Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

DD started humming this last night and I realized that I went the entire Christmas season without hearing this version of the song or seeing this video. Maybe that's why my Christmas Spirit was completely lacking this year! :(

Love Bing, love Bowie, love this. Happy Christmas, everyone!

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

The first time I heard this, I just about PMP (that's "pee'd my pants" in net-speak)!!!

Have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Another Joke

Got this one from my stepsister. I laughed and had to share! :D

*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Bobbitt Family Update

In a recent news broadcast, it was announced that Lorena Bobbitt's sister, Louella,
was arrested for an alleged attempt to perform the same act on her husband as her famous sister had done several years ago.

Sources reveal the sister was not as accurate as Lorena.

She allegedly missed the target and stabbed her husband in the upper thigh, causing severe muscle and tendon damage.

The husband is reported to be in serious, but stable condition, and Louella has been charged with ......

...

...

...

...wait for it...

...

...

... a Misdewiener!

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

Guaranteed to make me boo-hoo the first time I hear it every Christmas season.

Friday, November 14, 2008

*Snort*

This joke's from my mom. Gotta love it....

After retiring, I went to the Social Security office to apply for Social
Security. The woman behind the counter asked me for
my driver's license to verify my age. I looked in my
pockets and realized I had left my wallet at home.

I told the woman that I was very sorry, but I would have
to go home and come back later.

The woman said, 'Unbutton your shirt'.

So I opened my shirt revealing my curly silver hair. She
said, 'That silver hair on your chest is proof enough for me'
and she processed my Social Security application.

When I got home, I excitedly told my wife about my
experience at the Social Security office.

She said, 'You should have dropped your pants. You might
have gotten disability, too'

And then the fight started.....

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

You know, if you line up all of my "Terrific Tuesday Tunes" and look at them, you get a pretty good picture of the influences that make me, well... me! :D

Walking the dog today and this song literally popped into my head. Okay, as the kids would say, "RANDOM!"

Did my traditional YouTube search and found a Tiny Toons music video of the song. I love it!

What does that say about me? I have massive quantities of random trivia stuffed into my head: check. I love cartoons (Looney Tunes mostly, but Tiny Toons will do in a pinch): check. My brain does all kinds of weird things when I'm not looking: CHECK! :)

Anyway, enjoy today's toon... er, tune. Heh.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Nooooooooooooo!

November 1st.

Walked into Wally World.

Looked at the leftover Halloween candy marked 50% off.

Started to hum with the Muzak, not realizing what the tune was, until I stopped and really listened....


NOOOOOOOOOO!!! CHRISTMAS CAROLS?????

Seriously, isn't that ILLEGAL or something? Holy Canoly, what the heck happened to Thanksgiving?

This is just BAD.

.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

Now let's jump back several decades, get on our velvet bell bottoms and platform shoes, turn on the tv (using the KNOBS) and watch the Partridge Family! :)



.

Monday, November 3, 2008

I'm confused.

I was just looking at the little Traffic Feed list there on the right side of my blog. "Wow, lots of people reading my blog!" I thought. Then I noticed that a huge number of hits were coming from images.google.com because of my post "Steve Urkel Lives With Me."

.....

I mean, seriously? Are that many people in need of photos of Steve Urkel that they are checking out my site with its one little puny photo that was nicked off someone else's site???

How popular IS this guy more than ten years after his heyday, anyway?

I'm truly confused.

.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was a little different this year.

Since Halloween fell on a Friday, and Friday's are Football, well, you see where this is leading.
DH took DS trick-or-treating, and I went to DD's game to videotape the band (because they always march in costume at Halloween time), and there was no one at home to hand out candy! That is the first time we've been "closed" for t-or-t'ers..... ever. :(
Anyway, without further ado, here are the kiddos...
First up, DS as a Mad Scientist:



People kept asking him where he got the wig. Little did they know that this is his own hair!
Lots of gel, teasing, hairspray and spray-on color, both white and blue, and voila! Einstein hair! I love how his whole outfit came out. He got alot of compliments.

Next up, DD as a cat:

It's really hard to see, as she was standing on the 50 yard line and I was up in the stands. :D
Last year, she was a soccer ref and wore a ref's uniform... and FROZE her derriere off! This year, she vowed she would be warmer, and chose an outfit that at least had long sleeves! So, she had a black turtleneck, black dress pants, a cute little tail with a bow on it and cat ears. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. And very cute!
I wish I could have gotten a better picture. Maybe she'll put it on for me again later so I can take some "do over" photos. :D
.

Friday, October 31, 2008

It's FIRE time!

Amazing.

October 27th and we had SLEET. I was sitting outside DD's school, reading the mail while I waited, and all of a sudden I heard these little "tick tick" noises. Wasn't sure what it was until I looked up at the windshield. GAH! Little frozen bits of water! NOOOOO........!

That night, DH said, "I guess you want a fire tonight, right?"

What's a nice way to say, "NO DUH!" ??? :D

Ahhh, the first fire of the season. It was wonderfully warm, but I'm really not ready for winter to be here!!!

It's been chilly the past few days, but warming up a little each day. No more fires for a little while (I hope).












.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The ongoing Saga of Stashie...

I tell ya, there's nothing like having animals around to liven up your life. :)

Things have been a little crazy here. So, when I need a laugh, I just have to look to the four-footed furbabies and I'm sure to be laughing in no time flat.

For example...

Stash has decided that he is our non-electric alarm clock. And normally, that would be fine, except that Stash's alarm setting keeps moving back by five minute increments.

First, he was jumping on the bed at 5:50 or so. Granted, we usually sleep until 6:00, but DH and I have learned to deal with missing out on sleep.

The first morning, it was amusing. Stash jumped on the bed. We tossed him off. He jumped on the table that's next to the window and proceeded to bang on the blinds. We chased him off. He jumped on the bed again. We chased him off and shut the door. He sat outside and clawed at the carpet under the door edge and made little "huffing" noises. I opened the door and gave up.

Well, the next morning, 5:55 turned to 5:50. Fairly same routine, with the addition of Sadie coming in to see if the cat was about to get in trouble. 'Cause you know she loves it when he gets in trouble. "Punish him! Punish him!" she thinks.

Morning after that, 5:45. Hmmm.... I don't like the direction this is headed.

Yesterday morning, 5:30. DH is now officially NOT AMUSED. Sadie is THRILLED. "PUNISH HIM! PUNISH HIM!" Stash sees DH's face and high-tails it.

"When are you going to teach this cat to cut that out?" says DH. "You have two options: he learns, or..."

"Hmph." says me.

Last night, we got in bed and Stash tried to get in with us. I had just dozed off when "thump" there he was, jumping on the bed. Well, being all loopy from having been woken up from a dream, all I could think of was "GET HIM OFF THE BED!" I picked Stash up and dropped him off my side of the bed....

...right on top of SADIE, who was lying on the floor!

Oops.

There was a HISSSSSS! Followed by a HISSSSS! and a dog jumping and a cat snarling...

"Make this work to your advantage!" said my sleep addled little brain to me, and I did the only natural thing.

I HISSED TOO!

Stash's eyes turned into dinner plates and he beat feet!

Didn't see him until we got out of bed at 6:00 this morning.

I wouldn't normally recommend this as a teaching method, but hey, if it worked, I ain't complainin'! :D

.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

My dear DH loveslovesloves this movie, and this song, and Daryl Hannah, and and and...

You get the picture.

Welcome to the 80's. Tease your hair, put on that neon pink Flashdance shirt and get ready. :)

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Stash is making me CRAZY!

Stash the stray is slowly being incorporated into our family household, but it's taking a little adjustment. And patience.

Last week was a doozy in Stashie-land.

Last Wednesday, I put him out since I had to go to work. Since he's still new to tha family, I don't want to leave him and the dog alone for any length of time. Supervision is key, right? Anyway, when I left, he was sunning himself in the mulch in the front garden.

Came home around 1:15 pm, didn't see him, but didn't start to worry until dinner time. I took his food outside and rattled the bowl (which usually brings him RUNNING.) Nada. No Stash all evening.

Ok, not to panic. He had stayed away for a day at a time before, but he was usually back by breakfast time. I decided to wait until breakfast time on Thursday to panic.

No Stashie Thursday morning. Panic mode ON! :(

What with all the stray dogs, speeding cars, and coyotes we see around here, cats are taking their lives in their paws any time they step across the street. Of course, my mind just wouldn't let go of the gory images I was imagining.

I cried off and on all Thursday.

DH kindly refrained from an "I told you so..." but I knew he was thinking it.

When I drove up to the house Thursday afternoon after work, and there was no Stash sitting by the front door, I pretty much gave it up as a lost cause. :(

Later that evening, I went into the garage to get some meat out of the freezer for dinner. As I shut the door, I could have SWORN I heard, "Meow!" I looked around, didn't see anything. Then, another "Meow!" I couldn't figure out where it was coming from until I looked.... up. And saw a little black and white head peeking out of the attic opening. Stash was in the attic above the garage!

There is only one way into the attic -- via a ladder. We had left the ladder standing up after I got Halloween decorations down. He must have climbed the ladder and gotten into the attic, but then couldn't climb back down!

Apparently, Stash is a stoic man who won't cry or yell. My last dear kitty, Soco, was like that, too. Soco would get locked in the closet and wouldn't say a thing until she heard you pass by the door, and then clear her throat with a tiny little "meow", as if to say, "Um, excuse me, could you possibly see your way to opening the door?"

Anywho, poor guy was up there at least 24 hours. Once I got him down, he ate like a horse, ran outside to pee (probably held it the whole time, but I have to go up there later and check -- eww) and came right back in the house. He was skittish all evening. Who can blame him?

Remind me again why I love animals???

.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Mama Yo Quiero...

...Ah Ah!

I was joking around with DD the other day and made up some words to a tune that was in my head. DD said, "Where did you come up with that tune?" I had to think about it for a moment, and then I realized it.

It was "Mama Yo Quiero" by Carmen Miranda!

Being the internet junkie I am, I wanted to find it on YouTube so DD could hear the song. Of course, since I don't speak Spanish, I thought the title was something like "Ma Mayo Karo." You know, like a truly weird sandwich made with mayonnaise and Karo Syrup or something. DD, who is in her third year of Spanish, took one look at what I was typing and laughed and laughed and laughed! Then she corrected my spelling. Hey, I took French!

YouTube search yielded this video first, and I remember it well:



That's one of the few Tom & Jerry cartoons that I truly like. However, I knew that I heard the tune first somewhere else, not on Tom & Jerry. Further digging found the true source: LUCY!



I love the look on the burro's face. :D

Ahhhh, don't you love it when you have a mental "itch" about something and can finally "scratch" it? *sigh* I feel so much better!

.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

If you're a child of the 70's, I'm SURE you remember this song... and no, I don't remember this at all, I'm too young, don't know what you're talking about... :D

Seriously, we listened and exercised to this version of "Chicken Fat" in PE in elementary school, but I also remember the Nanette Fabares version, and it was also played on the old "Wonderama" kids show. Wow, memories!

Get up and start getting rid of that Chicken Fat!


Monday, October 20, 2008

Outside my window...

I've seen this list on some other blogs and thought it was a nice way to give readers a little "snapshot" of my morning frame of mind. I think I'll try it!


Outside my Window... is a little bit of FROST! ARGH! However, the sun is shining and the sparrows are trying their darnedest to eat from the thistle feeder that we set up for goldfinches.

I am thinking... that FlyLady is calling to me and my timer is ticking. Let's have a "hooray" for starting back in with FlyLady!

I am thankful for... the fact that DH still has a job.... so far.

From the kitchen... some dishes still soaking to get off the chili we had last night.

I am wearing... jeans (see "frost" comment), black turtleneck and my "I'm with the BAND" sweatshirt

I am reading... I just finished Cold Mountain. I caught the movie for the first time last week and I can't get it out of my head. After having read the book, I'm even more impressed by the movie -- excellent adaptation of the book. That's rare, nowadays!

I am hoping... that this round of layoffs spares my DH. Unfortunately, it didn't spare my brother, who is now out of work. Need some good thoughts going up for him!

I am creating... the Storybook (Creative Memories digital scrapbook) for our vacation to the beach this past July. Almost done!

I am hearing... the ticking of my timer, the ticking of our clock and some construction noises from the other side of the subdivision.

Around the house... gotta vacuum -- the dog is shedding like crazy! Laundry is fairly caught up, so hooray for small favors!

One of my favorite things... the little oak desk that I just got from a lady on craigslist. It's exactly what I've been wanting for years and years, it fits in the space perfectly, and it was incredibly reasonable. Woot!

A few plans for the rest of the week... working at a new place on Thursday, so I hope it goes smoothly. And the usual mess and mayhem. What else is new? :)

.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

A song I sing to Sadie to make her howl. :D

Monday, October 6, 2008

Whoa.

Okay, I know I'm a LOTR nut, but I'm sure even those who didn't see the movies (all 3 of you) would agree that this is, like, totally incredible.

robert plant, led zepplin, king theoden, lord of the rings
see famous look-a-like faces

Saturday, October 4, 2008

LOLCATS

Made me laugh.out.loud. :D

cat
more animals

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The Stash Man















Hangin' out with DH on the front stoop.























Giving me his usual "serious" face.

Stashie rocks.

.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Blog Challenge -- Countdown Lists

10 Things I Want to Do Before I Die:
*BE ON THE RADIO! I wanna do voiceovers or be a D.J. when I grow up!
*Go to Australia
*Learn to play the trumpet
*See my kids get married
*Learn how to build custom furniture
*Learn how to reupholster (are you spotting a trend here?)
*Build my very own scrap room
*Get my photos scrapped and journaled
*Use fondant on a cake! :D
*Sing with a good choir again
*I wanted to go to Australia Zoo and meet Steve Irwin, but I have to cross that one off my list. :(

9 Places I Last Spent Money:
*Wal-Mart
*Repeat 8 more times!!! :D

8 Sounds I Routinely Hear Around My House:
*Laughing
*Arguing
*YELLING
*Music
*Whining
*Fans running
*Washing machine running
*Sadie barking

7 Real Restaurants Where I Last Ate Out:
*Rail Heads in Midway (old converted railroad depot)
*Two Twenty-Two in Georgetown (fancy SCHMANCY!)
Thank goodness for my Homemakers Group or I’d have never eaten there!
(The rest are not “real” restaurants, but hey, when you’re a mom, you deal!)
*Arby’s
*Mickey D’s
*BK
*DQ
*Giovanni’s Pizzeria

6 Things I've Recently Scratched Off My To-Do List:
*Took tons of stuff to Goodwill
*Trimmed Sadie’s toenails
*Printed photos for Alex’s party guests
*Took book donation to library
*Ordered new door handles for the car… now if I could just figure out how to install them!
*Kissed my hubby (on my To-Do list every day)

5 People I Don't Know But Would Like to Hang Out With:
*I can’t narrow it down to just 5 and would hate to upset anyone.

4 Songs That Make Me Happy:
*Zippity Doo Dah (the original and sometimes even the Tom Hanks in Splash version… “Mister Mango on my shoulder...”)
*Oh, What a Beautiful Morning
*Prince Ali (from Aladdin)
*Indian Love Call ("When I'm Calling You-oo-oo-oo....")

3 Things I Hate To Do:
*Wash the dishes. Hate it hate it hate it.
*Go to the dentist.
*Make mistakes.

2 Things I'm Really Good At:
*Making my family laugh.
*Crafty stuff.

1 Bad Habit:

*Can’t ever get Birthday Cards in the mail on time!!!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

Rock rock rock rock rock'n'roll high school!!!!

Don't know what triggered this little walk down Memory Lane, but I'll take a stroll. Wanna come with me? :D

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

DD was on a 70's kick the other day, and we listened to her mix tape of 70's disco and funk. She and DS just lurve this song.

Enjoy this version -- it's the MUPPETS! (love em love em love em)

Monday, September 22, 2008

Attack of the MUTANT CARROTS!


RUN!

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!

IF YOU DON'T, THIS CARROT MIGHT JUST OUT RUN YOU!

Seriously, what's with this MUTANT carrot? Three legs? GAH -- it's FREAKING ME OUT!

I tell ya, we must live over a toxic waste dump.





IT'S COMING FOR YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUU......!!!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Meet Stash















This is Stash.

See, he has half a mustache. So the name we gave him is also half a mustache.

Hence, Stash or Stashie. (Should be spelled "Stache" or "Stachie", but who would pronounce it correctly?)

Stash is an older gentleman who has decided that two houses in our neighborhood are wonderful places to hang out -- our house and the house of our across-the-street neighbors.

However, our across-the-street neighbors currently own an eeeeeeevil boxer named Thor.

Thor likes cats.

Thor likes cats on bread with a little mayonnaise.

We don't like Thor.

Our across-the-street neighbors are concerned for Stashie's welfare because they would hate for Thor to somehow get out and have an unscheduled lunch. Together, we've been trying to convince Stashie that THIS house is a better house to hang out.

As is evidenced in the photograph, Stashie is starting to get the idea. I'm sure that, being a stray, he probably hasn't had an un-interrupted sleep in, oh.... ever. The day I took this photo, he tried out the couch, found it to his liking, and was out COLD. The kids were making all kinds of noise, we talked right over him, the tv was on... he didn't budge once. How sweet that he felt protected enough to sleep that hard!

We think Stash is probably about six or seven years old. He's HUGE -- tall and long (not fat). He's a neutered male, so he must have belonged to someone, once. He deals with Sadie, our very put-upon border collie mix, but doesn't pretend to like her. At some point in his life, someone shut a door on his tail, because it kinks in two different places which are about the same distance apart as the thickness of a door. He's smart -- he's figured our "Wanna eat?" and "Wanna go out?" fairly quickly. We've also discovered that he is a real lap cat. Since he's so big, though, he has trouble fitting all his limbs in our laps, and ends up in the funniest positions trying to keep all his legs in the general vicinity. :)

If we can get him to stay inside, I think he'll make a fine successor to our dear Soco, who passed away almost two years ago.

Looks like we've got a new member in The Alphabet Gang. Who knew we were going to add an "S"? I thought we were going for "F" next? :D

.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

A little late in the day, but still got it on Tuesday!

This song really dates me, but that's life. Another one of those songs that my mom used to play alot. When I showed her this video, she said she even had a goat skin coat like one of the singers (actually, I think the one wearing her coat is a guy.) Quite the fashionable one, my mom!

.....I remember that coat... it had an ODD smell. :P

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Pssst... Guess what?

Lost two of those three pounds I've been fretting over.

In the words of London Tipton...

"Yay, me!"



.

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

You're 16, You're Beautiful, and You're Mine


Well, all OURS.

DD went to a friends Sweet 16 party this past weekend. I think she looks lovely. What a heartbreaker she's turned into! :)

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Sunday, September 7, 2008

These Dreams...

...go on when I close my eyes.... Heart

I've been on my weight loss journey for quite awhile. Recently, however, I had a little setback. After having gone all the way to 28 pounds lost... I gained back three. :(

I know that it's okay. I'm not beating myself up over it. I'm not going to let this derail my plans. However, it's been weighing heavily on my mind. I found out just how heavily last night.

I dreamt that I was on one of those weight loss reality shows, like "Biggest Loser." O_O

In the dream, I could see that specific contestants were chosen because of their ability to create drama. These were people who knew how to push other people's buttons and they enjoyed doing it.

There was the "Back Off" queen, who reveled in getting in other people's faces -- "What did you just say to my friend? Are you bothering her?"

There was the "Backstabber" professional, who would say someting nice to your face and then run off to say something evil about you to everyone else.

And then lots of other hangers-on, you know the type.

So, in the dream, apparently we had been on the show for a little while already. As a reward for having lost a certain amount of weight, we were going to have dinner at a nice restaurant in a mall. (I know, "nice restaurant" and "in a mall" are two phrases that rarely show up in the same sentence. hee hee) However, we had to complete a challenge before we could go eat. We were given "hobby horses", kind of like this one...















...only, because this was a dream, they were camels, not horses, and they were eight.feet.high.

Right.

Then we were told that we had to ride them down the length of the mall to the restaurant. Apparently, we had to get them bouncing and move them that way.

O_O

I didn't have any problems, but one of the contestants got hers bouncing so hard (because of her weight) that she actually managed to hit her head on the ceiling of the mall. Remember, these things were eight feet high to begin with.

Weird weird weird.

Once we got to the restaurant, we had to find our place markers. When I found mine, there was my dinner, already ordered, ???, and in a "To Go" box! Everyone else got to sit down, look at the menu and choose what they wanted, but I had to eat what was in the "To Go" box! At least it was still warm -- when I opened the box, steam rose from it. But I couldn't see what was inside.

And then I woke up.

Analysis, Dr. Freud?

On this weight loss journey, I have not restricted myself in what I eat, only in portion sizes. So the whole "To Go" box thing is really confusing. It sounds like I'm thinking I am only allowed to eat what someone else has deemed correct for me, but that's not the case at all. That one has me stumped.

As far as being on the weight loss show, I know it's because I am disappointed with gaining some pounds back. I lost a little control, there, and it showed up immediately! :P

As FlyLady says, "Baby steps." (This applies to my weight as well as to my house.) I just need to get back into the "groove" of it all. Jack up my water intake again, snack on good things, and suck it up and walk the dog on the mornings when I work, even though it makes me rush through the rest of my morning to get to work on time.

I can do this. WITHOUT the aid of eight foot high bouncy camels. :D

.

Friday, September 5, 2008

There are no words...

It is very hard to make me speechless. I.am.speechless. O_O

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

The Cos

Another wacky dream....

I dreamt that I was walking on the campus of the college I attended. (Graduated *coughcough* years ago, so that in itself was strange.)

Coming towards me was Bill Cosby. The Cos. Jell-O Pudding and Coca Cola pitchman. Dr. William H. Cosby.
And he saw me.
And made a beeline for me. Me!
"How wonderful to see you!"
Me: "???????"
The Cos: "I missed having you in class. When will you be back?"
Now, granted, I listened to alot of Bill Cosby while I was in college. My friend Jim had practically every Bill Cosby comedy record album and we would listen to them all.the.time. The Cos taught me many things, but never once did he teach them to me in person!
In the dream, we're standing there, he's hugging me, can't wait to see me again when the new classes start, and people are just going around us like seeing Bill Cosby is a normal and everyday occurrence.
Bill, come back! I'd love to take a class with you! :(
.

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

My mom used to listen to this song when I was little (yes, I'm dating myself! Hush!).
I remember dancing around the living room in our apartment in Queens to this song.
Ah, youth.



.

Monday, September 1, 2008

When did I plant YAMS?

Holy canoli, get a load of THIS!
















To the right, the normal twisty, gnarled carrots we harvest (because we didn't thin them, yes, yes, we know...).

On the left, the GINORMOUS carrot-THING I pulled up. At least, I THINK it's a carrot?

When did I plant YAMS? O_O

















.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Down Came the Rain









Rain.

Normally, I love rain. I don't even mind being out in it without an umbrella. It's just water, and I'm not the Wicked Witch of the West -- I won't melt (despite my children's protestations to the contrary.)

However....

Rain at a football game is something else entirely.

Start time for the game Friday night was supposed to be 7:30. The kids were at the school at 5:30 for last minute band practice. We got to the stadium around 6:15 in order to get good seats. And the drizzle started at about 6:30.

*sigh*

Then the lightning started. Granted, it was pretty far away, but still. Game time now? Pushed back to 8:00 "due to threat of lightning."

An hour and a half in the rain and the game hasn't even started yet.

*sigh*

The band arrived and my friend Lori's cell phone rang. It was her son, telling her, "Well, we're in the buses, but they might not let us out to play. We might be turning around and going back to the school."

An hour and a half in the rain and we might not even get to see the kids perform?

*BIG sigh*

Finally, the band director decided to let them play, but they couldn't march across the field to start the game -- too slippery. Instead, they came in the stadium through the stands, and then out onto the field... carefully.

The opening procession was very nice and the kids sounded wonderful.

Back into the stands to play pep songs and wait for half time.

Still raining.

*drippy sigh*

Finally, half time.

New drill positions, new progressions, the kids looked great (except when one piccolo player almost took out one horn player, but hey, it's the first game!) And they played well, despite having to deal with rain in their eyes, on their instruments, making everything slippery.










(See the umbrellas?)

We beat feet right after halftime, as did the band.

Great job, kids, and the football team even won! 23-14. Woot!

.

Friday, August 29, 2008

Blog Challenge -- Childhood Smells

On the wonderful board I frequent (read: spend waaaaaay too much time browsing), there is a weekly blog challenge. I enjoy reading the results, but haven't thought much about joining in... until now. This week's challenge:

I read recently that our sense of smell is much stronger than we realize. For many people a specific scent can trigger nostalgic memories from years and years ago. For others, a whiff of a specific scent or odor for that matter can bring back awful memories.

Is there a scent that does this for you? Talk to me about smells that you remember, from childhood, your teenage years, or even more recently, and be sure to tell of what these scents mean to you when they resurface in your life now.


I chose to jump in on this challenge because my sense of smell is incredibly important to me. Smells are inextricably tied in with my memories -- one whiff of a certain scent, and I am transported back in time to exact moments.

It is said that women have a better sense of smell than men. If that's so, then I am alllll woman, baby! :) I am constantly discovering things with my nose that other people don't notice. At one of the animal hospitals where I worked, the head vet also had a good nose. Oftentimes, he would call me over, "Smell this." The rest of the staff would look at us like we were n.u.t.s., but we were able to distinguish smells that others could not. I even found that I could tell if a puppy had parvovirus by the distinct odor of their... ewwww, this is probably way too gross to share. Sorry!

ANYway, a childhood smell...

Ok, one immediately jumps to mind. When I was growing up, many families put plastic slipcovers on their furniture to protect the fabric. Our family was NOT one of them. However, dear friends of ours not only had plastic slipcovers on the couches, but plastic runners down the hallways to protect the carpeting. So, even though that was many many years ago, any time I smell that strong, distinctive plastic odor, I immediately jump back in time to their house.

How do I feel when this happens? I don't mind. I like having that little memory "trigger." We lost touch with that family many years ago, so I honestly wouldn't be thinking of them, otherwise.

Of course, there are scent memories that are bad... especially one perfume that drags up alot of evil times... but I still don't mind. It's part of who I am.

Just call me the Human Bloodhound!

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Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Nana Mouskouri (no, it's not the name of a Greek dessert)

My Tuesday Tunes have me thinking about other old music. I remember my parents listening to folk singer Nana Mouskouri. If you haven't heard of her, look her up. Quite an interesting career!

And then Benny Hill spoofed her style:



Brilliant!

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Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

Not sure if I can/will keep this going, but I thought it would be fun to try!

Seems like I always have a tune (or two, or four) running through my head. For some reason, I've been having musical flashbacks to the 60's and early 70's...

...NO comments from the Peanut Gallery, if you PLEASE! >:(

ANYway, here, for your enjoyment, is my current Ear Worm. Sing along, won't you?



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Monday, August 25, 2008

Votes for mi, 'k?

Submitted a captioned photo to one of my fave websites, icanhascheezburger.com.

Here it is! Photo by Mikee, caption by me:

funny pictures
moar funny pictures

If you can, would you click on it and vote for it? I'd love to see it on their front page! Woot! :D

Goodness, I'm easily amused. ;)
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Friday, August 22, 2008

Can Michael Phelps do THIS? I think not.

Oy, wacky dreams again! You know you've been watching the Olympics waaaaaaaay too much when you start dreaming about them. *sigh*

In this dream, I'm watching a swimming competition. It seems as though I'm actually at the Swim Cube in Beijing.

...pause here for PSA...
(...pronounced Bay-Jing, not Bay-zhing. Ask the Two Chinese Characters! Here's a link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GE4dkpOdPw )
...PSA over. Back to your regularly scheduled blog post...

In the dream, the next competition is the backstroke, but unlike any backstroke you've ever seen.

The participants are all at the starting line... sitting in chairs. Wood and brocade covered chairs. Kinda like this one:








Yup, that's about right.


The swimmers are seated, in said brocade covered chairs, with their backs to the water. The legs of all the chairs have ropes tied around them.

"What do the ropes attach to?" you may ask.
"Guess." I may reply.

Seriously.

Ok, no. Nice try, though.

The ropes are all attached to.... a SPEED BOAT! That is IN THE POOL.
WITH THE SWIMMERS.

At the buzzer, the speed boat takes off at a zillion miles an hour, pulling all the chairs behind it... and the swimmers, too.

(How long is this pool, really? I mean, a Speed Boat?)

"Where does the backstroke come in?" you query.
I'm about to tell you.

Once the chairs are in the pool, the ropes release. Now the swimmers have to start swimming the backstroke, while burdened with these heavy brocade chairs.

Yeah. Good luck with that.

After a few moments of arm flailing, splashing and general drowning, my dream faded into something else.

Can anyone explain this one to me? O_O

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Thursday, August 21, 2008

"Getting to know you, getting to know all about you..."

Stolen from Clovergirl's blog -- 'cause she rocks and she inspires me! :)

1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATER: WALL*E. I really enjoyed it, but I PMP over "Presto", the short before the movie! Like a classic Bugs Bunny cartoon (and you know what a WB fan I am!), it was fast, zingy, intelligent, and hysterical. Pixar has GOT to make more of these!

2. BOOK ARE YOU READING? Dragons Wild by Robert Asprin. Not lovin' it, I gotta tell ya, but I'm giving it a try.

3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME? Trivial Pursuit ('cause I usually kick heinie!) :D

4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE? I actually picked up a copy of Mother Earth News the other day and really enjoyed it! I might just be getting a subscription!

5. FAVORITE SMELLS? Fresh air, Yankee Candles' "Greenhouse", freshly mown grass

6. FAVORITE FOODS? That's too long a list.

7. FAVORITE SOUND? silence. ahhhhh.....

8. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD? Making a mistake. It kills me. Unfortunately, my kids are the same way, and it's hard to see them get so upset when they make normal mistakes that all people make.

9. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP? "Why do I keep waking up at 5:30 instead of 6:00??? ARGH!"

10. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE? I can take or leave all of 'em, but I don't mind BK and McD. (Southwest salad YUM)

11. FUTURE CHILD'S NAME? Only 4-legged furbabies left for us... and we're on the letter F, so Frank? Fred? Flibbertyjibbet?

12. FINISH THIS STATEMENT. "IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY..."? I would buy my husband a cabin in the Rockies, would buy DD her ranch in the West, buy DS a house at the beach and buy myself a condo in San Diego! Ha!

13. DO YOU DRIVE FAST? I try not to, anymore. I was a speed demon when I owned my Mustang, though! muhahahahaha!

14. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL? Only if you consider DH after a turkey dinner a stuffed animal.

15. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY? Scary, since they spawn tornadoes here.

16. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR? Little red Ford Escort. 0 to 80 in, oh, nine minutes.

17. FAVORITE DRINK? Water, now. I've been off the Coke (as in Coca Cola, not as in illegal substance) for a year, now. Wow!

18. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME..." I would get all of my family's photos in albums!

19. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI? Yes!

20. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE? Ahem, we don't ask the ladies about their a) weight, b) hair color, c) weight!!!

21. GLASS - HALF EMPTY OR FULL? Definitely half full. :)

22. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Feh. I'd rather go read a book.

23. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED? Duffel bags, suitcases, two craft boxes left over from GS days.

24. TOILET PAPER -OVER OR UNDER? Oh, God, OVER! It's OVER, people!

25. SEAT UP OR DOWN? Down!

Can you can? I can!

What with all the veggies we are getting from our mini Victory garden, DH and I put our minds to canning. Never done it before, never seen it done, but the spirit of Laura Ingalls implored me to give it a whirl!

Off we went to the Kitchen Korner for supplies.

GIGANTO canning pot...
Rack...
Jar lifter thingy...
Jars and lids...
Courage -- nah, they were fresh out. :(

Then it was to off to Barnes and Noble for a book to tell us how to actually work all the gadgets. Cain't git by without some book learnin', y'know!

Back home, armed with our goodies, and we jumped in with all four feet (two for me and two for DH).

Our friend Phil gave us some banana peppers, so I decided to try to pickle them. We also decided to make some relatively plain tomato sauce.

5 little half pints of stuff later, it was time for canning. And we did it! The little lids stayed down ("if button is up, seal has been broken") and they look ok.

We plan to eat some of the sauce soon. If we all end up at the E/R with botulism, I'll link the newstory here. :)

Keep your fingers crossed!

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

ALL HAIL, HIGH HOLY QUEEN OF GLOWY STICKS!

Ok, is there something that just makes you smile, no matter how stupid/juvenile/plain goofy it is?

For my mom, it's bubbles. Regular ol' dime store bubbles. (Sorry to let your secret out, Mom!) She will buy bubbles on the pretext that "they're for the grandkids," but let's face it. The bubbles are for her. If the kids join in, well, that's just gravy. :D

Here's my little secret... I love glow sticks. LURVE them. I grin like a banana eatin' monkey every time I have one!

I love not knowing exactly what color it's going to be...

I love that crackle noise that they make when you activate them....

I love how they look as bracelets, necklaces, anklets, tiaras....

I love the purple ones...

I love the green ones...

Ahhhhhh, glow sticks.

We had a few in the house (Who doesn't? What? You don't? What are you, weird???) and, of course, I had to play with them last night.

Activated two of them (one green, one purple), stuck them in my ears and went off to find DH.

"All bow to me, High Holy Queen of the Glowy Sticks!" I cried.

"Oooooookay..." said DH.

Off to find DD....

"All bow to me, High Holy Queen of the Glowy Sticks!" I cried.

"Ooooooookay..." said DD.

DS was asleep. Darn.

That's ok. I paraded around the darkened house for a few more minutes, my happy glowy sticks lighting my way. Oh, and I had to go through the doorways sideways, because the glow sticks stuck out too far on either side of my head for me to go straight through.

hee hee.

"All Hail!"

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Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Deepintheheart...

One of the ladies on the wonderful scrapping board I read told us about a beautiful quilt her mom made, featuring Texas. She was looking for a title for the quilt. All that talk about Texas triggered massive Pee Wee Herman repercussions in my mind! So, without further ado....

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Carrots


What's up, Doc? ;)


I'm excited. Even though we are mourning the demise of our zucchini plant, we have reason to rejoice on the other side of the veggie patch. Our carrots are here!


Dan thought we shouldn't thin them back when they were wee, so we've got some really interesting shapes and sizes of carrots. I picked two today that were gnarled and twisted around each other, all from being too close together in the patch.


Ok, a learning experience. Next year, thin the carrots!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Please bow your heads for a moment of silence...


...for our zucchini plant. :(

Poor zucchini plant, we hardly knew ye.

Perhaps I tempted the Gardening Gods by proclaiming how many wonderful veggies we would harvest from you.

Or maybe the local insects ganged together to wreak revenge on me for the murder of their compatriots.
Either way, it's passed on. The zucchini is no more. It has ceased to be. It is expired and has gone to meet its maker. It's a stiff! Bereft of life, it rests in peace. If we hadn't nailed it to the perch....

oh...

wrong sketch! :D

"I wish to complain about this parrot..."

80's Movies that our kids just HAVE to see

While we were on vacation, my sister and I started talking about movies.

Having seemingly worn out all the DVDs of recent kid movies, she was trying to think of movies that we enjoyed when we were younger, that our kids might like.

"Funny you should say that!" I said. "We just bought a 2-pack of DVDs at Wally World because one of the movies was Space Camp! We made DD watch it and she actually enjoyed it."



Funny how I had completely forgotten that Kelly Preston was in this movie.
And Kate Capshaw was a brunette!
Tate Donovan ended up voicing Hercules, and I had no idea that Max was played by Joaquin Phoenix.
Dan pointed out that one of the guys in Mission Control was John Locke from LOST... with HAIR!
Wowser. :)







That made me wonder... what other 80's movies are out that there our kids absolutely must see? I came up with a short list (heavy on the SciFi/Fantasy side, 'cause, hey, we're geeks):

Goonies -- got it, although I can't believe the amount of cursing in that movie
Short Circuit -- got it (sexual innuendo notwithstanding)
Back to the Future Trilogy -- No brainer. Got it.


What other kid appropriate 80's movies can you think of? Post a comment, if you want to share! :)

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Friday, July 25, 2008

FORECAST OF WOE (tm)

Our garden is looking quite the worse for wear because of our vacation.

We looked at the forecast before we left. Weatherman said: Tuesday - thunderstorms, Wednesday - thunderstorms, Thursday - thunderstorms. Ok, we don't have to worry about having someone else water the garden, then. Right?

WAY wrong.

Apparently, that's why they call it weather prediction and not weather certainty. Not one drop of rain fell in our hometown the entire time we were gone. Ten days of scorching heat and no water. Ugh.

Needless to say, we returned to a sad little garden. We lost three bean plants, one of our two cucumber plants (and the other one ain't lookin' so hot) and we might lose the big zucchini plant. That amounts to about 1/4 of our plants!

Ok, so picture this. Dan goes out to look at the garden every day when he gets home from work. I stay in the house and wait for him to return with his patented "FORECAST OF WOE" (tm). Honestly, when it comes to this garden, he is SUCH a "glass half empty" man. "We're going to lose those bean plants." "Those tomatoes aren't going to make it." If the plants he said were doomed to die actually did, we wouldn't have anything in the garden except ants!

Yesterday he came home from work, and I said, "Ok, better go outside and get your FORECAST OF WOE (tm) over with." He was out there so long that I finally went out to see what was going on. He was just standing in the garden with a gloomy look on his face. (Harbinger of said FORECAST OF WOE.)

I sat down on the steps and he came over to join me. We talked about the poor garden. We talked about our crummy soil. We talked about our friend Phil, who is apparently putting up so many veggies that he can't keep up with it all. We talked about the FOW.

And while we were sitting there, God sent us a sign.

A dust devil formed. RIGHT OVER OUR GARDEN! And suddenly, there we were, sitting on our steps, watching our bean plants get SUCKED RIGHT OUT OF THE GROUND!!!!!

It has to rate right up there in the top ten craziest things I have ever seen in.my.life.

I mean, it was a lovely day, the sun was shining, we sat there on the steps bemoaning our bad garden mojo, when some of the dead leaves started to swirl around.
More leaves joined them.
The leaves flew up in a spiral and went about 20 feet in the air.
The bean plants started to sway.
The bean plants started whipping around in circles.
Three of them actually rose up and pulled their roots out of the dirt.
And then, as quickly as it started, it stopped.





Dan and I just sat there in disbelief. Turned to each other. "Did you see that?" Went to inspect the damage.

We had to replant three plants and tried to prop up some of the others which were bent at strange angles. The FOW for the beans isn't good. Of course.

But I tell ya, if we hadn't both seen it with our own eyes, we never would have believed it. Dan would have gone out to the garden, found the bean plants uprooted, and would have had an absolute FIT.

Was this God's way of telling us something? A great big cosmic Smack-upside-the-head? "Hey, guys, give it up already!" I don't know.

I only know that the FOW will continue, but maybe it will be tempered with a little humor.

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Rumspringa

Oh my word... I haven't laughed this hard in a long long LONG time.

Spotted on a crazy tshirt website:








Dan and DD just looked at me while I roared with laughter. Ah well. Whatever floats your boat, right? :D

"what happens in Rumspringa...." snort.

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

AP Exam Results! Oooooooooo.....


We're baaaaaaack! :)

When our "held" mail was delivered, the envelope containing the results for DD's AP World History exam was waiting. She started shaking when she realized what she was holding. She opened it, drew out the single piece of paper, and.....




She got a 4! Yippee! She was absolutely thrilled. She needed a 3 or a 4 to have the course count as college credit. She thought she had only gotten a 3, so to see a 4 was icing on the cake.

We're so proud of her! :D

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Friday, July 11, 2008

Sorry I've been away!

And I'll be away again!

Gosh, July is such a crazazy month (yes, I spelled it that way on purpose.) I hope you are all enjoying the hot weather!

We've been eating out of the garden more and more. Had some cucumbers, green beans, green tomatoes and more zucchini recently. The pepper plant is just looking at me sideways, so I'm not sure if we'll have any luck with that this year. The lettuce is growing, and I've been picking off little leaves here and there, but it's definitely not salad ready yet! And we even pulled out a carrot to see how large they are -- the verdict? Not large enough, but tasty! Alex, Dan and I each had about two bites of the one we pulled up. Yum!

I've got to run to work, but I wanted to update this so everyone knows that I haven't fallen off the face of the earth. I've just been away from my computer!

I hope to update again in a few weeks. Have patience, and you'll hear from me again! :)

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Photo Inspired by Cowtown Stacy!

Cowtown Stacy is one of the fabulous ladies who frequent the scrapping board I read on a daily (more like hourly) basis. Stacy is kind of a celebrity on the board, if there can be such a thing! She's funny, talented, smart, witty, and did I mention talented? O_O

Anyway, Stacy has been losing weight and documenting the process on her blog. One of the cool things she has done has been to show her weight loss in an equivalent amount of groceries. It really hits home to see someone holding two huge sacks of potatoes and realize that those two sacks of potatoes were once ON said person! ;)

Like Stacy, I have been quietly going through my own weight loss journey. Last July 4th, I made a decision that I had to get healthy -- for me and for my family. I wanted to see my kids grow up and have kids of their own. Slowly, I changed my eating habits. Slowly, I exercised more. Slowly, I have felt things change.
Today, it's official. As of this morning, I have lost.....

drumroll please....


25 POUNDS! WOW!

And now, in my homage to Cowtown Stacy, here is a photo taken in the grocery store --

Me, with 25 pounds of beef. I can't believe that THAT was sitting in ME! YUUCH! :p
I'm so glad its gone. I don't ever plan to weigh that much ever again. You have my word on it.


Don't I look happy? :)
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Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Sadie Bubbelah Story

Sadie, our faithful dog, is a bagel fiend. LURVES her some bagels. If someone in the family has a bagel for breakfast, Sadie is sittingrightthere. Usually on their toes.

The scene on our deck this morning:

Dan has a toasted bagel with butter. Guess where Sadie is.

Me being me, I start riffing on Sadie.

So, Sadie, were you a little Jewish woman in a previous life?
You were Sadie Rabinowitz, weren't you?

Dan looks at me.

Now I'm using a cigarette voice with a NEWYAWK accent....

Oy, her name is Sadie Rabinowitz.
She has a husband named Morty.
They live on the Upper East Side.
She has three kids, who never call.

At this point, Dan's eyebrows shoot up.

I fall over from the laughing. :D

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Monday, June 30, 2008

Who knew I gave birth to John Denver's Love Child?


We were shopping in Wally World and I noticed that the person on the cd Dan was holding bore a distinct resemblance to Little Man.


Don't believe me?
<===== LOOK!
Just needs circular lenses in the glasses, doesn't he?


Sunday, June 29, 2008

Told you! :D


Wow, aren't they beautiful?














Flour, egg & milk, cornmeal












sizzle sizzle sizzle













Voila! Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.

They were deeeee-licious. :)

Saturday, June 28, 2008

You say Toe-May-Toe, I say...


...they're green! :)

For some reason, our tomato plants have a quatrillion (yes, I counted) tomatoes on their lower branches, and none on the top. Dear Dan couldn't figure out why the plants didn't seem to be getting any taller. It's cause they're weighted down, that's why!!!

So, even though they weren't quite large enough, I went ahead and picked a few. I've got a hankerin' for Fried Green Tomatoes!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Bob Barker would PLOTZ

I love my dog. I do. She's sweet, smart, listens well (most of the time). I love her.

That being said, some days I look at her and think, "What the ????"

For example, recently she has decided that boy doggies have all the fun when it comes to marking their territory and she wants in on the action. Instead of doing the usual "girl doggie squat," she leans up against the desired target and "marks" it that way. ooooooookay.

Then she decided that the neighborhood's daylilies have been ignored too long, and she started marking them, as well. ooooooookay.

This morning topped it all.

We were walking when suddenly she stopped short at a mailbox with some daylilies around it. She backed up to the daylilies. I thought, "Great, here she goes again." As I stood there waiting, I realized that I wasn't hearing the usual, erm, sounds. Instead, I heard what sounded like, "Thump... rustlerustlerustle. Thump... rustlerustlerustle."

"????"

That's when I realized that she wasn't peeing on the daylilies. She was pooping on them instead! Since the lilies were rather large and entangled, the little "deposits," if you will, would hit a stalk ("thump") and then slowly fall, bouncing off other stalks and leaves along the way ("rustlerustlerustle"). Oddly enough, the way it fell made me think of Plinko, that game on The Price is Right. You know the one -- drop the puck and it bounces from peg to peg until it lands in one of the money slots on the bottom.

This was Sadie's version. "Poop Plinko."

Bob Barker would plotz if he knew.

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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

BWAHAHAHAHA!

cat

Dreams

I've always had vivid dreams. Always. I can even remember dreams I had as a kid. They are Technicolor, Panavision, IMAX, Surround Sound, THX, HUGE honkin' dreams!

I had a really creepy one last night, and it's got me rattled.

I dreamt that I was walking on one of the miles-long bridges, like the ones in the Florida Keys. There were no cars, only people walking, and it was close to being crowded.

As I walked, I had to weave in and out of little clusters of people. Up ahead of me was a support pillar (sorry, I don't know the technical term). I caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a person in a wheelchair, kind of tucked behind the edge of the pillar.

Just as I drew close, I saw a man's foot reach out and shove the wheelchair over the side of the bridge. I ran to the edge and saw that the person in the wheelchair was unconscious and bound hand and foot. The wheelchair started to sink, but the person's head was still out of the water. (No, I didn't recognize the person.)

I'm the first to admit that I am not a good swimmer. Apparently, I realized that even in my dream, so I started yelling for help. I ran up and down, grabbing people and shaking them, begging them to help me get the wheelchair out of the water, but no one paid attention. Finally, I noticed that a young man had jumped in and was trying to free the person. After a moment, I saw that he couldn't do it alone. I gave up asking other people for help and jumped into the water.

I was surprised that the water was warm. I swam over to the wheelchair and started helping the man loosen the ropes that were tied around the person's wrists, and that's when I woke up.

hmmmm.....

Zo, Dr. Freud, vat's ze diagnosis?

Is the person in the wheelchair my father? Is this my mind's way of interpreting the horrors of his daily life with Lewy Body Syndrome? The man's foot -- the one that shoved the wheelchair over the edge -- was wearing a shoe like the ones my father used to wear.

I know I feel helpless when it comes to his situation. My sister and her family are dealing with being his primary caregivers. I live too far away to do anything except be there for emotional support. I wish we lived closer, but there's nothing I can do about that. Was this dream a representation of my feelings of futility? Of the hopelessness of my father's situation? Why did I dream this dream now?

Sigh.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Why I was away!

Many apologies for being AWOL from the blog at the beginning of the month.

I'm sure those of you with kids realize how crazy the end of the school year can be. The last day of school in our district was June 4th. We had your usual end of the year activites, concerts, whatnot. Multiply that by two kids. That week and the week leading up to it were INSANE.

Add to the mix that I "volunteered" (a.k.a. "was drafted") to help with Project Grad at the High School, and you see where this is going.

What's Project Grad? Project Grad is an after-graduation celebration designed to keep the kids out of trouble for one last night. Around here, it is held in the high school, goes from 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 in the morning, consists of all kinds of activities, food, celebrating, and is put on by the parents on a strictly volunteer basis. It really is a big "To Do." (For my HS buddies, it's like the Gambol without the dancing, since here Prom is actually held in May.)

This year's theme was "Senior Road Trip." Parents created different destinations to which Seniors would want to take a road trip. We had:

New York, complete with a minivan where kids could play "Cash Cab" like the tv show.

Miami, with two spray-on tattoo artists doing their own rendition of "Miami Ink."

New Orleans, kitted out for Mardi Gras.

California, including Disney, Hollywood, and Graumann's Chinese Theater, with a courtyard where the kids could draw their handprints and sign their names in the "cement."

You see where we're going with this.

Guess who got to build Graumann's Chinese Theater?

I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.

The finished product ended up being 15 feet tall, constructed of 2x2's, screws, yards of cardboard, caulk and paint. I designed the thing completely in my head, without benefit of knowing what the heck I was doing. I built it in my garage in sections, because the pieces needed to be transported in my van, and also because my garage isn't 15 feet high! I created "cradles" out of wood for multiple sections of the towers to sit in so they could be easily dismantled. I made a bas relief dragon out of a 5 foot tall cardboard box and caulk. AND I probably lost four pounds of water weight since the temperature decided to be in the 90's with high humidity!

Obviously, the whole thing was a prime example of biting off more than I could chew. Dear Dan kept offering to help, but when you don't have any idea what goes where and what you're doing next, it's hard to direct other people, you know? If I had had blueprints or some sort of directions, I could have handed him page 2 and let him go from there. But since I was making it all up as I went along, that wasn't possible.

Our friend Scott called it a "design build." I think that hit the nail on the head.

Anyway, I was building in my garage for the better part of a week, and then all the parents had to come to the high school as soon as school was out in order to decorate. Some of the displays that people had made needed days and days to assemble!

Parents were in the school from about 3:00 pm on Wednesday and worked almost continuously until Saturday afternoon. My friend Mary, the head of the decorating committee, was only getting four or five hours of sleep per night and spent the rest of the time at the school. Whew!


Here's a photo of my finished product:
















The lamp-posts are over 7 feet tall, if that gives you any perspective.























The dragon was made with caulk, and then I rag painted the whole thing with paint that had actual bronze chips in it to make it look like hammered metal.























I started the cement autographs in order to encourage the students to do something similar. Look who I picked to do! :)
















Just for yucks, here's the real one (although I believe this is at Disney's MGM Studios in Orlando):



















Anyway, after all was said and done, Project Grad looked wonderful. It also had its best attendance in years -- out of 500-something seniors, more than 300 were there. That says alot!

HOWever....

I won't be doing it again. Ever. Not kidding. :)

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