sAy AnYtHiNg

Random Musings ;) 9

This will be a shorter than normal "random musings" , but random nonetheless.

Well, I was wrong, wrong, wrong about who went home on Dancing with the Stars.  It was Ted McGinley (too bad in my opinion, he seemed like he had potential), and not Kim Kardashion...the "snooze fest" as one of my commenter's ( you should check her out, she is a witty gal) described her.  I guess I grossly underestimated the power of the booty when it comes to generating votes.  Oh well, here's hoping that she is either vastly improved this week, or that her boring booty finally gets the boot.

Remember a couple of weeks ago, I shared with you that my son competed in his first triathlon?  And that he had inspired me?  Well one week from today, we are running together in our first 5K run.  We are running to benefit Bear Necessities, an organization dedicated to eliminating pediatric cancer and giving hope and support to those touched by it in their lives.  We are both really excited, and I am also very nervous

Lastly for today, if you are in need of a laugh, click here.  It gave me a much needed giggle fest earlier in the week.  Hope it brightens your day as well!

Random Musings ;) 8

He's back!!!!!!!  Yahoo, my son is back from camp!  I must say it was one of the biggest tests of mommyness to date.  The hardest part was not being able to communicate with him at all.  I could e-mail him, but he couldn't e-mail or call...so the silence was deafening.  However, I am happy to report that he had the time of his life and can't wait to go back!  I would have enjoyed a few more dirty clothes to wash when he got home.  Yes, you heard that right, I would have liked more laundry.  In other words, he didn't change his clothes as many times as his mother, the girly girl, would have, but I guess for a ten year old boy...it was just about right.  Also, although he didn't admit it, he did miss me, or more accurately my cooking...his best friend told me!  Yeah me.  He was also very happy to see his bed and his bathroom.  All in all a great success, and he is back to me healthy and safe!

  This is what I drink every morning in the summer.  A medium iced decaf with cream only.  Sometimes on the weekend I splurge and get a large.  The guys at the drive-thru have become friends.  I love them because they give me my lovely iced decaf everyday.  The first sip is the BEST, and it never seems to get old.

If you are a grown woman, that cannot sing, singing loudly in the shower at the health club is a decision you may want to reconsider.  Just a thought.

I have a pimple on my forehead that resembles a third eye.  I am really enjoying it, especially since I have no bangs to cover it up.  I know you are happy I shared this little tid bit with you...you're welcome.

Does the term whirling dervish mean anything to you?  After last night, I have a whole new appreciation for the concept.  My husband was away at a meeting, so the kids and I had a sleepover.  My daughter was snuggled very close to me for most of the night, which is great... who doesn't love a good snuggle.  It is the positions in between the snuggles I could do without.  You know, the elbow to the head, the knee in the back, the arm flung here and there, etc.  I swear she wasn't still for more than 5 minutes at a time, until this morning that is.  I woke up at about 6:00am and couldn't go back to sleep, so I decided to read for a few minutes before getting out of bed.  For the time I was reading, she was as still and peaceful as you can imagine.  Where was that in the middle of the night?  Oh well, I wouldn't trade it for anything...before I know it, she won't want to have sleepovers with me anymore.  I will enjoy my whirling dervish while I can!

For those of you wondering about my $8.00 "hand wash only" shirt, I most certainly did not hand wash it.  I washed in the washer and dried it in the dryer.  It is just fine!  Hand wash...bah!

Random Musings ;) 7

The first musing falls into the category of...That DID NOT just happen.  In fact, I may have to boycott the rest of this season of American Idol.  Michael Johns was voted off, which is just plain wrong.  Not only was he voted off, but Kristy Lee Cook is still in the competition.  What?!  Granted, she did have a decent week this week, but still.  Also, Ryan was just plain mean about sending him home.  He gave  him the news that he had the lowest number of votes, then he went on to say that last year the week of "Idol Gives Back" no one was sent home, and then said this year you're going home.  It was kind of like you're going home, but guess what, you're still going home.  Was that really necessary?  Ah well, I have to believe he will go on to bigger and better things after having Idol as his start.  I'm gonna miss you Michael!

My second musing comes under the category of...you sir, are an idiot.  The gentleman from Idaho, Senator John Goedde has been a big advocate of keeping children in school zones safe.  He initiated a bill in the Idaho state senate that would increase the fine if one is caught speeding in a school zone to $140.00.  His obvious goal is to protect children on their way to and from school.  A noble goal to be sure.  However, it seems he decided not to take his own advice.  On the very day his bill was to be debated on the senate floor he was caught speeding in a, you guessed it, school zone!  Helllllllooooooo. 

My last musing for today comes in the form of a prayer request.  I am having 6 little 9 and 10 year old boys here for a sleepover tonight to celebrate my son's birthday. 'Nuf said.

Random Musings ;) 6

Stand back, I am about to ramble.

It is FREEZING cold AGAIN.  My car told me it was 3 degrees as I drove my kids to school today.  The weatherman informed me that is was also -14 degrees wind-chill factor.  ACK.  Please God, please send spring now.  I promise I will never ask you for another thing ever if you would just please send spring!

Remember how I was reserving judgment on mynew hair color?  Well the verdict is in.  I like it, I really like it.  You may want to make a note of the date and time of this statement because it is not likely to happen again in this lifetime.  I think it must be a written rule somewhere that women be perpetually unhappy with their hair and are allowed one free pass to like it for only a short period of time.  It has now been six weeks (or will be on Thursday) and it still looks good.  No real roots of which to speak.  Yahoo.  When it is warm again and my skin isn't the color of the worn out snow outside I'll show you all a picture.  By then I'll probably be back to hating it, but I am choosing to be optimistic at this point.

My daughter and I are writing a children's book together.  It started from a story I made up for her at bedtime the other night.  Then she wanted to do a project with me like the one I had to spend so much time on with her brother.  Thus, the idea for a book of the story was born.   I am sure fame and fortune are right around the corner.  Not that I don't already have fame and fortune from this lovely blog of mine, but hey a little more (especially the fortune part) couldn't hurt.  I am also thinking of asking my husband to illustrate our work for us.  This leaves me with a dilemma, what can I ask my son to do on this project?  When we rocket onto the publishing scene, I would like all four of us to participate.  It just wouldn't seem right without him.

"Dancing with the Stars" has announced its new line-up.  The new season of the show starts March 17.  I am excited as it really is one of my favorite shows, however, I wish I was a little more excited about the line-up.  For a complete list of the "dancers" click here.  Priscilla Presley...eh,  Marissa Jaret Winoker...who,  Cristian De La Feunta...who?  Kristi Yamaguchi should be fun to watch and I know some of the stars will grow on me.However at first blush I am just not that thrilled.  Can't wait to hear what Dixie Chick has to say about the news.

Jessica Simpson made a workout video in 2005.  She is refusing (thankfully)  to release the video .  She is being sued for 10 million dollars.  "Jess is hurting millions of fat people across America", this according to the company set to release the video.  Please tell me that anyone actually believes that Jessica Simpson's workout video is the key to a fit America. 

My husband and I had a date night on Saturday.  I know, I couldn't believe it either, since the last date  we had was in October.  It was lovely.  We saw "Fool's Gold" with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey ( a little something for both of us).  Yes, it got panned, but we loved it!  Lots of action and fun.   Highly recommended if you get the chance.

I have to stop for gas on the way to picking up my daughter from pre-school.  I did mention that it is 3 degrees right?  Blech.

Random Musings ;) 5

I am grouchy.  I think I have the end of vacation blues.  I really kind of liked the whole sleeping in and shirking all normal responsibility thing.  Now I am not in the mood to go back to reality, only too bad for me because I. HAVE. NO. CHOICE.  Plus, it seems, there is a  multitude of issues taking up most of my brain most of the time and it's giving me writer's block.  I. DO. NOT. LIKE. WRITER'S. BLOCK.

Is it a bad sign that I only feel like wearing sweatpants these days?  Maybe back to "reality eating" won't be such a bad thing after all.

I have a business event that we are planning for January 19.  It will involve a dinner in my home for 30-40 people on January 18 and a training meeting for 150 people on January 19 at our office.  The good news:  One of our wholesalers has agreed to sponsor the dinner and I'm hiring a caterer to do the majority of the cooking.  The bad news:  I have no idea whom to hire and a search this morning in the phone book and on the internet has left me far more frustrated than when I started.  Anyone know a good caterer in the northwest suburbs of Chicago?  BTW, I would kind of like the dinner to have a San Francisco theme (it's a long story, but trust me it's relevant) and I have no idea what a San Francisco theme is.  Any suggestions? (and, no I don't mean "fruits and nuts")

We have entered the "Ferocious Fives" with my daughter.  She is making her independence known loudly and clearly with an attitude that puts even her "Diva"  momma to shame.  I fear she may spend 2008 in its entirety on a time out.  If we don't "nip it in the bud" now, we are in serious trouble.  I know, she is a girl, therefore, we are in serious drama queen trouble anyway, but dreaming is good.

My newest guilty pleasure is the "Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency" show on Oxygen.  It is a blast.  I have no idea what its normal time slot is, but I have run across a couple of marathons of the show recently and I am totally hooked.  My husband even likes it, could be all the scantily clad, gorgeous woman.. who knows.

On Wednesday it was 5 degrees, as I write this on Sunday, my thermometer tells me it is 54 degrees.  Can anyone say sinus pressure headache?

We once had a business associate by the name of Gopi (pronounced Go pee) Donaparthi (pronounced Don a party).  Now whenever my husband or myself instructs one of our children to "go pee" (like before bed, before we go out, etc.) the other one invariably will say "Donaparthi".  We haven't seen him in probably 7 years, and yet his name  is mentioned in our home at least once every day.

Resolutions?  Laundry under control, hee hee.  Ideal weight attained...possible if I actually go back to "reality eating". Actually read some of my cookbooks and make new recipes for the family.  Create shopping lists that contain everything I need and get rid of the "oh @#$% I forgot the ________ as soon as I get to my car or home, again I say dreaming is good.  Let myself "off the hook" more frequently.  Laugh more, cry less (all family included in this one). 

Thanks for listening to my kvetching.  Onward to a fantastic 2008!

Random Musings ;) 4

I am fairly certain that my son could set the land speed record for teeth brushing.  He usually gets the chance to beat the record at least twice a night since I make him do it enough times to convince me that all the times added together make up one, half way decent, brushing job.

Clean sheets are a little slice of heaven.

I went to Oprah last week, remember?  Today was the actual "Favorite Things" show.  She did it from Macon, Georgia because Macon has produced the highest ratings for the Oprah show every year since it started or something, so I guess this was her "Thank You."  I had occasion to spend the night in Macon once as I had to evacuate from my mom's house during hurricane Fran.  Macon is not very exciting.  This is the nicest thing I could think of to say about Macon.  Therefore, they probably deserved it more than my friends and I did, but it still would have been nice.  Here is what they got.

My mother is having a raccoon issue.  As I believe I have mentioned before, they live on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina, hence having had to evacuate to Macon once.  Anyhoo, they have a pool.  The raccoons have decided that going potty on the top step of the pool is The thing to do these days.  According to animal control, it is because the raccoons bring their dinner to the pool to wash it before they eat it and then go potty when they are finished.  Apparently that old adage I don't eat where I s#%& doesn't apply to raccoons.  I also think it is funny that they wash their food before they eat it, because as my mom pointed out, "they are garbage pickers, how much better is it going to get by washing it?" 

My dishwasher died today.  So this is a picture of me until next Thursday, as in a week from this Thursday, as in after Thanksgiving.   Hope I remember the gloves or it could get ugly!

Boston Legal is the greatest show on TV right now.  "Denny Crane".

Stuffing is my favorite Thanksgiving food.  My grandpa's recipe.  NO OYSTERS please!  I know I don't like oyster stuffing as I inadvertently took a bite of what I thought to be traditional stuffing and ended with a mouth full of bread and oysters.  A shock to be sure!  My son's favorite Thanksgiving food is cranberry sauce  the kind that stays the shape of the can.  What's yours?

Random Musings ;) 3

Some more  random, unrelated thoughts floating around my brain.

I love to read.  It is a great source of relaxation and stress relief for me, unless the author feels compelled to name one of the characters something exceedingly difficult to pronounce.  Then it irks me just a little bit every time I come across that name in the text.  Example, in my current book one of the characters is named, Angharad.  It is a woman.  It is supposedly some authentic Welsh name.  Are you telling me that the Welsh have no better, easier to pronounce, and prettier names for women than Angharad?  Honestly?!

I almost bought my Halloween candy today.  Almost.  As I strolled the aisles I was astonished to learn that I may, in fact, have to refinance my house in order to supply the neighborhood children with their treats this year, AND that Almond Joy is in EVERY assortment I wanted to buy.  Is it making a comeback this year or what?  I personally, like them and so does my husband, but I'm not so sure it is such a fan favorite with the kids.  I kid you not I picked up and put down bags for about 10 minutes, decided I clearly was not in the right frame of mind and left the store with no candy.  Whatever!  Although, if I am being perfectly honest, making decisions is not really my forte.

A side-note from yesterday's post.  I find it fascinating that there are people in the world that make their living raising crickets for feed.  Possibly even more fascinating than that, is that there are people in the world making a living selling food for the crickets, so you can nourish them and keep them alive until it is time for them to get eaten.  I'm not kidding, it is a gel like substance that sells for about five bucks a jar.  Why didn't I think of that?!  And, while I am on this subject, where is Peta on this whole issue?  Where are the picketers outside PetCo championing the crickets rights?  The silence is deafening.  It would seem that Peta's stance is that raising chickens for the purpose of sustaining human life is totally unacceptable, but raising crickets for the purpose of  sustaining the lives of reptiles and amphibians is just ducky.  I'm thinking of starting a movement to demand all reptiles and amphibians become vegans.  I mean crickets have feelings too! ;)

Where have all the wrapping fund-raisers gone?  It seemed that for several years there I was buying wrapping paper, ribbon, tissue, etc. every time I turned around.  I am a wrapping enthusiast, so it was hard to resist.  I had quite the collection.  Suddenly, the last couple of years, no wrapping paper peddlers at my door.  I now have a complete dearth of Christmas paper!  More popcorn, candy bars, and magazines I do not need.  A little wrapping paper would be nice though.

Is it possible to become addicted to sushi and Chipotle Burrito Bols?  If so, I think it may have happened to me.  I am surprisingly at peace with this.

I know you have all been on pins and needles on whether we have been inspired with an idea for our Halloween costume.  Rest assured, we have.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to reveal what it is as it must stay under wraps until this weekend's extravaganza.

How about you?  A favorite candy that is always in your bowl at Halloween, or one that never is, any addictions you would like to share, are you going to any Halloween bashes and want to share your costume, or any other random thought?  I'd love to hear 'em!

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Some more little little nuggets that don't quite hold up under the weight of their own post, but are fun to think about and share just the same.

There is nothing like a homegrown tomato.  I love, love, love them almost as much as I dislike what most grocery stores try to pass off as a tomato.  I will miss my homegrown treats until next year when I can grow them again.  It's only a small pot on my deck, but it does the job for us.

My daughter enjoys my singing voice.  It soothes her at nighttime.  She is the only person on the planet that feels this way.

Did you know that there is a country song called "I Want to Search You for Ticks"? And they say romance is dead.

Bill Maher is an idiot.  Based on this statement alone you might be thinking, now there's a gal with a death grip on the painfully obvious, and you'd be right.  I happen to bring it up now because he is making headlines currently for thinking that breast feeding one's baby in public is obscene.  The "Hooter's Girls" are not obscene...paragons of virtue perhaps.  For a more eloquent and detailed explanation of what the ignoramus said please visit my friends at Chased by Children, IzzyMom, andIt's Not a Lecture.

For the record, I nursed both my children.  Occasionally I had to do it very discreetly in public.  I assure you it was not something I did as a form of entertainment, but out of necessity.  Call me crazy, but I felt like feeding my children was an integral part of my job description as a mom.

MySpace and Facebook have removed pictures of nursing mothers as, here is that word again, obscene. They do allow pictures of females in bathing suits that show more of the breast than a nursing mom ever will, and they do allow over 350 Pro Anorexia sites.  Now I ask you which is more obscene.

It is time for the "silent majority" to get loud!

Another great line from a country song:  "You ask directions from a genie in a bottle of Jim Beam and she lies to you."

It is my belief that if you make a recipe that has been published in a magazine it should be perfect as printed.  I recently made a salad dressing recipe out of "Southern Living".  It was not perfect.  It was boring.  Normally, I love "Southern Living" recipes, but this one I had to "doctor" quite a bit.  In fact, by the time I was finished with it I had added so many dashes, pinches, and splashes I doubt I could ever exactly recreate it again.

Apparently, Crocs can be dangerous on escalators.  Now my kids can thank me for not being hip enough to have ever purchased Crocs for them.  I was right again, how do I do it?

I am fairly certain that I could eat my weight in queso dip.  One of my favorite guilty pleasures to be sure.

Reading a great book, or even one that is just entertaining, is one of life's great pleasures.

Some people have their Christmas shopping done already.  I am not one of them.

Update:  The Hooligans Next Door are moving out on October 1st.  Yahoo!  Please keep your fingers crossed that this isn't a "the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know" situation, I know I will be.

Random Musings ;)

Today, some random musings I thought I would share.  They are things that have come to mind, but don't quite warrant a blog unto themselves.

Naps are a truly wonderful thing.

Growing your hair out is a very large pain, especially if you look terrible in a baseball hat.
A:  I am ALWAYS growing my hair out.
B:  I look terrible in a baseball hat.

My husband adores speaker-phone.  I abhor speaker-phone.

Bike rides on a beautiful sunny day are good for the soul.

Did you know that you can make a perfect omelette every time without fail if you place two beaten eggs and any fillings you want (cheese, veggies, cooked sausage, etc.) in a quart size ziploc bag, place the bag in a pot of boiling water, boil for 12 minutes, and ,voila!, the perfect omelette.  Really, it works, go try it!

Why are there overweight personal trainers?  It seems to me that anyone that chooses that profession is someone who inherently loves working out 24/7 and eating nothing but celery, but apparently not.  What is even more perplexing to me, however, is why anyone would hire an overweight trainer for $70, $80, $100 or more an hour to tell them how not to be overweight.  It is one of life's great mysteries.

Yoga is one of my new favorite things.  The last time I was in class I even did "The Crow" granted it was only for about 5 seconds and not 5 minutes like the instructor or the 50 year old guy with the ponytail, but still I did it!

"Mean people suck."  Stolen from a bumper sticker I admit, but a more profound statement you would be hard pressed to find.

Blasting your favorite "old school" song on your iPod, singing at the top of your lungs, and dancing your feet off is also good for the soul.

I saw a print commercial (in a woman's magazine) for the Wii gaming system that seemed to be implying that it was a good workout. Does anyone else think this may be just a little bit of a stretch?  Granted it is tons of fun, and if you are really into it, I could see breaking a sweat, but a workout?

Being loved by a child is a heady experience.

Have a lovely Monday.  If you have any "random musings" you would care to share, I would love to hear 'em.