what day is it?

Yesterday we were sorting through her fresh school supplies. Can I take a moment to lament being a college parent and the frustration of trying to find the things she needs since it’s so PICKED OVER by now?! Gee whiz.

Anyway..we were looking through her supplies and talking about what comes ‘tomorrow’ (which is today), as much for me as for her.  The conversation went like this…

Me: And tomorrow it’s art and math.

Her: And Duck Dynasty!

Me: Yes, that too.

Priorities people. Priorities. : )

(It’s not basic math, but we call all math classes ‘math’)

a lack of wisdom

It’s been a rough week. My girl had her wisdom teeth out Tuesday. And it’s been as much fun as you’d think.

She’s been handling eating weird food and being in pain pretty well.

I noticed bruising yesterday.

She looks very chipmunky. If that’s a word. Well, even if it’s not. I made it up cuz it’s true. Chipmunky chipmunky chipmunky. : )

The first night, we both crashed on the sofa bed in the living room, so I’d know if she got up or was in pain.

But from then on, I let her sleep in her bed and *I* slept on the sofa bed so *I* could get up in the night and give her meds and not disturb the hubs. And after four nights of being up at all hours with her, I see even more clearly why young women are the ones to have babies, because I have been a zombie. I can’t even fathom the months and months I stumbled along hanging by a thread when my kids were babies. How did I do it?!

But since the Mr didn’t have to get up for work today, I decided to sleep in my real bed. Delightful I have to say. My sofa bed is ok, because I replaced the mattress with a much better one. But after a long night, it’s still a sofa bed. Clearly I was sleeping hard and having a little trouble remembering exactly where I was because…

…I woke up at 1am, popped my head up and said “what are you doing here?!” to the hubs. And then I got my bearings and said “oh yeah, I’M here” and giggled and went back to sleep. He has no memory of our little one sided chit chat in the wee hours.

But he got a kick out of it this morning.

Can’t decide who is lacking more wisdom. The girl…or me. 

guacamole

I was flippin’ channels the other day and caught a bit of Hungry Girl on tv. I don’t watch cooking shows much, but the fact that she was doing Mexican food made me perk up. I looove Mexican food.

And here is a true confession….I hadn’t ever had guacamole until a few years ago. I watched Alton Brown make it on Good Eats and decided to give it a whirl. And YUM! I lament all the years of going to Mexican food places and shoving ‘that nasty green stuff’ aside. Oh, what I missed!

But anyhoo, back to Hungry Girl. She was trying to make guacamole less fattening. (IMO guac is fine just like it is…replacing a healthy fat with a carb doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.) So! She put some mashed up green peas in with some avocado to make guacamole.

I just about died.

Talk about messing up some perfectly good food. Peas? Really?!

I do hereby promise that I will never EVER ruin a perfectly good dish by adding peas. Especially my beloved guacamole.

The end.

Pass the chips. ; )

spring break in our rear view mirror

We all survived spring break. It was a pretty low key non-event around here. But we managed to squeeze in a little fun. : )

My girl turned 18. She had a small get together with her besties.

I made cupcakes. And there was no licking involved on my part. For the first time. Ever. And I didn’t eat one either. These aren’t the prettiest cupcakes but they are a recipe of my mom’s that this bunch seems to enjoy. So instead of a bundt cake, I made cupcakes. And I sent the leftovers home with everybody so they weren’t staring at me. Crisis averted. : )

One of the girls made her this pretty bookmark. This girl is a reader herself so it makes me smile that she gave my girl a bookmark for her birthday. It’s very pretty. Good job!

She could use it in Pride and Prejudice. She was having to read that for school. And this sort of book is not her thing really. (even though she finished reading it last night and ended up liking the ending, so it’s all good) But the girls also gave her this…

…which I think is a hoot. The light is awful because the flash is so obnoxious that I shot a lot of pics without it. : / But the book on the left is P&P and the book on the right is P&P and Zombies. Cracked us up! A fun little gift while she was trudging her way through the real thing. : )

They also did some things you can do now that you’re 18 kinda stuff. One of the things they did was a mock-wedding. This is the ‘bouquet’ being tossed. The girls made tissue paper flowers for fun and used these in their ‘wedding’. It was a hoot!

The party was fun. She had a great time getting together with the girls and I had fun planning it and listening to them laugh. : )

Also during spring break, my girl went for her driving test. Well, nerves got the best of her and she drove into a parking lot instead of making a right turn. And got so flustered, she didn’t do well on the rest of the test. She did not pass. (she went again a few days later and passed with flying colors, justsoyaknow) She was crushed and a little embarrassed but handled the situation with grace. I was thankful for her attitude and it was a learning time for her…even though she was disappointed at the time.

We drove to a podunk town near us to order her a class ring. It is one of the things about school she was missing and really wanted one. So we found a company that could make that happen even though she home schools. So that was a fun little outing.

On a funny note…we have had trouble with our potty flapper for ages. I can’t tell you how many we’ve gone through. But his time the hubs came home with something different.

Isn’t it cute? It’s kinda like being at a bed and breakfast every time I flush. Or not. ; )

My garden seems to be taking off. I have baby strawberries.

And the kale is getting bigger. And everything is really doing well and growing. And the squirrels are doing their best to dig it all up. Will be making a fence’y kinda deal pronto!

I had to take the cat to the vet Monday. She had a weird tummy. Come to find out she had lost THREE POUNDS. Gah. So the vet did a bunch of blood work on her and she’s got high thyroid. So we’re doing meds for that. She’s acting better but not eating as much now. I may end up trying to find something herbal for her if she doesn’t start eating soon. She is on antibiotics also which can cause her not to want to eat. The thyroid med doesn’t taste bad and it’s not hard to get it down her. But the antibiotic tastes bitter and she foams at the mouth with every dose. Which is gross, in case you didn’t know. ha. So it will be a long week or so til that’s over. Ugh. Poor kitty. Aaaand in a strange move I still don’t understand, she slug slobber onto my lip last night. Poor me. : p

Well I think that about covers all the major activities of spring break and beyond. Hope you are all doing well, my friends. : )

strawberries

The other day when I went to Home Depot the nursery to pick out my plants for the garden, I ran into a friend that works there. She has worked there for what seems like forever, but I never run into her because I usually go to ‘the other’ Hope Depot in my neighborhood. (closer, less traffic etc) But on this day, I needed a big ole honkin’ bag of vermiculite and ‘my’ store was out. So we made the trek over to the other store to pick up my soil amendment and get some plants.

The instant I saw Mrs K, we both just locked eyes and I immediately made my way to her and we hugged in the longest hug I’ve shared in a very long time. We go way back. She kept both of my kids in mothers day out and we used to go to the same church. She also used to baby sit my little guy for me while he was sick so I could grocery shop, since I couldn’t take him with me. And she had my girl in MDO when she got the tip of her finger slammed in a door (another little kid closed it on her..no negligence on the school’s part) and it cut off her finger print. I frantically arrived at the school to find Mrs K holding my screaming, flailing girl with her blood all over the both of them. I reminded her of that the other day…good times. : )

But anyway, as we got ‘caught up’ chatting among the plants, we quickly discovered  that we are both on a journey to remain healthy. She has stayed the course for a long time and at 62 is proud to say that she doesn’t take any medications. Because of her healthy lifestyle choices. And since I am a slow learner, I am navigating this world AFTER a major illness, unlike her. But we both excitedly chatted about what we do, what we eat, how much we enjoy it…and how much we wish others could see what their toxic choices are doing to them.

She later commented on my basket of transplants and said I should have lots of good food. Among other things, I got 2 varieties of strawberries, two plants each. And it has nagged me ever since. So a couple of days ago, I went back to the store (to her store..and chatted with her some more) and got two more strawberry plants (yet another variety) and planted them too.

Yesterday I went to a farmers market she told me about and they had early strawberries so I grabbed a small basket. I told the girl about them and instructed her to eat SOME of them for lunch while I went to the gym. When I got home, she told me she ate all “the big ones”.

Gee thanks, kid.

Makes me glad I got those extra two plants. ; )

Maybe a need a couple more.

a sweet note to my girl

Dearest Daughter,

You do not have to get a new plate when you go to the stove for seconds.

This is not Golden Corral.

Love,

Your Mom aka “the one who does the dishes”

it’s the heat

I think I’ve mentioned it before…it’s never good when my kid comes to my bed at 1:30 am and does the ‘holler whisper’ to let me know there is a problem.

And last night was not an exception.

Mom!

What?

I gecko just fell from my ceiling.

Where did it land? (I’m thinking…her head…her bed…)

A gecko just fell from my ceiling.

I heard that…WHERE DID IT LAND?  (what part of where did it land could you not understand, kid?)

Oh, on the floor.

Oh. Go back to bed. It’s fine. It will not bother you…go to sleep.

I heard a rather loud THUD a few minutes later and knew what had happened. It involved a text book….RIP little gecko. : /

Hubs went in this morning to move the book and take our dearly departed little friend to his final resting place.

Dear Summer,

I am officially sick of you. I am so tired of hot weather. And insects and lizards. And not being able to go outside lest a mosquito bite put me in the hospital (or worse)…I’m talking to YOU, West Nile Virus. I am so tired of not being able to enjoy being outside, or inside for that matter. Going on vacation just ruined me for the rest of our summer, because the weather was just so nice. I want to move. Thanks Colorado for being so dad-gum perfect in the summer.

Signed…Burned Out in Texas

freaky Friday

I was doing fine this morning. Minding my own business and everything.
Just finished the second ‘leg’ of my twice weekly grocery store journey.
First Walmart, for the boring stuff…I think I had a bathroom rug on my list this week along with tortillas and assorted other odds and ends.
And then I headed to our local health food store to load up on all the goodies I can get there. The most ‘exotic’ thing on my list today was peppermint essential oil to make lip balm. Along with lots of veggies and a bottle of vitamins.
Easy peasy….I do this all the time. So I got everything loaded in and headed home and I all of the sudden noticed this buzzing sound coming from inside the van. It totally freaked me out! I couldn’t see it but I could hear it. Loud and clear.
And then I saw it…crawling on the dashboard. A giant bee! With a stinger and everything. OHMIGOSHOHMIGOSHOHMIGOSH!!!
I quickly pulled into a parking lot and flew hopped out of my van just as the silly thing landed on my leg. Thankfully I was able to brush him off before he ‘got’ me.
So I hopped back in my van, huffing and puffing from all the crazy. And made my way home.
This post could have alternately been titled unusual ways to get my cardio in. Cuz I totally did.
This counts, right?

where the wild things are

One day last week, I I was getting going on my day…and one of the things I do before time gets away from me is exercise.

I have one of these little dealies and it hooks on the door and I know the things I’m supposed to do every day. (I have a trainer) Anyway, I finished using it and opened the door so I could detach it and toss it in the corner. And then I plopped down on the floor to do some crunches and something else that I have no idea what they are called.

And while I was mid-crunch…I heard it.

And so did that cat.

We both zero’ed in on one spot on the wall right above the place I tossed my equipment when I took it off the door.

Scratching. In the wall.

So I did what any reasonable woman would do who is about to leave the house. I closed the door to the office so we couldn’t hear it.

But I was left with a little problem. I needed to tell the girl what was going on because I put a call in to the bug man to figure out what we needed to do (if anything). And he might call while I was gone. And I really didn’t think he wanted to be the one to tell her there might be something lurking in the walls.

And she might wonder why the door was shut. So I had to tell her. And the conversation with a little bit like this…

Me: So yeah…I heard this scratching a little bit ago inside the wall..INSIDE the wall..not ya know..inside the HOUSE…and um…I called the bug man to see what to do. But it’s not IN the house so don’t freak out {while I’m thinking…I’m freaking out… I hope it can’t get in the house}.

Her: A rodent? In the wall?

Me: Yeah…but it can’t get in. It’s in the wall. We’ve had this happen before and whatever it was figured out how to get back outside. {That sounds like a good story.}

Her: But what happens if it does?

Me: It won’t. I promise. {I really hope it doesn’t get in while I’m gone.}

Her: But what if it does?

Me: It won’t. {I don’t think it can..hm can it?}

Her: But what if it does?

Me: It won’t. {I hope it doesn’t, cuz it would freak us both out.}

Her: But what if it does?

Me: It won’t. I’m going to run my errand and it will be fine while I’m gone. I promise. {I hope nothing happens while I’m gone because I’ll feel like I dog if it does.}

And then I left.

And just so ya know…nothing happened.  And whatever-it-is seems to have figured out how to get out.  Disaster averted.

But maybe I should have just left well enough alone and let the bug man tell her about it. It would have been easier.

For me. ; )

that look in her eye

We’ve had a lot going on this week. Hubs folks have been visiting so that means I’ve made a few meals and had a few things to do to entertain the troops.

The other day I was about to run out the door to do an errand and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the cat litter box needed to be scooped something fierce. Usually I just do it myself so I don’t have to listen to ‘it’.

And I think all you moms know exactly what ‘it’ is.

But I was in a rush, so I asked the girl to pwetty pwease take care of it for me. And then I passed through the house a couple of times before I walked out the door. As I walked past the bathroom, I could hear the grumbles…this is gross…I don’t like doing this…this is not any fun. (you know the drill)

So I replied…hmm, that’s odd. It’s loads of fun when *I* do it.

I am pretty sure there was some stink-eye-shootin’ in my general direction.

vacuum troubles

I’ve been cleaning house today. Nothing huge…just the usual. Well ok, maybe a little more than the usual. I dusted. With spray and everything.

But things came to a screeching halt when my vacuum cleaner wasn’t working correctly. So I did what I always do and took apart the beater bar cover thing and cleaned all the people hair from around it. Sometimes that alone is enough to keep it from working. I got it put back together. On my second try. But it still wasn’t working.

I stared at it for a while and finally decided to call Dyson and talk to them about it. The nice lady showed me where the filter is. We’ve had this vacuum cleaner for a little more than 7 years and guess what?! I didn’t know where the filter was. And it’s supposed to be cleaned every few months. OOOOOPSY!

So! I got that all cleaned and let it air dry in front of the fan. I will spare you the scene of a laundry basket upside down propped up on one end with a stack of books and the fan blowing right on it. Patience is a virtue. That I don’t have.

I put it all back together a few minutes ago and it works. Yay. I was worried that something major was wrong and I really didn’t want to have to buy another one.

So the moral today…

1. Clean your filter more often than say…NEVER..and your vacuum cleaner will work great.

2. The only thing that is bad when it doesn’t suck is a vacuum cleaner. (thanks, I’ll be here all week)

The end. : )

ps..that is probably the first and last time I have ever blogged the word suck. Carry on..

get in the boat

Yesterday we went to the waterpark with a bunch of buddies. A fun time was had by all. No one came away red or even pink, thanks to adequate sunblock.

Unlike last week.

*insert PSA here*

I have been using Banana Boat products for years and have always enjoyed good protection with their products. But the line of Boat products I used the most left me sticky, which isn’t all that bad at the waterpark, but is messy and icky at a function that requires…say…regular clothes.

So I have been on the hunt for a better solution. I tried some Neutrogena stuff..and let me tell you, it was pricey! And I came away red more than once even though it said it was waterproof. So it was back to the Boat with us. But this time I tried something else in their line…and the girl and I both came away red last week. She got it worse than I did. And I felt like a dog for it.

So I did some research online and found that not all Banana Boat products are made equal. So I tried the Sport line (in the orange bottle) and neither of us were the least bit pink after yesterday. It is the same stuff that left me sticky “back in the day”, but I don’t think I was as sticky when I used it this time. I wonder if they’ve reformulated it or something. But anyhoo…one of those consumer rating/research places online gave Banana Boat Sport and No Ad Brand the best ratings.

(It also comes in a ‘face’ formula and it worked perfectly on both of us…with no burning eyes either!)

So get on the boat…the Banana Boat!

*end PSA*…and no, nobody paid me or gave me anything to say that. I just don’t want you burned like we were. It was so nice to just leave the park, wash the day off and be the same color I was at the start of the day. Woot!

As I said, a fun time was had by all. I had a particularly thrilling couple of moments when a spider when down my cleavage swim shirt and I began to wonder if I was gonna have go to into wardrobe malfunction to get the silly thing OUT. But thankfully I was able to finally flick the little guy out of there without scaring anybody around me or getting kicked out of the park.

So it was a good day indeed.

20 years

This week we had an anniversary.

Kind of a big one.

Twenty years! (Woot!)

This was our cake topper.

Isn’t it CUTE?! (I love Precious Moments!)

Happy anniversary to us. : )

I had to resist the urge to post video of the “Happy Anniversary song” from the Flintstones…cuz that’s what always pops into my head when I think about saying Happy Anniversary to somebody.

{resisting}

{resisting again}

Happy Friday, y’all.

There isn’t a song for that…not that I know of. If there was, I think we’d all know it!  : )

maybe that’s the simplest explanation

I feel like I can’t keep my thoughts straight these days.

I’m so scatterbrained.

I went to the bank the other day to cash a check and sat enjoying the pretty weather in the drive through. And then the little tube came back to me and I opened it to find my money.

And my credit card.

Evidently I sent that instead of my drivers license. Thankfully they know us at our tiny bank and I didn’t have any problems.

I felt so silly that I felt like I had to buzz the girl and thank her for giving me my money anyway…even without proper id. We both had a good laugh.

She blamed it all on daylight savings time.

I blamed it on spring break.

But inwardly I just blamed it on me being a doofus. 

You know you’re addicted to Disneyworld when…

She is doing school work to the theme of Soarin’ one minute…

 

…and The Carousel of Progress the next.

Loved this documentary style piece, by the way. Interesting to watch and includes some music.

You read about somebody else’s trip..more than once..and tear up both times.

You check the weather ‘there’ almost every day. *sigh*

You have a Disney pic for your desktop.

You notice hidden Mickeys around the house.

You check wait times every now and then just for fun.

And then you look down and remember you’re wearing an Orlando tshirt as you type. : )

It probably won’t be Disney this summer. We really need to take a car trip this year. We’ve done airplane trip$ three time$ in a row and it would probably be be$t to u$e the car for a change.

But we can’t decide what sounds fun though..other than Disney. Ideas?

my rusty radar (updated)

I’m here to tell you something.

When I wake up in the middle of the night to loud-ish whispers of…

“mom…mom…mooooom!”

(and yes, the sweet girl did that for what she said was “about five minutes” before I finally heard her and woke up…my mom radar is getting rusty.)

It’s never followed by anything good.

Ever.

That is all.

It was probably more like “A” minute instead of five, but whatever.

OK…NOW that is all.

Really. : )

ps..she’s not sick or anything...just a bug in her room.

the pink stuff

Strawberry frosting?

Not quite!

Working on the walls in the garage of our really old house so I can make them pretty again. Don’t worry..it dries white. 

I don’t want to think about what’s going to happen to this little cutie…

…and her new little pal on the other wall…

I need to think of something temporary to put in their places.  : )

chat

Miss Boo is enjoying so many things this year about her new school experience.

One of those things is CHATTING with other school mates.

It’s not uncommon to walk past her room and notice the chat window open and hear that tell- tale chime that says something was sent or received.

I’m glad she loves to chat and is enjoying the friendships they’ve created online. So as an ode to her new “hobby”, hubs made this cute video for her. Enjoy! : )

mini posts

Look a little closer. 

********

Why yes, as a matter of fact, I *am* a germaphobe in the kitchen.

********

Somebody’s excited about something. (and just so ya know, hubs drew in the glasses and scar!)

********

 

The end.

time for the news

In random news tonight…

I called Subway the next day and asked to speak to the manager. He didn’t act like he cared that much to hear about my issues. Why do I even bother???

And now for a personal interest story that’s sure to make you smile for all the wrong reasons….

Today I went to Kroger, the orthodontist’s office and out to lunch with friends. And then came home and realized there was a hole in my jeans at the top corner of one of the back pockets. And it flashed pink checked panties out the a little smaller than a dime hole. All day long. Clearly I need to spend a wee bit more time reintroducing myself to my clothing in between seasons before I go gallivantin’ all over town thinking everythang’s fine.'

You’re welcome.

And now for a nice fluff piece to end this newscast…

When we got back from Disney, I just pretty much threw a lot of the random stuff in the middle of the living room floor as I was weeding things out to find clothes to wash. That includes the leis we were given as we entered the Polynesian.

  

The cat seems fascinated with them and enjoys curling up behind them, putting her nose in them, laying near them…whatever strikes her fancy.

It’s so cute, we don’t want to take them away from her.

Well, I guess that wraps up tonight’s random newscast. Good night, y’all.