a book and relax. When I get too hot, I get in the pool to cool off. Every hour they have adult swim for 10 minutes. The kids come back and reapply sunscreen if needed, and imbibe in a little snack. Swimming is lots of work, don't you know?

What I am about to tell you will convince you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am a hopeless klutz. I was lying on my stomach in a lounge chair when adult swim was called. The girls came back and wanted a snack. As I went to get up, I leaned on my elbows. Just as I was almost turned completely around and nearly in a sitting position, the chair tipped over and and I went buttox over teakettle. It was not a pretty sight. To make matters worse, I was laughing so hard that it was difficult to extricate myself from that unlady like position. It didn't help that the lower part of the chair folded upwards, effectively blocking my legs from moving. It hurt a bit, but nothing really bad. At that point, I think my pride took the biggest blow.

I have a huge bruise, which covers a large part of the lower left hand portion of my back. By looking at it, you would have thought I should be in traction. I've been a bit sore, but nothing to write home about. I'm stiff in the morning and after I sit for too long. This is easily remedied when I move around a bit.

I think I overdid it a bit yesterday. I was on my feet a lot at work, then driving the kids here and there to activities, and then came home and cooked dinner. Normally, this wouldn't phase me in the slightest because I'm used to it. By the time I was done with dinner, my back hurt. Nothing excrutiating but more of an annoying, tired like ache. This is the point that convinced me that perhaps my husband is as hard of hearing as his children are.

Me: My back hurts.
Him: What?
Me: My back hurts.
Him: You have a bad what?
Me: My. Back. Hurts.
Him: Your bad turd?

And people wonder how we have made it 19 years. Now I know why.

Moogie's Note: The video above is of Meelie and her BFF! Princess M. The only part of my car that got washed last night was the top.

PS: Blog Fodder #24, be there.

When I got home from work, I told Meelie to go change into her shorts and such and get ready for cheerleading/gymnastics/look Ma no hands stunt class. I headed out to the garage and was getting some clothes out of the dryer for Chickie's dance camp and Meelie came out into the garage and opened up the refrigerator door and just stood there.

Me: What are you doing?
Meelie: Getting my shorts for tonight.
Me: *BLINK*
Meelie: Um, never mind.
Me: .......

Darn my husband anyway. Doesn't he know that the clothes are supposed to be put in the INSIDE refrigerator?

Speaking of Meelie, she wrote another story. She was really psyched at your comments about the last one she did, so she decided to tackle another one. Personally, I'm all for it. Sure she needs to work on the spelling and punctuation, but she is only 9 years old, so that part of it can be forgiven. Besides I am hoping she keeps doing this so that one day, she'll become a famous author, making ginormous amounts of money so that she can support her mother in her dwindling years. The way I see it, she'll be able to publish the work from her "early years." Meelie thinks it should be called "Why My Shorts are Cold, and Other I Have an Evil Sibling Stories." Works for me. As before, I have not touched a thing. What you see here is exactly as she has typed it.

Myself

I love myself I just don't know it. That is the thing. Sometimes I wish I could be myself. The rezen why I say that is because I am a superstar. I have to have gards so people wont trample me. And like that will ever happen. Well I am talking about me not being able to see my friends You are lucky that you are not a superstar. That is a story abut me what do you have to say abut that. Huh I cant here you that is right it is beter than your story that I don't know about.

This story was made by: Meelie

I will leave you all with the link to the latest Blog Fodder (#24!!!!).

Thanks to Becca, Melli, Gopher, MommyBa and My Queen for participating last week.

Meelie has informed me that she wants to be an author. Today, when the rain was pouring down, and she was bored, she wrote a few "stories." This part cracks me up. She also said, "this story is loosely based on fact." Those were her exact words. I'm sure she picked it up from the TV or something, but I find it rather humorous that something like that came out of a nine year olds mouth. So, without further preamble, here is the story she wanted me to "publish." I have not changed anything at all. What you see is how she wrote it (in this story, she is May, and Chickie plays herself).

Running Away

I want to run away so I will pack up today the little girl said. So the next day she ran away well to the mailbox anyway. It is raining the little girl said but I don't care she said. The phone rang she went in the garage it was her friend Amy she picked it up. Amy she said yeah its me Amy. Do you want to stay the night she said I ran away and I told my parents that I never will see them agen so you told a lie say Amy sorta said May well said Amy what is your sister doing? She is in the house somewhere and she put a sign on the door and it says May is not allowed in the house. Oh that Chickie she is one evil sister said Amy. Talk about it I use to live with her. Yeah I feel sory for you.

Made by: Meelie

P.S. Chickie is the meanest sister on that block

I'm not sure but I don't think I can top that one. When she gets the whole punctuation thing down, I just may let her take over the blog.

And now, some miscellaneous pictures. As always, click to enlarge.

Sometimes she worries me

Power Rangers, unite!

This is what you will see during a thunder storm. This basket is located in our walk-in closet.

Bruiser is a bit afraid of thunder, can you tell?

Subject: Apple Announces New Music Device

Apple Computer announced today that it has developed a computer chip that can store and play music in women's breast implants. The chip will cost $499 or $599 depending on the size needed. This is considered to be a major breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

Good evening and happy 4th of July everyone. I looks as though we may have some hope that it will be dry enough to do fireworks this evening. It has been raining like hippos and elephants since this morning. We all were a little down, until I did my Psycho Mom impression and said, "who's holiday is this anyway?" And the kids responded "OURS!" My response? "LET'S DO IT!" So we went to Wendy's for Frosty's and because we are gluttons for punishment, took a leisurely drive, complete with sporadic downpours down the main rural road. We saw some pretty cool houses and got some good ideas for what we want to do for our yard. We also saw some feral dogs running down the middle of the road until they saw us at which point they took off running into the woods.

Getting out of the house did the trick and got us all out of our funk. It seriously minimized the whining and fighting and life is so unfairing that was going on around here. When we got home, we wandered over to our neighbor's house to visit. They are in the midst of painting their living room (ultimately they will put down some laminate flooring). It's going to be lovely when it is complete, but I couldn't help being thankful that it was NOT ME doing the work. That will be coming soon enough. Of course I intend to document all about it right here on my blog, which I know you are quite thrilled about.

Right now, I have some chicken skewers marinating, and it looks like we'll actually be able to barbeque them! My kids have just burst into the office chanting "sun, sun, sun" so I must go take a look at this thing they call the Sun. I hear it does wonders for drying up water so that fireworks will actually light off rather than collapse.

Later!

Be careful what you wish for. I'm not sure, but I think I just saw an armadillo floating down the middle of my street. We really need all of this rain, but does it have to come all at once? I was driving into work this morning, and it was really coming down hard. And sideways. About halfway there, it let up, and then all together stopped. This was most excellent because I had left my umbrella at home (shut it). I got through the guard gate, and the coast was still clear. I hopped out of my car and beat feet to the bus stop (I have to be bussed into my building as they do not allow civilian cars past a certain point). I got no more than 20 steps and the sky opened up (cats and dogs!) and by the time I got to the bus stop I was drenched. And my shoes were squeaking. Where is "Noah" when you need him? Yeah, really good way to start the day off.

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There is a security guard at my husband's work who is retiring and they had a luncheon for her. For whatever reasons, I had a burst of energy (I'm not complaining) and stopped off at the grocery store to pick up the supplies I needed. My husband had signed me up for tortilla rolls, but I decided to make more. There is nothing that says "yo woman, I want what you be smokin" than volunteering to bring more than you were asked. On a work day. When you have FIVE kids at your house (two of your own, and two that are spending the night, one that is here for the fried bologna sandwiches for dinner). That reminds me, I've got a really cool way to make those sandwiches in the oven. My children and their friends now worship the ground that I walk on but they still won't wash my feet.

Besides the tortilla rolls, I made Yummys (little sausages wrapped in bacon, covered with brown sugar and baked) and a little dessert plate. My friend who is a caterer gave me the recipe for the Yummys, and gave me the idea for the dessert plate. If you ask nicely, I'll write a post that contains the secret recipes, because people, you won't believe it if I tell you.

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Tomorrow morning is the big "D." The DOCTOR'S appointment. I would LOVE to be able to tell you that I'm perfectly fine with it but I can't. The exam (for my Dad's sake, since he reads this blog, I'll call it "The Woman's Yearly"), in and of itself, while nothing to write home about is no big deal. It's the results that I'm worried about. I can't get it out of my head that my butt will end up right back in the hospital, and I'll be facing surgery AGAIN, and, and....can you say "backing the hearse up to the door?" Shoot, I knew you could. And then there is that whole possible depression thing, the lack of focus, the inability to sleep at night, the insatiable urge to pick a fight, or complain about every living thing from here to Texas. And you internets? I can't tell you how much I heart you because you said that perhaps, you know, it might be hormonally related. You give me some hope. Maybe I'm not completely losing it after all. I just want my old self back.

I'll try to update tomorrow when I get back. In the meantime, just keep me in your thoughts, and leave words of encouragement here. Believe it or not, it really helps to know you are all on my side.

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I’ll leave you with one question. How can anyone be sad, when their youngest child gets home from Cheerleading/Gymnastics practice, running full speed right into your arms and announces:

“Mom, I can do a back walkover now! No spotter!”

I just wish you could have seen her face.

Memories are such a good thing to have. They have special hiding places, or "pockets" (as we call them) in our hearts and we can pull them out whenever we need them.

I remember riding a tricycle, and having one of my brothers on the back of it, pushing me so that I could go FAST. It felt like I was flying.

I remember my very first, non hand-me-down bike. It was pink and had a banana seat. It was named Pink Panther. It was a Huffy.

I remember the wagon rides with my brothers, who made us go so fast I just knew I was going to crash. At the same time, I always felt safe, because they would take care of me and not let me get hurt.

I remember Samm Starr. How could I forget Samm? I was Samm, "Secret Agent Movie Starr." Notice the spelling? I was imaginative even then. I had sunglasses, and a squirt gun. I was out to get the bad guys, who were my brothers. They always got soaked by the time I was through.

I remember my first dance in Junior High. My mom made me this pretty blue/white long dress. I got to wear panty hose AND high heels for the very first time ever. Oh, and let's not forget the lip gloss. I felt so grown up!

I remember my very first pair of boots. Black patent leather, just below the knee, and oh, so very, very soft.

I remember Samson, our dog we had when I was growing up. He didn't bark, until I taught him how to "speak." I don't think Mom has ever forgiven me for that.

I remember graduating high school. My mom let me invite my closest friends for a party (about a week before the actual graduation). She made little graduation caps and diplomas all out of construction paper. We grilled hamburgers. We had a slumber party. We laughed and played truth or dare.

I remember Sandy, my best friend in high school. As things go, we lost track of each other after graduation. It happens. Two years later I heard that she had committed suicide. That was rough because I wrestled with a guilty conscience for a long time after that. I should have kept in touch. Now I just remember the good times that we had and how thankful I was to have her in my life. I still miss her. But that's ok.

I remember playing Badminton all through high school. I remember being good at it. I remember the MVP trophies and the rush it brought me when my name was announced. I remember all of my team mates. We had such a good time.

I remember learning how to drive a stick shift for the very first time. My brother taught me. He was so very patient. We went to a local community college parking lot and he made me get in and out of first gear, over and over again until I could do it with my eyes closed. He told me if I could accomplish this, the rest of it was a piece of cake. And he was so very right.

I remember getting married. It was the hottest day of the year, a fluke, as it was in May. The air conditioning in the church was on the blink, as well as in the limo, and for a while it was even out at the place we held our reception. The organist didn't show up until most of the ceremony was over, and my piano teacher jumped in and covered for him, without so much as a blink of the eye. Despite all of that, it was the most wonderful day of my life, if you don't count the births of my children.

I remember when Chickie was born. Everybody had gone home to rest and I had her in the room with me. She was lying on my chest and I looked at her in awe, and was trying to figure out how something that big, could have been inside of me earlier that morning. I don't think I slept a wink all night.

I remember when Meelie was born. It happened rather fast. The labor and delivery was over in just six hours. My mom and my dad were able to be with me this time as the labor was induced. My husband was the greatest, but it was even better to have my mom there. She rubbed my feet and my legs. She rubbed my head. She whispered words of encouragement. I can't tell you how helpful that was because I don't have the words. My dad was with us from the start. When it was time for me to "push" Mom put her hand on my shoulder and asked me if he could stay. I can't explain it, this communication that went through us. I immediately said yes and to this day I am so very, very glad I did. After she was born, I remember looking at my dad who had tears in his eyes, because he had witnessed his granddaughter’s birth. That felt really good, you know?

I am so thankful that I have so many people in my life who love me. Perhaps at this point in time, they don't understand what's going on. And that's ok, I don't either.

How can I fail when I am married to a man who left a comment like this:

I'm still here, Sweetheart. And I ain't goin' away anytime soon... .

...in response to this.

It just doesn't get any better. I'm holding on to that.

Now, it's your turn. What are some good memories that you have? I would love to hear about them.

I am one nugget shy of a happy meal.

We ordered a DVD from Chickie's recital. It was beautifully done. My husband immediately set out to make copies to send to the relatives. And then his computer died. All is well on that end because, even though it was painful, he brought it back to life again.

It was sometime after the death, but before the first breath that the DVD became missing. I prefer to call it temporarily misplaced. He swore up and down on his mother's grave that he had given it back to me. I, equally incensed, insisted that HE WAS THE ONE WHO MISPLACED IT. Can you see where this is going?

Do you want fries with that?

I pretty much tore up the office looking for it, concentrating mostly around his desk. I don't know how the man finds anything with all of that, uh, clutter. Ok, my desk is absolutely no better, in fact it's worse, but let's not confuse the issue with facts, m'kay?

So last night, as I was sitting here wallowing in self pity, I noticed that the manila envelope it was shipped in was on the shelf at my desk. For grins and giggles, I took the envelope down and peered inside. Any guesses as to what I found? The first two don't count.

"Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun."

I have a doctors appointment for a week from Friday. It's a start. In the mean time, I'm on the lookout for humor. Because it feels so good to laugh.

My girlfriend and I went out to lunch today just to get away from it all. For whatever reasons, we started to talk about roller coasters. I used to ride them with abandon as a child, most likely because my Dad was with me. As I grew into my teens, my friends were there, generally double dog daring each other to ride. Hello people? You can not turn down a double dog dare. Reputations are at stake.

Today? Not so much so. I just can't bring myself to ride them any more. What if something were to happen? What if it broke down and we were right in the middle of a loop-dee-loop,, and were left hanging upside down until they got it fixed? What if it malfunctioned and the car I was riding in flew off of the tracks and I was hurled towards the ground which would surely result in my untimely death? Ferris Wheels? I ride them with my eyes closed and please God, do not let us stop on top because some kid who's stomach was filled with cotton candy and hot dogs decided to throw up. I just can't do it any more.

• Happy Sunday everyone! Enjoy the weekend? I mean, it's not official yet, but we are on the downhill side. Hey, no need to thank me! I'm really good at putting a damper on all that happy stuff. It was actually a great weekend here. I ended up working a bit on Saturday, and then took my youngest over to her friend’s house where I went with the friend and her mom to see "Surf's Up." It was a really great movie, and I would encourage you to go see it. Lot's of funny stuff and you will be sure to fall in love with the main characters.

• Blog Fodder #20 (will you STOP with the Blog Fodder stuff already Moogie!) is up and running with a new twist. Go on over and take a look. It's fun! And free! And you don't have to join anything if you don't want to! GIFT CARD baby!

• It's been hotter that Billy Blue Blazes here the past couple of days (I can't say Hell because my folks read this blog - Hi MOM!). The high temperatures reached 99 degrees and that's not even factoring in the humidity. We went from "man, this is really pleasant weather" to "I'm going to go cook breakfast on the driveway." Today, Chickie, her friend and I spent all day at the pool. There is no better way forget about all of the work you have to do at home. I just didn't want to. I had a terrible case of the "I don't wannas" and I bet there isn't one of you out there that can tell me you haven't suffered through that.

• The girls are so tired after the day out that they are flat on their backs watching "The Incredibles" (DVD) and the only way I can tell that they are alive is because I can see their mouths moving while they are munching on Fruit Loops (dry).

• Tonight we are going to cook some "snausages" and hot dogs on the grill and I'll serve it with some potato salad (adults) and chips (kids). Grilling is always the way to go when it's so hot and we generally don't start until the sun has gone down a bit.
  

All in all, it's been a great weekend, and I hate to see it come to a close. Hope everyone is doing well and I'll catch you on the flip-flop!

I wish I knew who Paul was.

Moving right along, I want to thank all of you who sent me emails wishing me luck on with my appointment with the dermatologist yesterday. The good news is that I'm all clear. The suspicious spots were normal. The one good thing is that he praised me (I'm not kidding here) for coming in and having them checked. He told me that too many people feel that there is something "just not right about this spot" and wait until it becomes a really big problem. He checked me out from head to toe, and took a look at each and every mole on my body as well. I felt as if there were no part of my body left unexplored. I'm set up to go yearly now, for a "skin check" which I really think is a good thing. I'm relieved to know that everything is ok in that area. Again, thank you for all of your well wishes, it meant the world to me.

Now that I have that out of the way, I would just like to tell you that my house exploded while I was at work today. As you know, we are experimenting on having the girls stay home, rather than daycare or camp, for most of the time. Don't get me wrong, during the week, we have activities scheduled, with some of the other families and such, but some of the time, they are home. When I walked in the door, from the garage into my kitchen, I noticed that there were approximately 14 cups sitting on the counter. There were bowls (from cereal and ice cream - not mixed together thank you very much) in the living room. There were four cups sitting on the desk in the living room, which holds the children's computer. They had taken approximately 26 (I counted) strawberry cream filled cookies, ate the filling out of them and left the outer part of the cookies on the end table. As I type this, I notice that there are a couple more fillingless cookies sitting on MY DESK. I also discovered that they went into my bedroom. You know, the room that is OFF LIMITS to anyone younger than me whenever I am not there. Apparently, they were playing hide and go seek. They went into my walk in closet and proceeded to knock quite a few clothes off of the hangers, and did not even attempt to hang them up. I was not happy. My happiness is nothing compared to their misery. I did not beat them, not that I would ever admit that I did, but let's just say that I am NOT very popular today.

I love my girls dearly, truly I do. But there are days in which I could easily sell them to the highest bidder. Not that I would get ANY bidders, because I sell them without a warranty. They come to you completely "as-is" baby. Returns are strictly verboten.

Now I need to go drag them into the kitchen by their ears, and help me clean all of the cups and bowls, so that I can cook dinner. It would be so much easier for me to do it myself. But not nearly so much fun as hearing them whine.

On a side note, have you participated in Blog Fodder yet? Go for it! I'll wait.

• The comments! They are fixed! They are no longer dumped into "junk comments" and I no longer have to "unjunk" them in order to be seen! The solution? It was very simple. I now feel stupid that I didn't catch it. The upside? I am learning more about Moveable Type than I ever wanted to know. Now that I have a bit of confidence under my belt, I am tackling a problem on my husband's blog. None of this would have been possible without the wonderful support I got from these folks.

• Blog Fodder is back and better than ever. Ok, not much has changed yet other than the template. But there are many changes in the works. One of them will be the addition of a "Blog of the Month." If you are a participant, you just may be chosen to be interviewed. How cool is that? My dear readers, won't you join us? Pretty please? Did I tell you I think you are fantastic? By the way, Blog Fodder #19 is up and running!

• Whenever you are dropping your child off, or picking one up to come over for a play date, never, ever (and I mean EVER) trust them when they tell you they know where said child lives. It happened to me this weekend. Twice. Clearly I have a hard time learning from my mistakes.

• Friday night, we had seven children visit us. Five spent the night. The house is still standing. Saturday night, one of the same girls spent the night again. Her sister was having a birthday/slumber party at her house and she would have had to spend the evening in her room. Considering the fact that Chickie was helping a friend baby sit Saturday night (after they were done she would stay the night at friend's house), it was a perfect thing for Meelie. We took them to a restaurant called Bonzai. We have leftovers. I get to take them in to work with me tomorrow. Life is rough, yes? To top that off, I can show you pictures because I know that all of you wonderful readers (who will be joining us this week in Blog Fodder right?), have missed the pictures of my children. I am not the kind of person who would disappoint you!

  
  

  
  

• Tomorrow I have an appointment to go see the dermatologist in the morning. My husband has been after me (I'm not known for taking care of these things) to get one. I've got a suspicious spot on my leg that I've been watching. I am here to tell you that watching it doesn't make it get smaller. I'm going to also have him check a couple of other areas that are making me uncomfortable. To say I'm freaking out would be an overstatement (which is surprising). Quite frankly, I'm not feeling anything yet. I'm sure that will change tomorrow. At that point, I will be scared spitless, and freaking out and battling tears. I just want it over with.

And that, my friends, is about all I have to say. Have a wonderful evening and don't forget to participate in Blog Fodder this weekend.

Tis the season for Love Bugs. They are quite annoying. Frankly, the only good thing about them is that they don't bite. They hang out around your car, which means that when you open the door to get in, you have several visitors that like to overstay their welcome. I can't tell you how many times I have looked down to see a few of them on my clothing. They are everywhere. It's inevitable, at least in my family, that you will have this type of conversation:

Chickie: Why do they all fly around on top of each other? Don' t they get tired?
Me: ....
Meelie: They probably just like to huggle. Like we do with Mommy at bedtime.
Me: ....
Chickie: Yeah, they probably get cold because they are so small.
Me: Alrighty then. What do you guys want for dinner?

WHAT?

On the last 30 minutes of our trek to my parent’s house this weekend, the midget terrorists became restless. The sighs of sheer boredom and the repetitive whining consisting of “she’s touching me” as well as the moans making it perfectly clear that they were going to perish from starvation because “WE HAVE NOT EATEN IN AT LEAST 36 MINUTES!” were about ready to cause my chin and neck hair suddenly sprout up again, even though I had just finished plucking them that morning. I realize that was a run on sentence, but it conveyed my feelings of headimploditis, which, after reading that last sentence is what I’m sure you are experiencing now. Oh, and by the way? “I have to go to the bathroom!”

My eldest daughter suddenly blurted out that there was a cloud that looked like a baby bottle nipple. When I turned my head to get a glimpse of it, I realized she was correct. Not to be outdone, I quickly pointed out the “elephant lying on its back with its trunk up in the air” (hey, I have never been known for my originality). We found a couple more interesting clouds, when Chickie, the fruit of my loins, my first born, and the child I had SO MUCH HOPE FOR, shouted:

”Mom! There’s this cloud over on my side that looks like a giant turd sleeping on a pillow!”

Are we there yet?

Clearly, I have been using the microwave for too long. I turned on the wrong burners tonight, and managed to burn the sausage. It's a good thing I have a back up plan.

ICE CREAM! It's not just for dessert anymore.

[side note]Clearly, I jest. No ice cream was served for dinner tonight and all children were served a nutritional dinner.[/end side note]

Lord help me. I shouldn't be allowed around any kitchen items that require you to be able to READ the knobs.

Carry on.

For whatever reasons, that song is going through my head and I CAN'T.GET.IT.OUT. Besides that, it has nothing to do with this post.

Now that I have THAT out of the way, and even though the song is still in my head, I thought I'd ramble a bit, with some thoughts that are going through my head.

Or, why I haven't written in a while and it isn't because of being ill because I have complained enough about that already. I am such a wuss.

I was abducted by aliens. For real! And they looked just like they do on TV. I think their leader was ET's, brother's, sister's, uncle's, cousin's father. There was THAT much family resemblance. I was sitting in my office, writing this thought provoking, gut wrenching, humorous post, when all of a sudden, WHAM! There they were. Standing right in the doorway of my office. If you don't believe me, you can ask my dog, though she might be kind of hard to understand, because ever since the abduction, she's been speaking in tongues. I was so flabbergasted by their unexpected appearance that I accidentally hit the little red "X" up at the top of my screen and lost my award winning post, which would have catapulted me into instantaneous fame. I have no memory as to what happened following their arrival. After they showed up, the next thing I remember was landing with a thud in my office chair, and I was once again, sitting in front of a blank screen. For some reason, I am fighting a most irresistible urge to pick up my cell phone and dial random numbers, while shouting things like "can you hear me now?"

Pardon me while I go take my medicine now. The voices in my head. They are so very loud!

N-EEE-WAY!!!

With all the alien excitement, loosing my post type stuff going on I don't think that I have mentioned that there is only one more week of school. Not that I would have had any chance in Hades of forgetting it because each and every day, I have been reminded that my children are almost free. Meelie No informed me just how relieved she is, because after all, school is so boring. All you do every day is learn. I didn't realize just how hard it has been for her, bless her heart.

With the end of school drawing near, I feel the need to confess that I have done nothing in regards to figuring out just what it is my kids will be doing over the summer. I've thought about it, but most of the camps out there are cost prohibitive, as well as being impossible to coordinate due to both parents working full time. While we could most likely handle the economic side of things, the hours make it a complete no-go. Would any of you like to come and babysit for the summer? I promise you that you will not have to clean any guinea pig or hamster cages, scrub out fish tanks, nor take on the daunting task of pooper-scooper duty as a result of having three dogs. Oh, and as an added bonus, all my dogs are people friendly, and if you don't mind a dog speaking in tongues, you'll do fine.

Along with the end of school, comes the "BIG RECITAL." This is the performance that Chickie has been working hard on all year. She will be performing in six pieces. SIX. Count them. She has more costume changes than Carter had liver pills, and don't get me started on the hair styles and head pieces. This year, they are going to have "helpers" in the dressing rooms. I'm hoping that everything will work out. As a mother, I am most anxious for her, but she is so excited and confident, mixed with just the right amount of nervousness that I can't help but be caught up in the moment. I know that she will do fine. More than fine actually, but I still worry. All of this is happening Saturday.

In many ways, these last few weeks have been crazy, which one would expect. It seems to me as though everything is happening at once. At the same time, there is a sense of winding down. I get all warm and fuzzy at the thought of actually sitting down as a family and eating dinner that doesn't come out of a box or can, and doesn't need to be microwaved after careful ventilation of the film cover. I'm not sure I even remember how to use my oven anymore.

As for right now? It's time for me to pick up the camera and go take some photos of my children and their friends, doing death defying stunts on the trampoline. Right after a couple of shots of whiskey to calm my nerves.

If you are still with me, I'll leave you with something that is bound make you smile. Go to the extended entry and have a look.

These pictures were taken at 4 o'clock in the afternoon today. Even with all of the blinds being open in our house, we still have to turn on lights in order to see well. People, it's really eerie. Keep in mind that Waycross is about 60-70 miles from us. I can't imagine what it's like for the people who live closer. Click on the images to get the full effect.

Anybody know a good rain dance?

READ HERE and HERE.

My husband is on his way to Blackshear to today to fix some fickle printers, and has been told by his employers to take a scenic route (much longer) because of the fires that are located between Folkston and Waycross. Just this morning the news reported that the fires had turned on them faster than you can yell “Bartender, make mine a double!” The winds we have been experiencing are very strong, and to add insult to injury, we have not had any significant rainfall for some time.

Several friends of mine live in that area, and so far, they are all ok, but I’ve noticed the dark circles in their eyes, and the slow cadence of their walk. They are tired and afraid, and no one can blame them for that. At any given moment in time, their town could be evacuated, and from day to day, they are not sure if their house will be left standing. So many houses have already been lost and the next few days doesn’t look that promising.

Just the other day, Chickie told me she was getting so sick of all the smoke and ash. For the last week or so, they have not been able to go outside for PE because of it. I let her vent because I know that for a twelve year old it can be frustrating. Then she surprised me. After finishing her tirade she grew quiet. Slowly turning towards me she said; “I was just thinking that maybe I shouldn’t complain. I was thinking that maybe I should be thankful that we are safe.” I replied; “I was thinking the same thing.”

On second thought Bartender, make that two Root Beer floats, with a side of Whipped Cream.

Last week Meelie and I stopped off at K-mart after work, searching for some Pony Beads needed for a project that her 3rd grade class is doing. We took a look around and couldn't locate any beads at all. Per usual, there was absolutely no one on the floor to ask, so we meandered on up to Customer Service to wait our turn. There was a small line in front of us waiting to be served, so it was really no big deal.

Right in front of me was a lady and a little boy, that I guessed to be somewhere around the age of three. The mom had a package of socks in her hand. The little boy, being, well, little, was full of energy, but actually behaving quite well. He was pretending to be an airplane and I found the little engine noises he was making to be quite endearing. If the grins of everyone else in line were any indication, I wasn't the only one.

Finally, it was her turn and apparently, she wanted to return the socks. I'm not entirely sure of the reason why, but that's not the point. At the desk, there is a rather huge sign that stated you must have a receipt in order to return something. She didn't have it. They wouldn't let her return the socks. From there, it started to get ugly.

She began to berate the employee, using alot of language that even made my ears burn. I looked at Meelie and realized she was soaking all of this in with wide eyed wonder. The poor girl, who couldn't have been much over 20, and probably wasn't making much more than minimum wage, was doing her best to be polite and explain the policy.

During that time, I tried to distract Meelie, by pointing at the little boy, who by this time was becoming a little wild because his mother was too busy cussing out the employee. On my key chain, I have a little tiny light, that is great for using when you need to unlock your car and it's pitch black outside. I pulled it out of my purse, and handed it to Meelie, and instructed her to shine it on the floor, near the child to see if we could keep him occupied. It worked and he happily chased the light around, trying to catch it. For some reason, I thought of Peter Pan trying to catch his shadow.

At this point, the Manager came up and the woman kept up her tirade. The louder she got, the more agitated her son became. Meelie and I squatted down to his level and began to ask him questions. "How old are you?" "I love your Spiderman Tennis Shoes!" "Do you like Spiderman?" He answered all of our questions enthusiastically, and rather excitedly told us he also was wearing Spidy Undewear. I declined his offer to show us.

At that moment, the lady must have got tired of it all, and gave up. She spotted Meelie and I talking to her son. She came up, grabbed her son by the hand and stated:

"You know, you have no business talking to a child you don't know. Why, for all I know you could be some kind of pervert."

Forgive me, but I laughed.

My reply?

"You know, you shouldn't really be berating an employee who is only following company policy and using inappropriate language in front of your son. There are better ways of handling things like that." I didn't add that if she were paying attention to her son, strangers wouldn't have to. That was pretty much implied by the tone of my voice.

At this point, her face turned beet red and she picked up her son, and promptly left the store.

It turns out that K-mart doesn't carry beads, so Meelie and I headed out to the car. As I was getting into the car, the Manager came out and signaled that she wanted to talk to me.

Her: I don't mean to bother you but I wanted to say thank you.
Me: You are welcome, but why are you thanking me?
Her: Because you did what I couldn't.

Just remember that when you get angry at an employee. 95% of the time, they are only doing their job. I would bet you my next paycheck that if that woman would have been polite, she would have been able to return the socks, company policy or not.

I was reading this post today and it got me to thinking. What is it with all things "French." Because I am a moron have an inquisitive mind, I thought I would do some research. Here is what I found.

• French Fries:

  The straightforward explanation of the term is that it means 'potatoes fried in the French sense of the verb': 'to fry' can mean either sautéing or deep-fat frying, while its French origin 'frire' unambiguously means deep-frying : frites being its past participle used with a plural feminine substantive as in pommes de terre frites, 'deep-fried potatoes'. Thomas Jefferson, famous for serving French dishes, wrote exactly the latter French expression. In the early 20th Century the term 'French fried' was being used for foods such as onion rings or chicken, apart from potatoes (shamelessly plucked from here).

  I wonder what they would call them if you baked them? Now, here is my question to you. How many of you eat your French Fries with ketchup? What is your favorite type of "fry?"

• French Kissing (sorry Mom, I didn't know what the heck this was until I looked it up, scouts honor!):

  A French kiss may feel like a sexy maneuver (especially to hormonal teens), but it's not very romantic to watch. Ever witness a couple playing tonsil hockey in public? Unless someone's going off to war the next morning, there's really no excuse.

  The article then goes on to say:

  So how did this slobbery smooch get its name? As far as we can tell, it stems from the stereotype that the French are a morally casual people. Wordorigins.org, which specializes in these sorts of questions, says the term dates from at least the 1920s but doesn't know exactly who coined the phrase. The site goes on to draw parallels to other adult-only phrases like "pardon my French" and "French postcards." Ooh la la!

  IdiomSite.com says a lot of the same things (i.e., the phrase comes from uptight prudes who believed the French were promiscuous). Several sites and dictionaries mention "soul kiss" as a synonym. Apparently the act of sticking your tongue into the mouth of another person is so intense, your souls intertwine. Hmm, we must be doing it wrong.

• French Onion Soup:

  Legend has it that the soup was created by King Louis XV of France. Late one night, he discovered he only had onions, butter and champagne at his hunting lodge, so he mixed them together to create the first French onion soup.

  Go Louis! This is one of my favorite soups for a wet and cold day. There are many different variations of the soup, from quick and easy to complicated. What is your favorite kind of soup for a "stay inside" kind of day?

• French Horn:

  The horn is a brass instrument that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form, now with finger-operated valves to help control the pitch but originally without valves to control the pitch. (This kind of horn is now called a natural horn, which is a retronym since at that time, all French horns were natural horns.) The instrument was first developed in England as a hunting horn in about 1650. The French refer to the modern valved instrument as the horn of harmony, the Germans call it the hunting horn, and the English and Americans call it the French horn. Most musicians usually refer to it simply as the horn. In the 1960s the International Horn Society declared the official name of this instrument to be the "Horn." (Courtesy of Wikipedia).

  On a side note, this is what Chickie plays in band. Last year she played the Trumpet but this year, she wanted something more challenging. In listening to her talk about it, I think she got what she asked for. What about you? Did you/do you play an instrument?

PS: Jay? The whole Pope going commando thing is just so not right. But I still think it would make a great People magazine cover.

Category: This and that
| 5:16 PM | Comments (4) | |

I call this one "Infectious." I can't get through it without laughing myself. What about you?

But wait! There's more in the extended entry.

Read More I'm not done talking yet... »

This was a shot of the girls riding in the "trailer" in the back of our mower. That hunky young man you see acting as their tour guide? Why it's Mr. Moogie himself. The girls were talking about it later and said that it was more fun that an amusement park ride. At this point, mom was thinking, "and a lot cheaper to!"

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During the party, we were invaded by some aliens from outer space. Fortunately, we had our own Channel 4 reporter on the scene. As you can see, we had to try it a few times to get it right.

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos


Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos


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This is my attempt at a Tinkerbell Cake. My girlfriend, who decorates cakes, helped me do it. Let me tell you, that is alot of hard work. I don't think I did too bad for my first time. Meelie was thrilled with it, as were the other girls.

The next few show some of the gifts she received. She loved all of them, as they each had something to do with Tinkerbell. She couldn't have been more thrilled.

« I'm done now!

I had a lot of errands to run yesterday, including going into the city to Michaels to pick up some things for Meelie's birthday party next weekend. There is a road that I travel on for several miles, which can best be described as rural. It is lined by very tall trees on both sides, and a massive amount of underbrush. It immediately gives me a sense of peace. It's almost surreal because it almost feels as if you are travelling through a cave with view of the sky. The road consists of only two lanes and there are stretches of it that contain nothing at all but the wilderness.

While navigating one of the larger bends in the road on my way home yesterday, I looked ahead and saw a mirage that made me feel as if I were about ready to drive into a lake. The sun was high at that point, and I'm sure it contributed to the illusion. Like all mirages, they disappear as you get closer but at that moment in time, I was struck by a memory that I hadn't thought of in years.

When I was a child, we would take a lot of road trips to visit family. When I would get bored, I would intently observe the seemingly endless highway and watch for mirages. When I would see one, I would imagine my father pushing a button on the dashboard of our Kingswood Station Wagon, which would magically transform our car into a boat, which would safely transport us across the "ocean." I remember visualizing dolphins frolicking in the water beside us. Many times I saw sharks and I remember one distinct time I saw a Humpback Whale. If we didn't turn into a boat, we would transform into a submarine, and work our way through the coral reefs and beds of kelp. It felt as if I was deep inside and aquarium, with a bird's eye view of everything around me.
Yes, I'm older now, but mirages still hold the same fascination for me as they did when I was a child. The one I witnessed yesterday reminded me of a lake on a still day, with the sun's rays warming me from the slight chill in the air. It relaxed me, and I felt a sense of calm envelope me. Yes, I do have a busy life, just like most of you do. I have learned you need to grab those moments of peace wherever you can get them. If it comes in a form of a mirage, why would I ignore it?

I guess I still possess a bit of the imagination I had as a child, and for that, I'm very grateful.

From our house to yours, Happy Easter everyone!

I've never really been one that has held much stock in dreams, and what their interpretations are. It's not that I think it's all a bunch of malarkey. I've just really never been interested, nor paid that much attention to it. I will admit to waking up in the mornings, on those rare occasions that I actually remember what I was dreaming about and saying; "Where in the heck did that one come from?" I've also heard people say that your dreams will coincide with the last thing you were thinking about before you fell asleep. This is about as helpful to me as a hangnail in my big toe because I NEVER have any memory of my thoughts before I drift off.

I do remember a dream I had a couple of nights ago that I would categorize as bizarre. Let me rewind and give you a little background.

We have these two alarm clocks in our bedroom, complete with the technology to "spring" forward, and "fall" backward, with nary a knob to be touched. We bought them about 8 months ago, before it became apparent (perhaps we weren't paying attention) that the time changes would be different this year. We had to manually set the clocks about a month ago, ensuring that we would wake up on time, and that was a feat in itself. We hadn't read the manual before purchase, which warned us that a doctorate degree was needed. Between that and the statement absolving themselves of any responsibility for medical costs incurred as a result of sticking a pencil in your significant other's eye, convinced me that perhaps we should have stuck with the old fashioned wind up clock. You remember those don't you? The alarms on those puppies would cause you to smack the living daylights out of the person slumbering beside you in an effort to SHUTTHESTUPIDTHINGOFF!

Internets! I've been sitting her for the past 3 hours 1/2 hour or so, starting and stopping and starting and stopping and starting and stopping posts and I'm no closer to writing that first sentence than I was when I first started. I've accomplished very little today in preparation for the upcoming vacation, but hey, I'm all about procrastination. I work better under pressure. Hey! Why do today, what you can put off until tomorrow? Or maybe first thing on the morning you are supposed to LEAVE?

The girls are off to a birthday party with no estimated time of arrival back to home. My significant other is watching one of the home improvement shows (I, of course, must watch it with him from time to time, because people, they have some seriously cool stuff on there). And I? I'm trying to decide what I want to do.

I've spent some time updating the Blog Fodder site, though I haven't released that version publicly yet. I'm trying to come up with some good ideas for a blog for a friend of mine who has a catering business. I've also been adding some updates to a website for another person, with a bouncy house business. So I ask you, my dear readers. How can I find time to pack when I have all of this other stuff to do? It seems logical to me.

Bleh.

Since I have all of this hovering over my head, I will treat you to another round of Chez Moogie photographs. Meelie and Miss S. were so bored when they came home from school on Friday. I mean, they had NOTHING to do, and no, you can't count the number of toys in Meelie's bedroom, or the games, or the number of suggestions that I gave them. The were flat out bored and, according to the little rugrats, it was my responsibility to fix it. Mine. I have big shoulders. I can take it. For the record, I passed on my normal response which was to give them chores. It was just too beautiful outside.

So I brought out the camera! Because what sends those "I have nothing to do and I'm so bored, and it's your fault" blues away than Mom taking pictures at our every whim? In the extended entry, I present to you the result, and a description of each and every photo. Because let's face it. It's not like I have anything better to do.

Shaddup.

Read More I'm not done talking yet... »

As always, click on any of the images to enlarge them.

I call this "Ow, or BOTTOMS UP!" depending on which picture you were looking at. Either way, my entire body hurts.

Next up? This is the ever popular picture entitled DON'T LOOK BECAUSE OH MY GOSH SOMEONE IS GOING TO BREAK THEIR NECK (Look Mom! No hands!)." May I have an "Amen" from those of you who have one of these photos?

I have entitled the next one "Patient Dogs," because as far as those adorable four legged creatures are concerned, the girls can do no wrong, as long as they are playing with them. Pet me! No! Pet me! have also discovered that it is difficult to get a good shot of any of the dogs on their own because they won't hold still. Ralph, the littlest one, is next to impossible. I'm not sure, but I believe he is camera shy. It's either that or he owes some back child support to some poodle and doesn't want his face photographed.

And lastly, one of my favorite, typical Meelie shots. What's with the thumb girl? We've been working on breaking her of this habit for a while. At least she no longer does it at school. And tell me, my beloved readers, is this shirt not perfect for her?

Now it's your turn. Which one of these is your favorite picture?

« I'm done now!

1. A friend of my husbands sent this video to him. What more do you need than a camera, a lightsaber, and a future academy award winning actress? Well, a roll of toilet paper doesn't hurt. This video stars his friend and his daughter.

   
   

2. We had an extra child today after school, so she tagged along for Meelie's gymnastics practice. This is one of the conversations I overheard.

   Miss K: I am from Philadelphia!
   Meelie: I can tell because of your French accent.
   

3. Miss K asked me this question: Who was God's mommy? This is the type of question that puts me between a rock and a hard place. I don't know what her parents believe, and I don't want to step on any toes. I side-stepped around it as best I could, and was relieved when Meelie chimed in with "Oh Mom! I forgot to tell you. Mrs. D. made me sit out at recess." When I asked her why she replied, "because I kept burping during Math." Obviously, this will be a topic of discussion during the bedtime routine. And to think, I wanted girls because they were so feminine and delicate. Slap me now. It will prevent me from banging my head on the wall.
4. My kids and I have a pretty open dialogue about sex and the "Lord love a duck, you are so not dating until you are 30" type thing. Last night, I was cuddled up to Chickie, drifting off into a deep slumber when she asked me "Mom, what's an abortion?" Needless to say, it was a while before we went to sleep. (Dad, you probably want to stop reading here) On a side note here, I've always tried to use the real words involved, like "vagina" and "penis" when talking about puberty and such. I kid you not, I used to practice in front of a mirror so I could say the words without blushing or feeling faint. There are times when I think the whole openness thing I have created is coming back to bite be on the butt. You think I'm uncomfortable telling Meelie's friend about who God's mommy was? How do you think I feel when I overhear Chickie say to one of her friends, "Come on, let's ask my mom. She'll explain to you what Mrs. S. means about birth control." I went and hid in the bathroom.
5. Only my children would think that Chicken and Dumplings was a 5 star meal. I'd never made them before, and it did turn out really good, considering I really didn't know what I was doing. Mmmmmm....leftovers. (Chickie likes it! She really likes it!)

And that, my dear internets, is all I'm saying about that. See you tomorrow. Same bat time, same bat channel!

PS: Dear Mom, only 5 more get-ups!

Shhhhh...do you hear that? Quiet now. Listen very closely. Do you hear it? You don't? You know what? Neither do I. Do you know why? We are child free tonight. If it weren't for the hamster in the wheel thing, or my husband sitting behind me at his computer playing shoot 'em up until I get killed, there would be no noise, sans my fingernails clipping on the keyboard while I type.

Meelie No is at a slumber party. Oh EXCUSE me, a "Spa Party." A houseful of 8 year old girls. Getting the spa treatments. Manicures, pedicures, facials, complete with the cucumbers on the eyes. I wish I were a little fly on the wall. I want to see if the Mom can make it the entire night without imbibing in alcoholic beverages. I also think the idea ROCKS. I should have asked if I could volunteer as the official photographer. I would love to see what the girls would do when I came up and took a cucumber off their eye and ate it. WHAT? Are you saying you could resist the temptation?

The eldest has been working her rump off over at the neighbors, helping to clean out the overgrowth between their backyard and the marsh that is directly behind it. I believe there was money exchanging hands, but none-the-less, she has been busy all day. And they asked if Chickie could spend the night (the daughter is a good friend of hers), because there is nothing like working a child to death, only to have them start right up again FIRST THING IN THE MORNING! Before you start throwing pine cones at me, she is doing this willingly. And oh, my dear readers, she has just opened up a chapter in a new book because we are getting read to revamp our yard. Child labor. It makes my heart sing.

My husband and I have decided to go out to dinner. Alone. The food comes on real plates and that don't ask you if you want to "biggie size" it. We'll most likely come home, eat Slim Jims and Boiled Peanuts in our underwear while watching reruns of "Who's Line Is It Anyway." As you can see, we don't have much practice at this.

I don't know about you, but I could get used to this.

Dear Christopher,

I'm sorry.

You don't know me, nor do I know you or any members of your family. But I am sorry. I am so sorry that there are people out there sick enough to do this to such a young, vibrant boy like you.

When we first moved to Georgia, my company put me in corporate housing, and I lived about 2 miles down the road from you. Perhaps that is the reason your story breaks my heart, because it was so close to home. In all actuality, it's most likely because I have two beautiful girls of my own, who are a big part of my life. My heart aches for your family when I think of what they are going through. I can't even imagine the gut wrenching grief that they are experiencing knowing that you will no longer come through that door.

I am sorry.

I have to believe that you are with God now. Safe and warm, and secure in a love that will heal your heart and erase the last moments of your life. Please, watch out over your family, and help them through this. Let them know how much you loved them, and how much you would rather be with them right now. Be there for your brother, who is missing you so much right now. I saw a picture of him during the candlelight vigil they held for you, and it nearly broke my heart.

I am sorry.

I can picture you in Heaven now, as God's helper, because goodness knows he must need it. When you get there, ask for Grandma Minnie. I know she will be happy to show you around, and most likely she will give you a warm and comfy hand stitched quilt she made which will help you sleep better at night. Uncle Bob is there too. He loved trains and I picture him with a great big model train display, detailed down to the finest points. I know he would be happy to let you become an engineer. You only have to ask. Look for two dogs named Samson and Shoestrings. They love kids and will be your constant companions. Make sure you have Milkbones with you at all times. I know there will be so many people ready and willing to welcome you with open arms.

I am so sorry.

It is my hope that they catch the people responsible for taking you from this earth and convict them so that they will never be able to hurt another child again. I know that God had a reason for taking you so soon. It's the only way I can comprehend your death. God has a plan, and he needed you more than we here on earth did. I just don't know what it is yet. And that makes me mad, and sad, and mixed up.

I think about what you would have become had you grown into an adult. Would you have been a football player? A surgeon who pioneered new techniques that would save countless lives? Would you have been a father? Perhaps to a little girl who would have wrapped you around her little finger. In a strange way, that thought brings a smile to my face because I can just picture what a great man you would have been.

For the past week, we have been watching the news and following the story of your disappearance closely. I have been hesitant to pick up the paper, or listen to the news because there was a part of me that knew you would not be coming home. Certainly that feeling grew as time passed.

God speed little one. And know that you will always be in our hearts.

Sincerely,
Laura

Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn't find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, "Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!"

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, "Never mind, I found one."

I had all of these ideas I was going to post about, because it's been about eleven years since I've cracked open this electronic notebook. When I sat down I found out my pen was all out of ink. I hate it when that happens. So I decided that if I can't do a real post, I just won't post at all. And that's my final answer. But I got sidetracked.

But wait! Before I go, I do need to let you know that we went down for my Dad's birthday last weekend and had a really good time, even if Mom wouldn't give me any leftover chicken pie to take home and Dad wouldn't let any of us wear his cool hat he got. My brother and his family were all there so we had a nice family gathering. We missed my oldest brother and his gang and look forward to a time where we can all be together again. I would like to tell you that I didn't mention to my eldest brother that we had Mom's world famous chicken pie (are you reading this elder sibling...CHICKEN.PIE.DOOD!) but I would be lying. I won't bother listing the rest of the fixin's here on the blog. I'd rather kill him by inches. Love ya bro!

Speaking of children. Ok, so maybe I wasn't speaking of children but I suck at transitional sentences, so I decided to throw caution to the wind and let the prepositional phrases land where they may. At least it wasn't dangling participles. If that didn't make sense to you, don't feel bad. I have no idea what I just said. I just like to throw words on the paper and see how they land. That's why I have so many spelling errors. WHAT?

I'm really struggling to come up with something profound to tell you, but I just realized I've plastered a couple of paragraphs on to this post, and I figure why look a gift horse in the mouth? The internet already knows I am a babbling fool, so why waste time proving the obvious?

So this is a kinda sorta non-post with a "dish ran away with the spoon" theme.

I really need to get more sleep.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Because I have nothing to post about and because I am tired, I bring you bullets! Which I know you love!. Ok, lie to me and tell me you love them.

God love the Grouch old Cripple. Because he? He shows you just how I feel.

....said the spider to the fly.

I went to the dentist today and I survived. Go me! I had no cavities (which has not been my problem in the last year or so), and no more cracked teeth, etc. The dentist said things are looking better, and there is only one area of the gums which is a concern, but not a big one. As silly as this may sound to those of you who don't understand my depth of fear (sheer terror) of visiting the dentist, the cleaning has never bothered me. It's the part where the dentist himself comes in and checks your teeth and tells you the bad news. Well, that's how it's been for me the last few visits.

I've had very little problems with my teeth for most of my life. I hit 40 and it was like I went downhill from there. I can handle having to replace a filling because of age, that's no bit deal. But in the last year or so, I've had cracked teeth, a crown, you name it.

When I try to explain it to people, they pretty much look at me as if I've grown ears larger than an elephant and that my brain has relocated somewhere between my chin and little toe. I cannot tell you where the paralyzing fear comes from, because I honestly don't know. I had a wonderful dentist out in California, and I have a great one here as well. I've not had any horrible experiences with dentists in my past.

I've often thought of going to the doctor to see if he can give me something to help calm my nerves, as alot of you have suggested. But if I do that, I worry that I'll start having to take the medicine for every single doctor's appointment or procedure in the future. If I can't handle it now, it's only going to get worse.

I know I have quite a bit of anxiety, and issues surrounding that. If I were completely honest with you, I would tell you that I bring in on myself. My imagination runs wild, and I constantly fight the battle of "backing the hearse up to the door." For as long as I remember, I've been like that, but in the last few years, it's gotten worse.

But I'm working on it. And as my best friend told me on the phone today, "that's the first step." And she has first hand knowledge of that, because she's known me all of my life.

Carry on.

Hi Mom!

So happy it's Thursday! Because? That means tomorrow is Friday, and let me tell you internets, it couldn't come any sooner. That's not to say that this week was a bad one, just busy, and a bit on the crazy side, but all good.

I have been inundated with updates for a website that I created for a friend of mine. It started off really small and simple. They have since, opened up a store, and it's become a massive undertaking of Herculean proportions. Ok, that's a bit of an overkill but I was trying to get a point across, which at the moment escapes me, because I am scatterbrained that way. Oh wait! I remember now. The point is, as her business grows, so does the website and it's become blatantly obvious that I'm going to have to pull out my "Web Design for Dummies" book, and study it. Really hard. Yeah..let's see how I can fit that in my schedule.

Note: Microsoft Office Publisher is fine for a one or two page website, but when you want to add a massive amount of graphics and links, and other pages, things get a little too dicey. And slow. And cumbersome.

Whether you believe or not, you have to admit, this is amazing.

Below are some emails that I sent to my husband today. I'm sharing them with you because:

1. I have nothing else to write about.
2. I want to share with you just how strange I am.
3. Insert flippant comment here.

To: Him
From: Me

Subj: Itch

BOTH OF MY FEET ARE ITCHING…ON THE INSIDE…NEAR THE ARCH AND IT IS DRIVING ME NUTS AND I GO AND GET WEIGHED AND MEASURED TODAY AT CURVES AND I AM A NERVOUS WRECK AND DID I TELL YOU THAT MY FEET ARE ITCHING? WELL THEY ARE AND MY TUMMY IS ALL IN BUTTERFLIES AND I KEEP TELLING MYSELF TO CALM DOWN AND TODAY IS CRAPPY AND I AM RETURNING 2 STUPID MEMORY CARDS FOR THE THIRD FRIGGING TIME BECAUSE THE SUPPLIER KEEPS SENDING US WRONG ONES AND OMG I NEED A DRINK.

AMEN.


And then.....

To: Him
From: Me

Subj: Homework

MUST.NOT.KILL.OLDEST.CHILD.


Some people say I share too much. Maybe that explains why they run away from me screaming "TMI! TMI!"

Carry on.

Category: This and that
| 6:29 PM | Comments (3) | |

I had forgotten that hamsters were nocturnal creatures, and that they are continually busy on the wheel, going round and round, and burrowing under the litter, and eating, and most probably surfing the internet to find their perfect mate on eRodentomy.com. It wouldn't surprise me if that rat cute little fur ball had a laptop with a wireless connection hidden somewhere in there.

I slept with Chickie last night. It wasn't because anything was wrong, or that my husband's snoring drove me from our bed or that I got tired of him taking up all of the space and hogging all of the covers. It was just more of a "girl’s night" spending the night kind of thing, if that makes any sense.

Hi there! Greetings! Salutations! Hello! How are you? I am fine! Why do you ask?

I had a cup of coffee this afternoon (I generally only have two in the morning), and then went to Curves after work? And now? I have all of this energy? And so many topics to write about? That my brain exploded? What is it with all of the question marks anyway? See, I did it again? And again!

Someone brought in a "Gator" cake yesterday to celebrate the fabulous college football team that originates from sunny Florida. College football is really big around here. I'm not much of a dessert person but for some reason, I wanted a piece, so I had one. The problem is that the cake was dyed blue and orange, which are the colors of the Gators apparently. I'm not allowed to know things like this because my daughter is a Bulldogs fan. Red and black baby! All the way. Not only was the cake dyed, so was the icing. Did you know that orange and blue dye makes green when it's mixed up? There is a saying that what goes in must come out. Well, maybe I just made that up, but I found out today that it's true.

Oh my. It started off good and went downhill from there. Ok..not so much downhill as, well, ok, downhill.

Work was good today. Busy but good, not crazy but good. That kind of day. Life was good and I was going to work out! I mean, look at my muscles. Why just after two days of working out I am firming up. Go with me here people. I am on a natural high. After all, I gave all my Captain Morgan to my neighbor after the waffle incident. We are drinking unsweet iced tea here, with lemons from my neighbor that are bigger than...well they are just big!!!! Think cantelope...only smaller.

I get home from my workout and I am so up for cooking dinner. I have it all planned. I get the meat in the oven (turkey tenderloin in lemon garlic), and the other stuff like rice and then some snow peas and mushrooms in the skillet. I have the milk in the freezer getting chilled (the girls like it sort of frozen)..and that's where the hamster stops running in his wheel.

The love of my life opens up the freezer door and WHAM..out come the glasses of milk. On to the floor. And it's all in pieces. And milk is everywhere, And we are blaming each other and of course it's his fault because people..he opened the freezer too fast. That took us about 15 minutes to clean up in which time I let him know in no uncertain terms that it was his fault and he was lucky I was still around. I know...I'm so supportive aren't I?

We got through that and dinner was eaten and snow peas were consumed...ok Meelie ate two, Chickie gagged one down, and ice cream was given and life was good.

And I? I'm going to bed. Well, after the youngest is done taking a shower and all of her hairs are brushed.

There is only so much spilt milk a woman can handle. Especially if it comes with broken glass. All over your kitchen floor.

Even if it's your husband's fault. Even though that's not fair because you didn't tell him to open the door slowly. Because, he should read your mind. And he loves you even if you do blame the whole thing on him.

How cool is that?

Phew. School has started again. This means that all the other extra curricular activities have started as well. I'm not so naive has to think that others aren't going through the same type of thing, especially if you have kids.

Chickie goes to dance 4 nights a week. Soon, Meelie will be starting gymnastics, which, if you have read my blog at all, scares me more than you know. And then there are the choir practices and the band practices after school, and orthodontics appointments, and my job, and, homework, and book reports and science projects, and look! My head just exploded! Could I sound any more whiny and pathetic? Trust me, I could, but I am holding back.

Dinner has become something of an Olympic feat, trying to fit it into the schedule. Feed this one here, then the other one here, and make sure this one has "dinner" to take to dance, so she has something to eat between the two classes. It's interesting, but it can be done. Over the holidays, I planned things out to make it a little easier. I do some cooking over the weekend, as well as extra during the week, so sometimes I just have to warm up a meal, and we're ready.

Absolutely amazing!

So, I'm checking out the conditions (going potty), and this is what I overhear in our restroom at work today.

Co-worker #1: Well, you know how my husband is 18 years older than me?

Co-worker #2: Yes.

Co-worker #1: Well I like to tell people that before I met him I was looking for a Sugar Daddy. What I got was Sweet 'N Low.

Because Blog Fodder only has one topic per week, and I've been plagued with massive brain farts for quite some time, I totally stole borrowed this idea from Melli over at Insanity Prevails. If you want a good laugh, read her post about the hangover that wasn't supposed to be.

Anyway, I digress, but only because it makes the post longer.

I've been hesitant to make any New Year's resolutions, because I really don't want to hit 2008 and have to admit that I failed and each an every one of them by the first hour. I have a few, and I've yet to decide whether I'll post them or not. There's nothing like admitting you're a loser in front of the entire internet and then opening your door one Saturday morning to find the entire team of 60 minutes standing on the front step. Ahem.

Earlier this week the girls and I went to Huddle House for breakfast and then off to Walmart. I decided to take my camera with me to take some pictures I’ve never taken a camera into a restaurant (unless it was a celebration of some sort) and it was an odd experience to say the least. Chickie and I decided to bring our books so we could read, and Melie brought along some paper and colored pencils so she could draw some of her Pokemon characters. All in all, it was quit a relaxing breakfast. When we were finished, we headed off to Walmart. As always, click on any image in this post to make it larger.

Read More I'm not done talking yet... »

Taking photos in Warlmart was even more awkward than taking them in Huddle House. When I was in the produce section, I definitely made two of the workers rather nervous if the looks on their faces were anything to go by. I took pity on them and told them what I was doing, which completely put them at ease. I found that as I was taking the photos, I realized that there were so many different types of things to choose from that I had never before been aware of. It was somewhat mind boggling. When I go shopping, I pretty much know what I want and I pick it up and move on. When you are looking for things to photograph, it forces you to take a look around to see if you can spot a good "subject" so you are more aware of your surroundings.

Take cheese for example. In this photo I was only looking at the grated cheese, hanging up in packages. I wasn't even able to capture all of them. Keep in mind, this doesn't include any of the blog cheeses, or specialty cheeses either. When I was looking at the larger photo, I zoomed and cropped it in to "Chipotle" cheese, which was one that I had never heard of. Granted, the package says it’s new, but had I not been taking pictures, I probably wouldn't have even noticed it. Speaking of cheese, have you noticed the different kinds of cream cheese and the wide variety of cheese spreads they have? It's amazing. I have to say that I do love the grated cheeses, even though they aren't as economical as the blocked cheeses. When you are pressed for time, it's so nice to have it already grated for you. It saves on the wear and tear of your fingers as well. Not that I would know anything about that.

There are so many different varieties of things that if you take the time to look at them all, you will be in the store for a year. Not only are there a ton of different grated cheeses to choose from, there are a staggering amount of types of bagged lettuce. I will be the first to admit, I loved the lettuce that is already bagged. It makes creating a salad much easier. Generally, at the beginning of each week, I'll take a back of Spring Mix, and then one such as the Italian Blend, along with some mushrooms, green onions and bell peppers, and make it up ahead of time. I can store it in an air tight container so it will stay fresh until we have finished with it. They still have the heads of lettuce that I was used to growing up, and bunches of Romaine and others, but it seems like the pre-packaged lettuce is taking over. The various types of lettuce shown in the large photo is only the tip of the iceberg (ba-dum-bum).

They even sell live lobsters at Walmart. Would you look at the size of those claws? That makes it pretty obvious as to why they tie them shut. We had the pleasure of watching one of the butchers remove a couple of them from the tank for a customer. It was pretty cool to watch. Even though their claws were rendered harmless, the butcher was taking no changes. Of course, like the brilliant person that I am, I just stood there and watched instead of photographing it.

Heaven help me if I ever to a camera into a crafts store. What about you? Do your stores have alot of variety? How does it compare to when you were growing up?

« I'm done now!

This has been a whirlwind of a weekend, and it's not because I have started my Christmas shopping yet, thank you very much. We just had a lot of errands to run. We got all of them accomplished, and that included my weekly grocery shopping.

Do you do ever do something dumb and NOT learn from it? Normally, I'm a quick learner, but sometimes, you need to roll over me with a truck to get things to sink in. I'm just that dense. Or perhaps my parents would say stubborn. With me, it's hard to tell the difference.

Well, I think I've got most of my posts backed up. Unfortunately, the latest backup that my host did was on 10/21/06 so I had to redo about a weeks worth of posts. I think I have most of them now. Luckily, I had saved some in a draft copy on MS Word.

Unfortunately, I lost all of my comments for that period which was a bummer, but what can you do? My host has been pretty helpful so I certainly can't complain about service.

I did learn that they only back up once a week so I will be backing this blog up much more regularly now. Chalk this up to lessons learned.

Luckily, this type of thing doesn't happen very often.

Does anyone here have experience with Word Press? Is it difficult to move your site from MT to WP? In doing some research, and fixing of my problem, I have heard that WP is a much better platform.

Any thoughts?

I saw this over at JATP's place and wanted to share. I've been following Dove's campain for a while now. I think they are on to a good thing. Let's just hope that more companies follow their lead.

If THIS does not bring a tear to your eye, I don't know what will. No matter how you feel about the war in Iraq, we must never forget the men and women who have vowed to protect us. We must never forget to say thank you.

I know alot of you out there have had experiences with the dreaded sock monster. He's (notice my choice of gender here?) been an unwanted guest in my house since as long as I can remember. When my husband and I first got married, we had his kids over quite often to visit (from his first marriage) and he took residence then, and has never left.

Or, my theory is that my Mom had to live with him so long that she gave him the keys to our house and told him that we had better snacks. I would rather believe it's the former, because the latter theory conjures up images of my mother being evil (if you do not eat your peas, you will not have any dessert), and I have enough issues to contend with, if you know what I mean.

Lord willing and the creek don't rise, posting will resume Monday at a more regular rate. The party was a huge success, I almost have my house back to the way it was, and all is well. My goodness, 12 year old girls are loud. I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.

Until then, carry on.

Nothing to see here. Move along.

1. Child taking shower
2. Aaaaah, realized said child's book report is due TOMORROW and not Thursday like I thought!
3. Got elder child cupcakes to bring to dance class tomorrow. It's her birthday
4. Bought presents for elder child from family to open tomorrow. Still trying to figure out when to wrap them.
5. Decorations for birthday party on Saturday bought
6. Cake for birthday party ordered
7. Invitations given out for birthday party.
8. Reserved water slide, slip 'n slide, snow cone and helium tank for birthday (long story short...I do their website..I get things for next to nothing)
9. Picture day tomorrow!!! WTH(eck)!!! Just found out tonight. Outfit picked out.

This is a brief summary of why I've not been around. Film at 11. Carry on.

FOR THE LOVE OF PAUL AND ALL THAT IS HOLY MY CHICKIE WILL BE TWELVE TOMORROW. PLEASE HOLD ME.

Chickie brought home her school pictures for this year, and I must say that they really turned out great. She actually smiled. With teeth. Even though she has braces. Now can someone explain to me how come she smiles so easily with braces, but when you tried to get her to smile before them, it was like telling her that she had to eat frog’s legs. Go figure.

Now I WOULD share them with you but I can't. Not because I'm seriously paranoid, but because the drivers (for the scanner portion of the scanner/printer/copier) aren't installed yet. Sigh. You can be sure that problem will be fixed tonight or my name isn't Henrietta Throckmorton. So you'll have to take my word for it when I say I have the most beautiful 11 almost 12 year old daughter in the whole wide world. Not that I'm biased or anything like that.

So, not only can I not share with you the most excellent pictures of the beautiful offspring, I can't seem to make my blogrolls work on the right hand side. When you click on the "+" sign, nothing happens. I'm not in a good space to figure out what is going on there. I think I really need to find a better way to display them because I seem to have problems like this from time to time with that particular issue. If you have any better ideas, I would love to hear them.

With all that being said (not to imply that I have said alot), I think I'll stop writing now before any more of you drop out of your office chairs like flies.

If you need me, just drop me a line. I'm so there.

Henrietta Throckmorton

PS: I woke up at 1:30 am last night (morning). And I didn't get back to sleep. Can you tell?

I'm sorry. No ride can be THAT good. I'm sure this lady would be up for it though.

Has anyone read "Running with Scissors," by Augusten Burroughs? It's over on my side bar under "currently reading." I just started it this weekend. It's delightfully hilarious, yet also gives you a glimpse into the serious side of life of a boy being raised by a mentally unstable mother, as well as an alcoholic father.

Example:

"I would have been an excellent member of the Brady Bunch. I would have been Shaun, the well-behaved blond boy who caused no trouble and helped Alice in the kitchen, then trimmed the split ends off Marcia's hair. I would have not only washed Tiger, but then conditioned his fur. And I would have cautioned Jan against that tacky bracelet that caused the girls to lose the house-of-cards-building contest."

Sometimes his language could be considered harsh, but in this case, his use of certain words adds to the flavor of what he is trying to portray. Take this little excerpt for example:

"Every Saturday, I rode in the brown Dodge Aspen with my parents to Northampton. We would sit in complete silence and my parents would chain-smoke the whole way. Occasionally my mother would comment that there was a smell like manure emanating from my father's ears. And sometimes he would tell her that she was a fucking bitch. Other than that, not a word was spoke."

As I said, I've only just started it. If you have read it, what is your opinion?

Bwahahahahaha! I am the master and HEAR ME ROAR!

Ok, not really but peeps, you need to listen to this. It totally blew me away!

Yesterday the family and I went to our regular "Sunday Do the Lunch and Bookstore" thing. It's kind of a ritual with us, and one that we all look forward to on a weekly basis. When we pulled into a parking space at Golden Corral, there was a family just getting ready to get into their truck and depart.

Since opening the doors of both cars simultaneously was a no go, I signalled for him to go ahead and put his son in his car seat. I rolled down the window and told him to take his time. As we waited for the family to load up and head on out, the girls were happily chatting in the back, and the OWW and I were relaxing, and listening to some rockin' tunes, via his IPOD.

When the truck pulled out, we all exited the car. I waved at the man in the truck, he waved back, started to pull away, then put his truck in park and signalled me to come on over.

I wasn't particularly alarmed, as folks here are downright friendly, he had his wife and two kids in the truck with him, and I had my family with me.

As I approached the truck, the following conversation ensued:

When you are tired, and you feel like you can't keep up, and you feel as though things are too much?. There is nothing like having your husband sing "Brother Loves Salation Show" (Neil Diamond) to you in full volume.

Life is good, yes?

I live on a "J" shaped street, lined with trees and inhabited by friendly neighbors and jam packed with kids of many ages. It's not uncommon to see a group of kids riding bicycles, scooters or just hanging out at the empty lot where there is a tree house. On my refrigerator is a list of phone numbers where my children might be found at any given day. I know quite a few of the neighbors on a first name basis, and have grown accustomed to their children invading my house and just having fun. Good stuff.

I became comfortable with the relaxed atmosphere and the fact that my children were free to roam the street, and play outside until dusk. I no longer had to walk them to their friend’s house, and then pick them up at a designated time like I did in California.

It was safe here. I don't want to admit that perhaps I became complacent, because after all, we were safe, nestled in our little community, where parents are always watching out for the children.

And then THIS HAPPENED.

Well, Meelie is off playing with her new best friend forever Jonathan who lives down the street. They are both in the third grade. He is a really great kid (at least so far).

Chickie has dance tonight…Ballet (5:15 – 6:15) and Tap (730 – 8:30). I packed her a dinner. She has no homework tonight so she brought a book to read during the break.

OWW is eating his dinner as he has month end and will be leaving about 6:00 to go back to work.

This is why I stop off at Subway on the way home on Thursdays. Heh. Well, at least tonight because OWW has to go back in. I generally pack Chickie a sandwich, some chips, cookies and a bottle of water…or something like that. This way she gets to eat and let me tell you, they burn that off because she’s usually hungry by the time she gets home. A yoghurt or peanut butter toast does the trick for a quick snack.

This just won't do. They are coming fast and furious. Why wasn't it just the other day that my best friend threw me the most fantabulous 40th birthday a girl could wish for?

I am going to be 44 years old. Wait, just in case you misread that, I will be 44 years old tomorrow, August 25th. Who'd have thought?

On the one hand it really doesn't faze me much. Ok, so I lie. For some reason, this birthday bothers me more than the others that have come before it and, truth be told, I don't know why.

Praise the Lord and pass the peanuts, but my, I am getting old.

Before I had children, there were many times that I would see a child misbehaving and say to myself "If that were MY child, I would fill in the blank." Let's see a show of hands of those of you who have uttered the same words. You. In the back. With that horrid neon pink and lime green shirt? Please stop talking and pay attention because there will be a test when I'm through.

Personally, I find it so easy to judge and I continually have to beat myself with a stick because of it. It's so easy to do. And I'm not talking just about children either. I have a tendency to jump to conclusions before I know the whole story. That child who is throwing a tantrum in the store? He may be really tired or sick or just having an off day. The co-worker who is difficult to deal with? She may be going through a painful divorce. You get the picture.

I am now typing on the keyboard with a rather large bandage on my finger. My index finger. I was talking to my husband on the phone and I looked down and there it was. A rather nice gash right on the top, next to the fingernail. The most disturbing thing is not that I have no clue as to how I did it. That’s fairly normal for me because my mind is good at blocking things until I pass out cold and leave every one around me wondering what the heck just happened. Mmmmm…smelling salts. Wait, where was I?

What really bothers me is the fact that it didn’t start to hurt until I noticed it. I saw the blood, and then it hurt, and thing things started to get blurry and I felt like I was going to hork…

It’s really odd how that works isn’t it? I do not have problems dealing with other people’s blood, or injuries. I find it brings out a compassionate side that I never knew I had. “If you don’t quit your belly achin’, I’ll smack you upside the head and give you something to really cry about.” Man, I love taking care of people.

Did you ever notice how you can’t type with a bandage on your finger? It gets completely in the way. I make so many typos when I use it, and when I try to keep the offending appendage out of the way it messes with my rhythm. That totally sounded like a birth control commercial. Sorry, what did you say?

And while I’m feeling snarky, I just want to take this moment and tell you that I am harboring a dislike for all humans that come in the IT variety. I’m firmly convinced that they follow no rules, but expect you to bow to their every wish and command. When they say jump, you are expected to ask how high. And if you don’t they will put you outside and make you sleep in the rain. Bark!

Digressing slightly, I actually love IT people. They fix me up nicely when I am broken and all of that, but right now, as of today, I would love to stuff them all through the paper shredder. In all honesty, one of the folks I a referring to is a very good friend of mine and when I told him I was going to blog about his evil computer empire, he was all gung-ho about it, and asked me to send him the link. Only I’m kind of afraid to, because he might change my password or something.

I will apologize for spastic nature of this post, but I’m having trouble settling on just one thing to talk about. There is just so much I want to tell you and I always seem to run out of time. I’m trying to type as fast as I can, but the bandage keeps getting in the way and I have to keep hitting the backspace key. And then, there is all this blood, and I’m feeling kind of woozy (and I’m LIMPING!). Sort of like I might fai………

Not that I’m overreacting for sympathy or anything.

Have your agent call my agent

So one of my dear friends took the time to mention to me that all bad things come in three. Thank you Motherkitty. Heh. You know I'm going to get you for that one.

But wait! There's more! I'm trying so very hard to stay on topic here, but let me tell you, it's a struggle. I was never able to color inside the lines, just like I'm unable to stay with the subject at hand, just like I have this really bad habbit of using run on sentences, which I know drives alot of you crazy but I promise that I will try to do better but oh my, this week has been rough Amen.

So, by now you all have read yesterday's post (and if you need to catch up, no worries, I'll just type really slow).

It seems that the severely injured Meelie has experienced a miraculous "laying on of hands" and the threat of surgery is now a thing of the past. So are the crutches. Right after I wrote that post, my neighbor called me and said, "If your daughter's foot hurts so bad, why did she run all the way home, carrying her crutches, until she got to your driveway? At which point, she then suddenly discovered that she no longer could walk unaided anymore?" At this point, we both started laughing so hard that breathing was difficult. Or we peed in our pants. Take your pick. Off and on all evening I witnessed this miracle. Like the time she was out in the back with the dogs and suddenly had to go to potty. She dropped her crutches, tore into the house, and made a bee-line for the bathroom. After she was done, she ran back outside, picked up the crutches, and promptly began to limp. I guess a full bladder acts as a pain reliever?

I am a creature of habit. I should close this post here and now, because to go on would prove to you that I have moronic tendencies.

It starts from the moment I wake up in the morning, and ends when put my head on the pillow for the night.

The alarm goes off. I hit the snooze button. Sometimes I hit it again. And when it's really bad, I hit it yet again. But sometimes I just turn off the alarm and jump up out of bed, stretch and shout "GOOD MORNING AMERICA! HERE I COME!” Ok, not really, but sometimes I don’t hit the snooze button at all. This, my dear readers, is about the only variation in my morning routine.

I'm homesick. Really homesick. I don't understand exactly why.

I was thinking of heading on out to the homestead with the girls next weekend, before school starts. Sort of a last minute hoorah before school starts.

I've gotten all the school supplies ready, minus a backpack for Meelie. They have school clothes (warm weather), so they are all set.

Then I found out we have Open House. For both schools. This Friday evening.

Ah well. I'm still homesick. Really homesick. I need my mom.

It's a new theme song.

I just can't see Yoda in a cowboy hat.

Just take a listen.

Hat tip to OWW for this.

It is hot here. Yes, I realize I live in the south and this should be no surprise. It has been hovering, at or around 100 degrees the past few days. And until tonight, there has been no breeze. For the sake of saving my energy, I will not discuss the humidity factor. Let's just say its wicked high.

Air conditioning is my friend.

My yard, on the other hand, looks like it came from an episode of the Wild Kingdom. Oh look! Is that an alligator? Did I mention I hate snakes?

I saw this sign in Lake City, Florida. Who the heck is Worm?
(click on image to enlarge)

My mom has gotten me hooked on cantaloupe (as well as honeydew melon) for breakfast in the morning. Whenever we go down there to visit, she always has a bunch cut up just waiting to be savored. She also makes homemade banana nut bread, but that is for an entirely different post.

While dragging my sorry, exhausted butt around the grocery store last night, I picked up a cantaloupe of my own. When I returned home, I cut it up, and put it into a container to bring to work. This has to be one of the better melons I've had in a long time. It had ripened to perfection and was sweet enough to make my taste buds explode in an orgasmic fantasy. Ok, how about it was really good? And I have enough of it left to eat for breakfast for the rest of the week.

It really doesn't take too much to make me happy. For example, it almost made me forget that my oldest child got away with my deodorant. Again. It's bad enough that I have to get up at 4:30 in the morning. It's worse when I am getting ready and find that my brand new deodorant is no where to be found.

I honestly don't mind sharing it. Especially now that she has realized there is no need to spread it, not only on her armpits, but underneath the entire length of her arm, as well as her side. That one took a while to correct. The only thing I ask is that she return it to it's rightful place on the shelf. Where I can find it. Easily.

[sidenote: Let's not talk about razors m'kay?]

What did I do this time? Why I did what any mother-of-the-year would do. I woke her up. At 5:00. In the morning. And made her find it.

I'm hungry. Perhaps you would like to join me for lunch?

This was a picture taken from the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. It's a great place, but not one in which I would like to work. I've got tons of pictures, some of which I'll put up here on my blog. And yes, I've got a good zoom lense on my camera.

I'm tired tonight. Getting back into the swing of things was rough, and I hit a brick wall at about 2:00 this afternoon. I ended up going for a little walk in the warehouse to wake myself up.

It's rough having to learn how to wake up with an alarm again.

I've restocked my pantry and refrigerator, so we are that much closer to getting back to normal. I, in all of my infinite wisdom, had my husband pick up milk when we hit town. The fact that I had no cereal escaped me until I opened up the pantry this morning. I didn't even have oatmeal.

Luckily, my sitter prevailed and bailed me out. She laughed when I asked her if she would feed them this morning. Luckily, she's been there.

In short, things are moving more towards normal. It feels so good to be home.

Now, if I could just get my body up to speed, all would be right with the world.

Just wanted to stop by and say hi. We arrived home about an hour ago. I need to feed the kids and get busy unpacking. We had a fantastic time, but all of us are glad to be home.

I'll be posting vacation updates and pictures over the next week.

See you soon!

(click on image to biggerize it)

I received this plant at the end of the school year from Meelie's teacher, for helping out with school events and such. Hey, I even got a certificate! She did this for all of the parents, which I really felt was so very thoughtful.

The children name my plants. I believe it's mostly because I kill them so fast. I think they feel the need to pay homage to all of the vegetation I have mutilated over the years, and naming them is one way to do it.

Meet Harriet.

She is still alive.

My nose has been itching all day. The kind of itching that makes me want to stuff a bottle brush up the offending nostril and stroke quickly.

I know that if your ears are burning, it means that someone is talking about you. What does it mean if your nose itches? That your coworker is complaining to your boss about your body odor?

I think I'm afraid to find out the answer. Because all of those coworkers who think I stink? Think that I have a bug bite in there.

And now I'm obessed with finding out if they are right. It isn't pretty.

We are headed off down the street to our neighbors to celebrate the 4th of July. Hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, pasta salad, corn on the cob, and of course, what celebration would be complete wiithout the homemade ice cream cake? For whatever reasons, this has become an all time favorite of my neighborhood. It's really easy, and I love to make it. Hey, if you are going to be famous for something, why not ice cream cake?

Last night, there was a big cookout and some really cool fireworks across the street. That was alot of fun. But this year, our neighbors and I decided to have a small gathering. Just our two families. We've never had an evening where it was just us, which is odd considering our kids play together constantly. I'm really looking forward to some one-on-one time with them. And let me tell you, we've got some good fireworks going on. I can't wait.

This time, I attempted to make a flag with blueberries and strawberries. Ok, I'm not the most artistic, but all in all, it doesn't look too bad.

I'll post an update later on, complete, I hope, with pictures. I'm going to try to get some of the fireworks, but we'll have to see if that works.

It's back to work for me tomorrow. Oddly enough, it's really ok. I've enjoyed my time off immensely but the kids are driving me nuts I'm ready to go back to work.

I hope everyone is enjoying their 4th of July as much as I am. Stay safe people. You mean alot to me.

One thing you don't want to hear while checking your email.

"Oh no, the guinea pig disappeared again. Help me find him Chickie!"

Again?????

Sandy, over at The Pea Patch wrote this post today and had me in stitches. It sounds so much like conversations with my husband (bless his tiny little pointed head).

She really nailed this one!

I can already predict my husband's reaction when he reads this.

For the record honey? We are so not going to talk about filling the tank.

Apparently, I work for an Evil Capitalist Company. Well, this is what my neighbors, friends and family call TCIDNN (the company I dare not name-shamelessly swiped from this man).

The reason? I have Monday off as a paid holiday. You would not believe the names I have been called this weekend. All said lovingly of course, at least in front of my face.

I'll be thinking about you all when I'm in my jammies at noon.

Update: See what I mean?

This has been a weekend of odds and ends so far. A little bit of this, and a little bit of that. Can you say RELAXED?

We have been having a real problem with wasps lately, and it seems that whenever we get them under control, they take some time off, gather up strength and come back stronger, and meaner than before. One of those little pukes got into the house yesterday and promptly disappeared. It's like that thing has invisible powers. I feel like I'm chasing an alien. We'll see him, and he flies away, only to disappear to somewhere else. It makes me want to sleep under the covers.

We have a toad living in our downspout. It's kind of cute really. I'm pretty sure that he has taken up that area as his new habitat because he keeps him out of the heat. As hot as it has been lately, that's not such a bad idea.

Moogalicious, the new recipe blog, is coming along nicely. The recipes are slow to come in, so won't you help me get it going? Just head on over for a visit. There is a Submit a Recipe link over on the left hand side bar. Pictures are not only welcome, but encouraged. But don't worry if you don't have any, they aren't required. On a side note you can always submit them later. You can also contact me with any suggestions you might have. Since we are just starting up, any ideas will be welcome. If you have any idea for a post, please send that to me as well.

I've been fiddling around with some cactus, all of which are quite small right now. I've also been working with "lucky bamboo" plants, and am learning more about them and how to train them. They still haven't grasped the command of "sit" very well, but I am working on that. I've got a couple of other plants (African Violet, and Idontknowwhatitscalled) that I'll be transplanting into bigger pots. This weekend, we also bought some seeds for some flowers, as wells as vegetables, cantaloupe and watermelon. I know it's a bit late in the season, but it's warm here for quite some time so we are going to give it a shot. If nothing else, it will be fun.

That's about it for right now. I hope all of you are having a wonderful weekend. Any tips for a newbie gardener? What are your plans for the 4th of July?

It has long been understood in my family, that when a telemarketer calls, my husband handles it.

I do not have it in me to become rude, or obnoxious. After all, these people have to make a living. But this way of thinking does not hold true with my husband.

The other night, Meelie answered the phone. She immediately walked over and handed it to her dad. When he asked her who it was, she said it was some French guy named Juan (I have not made the connection either) who wanted to talk to mom.

After the normal greetings were complete, I watched as my husband zeroed in on the kill.

Do you realize that we are on the Do-Not-Call-List? Well you do now, and I would suggest that you make sure that everyone else is aware of this fact as well. Let me inform you that if you ever call my house again, I will crawl through the phone and rip your ears off.

After turning around he faced me and said "what?"

I arched my finely waxed brow and calmly stated, "that was a little rough, don't you think?"

In a response that I have come to expect, he replied "so blog about it."

So I did.

Do you ever think back to your childhood, and remember what it was like to have no worries whatsoever? I do. I mean just the thought of having summers off is enough for me to become giddy like a school girl.

Don't get me wrong, I love my life. Sure, there are things I would like to change, and some of those I'm working on right now, but I don't believe for one second there is anyone out there that wouldn't.

Growing up means responsibilities. Paying bills. Cleaning your own house and doing your own laundry. Growing up means taking others thoughts and feelings into consideration. When you have children, your life no longer revolves around what you want to do. It belongs to your child.

Growing up means watching your friends die, one by one. It's just one more reminder that we are no longer immortal. And that sucks.

I've put off writing this post. I fully intended on going to the funeral, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. It wasn't supposed to happen. It was too damn early. I couldn't face all of the other friends who loved him, and knew him much better than me.

I won't go into detail, eulogizing him as so many have eloquently done. I don't handle sharing my grief well. It's enough that I'm able to tell you about it.

RIP Rob. God bless.

And then again, I wish I was still gone.

Sounds strange I guess. But it seems that no matter how good of a time I have, I'm always happy to be home. Does that make sense to any of you?

We had such a good time. Pool, beach, movies (we went and saw Cars) but most importantly, family time. Pure family time. We had a full house. My folks had to deal with eight extra people in their house, most of them kids. Oh, and we must not forget Mom's cooking. I don't think I've eaten that well in ages.

I'm slowly catching up, and coming up to speed on things. Tomorrow, I'll finally be announcing the name of the new recipe blog (about time, eh?). I found that I really didn't miss the computer time when I was away. I think I may have gotten on the computer maybe once while I was gone. I feel so relaxed and refreshed.

It was good to come back to work, though I wouldn't have minded being away longer. I got alot accomplished by the end of the day and feel like I'm back up to speed.

The girls are home tonight, relaxing and hanging out with no real desire to go out and play. We are all enjoying the moment, and trying to make it last. In their eyes, Grammy and Papa rock!

I'm not partial or anything, but I agree.

I've missed you all, and look forward to getting back up to speed.

And pppaaaacking all day looooongggg....

I'm well aware that the song doesn't go that way but this is my post, and MY pity party, so have mercy 'mkay?

In actuality, it's not so much of a pity party, as a "Oh good Lord, I am leaving on vacation with a hormonally charged adult wanna be, and a sleep deprived 8 year old psycho." While I am aware that there is no reason to call in a priest to perform an exorcist on my children and home (these things tend to come in spurts), I am strongly leaning towards tying them to the luggage rack on our way down to our destination.

In all seriousness, I have been looking forward to this trip for quite some time. My husband has to work, so it will be just myself and the two space aliens heading off to my parents house in the wee hours of the morning. My brother, his wife and family will be visiting from California, so the kids, quite naturally are hyped up.

Last week seemed to be the week of harried visits, sleep-overs, play dates, and "how can we make Mom get in the car and drive us one more place?" This of course, was done with the added bonus of my husband being out of town on business, in which he complained that he hated Philadelphia, all the people were crazy, he hated hotel rooms, and he wanted to come home. Cry me a river.

It really wasn't quite as bad as I make it sound, the whole week can be summed up as extracting an impacted wisdom tooth without benefit of anaesthesia.....or booze.

It was interesting to note how quickly you get into a routine if you are lucky enough to have a spouse who is willing. I do this, he does the other, and so on. We run like a well oiled machine, often times not even having to verbalize what we need done. We just do it, and I liken it to automatic pilot. When one spouse is out of the picture for a time, the well oiled machine turns into a tractor that has weathered one-two-many storms. It simply doesn't start, and when it does, it runs rough, creaks, groans, moans, and consistently stalls.

Back in 2002, my husband had a job which required him to be away from home 2-3 weeks (on average) a month. It became second nature to switch to single-mom mode, and I really had no problems. I guess that kind of thing is like riding a bicycle. You never really forget how, you just may be like that rusty tractor, until you get a complete overhaul.

It only took me a couple of days to get back into the routine, but I was certainly glad when he came back. Yes, I missed him, but he was doing what needed to be done at work, and I was keeping the fire warm at home. It's just the way things work.

Let's face it. When you have two kids at home, there isn't much time left-over to feel sorry for yourself. Even when you have a tropical storm blow through, after which you discover has left part of your garage floor in puddles. Or when one of your children's beloved fish dies. Or your dog gets into something he shouldn't have and, well, leaves a mess in your sun room.

I think I've pretty much wandered away from the subject I was aiming for, but what else is new, eh? The point is, the girls and I will be heading down to Florida for the week. I'm not sure exactly what day we'll be back. We are going to play it by ear.

I'm looking forward to spending some time with the rest of the family, as well as the girls. I'll try to post when I can to let you know how it goes. One thing I will do is unveil the new name for the recipe blog, as well as open it up for submissions. You guys really rock. I can't believe how many of you voted!

Now, I just need to get back to the packing, and not forget the underwear this time.

We had our fill of both this weekend.

The girls and I (plus two additional ones), my brother and his two boys all went to the beach on Friday. I believe that somewhere between home and the beach, we lost a majority of our brain cells. I packed the sunscreen, but did any of us think to use it? Needless to say, we all looked like red lobsters at the end of the day.

The beach we went to was called Sandy Bottoms. I'm here to tell you that they don't call it that for nothing. I really don't think I need to elaborate on that one.

I'd forgotten about the sand. It's in your car, on your feet, in your mouth, in your hair, on the floor in your house, all over your bathroom, in the tub. The list is endless.

Even with the sand, I still enjoyed myself. I'd forgotten just how much fun the beach could be. I don't think the kids got out of the water much at all. They had a blast. My oldest nephew just came along for the ride, and pretty much slept the whole time. He was nice and relaxed.

My brother looked better than I had seen him look in a couple of years. He's got one part of his incision that hasn't yet healed, and is still in some amount of pain and needing to rest. I just keep hoping that this last surgery will heal him completely. He has been through so much the last three years.

All in all, it was a successful weekend. I was pretty pooped on Monday, but recovered and all is settling back down to normal. Well, as normal as it gets with a couple of rug rats and their friends running through the house.

I'll post some pictures of target practice in a few days. Heh...no body parts were lost.

You know it's going to be a bad day when you are going through the first security checkpoint (at work) and they stop you for a random search of your car.

You know it's going to be a really bad day, when you discover that's it's a full-on search, complete with a dog.

And there are six naked Barbies in your back seat.

Dear God,

Please help me.

Last weekend, I promised Meelie, and two of her friends that they could spend the night tonight. I also promised them that we would go to the beach tomorrow. Even Chickie was excited. We made plans for a picnic lunch, complete with a cooler and everything that anyone would want for a day at the beach. I even stocked up on sunscreen.

Dear God, why did you let me do that?

I got a call from my brother two nights ago, asking if he and the boys (there are 2 of them) could come up for a visit. For the weekend, this weekend. And perhaps for some part of the week.

I know you realize that family is important to me and there is nothing I would rather do than spend time with them. But Lord, did you have to make it at the same time?

I can't break the promise to the girls, I can't say no to my brother and my nephews because I want to see them too much. My house is a wreck, we are way behind on the laundry, and my cupboards are bare.

I now have to think of something to fix the children for dinner (the girls, because they are still hungry, because no parents ever feed them), make up the beds, make sure Chickie's room is clean (she's doing it now), and figure out where everyone is going to sleep. It's not necessarily in that order.

Before you think I'm complaining, I want to tell you that I love it. I'm just feeling somewhat overwhelmed right now. It will work out, it always does. It's just the getting there that is hard. To top it off, my poor husband is bushed. Month end was last night and he didn't get home until way past midnight, and had to go to work at the same time the next day.

Dear God, I made the mistake of telling you my plans for the weekend beforehand. I must say, I've never seen someone laugh so hard.

You'll remember in my post I told you that we were going to the waterfront today, to watch the boats and play in the park. Well, we had a change in plans. Our family is like that. We kind of take it as it comes, and when a good opportunity pops up, we go for it. It's nice to be unstructured at times. It's another way of saying we are not very organized.

I think I'm going to keep a set of old towels, buckets and shovels in the back of the car during the summer months just in case. We often go out on drives, and sometimes we land at the various beaches along the way.

It was a beautiful day as there was a nice breeze blowing and it kept us nice a cool. One of the ni