Two Traditions

I have two non-negotiable traditions for the holiday season. ( I actually have several but these two are the only ones it's actually time for.)

1. I always put my Christmas tree up the day after Thanksgiving. Don't know why, it's just what my Mom always did, so it's what I do. It's a bit of a headache coming on the heels of all that work being done the previous day but it's always worth it when you see the end result. My boys are old enough this year to really enjoy looking at the tree so it's really been a labor of love. Plus, Lukas got to help hand the ornaments to me and Grover while we put them on the tree. Jakob? Well, he just played in the Christmas tree box. Wonder how soon he will start redecorating for us.:)

2. I never, ever, EVER shop on Black Friday. It's stressful, nerve-wracking, and if you're not careful, dangerous. All of these people lining up at 4 in the morning to stampede through a store just to save a little money. I'll spend the extra or I'll do without thank you very much. Some people thrive on it.....I am not one of those people. My mother used to love it and used to drag me to the sales every year on the day after Thanksgiving. Not a tradition I decided to keep. I did venture out today to buy some Christmas decorations and I kinda wished I had stayed at home. Why are so many people so darn mad during the Christmas season? Isn't this supposed to be the season of happiness, good will and peace on earth? (Yeah, I know it's supposed to be but oftentimes it's not.) If you're gonna be angry stay at home. If you're going to be rude, stay at home. If it's not your cup of tea, stay at home. If everyone did that the stores would not be nearly as crowded and I could get some shopping done;).

I'm going to go eat some turkey soup now, along with turkey sandwiches and turkey salad. Hmmmmmm......wonder if anyone has a recipe for turkey cookies??

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

T Day:)

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE !!!!!

Hope everyone has a safe and lovely Turkey Day with the ones that you love. God Bless!

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

Painting, Puberty and Pumpkin Pies

Okay, so this is the weirdest thing to happen to me this week. Grover and I (and Rachel too) were painting a house for this lady. Didn't start off too bad, really. We were contracted to do the kitchen, living room, hallway and two bedrooms. So, after we had finished painting the kitchen, hallway and living room and pulling the paneling from the bedrooms (which is pain in the tuchus let me tell ya!), we were ready to begin the painting in the bedrooms. Now, we had told the lady that she needed to move her furniture, or at least the bulk of it, out of the bedrooms so that we would have room to do the job in there. She knew she had to do this but did she? Of course not. So she left the keys with us over the weekend because she was going out of town. So we are in this house, alone.

We start moving the furniture out of the bedrooms, blah, blah, blah. And this woman has a collection of Barbie dolls. You know, the seriously collectible ones, like the holiday Barbies, etc. in the original packaging. Well, I thought that was interesting, considering this lady is in her late 50's but hey, to each his own. She also had a fabulous Mickey Mouse collection. Anyway, I'm moving all of this stuff to a third bedroom and I finally get to the closet which of course needs painting also. I move some stuff out of the way in the top of the closet and guess what is staring me in my face? A Sleeping Beauty doll........in a glass coffin. A real miniature glass coffin. WHAT THE HECK? She could have told us about this before I ran across it in a strange house, alone in this room in a strange neighborhood in the almost the middle of the night! What kind of weird woman is this?? I mean, yeah, I had a Sleeping Beauty doll when I was like 6 but it wasn't in its own little coffin. Morbidity aside though, the glass coffin thing was really kind of pretty......but disturbing.

Lukas decided the dog was hungry today and dumped a 50 pound bag of dog food in the bedroom floor for her. Not so worried about the mess, just concerned as to how a 3 year old could drag a 50 pound bag of dog food into the bedroom and flip it upside down onto the floor. What, am I raising the Hulk here?

Jakob has decided to start calling me and Grover both Mom. Guess just one of us isn't doing the job well enough;)

Joshua had his first "puberty" class in school today. You know, the one that we used to call "hygeine" or "watered down sex ed." He was more than a little disgusted by the fact that he and a room full of boys had to watch a video showing nothing but penises for 30 minutes. (I can understand this....penises are not the most attractive things in the world...but I don't guess they have to be to get the job done huh?) One of his classmates made the remark that he wished they had accidentally switched the tapes so they could have watched the girls video (disgusting little troll;)) but like I told Josh, what women have is just as ugly as what men have so don't sweat it. They aren't going to be entered in any beauty contests anyway. (although I wonder who would win "pretty penis of the year".....okay, now I'm just grossing myself out)

Two things I want for Christmas this year....the entire set of Little House on the Prairie books (I love those) and.....The Magic Bullet! Have you seen the infomercials for that thing....pretty nifty.

Anyway, for those of my friends and family who have issues with the traditional Thanksgiving greetings: happy day before Turkey Murder Day....or Anniversary of Native Americans Getting Screwed Over by the White Man Day. (I'm half-Cherokee so I can use that one freely while stuffing my face:)).......I'll eat your piece of pumpkin pie if you don't want it....you being so ticked off and all.

Now, I have to go see if all of my Christmas tree lights work.....and hope that the dog doesn't try to eat them if they do.

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

FGM and Free Piglet

Couple of things have been bothering me lately.

1. Was reading the other day about a bill being proposed in Nigeria to ban female genital mutilation (FGM), otherwise referred to euphemistically as 'female circumcision'. Most people are in favor of this bill and, in my opinion, anyone with half a brain would be. However, there is a very vocal opponent to this proposed bill. This person is a doctor. This person wrote a very eloquent dissenting opinion, preaching the value of FGM as a cultural and religious 'tradition'. This person just happens to be a man. Now, may I ask, what does a man really know about this issue and having to live with it? He doesn't have to deal with the fact that he will never be able to fully enjoy sex due to being cut on. And as long as it's not happening to him, I can see where it would be irrelevant as to what millions of others want, especially if they happen to be just women.

This is the kind of attitude that a lot of governments around the world have and it is just sickening. I know that to a lot of people I sound like a man-hating feminist with an attitude problem. I assure you this is not the case. I just do not understand why so many areas in the rest of the world live in this backwoods existence and with the belief that women are no more important than, say....cattle or a loaf of bread. It's this kind of thinking that has so many little girls languishing in orphanages in places like China waiting on someone to validate their existence as humans. In this country we pat ourselves on the back for our 'progression' in the area of women's rights but how can we do that when we ignore so many little girls and women being mistreated, tortured and killed because of 'tradition'??

2. There is a group of Muslims in Great Britain who have complained about the use (advertising) of Piglet...you know Winnie the Pooh's Piglet..because they feel that because he is a pig, it is an offense to Muslims. And now, in response to this coercion, London and number of other cities are removing any and all images of pigs, i.e. Piglet, piggy banks, etc. You get the picture. Can we get off of it please???? I mean, Jews don't eat pork, 7th Day Adventists don't eat pork. But the difference is, they don't care if YOU do, as long as they don't have to. I can't pray freely in public or read my Bible on a street corner without getting harassed. If a pastor in Canada says that homosexuality is a sin, he runs the risk of going to jail for 'hate speech'. So why in the name of common sense are entire governments bowing down to one religion's wishes in the name of 'tolerance'? You wanna be a Muslim, be one. That's your business, but please don't think that I am going to set my beliefs aside to make you comfortable. Tolerance and forebearance work both ways and I am really having an issue with non-Muslims being expected to make all of the concessions here. (And yes, I have discussed this issue with my Muslim friends and most of them can't make heads or tails of it either). So, I guess the squeaky wheel really gets the grease huh? While the rest of us just get greased.

Okay, I am now going to finish painting my "Free Piglet" t-shirt while I cook a pound of bacon and feed my dog some S'nausages.

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

Easier Said Than Done

This is a list of the thoughts that have gone through my head at least once this past week since I decided to be a SAHM.

1. I didn't have a clue that this house was this dirty.
2. How many mismatched pairs of socks are in this house?
3. If I run across a body in this closet I won't be surprised.
4. Is that cheese?
5. Is this candy from this Halloween or last?
6. Can you name dust bunnies?
7. I'm glad that Cheerios are flushable.
8. I'm shocked that my husband doesn't know how to build a fort with blankets and chairs.
9. I'm not so shocked that my husband doesn't know how to really clean a bathroom.

Yep, this whole stay at home mom thing is a lottttt harder than it looks in the magazines people!

As soon as I get my house clean and the laundry done I'll let ya know. Shouldn't take more than a week or two.....if I'm lucky.:)

Peace allllllll

Done Deal

Well, I finally did it. I decided to quit my job in favor of being a stay at home mom for a while. Well, a part time SAHM at least. The rest of the time I will be working for Grover and the painting company, painting murals. The time that I will be working will be limited and it is something that I really enjoy doing, versus something that I am just used to doing.

So call me Grandma Moses and wish me luck on this, the latest fun filled chapter in my life! (Because right now I'm torn between being reeeeeeallllly excited and reaaaaaalllllly terrified;))

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

Listen Up

The Listener

"For who listens to us in all the world, whether he be friend or teacher, brother or father or mother, sister or neighbor, son or ruler or servant? Does he listen, our advocate, or our husbands or wives, those who are dearest to us?

Do the stars listen, when we turn despairingly away from man, or the great winds, or the seas or the mountains? To whom can any man say- Here I am! Behold me in my nakedness, my wounds, my secret grief, my despair, my betrayal, my pain, my tongue which cannot express my sorrow, my terror, my abandonment.

Listen to me for a day - an hour! - a moment!

Lest I expire in my terrible wilderness, my lonely silence! O God, is there no one to listen?

Is there no one to listen? you ask. Ah, yes, there is one who listens, who will always listen. Hasten to Him, my friend! He waits on the hill for you.

For you alone."

Seneca

The most desperate need of man today is not a bigger car, a bigger house, a better job. It is not more associates and acquaintances. It is not more gadgets to keep him insulated from the rest of the world. It is not cell phones, ipods, palm pilots and computers. It is not entertainment...big screen televisions, stereos. It is not lights and noise and activity.

His real need, his most terrible need, his deepest desire is for someone to listen. Not as an afterthought, not while they are busy doing something else. But to sit down and really listen to what he has to say. Those thoughts and fears and dreams which come from their very soul.

We need to tell someone what we think when we are trying to fiugre out why we were born, what our purpose is, what our legacy will be. And we need responses that come from the heart rather than the latest self-help best seller. We need someone to just try to understand....to listen.

I am sure that you have done a lot of talking today....your parents, your kids, your wives and husbands, your friends, your bosses, your co-workers. We have done a lot of talking but have we really listened?

Who have you listened to today? Whose burden have you offered to take up?

Who have you listened to today? Really listened, with patience and kindness, not while you were waiting to do something else, not while you were waiting on your turn to talk.

We were born with a need to express ourselves without fear. We were also born with a need to be heard, truly heard.

Who have you heard today?

Better yet, who have you listened to?

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

Reality Check

When I was 18, I was going to change the world. I was going to be different. I was going to make a difference. I was going to be like E.F. Hutton....when I talked, people were going to listen. I was anyway.......

20 years later and I realize that life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. I'm different alright;).......sometimes that's a good thing and other times, well.....maybe not so much.

Who knew that when I was making all of those plans 20 years ago, that today I would be dealing with two toddlers with colds, snotty noses, a household that looks like it was just turned upside down and a dog who likes to chew on the handles of my husband's tools?

Who knew back then that the only thing that I would have managed to change today is my clothes? (and I consider myself fortunate to be able to do that;))

Who knew?? Not me.

And looking back, if I could change anything that got me to this point today, would I change anything? Anything at all?

Not a thing:)

The kids will eventually get over their colds, the house will one day be clean (yeah, right...one day), the dog will understand what a Jumbone is for and I will be able to take a leisurely bubble bath, versus a 5 minute shower with the bathroom door open while the kids are napping. So,things change on their own. They don't need my interference.

So, if I had the power to change it I wouldn't. My life may not be as glamorous or as high profile as I had thought it would be when I was 18. I may not be rich, or famous, or stunningly beautiful. But look what I got in return...Josh, Lou, Boo and Grover. Who in their right mind would give that up?

Not me.

Yeah, they're loud, messy, sometimes grouchy and always funny. But they're mine:)

(See, I told y'all I was a little nuts;))

Peace allllll............

Remind Me Never To Do This Again.....Until Next Year

Well, this past Saturday night was my much aniticipated Halloween party for the kiddies. What fun, what fun, what fun we did have! Just a few glitches:

1. We were expecting 15-20 kids to show up at this shindig. HOWEVER, the other neighborhood kids just looked so pitiful we told 'em to come on in and stay a while. So the group went from 20 to 50 in about 10 minutes. The more the merrier I always say (I'm just reallllly glad we bought all that extra "just in case" candy:)...not to mention the air horn came in really handy as well;))

2. My best friend's cousin-in-law made the pinatas. Two of them. Now, she didn't know that most pinatas have a little thin spot in the middle to help with the breaking process. So hers did not have one. In other words, they were just like little boulders on strings. We had to have two grown men finally, FINALLY break them open for the kids...five good whacks with really big sticks. Okay, so we'll know better next time;)

3. We had kids over there and we didn't know who some of them were and where their parents were. So, we fed them, candied them and waited for their grown people to come and get them...didn't take too long. But I don't know how you can let your little one go over to someone's house that you really don't know and just leave them. Good thing we're safe, normal, sane people. (okay, okay....scratch the sane part....and the normal;))

All in all we had a great time.....even though it took about 24 hours to clean up all the mess.....and I don't even want to THINK about that many kids in one place for at least another year.

Not sure if we'll have many trick or treaters around the neighborhood tonight, but I've got plenty of leftover candy just in case. Oh, by the way, did you know that if you don't get the candy mix for candied apples JUST right that it will eventually slide off of your apples?? I didn't either but I do now. Oh well, live and learn.

I will not clean my house today...I'm still trying to figure out how to get melted chocolate out of my socks. (Don't ask..it's a long story).

Happy Halloween everybody!!!!

Peace allllll.......

One of These Days

One of these days:

I will have a clean house for over 2 hours at a time.
I will find a job that I truly enjoy.
I will look in the mirror and like what I see.
I will be able to say something tactfully;)
I will tell my boss(es) off and leave for something better.
I will tell those girls with the belly button rings how ridiculous they are going to look in 20 years.

I will be my own boss.
I will wear ugly hats and sit on the front porch with my cat.
I will be known as 'the really cool old lady down the street';)
I will have pretty feet.

I will buy a belt for every man I see with sagging pants.
I will buy an extra yard of material for every girl I see with not enough clothes on.

I will be satisfied.
All of my questions will be answered.
I will not grieve any more.
I will be a role model.

I will look back on all of this and laugh....and maybe cry a little too.

One of these days is not today....
But one day it will be.

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

Rosa

Thank you Rosa Parks.

Thank you for expecting to be treated like an equal at a time when equality was unheard of.

Thank you for 'standing up by sitting down'.

Thank you for being at the forefront of the civil rights movement without even realizing it at the time.

Thank you for living a life of dignity when there are so many who have abandoned that principle.

Thank you for not being interested in your 15 minutes of fame but rather your lifetime of influence.

Thank you for being good, kind and decent. There are fewer and fewer who are and now there is one less.

Thank you for being one of my heroes.

God bless you and yours.

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

Bizarro Family of the Year Update

Lukas is three years old. You would think that his favorite programs would be....oh, I don't know....Barney, Blue's Clues, Dora..something like that right? Oh, nooooooo....not my child! His favorite shows all come on one channel....The Food Network....that's right...the food channel. Do you know how tired I am of watching Emeril, Everyday Italian and the Barefoot Contessa???? Yeah, I've improved my cooking skills but that is not the point.

We just got a new addition to my already fun filled family: a fox terrier named Foxy (yeah, I know...how unique. That was already her name when we got her) Our apartment managers gave her to us because they had rescued her from an abusive home and thought we would be the perfect people to take care of her. She's still really skittish but she's coming around slowly but surely. The kids absolutely adore her. (Lukas won't give me a kiss but he'll kiss the dog when she's not looking. Go figure.) And she has already developed a serious taste for macaroni and cheese (Alpo London Broil I buy this dog and she wants mac and cheese.) I figure a few months of living with us and she'll be losing Grover's keys too.

Jakob is in the terrible twos full force. He runs full speed through the house as often as possible and yells as loudly as possible. No reason....he just likes to yell. Not like the 'oh, I'm pitching a fit' yelling but the 'oh, I'm at a football game' yelling. And when the dog licks him in the face, he just licks her in the face right back.

Grover is still Grover....working all the time, sleeping when he can, grouchy most of the time and he still hasn't learned how to wash the pans in the kitchen. However, he has learned how to give the kids a bath when I ask him to. What? Do it when I don't ask him to? Now that would be too much for me to take.;) He also is still telling corny jokes. For example:

Two snails were in a car race. (Don't ask how a snail can drive a car....I don't know) Anyway, to identify the cars, each one had a letter on them. The blue car had a "B" on it. The red car had an "S" on it. In the middle of the race, the red car pulled away from the blue car and was well on his way to winning the race. The snail announcer became so excited that he shouted "Look at that S car go!!!. Get it?? Snails....S car go (escargot)???

This is what I live with. Someone please help me. Please.

And now my children are sharing a coffee cup of BBQ chips with the dog. Why a coffee cup? Why BBQ chips? Why the dog? If I could answer those questions that whole 'meaning of life' question would be a snap ya think?

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

Bracelets, Baubles and Other Trinkets

Sorry I have been slow to post lately.....lots of hours at work and lots of work at home. It won't happen again....today anyway;)

I have noticed a lot of people wearing these bracelet things lately. You know the ones...."Live Strong", "Hope", "Freedom". And quite frankly, I hate 'em. I don't hate the concepts, mind you. Living strong and being hopeful are certainly admirable and freedom is something I don't take lightly. I think that may be why I have a problem with these bracelets. It's the same problem I have with the ribbon craze....you know the red ones for aids, the pink ones for breast cancer, the yellow ones to show support for our troops.

Now before you all get in a tizzy, let me explain myself......it all started off with a cross.

I am a Christian. Anyone that knows me knows this. I have one cross. It is the one that Grover gave me a long time ago. It belonged to his dad and I was quite moved that he gave it me because he and his father were very close. It means a lot to me. I don't wear it very often, however, mainly because I 'm kinda tough on jewelry and I don't want to accidentally break the chain. I also don't find it necessary to wear it all the time because I don't need a piece of jewelry to advertise what I am. Talk to me long enough and you will find out what I am and what I am about. (Not to mention there are plenty of people who wear crosses all the time and the word "God" never escapes their lips unless it is in the middle of a curse word....but that's another story for another day.) Christianity is my lifestyle. It is about who I am, not what I wear. It is not about paraphenalia.

Same thing goes with the bracelets. You wanna live strong? Then do it. You wanna be hopeful and fight for freedom? Then do it. Don't advertise it. Don't fall into these ridiculous trends just because you want to appear fashionable and cover it with a label of social consciousness.

Ribbons? Do I support aids research? I most certainly do. I have a couple of friends who have died from this disease and I have seen the absolute horror of it. Breast cancer research. Yes I support that as well. Our military? I wholeheartedly support our armed forces. I may not agree with this particular war, but I certainly support the men and women who are fighting it for us.

See, the thing is....when I say I support something......that's what I do. I donate money and time to aids research, breast cancer research, the homeless, the hungry, the abused. I don't, however, walk around with some pointless accessory to let everyone else know about it before they even speak to me. Trust me, talk to me for 5 minutes and you will know what I support and what I don't.

The Bible says that when you do something for someone, do it in private. Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back for it and don't make a big production of it. See, it's not really the rest of the world at large's business what you are doing for someone else. As long as you know it and God knows it, that's all that really matters.

And I don't think that something as important as aids, breast cancer, the abused, the homeless, the hungry, the impoverished and so on and so forth should be reduced to a trinket. That in and of itself is absolutely insulting to me.

If people would take the money that they spend on these bracelets, ribbons and 0ther baubles and actually donate it directly to the charity of their choice, then maybe they would actually start BEING socially concious instead of just looking like they are.

Peace allllll............

Confusion Ahead

The temperatures around here have not gone above 82 degrees this week and that means only one thing: SUMMER IS OVER!!!!!!! Ah, what a glorious feeling....oh, what a glorious day! I have made it through another summer season and am reaping my reward of cool, crisp, clear fall weather:)

We are forging ahead with our work for the Halloween party for the kids. We are making two pinatas....a pumpkin and a spider...which are medium sized. I have 50 pounds of candy to fill them with. Will that be enough? I'm a pinata virgin so I really don't know. I am also making a haunted gingerbread house....my first gingerbread house ever. (I'm okay at the arts things....just the crafts things I have never really tried my hand at so.....anyway....moving on.)

Parents: a question for you. Do you ever feel like a split personality, kind of like a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing sometimes? I mean, you are one thing for your kids....you love them and nurture them and try your absolute best to lead by example....but sometimes you are another thing completely around grown-ups or co-workers (which are not always the same thing ya know;)). Let me explain my situation here...

At home, I love playing with my kids, doing stuff with them, having quality time, snuggle time..I just absolutely LOVE being a parent. I try to teach them to be nice, and to resolve disputes peacefully as much as I can.

At work, I am sometimes referred to as a 'pit bull'. The reason for this: you all know that I work 3rd shift at my local IHOP...well, sometimes we have a customer(s) who are drunk, rude, belligerent or all of the above. When one of my co-workers has a customer or customers who are giving them a hard time, they ask me to please go and deal with them. This may be because I am loud, or because I am not intimidated by most people or it may be simply that I will not, ever, let a customer reduce me to tears. Don't get me wrong, most of our customers are very nice people. But occasionally (2 or 3 times a week), we have some people in there who have to be educated about proper restaurant etiquette and my 'teaching methods' have been known to be quite effective.

My problem is my kids don't know me as this person .....they know me as 'mom'. (some of my customers call me 'mom' too but that is a whole other story for another day:)) And I often feel like two people sometimes with one shared, very confused brain.

Sometimes I want my kids to know me as a real person one day. Sometimes I don't want to disappoint them with the reality of me so I just want them to know me as "mom" for as long as possible. Is this confusing you? Not half as much as it is me.

I read a drunk woman the riot act the other night because she referred to one of my co-workers as a b**** because we were out of carry out boxes (don't shoot the messenger right?) and then I went home and made my kids bacon and eggs for breakfast like any other mom.

The older I get the dumber I feel sometimes.

I think I'll go bake something now;)

Peace alllll........

7's, 5 and 3's

I got this from Bav/Andrea, who got it from someone else. Anyhoo, I decided I liked it so here goes:

7 things I plan to do before I die:

1. Stop smoking completely
2. Learn how to ballroom dance
3. Watch my kids grow up
4. Become a grandmother (after my kids grow up of course....no babies having babies for me please!)
5. Get my degree in Romance Languages
6. Write a book (it may never be published but I'm gonna write it anyway!)
7. Design and grow a real English tea garden


7 things I can do:

1. Speak three languages
2. Calligraphy
3. Offend people (I am a little pushy ya know;))
4. Car repair (good for every woman to know)
5. Multi-task
6. Make up a good bedtime story
7. Carry two kids on my back while playing horsey


7 things I cannot do:

1. Fry chicken
2. Sew (Grover does that!)
3. Swim
4. Shut up
5. Origami (tried it....just can't get the hang of it)
6. Rub my belly and pat my head (or vice versa) at the same time
7. Wiggle my ears


7 things that attract me to my husband:

1. Beautiful eyes that change color depending on his mood ...from light blue to blue green to bright green
2. Great legs....great, great legs
3. An almost bald head
4. A wicked sense of humor
5. His work ethic
6. The finger that he broke that's now kind of not exactly straight but not crooked either
7. His nose (I have a thing for ....ahem....'unique' noses (aka big noses;))


7 things that I say most often:

1. Lukas....stop that!
2. Jakob....stop that!
3. Come on with it
4. Peace
5. Let's get it done
6. What's goin' on?
7. Take it easy


7 celebrity crushes:

1. Victor Garber
2. Kevin Spacey
3. Anthony Hopkins
4. Jeremy Irons
5. Vin Diesel (don't ask)
6. Hugh Laurie
7. Lou Ferrigno (a holdover from my childhood:))


5 things about myself:

1. I laugh like a braying donkey
2. I am loud
3. I have horrendously ugly feet
4. I have one tattoo on my upper right arm (a phoenix)
5. I am ambidexterous


MY CLOSET

3 Random Facts About My Closet:

1. It's too small
2. It has a light in it
3. It's too small!!

3 Items I've Never Worn But Still Haven't Tossed Out:

1. A pair of waaaaay too small jeans (hey, I'll be that size one day!)
2. A maroon turtleneck
3. A pair of faux snakeskin pumps (they were a gift)


3 Items I Never Get Rid Of No Matter How Ugly They Get:

1. My Winnie the Pooh sleepshirt
2. My old turnover fuzzy houseshoes
3. My plaid sleeping pants


3 Items People Wouldn't Expect to Find in My Closet:

1. Two knives
2. A boxcutter
3. A bag of rocks (from Canada...they're Grover's....I don't know either)


3 Items That Made Me Go "What Was I Thinking?"

1. A fuzzy red pullover
2. A pair of MC Hammer-esque pants
3. A lime green t-shirt with spaghetti straps


3 Things I Have A Surprising Number Of:

1. Socks
2. Hair clips
3. Rubberbands


3 Dominant Colors In My Wardrobe:

1. Blue
2. Green
3. Brown


3 Items That Never Fail To Put Me In A Good Mood When I Wear Them:

1. The cross that Grover gave me years ago that belonged to his dad
2. My overly big sweatshirt (if it's cold enough to wear it that means summer is OVER!)
3. Fuzzy socks

If you actually read all of this, bless you for tenacity!

Anyone who wants to do this one just jump on the bandwagon!!

Peace allllll...........

Gripes

In my line of work, I have ample opportunity to do something that I really enjoy...watch people. Since I was a little kid, I have had a fascination with people. I love to talk to them, to observe them, to see how they interact with one another, to try to figure out what makes them tick. I have an insatiable curiousity when it comes to how the wheels turn in a person's mind. Sometimes, I am pleasantly surprised;however, as of late, it seems that people, by and large are becoming....well....shallow.

I don't know when it became fashionable in our society to become so self-absorbed. Did it start with our parents and their unwillingness to 'damage' our psyche with such concepts as remorse, shame and accountability? Or did it start with my generation? The teens of the 80's (the biggest ME generation that has ever been)? Or did it start more recently, with our college students and their overwhelming sense of hubris and pomposity?

And, once it started, when did it become OKAY? Okay to think of no one other than yourself, okay to have the attitude of 'screw the world, I've got mine'? When did it become OKAY to acknowledge only your rights and never your responsibilities?

Money=class.....when did this become an accepted school of thought? Why do so many haves look down their noses at the have nots?

Why do so many 'children of privilege' not have a clue about what it means to actually work for a living? I understand the concept that parents want their children to have a better, easier life than they have had. I certainly do not want my kids to go through some of the things that I have had to go through in my life. However, what is wrong in raising kids with a sense of common courtesty, social responsibility and a real work ethic?

What is wrong with teaching kids to say 'thank you' and to hold a door open for someone? What is right with teaching kids that they are the big dogs on the porch?

I am full up to my eyeballs with rude people. People who think that common courtesy and civility are for everyone else, not them. The ones who think that 'me first' is actually okay. The ones who think they are the only reason for this world's existence. I have a couple of points for them to consider:

1. The world does NOT revolve around you. Never has, never will.
2. Money does NOT equal class. You can have all the money in the world and still be a tacky, classless slug.
3. You are NOT the beginning and end of my existence. Your thoughts and opinions have very little relevance to the rest of the world, just like mine don't.
4. No one cares if you are in a hurry, or a huff. Get over yourself.
5. I don't have to like you and you don't have to like me.....but can't we at least do that mutual civility thing? It really works well.

Well, as usual, I have probably made no sense to anyone but myself today. But, I have grown used to that over the years.;)

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

Aftermath

My feet are numb.....still. My back is sore....still. And I have been having this recurring dream where I am being chased by a Rooty Tooty Fresh and Fruity. Every year I know this is going to happen on A&M homecoming weekend and every year I lack the common sense to just go out of town instead of going to work.

But, on the plus side, my voice is back...much to the dismay of the many drunks I have had to yell at over the past couple of days:)

Now I just have to clean my house. I know there's one here under all this mess.

Peace alllll.......

P.S. Thanks for all of the laryngitis remedies! I pretty much tried them all, so I don't know which one did the trick but one of 'em did!

Back to Work

My off days for the week are through. Tonight begins a weekend of festivity for me....yeah , right. One of our local colleges (Alabama A&M) is having their Homecoming game this Saturday. This means that they will start all of their pre-parties tonight and it will continue until well after the game Saturday night going into Sunday morning. What does this mean to me? Business.....lots and lots of business. Quite possibly ugly business at that. See, this is like the second busiest weekend of the year (asided from Oakwood alumni weekend, which is a whole different annoying animal) and the final score of the game will determine how rude my customers are this weekend. They will be rude of course....that's a given. But the worse the game goes, the ruder they get......what fun!;) Still, there is always the standard 15% on parties of six or more (thank God for that or I wouldn't make any money at all this week) and there will be several, several of those.

Plus, I still sound like a frog so I hope I don't have to yell at anyone this weekend. There goes all of my fun;).

Wish me luck good peoples!!! I'm gonna need it!

Peace alllll.......

Speaking Of.....

nothing.......I have laryngitis. It first started last weekend (not this past weekend but the one before that)....I was really, really hoarse and once I had a couple of days off I was fine. Then I went back to work and by the time the weekend was over I was hoarse again. Now my voice is almost completely gone. Does anyone have any home remedies for laryngitis? I know the number one thing is to rest your throat and not speak if at all possible but....I have toddlers and I am required to do a lot of talking (if not yelling;)) in my job. So if anyone at all has any type of home remedy, folk cure....anything, please let me know.

One more thing.....why, when someone knows you cannot speak any louder than a whisper, do they choose that time to ask you to repeat yourself?? Just curious.

Peace alllll........

Memories of Norman

My father loved Tammy Wynette. Most of you probably don't know who she was. She was a wonderful country singer of the 60's, 70's and 80's. Her classic hit "Stand By Your Man" is still played today. But, I digress......

My father also, as most of you know, was a raging drunk. One of the things that he liked to do when he was drunk was listen to Tammy Wynette. I never had a problem with that in theory. It was the WAY he used to do it that was a little.....different.

He would knock back a couple of six packs on a Saturday morning to start the fun. Then he would go in my room or my sister's room and get our record player. Not a stereo, not a CD player, but a real live little kids record player. (Yeah, I know ....most people don't remember those either;)) He would then proceed to take this record player out on the front porch. You heard me....the front porch. Then he would get his collection of Tammy Wynette records out (about 20 of them) put one on the record player and turn it up all the way. He would then lie down on the front porch, listen to Tammy and cry. Yes, cry......loudly.....very loudly. So, when I came home from playing at a friend's house, there would be Norman....lying on the front porch, schnockered out of his skull, wailing over Tammy. When he got drunk enough, he would pass out on the porch and we would go and get the record player and the records and put them back in the house. Him? Well, we learned after a few rounds of this that he was just too heavy to move....so we left him there. Sound like a horrible thing for us to do? Well, as a 9 year old I was also smart enough to know that it was better to have him sleeping on the front porch drunk than in the house awake wearing his drunk out on us.

As the years went on my father continued and perfected his ability to pass out on the front porch. Not always with music...but always just in time for me to come home from school. By the time I was in high school my parents had long since divorced but good ole Norman still came around occasionally to catch a porch nap. I remember one day my friend Val had given me a ride home and she had to come in the house for something...I forget what. But as we pulled up I saw my father drunk, lounging on the porch, right in front of the front door. I was mortified. But Val parked the car, got out, walked up to the porch with me, stepped over him, said "Hey, Norman, what's up?", got what she needed and left. She has never said a word about it to this day. For this she has my eternal gratitude.

Once my mom called the cops on Norman because he was drunk and raising a ruckus. However, this was back in the day when the police would not remove a man from his home just because he was drunk and being a jerk. The cop told my mom that the only way he could arrest Norman was if he was in the street drunk or even on the curb. Then they left. So my mom waited until Norman passed out, then rolled him down to the edge of the yard. He was arrested for public intoxication. Horrible? Once again, better him sleeping it off in the drunk tank than terrorizing the house with it.

There were occasions where my father was sober....not many but there were a few. And when he was sober, he was one of the most charming, urbane, witty people you could ever meet. He could tell a tall tale and make you believe it was the gospel truth when you knew it was a lie. He was brilliant, he could make you laugh at just about anything....and he could make you forget for a time what a monster he could be. I just wish that there could have been more of the good days.....but I'll take what I can get.

And, looking back, the incidents with Tammy and the front porch were really quite funny. Maybe not so much at the time but.......(did I ever tell you that I inherited my father's sense of humor too?)

And one of the reasons that I don't drink is that I just love Patsy Cline and Luther Vandross waaaaay too much decimate their music like that;)

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