Saturday, March 31, 2007

At the Movies: Premonition

I wish I had good things to say about this film...because I was so eager to see it. Unfortunately, that's not the case.

It was O.K.
It jumped around too much.
I was confused.
And then.....came the ending.

The only thing I can tell you is...in a quiet theater of bewildered moviegoers...I (not realizing the volume of my comment) shouted "You have GOT to be kidding me!?"

Save your moolah and make this one a rental. You know, when you can keep pen and pad handy to take notes, draw charts and try to figure out what in the heck is going on.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Farewell........

Just wanted to bid you all a kind farewell. I am most certainly not going to survive this allergy attack and wanted to let you know how nice it has been meeting you here in this lovely forum. Good night and good luck.................

OK, so I just wouldn't be me without a little melodrama but, the truth is, I am DYING here. Here at my desk in my home office where I mistakenly had the windows open earlier this week...enjoying the spring weather never knowing that pollen death particles were floating in unannounced. Never having dealt with allergies before, I'm sure I'm just not used to this feeling. But, my eyes are burning and tearing up, my head feels like someone has shoved a volleyball up my nostrils and I'm certain there is some sort of brick item sitting on top of my lungs.

As my friend Cindy commented, "you should never have to use your windshield wipers to get pollen off your car." But I have. This is ridiculous.

Here are the stats I found this morning (see, checking this blog can be educational):



POLLEN COUNT
0-30 Low
31-60 Moderate
61-120 High
Over 120+ Extremely High

Last Wednesday, it was 918...
A couple days ago, it was in the 2000 range...

Today's Count: 5,208!


The all time high is just over 6,000. Drug store allergy aisle, here I come!

Perplexed

Please tell me how in the WORLD three people can accumulate as much laundry as we do?

It's just not natural.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

What's Going On...

right now: finished putting load of sheets and towels in dryer

supper tonight: beef brisket, broccoli casserole

good thing today: 4th grade girls engaging in Bible lesson

not-so-good thing today: sister Jenny crying as I left her at airport

listening to: NOTHING! My sound is broken on my computer! :-(

current addiction: (besides Ruby Red) ...Grey's Anatomy

Katie's Little Addictions: #2

yum.

Monday, March 19, 2007

Searching..........

Martha Stewart's show is on in the background as I work and she just made a shocking revelation. She is on an exhaustive search for the perfect scone.

The perfect scone?

There are many things in my world that I could do an exhaustive search for and the perfect scone is nowhere on my list. Topping my list would be a mate for the 237 socks in "sock heaven"--that basket in my closet which serves as a temporary (and sometimes permanent) home for socks with no match. I'd also search for the lid to the bottle of children's ibuprofen sitting in my cabinet as well as every nice black gel pen I've bought in the last year.

Let's see...as long as I'm searching, I could try and find my driver's license that has been missing since our Orlando trip. I'm sure it's in a pocket but, for the life of me, I haven't come across it yet. I carry my passport with me for identification but I'm sure a police officer would not accept that as proof that I am allowed to drive in the state of Georgia. Yes, I can go to Russia if I'd like but driving to Wal-Mart could get me into trouble.

See, Martha...you search for scones and I search for pens, socks and my driver's license. We're kindred souls you and I.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Night Owl

I've always been the one to fall asleep just about anywhere. As a child, it was face down in my mashed potatoes at the dinner table. Then there's the famous pic of me at age 3 sound asleep, standing up, with my head resting on the closed toilet lid. I sleep in the car the minute it is cranked (um, well, except when I'm actually the one driving...) and I can never make it through a movie at home without catching some ZZzzzz's.

So, what is it that has me in a pattern of complete and utter lucidity at 2:42 in the morning?! I could go downstairs and turn on a movie, read, organize something... I am completely awake. This has been a trend of late and it's an odd one for me. I'm not sure if working from home has something to do with it...knowing that I can stay up later but be able to work in complete peace and quiet...I'm not sure. But, whatever it is has my entire schedule and body clock going haywire.

What have I been doing since 11pm when the fellas turned it in? Well, my computer has been acting crazy and, upon further investigation I noticed the most aggravating jumble of twisted cords and cables I have ever seen. So, I have meticulously disassembled my entire computer, cleaned it, straightened out the wires, labeled them (yes, I am OCD and proud) and plugged everything back in. Obviously, it seems to be working fine so now at least I am going to bed with organized computer connections. It's the American Dream. OK, so not really. But it feels better nonetheless.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

A Boy's Thoughts: March 14, 2007

As I was bathing Daniel yesterday, he commented (quite seriously, I might add):

"So, Mom, I'm guessing penquins only use cold water in their bathtubs, huh?"

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

March 13

Thirteen is one of those high-profile numbers. For some, it is considered unlucky. Ooooh, thirteeeennnnnnnnn...even hotels don't have a thirteenth floor because of the superstition tied to the number. For others, it's quite the opposite. Thirteen is a lucky number for them...a number to bet on, if you're so inclined.

For me, the number has never had much meaning. That is, until four years ago when it became the day my mother died.

Let me tell you, the significance of this day is not lost on me. But, I must say it is no harder than any of the other 364 days out of the year that I don't have Mom in my life. A random Tuesday in January might showcase her absence as much, if not more. You know, a day when I've had it up to my eyeballs with my son's incessant whining because I made him take a bath before breakfast instead of after...or when I hear a song that I know she would have loved...those are my March 13th's. The problem is, I never know when they'll be appearing on the calendar. I can't plan ahead to prepare to be sad or particularly melancholy. Instead, those days hit me out of the blue--with no warning or preparation.

If I had my way, I think I'd rather have this one day to grieve each year. One day to stay in my PJ's, watch sappy movies, look through pictures, listen to all of her favorite music...just taking time to wallow in my sadness. Then, March 14th would come along and I'd go back to my carefree existence without the daily reminders of how much I miss her.

But, it doesn't work that way and, to tell you the truth, I'm OK with that. It's the little remembrances that keep her memory alive through the years. It's tasting a lime popsicle and knowing how much she enjoyed them. It's looking at my hands and seeing the same lines appearing that I remember seeing on hers when I was a child. It's seeing a pattern in the sewing section of Wal-mart, the conglomeration of paint colors on my palette as I paint a mural in my son's room and, most of all, it's knowing how much she would adore him and the witty banter which has become his trademark.

March 13 is here once again. Yes, it's been four years. Yes, another spring is upon us and, sadly, she won't be here to revel in it. I get sad to think that the daffodils are sprouting up everywhere and the azalea buds are about to burst open and she isn't here to enjoy it.

But, she is here.

She is alive in the smell of the soup simmering on my stove and the neatly folded stack of dish towels on the counter. She's here when re-runs of Designing Women play in the background while I cook dinner or when I put yet another load of laundry in the dryer. She's alive in the words that I write and the songs that I sing and the sparkle in my son's eyes. Believe me, she's very much here.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Just curious...

Do you think male ladybugs get a complex about their name?

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Hangin It Up

There's an old saying "hangin up your sword" which translates to giving up the fight or taking a good long break from something. Well, our little pirate did just that earlier today.

Keith was in the yard burning some branches, etc...when he glanced over to find Daniel in an interesting nap spot. It was only 11:30am but he hadn't been feeling good so I guess he settled into the first spot he could find:

(click pictue to enlarge)

The sword hanging neatly through a slot in the back of the chair cracks me up... how fitting for a tired pirate on a sunny Saturday morn.

Blog Fog

A friend of mine called the other day asking "why haven't you blogged lately?? what's going on???" While that made me feel good that someone besides myself is interested in the minutae of my life, I realized that I'm in a bit of a blog fog of late. Things have been a little crazy with me working two full time jobs and trying to be a Mom and a wife...and a daughter...and a sister...as well as a friend...and community group leader...yikes...

Everyone in life wears many hats, but I realized that I was so busy trying to juggle which hat I was wearing at any given moment that I was letting important stuff fall to the backburner. Maybe in the scheme of things a blog doesn't seem that important, but it is to me. It is an outlet that I look forward to...a way to vent, share, create... and let others know what's going on in my ordinary everyday world. Sometimes I get bogged down and don't have anything really enlightening to share so I don't want to write down the boring stuff. But, what I've realized, is that life is made up of boring stuff and that it's the cumulative boring moments that make life...well, not so boring. Have I lost you yet?

Anyway, I let go one of my jobs the other day and am trying to regain some semblance of order in my life. I am vowing (for myself if not anyone else) to record the little everyday stuff. As I look back on my days over the past year, it's fun to recall the pesky bird pecking on my door or a conversation that I had with my son that I might not otherwise remember.

So, hopefully, I'll be more consistent in my posting. I'm sure some day down the road I'll be glad I did.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

What's Going On...

right now: 9:30pm typing a quick blog before watching American Idol that I tivoed (tivo'd?) earlier. Not too fired up. Just the guys. And they have given me nothing to get too jazzed about.

supper tonight: asian salad from indigo joe's. competed in trivia with my hubby (I narrowly lost--of course)

good thing today: buying a new crock pot (good grief that sounds lame)

not-so-good thing today: discovering the highway-robbery cost of replacing our carpeted areas with hardwood. Yikkkkkeeeeeeeeessssssssss.....

listening to: Grey's Anatomy mix on iTunes -- love me some Grey's Anatomy

current addiction: Ruby Red Sunrise Crystal Light

Monday, March 05, 2007

80's Music Quiz


Click on the pic below to take an 80's Music Quiz...
(note: my score was 128.5 --
I have no idea whether that is bad or good?)



(click on pic to begin quiz)