Blessings on those in New Orleans, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida. God be with you all.

Anybody Know A Good Window Guy?

My husband and I had a little tiff this morning. Nothing unusual about that;) However, the subject matter was a little offbeat.

See, we live in north central Alabama. Right in Katrina's way. Well, by the time she reached our area, she had been downgraded to a tropical storm. Nothing too severe, just a lot of wind and rain....LOTS of wind and rain. Given the heat here for the past couple of months, it was kind of nice, the wind part anyway. So, I opened all the windows and just enjoyed the breeze for a while. Fine.

Well, this morning, Grover comes in the bedroom and says "See, this what your 'enjoyable breeze' did last night." He is holding the back window to our van. Well, okay....why are you mad at me about it? He never could answer that question though. There are thousands of people without homes or power or anything else and you're complaining about a van window? I think working two jobs is beginning to take its toll on you. Grouch.

Oh well, ya gotta love married life. And sometimes you have to ignore your husband so you can enjoy it;)

Peace alllll...............

September 5, 1997

Gather 'round boys and girls:

The date was September 5, 1997. A little boy, 3, a little girl,2, and a lady were asleep in their apartment. They had fallen asleep in the living room while watching Cartoon Network. The kids had fallen asleep first and the lady wondered momentarily if she should carry them to their bedrooms but decided against it as their grandmother would be returning home from work soon and they could put the kids in bed then. Not an unusual event for any of them. The lady stretched out on the other couch and in no time had dozed off herself.

She was awakened by the smoke. Sitting straight up on the couch, she called for the children. It was then that she realized the entire wall by the front door was on fire. Not being able to see through the smoke, she had to rely on the children's voices to give her an approximation of where they were. She runs to the front door, grabbing one child's hand as she goes. She doesn't know which child it is, just that it's one of them. She opens the door and pushes the child through it. As she turns around to grab the other child no more than 3 feet away, the room explodes and throws her across the hallway into the door of the other apartment.

By this time the neighbors are there, the living room is engulfed in flames, someone's calling 911 and someone has gone to the back to try to get into the apartment that way. It's impossible. The lady is still trying to get through the front door to reach her other child but the neighbors are holding her back because (as she was told later) the heat was simply too intense to get through. She can hear her child calling her name, screaming for her. So she keeps trying to get in. But she can't. It isn't until the fire department comes and forcibly removes her that she stops.

So they can do their jobs.

The fire department is notified, however, that the lady's upstairs neighbors have a propane grill on the balcony upstairs. At that point, they refuse to go in to try to rescue the child, because "it's too dangerous." They simply try to put the fire out. It seems to go on forever.

At some point, the lady really doesn't know when because time and reality have ceased to exist for the moment, the fire is extinguished. She knows that her child didn't make it, but hopes against all hope anyway.

She walks up to a fireman and asks him "Did you find the little girl?" He responds "Yeah, what was left of her." Torn between being dying herself and wanting to kill this man, she simply says "I'm her mother" and walks away. The fireman rushes after her saying that he didn't know and she tells him "That shouldn't have mattered."

Briana Grace Brown died on September 5, 1997. We buried her on September 10, 1997. Rachel (her grandmother)...her father died on September 17th, exactly one week after Briana's funeral. He couldn't take it.

In the space of six months, from March 17, 1997 to September 17, 1997 I lost my mother, my father, Briana, and the man who had been like a second dad to me. And I don't mean to lessen the others but Briana was my child. She's the one that ...when her life ended, so did half of mine.

During the week of the funeral, we stayed at Rachel's sister's house until we could find another place. One day I was sitting in the bedroom and watched someone come out of the bathroom. And I knew that there were razor blades in the bathroom. And it just seemed like it would be so easy and mercifully quick. I was getting up to go there when two thoughts stopped me.

1. If you do this you'll go to hell and you'll never see her again.
2. What would Josh do? He wouldn't be able to deal with both of you gone. You have to be there for him, even if you don't feel like you're going to make it yourself.

And so I stopped.

In December of 1996, I had a tattoo put on my upper right arm. It is the only one I have. It is a phoenix. At the time, I liked the symbolism of rising up from the ashes. If only I had known how prophetic it would turn out to be 10 months later.

It's getting close to that time of year again. Briana would have been 10 years old this year. Some days are good, some not so good. Some nights I can go to sleep. Some nights I still hear her screaming my name and I cry myself to sleep.

Joshua and I talk about it sometimes, more often than not we don't. See, we were the only ones there that night and we already know what the other one's going through. It's a bond we share, one that neither one of us would have chosen voluntarily. But oftentimes it makes conversation unnecessary.

I get glimpses of her every now and again. The way Josh will move his hand or tell a joke and laugh at himself like she used to...a little girl who looks just like her but isn't her..and I feel her around me sometimes it seems. Crazy? I don't think so. I think it's just God's way of sending comfort my way.

I just hope that when I get to Heaven she remembers me and finds no fault with how I've turned out.

Why did I decide to tell this? Because I wanted everyone to know that there once was a girl named Briana Grace Brown.

And she was loved more than you will ever know.

Peace alllll..............

Yeah, I'm A Christian....What of It?

In a previous comment on one of my posts, the great one OGO made the statement that many Christians are percieved by the media as zealots or radicals. This statement hit really close to home for me. In order for you to understand that, I must first begin by explaining what it means to me to be a Christian.

According to what I believe, as a Christian I have obtained eternal salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. In other words I have been "born again." Simple enough. However, living as a Christian can be a little.....sticky....sometimes. The reason for this is mainly because people have already determined what I think, what I feel and how I will respond to any situation before they have even spoken to me for more than 5 minutes. And so, due to their preconceived notions (hmmm...can we say "prejudice"?)...they think they 'know' me. They don't.

As a Christian:

1. I DO NOT think that I am better than anyone. We are all human and we are all stuck in this together whether we like it or not. I am just the same as another Christian, another mom, another woman, another person on this earth no matter what their beliefs are. We all feel the same joys, the same pains, the same humiliations, the same fears. We all long to be loved, needed, wanted and accepted by others. We all make mistakes and we all have regrets. We all have days when we feel that we could take on the world and we all have days when we would just rather hide under the covers and hope no one finds us. It's called the human condition and as long as you are human you are subject to it.

2. I do not agree with abortion;however, I also do not agree with blowing up abortion clinics and killing doctors who perform them.

3. I do not condone suicide. I do understand completely why someone would want to commit suicide. I have been there myself before....once..a long time ago. And I'm glad I didn't.

4. I GET ANGRY sometimes. What? You don't think a Christian can get angry? Of course we can. Doesn't mean I make a habit of it...but it happens. (See the human condition notation in number 1)

5. I'm not always happy happy joy joy but I try to extract as much happiness as I can out of any given day. Some days it's a lot, somedays not. Just depends on how the day goes.

6. I don't want to get hurt and I don't want to hurt anyone else. (Unless it comes to protecting my kids....then all bets are off)

7. I think that serving other people is a much better thing than always serving myself (I'm not talking about self-preservation....I'm talking about self-absorption).

8. I don't always have a good day. Some days are good, some days are bad and some days are just days. But I'm grateful for each and everyone that the Lord sees fit to bless me with.

Now.....you have read the list above. Read it again. Sound like anyone you may know? Maybe, with a couple of exceptions, it maybe sounds a lot like you? Are you a zealot or a fanatic? No? Then why would you think that I would be just because I'm a Christian?

Why are non-Christians who have dissenting opinons simply looked at like regular people who have dissenting opinions? But when a Christian doesn't agree well, then, they are .....zealots, fanatics, nuts, hypocrites, self-righteous, holier than thou or pompous and pretentious? (Just pick one)

In the past few years since I have become a Christian I have been dogged out, made fun of, ignored, spit on, cursed out, rejected, shut out and shut up (although the shut up part hasn't happened much....I'm a little to contrary for all that;)). I have been expected to apologize for my beliefs and have seen much disbelief (not to mention anger) when I have refused. I have not and will not apologize for being a Christian. I can't. It's who and what I am. And if you expect me to have tolerance and forbearance when it comes to your beliefs, I think you need to begin with you.

And that's all I have to say about that.

Peace alllll..........

Venting, Venting...Oh, And Did I Mention Venting?

Political correctness started out as a pretty good thing. I mean, most people with any kind of conscience at all would not deliberately want to insult another person for just no reason. So, while I agree with it in theory, I think that it has gone waaaay too far. You can't say anything at all these days without someone being offended. It seems as if there are groups of people who are just walking around waiting to be offended and they will jump on any opportunity. Perhaps if they would stop thinking about themselves so much, they wouldn't have time to be offended so often. So....political? Sometimes, yes I am. Correct? Not often;)

Speaking of being offended or insulted or peeved by what others are saying, I have just three words: PAT, PAT, PAT.......Robertson that is. You know, the leader of the 700 Club, the one that said that assassinating Venezuelan president Chavez would be much less expensive than going to war. Why are people so bent out of shape about this and demanding a public apology? The man has a right to say what he wants. He is covered by the 1st Amendment, no? So, even though you may not agree with him, you certainly cannot disagree with his right to say what he thinks. Personally, although I DO NOT condone assassinations as a rule, I have to agree: it would be a lot cheaper. Of course, now ...if Dennis Rodman or Jessica Simpson or Hulk Hogan or Barbra Streisand had said the same thing, they would have people lining up on their websites and outside of their homes to show support. Is it because Robertson is a Christian and somewhere along the way people have gotten the idea that Christians are supposed to be soooo passive and have no dissenting opinion on anything? Or what?

Now for something completely different:

Why are so many people these days concerned with style over substance? Why are they so worried about what kind of car they are driving and how much bling they have and how big their house is when they are not really so worried about what is going on in those big houses? Like what their kids are doing when they're not around and what their spouses are doing when they're working 'overtime'. Do they really know? Do they really care? Or are they just worried about keeping up appearances? Just a curiousity.

Do I sound a little cynical, a little bitter? I'm not. It's just maybe I have come to a point in my life where I'm simply tired of all the silly crap. If you can't actually use your brain for something other than figuring out what to wear when you go out tonight or the quickest way to get laid, I just don't have much time for it. If you spend so much time in your neighbor's backyard that your own is getting kinda cruddy, I just don't have much time for it. If you are recoiling in offense at what I'm saying but you would gladly talk about your best friend behind their back, I just don't have time for it. If you look good on the outside but your soul is as black as the pits of hell, then I just don't have time for it.

Looks like I may be freeing up a whole lot of space on my schedule in the future.

Peace alllll...........

H.B.D. To Me :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

Because everyone else is asleep right now...I'll be the first one to say it.
That's right...I'm another year older. Another year wiser? I don't know yet. When I was a little kid I would have thought someone my age was "old". Am I old? Not in my opinion. I still feel the same as I did when I was 18...just a liiiitttle slower and a lot more tired.

Do I have anything profound to say? Any pearls of wisdom gleaned from my now 38 years of existence? I don't know. I'll have to think on that for a while. (You know the mind works a little slower as the years advance;))

For the moment I just wanted to ring in the day with a thank You to the good Lord for letting me make it this far.

I'm sure I'll be back later on today with one of those verrrry dull 'self-reflection posts'. Until then, have a blissful day!:)

Peace allllllllllllll

Just Gettin' It Out of My System

You know, I try to be a mellow person...I really do. However, somedays it seems as if forces are aligned against me. Some days it seems as if all of my secret irritations become public and I just have to say something. Here are a few things that irritate me:

1. Cell phones......pretty much everything about them.....the fact that so many people attempt to multi-task while they are on them: driving, walking, eating, paying for their groceries, etc.; the obnoxious ringtones that so many people seem to be so fond of: you know the ones that are supposed to sound like a particular song but they never really do...they just sound like Muzak on hallucinogenics; and the fact that so many phones are now capable of taking pictures and videos. I was in Wal-Mart the other night and there was this really annoying, rude woman in front of me. So rude in fact that I didn't bother to tell her that her shirt had ridden waaaaay up above her low-rider jeans in the back (and NO, I wasn't ready for that jelly;)) and her rolls were hanging all over the place. So the woman behind me was also irritated by this annoying, rude woman and asked me to please scoot over by about an inch. I did and then realized that the woman behind me was taking a video with her phone of the woman in front of me. She then proceeded to tell me that she was going to go home and put this woman's backside all over the internet. I didn't know which one to be more afraid of....the woman in front of me or the one behind me. You gotta love technology right?

2. Check writers.....you know the name of the store, you know the date, you know that you are going to write a check. Could you please at least fill out the above-mentioned information BEFORE your items are totalled up???? PLEASE! But nooooo, you have to get all the way through the line...then dig through that land of the lost purse of yours (with Life-Savers from 1979 and who knows what else) to find your check book and a pen THAT WRITES. Then you proceed to fill out allll of the information as slowly as possible. And of course you don't have your I.D. ready. You wait until they ask you for it and then proceed to dig it out of that LaBrea tar pit purse. And then you have to audacity to turn around and look at the 20 or so people that have gathered in line behind you and get the 'what?' expression. You know, like "what did I do?"

3. Noisy eaters....the people who can make noise with pudding. I don't need to hear every crunch of your potato chips, I don't need to hear every slurp of your drink, I don't need to hear every crack and pop of your gum. Please close your mouth when you are chewing because I don't need to see all of that. And please, for the love of everyone's ear drums around you, PLEASE stop scraping your utensils against your teeth!!! That is why God gave us lips...so we wouldn't have to use our teeth as a mouth stopper.

4. Men who will not pull their pants up. Heavy or thin.......that's just disgusting. Crack kills and I don't want to see what kind of underwear you have on.

5. Women you are about 50 pounds overweight who try to squeeze into tube tops or baby t's. Look, I know you should love yourself no matter what your size and I'm glad that you do. But some things need to be kept under wraps. Cover that mess up!

6. People who say they are going to call and then never do. Or else they wait forever to get back in touch with you and by that time you're off doing something else and then the next time you see them they tell you that "Oh, I tried and tried calling you but no one ever answered." No you didn't. You just thought that I wasn't home and you're trying not to look like a jerk.

7. Late people/procrastinators....people who never, ever, ever show up on time for anything. (Read this one closely GROVER!) People who never start anything when they are supposed to and consequently are always late and have everyone else around them late as well. Showing up late for something is insulting. I don't care what fashion dictates, there is no such thing as being fashionably late. Sure, every once in a while you can't help it. But when it becomes chronic, well, that's when I'd just like to shoot 'em in the foot.

And now that I have said what I need to say, I will now return you to your mellow versionof me! Have a nice day:-)!

Peace alllll...........

My (So Far) Dull Week

Wow, what a week this has been.........

We took the boys to the doctor for their yearly checkups. They are in great shape but I think they may have some nerve damage in their ears from Lukas screaming the entire time they were in the examination room with him. (Lukas hates....absolutely hates...doctors, dentists or any medical personnel). Lukas, my 3 year old, is now now 42" tall and 51 pounds....that's right....a 3 and a half foot 3 year old. Jakob is 3 feet tall and 40 pounds. For those of you that have kids you know that's a liiiiiitle.......tall. I'm 5'11 and they'll probably be taller than me by the time they're in the 5th grade. So, finally....I'll be the shortie in the house.:)

Grover has started a new business. A painting/pressure washing business. He already has 3 houses pending for the 1st of September....along with his regular job.

Joshua...God bless him. He wants to play football this year....but I'm not so sure about that. Not sure if I'm able to face the thought of my "baby" getting hit and hurt on a football field. Oh, well....why not. If he can deal with it, I guess I really don't have a choice but to let him grow up a little more. Thanks Josh for making me feel sooooooo OLD;).

Anyway.....it's been kinda dull for the first half of the week. But sometimes dull can be good. Anyone with excessive drama can attest to that.:)

Let me go watch the news so I can get good and ticked off about something and I'll be back to rant later.

Peace alllllll...........

Tara

My best friend's daughter has 6 children. Yep.....6. She had them all by the time she was 26 years old. Okay, this wouldn't be a big deal except:

The first one who is now 13 (do the math people) lived with her father for the first 11 years of her life.

The second one (Joshua...my baby...almost 12) was given to her mother and myself on the day he was born because ...and I quote...she "just didn't have time to fool with it". Rachel and I have been raising him from day one.

The third one (Briana...passed away in 1997 (a story I will be telling soon))...she also gave to her mother and me for the same reasons.

The fourth and fifth ones (Corey and Gabrielle)...well, she was married when she had them and so, even though she really didn't want them either, it would have just looked kind of funny had she given them away as well I guess. She is now divorced from their father and looking for any excuse under the sun to not really have to fool with them. They are six and four and they have some issues courtesy of mommy and daddy.

The sixth one (Colin)...she gave to her cousin and his wife because she had a bad falling out with his father while she was pregnant with him and decided she didn't want to have anything to do with this child either.

After the last one she finally had her tubes tied so that she will no longer be contributing to the world's population.

Now that the two oldest ones are actually old enough to have opinions on things, she is beginning to regret being such a dog. However, that regret has still not led to any accountability. She is now offended that Joshua will not ever refer to her as his mom. She is not his mom.. Rachel and I are.

Now that she has decided to give up days of whoring and drugging, and is now trying to better her life, NOW she wants a real "mother/child" relationship with the two oldest. And although I am happy to see her trying to better herself, there are some things that she needs to realize.

1. You reap what you sow.......she may be willing to forget how she dogged these kids out in the past...but they are not. And although Joshua holds no ill will towards her, she will never be his mother. He has told her this. He has also told her that she did not raise him, she put in no work or time on him, she spent no sleepless nights when he was sick or scared or just wanted to talk (especially after Briana died). His grandmother (momma) and I did that. She can't just say...."okay I'm ready to be a mom to you now" because as he told her..."I'm not ready to be a son to you." Painful? Yes....on all sides. However, this is what she did and these are the results of her actions.

2. You cannot go around saying "well, I was young" all of your life. Yeah, you were young and you did some not so bright things. Well, now you're older and you have to face them.

3. You cannot resent the ones who took up your slack. You weren't going to raise your kids. Someone had to. And there was simply no reason (financially, physically, spiritually or emotionally) why those children should have been put in the foster care system when they had people who were more than willing to care for them if you weren't (i.e. your mom and myself).

Sometimes in this life, you have to look at all the stupid crap you have done. Things that you have done to people, things that you have not done for people. And you have to own it. Because it belongs to you...no one else. Is it easy? NO.....Have I done it? More times than I care to count.

And once you have owned it....you have to let it reallllly sink in. What you have done. And then.....you have to apologize to the injured party. Even if they don't feel injured. Those are just the rules of decency. And if you have to spend the better part of the rest of your life making up for it....then that's what you do. Act in haste .....repent in leisure.

And my dear Tara....once you can and will do all of the above....then you can call yourself a "full grown woman"....a phrase that you are so fond of now and one which you currently fall tragically short of fulfilling.

Peace alllll..........

Birthday Boys

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOU AND BOO! For those of you that don't know, Lou and Boo, aka Lukas and Jakob, aka known as Louie and Fish are my two little ones. Today is their birthday! They will be 3 and 2 respectively. (Yep, they have the same birthday just a year apart.)

So we'll be having a fabulous time today just letting the whole house get wrecked and not worrying about it until tomorrow.(Yeah, I'll use pretty much any excuse to keep from having to clean the house all day;))

I'd also like to thank Lukas and Jakob (in case they read this 20 years from now of course) for being the two best little boys a mom could ever hope to have, and for always keeping me on my toes. Don't know what I did to deserve you guys but I must have done something right.:)

Peace allll.....

Rest In Peace Peter Jennings

A darn fine journalist and a darn good man. He will be sorely missed by those of us who take pride in the few ethical journalists we have left. And that's all I have to say about that.

Peace alll....

Just A Couple More

Just a couple more hours in the day is all I need. Just a couple. Just enough to maybe get some real sleep instead of these 2 hour naps I've been surviving on for almost 3 years now.

Just enough to maybe see my husband more than a few minutes a day. Enough to maybe sit and talk face to face versus playing phone tag all the time. Would be nice.

Just a couple more hours to make sure that I could get all the cooking and the cleaning and the bathing and the fussing about how much cooking and cleaning and bathing I have to do out of the way. Maybe just a minute to relax before I'm off to the next task. Shame when you look at sleep as a task, not as a pleasure. Because there is no 'sleeping in', there is no oversleeping, there is no snooze button in my day. And therefore, the pleasure in sleeping, the laziness and the stretching, the occasional scratching even;), is gone. Just, BAM.....get up. You have things to do. They need to be done now and you're still behind from all of the crap that you didn't get done yesterday.

Just a couple....not much. Just a couple of minutes to think. Just a couple of seconds to maybe catch my breath. Just a second, not even a couple, to regroup, reflect, focus and center myself.

Somedays I just want to go on strike. Here, YOU do it....I'm taking a nap. But then, I wouldn't be able to sleep because I know that one of two things would happen while I was snoozing.....1. It wouldn't get done or 2. It would be done wrong. ( Am I a control freak? No, not at all. Am I a perfectionist? Well, maybe sometimes. But that's beside the point.)

I am not the type of person who just burns out. I go down in flames. I feel it coming. I called out of work last night hoping to prevent it. Just trying to get that couple of extra hours. Never got 'em though. Ended up doing laundry instead;). For some reason that is insanely, albeit pathetically, funny to me.

Grover better get some water quick. Or I may be completely flamed out before he even notices I'm fuming. (Oh, please.....I even made myself gag with that one;))

I just don't want life to pass me by before I get the couple of minutes I need to notice it.

Peace alllll...........

Whoo Hoo! I Got Tagged!!

I am seriously excited about this....I almost never get tagged for anything! Thanks, Megan!:)

Okay, here goes:

What was I doing 10 years ago?
Josh was almost 2, I was 27 (oh my...so young!) and I was working ...a lot, cussing....a lot, and trying to make sense of the whole potty training thing and why I STILL felt so dumb even though I was almost 30;)....oh, yeah, I was also avoiding my 10 year high school reunion!

What was I doing 5 years ago?
Working 2 jobs, going to school, getting married....all sorts of fun stuff....something about being over 30 kinda got me a little motivated (quit cussing though!)

What was I doing 1 year ago?
Celebrating my babies' first and second birthdays, working, deciding I was NEVER having any more children.

What was I doing yesterday morning, noon and evening?
Doing laundry, feeding the kids and working (wait a minute.....this whole working thing is becoming a bit repetitive!)

What will I be doing today and tomorrow?
Hmmm.....let's see.....WORKING! And maybe, if I am incredibly lucky, I'll manage to squeeze in a couple of hours of sleep;)

5 snacks I enjoy...
Kool-Pops, Peanut Butter M&Ms, apples (all the time!), frozen grapes and popcorn

5 bands and singers for which I know most of their stuff......
Queen (way before most of your time), The Gaither Trio (gospel group), Kid Rock (don't ask), Luther Vandross and Barry Manilow (don't say a word...he is my guilty pleasure;))

What would I do with $100,000,000
Buy a decent house, decent car, pay for my kids' educations, buy a lot of towels and then give the rest of it away.....yep, all of it. (How many pairs of shoes can somebody buy and still wear all of them anyway?)

Five locations I'd run away to....
Tybee Island, Georgia
Ireland
Newport News, Virginia
England (not London....one of the little towns)
Maine

5 bad habits....
Smoking
Talking too much
Being impatient
Perfectionism
Laughing waaaay to loudly (kinda like a donkey;))

5 things I like doing....
Reading
Listening to music
BLOGGING!!
Going on road trips
Playing "Mad Dog" with the kids

5 things I would never wear
Glitter eyeshadow
Tube tops
Thongs
Spike heels (I don't have the balance for them;)
Low rider jeans (I am not a plumber!)

5 TV shows I like
Alias
Lost
Law & Order: SVU
Celebrity Fit Club (Gary Busey is a nut though)
House....the best show on television....seriously

5 movies I like
Steel Magnolias
Silence of the Lambs
Pay It Forward
Scream (all 3 of them)
Tombstone

5 famous people I'd like to meet
Kevin Spacey
Sandra Bullock
Jeremy Irons
Anthony Hopkins
Wes Craven

5 biggest joys at the moment
Joshua
Lukas
Jakob
Grover
Life

5 favorite toys
My computer
My ancient, original Nintendo (it still works and I still play games on it!)
Lukas' duck (it's a plastic duck...when you pull the string it walks and quacks songs)
The boys' plastic animals (from their Noah's ark)
Joshua's Gameboy (which should be mine, considering the fact that I play with it more than he does!)

Okay.....
I'm tagging the following 4:

Heather
OGO
Leslie
Adrienne

Get to work people!!

Peace allll......

Is It Just Me?

Is it just me or is it every other mom out there who has this chronic guilt because they feel that no matter what they do, they are just not doing enough for their kids? And is it just me or have most dads escaped this all consuming sensation of failure as a parent?

Is is just me or is the amount of proper housecleaning done directly proportionate to the amount of estrogen carried by said housekeeper? In other words, why can't most men just clean the house right the first time?

Is is just me or does the current field of popular female singers really need to put some more clothes on? (i.e. Jessica Simpson: really, what does washing a car in a bikini have to do with your boots walking?????) Exception of course being Joss Stone....whatta voice! And she doesn't have to show her tatas to sell albums. Now there's a novel idea!

Is it just me or is it actually becoming harder and harder to just be a decent person these days? People just don't want to give anyone a break anymore and the general population is becoming ruder, more hostile and just downright freakier than ever before.

Is it just me or does the kids show "BOOBAH" scare the crap out of anyone else? That is just a freaky show.

Is it just me or does everyone else hate their job?

Is it just me or is everyone else feeling overwhelmed by life in general?

Just wondering is all.

Peace allll...........

Gripe

My house was clean on Thursday of last week. Then I had to start my work week Thursday night. And I made the mistake of letting Joshua's cousin Chris spend the weekend. That means that I had 4, count 'em 4, members of the male species in my home unattended. Grover, Lukas, Jakob, Josh and Chris.......what was I thinking? By the time Monday, my off day, rolled around, my house had been destroyed. When I asked Grover what happened....well....of course, he didn't know. He's a guy....housekeeping duties are pretty foreign to him.(Or so he says) So....I have spent the past 2 and a half days restoring my house to it's former semi-glory. (I have kids....it's only gonna get so glorious;))

But I have come up with a new house rule: there can be no more than three testosterone bearing creatures in my home at one time. It just shifts the household hormonal balance too much for my taste.

Now I've got laundry to do. Eight loads. That was also done Thursday. How do 4 males go through EIGHT loads of clothes in 4 days? Because they think that magical laundry fairies come in when they're asleep to wash them!

If only they knew that their magical laundry fairy has serious PMS this week.

Peace alllll..........