follow follow me...

hey peeps...come on over to the new blog: theonewhereshe.blogspot.com. Thanks!

Please come visit the new blog!

New blog...fresh start. Www.theonewhereshe.blogspot.com.

I'm still standin.....

Just a quick note to say that I'm still here and have some things to say..but not tonight. Heh.

Maybe tomorrow. :)

Massive FAIL

First of all...my children's web speak has totally corrupted my lil brain. So forgive me if at times I sound more hip than I have any right to be at my old age.

Well. Guess how much of my Monday list I accomplished?

I got dressed.

Hah. It seems like the universe is conspiring against me. Or I am. Perhaps a little bit of both...

I sleep in. Bad, bad way to start the day. Reed asks me if I need the car and want to take him to work. (We are juggling one car with three jobs and four children's summer activities.)

I get up..check my phone...sweet Kara had texted me to see when we were meeting.

Suuuunap!

I haven't seen her forever and we have so much in common...I have to make it work. So I text my poor spouse and asked if he'd consider bringing the car home at lunch so I could drop him back off at work and meet Kara.

He said yes. What a guy!

So...he gets me, I drop him off, and head down south. However, I have the wrong exit number and drive 20 minutes past where I need to be before I realize it.

Suuuuuunnnnap! Squared.

I turned around, and meet my friend 30 minutes late.

After a delicious Five Guys burger...we go to a park so her kids could play and we could chat.

And I get a phone call.

"Mrs. Watson?"

"Uhhh...yes?"

"This is Maria and I wondered if your boys are on their way to dance."

"It's Monday, right? Isn't dance on Tuesday?"

"Well, we couldn't meet last Thursday to finish the formations because too many kids couldn't be there."

And it hits me. Three of my four children have their Dance Concert. TONIGHT.

And I, I am 40 minutes from home....and have no idea where their costumes are, or if they are even clean.

So I call the spouse, who on this day shall be dubed "The Saint", and ask him to please see if his parents can get the kids to practice...and tell him I am heading home.

Oy. Vey.

I get home...start on lil bug's hair...and oldest child informs me that the boys didn't find their costumes before they got picked up. Really.

So The Saint digs through the dungeon that passes for the boys room and finds what they need.

And it's dirty.

The Saint runs downstairs to throw them in the wash and gets a call. The boys don't have a ride from practice to the performance venue after all..and he needs to go take them there.

Murphy has NOTHING on me today, baby.

I sit down to the comp for a minute and get sidetracked in a conversation about ADD. The Saint finally gets back home and says:

"Did you put the costumes in the dryer?"

OH. MY.

SUUUNAAAP!

We both head for the basement while arguing who should have made sure that had happened (yes, probably me, but to be fair I thought he would have asked the oldest child to listen for when they were done washing and switch them since her bedroom is right there.)

One hour till SHOWTIME.

Clothes in dryer...grumpy parents...Oldest decides to FINALLY take a shower. She then retreats back into her room where she has spent 80% of the day.

Thirty minutes till showtime..the clothes are "damp dry" but we can't possibly wait any longer. I pull them out and start ushering the rest of the family to the car. And there we sit...three of the four of us.

I run into the house and yell for oldest child. She is SO in the doghouse!

She comes upstairs with WET HAIR and yelling that she'll be right there...if I want her to come BAREFOOT.

Fifteen minutes till showtime. Grumpy mommy, grumpy daddy, hungry bug and petulant teen all make it to the car.

We arrive at the venue...at the time the show is supposed to start....and run the boys clothes to them. Fortunately the dance school is notorious for late starts and this night is no different. I am madly hoping that this time it's not our fault.

Lots of music and lots of dancing later we all head home exhausted.

And I have checked one thing...ONE...off of my list.

I got dressed.

Here's hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Let the Baby Steps Commence!

So...part of being depressed is having no other desire than to sit quietly and fade into the wood work. It's really easy to become distracted with online activities or other things where it's just..quiet. Being around people is hard. Moving is hard. After I teach I want nothing more than to just be shut up in a room with complete silence.

So...baby step #1...get thy ass off of the chair.

Over the past several years things have really fallen apart around here. It's gonna be a long hard haul to put them back together.

Today's list:

1. Get dressed. Yeah..some days that has to be on the list.
2. 30 minutes in the front patch of weeds that passes for a garden. I want to make that an herb garden and I have three happy little plants waiting for a home.
3. Mop and dust living room.
4. Meet my good friend Kara for some lunch and commiseration.
5. Scrub bathroom.
6. Make Chicken Tortilla casserole for dinner.

Things I'm gonna have to harrass the kids to do:

1. MOW THE LAWN! Our lawn mower broke..it's been over two weeks. We finally got a new one. Ugh
2. Dishes dishes dishes. 6 people, small house, and no dishwasher makes for an ugly stinky mess.
3. Get those dirty clothes to the laundry room! They say they have nothing to wear....I can't find any of their clothes to wash.

So...yesterday I made these little...mini lasagnas. I'm so stinkin proud of myself for actually cooking something new. It was so easy and a pretty big hit with the kids (though for Sadie and Breanna it would probably go over better with plain ground beef instead of italian sausage.)

So...if you need something different and fun and EASY...here's what you do:

Get out a muffin pan. Oil it generously with olive oil.

Line each pan with a Gyoza wrapper. Yeah..that's right...a potsticker wrapper. I know that seems incongruous with the whole "italian fare" thing but bear with me. (Side note..incongruous has TWO u's! Who knew?)

In the bottom of each little gyoza wrapper add a dollop of sauce. On top of each dollop add a spoonful of ricotta cheese. Sprinkle with parmesean. Add whatever filling you desire: sausage, ground beef, spinach, mushrooms...so many possibilities! Just a little will do.

Push another gyoza wrapper on top to create another cup. Repeat the process. Add a little mozzarella cheese. Squish one last gyoza on top..coat with sauce and mozzarella. Bake in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes. Voila!

Happy little lasagna cups that can even be eaten with fingers. Cute, no?

Have a beautiful and productive day! :)

New Beginnings

So. Now that anyone who had ever read this has given me up for dead...I have a new desire to start again.

Depression sucks. That's all I can say. Depression when you're a mom of four and have two jobs REALLY sucks. Depression when you're a mom of four, have two jobs and have just reached the dreaded "mid-life" stage can be devastating.

But guess WHAT? The time for wallowing has passed. I have a new desire...as well as nifty prescription drugs...and I want to make a change.

I've decided my brain is something like a hamster wheel.

Once it gets going...it just keeps going and going in the same way in the same direction and never reaches anywhere. If I let it focus on the things that make me sad..my hamster wheel goes faster and faster until it falls off the holder and runs into the wall of the cage.

Up until now I think I have primarily lived my life by default...I have let it run me into the ground.

So...there will be new changes on this blog. A new look...a new focus.

Each day...I am going to accomplish...something.

I may not get here everyday...but I hope to be able to share these baby steps with you.

Maybe...I can babystep myself out of this rut and live the life that I truly want.

lol..yeah..i'm still around.

I'm the sort of person who writes stuff in my head. All the time...essays....rants...

You'd think I'd rock the blogging thing. Obviously, since it's been a year since my last post, I suck.

So. I am thinking..I want to get back into this. Hopefully my friends haven't given me up for dead.

What I'm thinking about lately:

1. School

One little boy said..."I'm HOT!" The other teacher said..."what do you want to do about it?" He replied: "Let's all take off our shirts!"

Yeah. Apparently they start young.

2. Teenagers

My daughter was asked to homecoming. Around here they don't only go to a dance, they have a "day date." Only...this boy cancelled because his parents wouldn't let him go...he got a bad midterm. Is it fair to punish his date because of his grades? I thought that was in bad form. There's a lot more to this story but it rates a post of its own.

3. Running.

I do it. Sometimes. Lately I've been slacking and putting back the pounds. What do you find to be good incentive to do something you don't like?

4. Midlife

I'm there. And it sucks.

Well, that's about as verbose as I feel at the moment...but I hope to get back into the swing of things. I am considering a little commercial venture on etsy...we'll see how it goes.

ttfn.

Good times and bad times

Ever had a life altering experience that colored the way you look at the world?

Ever been so angry at someone that just the sight of them makes you cringe?

Ever felt so much pain that you can't eat or sleep? That you gasp for breath?

Yeah...me too.

Yeah....I'm back.

Been away far. far. too. long.

Tales from the LSS:

The store that I work at has 2 special events per year. One in Jan and one in May for National Scrapbook Day.

For those two days, the store owner arranges with companies to come and teach a class...usually a two page layout, for FIVE DOLLARS.

The companies that come don't donate the supplies. They don't prep the supplies. The owner buys everything that's needed, plus often more for the store. She cuts everything out, even things that need to be hand cut, and assembles it all into kits.

I have seen some of the invoices for just the kit supplies and often, even at 5 dollars a kit, she's not covering the cost of the supplies, NOT to mention that she's definitely not covering the time it takes to put it all together.

She has 3 rules:

No bags in the classroom (stuff walks away)
No children in the classroom
and YOU MUST ATTEND THE CLASS TO GET THE KIT.

The reason, obviously, is that if she is spending all that time and money to do this for her customers, she also hopes that they will COME TO THE STORE and spend some money. She only has sales twice a year...the same days that she does these classes. On those days you can get 25% off of your ENTIRE PURCHASE.

Yesterday, well, was a mess.

Part of it was my fault.

I had a friend that signed up for the classes. Pretty sure I told her that she had to be there to get the kits, but I can't honestly remember now.

Her daughter ended up having a dance competition at the same time. When she got to the store, she'd missed half her classes and couldn't get the kits OR a refund.

So I'm standing there at the counter while they go back and forth...my boss upset because she'd been having this same issue all day with people just wanting to take the kits home for friends who didn't show, etc. My friend is in tears, my boss is frustrated, and it pretty much looks like its all my fault.

Fast forward a bit. I have to teach two of the classes because the manufacturers were from out of state and couldn't send someone.

I get in the class and start calling names to hand out the kits. One lady has her name on two kits and says that she's already arranged it with my boss to take the other one home.

WHAT?

She is also sitting RIGHT NEXT TO MY FRIEND.

I tell her that I have to check with Kathy. When I get to the list, there are three girls in back whose names I didn't call. I ask them if they are signed up for the class and one replies, "Yeah, because all the other ones were ugly."

I go up front and check the sign up cards. Sure enough, they're signed up for two classes, but NOT for the one they are currently sitting in. I go back to tell this to the lady and she says, "There is NO way we would have signed up for THAT class. We hated the project!"

Nicccce.

I run back up front, trying to put out fires and NOT teaching anything. My boss is stuck at the register and tells me to send the people in question up front.

So I tell the "arrangement" lady that she needs to talk to my boss. She heads out. I tell the three girls in back that they need to go up front to talk to the boss, she can't come back because she's stuck with customers.

As they flounce out of the room,the vocal one says, "Well, what the HELL are we?"

Sigh.

After "arrangement" lady leaves, my friend's sister mutters, "Well, SHE'S been getting extra kits ALL DAY."

I haven't BEEN there all day. I have no. freaking. clue.

My boss comes back into the room and tells me to give the three girls kits, but tells arrangement lady that she can't take an extra one. I notice that arrangement lady does NOT mention she's taken them for the rest of the classes.

As I teach the class (which mostly consists of answering questions) I can hear a dialogue from the back of the room from the three disgruntled girls:

"OMG...they are Nazis here! And the kits aren't even cute."

"That's why I always go to (insert competitors name here.) They have better stuff and they're not all bitches!"

And all I can think is...please please DO go there, and don't let the door hitcha on your snotty little fannies on the way out.

Just as the class is over, arrangement lady calls me over and says, "Can I talk to you outside for a minute?"

Oh. No.

She says, "I need your advice. I DID make arrangements to take the kits home and she must have forgotten. I would NEVER have signed up for two if she had told me I couldn't take one home."

Uh...what does she think I can do about this?

So, I just tell her what I've been told...and that she needs to talk to the boss. I turn around...and boss is RIGHT THERE.

Now...my boss is funny about a lot of things, and while I agree that people should have to attend the class, I don't necessarily agree about not giving store credit back if they miss it, especially if they sold the kit to someone else. But one thing about her, she always does right by me. She could see that I was upset about what had happened with my friend, and she made it right. My friend left happy.

But I, well, I had had enough.

When did people get so rude? So entitled? One other thing...we had just gotten in a lot of darling Doodlebug product because we had them do a class. And almost everything on that display WALKED AWAY. Someone stole it. People went to buy it after the class and it was ALL GONE.

Scrapbooking isn't a necessity. You don't need it to survive. And you're not going to get much for product on Ebay anymore.

Someone just felt entitled, somehow.

What a long, long, day.

25 random things you may or may not know...

So...I joined the Facebook revolution and in the week or so I've been on, I've been tagged several times to do this list of 25 "random things."

Reading it...I sorta sound like a downer. And like it's "all about me." (Which, incedentally, I tell people quite often, but as a joke. Because when it becomes all about me, I tend to freak out a little.)

Things are going on with me, myself and I that have me...reflecting. Wondering how I got to the point I'm at and where I go from here. I know some people think I've been offended, and actually, that's not the deal at all. I've had things going on in my head for a long time, and now is good a time as any to try to reconcile a few things.

Anyway...keep all that in mind as you read my 25 random things, which aren't nearly as witty or amusing as I usually like to post. I'm not feeling particularly witty nor amusing at the moment. I will, however, leave you with my new favorite quote from "Good Omens" by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman: "Heaven has no taste...and not one single sushi restaraunt."

Here are my 25 *random* things:

1. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I hate it. Even though I tell myself that I don't want to share what's going on in my head (stress, whatever) it always, ALWAYS finds its way out. I am QUEEN of the overshare.

2. I can get really annoyed/mad at someone, but I don't hold grudges/stay mad. Though I don't forget, either. ;)

3. Everyone thinks that I'm an extrovert, because I can be very animated and loud in a group, but it's something that I've had to learn. My natural inclination is to be home curled up in a chair. I have to force myself to socialize. I feel very awkward in one on one situations.

4. I have an unnatural aversion to talking on the phone. I don't enjoy it and always want to get off quickly.

5. I overthink everything. Overanalyze it. Read things into it. And then stress over it.

6. I've always wanted to teach, ever since I was little. I teach pre-k now, but would really like to get my degree to do kindergarten.

7. I scrapbook, but it's not a natural talent. I have to work at it and I'm always unhappy with the end result.

8. I'm cynical. And I still get caught off guard when someone does me wrong.

9. I love to read...mostly sci-fi or fantasy. Terry Pratchett tickles my funny bone.

10. I used to be considered an excellent writer. Sometimes when thngs are quiet, I write in my head: usually snippets of books or letters to people who have hurt me. But I never committ anything to paper.

11. I often imagine I'm anyone else but me. That's why Halloween's my favorite holiday and why I love murder mystery games.

12. I have this fear that if someone attacks me, I won't be able to scream. It bothers me so much that I dream about it a lot...and one time I actually screamed in my sleep.

13. I prefer Jacob over Edward. Edward's a wuss.

14. I also have a fear of being in a car underwater. I have nightmares about it.

15. I love to try new foods from different countries. As long as it's recognizable and doesn't have tentacles or fur still attached.

16. My pet peeves: people who drive while on the phone, people who don't return emails/phone calls, and people who cut in line. At some point, I've been guilty of all of these.

17. I prefer honesty over lies, even if the truth hurts. But I don't always want/need to know if someone's trashing me behind my back.

18. I used to be really athletic: I ran track, played soccer and did some gymnastics. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't fully pursue one of these.

19. My other biggest regret is that I didn't apply myself in school and chose to just skate by.

20. I have strong convictions, but that doesn't mean that I can't/won't change them. My gut instinct is to play devil's advocate, which makes people think that I'm shutting them down when I'm really exploring all the options.

21. Connectng with old friends has been really exciting for me!

22. My favorite movie is Serenity and my favorite line is "Shiny. Let's be bad guys." My second favorite movie is the Rundown partly because I think The Rock is hot.

23. I also think Vin Diesl is hot...even if he is a jerk.

24. I wish I could sing like my sister Keri, write/paint like my mom, manage my money like my dad, be cool and good lookin' like my brother Dan, keep in touch with people like my sister Becky, and take life less seriously like my brother Nick.

25. I have had my wallet stolen...twice. One of them was a good old fashoined mugging.

You learn something new every day....

Today in pre-k I was teaching the children about koalas. (Who are NOT bears. Say bears around my boss and she will kill you. Slowly. With marshmallows.)



And we were talking about how koalas only live in one place (Australia) because they only eat one thing (euchalyptus) and how even though there are over 300 varieties of that plant, Koalas only eat 35 types...and some will only eat one or two.



So that led to a short discussion about endangered animals...and to explain endangered, I had to first explain "extinct."



So I say "Extinct is when there are no more of that animal on the Earth. The dinosaurs are extinct....they used to live on the earth but there aren't any here anymore."



At that, one little boy starts waving his arm madly in front of my face. I try to put him off by saying "Just a minute, Sam," but it's apparent he's going to blow.



"Ok, Sam, what is it?" I ask.



"Jesus KILLED all the dinosaurs!"



Who knew? All this time I thought it was climate change...turns out Jesus did it.

Your Tax Dollars at Work....

So, my oldest dd has been complaining for a while that her physics teacher is two cans short of a six pack. She says that he spouts random stuff and often pulls out his guitar to serenade his class with Bob Marley, the Beatles, and all the songs he wrote for his ex-wives before they were ex.

Here's one little dialouge she shared with me:

Teacher: Here velocity equals...Hey you! Spit out your gum! Gum isn't allowed in this class, you guys know that. It's chewy and stretchy and it gets stuck on EVERYTHING.

Did you know that once in my 3rd grade class that I was chewing gum and I coughed and it shot to the front of the room and stuck to the chalkboard? You know, I really didn't like my 3rd grade teacher. She was weird and mean and smells like fish.

You know, I've never really liked fish, either. Think about it. They swim in the water and the water's all gross and they drink this water and breathe the water...

In Japan, they eat raw fish. I think that's really gross because do you know how many toxins are in fish? Like salmonella and stuff...

You know, my uncle used to go ice-fishing, but he decided he didn't like it because we didn't eat his fish. It always reminds me of this 80's song about the cold....

At this point dd says that she tuned him out. And I don't think she ever found out what velocity equalled.

We went to talk to the school guidance counselor because dd failed this class last quarter. In our conversation, we found out that the class average was FIFTY-FOUR percent.

This is NOT Honors Physics or AP Physics. This is gen ed physics that every kid in that HS has to take as part of the graduation requirements. And this guy's class average is an F.

I asked if we could move her. The counselor said we should "talk to the teacher first."

And say what, exactly? "You stink and we want a new teacher? Physics does not equal fish and velocity does not equal the speed of your coughed out gum as it hits the chalkboard?"

So...now my DH, who is quite good at things such as math and physics has taken over re-teaching physics to my teen. It's stressfull sometimes, because they don't understand math on the same wavelength. But at least it's PHYSICS and not the Beatles.

Not that there's anything wrong with the Beatles, of course. But if I want my daughter listening to classic rock, I'll buy her a CD.

I don't expect it to come out of my taxes.

My Musical Christmas Card

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

This is the choir that I sing with. My dear hubby is the last one on the left and I'm right next to him. Sorry about the lousy video/sound quality (that funny ringing is bells that we're playing but you can hardly see them on this.)

Merry Christmas!

Black (eye) Friday and Chrismas Songs that Suck

I did the Black Friday thing again this year...it's become kind of a tradition for my sister and me.

Lines were short, deals were decent, and all in all it was the easiest Black Friday spree we've ever had.

My dh got to Walmart at 4 , was about 75 in line and was able to get us a new tv with no problem whatsoever. In previous years, you would have had to have been in line at 2 am to be so close.

According to my friend, things were so easy for us because we didn't want a Ripstick.

I've never heard of these things, but it seems they are quite the hot Christmas item around here.

Friend took her 11 y.o. daughter with her to Walmart to get the hot deals. Daughter wanted a Ripstick, so she ran one way while mom ran the other to grab something else on the list.

Daughter gets to the Ripsticks and grabs one seconds before they are all gone. A minute after that, a grown ADULT WOMAN comes up to the 11 year old and TRIES TO TAKE HERS AWAY.

She even SCRATCHES the girl.

Now, if it had been one of my pacifistic children, they would have relinquished the toy and come crying to me. It seems that, in raising thoughtful, tender children, I have also created little doormats.

Not so with this child.

She kicks the mean old lady in the shin and takes off with the Ripstick.

She's TOTALLY coming with me next Black Friday...I'll block and she can tackle.

*************************

Back in my retail days, I developed a deep aversion to certain canned Christmas music that seems to play ad nauseum wherever Christmas goods are sold.

This is slightly ironic, since I spend 11 months out of the year practicing singing Christmas songs to perform 8 or 9 times during the month of December.

Anyway...my sister and I were discussing the worst Christmas songs ever. The ones that make you want to hurt someone wearing red. The cloying ones that try to make you feel horrible for being happy when so many other people are suffering.

So here are my top five WORST CHRISTMAS SONGS ever:

5. "Wonderful Christmas Time." This one gets a spot on my list for having an annoying repeating chorus that can permeate your consciousness no matter how you are occupied at the moment. When I was working retail, I could be ringing someone up and all of a sudden notice "Simply..haaaving...a wonderfulchristmastime. Simply...haaaving a wonderfulchristmastime." and be so distracted I probably gave them way too much change. I guess then they WERE having a "wonderfulchristmastime."

4. "Last Christmas." Another annoyingly repetitive Christmas song. It sings the same chorus OVER and OVER and OVER. We get it. You gave away your heart. You regret it. Get OVER it already.

3. "2000 Miles." Yes. It's very far. You say so every other line. "2000 Miles. It's very far." Score a point for Captain Obvious. The song also asserts that if you hear singing then it must be Christmas time. Take it from me. There are people singing Christmas songs all freaking year long. Believe it. Sunday nights at 8.

2. "Don't They Know it's Christmas Time?" Not that helping others and being aware of others in the world is a bad thing, but this song wants us to feel bad because "there won't be snow in Africa this Christmas time." Well, duh. It's AFRICA. They never have snow. They don't even miss it. If it suddenly started snowing in Africa, I'm fairly sure there would be riots and mass hysteria, which I'm fairly certain won't make the natives feel any more Christmas-y. There are plenty of reasons to "feed the world," but lack of snow on the savannah isn't one of them.

1. "Christmas Shoes." This is the king of guilt inducing Christmas music. Some pup-eyed moppet goes to the store and begs the store owner to sell him some shoes for mom before she croaks and then admits he can't even pay for them.

First of all, where is mom walking to in her dire condition? Apparently the pup-eyed moppet isn't even sure he can complete his purchase in time. Maybe he should actually be WITH his mom instead of buying her shoes she'll never use. But no. If mama is going to meet Jesus tonight, she had better be wearing brand new shoes. The entire point of this song is to make the listener feel horrible for the poor poverty stricken lad who has so little while you, the listener are out buying shoes wily nily without a care in the world. No Joy to the World for you. Hang your head in shame you lucky, capitalistic scum.

Ahem.

At any rate, I like my Christmas music fairly non-repetitive and non-guilt inducing. I have plenty of guilt left over from my overenthusiastic Black Friday shopping spree.

In which I did NOT steal a Ripstick from anyone.

Thankyouverymuch.

I'm baaack....

Sorry for the delay in posting....tis the season :)

Collette! You are my blog challeng winner! We should totally go do lunch anyway...email me and we'll discuss.

**********************************

Right now my fingers are so cold that I'm having a hard time typing. Thank the drafty windows in my cold old house. The mornings and evenings have been chilly but the afternoons haven't been too cold. The leaves on the neighbor's ginormous tree have fallen and my boys have dutifully raked them up after being promised large sums of money. Today we were at the movies and my boys wanted me to take them shopping so that they could spend their new windfall.

"Boys," I said, "don't you think it would be a good idea to save that money so you will have money to buy your family Christmas presents?"

"UHHHH!" exclaims son #2. "I had to do all that work to buy OTHER PEOPLE presents?"

I stopped in my tracks, took a good look at my small son, and said, "Your dad does that EVERY DAY."

The irony, however, was lost on my children as they walked gloomily to the car.

**********************************

My baby girl has become Miss Manners.

At the movie today, I sat her next to older daughter, who said, "Aww, mom. I thought you were going to sit by me!"

I replied, "Well, I thought your sister would like to sit by both of us!"

Small sister looks at big sister and says, "I'm sorry I made you sad."

Awwww.

She's been apologizing a lot and saying things like "Yes, please!" and "No, thank you," and "Please don't show that belly button!" (When a Victoria's Secret commercial came on the air...LOL!)

It's so cute to see her learn these things, but it's also a reminder that she's growing up waay too fast. And, since she's my BABY, that also brings some sadness. My last little one in kindergarten. Right now we still spend a lot of time together. Next year, not so much.

I love my little bug. And I promise to keep my belly button covered.

Tags and an major award! (Also a blog giveaway for anyone who wants to play)

I lied. It's not major. But I love that quote from "A Christmas Story."

My bestest bud Kerri gave me my Major Award. And here she is.

(Be careful. It's frageelay. :D)

So, in accordance with the rules that go with winning a Major Award, I hereby pass this award to:

Amor (Her stories about her son make me laugh)

Collette (Who wins the award for still being my friend after 20 years)

Natalie (Who has to be the most creative person I know)

Shellie (Whom I wish lived much closer to so she could play with me ALL the time)

Teri (Who also lives way too far away....but always makes me smile when I get to see her.)

OK...now to the tags:

Here's one that I missed back in October and found when I googled myself out of boredom! LOL!

In my blog surfing, I found another blogger who spells her name the SAME WAY I DO (no small feat) and also goes by "Mer." She tagged me back on October and somehow I missed it.

Five things that make me happy:

1. My family

2. Chocolate and Coke (Separately or together, it's all good.)

3. Scrapbook stores

4. Serenity (my favorite movie. "Shiny. Let's be bad guys.")

5. Books (loving Terry Pratchett right now...so stinking funny!)

I was also tagged recently by Elizabeth to list

7 Facts about Moi

1. I have feet issues. I can't stand tight shoes or stuff touching my feet.

2. I have a very offbeat sense of humor that doesn't always translate well.

3. I sing, play the piano, and play handbells.

4. I have a high IQ. (or, as my dh probably thinks, a big head. :D )

5. I hate. hate. hate. country music.

6. I used to be fairly decent at shooting pool.

7. I like things to be done my way, but I hate being in charge of stuff.

Okay...now for the giveaway portion of our program: (and YOUR chance to win a Major Award...)

Tag yourself and post about it on your blog, then come back here and comment on this post. If you do one tag, your name goes in one time. If you do both, your name goes in two times. Name will be randomly drawn.

I give good prizes, (will be scrapbook related) although sometimes they take a month to arrive! The wait will be worth it though, I promise.

Tag...you're it!

Channeling Joe Dirt

I had a opportunity come up where I had to go somewhere and do something and appearance was important.


So I said to myself, "Self, it's time to update the mommy hair and get all spiffied up so that you look nice and hopefully no one will notice that your muffin top goes clear to your nose. "


Anyway, I made my hair appointment. The gal did exactly what I asked her to do, but instead of looking cute and flirty like the model in the photo, I looked more like...


<--------this.


I went home and looked in the mirror and said to myself, "Self, I do think you are sporting a mullet!"

I called my sister, who is much more on top of things like hair styles and color and what to do if things go awry...and her advice to me was, "Well, go back and have her cut more off of the bottom! You don't want to go to your thing feeling like Joe Dirt!"


So I did. Both Self and I were much relieved.

Despite my de-mulleting, the next day at pre-school, one little *cherub* said, "Miss Meridith, you look SILLY." Same cherub responds a minute later to a classmate saying, "Miss Meridith, you're funny!" (which was fine, since that was actually what I was aiming for at the moment) by saying, "Miss Sara is FUNNIER."

49.7% of me wanted to look right at the little sweetheart and say, "Well, that's ok. Just so long as you know that Susy there...the one you're sitting next to? She's WAY cuter and nicer than YOU are. How do you like them apples?"

Fortunately, 50.3% of me was rational enough to realize that letting a 5 year old get your goat is NOT as big a deal as losing your job. So Self and I looked at the punkin and said, "Gee! Thanks for that!" and went on our merry way.

Besides, later, at the scrapbook store, a hairdresser asked me who did my hair and said it was "FABULOUS!" I didn't detect any irony in his tone or subtle smirk...and Self decided that he probably knew WAY more about hair than a 5 year old with boogers. I agreed and thusly, a self-esteem crisis of gargantuan proportions was narrowly averted.

No thanks to Joe Dirt.

This, that, and the other.

Well, I lied about the normal blog colors. I decided on something more seasonal. But at least it should be easier to read than the black stuff.

**********************************

This my my girl Bree. The layout is part of this month's DT gallery at Creative Express. (I just figured out how to do the link. DUH.)

She's 15 and man oh man, is she ever FIFTEEN.

Thankfully, she's not boy crazy (in fact, she's quite annoyed by all the attention she seems to get from the opposite sex.) We won't let her date until her birthday and so far that's been a convenient excuse. I keep asking her how she's going to dodge her admirers when her birthday hits but she hasn't come up with something yet....

*******************************************************************

Sunday Funnies

Ok, so I was actually really surprised by the number of Star Wars costumes that I saw at school this Halloween. Seems like more than I saw when the last movies came out. Maybe the difference is that the Star Wars movie this year was a CARTOON.

Here's a little Star Wars Humor for you...makes me laugh every time...

Speaking of Halloween, here's what we rocked this year:

Notice the ax sticking out of my Dh's back. He thinks it's funny to tell people I did that when I got sick of him forgetting things.

I think that if he keeps it up, he could be right.

(I jest, I jest.)

We are the 80's. Like, duh!

First of all, for all of you that hate black blog backgrounds, I promise this is only temporary. It's just my Halloween Blog Makeover. Normal blog colors and music will be back soon. :)

***********************************************************************

The 80's. Oh MY. Where do I begin? This poster of Michael Jackson was hanging on my friend Shauna's wall so I took a picture of it. (Hence the big FLASH spot on the left. This was about the time (7th grade?) that I really started to pay attention to pop music after I heard one girl making fun of me because I had said I listened to my parent's radio station. I might even have owned my own M.J. poster, but I may have blocked out the unpleasant memory.

The above dance picture is my first official high school dance: Jr. Prom. I was a sophomore and my date was a senior! Whooo hooo! This is not long after my first official break-up with my first official boyfriend. (Mike Walker, shame on you! ;) ) He may have dumped me, but his friends didn't. I remained good friends with them all through high school and for many years after. Sadly, I've lost track of all of them now except Collette. She's married and has a bunch of cute kids.

The second picture is my Jr. school picture. This was right before I missed a quarter of school due to Mono. No, I didn't get it from kissing boys...because the boy I had kissed (yes, Dad, I know you read this...and yes, I did kiss boys...*insert chagrin here*)...the boy I was currently kissing didn't have it. And even though I ended up in the hospital, said boy never called or asked how I was. Just wrote a note in my year book at the end of the year that he "still really liked me."

Here are some of the friends that I made when I dated that first official boyfriend. The Mike in the middle was called "Ked" (part of his last name) so we didn't confuse him with "my" Mike. My best friend in this group was Rob Stirling. I tried to find a picture but so far no luck. He and his first wife lived next to my hubby and I when we were newlyweds for a while...but I haven't heard from him in years.

This would be the guy who didn't give me Mono but also never called when I missed a whole quarter of school and rumors floated around that I almost died. (Incidentally, the only person I knew who had Mono was the guy who made the ice cream at the Leatherby's. (My first official job.) We were hardly even on speaking terms let alone kissing ones. I've always wondered if there was a rash of Mono outbreaks due to tainted ice cream.....

That's me my senior year. My official 80's BIG HAIR is in full bloom. I'm rocking an $80 dollar spiral perm and one of those dropped waist dresses with those lace collars that were so common then. Next pic is actually from 1990 after I had graduated...I'm at a dance with a college friend and we decided to do this tux and short thing. I have NO idea why. I'm displaying the official 80's side ponytail with the requisite scrunchy. Awww....

Right above is the prom I went to after high school (who does that???) with my good friend Terry. He was kind of crazy but always made me laugh. Both he and I enjoyed creative writing and absurd humor. I wonder what he's doing these days....

Next pic is a dance I went to with one of the many Daves who walked through my life. The first Dave I had a crush on from 9th grade clear through my senior year. We went out once or twice, but he always seemed to choose someone else. I guess I must have been a glutton for punishment. The above Dave was one of two that I dated in college. We even talked marriage at one point. From what I know now, that would have been a disaster. Crisis averted. The other Dave was one that I really liked whom I dated casually for a while...but that was also around the time I started dating Reed...and you know the rest of that story....

One last picture from high school. My senior year I went on a drama trip to San Francisco for a drama tournament. (Debate team also went.) It was over my birthday and my mom made cute little notes for each day of the trip. I still have them somewhere. Krista (whom I'm standing next to) and I did a clarinet duet in 8th or 9th grade for a band concert. She was much better at playing it than I was. I gave it up but I think she still played it. Oh...and see Ryan there? I always thought he was hot...

There you have it. Your 80's flashback for the day. How can something seem like so long ago AND like yesterday at the same time?

Drumroll please....

My First Blog Award! Ta Da!

Lynette, who writes http://theysayimnuts.blogspot.com/ gave me this cute little award not because she likes my witty banter, but because she likes my blog music. :D

Which is OK by me. I'll take 'em any way I can get 'em.

Lynette, if you're stopping by to listen to my song player, I have been trying MADLY to comment on your blog. For some reason, everytime I try, it pulls up the same page with NO comment blog window thingie. So here's what I would have written if I could have commented:

"Why THANK YOU for your cute blog award! It made my day to read your kind words and to know you enjoy my blog. I must also commend you on your stellar taste in music! I stop by your blog often but haven't been able to comment on the last several posts. :( I'll keep reading and trying until some day the Gods of Blog smile upon me and pull up that dang comment page."

So...with honor comes much responsibility, and it falls upon my shoulders to hand this blog award to five other bloggers. So this little blog award goes to:

1. Anna Lefler at http://lifejustkeepsgettingweirder.blogspot.com/. One of my new blog reads. The girl is funny...check her out!

2. Kerri at http://whatshappeninhotstuff.blogspot.com/ because she's my oldest and dearest friend. Maybe this award will get her to CALL me already!

3. All the girls at http://outtathisfunk.blogspot.com/. I love all their creative ideas, and I've also had the pleasure of meeting a good number of them in person. If you're into paper crafts, this blog is a must read! They've also started a online community. Lots of friendly people and great ideas.

4. Robyn at http://herebygrace.typepad.com/here_by_grace/. Not only is she a fun, happy person to be around, she's an amazing crafter. Check out her blog to see her beautiful work.

5. Laurie at http://tipjunkie.blogspot.com/. This site is one of my new favorites....and was a great resource when I had to plan some crafting activities for women at church. Everything from recipes to crafts to decorating, she's got it all.

************************************************

A little giggle for you that I recieved from my friend Heather:

ANNOUNCEMENT FROM APPLE

Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that canstore and play music. The item will cost from $499 to $699, depending on cup and speaker size.

This is considered a major social breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

*************************************************

My high school friend Lisa posted lots of fun pictures and memories from high school on her blog recently. There's even one of me. I'd link you, but her blog is set to private. (psheeww!)So...you'll just have to imagine me with big 80's hair in some weird sweater I don't remember and rolled up jeans.

If you're a child of the 80's you can participate in "We are the 80's" day hosted by the blog "Where are my Angels." http://wheresmyangels.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-were-80s-day.html. If you post a memory or pic, let me know, I'd love to check it out. Meanwhile, I'll be digging through all my boxes in my basement to try to find a photo or two. Try not to laugh too hard, k?