Randomosity

• I'm wiped out...cried more today and last night than I have in a while. Seriously sucks having to take a beloved pet to be cremated.
• It's hardest when it's quiet. Joey dealt pretty well all day but, when night hit and the house quieted, the tears started to fall. He is so broken up about losing Butterball and it kills me that I can't make it better. I just hold him, stroke his back, cry with him, and talk.
• Remember that post about which glasses I should chose? I didn't get any of them. That's right. I went through all 1900+ pairs of glasses on the Zenni Optical site (LOVE Zenni) and didn't get any of them.
• I didn't get any of them because I scored 2 free pairs of glasses. The first pair was through an open facebook deal from Coastal.com All I paid for was shipping and handling. Their s&h cost as much as the glasses from Zenni would have cost but they will be here in time for BlogHer.
• I bought the Love in Brown Tortoiseshell from Coastal...

• I'll tell you a little more about the other glasses soon. If you want to see the frames I picked from check out this pic.
• In case I haven't mentioned it...I'M GOING TO BLOGHER12 IN NYC NEXT WEEK.
• I'm more than a little excited and a lot overwhelmed with everything I have left to do. Since the productivity of yesterday and today were shot to hell by the sudden loss of Butterball, I haven't dyed my hair. I haven't finished my crochet project. I haven't packed anything. I haven't been to the AT&T store to get a sim card for my beautiful new phone.
• Despite all this, I'm counting the days and hours until I leave. My soul will be fed by the very nature of this trip. I get to spend time with women I love learning about things I adore and that's just the conference. There are also parties and sightseeing and meals with friends and big metal chickens. I really need this.
• Speaking of phones, I NEED CONTACT INFO. If I've ever texted you, exchanged info with you, or you think I need to do one of those things, please email me your contact info (cell #, blog url, email addy, even your home phone # and addy if you want). Send the email to cruzowlpost at att dot net

What random is going on in your life?

The Dichotomy of Me

This week (not this calendar week but the past 7 days) has truly been odd. One moment I'm acting all adult-like and, the next minute, the inner child in me breaks her restraints and goes *streaking through the house.

One one hand,  I had to set the limits and explain to Gabriel why he is not allowed to pretend to be a puppy dog and drink from the toilet. I mean, I can hang with the pretending to be a puppy but a big ix-nay on the toilet bowl snorkeling expedition. This message becomes very hard to convey when your inner 12 yr old breaks free and has you laughing so hard you are crying and literally can't speak when you can your husband to tell him about the toilet snorkeling expedition.

I also spent part of the week proctoring end of grade tests at the elementary school. For those of you not in the know, proctoring EOGs allows adult volunteers to help oversee the testing process and helps ensure honesty  and deter cheating...at least, that is what they tell the parents. In reality, it's a sadistic yet subtle way to torment the parents. It is so mind-numbingly dull that it turns you into a gibbering idiot by the end of the day. I think they stole the idea from the master torturers who ran the Inquisition...yes, it is THAT bad. To counterpoint this distressing evidence of maturity, I offer up my week long fascination with drawing and coloring and the moment that I ran with scissors (I did, I really).

I've been a one woman example of the contrast that lives in all of us.

Has your week been more sober, serious adult or has your inner 12 year old gone streaking through the house?


* I promise, no retinas were burned by the sight of my pasty white skin.

My Not-A-Bucket List

The gorgeous, fantabulous Mo over at Mommy Odyssey prompted me to get off my ass and actually post this list which I've been working on for a while. I don't think I'd really call this a bucket list. Like Mo, this is more a list of hopes and dream and goals...some realistic, others, not so much.

1. Go sky diving...I've always thought that this sounded like a fabulous adventure...so close to flying.
2. Fly in a helicopter...I don't know why it seems so important or so different than flying in a plane but I really want to go up in a helicopter.
3. Get my private pilot's license...the idea of flying just sings to my soul. The freedom, the grace, the beauty just calls to me.
4. Participate in a NASCAR Racing Experience...I love to drive fast but generally don't because it's not safe on the open roads and the thought of higher insurance rates and tickets is a major deterrent. Years, ago, I once took my car around 110 mph (maybe more) before I started running out of open road. I'd love to be able to go faster than that in a safe, legal environment.
5. Dogfight in military jets...there are places that civilians can learn to fly and then they go up with an experience pilot (usually retired military) and get to dogfight. Back to that love of flight...with something for the adrenaline junkie thrown in.  Of course, I'd have to dose myself with dramamine ahead of time (damn that motion sickness).
6. Swim with dolphins...Dolphins are so graceful and beautiful and intelligent. I would dearly love to swim with them. Swimming with them at Sea World would be ok but I'd really love to travel to Australia and swim with the dolphins in the wild.
7. Go to Dragon*Con and Comic-Con...the inner geek in me thrills to the idea of attending both on these Cons.
8. Drive Route 66...I love the idea of a trip across the country on Route 66. I think it would be a fabulous way to see the sites.
9. Participate in Kyle Petty's Charity Ride...Kyle Petty's Charity Ride raises money for Victory Junction, a camp for kids with chronic medical conditions or serious illnesses. Somehow, the idea of riding a motorcycle across a good part of the country to raise money for a good cause sounds like a blast.
10. Visit the Grand Canyon...I want to see it all and do it all in regards to the Grand Canyon. I want to raft down the river. I want to hike parts of it. I want to ride down into it. And, I definitely want to see the Skywalk.
11. Go on a horseback tour of Ireland...My dad's family came from Ireland. Being able to see it on horseback would feed two of my loves at once. I'd get to ride and I'd get to see where my family came from.
12. Renew my wedding vows...Specifically, I want to marry my husband all over again at the Duke Chapel. Now, the building Duke University calls a chapel is actually more like a cathedral and it has the most magnificent organ and vaulted ceiling. I truly would love to hold a ceremony there and, of course, we'd have the most kick ass wedding reception/party afterwards.
    
13. Travel a lot...I would love to show my children the world. I grew up as an Air Force brat. One of the privileges that brought along with it was the opportunity to see the world (or, at least a large chunk of it). For an idea of the kinds of places I like to take them and the things I'd like to see with them, check out my Answers post. 
14. Meet J.K. Rowling and have access to the Harry Potter backstory...I'd love to meet her. It would make my geeky heart sing. But having access to the fabled boxes and boxes of backstory that she created for the Harry Potter stories would send me to nirvana.

What would be on your Not-A-Bucket List? What do you fantasize about doing? If you answer on your blog instead of in the comments, please let me know.

This is my life...

• I spent 9+ hours with Gabe's kindergarten class this week. I went on a field trip on Tuesday and personally shepherded 5 kindergartners around the NC Museum of Natural Science. That was an adventure.
• If I had been sane, that would have been it. But, I would have felt bad if I didn't go in for my usual volunteer hours today and I ended up there for 4.5 hours instead of just 4. Remind me to avoid the classroom the day after a field trip.
• My husband has worked 8 out of the last 10 days (tomorrow will make it 9 out of 11). That doesn't sound so bad until you consider each of those days was a 12 hour shift.
• 26 hours of overtime in one week both sucks and rocks. It sucks because of the exhaustion but rocks because of the paycheck.
• I think Gabe is going to grow a foot overnight. He has been eating so much that I think a black hole has taken up residence in his stomach.
• I was doing so well at keeping up with all my friends' blogs. Then, Marty got sick and my schedule went to hell in a handbasket (where does that saying come from?). Even though Marty is finally back to normal, my schedule has yet to recover.
• Can someone please tell me where to find the extra 6 hours I use to cram into every day?
• Marty told me today that all he needs for his humor fix is @AnissaMayhew and @GeorgeTakei on facebook or twitter.
• My sweet Jolie girl is about 12 years old which is old for a large dog. She's starting to slow down. She's healthy but is definitely showing her age (some cataracts, slightly diminished hearing, normal old age stuff). It makes me very sad to think we might not have her around for much longer.
• I'd show you the latest picture I took of Jolie but my fabulous camera does NOT like to communicate with my antique laptop. She communicates just fine with our sleek, shiny new desktop which runs Windows7 but will not give me a peak into her files even though my laptop graciously acknowledges her presence. I guess it's below her lofty station to communicate with a computer that only runs XP.
• To those of you who took the time to read my first public foray into fiction, The Dying of the Light, I humbly apologize for leaving you hanging this long. When Marty traveled into the land of the Never-ending Migraine, my writing mojo disappeared. I am working on the next installment and will try to have it to you soon.
• I conquered the scanning issues for the book project I am working on. Please don't ask how...it was a painful battle but will be well worth the effort.
• Since Marty is healthy (YAY) again,  he and I finally made it to the theater to see The Hunger Games and I LOVED it. What an incredible adaptation.
• I think I finally figured out how to make my proposed design company (co-run with my sister by choice Rys) work in a simple enough manner that I can shoehorn it into my already full schedule...maybe.
• I've been feeling some serious pangs of baby lust but, given our repeat journey into the Land of IF, there is no chance I can do anything about it anytime soon. This makes me more than a little ticked off with the universe.
• Any more pithy. random observations will have to wait. Sleep is beckoning and, if I don't give in, I think sleep will bash me over the head with a frying pan.

What random things are going on in your life? Dish it, sister (or brother). I want the dirt.

Answers to Your Questions

Thanks to those of you who came up with questions to ask me. It was a lot of fun answering them...even the ones I thought would be difficult to answer.

From Mrs. Gamgee:

• Coffee or tea or neither? While I like tea, coffee is my lifeblood. Coffee deserves it's own food group. I must have coffee!
• Chicken or Ribs? Hmmmm, that's really hard. I have chicken dishes I adore but I'd take a dish of nice, tender, fall off the bones ribs any day, especially with a smoky barbecue sauce.
• When it comes to Marty and Joey, are their personalities what you thought they'd be? In comparison to who they were as toddlers/preschoolers? While I can't pretend to have anticipated it all, both boys are very much like I thought they would be. Even when he was tiny, Marty always seemed older than he was. He was the type of kid people would describe as being an old soul. Despite his goofy side, Marty always had a very serious, precise, almost ordered personality and that is him today. And, Joey...Joey always had a stubborn streak a mile wide, even as a tiny baby. That stubborn streak showed up when he taught himself to ride his bike without training wheels. He fell and got back up and fell and got back up over and over until he conquered it...and he was only 6 when he did that. Joey was also always my social kid when he was little and he still is much more social than Marty today.
• What kind of person do you envision Gabe to be when he's older? My little wild child is going to grow up into a fascinating young man. He is so smart and absorbs so much knowledge that it sometimes stuns me. I know he's going to have a hellaciously funny sense of humor. He's going to have the brains to do whatever he wants. And, I'm a bit scared of the effect he's going to have on girls. Any child who looks at you and tells you how you make his heart super happy and that you are so pretty and on and on and on has the potential to turn into a sweet talker of a major degree.
• If you could take your boys on one big trip... money being no object... where would you take them and why? I would love to take them on a trip through Europe and Asia. I'd want to both stay in fine hotels and camp and hike. Living in the US, it's hard to really get a sense of the long history of people because we are such a young country. I would love to be able to take them to all the historical sites and the modern marvels. I'd love to take them to the places the geniuses of the past like Da Vinci and Gallileo and Newton worked. I'd love to take them to see the artistic masterpieces and the sites the artists created in. I'd also love to visit historical sites related to politics, war, and religion. And, I'd love to bribe/talk our way in to see things like the CERN Hadron Super Collider. I think a trip like that would teach them both how small a single person is and, yet, how massive the contribution of that one small person can be.

From Justine:

• HOW do you DO it?! Everything you do. Which seems like pretty much everything. Honestly, sometimes I feel like I'm barely keeping my head above water. I often don't sleep all that much (and end up having to catch up later) and my house is chaotic to say the least. I'm not trying to be modest but I really don't feel like I do anything that remarkable...but, thanks for saying that it seems like I do pretty much anything.

From St. Elsewhere:

• Do you believe in first impressions? Mostly, but I do believe (almost) everyone deserves a second chance if they get off on the wrong foot. There can be extenuating circumstances.
• If I put you on a strict diet of eating only one thing for three meals for a whole year, what would you choose, and what would you never choose? Hmmm, if I could only eat one thing for all three meals for a year, I'd want it to be something with a lot of variety...maybe a salad with chicken and fruit and sunflower seeds and a nice vinaigrette. It's something that could either be served traditionally cold or warmed and slightly wilted. The only thing I would totally avoid choosing is something with no variety, with only one or two ingredients. That would bore me completely.
• Any funny boyfriend story you want to share? Does the story about getting caught in my boyfriend's bedroom in my nightgown by his mother yet still convincing her that nothing was going on count as funny?

From Lavender Luz:

• For you, what was the first PG movie you saw? Or R?  The first R rated movie I remember seeing was Blue Lagoon with Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. I remember watching it over and over again on HBO and thinking how wonderfully romantic it was.

If anyone else has any further questions,  the floor is still open.

Randomosity

Okay, okay, I guess my question post wasn't the most popular post. I'm leaving open the offer to answer any questions you want to ask me. Feel free to be serious or ridiculous...either works for me. Now, on to my random thoughts...

• I'm in a bit of a brain dead space. Marty's starting to feel better. The younger two are at the beach with my parents. Me, I'm just relaxing. It feels kind of good not to have the weight of my world on my shoulders.
• The little blue men from The Twilight Zone have finally taken pity on me and my camera has reappeared. It was in the bottom of a bag I checked multiple times. I refuse to believe my brain has been so addled by what's been going on that I missed it that many times.
• I got an idea the other day for a series of t-shirts. It all stemmed from my husband's comment that we should celebrate Easter by watching zombie movies...after all, Jesus raised from the dead after about three days and that is about the time it takes for zombies to raise from the grave. The t-shirts are funny as hell but I know there are loved ones they will horrify.
• I'm totally kicking butt on my yearly reading challenge and I credit having a Nook for that. It makes it so easy to take my book anywhere with me. 
• I've read 49 full length books and 7 half books (50 pages or less) since January 1st.
• I love the role Jamie Lee Curtis is currently playing on NCIS. She is the perfect, classy foil to Mark Harmon's Gibbs.
• I just found out that my dear friend, Rachel Simon was at Duke University writing her book Magic Touch at the exact same time I was attending school there. Very cool!

Just Because

I am so tired and can't really figure out what to write so these snippets are things I want to share JUST BECAUSE.

•  Have you heard that old saying that someone got vaccinated with a phonograph needle? That old saying was used when someone talked a lot. Well, Gabe has been vaccinated by that needle. OMG, that kid can talk more than anyone else I know. The other weekend, he talked all the way from Cary to Charlotte...the entire 3 hours. Add in the fact that he has reentered the why stage...well, it's been enough to drive me up the wall. There have been many times when it's been all I could do to keep from asking if he could just shut up for a minute. I seriously love the kid's inquisitive mind but I have much less patience that I normally have (all the shit going on with Marty has got me wound tight) and the consta-questions are driving me insane. It makes me feel like not such a good mom.
• We had a bit of good news with our electronics. The kids' desktop computer is back up and running. That means that we are back up to a three computer household. Our two desktops and my laptop are all running...wooohooooo.
• There is one downside to the good electronics news. I have come to the firm conclusion that in order to maintain the balance in the electronics universe, I am only allowed to have a certain number of electronic devices in my possession. See, my big, lovely, fabulous new camera...it disappeared somewhere in my house, specifically my living room, and it disappeared 2 days before I found my long lost iPod. How in the hell I can lose something that big is beyond me. Sigh...at least I know it's in my house. I blame the little blue men.
• My parents totally rock. They were here for Easter and my dad noticed that the recent chaos of our life had prevented me from mowing the lawn. So, my dad came up yesterday and cut my grass...one less thing on my to do list.

Is there anything you want to share JUST BECAUSE?

45s, 380s, 9 mms...

in other words, Bullets.

I feel like all I'm doing lately is writing posts with bullet points. It's sad but that's about all I've had the energy for lately...

• Gabe is reading now. I'm so proud of my boy. He loves that I've downloaded a few books onto my Nook for him. His favorite is the Puppies book.
• It's amazing how much better you feel after a few days of TheraFlu and a decent night of sleep.
• It's sad when you consider a night that you get woken up at 6 am by a thunderstorm a good night's sleep.
• We've had two thunderstorms in the past two days that have been powerful enough that they made the house shake...kind of scary even when you like storms.
• My dog is a total chicken when it comes to thunderstorms. She's glued to you when there is a storm raging.
• I am loving my new, properly fitting, sexy, colorful bras. It's so nice having bras that make the girls look perky.
• It is seriously scary how much bigger my boobage looks when it's being properly supported and held up. We won't even talk about what cup size I have to buy...that really is scary.
• On Sunday, Joey started to get a migraine too. Luckily, the Migranal that didn't work for Marty stopped Joey's migraine in it's tracks with only one dose. It's a really good thing because it truly felt like it would be the very last straw if I had to deal with two kids with migraines.
• I took Marty back to the neurologist today on day 23 of his migraine. Since the attempts with abortive migraine meds didn't work, we now have Marty on Topamax which is a preventative migraine med and some vitamins which have been proven to help prevent/lessen the severity of migraines. Please pray these make a difference.
• It just kills me that I can't make him feel better. It also kills me that it's something he inherited from me that is putting him in so much pain. It really makes me feel like shit. I'm suppose to be able to take care of my kid and I feel like I'm failing him in this.

I'd love it if you share something that would make me smile. It can be personal, a joke, or a silly story. I'd really appreciate it.

Random Shit from My Cootie Addled Brain

• I feel like I need to apologize. When I wrote my post for the healing salon, I inadvertently left out an entire segment of the ALI community - those who are living child free after infertility. I certainly didn't mean to leave anyone out and I'm truly sorry if it made anyone feel bad.
• Someone forgot to tell the powers that be that my family's turn for illness and physical bullshit was over. Seriously, I am so done with it. Gabe is still congested. I feel like crap (thanks for sharing your cold Gabe). Marty's head still isn't better. And, I'm at my wits end.
• Gabe is totally cracking me up lately. He has taken to telling me I am his dear heart. I have this crazy urge to giggle every time he says that.
• This week, I've been researching OCR software (optical character recognition) and hand held scanners for a project I'm working on. OCR software lets you take a scan of a document and turn it into an editable PDF. Does it make me a total geek that I know and care about these things?
• Our phone is messing up and it's pissing me off. We have a VOIP line and, for some God unknown reason, people have been getting a rapid busy signal type tone when they call in. We've rebooted the VOIP modem once but it started doing it again today. Thanks to that damned modem, I missed a call back from the neurologist.
• As much as I love technology, it's also been pissing me off. I was loading books onto my Nook this week and, with 2 books left, it tells me device is full. My first response was "Bullshit. I know I don't have enough books on there to match the capacity I see talked about." Well,  I found out that on a 2 Gig Nook Simple Touch, about 1 Gig is taken up by the operating system. I can hang with that. But, what ticked me off was that out of the remaining Gig of space, 3/4 of it is reserved for books or content loaded directly from Barnes and Noble and only 1/4 is available for books from other sources. The reason it pissed me off is that they don't tell you this up front. So, yeah, my Nook space really was full. Had to go order a micro SD card to take care of that issue.
• I need to make 4 dozen plus cookies tomorrow...4 dozen for a church thing and the plus part remains here at home. Whose going to come help me? 

What's going on with you?

A little of this and a little of that

• Marty finally saw some improvement of his migraine. He is still hurting and sensitive to light but he can finally sit down in front of a computer without getting nauseous. This gives me great hope that his final IV pain treatment will give him great relief.
• Gabe has been so incredibly sweet lately. He's told me I'm beautiful, that I sing nicely, and that he wants to always keep me safe. My little boy can always make me smile.
• Gabe got sick this Sunday. He was vomiting Sunday afternoon and night and had a fever of 102.5 midday on Monday. But, his fever broke Monday evening and he swore he felt good this am and was desperate to go to school. I didn't follow my gut instinct and let Gabe go. It was a bad decision because, even though he made it through the day, his temp went back up this evening. It never fucking ends.
• Did I ever tell you that when my kids were little, there were times they ate so many fruit loops that they turned their poop crayon green?
• I feel so bad that I haven't been commenting much and I haven't managed to visit most of the healing salons but my brain is fried. I have been trying to keep Marty company but his migraine pain has sort of forced him into weird hours. So, I've been staying up really, really late with him and then getting up early with Gabe and Joey...and, I've been doing this for about 2 weeks now. My reserve is empty and my brain function is hovering just above comatose.
• I found out black jelly beans turn your poop a slightly less vibrant shade of green...especially when the individual in question consumes almost an entire bag of black jelly beans. Don't ask me how I found this out.
• Vic has his second appointment with the bariatric surgery clinic. We're hoping that he can jump through all the proper hoops and get a date with the gastric bypass surgeon by early summer. Maybe this will finally let him beat that bitch, diabetes.
• My parents totally rock. These past two days they have helped me with my sick kids so I could take Marty to the neurologist for his pain treatment.
• My mom's physical therapists think she is slightly demented because she informed them that shoulder replacement be damned, she intended to teach swimming and life guarding this summer so they better get s moving.

What random stuff is going on in your life?

A Meme By Any Other Name...

I feel like I should be getting on my high horse and expressing my righteous indignation over the bullshit that's been spewed about women's health, prenatal testing, and access to birth control. I feel like I should rage over the sheer assholery exhibited by the man who tried to scam a woman into turning over the child they conceived for adoption by he and his wife. Luckily, I don't have to rage because Cecily of Uppercase Woman and Stirrup Queen's Mel did it so well. When you're done here, go read the three posts if you want to feel righteously indignant.

Instead, I feel like answering some pointless questions and inviting you to answer them too. I found these questions at HumorThatWorks.com...

1. Have you ever had something happen to you that you thought was bad but it turned out to be for the best? When I first found out we were going to move here (to Cary) I was pissed at the world. I didn't want to move. However, it turns out to have been the best thing for our family. Truly, I wouldn't change it if I could.
2. What was one of the best parties you’ve ever been to? My answer to that question right now is so different than what my answer would have been 15 years ago. I went to some awesome parties when I was a member of the local Rescue Squad. I could tell you tales of fake chalk body outlines and people chasing cows on tractors and other bizarre occurrences. Now, I can truthfully say that one of the best parties I've been to was my son's military ball last Friday. I had a blast and it was so much fun watching the kids have a great time.
3. What was the last movie, TV show or book that made you cry or tear up? I bawled at the end of The Story of Beautiful Girl. It was a good cry.
4. What’s the hardest thing you’ve ever done? The two hardest things I've ever had to do were telling my kids when their grandpa died and, just last month, telling them their Uncle Jose had died.
5. What was the last experience that made you a stronger person? Surviving infertility.
6. What did you do growing up that got you into trouble? Cursed beneath my breath when I was ticked off at my parents.
7. When was the last time you had an amazing meal? I had an absolutely amazing meal last summer when I was in San Diego for BlogHer. It was memorable for both the food we had at Fisherman's Wharf and for the amazing company I dined with.
8. What do you miss most about being a kid? Being able to sleep in to ridiculous hours on the weekends.
9. What is your first memory of being really excited? I can remember the unbearable excitement of one of my early Christmases...lying awake for what seemed like hours.
10. What was the first thing you bought with your own money? A 1991 light blue Ford Escort. She was a good car and lasted for almost 300,000 miles.
11. When was the last time you were nervous? Honestly, I don't know.
12. What is something you learned in the last week? I learned that crocheting doesn't really use more yarn than knitting.
13. What story does your family always tell about you? Hehehe, there are too many too tell right here. My sister likes the story of when the bird flying overhead shit on my shoulder.
14. At what age did you become an adult? Am I really an adult? Do I have to claim that status?

If you decide to join in the fun, let me know. I'll be sure to stop by and check it out.

Randomosity

• The cookie cartel aka the Girl Scouts have my house under their thrall. We got our cookies the other night and my children (yeah, just my children, I'll stick with that story) have been inhaling them.
• Last night, Vic and I helped chaperone Marty's first military ball. It was held at the Matthews House (be warned, embedded music on the site but it gives you a gorgeous view of the house)  in Cary, NC.
• I think that the military ball is the only place you will ever see a bunch of teens loudly cheer a clumsily executed (by their peers) waltz. What a truly fabulous group of kids.
• I think the force was at work last night or maybe it was just the repellant power of the adults in attendance. All the kids gravitated towards the dark side of the dance floor which just happened to be away from the chaperones' tables.
• Like father, like son...both of them over did it yesterday and have been paying the price with sore legs. Marty decided to try and outrun everybody during ROTC physical fitness yesterday despite the fact that he had only been off his cane since Sunday night and then he danced through the whole military ball. Vic decided to overdo the dancing, ignored his bad knee, and now he's paying for it.
• We all had a blast. It was so nice dressing up and going out with my husband and Marty looked so grown up in his uniform.
• Gabe fell asleep against Vic tonight and then Vic promptly fell asleep too. Doesn't matter how old they are, something about a child sleeping on you is the world's best sleeping pill.
• Today was a down day...a quiet day for the whole family. It was nice.
• Tomorrow, we are going out to eat for a family dinner. My parents and my sister are joining us at a restaurant so we can celebrate Marty's birthday.
• Speaking of Marty's birthday, he will be 15 on Monday. How in the hell did that happen? My baby is almost 15.
• On a less happy note, Joey's migraines seem to have gotten worse with puberty. We are definitely going to have to make a doctor's appointment for him about this.

What's going on in your life? Tell me anything...or everything.

Kiddo Catch Up

There have been a lot of little tidbits about the kids that I've been meaning to tell y'all about. First of all, Joey has earned his Arrow of Light, the highest award in Cub Scouting. The Arrow of Light is the only award that carries over and can be worn on the Boy Scout uniform.

Joey and his commemorative arrow

Joey and the other 5 Arrow of Light recipients
in Den 10, Pack 200, Cary, NC

Second, Marty had some kind of cool projects for school this weekend. For his World History class, they had to create a country and draw a map including certain geographical features. They were encouraged to pick a theme and name the country and the land features according to that them. I helped Marty execute the artistic vision but he created all the ideas and made all the decisions about it. He decided on a dragon theme and came up with all kinds of cool names for things. I think he did a fabulous job.

The other project was for his English class. They had to create a personal symbol, something that represented themselves. Marty created what he calls his Hidden Mosaic Box. He colored a mosaic design on one side of foam core board, cut it into6 squares, and glued them into a cube with the mosaic toward the inside. He also put a eight point origami star and 3 good luck stars inside the box. His explanation for how it represents him is that one the outside he seems like the average teenager and is a little rough around the edges but, that when you get to know him, there are some pretty cool and creative things about him.

And, Gabe has been Gabe. Even while he was sick this last week, he never slowed down once. Gabe is doing incredibly well in school and really seems to be thriving. I have to get him to slow down enough so I can get a good picture to share with y'all.

And, finally, I have an incredibly cute picture of Joey with his cat Butterball curled up in his lap...

What's going on with your family...with you? Share please!

Tales from the Dark Side

Earlier this week, I opened the floor to any and all questions. I promised to answer anything asked and, since my brain is too addled by kid cooties to think straight, I decided today would be the day.

The first few questions come from Mrs. Gamgee from Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Ramblings...

1. What are some of the keepsakes you've kept from when your boys were small? I have the favorite rattles each of them used, a couple of night lights they've outgrown, and I have almost all their baby clothes. I plan to make little quilts out of the baby clothes and blankets I saved.
2. If you had to give up one, either fabric based crafting (quilting, sewing, crochet, etc) or cooking, which would you give up and why? Oh, I'd give up cooking, no question. First of all, my husband is a kick ass cook. Second, my crafting has saved my sanity on more than one occasion. It's a hella cheaper than therapy.
3. I've been craving a margarita lately, but since I can't have one, what kind will you have on my behalf? (if you don't like margaritas, what other grown up drink do you prefer?) I adore traditional frozen margaritas but I also love Piña Coladas.
   

The next few questions are from Bloggers for Hope...

1. I'd love to hear more about the books you like to read.... For me, the type of books I read are truly dependent on the mood I'm in. I can and will read just about anything. I've read amazing biographies about Walt Disney and Gene Roddenberry. I have a book high on my too read list that was written by a young man who has autism about what it's like to live with it. I adore scifi and fantasy (I use to read almost every Star Trek book out there). But, my biggest literary obsession are Romance books. I think the reason I love them so much is that there is almost always a Happily Ever After and they can fall into almost every genre...romance with fantasy, romance with mystery, romance with thriller.
2. and what kind of crafts do you like?  I don't think I've met a craft I dislike. I tend to favor the fabric/fiber based ones like sewing, quilting, cross stitching, crocheting, knitting. That's why I really need to win the lottery...so I can sit around and craft all day. I'll pay someone else to clean my house and I'll craft the days away.
3. Do you have a favorite or one you'd love to do in the near future! I've never tried it but I'd love to make a Temari Ball someday.

   

   Photo courtesy of Rainy Bay Arts

The last question is from Alana of Alana-isms...

1. How do you dye your hair? Where/how do you purchase purple dye, or create it on your own? I bleach it and color it with products from Manic Panic. I use the colors from their Amplified line because, even though the colors are still made with all natural ingredients, it lasts significantly longer. Last time, I went for a peacock look and used Ultra Violet and Atomic Turquoise. I desperately need to redo my hair. It currently has barely a trace of the color in it. What color do you think I should use this time?

Thanks for indulging me. If y'all have any other questions, fire away.

Derailed by my body

I had great intentions about writing a post about how things don't work out how you intended because of limitations your body (or your spouse's body) place on you but, weirdly enough, that post got derailed by my body. I have the beginnings of a migraine and, if I don't get off the computer soon, I will get sick. Migraines and the screen refresh rate do not play well together in my world.

Hopefully, I'll be back on later today. Until then, I'll go eat some candy hearts with Gabe. To entertain me when I get back, I have a few requests...


1) Do you like candy hearts? If so, what kind do you like the best? I like Brachs candy hearts the best.
2) If you don't like candy hearts, what is your favorite Easter candy?
3) Please go leave a question for me to answer on my last post.
4) Don't forget to sign up for my 2012 book challenge.

The Aunt Becky Meme (at least that's where I got it)

1) What does Meme mean?
Something I should really stop doing but can't seem to help myself because it gives me an excuse to spew trivial shit about me

2) 2011 – Was it all you’d hoped it would be?
Yes and no...the last part of the year seemed to get sucked into a whirl of insanity and I'd really, truly like a year without a medical drama in it. That's not too much to ask, is it?

3) Did you watch the Royal Wedding?
Yup, I'm a total sucker for romance. And, most of the hats were killer, but one of the princesses (Beatrice or Eugenie) was wearing something that looked like a giant IUD on her head...

and some other poor lady was wearing (as Joan Rivers termed it) a giant blue vagina hat...

4) Where are your pants?
on my ass

5) Is Justin Bieber human or some sort of robot?
Is Justin Bieber even male? I think *Robot Chicken had it right when they said Justin Bieber was a young woman proud of herself and her alternative life style choices.

6) If you had only one thing to wish for this coming year, what would it be?
A wish...only one wish...I'll wish for a year free of ass kicking crises

7) Would you call yourself a “social media maven?”
Bwahahahahaha....nope.

8 ) If you had to take three things to a desert island (let’s assume you have ample food and water), what would they be?
my Nook - how I love thee
my iPod
a generator/charger that turns air into electricity

9) If you had the ability to banish certain offenses to an island where they would be rehabilitated into being okay again, what would those offenses be?
text speak used in real speech
anyone who types or says prolly instead of probably - it's only 2 freaking letters y'all
their, there, and they're mix ups

10) How do YOU think the air conditioner works?
it's a magical thing us mere mortals aren't meant to understand

11) Do you ACTUALLY think you can make money blogging?
Me...no...but the brilliant and kind aliens disguised as The Pioneer Woman, Dooce, and Jen from Cake Wrecks can.

12) There’s a lot of talk in the blog world about microblogging (The Tumblr, The Twitter, The Facebook) taking over traditional blogs. Do you think that’s the case?
Hell no...as Aunt Becky said "I think those of us stubborn enough to stick around will be here until they pry our keyboards from our cold, dead hands."

13) If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Don't worry so much about what everyone thinks of you. You grow up to be a kick ass, wonderful woman so screw them.

14) If you could’ve told yourself this time last year one thing, what would it be?
?!?.

15) If you could have one Super Power, what would it be?
teleportation - with travel costs eliminated, going to conferences and traveling would become far more affordable

16) If you could do one thing you can’t currently do, and do it well, what would it be?
Sing amazingly well - I have a great musical ear but all that lets me do is hear how off key my voice is.

17) What surprises you about yourself?
That I'm a stay at home mom and happy to be one...when I was young and clueless I always imagined having some high power career. This is way better.

18) What was your favorite blog post/tweet of the past year?
Shit, that requires thinking and I refuse to think today.

19) Do you REALLY think “Purple Should Be A Flavor?”
Damn straight it should be and, if Aunt Becky gets some of that purple vodka, that par-tay is on!

20) If you could make one outlandish wish for 2012, what would it be?
I want to win the lottery or find someone willing to finance my every whim without wanting anything in return.

*Yes, Robot Chicken is NOT politically correct and frequently can be offensive but it's also funny as hell.

If y'all had fun with this, play along and then head over to Aunt Becky's and link up.

Only 355 Days Until the World Ends

That's right, here we are sitting at the end of the first day of 2012. My house smells divine from the big old pot of homemade turkey soup cooking on my stove.

We rang in the New Year two separate times yesterday. My parents, the kids, Jennifer, and I went to First Night Raleigh for a couple of hours and watched the early acorn drop and fireworks. While we were there, we also listened to a great Scottish band from NC State, saw a whole crowd moving to an awesome drumline, watched a parade with a ton of funky costumes, and had some amazingly good coffee at Crema on Fayetteville St. After the acorn drop, we headed home for a late dinner and settled in to watch some Doctor Who until it was time for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. We rang in the New Year at midnight wearing our hats and 2012 glasses with flashing lights...even little Gabe made it until midnight. If y'all are really nice, I might show you just how ridiculous I looked with my flashing glasses over my real glasses.

Once we finally dragged our asses out of bed today, there were a lot of video games played by kids, a bit of obsessive free book downloading by me, and a trip to the local Y for Marty and me. Marty and I have been working out at the Y. Marty's doing a lot of walking at the indoor track because he's trying to build his leg strength back up and I can't ask him to go without going too. So, I've been riding the stationary bike. I'm really hoping to keep up the exercise regimen. My aim is to build my muscles back up and improve my general fitness. If there's any weight loss that goes with it, that would just be a bonus.

Hehe, I noticed something kind of funny when we got back from the Y. As sometimes happens in NC, my daffodils are very confused. We've had just enough warm days that my daffodils are all sprouting and I even have one that is starting to bloom. I kind of want to yell "Nooooo, go back underground. You don't know what you're doing. Those 70+ temps were A LIE."...because tonight it's going into the 30s and tomorrow night we'll be hitting the low 20s...but, then I think the neighbors might really wonder about my sanity if I'm yelling at flowers.

Well, enough of this rambling. I'm going to head off to read a bit and before I go to bed I need to pull the soup off the stove. What's going on in your life? Share with us please.

Things I Learned In 2011

2011 was a wild, stressful, fabulous, and wonderful year and I'm still trying to figure out how it's over.

• I learned that a crocheted penis is one of the greatest ice breakers you can have with you at a conference for women. I heard "Oh My God, is that what I think it is? Can I take a picture?" more times than you can even imagine this past summer. I wonder if a crocheted boob would have the same impact...somehow I doubt it.
• I learned I can indulge my crafting habit, make some money and embarrass my oldest son all at the same time. Yes, I've made more Beanises since then and people are actually paying me for them.
• I've learned that someone very close to me is suffering from infertility and it makes me angry that I can't just snap my fingers or wiggle my nose and make it all better for her.
• I learned that I have both more patience than I ever imagined and, at the same time, far less patience than I imagined. My dear friend Rys and her family shared our house for about 3 1/2 months after their house was totaled by the Hurricane Irene floods. I love them dearly. I would open my house again to them in a heartbeat if they needed it...but, man oh man am I glad to have my space back. Honestly, I don't know how the Sister Wives make it work so seamlessly over such a long time because it is tough having that many people from two families under the same roof.
• I had it confirmed that my husband is a truly wonderful man. He didn't even blink when I talked to him about Rys and her family coming here and was truly amazing about having them here. I don't know many men who would willingly open their house for that extended period.
• I realized again that my kids rock. Bedroom switches were put on hold, space was given up, and, for the most part, toys and possessions were shared and they welcomed Rys and her family into our house.
• I've found out I absolutely adore my Nook. Yup, the Nook hits the top of my list for coolest pesents this year.
• I've learned that while the process of filing your eBooks onto shelves or organizing them by genre, author, etc isn't that complicated, it becomes infinitely more complex when you load 330+ files/books at once and have to categorize all of them at once. It took me 3 days, use of my Nook and my computer, and I still have 9 books somewhere on my Nook that have avoided being put on a shelf.
• I've learned that many editors do a half-assed no-assed job when it comes to editing books that are put out digitally. When an otherwise good book is interrupted by paragraphs that go from normal width and appearance to a tiny column that is so narrow that only THE or A is short enough to not be hyphenated, someone has NOT done there job.
• I also learned that Calibre is a life saver for anyone who owns an eReader. When you've bought a bunch of books for your Kindle app and then you've received a Nook for Christmas, it allows you to change formats so YOUR books can continue to be used on your new eReader.
• I've also found that Calibre saves you from the previously mentioned half-assed editing. It's a problem when you have a book named The Story of XYZ and some lazy assed so and so has embeded the file with the name Microsoft word File - T. That really becomes a problem when you have multiple files with that fucked up naming issue because that fucked up Microsoft Word name is what shows up when you unknowingly load the poorly named files onto your ereader. Then you have 10+ books that you can't tell the difference between until you run them through reformatting in Calibre.
• I've really learned to love my hair this year and want to know if I should keep it purple when I dye it again or if I should pick another Manic Panic shade.
• I've found out my middle son is turning into a huge football fan and a Steelers  fan at that. He wants a Polmalu jersey...which is kind of appropriate with the hair Joey has.
• I've learned that I still know more about computers than my children and that gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling.
• I've learned that my baby sister is a bit of a hard head and have to thank her for the Christmas miracle her hard-headedness brought about.
• I've learned that I'm not quite as resigned to never having a fourth child as I thought I was. I was hit with a serious case of baby lust and caught up in a bad case of regrets and what ifs when I found out a friend who was pregnant with her youngest daughter when I was briefly pregnant with Eva just gave birth to her third child, a beautiful little boy. Feeling I thought were long behind me reared their ugly head.
• I've learned that once again my husband has fallen on the crappy end of the medical odds and he is already dealing with diabetic neuropathy in his feet. Diabetes fucking SUCKS.
• I've learned (or re-learned) that I am truly blessed to be surrounded by a fabulous family and wonderful friends. We have a roof over our heads, food in our fridge, clothes on our backs, and my husband has a steady job with great benefits. I am blessed.

I hope each and every one of  you who take the time to stop by and read my blog realize just how important you are to me. While I do write for myself, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't pretty damned great to know there are people out there reading my words and caring about me. Y'all are fabulous. And, to my dear friends, the savvy women I treasure, my blogging and crafting sisters, I truly love each and every one of you. I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas (or whichever holiday you recognize) and I hope 2012 brings you happiness and your heart's desire.

Friday Night Leftovers: a post Thanksgiving edition

It's time for Friday Night Leftovers hosted by the fabulous Danifred of Sippy Cups Are Not For Starbucks...

• I discovered Pinterest on a holiday is a very, very dangerous place to be. I've gained 7 boards and almost 300 pins since we last talked.
• Thanks to Pinterest I now know exactly why I love Betty White. It's this quote..."Why do people say grow some balls?  Balls are weak and sensitive. If you really wanna get tough, grow a vagina. Those things take a pounding."
• The other thing I found that I loved was a picture of the Kardashian girls on Kim's wedding day with the caption...Kim Kardashian made $17 million off her wedding, divorced 72 days later, and they're worried about gays ruining the sanctity of marriage?
• When Vic and I went out for our anniversary last weekend, we went to a great little Irish restaurant called The Hibernian. Can anyone explain to me why an Irish restaurant has a Toucan as their symbol? Seriously, click on the link and see.
• One week and counting until the double birthday party. That's right, Gabe and T are having their parties together. Please pray for good weather and no more than half the kids showing up.
• Shit...only one week. I have to get my ass in gear and get the presents done.
• The Mr. Popper's Penguins giveaway will go up tomorrow (Saturday). Make sure you stop by to enter.
• Saturday is the last day to enter my EdenFantasys giveaway. Don't miss out. There are 2 gift cards up for grabs.
• A good friend has a second interview on Monday for what seems to be a great job. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer for him.

Head on over to Danifred's and check out the rest of the leftovers. Y'all have anything you want to share with us?

My Latest, Greatest Obsession

When I fall for something, I tend to fall completely head over heels. My latest, greatest obsession is Pinterest. I posted once before about Pinterest and what a delightful time suck it is and my time lost there has just gotten worse. I've gone from 23 boards and 100+ pins to 34 boards and over 800 pins...but, man oh man have I found some cool shit.

I found this gorgeous necklace...

laughed my ass off at the pure silliness of this...

decided I really need to make my own flavored marshmallows...

developed a strange obsession with making my own fake geodes...

decided I really, really need to get this bookshelf closet door for my bedroom closet...

and discovered the fabulous geekiness of Goodnight iPad...

What cool or interesting or fabulously geeky things have you run across recently?