I have just discovered You Tube. Yes, I am that behind the times.
That Ok Go video on the treadmills should be on the blog in a little while. I got really excited b/c you can get perfomances from Rock Star: Supernova on there as well. What an addicting little site! I now have my own personal 'favorites' file on there full of Dilana, Zayra and Toby performances.
In case anyone cares about the US Open (M, I know you do! And I loved Maria Sharapova's black sparkly number from the other night. Have you seen Serena Williams' outfit yet?) the Andre Agassi/Marcos Baghdatis match is still going on. They have just started the 5th set, and they have each broken serve to get back ON serve. They keep panning over to Steffi Graff (Andre's wife) and she has that half sick nervous/excited air about her. I still can't believe Andre is retiring after this tournament. Wow. This is possibly one of the best matches I've seen in a while.
No more messing with the template, back to normal posting
So this is it, love it or hate it. It's simple, but still me. Tired of staring at the screen right now, so normal posting (you know, the kind with actual TOPICS, and not just apologies for being under construction, lol) will resume tonight. Thanks for the patience, and for visiting even when I didn't have a single interesting thought in my pretty little head.
My child's future profession is WHAT?
X was helping me in the kitchen tonight while I was starting dinner, which he loves to do. I was making chicken alfredo, and had a box of pasta, a jar of sauce and a can of mushrooms on the counter in front of him. I was putting the water on to boil and I hear him saying, "Step right up folks, find the pretty lady...where is the pretty lady?" I look over and he is switching the box, jar, and can around on the counter. I said, "X, what are you doing?" His reply? "I'm just playing three card monty, mom." What?? This isn't a NYC subway station, it's a kitchen for crying out loud. He is 3 years old, how does he even know what three card monty is??
Other things he's told me in the last week:
"Mom, did you know that Mya, Kiah, and Lorren are brown skinned? They're not just tan, their daddy is African American. Not their mom though, she's a blonde."
"Mom, count to ten and chill out. You need to calm down!"
"I love you Mommy. When I'm being good, you're really nice. When I'm being bad, you talk too loud and make me go to my room. That is not nice behavior so stop it!"
He is 3 going on 30.
Tonight I watched the first hour of Singing With Celbrities, or Celebrity Duets, something like that anyway, on FOX. What a show! I was equal parts horrified and fascinated. Alfonso Ribiero(sp?) from Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Silver Spoons is on there, he's so great! He didn't do the Carlton dance, but Wayne Brady did, which is almost as good.
Hey, don't forget to play my trivia game!
I started a trivia tournament
The link is in my sidebar, above the music selections. Save it to your favorites and play each day. I set it up to be a mixed trivia selection with an intermediate difficulty level. You can see your stats and how you stack up against all the other players. So if you visit my blog on a regular basis, become a player in my tournament. I hope this catches on, and if not, I have my own personal trivia game anyway, LOL. Have fun and enjoy!!
Edited to add, I have no control over the questions and I don't know the answers. I only choose the category of questions. If you want to start your own tournament go to www.funtrivia.com.
What a day
I spent all day cleaning house. I don't mean picking up a little and vaccuming, I mean down on the floor with a sponge scrubbing. In the kitchen I moved all of the appliances out from the walls and cleaned under and behind them. Oh. My. Lord. I am ashamed at how dirty it was. I couldn't believe the grease and grime hiding back there. Ew. I did ,however, learn some useful things. If I were a famous person, I now know what products I would endorse. Easy Off Bam universal degreaser, it's the best. It cut through yucky grease like it was nothing. For the floors and walls, Pine Sol. Yep, good old Pine Sol, the lemon scent. It worked wonders, and the house smelled so nice. I don't think every room in the house has been this clean at the same time before, lol. You walk into the rooms and they just feel clean, you aren't afraid that some mutated dust bunny is prepared to jump out and devour you.
So the US Open started today. I listened to a few matches while I was cleaning. DH left it on the tv for me while he wrangled the children. Here are a few winners of note: Andy Roddick, Lindsey Davenport, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Marcos Baghdatis,Mardy Fish and Paradorn Schrichaphan. Biggest upset of the day was Ivan Ljubicic losing to Feliciano Lopez.
Men and women playing tomorrow include: Rafael Nadal, Amelie Mauresmo,Maria Sharapova, Lleyton Hewitt,James Blake, and many other notable players. Tomorrow is a big day for big name matches. The Open is being broadcast on the USA network through the week, and CBS on the weekends.
The US Open tennis tournament starts today
The final grand slam of 2006, and the final tournament for Andre Agassi. Find more info on the tournament here :
Some noted matches happening today:
11:30 am start time, Arthur Ashe court:
Maria Elena Camerin vs. Justine Henin-Hardenne
following this match:
Florent Serra vs. Andy Roddick
Klara Zakopalova vs. Lindsey Davenport
7:00pm start time, Arthur Ashe:
Andre Pavel vs. Andre Agassi
Photo of the Week
The US Open starts today. I'll post more info in a minute. For now, enjoy an above view of center court!
**Photo removed in order to test new template**
New Music Monday week 3: Songs posted in the sidebar
This week's songs:
Take on Me by Aha
Young Girl by Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters by Elton John
In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel
Alone by Heart.
I guess I was feeling a little sappy this week.
Misty, water colored memmmmmmmmorieeeesssss
I have a mind like a steel trap. I remember the kind of crap that no one else does. When I meet someone new, I actually remember their name and one or two relevant facts about that person. It makes me wonder....There are a lot of people I have met in my life that I think about from time to time, and I wonder if they even remember me? For instance:
In college I met a guy we'll call J.O. We were both always early to our astronomy class, and would sit silently together, sometimes for upwards of an hour. I was always writing in my journal, and he would watch me. I didn't know his name then, to myself I referred to him as "early boy". I wrote about him a lot. Things like, "Early boy is watching me again" or "Early boy brought in lunch and it is making it smell funny in here". Finally one day he asked me what I was writing all the time. Then we exchanged names and started talking to each other regularly. The next semester we had the same Sociology class and sat together. We never went out or anything, just did school stuff together. I think about him whenever I see those car commercials, for Mazda I think, the ones where they sing, "Zoom, zoom, zoom". He always had it stuck in his head during class, but would sing it wrong. He sang it, "Vroom, vroom, vroom".
In third grade a new boy moved into my class. We'll call him J.H. I had such a crush on him, he is the only person I've ever used the word 'dreamy' to describe, and to date he is the only person I think it fits. I had to start wearing a bra in third grade, which was humiliating to me. But for some reason, when it came to J.H., who I imagined to be sophisticated far beyond his 8 years, I wanted to use it to my advantage. I remember purposely wearing a shirt that was way too big one day, so he might see my bra strap when the neck of the shirt shifted. He was absent that day, and he never came back. He wasn't even in our school for 2 weeks.
In the same astronomy class where I met J.O., I also met a guy named M. He was on the football team, and we helped each other with notes and things. He had a girlfriend, and she sat on the other side of him. I never learned her name, I just referred to her as M's girlfriend. She was always kind of snippy to me, but one day I saw her in the library and she was crying. I just walked over to her, didn't say anything, but she ran at me like I was her long lost friend and hugged me. I just stood there with her crying on me for like, 10 minutes. Finally she looked up and gathered herself. I asked her if she was ok and she said," Yeah,thanks," and walked away. We never talked about it. Weird.
I don't know why I was thinking about those things today. Hmmm...
To quote Sam in Sixteen Candles, "I remember LOTS of things."
What happens when Friday isn't Friday anymore?
Friday doesn't have the same appeal for me anymore. I don't get the weekend off, I don't even get one DAY off(the pitfalls of being a wife and mother, lol). DH works until 3am on Friday nights, and then works Saturday from 8am to 4pm. No Friday for him either.
I'm cranky today...I'm tired, my back and my head hurt and I promised to take the kids outside...but it is so hot, and every time I step out the door mosquitoes see me and swarm. Seriously, the don't bite anyone but me. I am out there for 20 minutes and come back in looking like I have leprosy. The boys are playing so well right now, which is rare, I haven't had to yell "Share!" in about 10 minutes. Do I dare mess this up and trek outside into a world of itchy grass, itchy bugs, and overwhelming humidity? Yes. Maybe one of our creepy neighbors will be out there too, yipee. One I swear is a drug dealer. He has no job. His wife is a teacher at the same school as my MIL, and their daughter is in high school. They are pretty normal, but he is not. He never wears a shirt, and he should. He's really skinny and always wears cutoff jeans, and carries a big stick when he goes for a walk. He walks all over town even though he has 3 cars. Sometimes, he takes each car around the block. He gets in one, drives it, comes home and parks it. Gets out, and repeats the process with his other cars. Crazy bastard. The other neighbor is creepy too. I haven't figured out if he has a job or not. He has a race car that he is always working on. It is so freaking loud. And he always seems to be working on it when my kids are trying to take a nap. Our street echoes really badly, so it seems even louder still. Sometimes he comes over without being asked and mows our backyard or uses the weed eater. This may seem nice, but he has an agenda. He stares at me and makes inappropriate comments he doesn't think I can hear. Sometimes when I get up in the morning, I'm not wearing very much. But since I'm in my own house, I figure that's ok. My first stop is usually the kitchen sink to get me or one of the boys a drink of water. More than once I've caught him in his backyard, looking over the fence at me. I wear a robe now. We really have no luck with neighbors. Have a good Friday everyone, enjoy it and appreciate it.
Repetitive movie themes
Ok, it's driving me crazy. First, it's sports films. How many of them have one of these two plots: (1)Team of misfits led to victory (or at least a close second, so as not to be to predictable...right) by a tough but caring coach who also learns a lesson of his/her own or (2)One player is underestimated, but gets the glory in the end. Seriously, list them off for me in either category one or two...let's just see how many we get. Yes, this was brought about because of all the trailers for the new Marky Mark movie, which I will probably watch and probably cry over. It doesn't matter, I always cry over sports. When teams win the big game, or the little gymnast limps her way to a gold medal.The next theme is this true Hollywood crime thing, with Black Dahlia and Hollywoodland coming out (both of these I'm really anxious to see). I know there are only so many directions you can go with storylines, but try harder!! More Cameron Crowe, please! (The only one of his films I haven't seen is Vanilla Sky, so don't fault me that one ok, I've heard it's terrible. Rent Singles or Almost Famous to renew your faith...or catch Say Anything on cable).
So Days of Our Lives has a new head writer, and he's getting rid of lots of characters. So far the count is Austin & Carrie, Jack, Jen, & Frankie (I'm sad over these 3), and Patrick Lockhart. Why are they taking Patrick away, why?? He was the best looking guy on that whole show! I guess this means Hope's baby will end up being Bo's, like we didn't know that was coming anyway. At least I still have E.J. to look at. I do like that the direction is going in the way of the "old" Days. Lots of fun there. I'm very disappointed that Jason Cook, who plays Shawn Douglas, is leaving the show. He has taped his last episode. I think I will have a hard time accepting anyone else into this role, but I said the same thing when Martha Madison took over as Belle, and now I love her so much more than Kirsten Storms. A new murder storyline seems to be in the works, let's hope it goes better than the Salem Stalker thing from a couple years ago.
And on to Passions...I don't like them making Julian bad again. I loved nice Julian!!! But with Alistair dead, they have to do something I guess. Spike isn't cutting it.
I found more silver hairs today, all in a little group near the part in my hair, directly on top of my head. At first I thought it was particularly shiny strands of highlights, but then I realized my highlights are way past due for a touch up.
Sorry about the mess today, with the whole template deal. I went back to the site where I picked up the pretty template (that I SO WISH would work), and I am not the only one who had the sidebar at the bottom problem. I wish I understood why when I switched over to a different blogger template from the actual blogger website that it did the same thing? I guess it's just not time to change yet!
Back to the old template for now.
I just can't figure out how to fix the new template I tried to put up. It was great, but wouldn't work. Then I switched it to a regular blogger template and THAT didn't work, grr. Ah well. Putting the finishing touches on this template and I guess I'll keep it.
Ignore the mess, working on the template and having trouble
I can't get my side bar where it's supposed to be. Or rather, I figure out how to get it where I want it and all my posts go wonky. Any advice? I'll try to have this fixed soon. Any suggestions would be helpful. In the meantime I will be cleaning syrup and peanut butter up off of my hardwood floors. Of all the times....
I found my first gray hair today
And I plucked it out and saved it to show DH. I put it in the medicine cabinet. It was such a lovely silvery color...And it just served to remind me that since my last birthday I am moving closer to 30 than 20. In fact, I realized this a couple months ago, after getting drunk on cheap margaritas at our favorite Mexican restaurant (they're only $1.50 on Fridays). I was in the bathtub crying to DH who was sitting in the floor listening to me go on and on about how I was getting close to 30, and married with two kids and next my hair would turn gray...And I was right, lol. I have had gray hairs in the past, in high school. My mom would come up to me and pluck one out with an evil glint in her eye. Then it was a novelty, now it's serious business. I dye my hair anyway, so it's no big deal. And neither is turning 30. I'm not one to be vain about my age, ppl assume I'm older than I am anyway. Not because of the way I look, they'd guess me about right, but because of all I've been through in this short life so far. Because of the darkness of the circles under my eyes, because I'm way too cynical sometimes. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and my life could be a heck of a lot worse, but oh the masks we wear, and we do wear them well.
Look where I found L this afternoon...
After I finished thanking God, Allah, heck even L.Ron Hubbard, that he was ok and didn't go in head first, I snapped a picture. Hysterical laughter turned to tears and lots of hugging...and a bath. But at least the toilet was clean and flushed when he decided to take a dip. He just climbed up on X's step stool, and climbed in I guess. X forgot to shut the bathroom door. Oh the things I have to worry about each day!
Ok, had to come back and add this
I just checked my email and saw something from HotBlack Connection, titled HotBlack Ladies...Do these spam people not check demographics? I'm not a lesbian, sorry. I like lesbians, I have friends who are, but I, personally, am not one...Therefore I am not interested in hot, black, ladies...although I will be sure to pass this on to any single male friends I may have. LOL. I got one about Asian girls once too, hmm...I guess Hot White Chicks doesn't have the mystique Asian does, does it? It doesn't sound as magical or sexy. And on that note, why say Hot Black Ladies, why not Gorgeous Nubian Princesses or something? Probably b/c some of the scummy guys looking at it aren't really all that interested in things being TOO magical and sexy...just nude, right? I didn't open it so I assume it's porn. If it's a dating service thing, I can't see any well educated, self respecting black OR Asian women listing themselves on something so tacky sounding. But, I guess you can be a lady in the street and a freak in your own house...
Don't get your hopes up...
Not feeling too witty today.
So I settled on a book to read, My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult. I'm hooked. It's about a 13 year old girl who was basically born for one purpose - to be a constant donor for her Leukemic
sister: blood, bone marrow, organs, etc...She gets tired of having no choice in the matter and sues her parents for medical emancipation. She isn't just an ordinary sibling, she was a "designer baby", one of several embryos tested for a perfect match. It's intriguing and sad, and well written. I was planning to hate this lady's writing, but this book is good. I hate the character of the mother, hate her. Anyway, it kind of fits with the post I did about stem cell research the other day. This book is about the part I don't agree with. In my opinion, having a baby to help a sibling by giving cord blood is one thing, having one to be a constant resource to help the other child...with a complete disregard for this child's health(mental and physical) and well-being is wrong. I would even consider it a form of child abuse. Can you imagine the mental strain at knowing you are the only person who can help your sibling, and having zero choice in the matter? No control over your own health, your own destiny, with a parent who is willing to risk your life for the other child?
We took the boys to the park today. The city completely remodeled the whole thing. Leveled it and put in all new equipment. It was about time,as the old equipment was older than I was and in poor shape. The new stuff is NICE and there's so much for the kids to do. X was having a blast, running around and climbing. I have to say, my kids have excellent motor skills. But I still had about 5 heart attacks thinking he was going to fall, but he didn't even come close to falling,lol. Nervous mother syndrome, and I've got it bad! L was sleepy and sat in the stroller for the most part, but I did take him down a couple of slides on my lap. I was surprised, those slides were fast! He was so cute, laughing hysterically when we got to the bottom.
I don't know that I've ever clarified the initials I use. X is my three year old and L is my one year old. DH is message board speak, it means "dear husband", but if you're mad I guess it can mean something else, lol. To be honest, when I started on message boards for the first time, it was the August 2003 Expecting Club, and I thought it meant Designated Hitter, like in baseball, as a way to describe the husband/boyfriend/whatever that had gotten the women pregnant. LOL. Now my expecting club is the August 2003 Playgroup, and we've been together for almost 4 years...it will be 4 years in late Nov/early Dec. I also participate in a July 2005 Playgroup, but I'm not as involved in that one. Wow, what a ramble, when all I wanted to do was explain what the initials I use for my family mean. Well, now you know...more than you wanted to probably.
Here's hoping I feel more entertaining tomorrow!!
Photo of the Week
I'm not sure what the point of this photo is, but man, that's a lot of Pringles.
New Music Monday songs are posted in the sidebar
And we have for your listening enjoyment:
--I'm in Love with a Stripper, by T-Pain. Yes, it is a real song, if you don't giggle or choke on your drink at least once while listening to it, you have no sense of humor. I think it's supposed to be a love song...if I were a stripper I know I'd be flattered.
--Put your records on by Corinne Bailey Ray. Great song. simple as that.
--Maybe I'm Amazed by Paul McCartney. For the sap in me.
--Wish you WEre Here by Pink Floyd...no reasoning needed, it's Pink Floyd.
And finally...
--When I Come ARound by Green Day. Takes me back...
Excuse the typing errors, I don't feel like fixing them all at this time. Enjoy this week's selections!!
Congratulations in the world of sports go to...
--ANDY RODDICK!!!!!! for winning the Western & Southern Financial masters series event in Cincinnati today. It's about time!
--Tiger Woods, for winning his 12th major title in the PGA Championship today.
--Matt Kenseth for winning the Nascar Nextel Cup event in Michigan today, and Dale Earnhardt, Jr for winning the Busch series event yesterday.
--The Yankees for basically beating the "sox" (teehee) off the Red Sox throughout this most recent 5 game series.
So there, there's the "Sports" this blog title alludes to, that I often happen to forget! My DH was hurting for tv time, as I took it up with tennis, cars, and balls of varying assortment.
I survived grocery shopping
And I'll have you know, I didn't roll my eyes at anyone, creepy or otherwise. I had my eye on the prize, totally focused and out of there in less than an hour.
I got our big cat, Gwen, a collar, because she's been going outside lately. Our last two cats were kidnapped when we started letting them outside. Our neighbors stole them when they moved...they even left a note in our mailbox, "Hey we took your cats, our daughter liked playing with them". No, I am not kidding. So even though a collar won't keep her from getting kidnapped, it at least lets ppl know she has a home. I need to go pick up her name/address tag next week. She is HATING her collar, and it's hilarious. It has a little bird-scaring bell on it, and it's scaring HER. When she walks and it jingles she freaks out and turns around like something is following her. It was worth the money just for the entertainment value. Fozzy is still too small for a collar, but his day is coming....I think I will post pics of them soon. I have some old ones, but Foz is teeny tiny in them.
I have been thinking a lot lately about stem cell research. Our state has a bill on the November ballot on the subject, and I keep getting negative propaganda in the mail. It makes me so mad! Warning, about to launch into a rant on a controversial subject.
First of all, let me say right off that I am pro-choice. Now, when I say I am pro-choice, I mean I support the right of a woman to have an abortion, but I don't condone using it as a form of birth control. I say this b/c it ties in to a lot of debates on stem cells. As far as stem cell research in and of itself goes, I have a hard time with anyone thinking it's wrong. Why is it wrong to try and cure horrible diseases? The loss of one is more important than the loss of many? Tell that to our soldiers and all of the hostages in the Middle East...sorry, I digress. Anyway, in the case of embryonic cells used in SC research I see it like this. Isn't it better that some good come out of an abortion or unused embryos than them just being tossed in the trash? People keep using the argument, "Well maybe that baby would grow up to cure cancer". Well, maybe that embryo was meant to be used in stem cell research to CURE CANCER. If a woman is going to have an abortion anyway, why not turn it into as much of a positive as possible? If a woman pursuing fertility treatments is finished having children, but still has embryos in cryogenic storage that will just be thrown out, why not use them for something good? Our governor is young and has just had a child. He has a new anti-SCR ad out that says something like, "value the life of an innocent fetus..." and he and his wife are sitting there holding their new son. Now, what if that little boy is suddenly diagnosed with a disease that could be cured using SCR? What then? You'd better believe if the technology was available he'd be all over it, anything to save his son. So why not save the millions of others out there who are sick NOW, who will get sick in the future?
This rant kind of came out of nowhere, but I have been thinking about it so much lately, I had to get it out somewhere. My DH is tired of hearing about it, LOL.
Fly your freak flag, it's Friday
| You Are 28% Paranoid Schizophrenic |
You're pretty grounded, though you have your occasional paranoid moments.
Just make sure to ignore those voices in your head! |
--Bad mother moment of the day so far (12:52pm): I lied to my three year old. I ate a bowl of ice cream, the last we had, while he was in the bedroom playing. He came out before i'd taken it to the dishwasher. "What's that, ice cream?", he asks. "It's an old bowl from the other day...I found it under the couch and forgot to take it to the kitchen." What a bad lie, what a bad mommy...but it saved him asking for any ice cream.
--So what is all this tennis I've been watching? It's the Western and Southern Financial Group Masters series event in Cincinatti. Just in case anyone was wondering. It is part of the summer hardcourt season, called the US Open series, which is a North American "road trip". The actual US Open in New York starts a week from Monday.
--From now on I will do a new music Monday thing, and change out the songs in my sidebar. If you are having trouble getting them to play, you have to click the actual "play" arrow on the left, not the whole thing. At least that's how it works for me. I sat there forever the first night I posted them trying to get the darn things to work.
--We have been out of trash bags for two days, and instead of going to the store to get more, we have just been using Walmart bags. This is sad for two reasons: I refuse to go to WM two nights in one week, and also because we actually have enough bags in the house to use for this purpose. Because obviously it takes several wal mart bags to equal a trash bag. But when you live in a town this size, your options are limited. We have two regular grocery stores in town, but their prices are consistently 10cents (at least) higher on nearly every item. When you're shopping for a family of four on a VERY limited budget, you've gotta do what you've gotta do...so that means Wally World.
--More interesting post tonight...I hope. Maybe something fun will happen on my weekly pilgrimage to Wal Mart.
Infotainment
What is the deal with my addiction to E! and VH1? I just found myself watching the first hour of E! True Hollywood Story: Full House. No, I am not joking. HOw do these channels make shows like this appealing? I think I could watch Behind the Music: Microphone maintainance, or E True Hollywood Story: Pet Rocks, and be enthralled. I'm just as bad about the I Love The [insert decade] series. I should be a comentator on those shows, it would be the perfect job for me. How does a person get hired to do that? Let me know and sign me up, brother!
I read a little "news" story today about a dentist who made gold caps for his cat's teeth. The poor cat looked so disgruntled...I believe the headline was, "Cat gets blinged out grill" or some such. The guy said he did it for "fun" and to "strengthen his cat's teeth". Yeah, right. He did it to get his own news blurb on msn.com! Speaking of looking for publicity, I also watch Made on Mtv (yeah, yeah, I know!) and there always seems to be a moment on that show when the geeky kid being made into whatever approaches his/her crush. The crush then usually says yes to the date, or whatever is being asked of him/her. I always swear they only say yes to be on tv. And then I feel bad, b/c why is the Made person not realizing that? Crush-person has never spoken to them before, and suddenly they're wanting to go out with Made-person? Get a clue! The fall lineup really needs to start so I can watch a show with substance...like America's Next Top Model (yes, I said this to be funny, but actually love that show). In reality, I can't wait for Las Vegas, Surface, Gilmore Girls and the Amazing Race, as well as a few new shows I've been seeing promos for.
I have only seen two episodes of Days and Passions this week, once again I've been distracted by tennis. I'm not sure too much is happening right now anyway. It's amazing how long I have been watching this show...since before birth. My mom watched, every babysitter I have ever had watched it...it's my destiny, lol.
Would it hurt my cats to give them a tic tac? My little boy cat Fozzy could really use one. Just wondering...
Yesterday I watched my favorite Elvis movie...
which is Girl Happy. DH made fun of me, but I said, "Hey, you've got to honor the king this week, you just have to." He said, "then watch a rerun of Las Vegas". Once when he was a kid his mom took him to Graceland, and they took a tour of the Lisa Marie (it's an airplane), and around the doorway they have this thing called an Elvis fan detector...it goes off every so often, the claim is it goes off when a true Elvis fan walks through. It went off when he went through it, and his mom was so mad she didn't talk to him for an hour. She was mad b/c it didn't go off when she walked through. Now you know what I have for an MIL. My best friend from high school and I went to Graceland the first spring break of our freshman year in college. It was pretty fun. The house really isn't all that impressive, in fact it's pretty small and delightfully tacky, but the ambiance is amazing. And then you go into the rooms with all of his awards and costumes, movie posters, etc...It will take your breath away. You just stand there looking around in awe.
The Yankees and Red Sox are starting another 5 game series soon. I realized that this blog has sports in the title, and pretty much all I've been talking about is tennis...I just haven't got to watch a lot of baseball this summer, I'm out of the loop. Derek Jeter is getting his own mens toiletry line with Avon. It all starts with his new fragrance, Driven. Go ahead, feel free to giggle. I did, and I'm a big DJ fan.
Here's the link to my radio blog playlist
It's ever evolving.
http://www.radioblogclub.com/fav/0/919472/0
I'm freaking out a little...
Over the last three weeks I have been feeling funny...sick to my stomach, crampy, eating like a pig, face broken out...Everywhere I look I am reading things about people being pregnant, people being afraid of getting pregnant. Perhaps I just have one heck of a case of couvade. I have felt like this exactly twice in my life. 9 months later I got a baby boy out of the deal.
What are the odds? This would be the THIRD time I've gotten pregnant on birth control. First the pill, then the depo shot, this time I have a IUD. I would have to be some kind of medical anomaly. AF is due this weekend, please God let it come!! I told DH if I am, the day I'm released from the hospital, he can go get snipped and clipped before we head home. Everyone hope that I am only picking up on other people's paranoia.
Anyway, on a different note...
I was sad to see Zayra go on Rock Star tonight. I'm ready for Patrice to go home. She's like a poor man's Alanis Morrisette or something. The voice, the look...every week I am surprised no one calls her out on it. She is bo-ring. Dilana was awesome as usual, very cool that she was chosen to sing the first Supernova song...but I didn't really like the song.The guys keep going on about how some of the people aren't being rock and roll enough, then they play a song that sounds pretty pop to me.
Hooray on the arrest in the JonBenet Ramsey case. It's about time, but if the guy was in Thailand, it's no wonder it took so long. I guess we can be thankful he is now in custody, and didn't get swept away in the tsunami...but who knows if he was even there then. What I heard on the news was that his DNA matched what they found on JB's body, and that he knows details of the case previously unreleased to the media. It's just sad that Patsy had to die before justice was served.
I also have to add that Roger Federer was beaten today, wahoo! I really do enjoy watching him play, but it is getting old watching him win EVERY FREAKING MATCH he is in, unless he's playing my Rafa. So today's gold star goes to Andy Murray and coach Brad Gilbert. I'd like to see Andy M work his way into the top 10 by the end of the year. He's having a great summer. Andy Roddick made it through today also, thank goodness. He needs a good run. Perhaps we'll have a battle of the Andy's again. I think Murray leads in games between them though.
Winner in the gossip of the day category goes to Kate Hudson and Owen Wilson. Are they or aren't they? I was kind of rooting for Kate and Chris Robinson to go the distance.
Loser of the day is Justin Timberlake...who is he not taking shots at recently? He has so far insulted Kanye West, Taylor Hicks and Britney (but who hasn't, really?). He made a comment that he hopes Taylor Hicks doesn't have any skeletons in his closet, "God forbid he end up gay, and all those ppl in Mississippi that voted for him say, 'oh no, we voted for a queer'". Ahem, watch out there Juju. Aren't you supposed to be friends with Lance and support him? He might not like what that statement insinuates...being that Lance is from Mississippi. He has also recently said that he partakes in hardcore drugs on occasion. I think his publicist needs to keep this boy on a shorter leash.
Hopefully the week will get more interesting, I've been a dullard lately.
Listen to my music
Check the sidebar, and you can listen to some of my favorite music while my blog is up. Listen to Regina Spektor and Rufus Wainwright for now, I'll add more later. Enjoy!
I'm so smart!
| You Passed 8th Grade Science |
Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct! |
What kind of American English do you speak?
This was great, but where's the other 5%??
| Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 75% General American English |
| 10% Dixie |
| 10% Yankee |
| 0% Midwestern |
| 0% Upper Midwestern |
Once upon a soapbox...
Tonight my rant is about people who have children simply as fashion accessories. I have a friend who is constantly talking about how high maintainance her child is, how needy, how poorly behaved. Ahem...she's a THREE year old, what do you expect? This friend gets upset b/c taking care of her child takes away from her time on the computer, her time alone, etc...Well boo freakin' hoo. I don't feel sorry for this woman, I feel sorry for her poor child. I have been to their house, and this poor little girl is so timid, she's afraid to ask her mom for things. She will actually go up to her mom and say, "Mommy, I'm sorry to bother you but can I [fill in the blank]?? On the subject of potty training she says, "Can't I just hire someone else to do it?"
However, when they go out somewhere together she coordinates their outfits and acts like the mother of the year. It's sickening. She and her husband fight about it all the time. He has even suggested that after they have another (My DH and I gasp at the thought) that he stay home with the kids so they are actually treated like children.
I hate sounding self righteous, but there are just some things you have to accept with motherhood. Both of my kids were surprises. Both were conceived while on birth control (X while on the pill, L while on the depo shot), so we were shocked. But my life changed, ,my mindset changed, I changed. You have to put your selfishness aside and take into consideration that you are now responsible not only for yourself but for another human life. A human life that you created, that IS a part of you. Why wouldn't you want to take the best care of that little person? Some people say that where my kids are concerned I take the selfless thing too far, and maybe I do, but to me that is what being a mom is all about. Sacrifice. I'll have time to rediscover myself when they're older and less dependant.
I don't hold anything against moms who are better able to balance self vs. kids, but I do have something against moms who act like their kids are just an inconvenience, a cramp in their style. I'm not perfect, no one is. I strive to be Lorelai Gilmore and end up more like Kitty Foreman, but my kids are happy, healthy and loved. What more can you ask for?
Someone suggest some good fiction, please
I am in need of something new to read. I've read all the Alice Hoffman my library has, and even though I've read one Elizabeth Berg novel, I'm fighting getting another. Although at this point it seems the best bet. Some friends recommend Jodi Picoult, but I am afraid her novels are just going to be sappy with a sugar coated ending. Most recently I have read Wicked by Gregory Maguire, but am hesitant to pick up Son of a Witch, b/c I've heard mixed reviews. Thinking about trying one of his others.
Four books I'm currently considering: The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer, Empire Falls by Richard Russo, The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler, and Digging to America by Anne Tyler. Any thoughts on these would be appreciated. I like a story you can really be taken into, with beautiful prose...but nothing too easy and drecky, like Nicholas Sparks.
All I want to do is graduate high school, go to Yale, marry Christian Slater, and die
The movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer was on tv this morning, that's my favorite line. I LOVED that movie when I was younger!
Here's what's been on my mind today:
--Does anyone actually subscribe to those cell phone IM things, like where they send you jokes of the day or love tips? Who actually thinks they can learn to be a good kisser from a text message on their phone?
--When several movies or shows with the same actor or director come on tv, I always worry if that person has died. For example, last weekend we watched Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, and Big Fish. I was really worried about Tim Burton.
--Congratulations to Heather for winning Hell's Kitchen. I picked her from day one, yea!
--I noticed a few fleas on my cat, so I bought him some flea spray. It said the fleas would die within 5 to 10 minutes, and in addition to killing the fleas, it would make his coat shiny, soft and manageable. Well, most of the fleas died after the second dose of spray (9 hours after the first dose), and his coat is not soft, shiny OR manageable. In fact he looks pretty terrible, even after a good brushing. When he was wet he looked just like the kitten on the "Bad Hair Day" posters, lol. He also smells funny, and our other cat won't lay by him today.
***********************************************************************
Ok, I am adding on to this because I just did a little browsing around, clicking on my favorite thing, the next blog button, and realized something. I am a jerk. Since when did I become that really stuck up girl I hated in high school? I now AM that really stuck up girl. Everyone who is my age and actually acts it, I find ridiculous and embarrassing. I have developed some crazy superiority complex I guess. I'm sure this is just some kind of defense mechanism. I should be in therapy, but I am too self-centered for that. I'd rather stay in on a Friday night and watch Monk and Psych than do anything more strenuous that go to the grocery store. While at the grocery store I will roll my eyes at creepy men with frozen dinners in their carts, but share a nod at the women with the same. I am a sexist! Since when? I am like, Captain Equality for crying out loud. But to clarify, it's only the creepy guys I roll my eyes at. I am also embarrassed by MySpace. I have a friend who is currently going through a divorce. Her ex moved to the west coast, and has started saying he wants to fight for custody. She found out from his niece that he has a MySpace page, so we all went over to check it out...It says he likes to get drunk, and drive fast...and that he's been upwards of 100 mph on the open road. She saved it and printed it out for her lawyer. Take that! Then I started thinking, do actual adult people post crap like that? How juvenile, how ridiculous....how snotty can I be?
Cruise, Travola, Spielberg and Remini
They have been taken in. Have you?
You know, at first I was just going to make fun of Scientology,but after actually researching it, there's just way too much to make fun of. I'd like to be INFORMED on the subject I plan to mock...which I have learned makes it not so much fun. So forgive me please, but the below two posts will probably be then end of it. I had planned a funny post, and ended up RESEARCHING, which is really not what I want to be doing.
So here's the final word(s) on the matter:
--If you believe you can find your inner peace or reclaim your life by holding onto a couple of tin cans attached to a string, Scientology is for you!
--If you think psychiatry and psychiatrists are evil, but still want to follow the teachings of a book that started out as self-help...and is on the shelf near psychology books in Barnes and Noble, Scientology is for you!
--If you believe that 75 million years ago, some cracked out alien warrior caused the world to go to hell, but think those Hale-Bop comet guys in their shrouds and nikes were nuts, Scientology is for you!
--If you thought that John Travolta movie where he wore a lot of green alien make-up was totally awesome...well, you have bad taste in movies. But, it also means that: Scientology is for you!!
Photo of the week
Enjoy.
Preparing for a 3 year old's party...Yes, I am STILL talking about that
I just spent an insane amount of money on stuff for this party. I should be making treat bags and stuff, but instead I am blog hopping and listening to my little Xman tell me to click the orange publish button. "you've got to, mom, you've just got to click the orange button". Personally, I'm just thrilled to bits that he knows his colors.
On the plus side...I have the cake and cupcakes baked, will decorate tomorrow. I bought pre-rolled fondant and star shaped fondant cutters to decorate the cake in a spacey theme befitting Jimmy Neutron. Also have a little plastic Jimmy to stick on top of the cake. I'm still lamenting over the fact he chose a discontinued party theme, but again, thank you ebay for party supplies. So tomorrow I will make a recipe actually called, "grocery store frosting" and frost the cake. I just realized I no longer have a frosting spatula, I let X use it to dig in the yard. Oops. My reasoning behind giving it to him? When will I ever make an elaborate cake that needs to be frosted that smoothly?? Ahem. Eating my words. I'll use a butter knife and pray. Only two kids have RSVPed...I know several more are coming. If anyone out there is a parent with kids who get invited to parties, please, PLEASE RSVP. I have no idea how many treat bags to make, and bought several extra items. I am intelligently saving reciepts and not opening everything, but gee golly gosh it'd be nice to know HOW MANY FREAKING KIDS are going to show up tomorrow afternoon. Calming vibes requested. Ending here for the night...
Cultalicious
See post below regarding source credits, noted by numbers (1) and (2).
Wow. Learning about Scientology is probably one of the most entertaining things I've ever done. I currently have tears in my eyes from reading about Xenu(2), who is an alien leader who brought people to Earth in a rocket, put them in volcanoes and blew them up...their spirits then stuck to regular Earth people and started to cause trouble, wreak havoc, etc...This story is apparently taught only to high level Scientologists who have already dished out a lot of cash for the cause.What kind of crack are these people smoking? How does anyone leave one of the high level seminars after hearing this ridiculous story and STILL BE CONVINCED that this junk is the real deal??? L. Ron Hubbard wrote SCIFI. He even started a script about this Xenu guy. First of all, if this is really what happened on Earth (75 million years ago, no less) how did ol' L.Ron find out about it?? He apparently researched and mapped out where all this happened,at a great physical cost to himself. Oh puh-leeze. This story is an actual part of their "scripture". Is taught as fact, I guess. Everyone point and laugh.
Here is the direct link to the Xenu information. Seeing is believing.
More to follow as the days go by...
I'm an Auntie again!
My SIL and her husband had their second daughter today, hooray. They had a difficult time getting pregnant and suffered several miscarriages along the way. Their oldest is 10, and she is very excited. SIL and her husband were foster parents for several years and even won FP of the year once. Very excited for them!!
Songs that get stuck in my head...
Normally I will break into "Bicycle" by Queen at various times throughout the day...no idea why. However, I have started being plagued by "I write sins not tragedies" by Panic!at the disco. I do not like this song, it has like, three words in the whole darn thing. The video is cool, kind of Circus Gothica, but the song is making me crazy. I think I am developing a nervous tick over it. And trust me, I don't go out of my way to hear it, it's just EVERYWHERE. Maybe now that I vented about it, it will go away.
Blah!
Starting my research on Scientology...will do this in parts
So this morning I've been trying to read up on this ridiculous subject, and so far I think It would be much easier to down a cuppa poisoned koolaid than understand this mumbo jumbo.
The official Scientology website actually offers very little information. I found the most indepth and interesting things at Wikipedia's Scientology page.
So far, the best thing I've found is this quote from L.Ron Hubbard in a 1980 Reader's Digest article (source Wikipedia),
"If a man really wants to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion."
Here's my basic opinion on more mainstream religions vs. Scientology -- Even though monotheistic religions (Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism) are different, they share many characteristics, many of the same stories and beliefs that simply change with geography (thank you World Civ). They have valid and recognized doctrine that go back thousands of years, well into BC. Some of the same stories, fables, whatever you want to call them even date back to polytheism. So I'd say that has weight.Whether or not you are a believer in one God or a "messenger" (Jesus, Mohammed)or not I'd think it would be easy for even the most devout (lol) atheist to see the meaning in that,just from a historical viewpoint. I also think it would be easy for ANYONE to see that a "religion" concocted by a self-help and scifi writer would be a joke. I will try my hardest to give this a pro/con spin, but forgive me in advance if I just laugh like a maniac that anyone buys into L.Ron's little endeavor.
The links I posted above will probably be my two main sources and I'll just post them this once, although I will branch out and post other sources as I use them. The official site will be referred to as (1), and wikipedia as (2). This way I can site sources w/o contstantly typing in addresses and such.
This whole shebang will probably get started on Monday, as I have my son's birthday party to work on this weekend.
Character flaws...
Here are a few of mine.
--I will publicly mock anyone who watches Laguna Beach, The Hills (only way to make it worse is to spell it with a 'z'), or Big Brother,but defend to the death my watching of My Fair Brady, American Idol, and Rock Star.
--If I listen to Matthew McCaunaghey (sp???) speak, I feel my IQ drop...see, I can't even spell his name.
--I think I am turning into a hermit, I don't like meeting new people, I often feel like they are all idiots.
--I am very judgemental about how others raise their children.
All of these are terrible things, and occasionally I even feel bad about them...
I swear I am really a nice person on the whole, lol.
This was the best birthday ever, mom!!
Heehee...Because he's had oh so many to compare it with! We went ahead and gave X his gifts from us tonight instead of waiting til his party. He's been playing with playdoh for hours, with short intervals of Elefun thrown in on occasion. It's so fun to see how much joy simple things like that bring to his life. Ah, the innocence of a child.
Today my oldest baby is 3!
Happy Birthday, X!! Mommy loves you!!
Urban Faries
A friend of mine on my August 2003 Playgroup posted this, thought I'd share it with anyone who passed by the blog...
http://urban-fairies.com
Here's another on 3-D street art.
http://www.rense.com/general67/street.htm
Blinkie of the Week
I like the little chicken, it made me smile. Plus, it's true. It's not good to be a chicken. Do something brave this week!!!
What's been on my mind over the weekend...
--Best Week Ever had it's 100th episode. Pretty mediocre, but I was excited about the contest at Old Navy...you can win a chance to be on the show. This is my new goal, as I will finally be able to prove to everyone that I am cooler than they are.
--I'm a fan of the show Rock Star, and have decided that the reason Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro split is b/c he is constantly telling Brooke Burke how hot she is, and she's really not. Who does her wardrobe for that show?? It's terrible.
Anyway, Go Dilana and Toby!!
--There is a new show on SciFi called, So you want to be a Superhero (or something along those lines anyway, maybe I want to be a Superhero??). Stan Lee hosts and the person who wins gets a comic book and a SciFi movie about their character. Some examples of names are: Cell Phone Girl (unfortunately I'm not kidding), Major Victory(my personal fave), Monkey Woman, and Fat Mama. There are more, but I can't remember them. This show is a hoot.
--Word of the Week goes to Denny Hamlin, the driver of the #11 car in Nascar's Nextel Cup. In an interview he used the word "equivalates". The comment was something along the lines of, "good handling equivalates to a good lap" (he was talking about qualifying). Umm...I think he meant good handling is EQUIVALENT to a good lap. Nice job, Denny. Equivalates.
--Current favorite song: Everything is Alright by Motion City Soundtrack
--Words I swore I'd never use but do: pics, hottie (i gag and shiver everytime this word finds it's way into my head or comes out of my mouth), there's more but I can't think of them right now.
--Phrase I will never ever say unless it will save the world or my family: My bad. I HATE that, it makes me homicidal when someone says it.
Short Days of Our Lives Update...
x
x
x
In case anyone wonders why my posts have little x's at the beginning, it's because the little cursor mania thing covers up the first few lines of my posts, and it annoys me.
Anyway...
So I didn't get to watch a lot of Days this week, but here's what I think of what I did see. Austin and Carrie are bad, bad, bad. I now feel that Sami has no reason to tell her secret, Austin screwed up too!! Chelsea is still a bratty little bitch, but I'm also creeped out by Stephanie having a crush on Max. She knows he is her cousin (yeah, yeah, only by adoption), and at least Chelsea didn't at first. Told you the thoughts this week would be sparse!!
Passions -- I cannot wait until Jared finds out Theresa is in charge of the entire Crane empire. Also curious to see why he is so anti-Crane. Another interesting storyline is Kay getting her memory back. I'm betting Endora turns back time to fix Fox being cursed by Siren.
Next update will probably be Monday. I will then put into effect the "of the week" stuff. I will post the blinkie of the week, as well as my take on Scientology, and we'll see what else!!
Throughout the day I think of a million things to say, but when I sit down to type...
x
x
x
It all goes right out the window! Here are some randoms for the day.
--I am getting better at html. I found a tutorial that I'm liking a lot. I'm thinking of finding setting up a website somewhere to practice what I'm learning. I hope to learn how to make blog templates soon.
--Hillary Clinton said in a speech that Donald Rumsfeld should resign. I am hoping against hope that she wins the democratic nod for the presidency in '08, and not a war supporting dem like Lieberman.
--I think George W. should look at what he's doing. Just step back and be objective. His stand on this Iraq/Middle East junk is really causing problems for his administration. How many people have resigned or been let go during his two terms? IMO, that speaks volumes.
--I'm anxious for Gilmore Girls season 6 to be released on dvd.
--My children are sweet and cuddly, and I'd be lost without them.
Dear Anonymous...
To the person who keeps leaving the message, "Links you may like" in my comment boxes, PLEASE STOP. I'm not going to click the link. Heaven knows what I will see or what will happen to my computer. I'm not that dumb. Stop wasting my time and yours. Good night and good luck!
I did it!!
I figured out the html and fixed the links myself!! I know this is small time to most of you out here in blog land, but to me this is huge. I am so proud of myself!!!
I feel soooo old
...and worn down, and just plain old tired. DH is working two jobs so that I am able to stay home with the boys, but it's wearing on me more than him I think. Blah. Anyway, here's what's on my mind today.
--I'm currently reading "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire, and I'm loving it. What a great, fascinating book. I had all of L.Frank Baum's Oz series when I was younger, and it's fun to see how this takes elements from those and spins it into a prequel, telling about Elphaba's life. I'm afraid to see what makes her go bad, I am enjoying her character very much.
--I've missed Days almost every day this week, and I'm disappointed. Probably won't post my own thoughts this week because of that. Although I will say today, that I'm very mad at Austin and Carrie.
--X will turn 3 on Tuesday. I can't believe it! His party is the 12th and I'm DREADING it, and wondering why I decided to invite his friends, and not just family like usual. There could be upwards of 40 people there. Oi vay!
--For the party, I have decided that I will make the cake myself, and try to decorate in an outer space type theme. His overall party theme is Jimmy Neutron, which is discontinued. I don't like the cake decorations for it, which you can find on ebay, so I'm going at it on my own. Send prayers.
--Upcoming fun on this blog...I plan to take on Scientology. What a hoot that should be. Tommy can you hear me?
Editing to add some things...
First, I added a new cursor and new links. So I have managed to figure out how to link text, but not pictures. I hope to figure that out and soon you will be able to click on the images in my link section and actually GO to the site, lol.
Secondly, yea for me for figuring out how to even put a picture there by using html. Yippee!!
New Template
I'm really liking it. The only thing bothering me is how sharp the right side edge is. I need a new profile photo because it cut my youngest son out of the picture. I'll see about fixing that in a little while. I'm enjoying messing with the templates b/c it's giving me a little insight into html, which is one reason I started this blog in the first place, to practice html skills.
Anyway, I'll also update my links too, and put some fun ones there, although I may leave wikipedia b/c it's really fascinating (although some of it is inaccurate, i.e. the Jimmy Neutron stuff. Sheen did not get left back, he is not 12, he is 10 like the others, as seen in the episode "Sheen's Brain").
So......
Todays thoughts on various things...
--Mel Gibson getting arrested, anti-semitic allegations, etc...Um, I don't think this will hurt his career. I mean, I don't agree with anti-Semitism AT ALL, any sort of racism or bigotry is unacceptable IMO, but he was drunk after all. Lord knows I've said some crazy, crazy thing when I would drink. My 19th year was a rough one, lol. So let's let him say his apologies, and let God do the judging. It's not our job.
--Andy Roddick out of the Legg Mason tournament in D.C. Dang it he's HURT again. What a rough season. It's ok Andy, I have high hopes for you in the US Open this year.
--The new Justin Timberlake song, "Sexyback". I have only heard it once, but I didn't really like it. It sounded like he was singing into a tin can, didn't sound like his voice. Weird. I felt like I should be holding a glow stick and tripping on X in a blacklit dance club. Perhaps it will grow on me...
--Rihanna's song, "Unfaithful". I like it in general, but it makes me sad. Reminds me of when my husband and I were just dating and I cheated on him with a loser from the store I worked at. So I get slightly depressed. But otherwise it is a pretty song except for the weird, "I don't want to be.....a murderer" part. Too over the top for me, thanks. What an odd lyric.
--I want to rant about the band Simple Plan. They are like musical suicide. I hate all these fakey fakey pop punk losers whose songs all have the same chords. You can tell a Simple Plan song by the first three notes. Give me pre-Enema of the State Blink-182, or post Take off your Pants and Jacket. But I will give a pardon to Fall Out Boy, like them a lot. "Sugar We're Goin' Down" is regularly stuck in my head, especially since they are using it in promos for that movie "Zoom".
Format
Ok, I think I'm going to add some structure here to make things easier on me when I post.
Things I plan to do:
--Have a photo or blinkie of the week something to look at, make fun of, or etc...
--Do one thoughts on or update about Days of Our Lives and Passions per week, probably on Fridays. This may change if a huge story breaks in the middle of the week.
--One real news story each week, unless something major happens. I'll post my thoughts on it, and links to sites, news, articles to fill it out.
--I will follow the US Open when it begins, posting news, headlines, upcoming matches and times, player profiles, etc...Focus will be on the Americans in the draw as well as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt and a few others.
Probably more little fun things thrown in, as well as my normal long, rambling, mostly pointless posts. Since today is Wednesday, the more organized format will start on Monday night.
