Random Rants

We are now taking control.

2009-10-11T08:25:00.003-04:00

Well, actually, we are more doing a series of random experiments on money-saving, but whatever.

First up on the experiment list is that Ketia and I are tired of going to the store and spending money on clothes that are at best close to what we wanted, at prices we really don't want to pay, when both of us are smart enough to figure out a sewing machine. I don't know anyone who draws better than K, so she is in charge of patterns. I haven't used a sewing machine in years, and I won't try to describe the last thing I tried to make on a sewing machine, but hopefully what we manage to make this time will have more value as clothing and not resemble a gag gift.

There are other experiments coming up as well, but that is the main one for right now. 2010 is shaping up to be the year of experiments and we might even make photo diaries to go with them, depending on how things turn out. You can be sure that if we make an absolute mess of clothes we try to make ourselves, we will not be too proud to make sure that everyone we know gets to see the results. We may not say what they're supposed to be, but we'll most likely have photo evidence. In fact, we will probably take a misguided level of pride in it, but that is because we are strange. It'll be a positive experiment if something we make in December next year looks better than something we make in the next couple of months. And if we don't spend a million dollars in fabric and buttons just figuring out how to make a friggin' shirt.

More to come.

It's all good.

2009-08-03T10:29:00.003-04:00

I guess I should update this more often, since it took a couple of tries just for me to log in to my account :)

For the past several years, I have wondered if the sacrifices that our family has made have been an issue with our kids. Mostly, whether my husband's years as a truck driver, that made sure we had a paycheck for four years, and the crazy hours that I work, had given the kids a sense that we chose work over them. Every choice we've made job wise has been so that the kids had what they needed, on occasion what they wanted, and provided a home, food, and always love, but I was not sure how much of that got through.

Right now, I'm not wondering.

Last week, my son began quizzing me on the job requirements for North Carolina for underage workers. It's not the first time he's wondered about earning his own money so when it first came up, I didn't think too much about it, I figured he'd forget by the next XBOX tournament. But he didn't. He remembers that his sister babysat last year to earn her laptop, and there are things he wants that he is willing to get a job and work for. He already has certain companies in mind, and he knows he's looking at minimum wage and what that offers. And he still wants a job. Even after the "grades and work" conversation, he didn't back down. (Grades are not his favorite subject.)

He knows we will always make sure he is taken care of, but he also knows that the things he's interested in now don't always fit into the budget, and he is serious about earning them for himself. It's not a rebellion attitude (I'll just do it on my own!) or anything like that. More and more, I'm realizing that the sacrifices that we have made over the years did make a difference. They did understand that life takes work. I have two teenagers who know that the value of working for what you want, even though it make include some sacrifice, can't be bought by someone else. They take pride in what they earn and what they do. And they are sincere about it. That part is hard to explain, but you can tell it's there.

I listen to other people talk about their teens and just count my blessings. I don't have to install cameras, hire babysitters and the biggest problem I've had with them lately is calling me at work for an XBOX password. I'm pretty damn lucky.

Wish us luck with his job hunt.

"Soon" is a relative term.....

2009-02-21T08:54:00.002-05:00

Things have been in a constant state of change around here lately, but I have finally remembered that "hey, I have a blog I promised to update", so for the very few of you that actually read this (hi Mom!), here we go.........

I now am working the wonderful, very strange, shift of 11pm to 7:30am, and I really wish that I could tell you all about the things that go on at work because it really is freakin' hilarious some nights, but I like my job and I would like to not get fired for writing about said job on the internet. We'll just leave it at the fact that I haven't had to pay money to go see a comedy in a while because I work in one. The entertainment value is off the charts some days.

The downside to working that shift is that our building is the one that all the kids want to play at during the day when I'm trying to sleep, and I'm not exactly sure how they manage to confuse it with a jungle gym but 100 elephants couldn't make the noise these kids make and that is kind of putting a damper on my sleep. On the flip side, we've been acquiring a number of musical instruments lately, some that were family instruments that found their way to us, and some that we bought, and as my husband puts it, we have the makings of a jazz band, but given the fact that the parents have no interest in keeping their kids from using the side of my apartment for ball practice, I have quit caring about the sound of four different instruments playing four different tunes in our apartment. Turn about is fair play. Or something like that.

Hmmm...what else is going on?

My husband will believe me the next time I say the car sounds like its about to spew engine parts all over the freeway.

The animals are still insane.

So are the humans.

NASCAR is back and I am happy. (Seriously, that's really all it takes to make me happy. Although mochas help too.)

That's about it.

Coming Soon.....

2009-02-05T02:07:00.002-05:00

Updates.
Really.
I promise.

Sleep might actually come soon.

2008-11-16T22:25:00.004-05:00

First, I have to mention that it has become pretty much the norm around here for the kids to send me text messages and emails telling me if they need something picked up from the store, or reminding me that they need something for school, etc., since I am working again and have a really weird schedule for the next two months. That is fine with me. What amuses me is they also do this if they want to know what's for dinner. When they're in the next room. Anyways...moving on.......

I have finally finished my part of the website that I've been building for a friend who is opening her own online store. It was more work than I thought it was going to be when she first asked me if I could fix something on her computer. I thought maybe she had a virus. I didn't know we'd be building a new website to replace the one she had. But it's been fun, and alot of work, but I think it looks ok for the first real website store I've made that didn't come in a prepackaged way. I built one several years ago, but all I had to do for that one was upload photos. Done. This was a bit more challenging.

So hopefully that will be online soon. There are a few things that she has to do before it can launch. But my part is done, which means that maybe I'll be able to go to bed and not lie there for two hours thinking about what I need to do for the site. Granted, I'll probably lie there and think about what I should be doing for three other projects, but hey....maybe there'll be variety now.

The new job is good. And while I can't actually talk about the job, I can tell you that they have a really good cafeteria, and a nice fitness room, which is good because considering how much I eat at that cafeteria, I'm going to need the fitness room. My coworker that sits next to me has fun watching me come in every morning and pull out my coffee, Diet Coke, and Red Bull. This apparently amuses her. I think it just worries everyone else.

Looking forward to Thanksgiving this year, but I'm not sure if its because of Thanksgiving or because everything will be closed and I will have no choice but to stay home and try to relax.

I can dream, anyways.

Life in the crazy lane

2008-11-12T09:56:00.002-05:00

It's been a tad hectic around here lately. I finally started my job, which I won't say where it is or what it is because I've heard way too many stories about people being fired for blogging job specifics, but I will say that it pretty much kicks ass. It's probably the best job I've ever had. Good money, good benefits, good people. Especially in this economy, it doesn't get better than that.

We have a friend of my daughter's living with us right now. Right as I got used to having two teenagers in the house, we now have three. Somehow, and I'm not sure how this works, I think it actually got calmer with three instead of two. Go figure.

I've also been building a website for someone for their online store which hopefully will launch soon, because I'm running out of hours in the day to work on stuff.

I'm really not happy that we just got over Halloween and now I'm hearing Christmas music on the radio and houses are already decorated with lights. Can I get through Thanksgiving first?

That's pretty much it around here, which is plenty, and hopefully it will get a bit calmer soon but at least the crazy is all good stuff. I'll take that.

Crazy on technology, part 2

2008-10-19T18:07:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, I took my daughter to the movies so we could escape the insanity that was my son's birthday sleepover party, I accidently left my phone at home and realized it when we got to the mall.

And while I like to think that I'm a fairly smart person, and granted, it was early in the morning and I hadn't had my coffee yet, I still looked at my daughter while we were getting out of the car and said "I should call your dad so he knows I don't have my phone". And then remembered that would require my phone. Which I didn't have.

These are the things that make my kids pretty sure their mom is nuts.

Upping the ridiculous factor here......

2008-10-16T11:08:00.002-04:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/10/15/suing.god.ap/index.html

I couldn't make sense out of this one if I tried. At least without suffering an aneurysm.

The Cosmos is having a great time at my expense..

2008-10-14T23:55:00.006-04:00

I am finally starting to feel better, after being sick for a while and suffering through the medicines that were supposed to get rid of the bronchitis and sinus infections that for the most part acted like they really wanted to kill me, and while I'm happy that those things are going away, I'm reminded again that the cosmos hates me.

At the very least, it likes to have fun at my expense.

The ONE thing I've been trying to keep up with while being sick is making sure that everything I need to have done for this new job is taken care of, and that has been no easy task. I worked for two different sides of a company here in Charlotte, and right after I left the last time, they got bought out. So while this new job is trying to verify just that I worked there, apparently the new company who shall remain nameless although I'd really like to call them out in a full page ad in the New York Times simply refuses to discuss former employees at all. To the point that they will refuse to even acknowledge you ever worked for the company they bought out. I'm still not sure this is legal. I'm pretty sure its not. Thank God I for once kept my W-2's where I could find them. (Okay, so I accidently tripped over the box that had the W-2's in it, but still.) So I've been jumping through hoops trying to make sure that my new job has all the documents they need, when it all could have been handled through a phone call that should never have been put off in the first place if we were dealing with a company that had an ounce of professionalism.

Not that I'm bitter.

But anyways, I finally got that taken care of, and then I got a summons for jury duty, starting one week after I'm supposed to start the new job next month. I haven't been called for jury duty in 14 years, and NOW I get called? Right after I've finally gotten this job and gone through all these hoops and are you kidding me? And why do they tell you to call the number on the card to be excused when they're just going to tell you to write to the judge anyways?

So I've written to the judge, and I've finally gotten all the documents I need to start my new job and hopefully, that will be that.

In other news, G turns 13 this week which just seems wrong. I finally got a bunch of crap that I've been holding for other people out of my apartment so now I can make this place look like an apartment again instead of a storage unit which will be nice. It already looks much better and while work issues may be insane, at least my living room looks nice. Never underestimate the healing touches of a clean floor and nice photos.

And the quote of the week, which I have to keep reminding myself of while all this insane stuff is going on, is the poor cashier at the store this week, when she asked me if I wanted the frozen turkey I was buying to be put into a bag.

Me: No. It's hard as a rock anyways, I don't think a bag will do it any good, and its just going to sit on the counter for a few days when I get it home.
Her: Oh. You thaw it before you cook?

At least I'm not her.

Umm...what?

2008-10-13T13:20:00.002-04:00

In the news that hurts my head category, a woman in Connecticut tried to sue L'Oreal for a bad dye job. She apparently bought a shade of blonde, and through whatever means, the color in the box was brown. She ended up a brunette.
Story here:
http://www.lemondrop.com/2008/10/09/woman-sues-over-bad-dye-job/?icid=100214839x1211351542x1200680722

Does it surprise anyone this involved a lawsuit?

Now, I have been coloring my hair for many, many years. I do expect that when I buy a color, that's what's in the box. But it also, at least for me, is instinct to at least look at the bottles I take out of the box and read the labels. Even when I have read the labels, I have made some pretty drastic mistakes. That is the risk you take when you color your own hair at home.

There have been times that I have made my hair weird colors on purpose. There was the time that I tried to go for blonde, followed all the directions, and if you've ever seen The Fifth Element and Milla Jovavich's hair in that movie, you have an idea of how that turned out. (If you haven't seen it, it was orange and white striped.) Did I sue over this? No. Did I suffer irreperable mental anguish over it? No. Did I threaten my husband with some not so nice words if he picked up that camera before I had it fixed? Hell yes, but that's a far cry from blaming L'Oreal and wasting time and money on a lawsuit and sounding like someone who has WAY too much time on their hands and just wanted their name in print or a soundbite.

And as for the ""I can never go back to my natural blond hair," quote, two things. One, honey, hair grows back. And two, since you were trying to color your hair anyway, I don't think you get to use the term "natural". I'm just sayin'.

Modern medicine sucks.

2008-10-11T13:18:00.005-04:00

The news of the week has been there is no news because I have been sick as hell and doing my best to stay conscious most of the time. I have a bad habit of not going to the doctor when I should, because most of the time they tell you its just a virus and there's nothing they can do and to go home and come back later, so I just skipped that part and opted for "later" and apparently that was the wrong choice this time.

So I ended up in the ER, all drugged up and on various medications and I'm betting the next time that particular x-ray tech has someone tell them they're going to pass out if they make them stand up she'll believe them, and then they sent me home with all these other medications with directions that are written by people who just want to screw with you.

I had a total of three medications to take at home. One you have to take an hour before you eat. One you have to take with food. One you can take either with food or without but you can't lie down for half an hour after you take it. I'm not sure I want to know why. One causes you to be hungry, but one causes you to lose your appetite, so hopefully those two will cancel each other out. The list of side effects for the three combined are ridiculous, and one of the medications actually says that exercise helps prevent side effects, in addition to calling your doctor if it causes you to experience fear. So they send you home from the hospital and tell you to get as much rest as possible, but with a list of drugs that require a wall chart for scheduling food and drugs and apparently exercise (which if you could do, you probably wouldn't have ended up in the ER), but hopefully that doesn't scare you. It was safer just being sick.

In other news, my new job starts next month and I can't wait. Less hours, more money. I'm all for this. Provided of course that all these measures to make me healthy again don't end up killing me.

Technology gone wild...

2008-09-19T14:19:00.007-04:00

I was sitting here, finally having the kids sound asleep, and figuring I could catch up on a few things, but that is no easy task.

Back in the day, I had an AOL account, and I talked to people via IM while I was on AOL. That was it.

Now, I have AOL, gmail (mostly business), hotmail (for the life of me I can't remember why I have that), Twitter, myspace, facebook, and flickr.

Now, if you look at my facebook, myspace, twitter and flickr pages, they all pretty much have the same information and photos. Why do I need all of these? And yet, I check them and update them with all the same crap, and really....why do I do this?

What's worse is that every single thing listed above ALSO goes to my cell phone to tell me that I need to check updates and mail, and that's actually why I got the damn phone. At some point I got crazy on technology, and now checking my email is an hour long deal. At minimum.

We will not discuss fantasy sports, which also updates on my phone.

Thank God I never embraced RSS feeds.

And now I have to go, because my phone is telling me my computer requires my attention.

Things that make me insane......

2008-09-09T14:39:00.002-04:00

Granted, its not hard to make me crazy, my kids figured this out years ago, and my friends have always known I'm nuts. But occasionally several things converge at once and I think "well, no SHIT I'm crazy, look at what's around me!" And then I feel better. But I'm going to list it for you anyways.....

First off....
Conversations like these with my daughter, who is fully embracing her teenage angst....
Me: Did you ask your teachers for your makeup work?
Her: I don't see why they can't just remind me.
Me: They want to teach you to be responsible. You were absent, they have six classes to take care of, and they want you to be responsible and ask for your makeup work.
Her: Well, I WOULD be responsible if they'd just remind me!

Second, I have a strange tendency these days to read what are supposed to be news websites, that offer opinions such as these; where, for example if you are carrying extra weight, you can now blame it on crime shows or the news, whichever you prefer. Think I'm kidding?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26513442/

Check it out for yourself. Crap like this is why I quit reading news sites several years ago. I really should have stuck with that.

Benefits of edumacation

2008-08-31T13:08:00.002-04:00

My daughter told me a story last night of a student who decided to vanadalize a teacher's car after she made him mad.

I'm guessing he's not the brightest student, since 1, he can't spell "bitch", apparently the teacher in question is a "bicth" and 2, he wrote it in dry erase marker so it came right off with a paper towel.

I don't think there are any great worries about him graduating to a life of being a criminal mastermind.

A look back at summer vacation....

2008-08-22T12:49:00.007-04:00

School starts Monday. Thank God.

To the left: One of G's many skating accidents this summer. It doesn't look that bad in the photo, but the bruising was rather impressive and that one on his side is missing a nice chunk of skin. And that doesn't show the four other places his body hit the cement.

And now, a look back at some of the events of this summer, which hopefully I remember next summer and send the kids to camp.

The number of times that K said "I'm bored". There were way too many to count. We did finally find an answer for it.

"I'm bored."

"Clean your room."

"Crap."

"I'm bored."

"Empty the dishwasher."

"Crap."

"I'm bored...wait...WAIT! NEVERMIND. I'LL GO OUTSIDE."

Mission accomplished.

But that was fairly easy compared to her brother's penchant for needing medical attention while pretending he's Tony Hawk. We had three skating accidents, one case of heat exhaustion on one of our 100 degree days requiring a call to 911 and an ambulance, and two visits to the hospital to make sure there were no broken bones, which there weren't, amazingly enough, but he'll have some nice scars.

There was the large amount of time G and his dad spent comparing scars, since the kid comes by it honestly and his dad had plenty of stories to tell him about the times he crashed on his mountain bike. This doesn't ease my nerves any.

We did have some fun, with K's birthday and a trip to Charleston for a day that was mostly about just getting out of town. Eric changed jobs, and the whole family's home again.

But the best sight of the summer will be that school bus pulling up on Monday morning.

Can't have blank space....

2008-08-13T14:11:00.003-04:00

Or un-updated space or whatever.

There isn't really much going on around here these days that is humorous to anyone but me, and I'm not really in a mood to report drama, and its not even my drama, so I tend to stay away from that anyways.

A few notable things:
My daughter turned 14, making me feel old.
She just realized yesterday that they actually televised the Olympics, making me feel old and nostalgic for when the Olympics used to be on just one station and you gathered around to watch them.
She still can't remember to give me a phone message, even when that phone message is "you don't have to work tomorrow". That was fun.

In other news, we need a second car and thank God school starts in a week and a half.

That's pretty much it. Maybe we'll be more exciting in the coming days.

Sleep deprivation is kicking in.....

2008-07-24T12:20:00.002-04:00

Lately I have been working 17 hour days. I start at about 7:30am and finish up about midnight. Now I'm one of those people who can't go straight to bed right after working, so I usually get to sleep about 2am, and that damn alarm clock, which I'm really surprised hasn't hit the wall yet, goes off at 6:20. This is not alot of sleep for anyone bothering to add those times up.

I like sleep. My pillows and I are best friends. And I don't function well with lack of sleep.

A few examples:
Putting both contact lenses in one eye, since apparently after I put the first one in, I had already forgotten.
Misplacing an entire load of laundry. (Which I still haven't found. I'm thinking of maybe checking the cupboards.)
Losing my purse twice, only to find it in the same place both times, which happened to be right next to my bed. Of course, since I don't get to spend alot of time there these days, I guess its logical it took me a while to think of the bed.
Having to make multiple quick dash trips to the grocery store after I'm done working at midnight because I can never remember what I went for in the first place.
Not recognizing the fuel light in my car is on. That one kind of sucked.

This is only supposed to last a couple of weeks, which is good, because I don't think me or anyone that has to deal with me really wants this to go on much longer.

The strange name fad is still going strong...

2008-07-24T12:17:00.003-04:00

Granted, my daughter has somewhat of a unique name, but what's unique is the spelling. Her name sounds pretty and she likes it, and usually we only have to tell people how to pronounce it once.

These people, however, need to be slapped before being allowed to name other human beings...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_re_au_an/new_zealand_bizarre_names

Its times like these.......

2008-07-19T15:35:00.002-04:00

....where I wonder if my daughter is actually a teenager.

I gave my daughter $40 for her trip with the church last week.

She spent $7, and today she handed me back the $33 in change.

I had completely forgotten about it, and she knew that, and she still gave it back.

Of course, to balance it out, she got snotty about cleaning her room, and threw in a few head tosses and "whatevers" so we know that everything is back as it should be.

Day of Blogs 2008

2008-07-19T00:59:00.003-04:00

Ms. Tara (who is on the Preferred Reading list to the side, or if you prefer links, can be found at http://www.tarahog1980.com/2008/07/day-of-blogs-2008/) is participating in the Day of Blogs 2008 for the Victory Junction Gang Camp. If you don't know about Victory Junction Gang Camp, please look it up here http://www.victoryjunction.org/aa_home/index.html.

Anyways, if you get the chance, please take a look at Tara's site for the Day of Blogs and contribute if you can. Victory Junction does some amazing things, and we want to be able to give them as much support as possible and this is a great and easy way to do it. Well, easy for us, lol. Tara actually has to stay up for 24 hours :)

Give it a look.

Stupidity behind the wheel.

2008-07-18T10:49:00.002-04:00

It's not been a good couple of days for driving. At least for me.

First of is the idiot at the gas station who pulled in right before I did. Both fuel pumps were open on the side we pulled in at, and logically I figured he would pull up to the front pump, since I was behind him and it was obvious we were both going to be getting fuel. At least it seemed to me that it was obvious, since it was a gas station and all. But he didn't. He pulled up to the first pump and stopped. Not only did he stop, he blocked me from being able to get to the other fuel pump, making me go all the way around the gas station and back in to the fuel pump, when all he would have had to do is pull up five more feet. To say I wasn't pleased would be putting it lightly. Then, when I got out to get fuel, he refused to look at me. Because apparently he has the maturity of a five year old.

But that was minor compared to the woman who hit my car yesterday. She pulled up behind me at a red light, cell phone to her ear, digging for something on her passenger seat and not paying one damn bit of attention to the fact that she was actually driving a vehicle. And after she hit me, she continued to pay no attention to me, didn't stop her vehicle as a sane person would do when they've just rear-ended someone and didn't even get off her cell phone. Then she ran the next red light. Luckily I did get her license plate number, which my dad gave me the idea of sending to the newspaper and seeing if they'd print it in a letter to the editor, which he might have been kidding about, but which I'm seriously considering. Because while I did give the number to the police, putting it in the newspaper sounds good to me also.

These are the people that make me think that if you eat enough Cracker Jacks, you will find the box with the drivers license in it as the prize. I can't think of how these people get licenses any other way.

The girls rule....

2008-07-16T00:18:00.002-04:00

I bring you proof (well, proof in my world) that girls are cleaner than boys.

My daughter went out on the road with her dad for two weeks, and then went on a missions trip. During that time, it was just me and my son. I figured with just the two of us, it would be no problem to keep the house clean. I was wrong. I could tell my son as he was finishing eating to rinse his plate and put it in the dishwasher, and he would forget in the maybe 5 seconds it takes to get from his seat to the sink. I was constantly asking him to not put his shoes and sweaters on the living room floor next to the couch, and not to leave his skateboard right by the front door where I tripped on it a minimum of three times a day. And so on and so on. There were only two of us here out of four, and I still couldn't seem to have order. We won't even go in to what his bathroom looked like, and that was after he swore to me he cleaned it. ("I DID!!! I even used WATER!")

This week, my daughter is home and my son is on the road.

The living room is clean. It is vacuumed. It has stayed clean after I vacuumed it, and that is a minor miracle. The dirty dishes are in the dishwasher, and the counter is clean because I only had to ask ONCE for her to put the groceries away and when she makes something to eat, she puts back what she took out and puts the garbage in the garbage can. This concept does not ever enter her brother's head.

I didn't check their bathroom. I'm not pushing my luck and I have my own.

So that, in my mind, is my proof. I've always figured that was the case, since I can ask my husband to pick up the living room, and that to him consists of telling the kids to pick up their crap (which one out of two actually does, and I'll let you guess that one) and tidying up the cords around the XBOX 360 and calling it good. And to him, it IS good. I'm telling you, there is some chemical in the brains of boys that make dirt and clutter invisible to them. Although sorry to tell my husband and son that knowing this will not make me stop asking them to clean up after themselves.

It might make me less crazy when it takes them four tries to actually do it, though.

Um...ok...

2008-07-04T22:37:00.002-04:00

ABC Family has been running commercials all day that honestly say in salute to America's 4th of July holiday, they are honoring it with a marathon of Harry Potter movies.

Because nothing says "American patriotism" more than a bunch of British kids in magic school.

The hell?

2008-07-01T13:32:00.002-04:00

I've had extra time to watch TV the past couple of days, and I was flipping channels last night and stopped on Jeopardy! just long enough to see Alex Trebek interviewing the contestants.

I think Mr. Trebek must be a bit punchy after all these years, or maybe that whole Ken Jennings saga pushed him over the edge but I caught the show just in time for him to interview this woman who is convinced that she caused the Boston Red Sox to lose the World Series in 1986. Her theory being that since she went to the refridgerator to get the champagne before the final out, that caused the Red Sox to lose. I think it goes without saying that she is just a tad bit superstitious, to the point of being nuts.

But anyways, she's telling this story, and at the end of it, she says that she feels fully responsible for the loss.

And Alex looked straight at her and said "and all because you're a drunk".

I just about fell out of my chair laughing. And what makes it all the better is this made it through all the production and editing processes and this woman HAD to sign off on that statement getting to air, right? Am I wrong on that?

Her response? "I'll take the fifth". An answer that could only have been better if she'd gone to the cupboard to get Jack Daniel's instead of the fridge to get champagne.

Maybe I'm just easily amused.

Peace and quiet.....

2008-07-01T13:26:00.003-04:00

....can go too far.

My daughter has been out on the road with her dad since last Wednesday. My son has been at his friend's house in the country since Saturday. I figured that I would have all this time to get some cleaning done that I can't seem to do while they're here, finish my book, do some shopping, etc. I didn't do any of that.

I can't remember the last time that I was the only person at home for more than a school day. And at first, it was cool. I didn't have to fight for the TV, or the computer, or argue over who wasn't getting their chores done. It was peaceful, that was new, and I liked it.

I watched the large number of tv shows I'd recorded on the DVR and hadn't had a chance to see. I caught up on some sleep. Then I got bored.

I miss the noise and the arguing over chores and just the general chaos. I'm ready for them to come home and resume driving me crazy. It's not a long drive to crazy, mind you, but they do it well, and I miss it. Maybe they just drive me crazier, because I must be already there to miss chaos.

The pets have done their best to fill in the chaos void, but even they are bored without the kids. Granted, when everyone is home and the noise resumes, I'll probably be missing the peace and quiet but isn't that always how it goes?

Go figure...

2008-06-25T14:24:00.003-04:00

My son had been begging me to get Call of Duty 4 for our XBOX 360.

He already had Call of Duty 3, but apparently had already beaten that, so getting the next version consumed pretty much his every waking thought and he was very vocal about it. He begged me to take him to Gamestop so he could turn in old games that he wasn't playing anymore.

This game costs $60 and I didn't put much faith in getting that much money in trade-in video games.

So finally today I told him that he could scrounge around the house for any spare change he could find, and I would take him up to Gamestop and if he had enough, he could get the game himself but I wasn't putting a penny towards it.

And I'll be damned if that kid did not manage to find enough change and get enough store credit that he not only bought the game (he did get a used one, but that only saved him $5), he bought me lunch for taking him up there. (And scored major points with mom on that one.)

I need to look for change around here more often. Although I think you might have to be an obsessed pre-teen to find it.

The store clerk's parting words as we left? "Remember, the new one comes out in November".

He should probably start stock-piling the change now.

No wonder I'm broke...

2008-06-19T22:42:00.002-04:00

What my son and his friends have eaten out of my kitchen today.....

3 bowls of cereal
7 chicken sandwiches
1 skillet of hamburger helper
1 box of texas toast
1 pan of macaroni and cheese
2 pizzas
1 bag of doritos
1 package of cookies

And they're all skinny little beanpoles.

Deja vu

2008-06-17T09:03:00.003-04:00

Or however that is spelled.

I sleep with the TV on. I have to. I cannot sleep in silence.

So I was kind of half asleep, the TV turned on to VH1, and the Top 20 Countdown or whatever it is was on, and on their countdown were Madonna, Bret Michaels, and New Kids on the Block.

Which led to some seriously weird dreams from being in high school about 2o years ago, which I think is the last time I saw these three on the same video countdown that didn't include comedians making fun of them. ("I love the 80's" still kicks ass over the video countdown, but I digress.)

So long as most of the 80's fashions I wore don't come back, it's all good.

I don't get it....

2008-06-16T13:21:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we woke up and as usual for Sunday mornings, we decided to go to Starbucks. You can pretty much set your watch or calendar or whatever you set by this; if we don't go to Starbucks on a Sunday morning, paramedics may need to be called because that usually means we've been waylaid by a medical emergency of some kind and can't get to the car. That is how regular this routine is.

Yesterday, however, my husband decided he actually needed to eat some food before we got coffee, and it's been hot, and I'm opposed to turning on the stove/oven/anything that radiates heat for the last several weeks, so we decided to hit McDonald's dollar menu on the way to Starbucks. (I don't know why I figured hot food from a drive-thru was better than cooking. I just go with it.) My plan was to take the McDonald's food to Starbucks, get our coffee, and sit outside and enjoy the food and coffee in a relaxed manner, since anyone who knows us knows we don't do "relaxed" very often, or even well.

Having got the food and gotten to Starbucks, though, my husband decided that it would not be proper to take the McDonald's food to one of the outside tables, even though I wasn't planning on actually taking the food inside. And its not like taking a Quarter Pounder into Burger King; last I checked Starbucks wasn't trying to corner the market on cheeseburgers and fries. But he didn't even want to take the food to the outside court, so we ended up eating the McDonald's food in the VERY hot car, in the Starbucks parking lot, right next to the door and the table I wanted us to go eat at. And then we went inside, got our coffee, and sat at the table outside. Does this make sense to ANYONE?

Now, I love the man, but this is the same man who whenever we go to our favorite Mexican restaurant insists on going to the Starbucks next to the restaurant, happily gets his coffee, and then without a second thought, carries it into the restaurant to have with his meal.

Maybe I'm not the only one losing brain cells in the heat.

Clouds

2008-06-15T07:59:00.002-04:00

I love the clouds right before a storm.

Well that just figures...

2008-06-15T07:57:00.002-04:00

The kids are out of school for the summer which means that I do not have to set an alarm clock until the first day of the next school year.

On any given school day, I will hit the snooze alarm a minimum of six times.

Since school is out, and there is no alarm clock, I have not slept past 7:30am.

Something is wrong there.

Oh that's right....I have a blog.

2008-06-11T08:59:00.002-04:00

It's been slightly crazy around here for a few weeks. Everything that could possibly go wrong, did. I know that the good things get balanced with the bad, but damn......could we go for small waves instead of extreme peaks and valleys? My blood pressure can only fluctuate so much before the brain aneurysms will start.

But I'm not really in the mood to bitch about those things (shocking, I know, to those that know me well) so I'm hoping to figure out how to work the new camera and the new computer and post some cool summer pics later. That would be better for everyone, especially me.

It all balances out...

2008-05-29T17:07:00.002-04:00

It is a given that at some point, or actually, at several points, in life, your child will lie to you. It does not matter how many times you have tried to drive home the point that honesty is one of the most important virtues, they will try to save their butt and lie to you when in trouble.

I've always told my kids that the punishment will be ten times worse if you lie to me and I find out later than if you just tell me the truth. And through the years, that has been true. I've not given them a reason to doubt this; their little brains just seem to go into self-preservation mode at times and they lie. Then they get caught, they get punished, and of course, it is all just that unfair, and I'm the meanest mom in the world. So be it. You were warned.

That's not really the point of this though. It starts that way, because my son lied to me yesterday, about something that went on with the school, and I gave that kid several chances to tell me the truth, but he never did, and today I found out what the real story was. So he's grounded, and I sent him to his room until his dad and I talked, and he sulked off, and slammed the door (which really wasn't earning the kid points, but he's gotta be dramatic) and he stayed there. And then it got quiet.

Most of the time, when my kids get quiet, it's time to panic. They are either up to something or plotting to be up to something, and that's generally when you have to start worrying, but my son has one of the neatest features I've ever seen in a kid. When he gets mad, and either gets sent to his room or decides to go in there and sulk, he flops on the bed, convinced the world is mean and unfair and his mom sucks, and then.....he falls asleep. It's like he has a reset button. When he wakes up in a couple of hours, he'll be in a much better mood, and while he'll still be in trouble for lying to me, he'll be rested and not so crabby. I sure didn't have that feature; when my mom sent me to my room, I made her life hell for the rest of the day, so this isn't anything that I deserved, per se, but it's handy nonetheless, and I love it.

So I get the peace and quiet while he's asleep, and then I get an easy evening, because he'll be rested and just want dinner.

Now if my daughter would just do the same.

Order in the land of chaos

2008-05-26T23:21:00.002-04:00

Things have been a bit chaotic around here, with extra people and holiday weekends and the end of school, so today when I was cleaning I decided I would re-arrange. Those who know me are thinking "but of course" while those who don't are probably relieved they don't.

But anyways, it started innocently enough by deciding when I was cleaning the living room that I didn't like where the couches were. It's not like there are alot of options for that considering we live in an apartment, but I decided to move them anyway. Since we don't have alot of room, that required moving the bookcases, which I decided worked better in my room, and THAT required moving the bed, and you get the idea. I didn't need to move the computer table, but ended up kind of re-arranging that too, since its an L-shaped desk, and therefore has some options.

Having done all of that, then I started thinking about changing the drapes in the living room, which of course would look better with a new area rug, which then became four hours of redecorating the apartment in my head. I have a whole list of notes.

I don't actually have any money to do any of these things I came up with, but planning it was fun. And cleaning the living room should have taken maybe 30 minutes instead of the six hour deal it became but that's ok. I'll be lazy tomorrow. At least until I start the dishes, and then who knows. I may have an entire redecorating plan for that by the end of tomorrow as well.

Truly random...

2008-05-21T19:51:00.002-04:00

How is it that I have never watched even ONE episode of American Idol in all its years, and yet I know who the two finalists are? And why are the people on the radio that I listen to, who are normally nice, sane human beings, obsessed with making sure that I know this?

Why is the "Arts Experience" summer camp flyer my daughter brought home from school based entirely around reality shows?

I've always known my idea of reality was screwed, but I'm beginning to think that if the above is what people perceive reality to be....I'm doing pretty much ok. I just thought it was actual life.

By the numbers..

2008-05-20T14:01:00.003-04:00

1 - full time adult resident here (that would be me)

2 - full time children

2 - part time adults

3 - pets

4 - part time children

0 - SANITY LEVELS

Not coincidentally - 3: pairs of headphones I have gone through in the last month because that is my only chance at peace and quiet.

Is it too late to run away and join the circus?

Why do I do this?

2008-05-18T19:36:00.002-04:00

I was bored yesterday, and decided that I'd go shopping for new makeup. I hadn't bought new makeup in a while, I don't usually wear a lot of it, but the one thing I do always wear is lipstick and I needed at least that. So I figured it was as good a time as any to restock my makeup bag.

I'll spare you the details of actually buying makeup, because I spend way longer on that task that it really should take, but I came home and tried it all on, and then went and asked my family how it looked. They all had the same general answer: "It looks great. Not even like you're really wearing any".

Now, this is the answer I wanted, and yet? Why is this the answer I wanted? Why do I spend this much money and time to buy makeup so that I can look for the most part like I'm not wearing any makeup?

That should be part of the legal definition of insanity because I can't think of any other good reason.

Spring cleaning

2008-05-13T18:08:00.004-04:00

For whatever reason, I woke up this morning with the insane notion that I was going to clean my apartment. Not just clean the apartment, but CLEAN the apartment. Not make it presentable, but make it actually a form of clean my grandmother would be proud of. I'm not exactly sure what brought about this bit of insanity, but I got to it.

I've realized the reason they call it spring cleaning is becaused once you have cleaned this thoroughly, and I'm talking washing the walls here, is that once you are done, you are way to tired to clean in that manner again for at least a year. Seasonal cleaning is not possible on this level. It would kill you.

Side note 1: Comet will clean anything.

Side note 2: There is only so much Comet you should use in one day if you don't want to become completely loopy.

But at least my apartment is pretty.

Testing the limits of my patience.

2008-05-13T09:33:00.002-04:00

Usually, my kids are at the top of the list of things that test the limits of my patience because lets face it, that's their job and my kids have always been overachievers on certain things. They excel at that particular job, and take great pride in it. If they apply the same amount of commitment when they get actual paying jobs, they will be millionares.

Right now, however, they are looking like absolute saints due to the new neighbor we have. I try to give people a grace period when new people move in to our building because you don't know where they lived last, some people are not used to apartment life, and every complex is different and has different rules and it can take time to get used to new surroundings and all that, but the basic rules of how to treat people are pretty universal and either this woman is completely clueless or just plain crazy because she has managed to alienate pretty much the entire building in two weeks.

A couple of examples:
She started a water gun fight with the kids in the complex, which wouldn't have been bad as it was a hot day and I don't have a problem with water guns in general, but this particular water fight was going on in the breezeways and staircases of our building. Even the kids of this complex know that they are supposed to play at the park, not on the buildings. That part was aggravating enough, but then I pulled in and got out of my car and was promptly hit with a water gun, directed at me not by one of the kids, but by the adult. That's classy. And she didn't get it when I made it clear how not happy I was about that. So that first pointed me to her being clueless.

She hit crazy status though when I was sick this weekend and she decided to say some things to my child that she thought were funny but were quite inappropriate and downright bigoted. My son has long hair, and she thinks its funny to call him names that I might have actually hit her for had I been awake and not sick in bed. My kids have known not to use these words since they could talk.

So the limits of my patience are just about out, and its probably a good thing I haven't gotten my tax rebate yet because I might not have as much restraint if I knew I had bail money handy. She better get a clue soon.

It's gotten very quiet...

2008-05-07T10:28:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, when I took my son to the dentist, I had a coughing/sneezing fit in their waiting room but figured it was just allergies, since allergies have been horrible around here lately. Then about 5:30, my throat started to itch a bit, and by 6:00pm, my voice was entirely gone. One minute I'm talking to people and the next...just squeeky whispers. I haven't completely lost my voice since I don't know when. And I'm not all that happy about it.

Added to this is the fact that my kids think this is the funniest thing to happen in weeks. At least until it happens to them, since these things usually make the rounds of the house, and then they will decide they are dying, because the sore throat that came with the laryngitis feels like you swallowed some corrosive acid.

Anyways, so I can't talk at all, which of course means the phone is ringing off the hook, and people keep wanting to talk to me to find out why I can't talk and asking me if I've called the doctor yet. Honestly people.........common sense isn't that hard.

I did finally go to the doctor (someone else was nice enough to call and make the appointment for me, because as of yet, you can't schedule appointments by email, although that would be cool) and in their best medical opinion, they told me I've lost my voice.
Thanks for the update.

They also told me I can expect to not be able to talk for several days. So I get to sit down and write out notes for all the errands I have to run and just hand them to the people that work there and hope that no one thinks I'm robbing them before they read the note that says I just want to pay my bill. It's a good thing I don't have to go see any bank tellers.

Shopping made difficult

2008-05-03T10:07:00.002-04:00

I used to be a pretty basic shopper. I'd decide I needed something and go to the store and get it. I didn't really compare prices or look for deals or anything like that. ("Impulsive" could also be a fair thing to call it, but we'll stick with "basic".)

I don't know how anyone else is doing with the economy but it sucks moneywise right now, and so I've had to change the way I shop. Now, with groceries, that's pretty simple. Figure out which store either has the best sale going or find some coupons and stick to the grocery list. Shopping for a bed.....that was a bit more of a headache.

I've been sleeping on a couch for the last six months because it wasn't all that bad, and with so many other things that I needed to spend money on, I figured if I wasn't sleeping on the floor, then it was all good. Then I woke up one day last week, and one leg was on the back of the couch, and my shoulder was off the edge, and it took approximately forever to manage to get all the knots out of my muscles so I could pull myself off the couch in a manner that wouldn't break my neck. Officially time for a bed.

The major retail furniture stores were out. So I ended up going on a three day drive around town to all the little outlets and thrift stores and seeing what I could find. NEVER look for a bed in a thrift store. That is rule #1.

The outlets were all pretty good, and considering what Sears will charge you for a bed, pretty reasonable, but still more than I wanted to pay. And the sales people were all very nice, because when you want a new bed that's one thing, but when you NEED one they can tell, and so they really up the sales pitch. They tell you all about how they know its tough for everyone but you really don't want the cheapest mattress because it'll suck (and side note there...if they know their cheap mattresses suck, why do they sell them? but anyways..) and how prices are going up in approximately three days and if you don't buy it now, then you'll basically be wasting money. All with the biggest smile on their faces like they are your best friend and letting you in a secret they aren't telling anyone else. Fun times.

I did finally find one though, and of course after all this shopping and comparing, it turned out to be at the place right around the corner from my apartment that I had no clue existed until I happened to drive by it. Went in, laid down on their cheapest set, found it perfectly comfortable, and bought it. And their sales people were great. Possibly because at that point I was clearly losing brain power and sanity and they just wanted to sell me something and have me go home. But whatever gets it done.

Getting it home was actually the easiest part. God bless my maintenance guy, who took time out of his day, went over there, strapped it to the top of his SUV and drove it back and carried it up three flights of stairs for me. There are reasons I stay in this apartment complex.

And so what did I do when all this was done? I took a nap. On the couch. I'm hopeless.

The cat loves the microwave

2008-05-03T09:56:00.002-04:00

Apparently this is the cat's newest favorite place to sleep. And she is the evil cat who seeks revenge if you interrupt her naps. This is making snack time a little more difficult.

You know its bad...

2008-04-30T23:26:00.002-04:00

...when you call the cable company to bitch to the skies about the service and why you are canceling most of your services, and the customer service person on the other end ends up commiserating with you and telling you that they completely understand why you want nothing to do with their new products.

But damn....that's the most honesty I've heard in months. She definitely gets my respect for that alone.

Time Warner can go screw themselves for a change

2008-04-30T15:34:00.003-04:00

I've had Time Warner cable the entire time I've lived in NC. I liked that I could get a phone through them as well as cable because as much as I'm not fond of Time Warner, I REALLY don't like CTC and that was my only other choice. And I loved my DVR. So I had the extended cable and the DVR and the phone and all that and while it was more than I really wanted to pay, I liked what I had. (Plus, I was too lazy to look into other options.)

Then they went and upgraded the DVR system and now it sucks. It's impossible to find what I recorded and what's actually set to record, and customer service could not possibly have the same idea as "service" as I do, so I guess I'm about to enter the world of TIVO. Or I could just get a life and quit recording 20 shows a week, but I don't much see that happening. I've just gotten too used to fast forwarding through commercials. Fast forward is my friend.

Back to the topic though, about the same time, Sprint came out with their "Everything" plan, and therefore I'm getting rid of the DVR AND the phone, upgrading the cell, and will end up saving myself about $80 a month.

I still have Time Warner for internet and basic cable, but I'm looking out for new options on those too. Because I love my technology and my toys, but it's time Time Warner and I parted ways.

I guess it really is the taste cats crave...

2008-04-29T15:37:00.001-04:00

Does anyone remember a commercial from years ago by Crave Catfood that insisted that beef was the taste cats crave? I remember thinking it was ridiculous, mostly because it gave me images of some nice little kitten taking down Bessie the Cow in a field, but then again I've always been told I have an overactive imagination.

Anyways, I guess I should have paid attention to that commercial. Today, as I was trying to enjoy my beef pot pie (which, by the way, yum..) my cat, who is all of 8 pounds, kept jumping up on my desk and trying to work her way over to my plate. After the third time of moving her back to the floor, she growled, jumped up, and BIT MY ARM. And showed absolutely no remorse about it. When I put the unfinished portion of the pie in the garbage, I could swear she was glaring at me for wasting perfectly good food that I should have fed to her.

Now I know why the dog stays far out of her path.

This should be fun....

2008-04-29T15:04:00.000-04:00

One day, several years ago, I decided for whatever reason to light up a cigarette and see what the appeal was. And I found that I really didn't care for it. It smelled, it made me cough, and was generally unpleasant. Now I consider myself a reasonable person most of the time, so what did I do? Of course, I lit up another one. Apparently I'm not a reasonable person as much of the time as I think.

Cut to several years later, and I don't even want to think about how many packs and dollars later, and I've finally quit. You know how when you have thought about doing something you really want for a long time, and then you do it and you have this great feeling of accomplishment? I don't have that. I have major crankiness and restlessness and generally think this sucks. But since I really don't want my lungs deciding to just leave my body and go somewhere nicer like Jamaica, I'm sticking with it.

Hopefully those that live with me make it through this. :)