FLY! FLY!

You know, I realize that I am "different" (different = weird). I know that I am not your every day, ordinary, mom-type person. I relish my oddness, love my weirdness, embrace my wackiness.

But it SURE DOES do me good when I find someone out there who is WEIRDER THAN I AM!!!!

Take, for instance, this post from the website, Cute Overload. I am a massive Wizard of Oz fan, but there is someone out there who is... dare I say it... a bigger NUTCASE than I am!!!! (I especially like the commentary. hee hee)

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"What, you think it’s easy to look menacing while you’re dangling from piano wire with some 300-pound Teamster at the other end? Try it sometime, pal!"

"But do people remember? No, it’s Dorothy this, and Scarecrow that, and those lousy, stinking Munchkins…"

"Oh, don’t get me started on the Munchkins. Every frickin’ day, running around the commissary singin’ ‘Ding-dong, the witch is dead,’ only they ain’t usin’ the word ‘witch,’ if you get my drift…"

"… wild parties every night in their trailer, and the next morning? Passed out drunk on the set."

"No sense of professionalism, none whatsoever. Not like us."

The Tadpole Saga - Addendum

...Poor Bob has gone to the great swamp in the sky. :(

We returned from our trip to find Bob lying in the sand on the bottom of his side of the tadpole enclosure. He looked like he had been "gone" for several days.

Poor DS shed a few tears. So did I. But we tried our best, and that's all anyone can do. Nature is not always kind. That's a hard lesson to learn, sometimes.

At least Doug is still with us. He is swimming happily right-side-up. Yay! But that tail is as long as ever. When will he start morphing????

R.I.P., Bob. We'll miss you.

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The Tadpole Saga

A few months ago, Alex's Cub Scout troop was working on an achievement that involved tadpoles. The boys would each "host" the tadpoles for a week to observe them as they changed into frogs. Then, at the weekly den meeting, the tadpoles would move on to the next Scout on the list. Sounds easy enough, right?

Hmph.

So, we got the tadpoles back in January. We enjoyed them for a week, got ready to pass them on, and the den meeting was cancelled due to weather. Ok, another week. Next den meeting... cancelled due to weather. Oooookay, another week. Mind you, the little stinkers didn't show any signs of changing into anything. They ate well enough, took care of other excretory functions (ew) and swam around, but their little leg buds stayed the same size, the tails remained, well, tails, and nothing else happened. Okay, one died, but other than that.... So, another week passed by. And then we had the big Kentucky ICE STORM, complete with no power (no power = no heat). Needless to say, den meeting cancelled due to weather. Tadpoles did not become tad-cicles, thank goodness. We eventually thawed and waited for another den meeting. Alas, that was not to be.

When Cub Scouts are Webelos 2 level, they "cross over" to Boy Scouts at their annual Blue and Gold Banquet, which is traditionally held in February. Alex's den crossed over to Boy Scouts this past February. He's now in a new troop. No more den meetings.

Ummm, we still have the tadpoles!!!!

We asked his den leader what she wanted to do with them, and she honestly didn't want them. None of the other Scout families wanted them, either. *sigh* We kept them.

When the weather started warming up, we placed their tadpole living thingy in the window. I figured, "Sunshine, warmth, spring... let's go, FROGS!" All we got, however, was a ton of algae in the water. Ick.

And then, because of the algae, the tadpoles ended up with bubbles in their little bodies! Apparently, this is often a fatal condition to tadpoles. Who knew? They can't swim properly (head down, tail up) when the air bubbles are making them float sideways, they can't eat well, they get tired and eventually... :(

One tadpole's bubble went away, but the other one ended up with two bubbles. He started to go downhill (as much as you can go "downhill" under water.) He would just bob along at the surface, futilely kicking his little leg buds. I mean, seriously? So sad.

Then, yesterday, the tadpole with the bubbles was lying on the bottom of the bowl. If you prodded him with a spoon, he would twitch a little, but that was it. I prepared Alex for the worst. He cried, I cried. Poor tadpole. We figured he'd be gone by morning.

This morning? The tadpole was swimming around the bowl! Granted, he's still sideways, and right at the water's surface, but he's almost chipper! What the heck? So, we've named him "Bob" -- heehee, and the other one "Doug". (I was going to name them Bob and Sink, but that seemed like tempting fate, right?)

"Bob" has become a little metaphor for life right now. And I love that. (Of course, Dory from "Finding Nemo" keeps singing, "Just keep swimming..." in my head, as well.)

Keep your fingers crossed that "Bob" makes it to frog-hood. And stay tuned!

Awww...

For some reason, I was thinking about John Denver. Well, not for "some reason"... I was thinking about the Muppets, which generally leads to thinking about John Denver.

ANYway...

did a little YouTube searchy and came up with this gem. I know my mom doesn't care for Julie Andrews, but I lovelovelove her. Maybe because she reminds me of my mom! :D

Enjoy. John, we miss you.

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

...a little late. Been dealing with sick DD all week, and off to the doctor we go (again) later this morning, but still had a moment to post this. Love those Muppets!
(Or, as Joan Cusack would say, "Muffins.")

American Museum of Natural History

<=== This is my favorite museum in the whole world.

Let me reiterate: in.the.whole.world. :)

As a kid, I went there on repeated field trips with school, with day camp, with family... you name the group, at one point or another, we went to the American Museum of Natural History (and/or the Hayden Planetarium) on a field trip.

I love it so much that, when I got engaged and my fiance came to visit me in NY, one of the first places I took him was the Museum of Natural History. 'Cause, if he didn't like that museum, well, there would be a problem. (He loved it. Of course.)

When the movie "A Night at the Museum" came out, I was ecstatic. And here's a true story -- when I watched the movie, and the credits were rolling, I cried! CRIED! Because I wanted that movie to be real. I wanted to be in the Museum every night with all of the displays coming to life -- to see the giant blue whale blow bubbles above my head, to play "fetch" with the T-Rex skeleton, to see the lions chase after me... okay, not the last one. But seriously, I loved that movie because it was my childhood dream come to life on the big screen.

Anyway, the reason for this post -- I took DD to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic" the other day (cute movie with a good message at the end) and what did I see?

TRAILER FOR "A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2"!!!

As you can imagine, I was the only one in the theater squealing with glee and applauding. DD sank into her seat, hissing, "MOM!" Ah, teenage embarassment over parental antics. What could be better. ;)

Childhood dream on the big screen, part 2, coming right up! WOOT!!!!!


























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Terrific Tuesday Tunes

Y'know how you have a random memory, and you can't quite remember everything about it, and you drive yourself a little crazy trying to figure it out, and when you finally do, it's wonderful?


No? Must be just me.

ANYway... I had a random memory about a little doll I had when I was a kid. It was about 5 or 6 inches tall, and it came with a record and a clip that enabled you to attach the doll to the spindle of your turntable.

....at this point, everyone under the age of 21 is saying, "Huh?"....

You attach the clip to the spindle, attach the doll to the clip, pose the doll, and turn on the record. It was supposed to look like she was dancing to the music. Heck, if I spun around that much, I'd puke, but I'm not made of plastic.

So, I remembered the doll, and her awesome flower child outfit, and the orange plastic record she came with, but couldn't for the life of me remember the name of the doll! It was making me CRAZY! Not just crazy with a small "c", but ALL CAPS CRAZY!!!! eeeh heh eeeeeh heh eeeeh heh (that's crazy breathing, BTW).

It's alright, my children, have no fear. My Google Fu is strong [bows low]. Wanna see what I found? Have a look!

(And yes, this counts as Terrific Tuesday Tunes because the doll came on a record and you had to play the music to get her dance and that's my story and I'm sticking with it. Nyahh.)

Hey, at least I've gotten a little better!

I just happened across a blog I tried to work on back in 2005... yes, four years ago!!!

At that time, blogging was all very new and I wanted to see what it was all about. Needless to say, I didn't stick with it back then. There are only three entries on that site.

However, to save them for posterity, I have copied those entries and am placing them here. Enjoy a little glimpse of nothing from 2005!

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September 28, 2005

It's a Start!

Okay, so I've always said I should write more. And I've always said that I should keep a journal.

Will this be the day?

A little stream of conciousness here, a little creative writing there, a memoir, a commentary...

All of the above?

We'll see. I'm making a resolution to log in here once a week and write a little something. If I'm the only one who reads it, well whoop-de-doo. If my pals should happen across it, that would be cool. And if you, constant reader, enjoy what you read, let me know!

The game is afoot....

C 4:47 PM

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September 29, 2005

Slow start?

Ahh, fall is finally in the air. It's been ridiculously warm here (highs in the mid 80's), but a cold front moved through last night and it was only 58 degrees at the bus stop this morning. Woo hoo!

I was going to sow some grass seed last night, since DH said it was supposed to rain. I'm glad I didn't - the seed would have blown away!

DH says he figured out why I'm such a slug during the day. He said I "shoot my load" (what a lovely phrase) first thing in the morning, and then I'm spent for the rest of the day! I have to admit, the kids have been giving me funny looks for the way I am in the morning... bouncy, happy, laughing... all while they're squinty-eyed and grumbling through their Pop-Tarts. It just cracks me up every morning to see the kids stumble down the stairs and grump that the dining room lights are too bright. After about half an hour, though, I'm ready to crawl back into bed. And no, it isn't the Coke (as in cola) making me that way. Suck it up, kids! You've got a kooky mom. Get used to it!
8:32 AM

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October 11, 2005

erm

Well, it's been more than a week since my last entry. I'm not following through on my resolution!

I've got to go sit through a Service Unit Meeting in a few minutes, so this can't be long.

My neighbor has been walking/jogging every day for the past few weeks and she's really looking great. I know I should be inspired, but I seem to find an excuse every time I think about doing the same thing. Yesterday morning I was sidelined by a HUGE headache. Dan even drove Alex to school, because I would have been a real terror behind the wheel. I actually went back to bed -- something I never ever do. Then this morning, I had a 9:15 appointment for the second half of my root canal. Tomorrow morning I ride. A little exercise, but not enough for this plus-sized gal. Sigh.

Oops, gotta go. Have to change my shirt - Tiger tore a hole in this one right before dinner.

More in awhile, I guess!

C 6:08 PM

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

I know I've been off the map lately, but blogging hasn't seemed to be appropriate during these sad times. Going through some hard stuff with the family and then we were smacked by the lovely ice storm. Something's conspiring against me!

Anyway, just to lighten my mood a skoash (how do you spell that???), here's my favorite diva, singing a song that I love to imitate (and that drives my children simply batty, so the more times I do it, the happier I am.)

Love ya, Cher!

Terrific Tuesday Tunes

In honor of my dream, a "tune", if you will. :)

These Dreams...

Wow.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning, which is not unusual, and went back to sleep, which is. Between 4:30 and 5:55, I had this dream:

I dreamt I was an alien from another planet.

Yeah.

So, in the dream, I've been living on Earth, disguised as a human. And the "Mother Ship" arrives and I'm called to return to my planet.

Uh huh.

The ship is hovering above a local park. Invisibly. (So, how do I know its there?)

I'm with some (human) friends, and am running towards this park to rendezvous with the ship. As I get closer to the park, changes start to happen to my body. I feel a crest start to grow out of the back of my neck. It HURTS. Suddenly, my shoes are gone, and I see that my feet are starting to morph into lizard-y type feet. Apparently, though, that process doesn't hurt. Who knew?

We reach the park we've all been running towards, and there is a chain-link fence around certain sections of it. I can see the park, and the path I want to be on, but I've got to find an opening in the fence to get through. (What, the Mother Ship can't hover a yard to the right?)

Finally, I fall to the ground next to the fence. The pain in my neck is getting worse and my feet aren't doing what they ought to do, being all lizard-y and whatnot. My friends (I have no idea who these people were -- none of the faces were familiar) stand around me, but keep back because they're not sure what's happening. There are some children with us. The kids come over to me and try to comfort me. "It's ok, we love you even though you have lizard feet."

Everyone say, "Awwwww....."

And then Dan pokes me and says, "It's time to get up!"

...

I mean, seriously?

I was looking at old photos last night, and came across a pic of my desert iguanas (Fred and Ginger), but would that one photo really spark all of THAT?

weird weird weird

.

*Snort*

I love the guy who's practically crying. This is awesome. :D

Memories....

In the car on the way to school, a Barry Manilow song came on the radio and I had to laugh. A twenty-five year old memory had just popped into my head.

Back when I was a Music Major, I had a very strict Theory instructor. VERY strict. I can't remember his last name, but his first name was Anthony. (I only remember this because my friend Jim insisted on calling him "Tony" behind his back. Way to dis him, Jim!)

Now, this instructor was r.i.g.i.d. Look up the word "plank" in the dictionary and you'll see his picture. In his class, when it came to music, he was the beginning and end and we knew nothing. According to him, all music must follow certain rules and these rules ONLY. Music COULD NOT deviate from this set of rules. His pet peeve was what he called the "Barry Manilow Key Change." You know what I'm talking about... Barry Manilow songs all trill along in one key and then, when they need that emotional punch, DRAMATICALLY change key? Yeah, that. Well, Tony had a huge problem with Barry Manilow Key Changes.

One memorable class, my friend Jim and I were listening to Tony rant on and on about Barry Manilow. At the time, Jim was a huge fan of Barely Manly, so he was listening to all of this with his tongue clamped firmly between his teeth. As Tony went on and on, Jim's face got redder and redder.

"There will be no Barry Manilow Key Changes! Barry Manilow breaks all the rules! It's not good music! Key changes like that are not allowed!"

Slowly, Jim's hand rose in the air.

"Yes?"

"Um, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Barry Manilow make millions of dollars?"

...

...

...

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!!!!"

The rest of us, mentally, "Um, yeah!"

Jim got lots of high fives after class that day.

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Terrific Tuesday Tunes

I performed in "Dido and Aeneas" when I was a voice major. This piece, "When I Am Laid in Earth," haunted me, and, even though I was only 19, I knew that I wanted it sung at my funeral.

At my age, I never thought I would be dealing with the passing of people this "young," but several of the parents of my children's classmates have died within the past year. One from a sudden brain aneurysm, one from a stroke, one from cancer. These were people in their early 40s and late 30s!

It's on my mind.

It's a good thing I love my kids

I'm in desperate need of a haircut. That being said, I tried to make it look nice the other day by just blowdrying it and styling it simply (instead of the usual teasing routine I do.) I walked out of the bedroom.

Both kids: {jawdrop}
DD: What did you DO to your HAIR?
DS: Wow.
Me: WHAT?
DS: You look like that furry red monster in the Bugs Bunny cartoons!
Me: ?!?!?!?!
DS: {backpedalling} I mean, you don't look like a MONSTER, but your hair is poofing up in two lumps like his does!
Me: ?!?!?!?!?!




Great. My kids think I look like Gossamer. *sigh*

It's a good thing I love them.

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