Random Blathering

Random blathering. That is what this qualifies as. As if anything else I ever blog about has a purpose. lol

• I no longer think that this ( lol ) looks like a guy drowning. But this one ( \o/ ) definitely does.
• I still can't spell definitely without the spell check.
• The Omaha Riverfront Wine Festival was a blast. we drank way too many 1 oz glasses of wine. The VIP ticket was really the way to go. I dumped about as many glasses as I drank. And most of what I drank was white wines. Which is pretty unusual for me. Found out after trying some of the wines that were REALLY good, the ones I thought I liked weren't as good as I thought they were. Still, James Arthur Vineyards wins as having our favorite wines. We once again spent the last of our time there. Didn't make it to ANY of the classes that we'd planned on. Just was stupid about parking, walked for miles to get there and then drank a lot of water and then too much wine. : ) It sure was fun though. And just for the RECORD, the Pusher's husband wins the award for the loudest and happiest drunk. it was hysterical.
• I have officially worked for 20 days straight. I'm tired. It will be 23 when I finally get/take a day off.
• I still don't have the big project done. Hopefully tomorrow.
• The dachshund dog that Son2 brought with him is driving me crazy. He insists on barking all of the time. Won't leave Roxanne alone. Licks your face. Jumps on and off of you repeatedly when you are trying to lay down on the couch. Runs off if you don't tie him up when he is outside.
• In 1919 my great-grandfather, Fred was discharged from the Army. He kept his WW1 uniform, cap, helmet, canteen, mess kit and ammo belt stored in a huge trunk. Friday, my mom and dad went through it and found all this plus live ammunition. My mom called me to ask what to do with live ammo that has been stored for nearly 100 years. The police department was nice enough to come pick it up. This is my great-grandpa.
  

• I need to go to bed. but I'm not really tired. Brain dead but not tired.

I'm going to go load some pics. Back in a few.

Fireflies By That Guy Who Does All of The Sounds With His Mouth

I'm kind of obsessed with this Mike Tompkins guy's music. But then I saw an interview of him. He is a slightly cocky guy. But then again, with his talent he's probably earned it. But he's cocky. I don't much like cocky.

I just said cocky three times. Can't even remember the last time I used it. And I just used it three times. huh.

10 Random Things for a Friday

It is still Friday in 3/4 of the US so I may have brought it down to the wire but it is on baby!

1. My home laptop is driving me absolutely bonkers. So if we can make it through this without me having to switch to the Husband's computer I'll be absolutely surprised.
2. The Babe has done 4 different 100 piece puzzles this week. A few pieces were added by Son2 or myself to help her get over a rough patch but she did 95% of them herself. Dollar Tree has some pretty rocking puzzles. For a dollar. I think we have bought one of each that they have there.
3. I need new tennis shoes. When I went walking yesterday this was very apparent. They just aren't cushy anymore. The problems that this brings though are that I did not budget new shoes into the budget this month. Nor next month. I need to find myself a good sale.
4. Someone left a stuffed animal that talks in the couch. I know this because I sat on the couch and the couch started talking. Which throws you off a little when you've had a couple of glasses of wine.
5. I just yelled at Husband for no reason. I'd say I'm on overload. What do you think?
6. My house is an absolute disaster. There are people coming here from out of town and I don't have the time to clean it because I have to work again in the morning. And the maid quit. Good thing it is a friend who doesn't care what my house looks like.
7. I've got nothing. How can I have nothing when this is random stuff? Overload.
8. It took Tolstoy six years to write "War and Peace." It has taken me 15 years to read it. And I'm not done. I have a copy. But I'm not sure where it even is.
9. I've still got nothing.
10. Tomorrow is Riverfront Wine Festival. Have I mentioned that? After this last couple of weeks, it will be nice to do something fun.

Wow. that was lame. We'll try this again tomorrow after the Wine Festival. I bet those 10 will be interesting!

Um... Yeah.

I know. I haven't posted a 10 things. Thanks for the reminder friend. It won't be until tonight.

Love you though. Thanks for trying to keep me on track. But right now I'm not even on the train.

How To Taste Wine

My name is Carolyn and I am a Groupon addict. And I like wine. And we're going to the Riverfront Wine Festival this weekend. It will be our 2nd year in a row. Which probably makes it a tradition. And this year we bought the VIP tickets so we get "unlimited" tastings. Which is really just a ticket to taste 1 oz glasses of wine until you find one that you REALLY like and then you go buy a bottle of it and fight for a place to sit down and drink said bottle while the sun tries to kill you and you remember that you forgot to put on sunscreen and you didn't wear a hat, why? Or so I've heard.

But anyway, back to the Groupon thing. Today's Groupon Deal for Omaha is a half price "grand tasting" ticket plus 10 additional tasting coupons for $20. Pretty darn good deal. If I hadn't already gotten my own ticket, I'd be all over it. So now I'm trying to recruit others to come and enjoy the afternoon with us. Wanna come?

Have you ever read Groupon deals? At the bottom they always have some little tidbit of knowledge (Groupon Says) that is usually related to the subject of the Groupon. Today's is How To Properly Taste Wine. I laughed out loud. But then again, I may be a little bit punchy with being tired from working so many days in a row and all. But I thought I'd share.

Again I found it HERE.

How to Properly Taste Wine

For total wine enjoyment, the wine drinker must engage in a multi-step process designed to enhance the flavor, body, and unique characteristics with each sip:

• Give the wine in your glass one of three names: "Gary," "Darryl," or "Garryl."
• Bring the wine glass to your right eye and stare deeply into it for at least 30 minutes, until you can no longer tell where the wine ends and you begin.
• Starting with your left pinky and moving right, fully submerge each of your fingers into the wine glass until all fingers are in the glass.
• Take a sip and slosh it around. When someone gives you some surprising news, spit it out.
• Put all of the wine from your glass into your mouth, but don't swallow. When all the wine is in there, open your mouth and say, "Keys. Once angry keeping flagrant." Enjoy the wine that is left in your mouth.

OK so after reading it a second time, it may not be as funny as I thought. Oh well. It was worth a giggle though. In a "who the hello took the time to write this and thought it was funny" kind of way.

By the way. Anybody want to go with us to the Wine Festival? Saturday. Be there or be square.

I Think My Brain Has Shut Off

I think my brain has shut off. Like ceasing to function off. I've worked so many hours this last two weeks that I think I just hit tilt. And Saturday is a long way off it seems. I need to regroup. I'm not stressed about it anymore. I've passed stressed. Not in a "I'm so stressed I'm at whatever comes after that" stage kind of way. But more of a "I've reached an odd sense of calm that comes after you crack" kind of way.

And today my brain shut off. It had to change gears too many times today. And it refuses to do much of anything now. I'm going to go pick up the Babe and try again tonight.

Wish me luck. This was my brain dump. I have to regroup now. I'm thinking it will involve Diet Coke and a chik'n sandwich. I'll let you know how it goes.

I Stole This

Suzy over at It Walked on My Pillow shared this today. I've seen this guy before. But every time I am amazed. Oh to have this kind of talent.

My Favorite Recipe Sites

This is for my sister. But y'all can visit them too if you want. Yummies!

Kalyn's Kitchen - Low Carb Friendly
Smitten Kitchen - NOT low carb friendly but way good recipes
Savory Sweet Life - Easy family friendly recipes
Tasty Kitchen - Pioneer Woman Driven
Healthy. Happy. Life. - Awesome recipes. usually easy. always Vegan
Simply Recipes - I've found lots of easy family recipes. they are kind of hit and miss though
FatFree Vegan Kitchen - I haven't made anything from here that wasn't good
Karma-Free Cooking - Good stuff. Some of her ingredients aren't always easy to find though
Last Night's Dinner - She relies a lot on other people's cookbooks but she's honest about how they turned out.

Ok. that should keep you busy for a while. but if nothing else, you can always just have a peanut butter sandwich. : ) adding Nutella would switch it up a little bit. lol

10 Random Things for a Friday

This week has been Carppy. But I think we've already covered that so I'm going to try and not carry it over to here. It's worth a shot, right?

1. The Babe started Pre-school this week! She loves it. I love that she loves it. But I still cry a little every morning when I drop her off. Yes. I am sappy. And emotional. but what of it?
2. My mom's twin sister lives in the Minneapolis metro area. We used to go to her house ALL of the time when I was growing up. It was the first place my parents let me drive to that wasn't within 30 miles of my house. It was a refuge when my teenage self thought I needed to get away from my parents. Being at my Aunt's probably saved my life more than once. This has gotten long enough that it should probably get it's own post. So we'll let this go for now.
3. A Dutch Pancake is called a pannekoeken. We used to eat them in Minneapolis at the Pannekoeken Huis. Which is apparently the Minneapolis Dutch version of IHOP. This all comes about because Cascadian Farms had a cool recipe for a peach pannekoeken this week. My favorite way to have them was with strawberries and powdered sugar. I think I'll take a shot at the peach one this weekend.
4. There is a parade tomorrow in our little version of downtown. It is a joint venture with the Air Force Base. And it kicks off a week of pretty cool events. The Babe LOVES parades.
   
5. The week includes an air show. We don't need to get tickets to the air show. They fly over our house. Which leads to much better views anyway. :)
6. Son2 has decided that he wants to live here again. Which is good. Because I miss him terribly when he isn't here. Now all I have to do is get Jr. and family to move here. Then my evil plan will be complete!
7. Even the best fall down sometimes. Personally, I'm pretty tired of falling.
8. I want to be a Yarn Bomber when I grow up. I got the idea from elena over at itwalkedonmypillow. She is going to be one too. This would however mean that I would have to learn how to knit. or crochet. Which I think we have talked about this before. you see, I can't do either. so when I need something knit, or crocheted or sewn for that matter, I just pay my friend Candice to do it. Do you think I would still be a yarn bomber if I used someone else's creation and i just paid for it and put it on random parking meters?
9. For quite a while yesterday I thought it was friday. but alas, it was not. This was a very depressing moment. But then again it was good. Because I have A LOT of things to do before the end of the month and that just gave me an extra day. kind of.
10. My favorite color this week is white. Because that is the color I found underneath all of the black and gray that my husband had left as the ring around the tub. Having a mechanic for a husband means you have to wash your tub every time he bathes. so luckily I only have to do it once every other week or so. ok. that was a lie. he does bathe at least once a week. ok. that was a lie too. he does bathe most every day. but don't tell him I told you because then he'll think I was talking about him being naked or something and then that gets hard to explain.

Happy birthday to you if your birthday is August 20th! Happy early birthday to you if your birthday is this week! Happy belated birthday to you if you just had it and I missed it. I don't know why I'm talking about birthdays. I must need cake with buttercream frosting or something. Anywhoooo. Happy Friday.

Be well my stalker friends.

Carppy Part II

If I check myself in to the looney bin will you all come visit? i would hate to be there and not at least get postcards. my mom used to send me postcards at camp. do you think she'll send them to me at the looney bin? do they even really have a looney bin anymore? the psych hospital that used to be in the "city" closed. i know because i worked near there at the time and i think they released them all into the park across the street. them and the crack dealers had quite the week. my shift key is stuck i think. because I keep pushing it and i think it is only working about 20% of the time and that % sign was a 5 the first 3 times I pushed it. and i had a carppy day. it was just about as bad as yesterday's carppy day. except that this time it involved 300 dollars worth of tires and towing for a car that isn't even mine, 3 whining dogs, and a bill collector. and did i mention that it is 11:29 pm and the Babe is still awake?

yep. it was about that good.

i'm going to bed and I'm going to try this life thing again tomorrow at 7:00 AM. pray for me. i hear there are no psych beds available in the metro area and I'm sure that they'd kick me out after 27 hours anyway. because i have pretty stellarly sucky health insurance and all i really need is a good long nap and maybe someone to help me get caught up at work.

happy happy. let's hope for brighter days tomorrow.

I Mean, Really?

OK. So here's the deal. (I say it that way because that is how I really talk you know). So here is how it goes.

I had an absolutely CARPPY day. (and yes. I know I just spelled that wrong. It's intentional) It was monumentally so. Every time I turned around something else fell on my head. Short of someone dying, it was THAT bad.

So then I come home. Where I decide to check my yahoo mail account. One of the dozen email addresses I can't seem to cut down on. But anyhow... I check my email address that starts with candles. And I realize that this one group that I used to get 12 emails a day from that I got ZERO emails from them today. ZERO. They are in the middle of a pretty heated "discussion". So I am SURE that there not were ZERO emails today.

But you see.. yesterday someone on the email list figured out who I was. And that I had a "connection" to the group that they are "fighting" against. But I am on the side of the group that I got ZERO emails from today. So apparently they realized who I was. They apparently now see me as an infiltrator. OMG people. I am on YOUR side. I agree with what you are saying and what you want. And I have a vested interest in seeing what you are fighting for happen. And you cut me off of your email list rather than ask me about why I asked to be part of your group? What side I stand on?

Can they not realize that having the relationship that I have with the people they are "arguing" with that I could not be a TOOL in their fight?

Now granted yesterday, I was complaining to Husband about how many emails they send a day. And kind of giggling about how they are handling some of this. And saying that I wondered about whether or not I should maybe not be associated with them. Even though I agree with their side. And seriously? Do you they have to be as anti- everything as they are being? I mean it is xxxxx for heaven sakes. But no. So that was yesterday.

Today on my monumentally carrpy day they decide to defenestrate me from their group? (yes I know that was a big word. Go look it up. I found it here. I just used it to look like I was smart or something.) But anyway.. the defenestrated me from their group today. And it kind of made me sad in a "what do you mean you don't like me anymore" kind of way. And it kind of made me angry in a "what do you mean you are kicking me out because now you know who I am and I can't put a sign in my yard" kind of way.

And of all of the things to bother me and cry about on my monumentally carrpy day, I care about this why?

I mean, Really?

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I have been jamming all morning. We closed the office to clean the thing from top to bottom. It is all done but the paper explosion that is my desk. This is my break. Aren't you glad I am spending it with you?
2. In honor of the beginning of the school year.... I would like to share the BEST 25 HIGH SCHOOL MOVIES OF ALL TIME. I would like to point out that I don't think that that last sentence is grammatically correct.
3. The Babe starts preschool on Monday at 9:00. At 9:05 I will be an officially blubbering mess.
4. Pandora has had incredible music choices today. I have been listening to it mostly at full blast. Which makes it impossible to hear my cell phone. So if you have called me and I didn't answer, I'm sorry. It's not that I don't like you. It's just that I like Journey, Pink, The Calling, and The Goo Goo Dolls a little more right now.
5. My garden is officially a flop. We are going to move it next year. Raised beds maybe. Haven't decided yet. But you can not garden in clay. Welcome to Nebraska.
6. Hawkeye Football starts 3 weeks from tomorrow. They play Eastern Illinois. And 1 week later they play Iowa State. I miss living in Iowa City sometimes.
7. I am planning a watermelon seed spitting contest for Sunday afternoon. You are all invited.
8. Hey I just left the planet earth But a' where I go I hope there's rum . -- Cool prize to whomever can Name That Tune! It'll probably be some crap off of my porch.
   
9. Whatever happened to cool game shows? What will our kids watch reruns of? Wouldn't you rather watch game shows than stupid reality shows?
10. And while we are on old TV shows... why do the new shows not have cool catchy theme songs? I mean would Gilligan have been Gilligan without the "a tale of a fateful trip that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship?"
11. The Babe can sing the theme song from Mr. Ed. My mom warped me. I am only passing it on.
12. She can also sing "there's a little change in my pocket going ging a lang a lang." Yes, I did teach my daughter borderline appropriate songs. What of it?
    
13. I can't count to ten.
    
14. I need to go back to work.
15. Seriously. I need to get off of the internet and go back to work.

Love to all. Happy Friday. Happy weekend.

Do something fun. You've earned it. Unless of course you screwed off all week. Then you should probably have fun anyway and take then a minute to re-group. Lesson learned.

10 Random Things for a Friday

Well kids. Here we find ourselves at yet another Friday. Whose idea was it to have a 5 day work week anyway? I could have used Friday 2 days ago. How about you?

And without any further delay: -----

1. The Pusher and I have purchased our tickets for the 2nd annual Riverfront Wine Festival. We are going on Saturday August 28. Don't drink wine? We need a designated driver. Want to volunteer?
   
2. The Babe had her first "I remember the dream I had" moment this week. It was all about Tutu and slides and a Superman ride. And she told us all about it about a dozen times. It was cute the first 11 times.
   
3. There are 3 grocery store bags full of grocery store bags in the trunk of my car. I was at the grocery store 3 times this week. They are still in the trunk of the car.
   
4. You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes you just might find that you get what you need.
   
5. Our favorite yogurt is Greek God's yogurt. It is the bomb. The honey one is our favorite. Add in fresh berries or peaches and there is no better dessert. And then I realized that it is the highest fat yogurt on the market. Which explains why we like it so well. :(
   
6. The county fair is this weekend. Can't decide between the Tractor pull or the Rodeo or the Smash Em Up Derby. But I know I don't have the money for all of them.
   
7. We've had cajun seasoned sauteed zucchini 3 times this week. Hubby really wants it fried. I've just been getting further and further away from fried and closer to sauteed each time I make it. I'll be sad to see our zucchini season end.
8. I almost bought a cat last weekend at the "free adult cats" day at the Humane Society. But I did not. Instead I talked the Pusher into getting two kittens in the "Buy One Get One Free" kitten sale. So two cats were rescued. And I didn't even have to bring one home.
9. Tomorrow is "Half Price Dog" day at the Humane Society. I will not go ANYWHERE near the Humane Society tomorrow.
10. Remember when I told you about Krispy Kreme closing here in town? Well now there is an empty lot there. They are building a CVS. It will be caddy corner from the Walgreen's. Seriously? Across the street? Oh well. I hear they have good coupons.

Get yourself a hug sandwich this weekend. You KNOW you need one. If you don't know what a hug sandwich is, I'll explain it later. I'm off to go get one of my own.

Do You Know This One?

I love this song. Have you heard it? A friend sent me a link to it after a conversation. I love the message. I love the song. Hope you do too.

Aft Note: After a message someone sent me, I should probably clarify. It is the friend that the song really applies to at the moment. Hubby and I are fine. No, we haven't always been. It's always a work in progress. Don't we all have that? But we are in a good place right now.

I just really like the message of the song. And it's a message we all need from time to time.

The Song That is Stuck in My Head

Wine Club

Strawberry Hill

Regarded by most as the king of all flavors of Boone’s Farm, Strawberry Hill has a rich, vibrant strawberry flavor with a just a hint of hill. Oh, and it has a bite. It's alcohol content is slightly higher than most Boone's Farm flavors.

Alcohol Content: 7.5%

Rating: 99 points

Joined the Boone's Farm Fan Club. Once a Strawberry Hill fan, how can you not stay a fan?

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. Until last weekend, I did not know what a corpse flower is or that Houston was the 4th largest city in the US. Thank you to Chookooloonks for filling me in.
2. When a hotel tells you that their conference room will seat 100 people, they are usually exaggerating. What they mean is you can cram 100 people into the room if you don't want anybody to be able to move around or leave to go to the bathroom or turn around to talk to the person behind them. Plan on about 70. If they say 100. Plan for 70.
3. Kewpie dolls kind of freak me out. They look like they could come alive at any minute and run around the room screeching their little Kewpie screeches. Or whining. Either is equal in my "no high pitched noises tolerance" head. I think the whining would be worse though. And why is it you rarely ever find a Kewpie doll with clothes on? Is it a prerequisite that they either be naked or in some creepy crocheted outfit? And then Pioneer Woman went and posted a picture of Kewpie dolls stuffed in a box on a wall. And it was in my Google Reader Feed. And I read it on Wednesday night. And the night just went downhill from there.
   
4. My bedroom looks like the laundry room exploded. I actually think it might have. but I really need to clean it all up. because I need to vacuum in there. That and I can't find my favorite T-shirt. It's got to be in there somewhere.
   
5. It took me 4 tries to spell vacuum right.
6. The Babe and Son2 and I made no-bake cookies on Monday night. Actually... Son2 read me the recipe off of the computer because I was too lazy to write it down. and the Babe cried because I wouldn't let her stir the chocolate on the stove. and then she cried because I wouldn't let her eat the cookies when they were still so hot they'd burn your fingers. and then she wouldn't go to bed until they cooled and she could have one. Which serves me right for making no-bakes at 8:30 at night on a Monday. And let me just state for the record that the whole darn thing was Mistry's fault anyway. Because she is the one that is always talking about no-Bake cookies. So there.
7. I had to get a new debit card because I had fraud activity on the old one. I forgot to update the card info on my $12.95 Tivo account. They shut me off earlier this week. It took me most of about 90 seconds to update the card info on Tivo's website. It took me another 15 minutes to realize that I couldn't figure out how to find on their website how to update the Tivo box so that it knew I had paid. It then took me 39 minutes on hold and then talking to a real person to figure the whole thing out. Then there was nothing good on TV anyway.
8. It irritates the carp out of me when people answer the phone and then are annoyed because they are busy doing something else and you are bothering them by calling them. THEN WHY DID YOU ANSWER THE PHONE?
9. I have a Family Feud on Facebook problem. I even went so far as to log on to Hubby's Facebook account just so that I could play 3 more games. Yes. I know. Pit-i-ful.
   
10. Son2 went home last night. I miss him already.

Many blessings my friends. Find a reason to have a couple of people over and have a beer on the back deck. If your week was anything like mine, you've earned it.

Message to My Friend Who Knows Who She Is and That This Is About Her

Hello Friend.

This is me. Your friend. The one that cares about you. The one that KNOWS.

You know that thing we were just talking about on Facebook?

Yeah. THAT thing.

GO DO IT!!

I'm telling you. As your friend. If you don't do it now, you'll just regret it later. And later will flat out suck. So you should go do it now.

not later.

now.

Because I'm your friend. And I'm cool like that.

And because I will pester you in a million ways until you go do it.

Because I'm your friend. And I'm cool like that.

I Stole This

Stolen from Real Life Lesbian who stole if from Vodka Mom who found it on YouTube.
But regardless of who found it where, it will make you laugh. :) And we all need that quite a bit more often than we do it.

Sangria Update

Finally got around to trying the Sangria Wednesday night. It wasn't too good. Added sugar and left it sit until last night.

Last night - the sangria sucked.

Definitely should follow a recipe of some kind next time. Winging it in the world of Sangria was not my best idea ever. Ruined a good bottle of wine in the process. :(

Anybody have a good recipe? Recommend a good wine to make sangria from?

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. When I was 16, my first job was at McDonald's. While I worked there the McDonald's Monopoly game debuted. They gave us all these really cool green Poker Visors. I LOVED it. I had it until the kids destroyed it one Halloween. I miss that visor.
2. I am sick of "vote someone off" each week reality shows. That said, I really still like "The Next Food Network Star" and "Top Chef". I watch them every week. On TiVo. Because were it not for TiVo and Hulu I'd watch zero TV. But why is it you hear very little about any of the winners a few years later?
   
3. People that are ultra organized drive me crazy. I would however like to invite one of them over to my house to help me out for a few days. My office is worse. It's getting pretty ridiculous. I should probably have them come there first. Any volunteers?
   
4. For more than 2 decades I have bought a new Sting album the week that it comes out. I will however never go to another of his concerts. They really aren't any more exciting than one of his albums.
5. Remind me to tell you about how we ended up getting married 2 hours from home and honeymooning at the State Fair. Our anniversary is in a few weeks. I need a plan for something cool to do this year.
   
6. I think I'll make a pineapple upside down cake this weekend. My mom used to make it in a Lifetime Cookware skillet. Apparently it was a demonstration recipe from when she sold the cookware to put herself through part of college. Either that or I'm going to find out which day Perkins has the pineapple upside down muffins. Then I'll have to figure out where is the nearest Perkins.
7. Perkins muffins aside, I am trying to do a better job of buying food that doesn't require labels. We spend a great deal of our food dollars at the farmer's market. I've already pre-ordered beef for fall from a local farm. This makes the carnivore in my house very happy. If I could stomach the idea of slaughtering and de-feathering chickens, I'd buy roaster chickens. But that is a whole other story. So finding stories like THIS ONE, make me feel good about our choices.
8. I still can't seem to give up Diet Coke. **big sigh**
   
9. Starbucks' Iced Via is pretty darn good. I'm drinking one as we speak. Or I guess that would be as I speak. Since I am the only one talking right now.
10. Why doesn't the freezer have a light too?

Alrighty kids. It is obviously Friday. Which means tomorrow is Saturday and the day after that is Sunday. Which means that a lot of us get two days off. Me, I'll get one. But that's just because I am still trying to play catch up. And August is already a disaster. But anyway... Not everybody gets the weekend off. Many of them will be checking you out at Target and the grocery store, or cooking that chicken sandwich for you, or tearing your ticket at the theater. So be extra nice to them. They wanted the weekend off too. That said, enjoy your weekend as much as possible. We only get 5 of them this month.

Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act

I am working with some dear friends to help organize the Lincoln, NE stop for Ride for Their Lives on September 3rd. If you can help or simply can attend, we'd love to have your support. If you can't attend ours, please check out the Ride For Their Lives event map and see where they are coming close to you. The initiatives behind the Surviving Parents Coalition are worthwhile for every community. Please show your support.

The 11 Things I Just Brought In From the Car

I just cleaned out the car. OK. Not so much cleaned out as "did damage control to".

1. A very badly faded and well worn Cabela's baseball cap that belongs to my hubby.
2. Dried out Armor All Cleaning Wipes. The Babe loves cleaning with these.
   
3. Two magic gloves. One black. One white. They are gloves. I don't even remember wearing them this winter. Wonder where the other two went?
   
4. A Hoops and YoYo Panic Button. My mom gave me this. Because a) I LOVE Hoops and YoYo. and b)I often need a panic button.
   
5. A pair of Jasmine princess underwear. Size 4. I'm not even going to guess how they ended up in the trunk.
   
6. Two socks that definitely don't match. One blue size 3T. One white size 4T.
   
7. One size 8 pink and white Sketchers tennis shoe. They are the Babe's favorite tennis shoes. I must now find the matching one.
   
8. A "Y" Flashcard. She loves the pictures and is figuring out the letters.
   
9. A Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss DVD. This series should NEVER have been canceled.
   
10. A manila envelope with legal papers that was mailed to me in December. I have an entire drawer full of legal papers regarding this subject.
11. An almost full grocery sack of garbage. Um. Yeah. We won't go there.
    

I think I need to clean out the car more often.

What I Was Going To Post on Facebook

I just dumped part of a not so happy bottle of wine and a really good bottle of Cabernet into a bunch of fresh fruit and some fresh pineapple that had maybe turned and I'm hoping it will result in a really good Sangria. I'll let you know tomorrow how it worked out. Unless of course it is really good. And then I'll have to let you know the day after.

Music Professor!

20 Years later I still have a crush on Elvis Costello. Is that bad?
Paired with Patsy Cline via Diana Krall?
Can you really go wrong?

It's 7:00 on Sunday

The conversation I just didn't have with the Pusher.

Me: I just finished my board packet. I'm considering leaving work, but it's quiet here. Except for the 80s rock blaring from the speakers on my computer

Me: but apparently there is no one at my house either. I think I may go there and drink a bottle of wine.

Me: my house is clean. do you want to come over?

Me: HELLO!!!!!

Me: fine then.

Me: I didn't want to talk to you anyway

Me: **stomps off**

I think she may be ignoring me. Probably has something to do with..... wait. I have no clue why. Maybe she just doesn't love me anymore. ** poor me face**

Aaaachooooo

I have allergies. Dust. But isn't everyone really? It's not like any fool in their right mind would stick their face in a pile of dust bunnies and not sneeze. I'm also allergic to dusting. At least that is what I tell people when they ask about the 1/2 inch of dust on the top of the TV. We won't even talk about the fridge.

Then there are the other things... I've always been allergic to codeine. So there really are no good drugs for pain for me. Please pass the percocet. And paper tape. which of course is "hyper allergenic". So they use it EVERYWHERE. and sulfa drugs. which is fine with me because sulfa antibiotics smell awful anyway. And mustard. and since we have discussed this before I again have to ask, who the hiney is allergic to mustard? and why did this not start until I was 18?

I am also allergic to tree pollen. So when everyone else is happy that their winter cold season is over, I can't breathe. oh well. I still love spring anyway.

But now there is something else. I don't know what it is. But I am downing generic Benadryl like a mad woman. And my eyes itch and my nose is red from wiping it. and then the drugs kick in and I feel better. Except this morning. I decided though that that was because the pills I used expired in 2002. Seriously? who still has allergy pills in their cupboard that expired in 2002? I've moved 3 times since then and I didn't purge pills that expired in 2002? who does that? Oh yes. that would be me.

I wonder if my insurance with the insanely high deductible would cover allergy tests? with my luck though it would say I was allergic to the dogs or the cat. or my kids. or stupid people. there are a lot of them. And then I would cry and just go get shots. and the shots would make me cry and it would all be over but the crying.

that made no sense.

Especially when you take into consideration that I would not spend the money for shots. Not when unexpired Benadryl works just as well. Which brings me to the point of this post. And the question that I wanted to ask 65 people. Because I figure on of you must know.

How long after you take expired meds that you can only take once ever 4 - 6 hours that didn't work can you take meds that aren't expired and might work?

and can somebody run to the store and get some for me? My eyes are red and swollen and itchy and it makes it hard to see to drive.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. Thursday was the Babe's birthday. We had a really nice trip to the mall for Build A Bear adventuring. We had a not so nice trip to Target. She was WAY over tired. The real party is on Saturday night. I've been convinced to go to the dreaded Chuck the Mouse's place. Should be loud an annoying. But it's what she wants!
   
2. The RED in this picture drives my eyes insane. It's almost as bad as me trying to read white letters on a black background. Which I do believe I have complained about before.
3. I am determined to learn how to quilt. But I've been saying for years that THIS will be the time that I learn to quilt and it never happens. But I really want to make something like this. Really Cool Quilt
   
4. My Q key is sticking. Which made it hard to write all of the Qs in all of the "quilts" above.
5. David Letterman was not nominated for any Emmys this year. And he has complained about it several times this week. I'm not surprised. The show is kind of stagnant. But it's still better than that other one that can't decide on a host. But having his mom and Bret Michaels on in the same night kind of made up for all of the whining.
   
6. My parents will be in town this weekend for the Babe's birthday party. They are coming this afternoon in fact. I'm looking forward to having them here. They don't come often enough. Besides, it's more incentive to clean the house.
7. I really want to buy THIS pie dish. I don't know why. Probably because it makes me think about all of the awesome pies I could make if I really felt like it and didn't have something like 500 pounds to lose. But I already have my a Pyrex plain Jane pie dish that came with the ginormous Pyrex set I bought when I was 20 something. I don't even know where in the kitchen cupboard it is right now. So obviously I use it quite often. Which obviously does not justify a $44 pie plate from Williams-Sonoma. And since I am barred from entering the store by myself, and I've frozen the credit card, it is probably safe to say I won't be buying it. But a gal can drool can't she? I can't believe I just wrote 7 lines about a pie dish.
   
8. THIS STORY that explains how a man ended up naked on the side of the highway with his prosthetic leg on fire has got to be the DUMBEST thing I've heard in forever.
9. My car is 350 miles from needing an oil change. again. It is also only 2 or 3 oil changes away from 100,000 miles. how is that even possible? 59,000 miles in a little over 2 years. I think I may drive too much.
10. The Babe requested Salami and baby carrots for breakfast. We had neither in the house. She cried. And then settled for a Peanut Butter sandwich.

Happy Friday everyone. Hope your weekend is more fun than you expected.

Glee Obsession

This is stuck in my head. Earworms usually drive me crazy. But this one is pretty awesome.

Going On a Lion Hunt

This is what you wear when you are going to have a campfire with your Daddy.

Birthday Planned by a Three Year Old

The birthday boy. The Babe greeted him with a camera and a "Surprise!"


Husband isn't too much for cake. Brownies were the order of the day. I loved the tall taper candles. I've always wanted to have those. The Babe picked them out though. I had nothing to do with it. I swear.

The present haul (picked out entirely by the Babe)

Glee Obsession

I fully admit that I am obsessed with Glee. It drives my every day.

OK. Maybe not THAT obsessed. But it does make me smile when the day just sucks. If you haven't watched it, What rock are you under? HELLO!!! Check out Hulu or buy the DVD or watch the reruns on Fox. You will NOT regret it. I promise. If you don't like it I'll give you your money back. (Given of course that you come to my house and give me an hour to talk you into liking it. And then I'll have to go to the ATM and I might get lost on the way home. And I'll leave you with the Babe who will talk your ear off and then when I get home you'll pay ME to let you leave.) But yeah. Satisfaction guaranteed.

The 10 Random Things That Didn't Get Written on Friday

1. I've been a day off all week. So the fact that this is being done on Saturday is no major shock.
   
2. The Babe's birthday is next Thursday. Fun shall be had by all.
3. We may have eaten a few too many Icy Pops this week. The Hawaiian Punch ones are $1 for 10 at Target Dollar Spot and at Walgreen's. We may have spent a few dollars on them this week.
4. I've been listening to Broadway show tunes for two days. I think Glee may have gotten into my head.
5. I gave up on the "quit the Diet Coke" thing. Yet again. I bought a 24 pack. It was on sale for $5.00. Can you really blame a gal?
6. We've played about 200 games of "I Spy With My Little Eye" this week. It is the Babe's favorite game at the moment.
7. I think I killed my spider plant at work. Either that or it desperately needs re potted.
8. A couple of months ago we bought a 2 person tent for $10 at a garage sale. It still had the tags on it. Last night Daddy set it up for the Babe to "camp" in it in the backyard. She bailed as soon as it got dark enough that she couldn't see the porch. Tonight she has requested a "real" camping trip. We are going to camp out in the back 40 by the fire pit. I'll let you know how it goes.
9. I really liked Toy Story 3. Have you seen it? I'm pretty sure the two adults in our party liked it much better than the kids did. :) It's worth checking out a matinee. Borrow a kid if you have to. Just go. It'll be fun.
10. My hair is long enough again to put in a decent ponytail. I'm considering chopping it shorter again. Either that or going fire engine red. Which do you think?

May you have a blazing fun weekend. You've earned it. I sure know that we have. Off to pack for the camping trip!

Happy Birthday to Him

Hubby's birthday was Tuesday.

He had a birthday parade.

He was sang to more times that I could count.

He opened presents that the Babe picked out completely on her own from the dollar store and the grocery store. Squirt guns, Laffy Taffy, A Garfield key chain that says "talk to the paw", a Valentine's gift bag, 2 mylar balloons, 2 cans of Rockstar, and a huge bag of Icy Pops.

He had brownies with those long taper candles that I've always thought were really cool but I can never find. We now have 24 which is really good because I think they may be making another appearance next week.

He got 45 kisses.

We attempted 45 spankings. But he kind of put a stop to that when the Babe got carried away.

He got a card with frogs on it that the Babe picked out. It said "Happy Birthday 3 year old" but she loved it so we didn't point that part out.

He got breakfast for dinner. We went to IHOP. Because it is close to the house and it was pretty late by the time he got home from the other things he had to do last night. Lasagna is on the agenda for the weekend.

He got a killer present from my parents. A "discovery flight". It's a 30 minute flight where you get to fly the plane for part of it. He's always wanted to learn to fly. So this may have created an expensive monster.

I love him. And 45 looks pretty damn good on him. ;)

From the Mouth of the Babe

"Mom, we need to get Dad these 2 squirt guns for his birthday."

"Why is that Babe."

"Because he loves me and he wants to shoot me."

I May Be Getting Old

I hurt. I'm not that old. But my body seems to think I am today.

My left leg -- I broke my left leg right before I turned 21. So in about a month, it'll be 20 years since I broke it. And my ankle still gives me fits. Never got full range of motion back. It has significant arthritis. And the last few days we've had crappy weather which has made it ache. A lot. And we won't even talk about still taking stairs one at a time. So here I am limping on the left leg.

My right foot -- plantar fasciitis. At least that is the self diagnosis with the help of my dad and the internet. So here I am limping on the right leg.

My left ear hurts. But that's pretty normal considering the weather, allergies and the mixed blessing of air conditioning.

I have a headache. Again, it's the weather. I'm pretty sure. I hope.

My right hand keeps falling asleep. Pretty sure I have the beginning of carpal tunnel.

My right hip. My left hip. My left wrist. And my tail bone. They ALL hurt. you see... I fell on Sunday. Guess what? Rain, smooth concrete, and Crocs do NOT mix. It was a pretty stupid idea actually. Crocs and the Rain? I mean who is that stupid? Apparently I am. And on Sunday I proved it. I ran up to the sitter's door. My scatter brain self forgot to pay her on Friday and decided that running over the money IN THE RAIN with CROCS ON was a good idea. Yeah. Not so much. Coming back down the stairs proved to be more than my graceful self could handle in CROCS and RAIN. And my feet right foot went forward while my tail decided to stay where they were. And then it became quick friends with the stairs. Um... Ouch. Big ouch. So I can sit. And I can stand. But going from one to the other is enough to make me scoot around in my desk chair today so I didn't have to stand up.

And before you say it Mom.... Hubby threw away the Crocs. We won't be doing that again.

See. I am falling apart. I am not old enough to be falling apart. And I KNOW that people have it way worse than I do. I'm just venting. Because my tail hurts. And I need to go let the dogs out and I don't want to get up off of the couch. Because it is going to hurt.

Ouch.

Sarge

Laughed my hiney off I did. OK. Not really. It's still pretty much all there. But I did laugh pretty hard. But more than anything.... I'm really glad they are moving away from the creepy cavemen stuff.

Jaymay - Gray or Blue

I don't love anyone that doesn't love me back. But I really love this song. Can't find a music video version but this one is pretty good. Hope you enjoy it.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I am having a Goo Goo Dolls kind of week. Up. Down. A "no time left for losers" kind of week. One of those weeks when you play ballads because they sell but then you play YOUR kind of Rock because that is what you love. Do you understand what I mean?
2. I haven't been down to look at the garden all week. I made a trek Thursday night just to go look at it. There are a lot of weeds. I think I'll stay up by the house.
3. I have only been buying 20 oz bottles of Diet Coke this week. Single serving size. I keep telling myself I'm going go try and ditch the stuff. So I haven't committed myself to a whole 12 pack. My friend Kurt has been nice enough to remind me that it is poison. He's ruined the stuff for me. Then yesterday I spent about $4.50 on the stuff because I bought 3 of them. I think I should just go buy the 12 pack.
4. I'll be better when I'm older. I just don't know when that will be.
5. Anybody want to come take pictures of the 3 of us? We need an informal picture to put on the wall. And it's pretty hard to take a picture with yourself in it. And I have an idea in my head of what I want it to look like. And it's not something you'll get at Olin Mills. Are there even any Olin Mills studios anymore?
6. We lost another book from the library. I wonder if they'll give me credit against the last book that we lost and then found and then returned and then they wouldn't give me my money back for?
7. my password for a program we use at work is 'ru9uthap'. Where the heck did someone come up with that?
8. Granite City has blueberry beer again. Super Dave said we'd go there on Tuesday. And he rescheduled for Wednesday and then canceled Wednesday and we haven't rescheduled. I was going to go fill the growler last night. But that didn't happen either. Had to settle for the last Leinie's Summer Shandy in the fridge.
   
9. I need to take in flowers for my desk. It is a ugly sea of white paper everywhere. Either that or I just need to clean up the desk.
   
10. Taking prop ideas for the Babe's 4 year old pictures. Last year we took a big cupcake and a couple of balloons. Any ideas?

I'm burnt. No idea why. Fried mentally. No clue as to what is causing it. Sorry if the 10 this week reflect that. But it's one of those weeks. As was referenced yesterday in the vodka post. Which by the way I did wait until I got home to drink.

Have a glorious 4th. See if you can get a good picture of fireworks. I suck at taking them. But every year I try. Let me know if it works out for you! I'm going to try this and see where I get.

It's One of THOSE Days

It's one of THOSE days. The kind that makes you wish you'd stayed in bed. Or at least stayed home. Not the worst day I've ever had mind you. Just one that really could go away and nobody would care. Others might even jump for joy. I might do that in fact. But it isn't going away so there will be no jumping.

I bought two bottles of UV Blue at the gas station at lunch. The little airplane size ones. Not the 750 ml ones. Gee. What kind of lush do you take me for? The gas station on the corner by the high school. They have this huge fish tank thing of airplane size bottles of booze. One dolla'. One dolla' and you can check out all of the lovely new flavors of vodka and rum. Without the boozer investment of a whole bottle. Smart little fish tank they have there.

So I bought two little shot and a half bottles of UV Blue at lunch. They are in my purse over there on the table by the door. And they are calling to me. I am one more end of the world phone call from drinking them.

Will somebody stop by with some lemonade?

10 Random Things for a Friday

Ok. I have 6 minutes left before it isn't Friday anymore. Either that or I have to teleport to the Mountain time zone and hit publish from there. So let's see how fast I can type.

1. This week at work was a TOTAL drama nightmare. I'd explain. But then someone would find this. And then it would end up places it shouldn't. And then I'd be jobless. But let's just say that if it could happen this week, it did.
2. BAM was here for a while tonight. He cried when it was time to leave. It kind of made me feel good that he didn't want to leave. Is that awful?
   
3. Those of you that know me, can you "hear me" when you read what I write? I actually hear people's voice in my head when I read. And those that I read that I haven't heard in real life I have made up voices for. Hopefully if I ever hear them they'll sound somewhat like what they sound like in my head or I won't know who they are.
4. I loaned my senior class yearbook to Erin T. sometime around 1991. I'm not sure why. And I don't really care now, but I'd really like to have my yearbook back. I wonder if she is on Facebook. Hold On. I'm going to go check.
5. Holy Schmoly! She is on Facebook. And she has a blog! It is totally her. Either that or I just sent a really out in left field message to some random stranger. I'll let you know when she writes back.
6. I partied a little too much in 1991. I did stupid things like let someone borrow my senior year yearbook. And hang out in parks really late at night and have the police tell us to get off of the swings. Come to think of it, I may have partied a little too much for a few years before and after that time too.
7. I need to find a new water bottle. One that doesn't sweat. I love my metal one but I can't get over the idea that I am drinking out of a metal bottle. And it sweats WAY too much.
8. ****deleted this one because I decided it was a bad idea to tell the whole world what was written here a minute ago*****
   
9. Had to write a bio this week. Something so I could be introduced at a thing. First off, when the heck did I become someone that has to be a) introduced and b) needs a bio? I couldn't write the stupid thing. So I had my mom do it. And she did. Which is yet another reason why I love my mother.
10. I bought the Babe a red star mylar balloon at the grocery store. We were going after the red, white, and blue little star. But those were only "promotional" for the store's use. I tried to bribe the floral lady that blows up the balloons. But she wouldn't cave.

It is now 12:17. I apparently can't type fast enough. But all of you are asleep and won't read it until sometime next week when you are at work and really bored anyway. (btw Hi Pusher!) So you won't know the difference anyway. So in that case.... HAPPY SATURDAY!! I'm on my way to CR. so if you are reading this and you live in CR or between here and CR, call me. We are all going the Cardboard Boat Regatta on Sunday. Want to come?

Shai Agassi: A bold plan for mass adoption of electric cars

10 Random Things for a Friday

This week's 10 for Friday comes from the Babe. I asked her what she wanted me to tell the world about her. This is the first 10.

1. I love you Mom. I love all of them too.
2. I have a scratch on my wrist. I don't know where it came from.
3. My eyes are cute.
4. My favorite toy is horseys.
5. I like broccoli.
   
6. The TV is dead. "The TV isn't dead Babe." I know. But tell everybody that. We need a new TV.
7. My favorite movie is Toy Story 2. Is that the red one Mom? Is that the one?
8. Hold on. I want to call Elvis for a minute.
9. The word is just a word. "What word Babe?" B, Mom. The word is B. "B like the letter or Bee like the buzzy Bee?' Just B Mom. Geez.
10. I will not say nothing else. This is silly Mom.

Good thing we got to 10 first.

This was written on Friday. I just forgot to hit publish. oops.

Are You Coming Over?

Who wants to come over and drink wine and sing and dance to Mama Mia? Or Glee. You can pick. But you have to bring wine. Or Vodka. You can pick. I suppose you don't have to dance if you don't want to. You might have plantar fasciitis like I do. Then you won't want to dance. Because it hurts to dance. But you do have to bring wine. Then again you might not enjoy singing. You don't have to sing. You do have to bring wine though. Preferably a really good semi-sweet red. Or Vodka. You can pick. I think I have mixers in the fridge. There might be some snacks in there too. Unless you already ate supper. You might not be hungry. But I'm sure you could go for some wine. Stop and get some will ya?

Ya. Thanks. See you in a bit.

The 10 Random Things That Didn't Get Written on Friday

1. I had 56 hours of Vacation and Holiday time this last 2 weeks. Which means I have only worked 24 hours in the last 2 weeks. Which COMPLETELY explains why I am so damn far behind. And now I'll work about 30 hours extra this week and probably the same next week to try and get caught up. Which won't happen. So really what was the point of the vacation time?
   
2. Some brilliant person put together a cheat sheet for Starbucks. Thank you to them. There are a few drinks I've always wondered about. And now I know what they are!
3. Sarah is the Babe's favorite "come and play with me" babysitter. The Babe was her first babysitting job nearly 2 years ago. We like Sarah a lot. In fact she is filling in for our daycare one day this week.
   
4. I didn't get last Friday's 10 Random Things done because I was driving to Minneapolis. The Babe and Sarah and I visited my aunt and uncle, spent the day at Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America, stayed Saturday night in a hotel and swam in the pool, and then went to my cousin's wedding on Sunday.
5. The wedding was in Como Park. Which I had never been to. It was pretty darn cool! And cold. It was in the low 60's. In June. Who'd have thought?
6. I have a black eye. Or rather the remnants of a black eye. The Babe head butted me one night last week. I think it was Wednesday. Everybody kept asking, "what happened". I just said, "I have a 3 year old."
7. Got an invitation yesterday for a Chamber of Commerce networking event at the indoor water park. I can't figure out from the invitation if you are supposed to bring your swimsuit or not. The whole thing is really odd.
8. BAM has no hair. We kind of shaved it off. It was supposed to just be short. But he ended up with something like a high and tight. Poor kid. We really should have thought this through better.
9. I saw a guy with a mullet yesterday. His son also had a mullet. So did the daughter. I think their mom might have gotten carried away with the Flowbee. Can you believe they even still sell that thing?
10. We posted an ad for an Executive Assistant this week. It went in the paper on Sunday morning. As of 11:00 AM on Tuesday we had 72 resumes. We supposedly live in an area with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. I'm not sure what to think about that.

If I can get home at a decent hour tonight I have some more rambling to do. No promises though. In the meantime, Enjoy your week!

From the Mouth of the Babe

Babe, I think you forgot to say please.

No Mom. I didn't forget. I just said it in my other language.

What language is that?

It's the language in my head. I heard me say please there. Can't believe you missed it.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I've done 8 of the 20 things on my list that was going to keep me from going crazy. 40% isn't bad right? We'll go for more over the weekend.
2. My grandfather is in the last days of his life. He's led a full life. He's led a long life. It still sucks though.
3. Having two two year olds in the house is quite an experience. I have a new appreciation for the parents of twins. And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
   
4. The compressor of our A/C is apparently out. I'm waiting for the HVAC guy to call me back. It's supposed to be 87 degrees today. no fun. no fun at all.
5. I still haven't unpacked the suitcase from last weekend. It's sitting at the top of the stairs. Where it's been since we got home on Monday. I probably should take care of that today.
6. The only room in our house that is ready for company is the Babe's room. But she's been gone all week so it hasn't been hard to keep up in there. :)
7. We watched the new Alice in Wonderland yesterday. What was it about this that everyone loved so much? Cool sets and effects but really nothing more than that. Not up to the hype though.
8. My crocs have officially died. It's been a long time coming. So I really should have replaced them by now. But I haven't. Mostly because of the lack of disposable income. That seems to be the excuse for everything lately doesn't it.
   
9. The dogs get fed 20 times a day. Thanks to little ones that think it is cool to fill up the food bowls. The dogs don't seem to mind.
10. We've survived this week in one piece. Can't wait for the time when that won't seem so monumental.

Love y'all. Sorry this was so late today. I've been busy trying to figure out how to do some more things on that list. That and waiting for the HVAC guy. And cleaning the house. How does it get so disastered so fast?

June 3rd

Head under water they tell me
To breathe easy for awhile
The breathing gets harder, I know that.

-- Sara Bareilles

Out of context but it rings true.

Today sucks.

Memorial Day 2010

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I still haven’t finished my to do list from Wednesday. Maybe taking next week off is not so hot of an idea.
2. I am doing 2 of the things on yesterday’s “fun” list today.
3. We are not going camping this Memorial Day weekend.That’s unusual for us. We will instead be going camping on the most ungodly hot weekend on record later in the summer.
4. The Babe’s favorite food this week is Stonyfield drinkable yogurt.She is REALLY unhappy that she can’t have more than one a day.
5. We have most of the garden planted.Again. Stupid deer.
6. I switched to iced coffee instead of iced lattes at the coffee shop. It is WAY cheaper.
7. There is still an Easter kind of welcome sign on my door to my office. I should probably take it down. But it is such a cute bunny.
8. The Babe has a playdate scheduled with her cousin on Monday.She doesn’t know it yet because if she did she would drive me crazy until Monday got here.
9. Verizon keeps telling me I need to upgrade my phone. Or rather that I CAN upgrade my phone. I don’t use all of the features of the phone I have now. Because I am cheap. That and the idea of being able to access my email 24 hours a day on my cell phone doesn’t really seem like something I want to do.
10. I found the piece that was lost for my sewing machine. Now I can't remember where I moved the sewing machine to. It's probably on the front porch.

Happy 3 day weekend everybody. Think of us on Sunday. But more importantly, on Monday remember the reason we get this 3 day weekend in the first place.

Kisses all around.

The Things I Am Going To Do So I Don't Lose My Mind

I HAVE to get out of my head and plan for something. Anything that doesn't involve causing additional anxiety. I have enough of that already. So we are going to plan fun things. Stress relieving things.

1. Take the majority of next week off. I have a ton of vacation days I need to burn.
2. Spend as much time as possible cuddling with Lucas and telling him how much his Grandma loves him. Because you see... I get to be Grandma ALL OF NEXT WEEK!! I'm stealing him and making him come back with us to Omaha next week. It's going to be GREAT!
3. Eat Sushi.
4. Drink Sake.
5. Have lunch with a friend I haven't talked to in at least a month.
6. Take a nap.
   
7. Call a friend that I have lost contact with.
8. Get a massage. Doing that tomorrow. What do you bet I fall asleep?
9. Watch a stupid sappy girly movie.
10. Sing along to Mama Mia.
11. Teach Lucas how to sign at least 5 new words. We'll shoot for 10. Taking suggestions on which words.
12. Go to the library. Find the stupid CD that I checked out that I had to pay for but that I know is somewhere in this house. Which will probably cause more anxiety so maybe we'll leave out that part.
    
13. Plant flowers.
14. Take a nap.
15. Hang a few pictures.
16. Take at least 50 photos. Think I can definitely do that with Lucas around. :)
17. Go into the place I usually go through the drive thru at and drink my coffee inside.
18. Stick my feet in a body of water.
19. Clean out my car and make it smell pretty.
20. Go shopping for a dress for my cousin's wedding.

Ok. That's 20. How many do you think I can pull off?

Invitation to Balloon Release

This is the press release that we sent out today. All of my lovely bloggy friends are invited as well. Consider this a personal invite. If you can make it to Cedar Rapids we'd love to have you. I understand that not all of you can make it. I mean, some of you live a few miles away. We'll let those of you who fit that segment of readers off the hook. If you can't make it please think of us on Sunday at 1:00 Central. Pray that we aren't losing our minds. Or more to the point that everybody else isn't losing their minds. Y'all are witness to the fact that I've already lost mine.


For Immediate Release:

Balloon Release and Event to Remember Still Missing Cedar Rapids Child
Release of New Age Progressed Photo

The family of missing Cedar Rapids child, Erin Pospisil, invites the community to join them in a balloon release remembering the 9th anniversary of Erin’s disappearance.

June 3, 2010 marks nine years since then 15 year old, Erin Pospisil was last seen in front of the home of a friend in the 1500 block of Second Avenue SE. Family and friends will mark the anniversary with a balloon release Sunday, May 30, 2010 at 1:00 PM at the First Church of the Open Bible at 1911 E Avenue NW Cedar Rapids, IA.

“This is the ninth anniversary of our daughter’s disappearance. Recent events in Cedar Rapids give us hope that Erin can also be found. No one can understand the feelings a parent goes through knowing your child is missing unless they have gone through it themselves.” States Jim Pospisil, father of Erin Pospisil. “Nine years later, the not knowing isn’t any easier. It leaves you numb at times but the sadness is still there. All of the time.”

A recently released age progression from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children gives the Pospisil family and the Cedar Rapids Police Department a new tool to assist in the investigation into Erin’s disappearance.

“As we have reiterated for nine years,” says Erin’s step-mother, Carolyn Pospisil, “Somebody out there knows what happened to Erin that night. It is our hope that the reminder of her disappearance and the new age progression will help someone to remember something that will give us that all important lead that will help us to bring Erin home.”

All in the community are welcome to attend the balloon release remembrance 1:00 PM Sunday at First Church of the Open Bible at 1911 E Avenue NW Cedar Rapids, IA.

For more information contact:
Carolyn Pospisil
Email: carolyn@helpfindachild.com
Website: www.helpfindachild.com

From the Mouth of the Babe

"Babe. What the heck were you thinking?"

"Well Mom. Obviously I wasn't."

Garden Progress 052410

Let me just say first of all that compared to all of the decades of gardening experience we have in beautiful and fertile Iowa top soil, gardening in Nebraska clay soil SUCKS. And why is it that the big garden that was obviously intended to be a vegetable garden seems to have the clayiest soil on the property? We saw on a gardening show that you could test the "mix" of your garden soil pretty simply. You fill a quart mason jar 2/3 of the way full with soil. Then you fill it with water. Shake it up until your arm is going to fall off. Then give it to someone else and they shake it until their arm falls off. Then you set it on the counter and leave it there for something like 24 hours. Don't remember exactly. But anyway, while it sits it separates. You should end up with 1/3 sand, 1/3 clay, and 1/3 loam. We ended up with 1/8 part sand and 7/8 parts clay. I don't think there was even 1/32 part loam.

So last year we didn't garden in the big garden. We were going to spend the summer amending the soil. Um. Yeah. Not so much. It was kind of a cash thing. Kind of a finding someone to haul that beautiful and fertile Iowa top soil all the way to us clay losers in Nebraska thing. Kind of a two little ones at the house all of the time thing. Kind of a the tiller is an old dinosaur that Husband was sure he could get running but decided it was a piece of carp thing. Kind of a we were just lazy thing. So we gardened a few tomato and pepper plants in the little garden. And they did pretty good. And the big garden was given over to the weeds. Or natural prairie. Just depends on how you frame it, right?

But we still try. Again this year. And yes. I know. It's a little late to be started gardening this year. But that's how we roll. We've been acquiring plants from various venues over the last month. We've planted seeds. Or rather, I've been buying. Jim's been planting. We've lovingly tended little plants and helped them grow to strong. And this weekend was for planting.

Husband spent all of Saturday evening tilling the garden. Then he spent most of yesterday afternoon and evening after the 90 degree weather let off, planting things in the garden. The Babe helped by planting "wonions". I stayed in the air conditioned house and cleaned. See how I am? And what is it with 90 degree weather in May? I mean, it's May for goodness sakes! Not August. And muggy. The dew point yesterday was somewhere in the high 70s. And why is it that I even KNOW what impact the dew point has on the mugginess of a day? And does any state really have 90 degree weather in late May? Certainly not normal for Nebraska.

Sorry, got off track. To the point. Husband planted yesterday.

Today the deer ate most of the plants.

Um. Yeah. I hear ya. My thoughts too.

Now he's out deer proofing what we already thought was deer proof. Which involves fishing line. Which is clear. So you know it will be ME that hits the fishing line.

But that's OK. We'll have Brandywine Tomatoes. So it's all good.

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. The bedbugs I talked about on May 7th, were not in my own house. So quit your worrying. But do you know they are EVERYWHERE? And they are expensive to get rid of.
2. I used to be friends on Facebook with a couple of people I know from back in the day. I am no longer "friends" with them. They must have "un-friended" me. I wonder what I did? Not that it really should matter but a little of that "I want them to like me" anxiety from back in junior high comes up. It's Facebook for heaven's sake. It doesn't matter. But I still wonder why.
3. My BFTCMHBFTLFA commented this week that she "swears on everything holy - if HOUSE is hallucinating - I'm never watching it again!!!!!" I agree. It would just be too much.
4. I'm allergic to codeine. And sulfa antibiotics. And paper tape. And mustard. Ever known anyone that was allergic to mustard? Nope. Me neither.
   
5. When a mix of some kind just says "spices" I should really pay more attention. Probably shouldn't eat it. Because as was discussed above, I'm allergic to mustard. Ask the pusher. She made me shrimp with the mystery spice mix. It must have had ground mustard. Because I thought I was going to choke to death.
   
6. My friend at work and I scheduled massages for next week. We made each other accountable for making sure that we go. I've been second guessing spending the money ever since.
7. The Husband ended the conversation with the Babe last night, by saying "if we find a bug in the house that is half your size Babe, we will probably move out immediately." That is the only part of the conversation I caught. I didn't want to know the rest.
8. Toy Story 3 opens on June 18th. I have already written it on my calender and scheduled the afternoon off to go to the movie with the Babe and her big sister.
   
9. If you are standing on a bridge and the bridge is burning get off the bridge. -- The Husband
   
10. The babe's favorite food this week is peanut butter.

How did your week go? Big plans for the weekend? No? Me neither. Probably should clean the house. Need to scrub the basement floor. Anybody want to come help? No? Me neither.

Be well friends. May your angels always move faster than you do.

Random Photos

This is my niece Emma. She turned 4 yesterday. Isn't she adorable!

Hard to believe she was so small when she was born. So glad she's a healthy 4 year old now. The million dollar baby. The miracle baby.

Random Photos

This is my husband with his two best friends. Willy on the left. Sally on the right. I miss Willy.

Do you see how young she was? And that smile. She could get away with about any thing with that smile. And see that stupid stretchy necklace. I don't think she took it off for more than a year and a half. One day it just fell off. And left behind a patterned tan line. :)

This is the Husband. With catfish. Imagine that.

Why the heck do people take pictures of fish anyway? Why do I take pictures of fish? Good thing we have a digital camera. I used to waste 1/2 of a roll on the fishing excursions.