Prediction

It's going to be gray and rain lots and lots on Sunday.

No I am not a Weather channel junkie. I have a headache. I have my bad weather is coming headache. It's like an allergy almost. I get it only when the front is coming in. I will be fine once the front gets here. I really can't explain it. It's a very specific pain and no amount of pain killers makes it go away completely. They can make it better but not gone. I just have to wait it out.

So that's been my day today. I shoulda been a weather bunny....

WOW, 17!

Yesterday my baby turned 17. WOW. I am getting old but this post isn't about that it's about him.

17 is a great kid. He is a true lover of life. He has an easy come easy go attitude. His a spiritual child and questions things quietly at the same time accepting that you can think and believe whatever you want. It's all good. By example he reminds me all the time NOT to sweat the small stuff and indeed it's all small stuff. I don't think this child knows what a dark cloud is. He ALWAYS sees the silver lining, the sunny side of things. That's a lesson that we could all take from him.
Once when he was in 2nd grade I was fuming at a report card. He failed PE. How do you fail PE? I don't even remember now but he did. As I was lecturing him on the lack of merit of his report card, he took it from me and looked at it thoughtfully and very calmly and matter of factly announced that it was great, he had gotten one of every letter. I was momentarily dumbstruck. All I could say was - that is NOT good, that is NOT the goal. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I think it's cool", as he walked away my ranting lecture rolling off of him like water off a slippery surface. I, being the nagging mother that I can be, didn't let it go. I followed him. I am after all the grown up here. I am the one that has wisdom to impart and guidance to lend to his life here so gosh darnit he was going to listen to my wisdom. I continued to explain that although there are many grades the goal was to get the higher ones not the lower ones. It's important to always do your best yadda yadda. He listen his bottom lip quivering slightly as if her were to burst into tears but he didn't. When my rant was over he very quietly asked, "What difference does it make if I get an F in PE as long as I go to 3rd grade? Who cares? I continued to argue with the then 7 year old and told him that I cared and that he should care because an F means he wasn't doing his best yadda yadda. He said he only cared that he was with his friends. They are going to 3rd grade and so was he. That was what was important, "God, family and friends" and he had all that. Well, he shut me up pretty darn quick. I had no response for that one because he was right. He is now going to be a Senior in high school and no one gives a darn what he got in PE in the second grade. Perspective, at that young age, he had it. He still does.
He wants to make people happy, he doesn't like to rock the boat, he will give you the shirt off his back, he will make you feel at ease, he loves to have fun. I'm so proud of him.
Happy Birthday!

Miles to go...

Early in June I wrote a list of things to do. I know. I know, I do this often but this was a big list of things to do in and around the house, on my own, with family help or just things I had to coerce others to do. Everything from bathe the dog to paint the bathroom to make 19 write and send out thank you cards. So, long story short this To Do list was 62 items long. I looked at it this morning and we have crossed of quite a few things. It's down to half. There are 31 things left to do on the list and of those 3 are actually planned to get done this week. I am VERY impressed. I think I can coerce the children into completing a couple more and then I will feel this has been a very good summer for accomplishments.

We just came back from the Open House at UCF. My son loved it. He doesn't want to leave FL and has seen 4 schools. He seems positive about the college application process and writing the essay is one of those things on the aforementioned list that I have to coerce him into doing. I am hoping for a rough draft by the weekend. A mom can dream can't she.

This week and weekend is going to be chock full of celebrating because FIL birthday is on Wednesday and we are going over for dinner. GM turns 85 on Saturday, I have to take her a chocolate cake and as of today she has requested Tamales (which I will purchase) and 16 turns 17 on Sunday. I have been told to do nothing for this event. I have offered to do all sorts of celebrating but he wants the day to be free. Fine! Whatever! I am a supportive mom and have the day open to jump through whatever hoop he will surely put in front of me.

Then believe it or not as I am getting half way through this summer list I am feeling the urge to start preparing for Christmas. I feel a list for that coming soon very soon. I'm thinking a list of people with gift suggestions. I think this needs to be done as the month ends because this Christmas will be a very homemade Christmas and I will need lots of time to plan and make the gifts because I expect a lot of trial and error because my ideas are not anything I have done before and so I will be winging it and expect mishaps and we can't give away mishaps now can we. Most likely if you are on my list you will either get something hand/homemade or a book or maybe both. Some kids will still get a toy but I'm thinking books or maybe magazine subscriptions is the way to go this year. Of course, if I win the lotto I will just charter a cruise to somewhere and bring everyone along! LOL!

I'm like mom...I'm not like mom...

You may recall that I am reading Motherless Daughters by Hope Edelman. It is helping me through my current struggle with myself. I am learning a few things. First and foremost I am learning that I am not nuts or at the very least my current state of nuttiness is perfectly normal and many go and have gone through it. That's comforting. As much as I have always wanted and love uniqueness, it's comforting that others have been where I am and been able to move on to more productive places in their lives.

The general gist of it is that I am trying to be like my mother and at the same time unlike her. Can you feel the problem huh, can you? I read through the anecdotes and can relate to them all. For example, I mean why do I bake apple pie for Thanksgiving when no one in my family even likes apple pie? Because mom did and it makes me feel somehow close to her or that I am making her a part of my present when I do a silly thing like bake a pie. Even those sugar cookies I make for my father. I think baking in general makes me think of her; it was her forte in the kitchen. She would bake, she taught me to bake, she baked with me, she let me bake and burn to my heart's content. It doesn't faze me when I have to trash it and start over because it's what we did. There are dozens of other examples.

On the other hand, I am starting to think that my weight has to do with her death too or her illness shall I say. Not entirely but partially. In the book I read over and over about women who avoided duplicating and feared the events/scenarios than lead to their mother's passing. If a mother always avoided going to the doctor maybe the daughter goes all the time and develops hypochondriac like symptoms to not do what 'caused' the mother's illness. In my example, my mother was never svelte but she (read: the family) was always on a diet, always watching her weight albeit unsuccessfully. She was never obese as I am but she had some extra pounds on her. She was never thin until before she was diagnosed with cancer. In reality I know that it had more to do with her divorcing my father than getting sick which didn't happen until a year later but I see it all mushed together because I wasn't living with her at the time. When I saw her after the divorce yes, she was loosing weight but not thin and then the next time I see her she was even thinner and then a month later diagnosis cancer. So, it makes me think has part of me subconsciously been sabotaging my efforts to a healthy weight because I don't' want to be as thin as she was and get cancer. Now, I realize that sounds a little kookoo but I am learning in this book that others have done similar things. There are other examples. Things I have done in my marriage and in my work life that I can also correlate like that but I don't want to get into that here.

The one thing that I already knew I was doing but thought it was a borderline nuts was mourn her over and over again. I really mean mourn not just miss her. Anything can be a trigger. Moments in my life that I so want to reach out to my mom and share with her especially things with my kids. I know she wanted so desperately to be a grandmother. And seeing someone/thing that reminds me of her. Years ago I saw a woman in an elevator put on lipstick just like my mother used to do. I don't do it that way and I had never seen anyone else do it that way and when that complete stranger in an elevator did that I felt like I was going to die from the overwhelming feelings that were suddenly pressing down on me. I don't remember getting off the elevator but the next thing I do remember was sitting in a toilet stall at the office crying as if the world were coming to an end. A friend found me there and brought me water, held me, tried to sooth me having no clue what had happened because I couldn't talk I could only cry and sob. It wasn't until days later that I was even able to tell her. Every time she saw me, she just hugged me and kept telling me it would be OK. Again, other examples are too many to list.

Then there are the milestones that surround her illness and death. Like what I am struggling with now, my age/her age. This was the last birthday she celebrated. Even though she was a poor example of how to be for this past year of my age due to her illness, I have no more example in her of how to be from now on. Holy crap that was hard to type. I need to stop here. More of this kinda stuff to come, I am sure but not right now.

It's 4th of July weekend. I wanted to DO something meaningful. Since I couldn't figure out what to DO, I decided to make a purposeful donation. I started researching and liked this OPERATION GRATITUDE - Care Packages for Soldiers. I may not agree with the reasons for the fighting but the troops deserve and have my support. I find this is a small way I could put my money where my mouth is. Check them out, if you have a chance.

www.opgratitude.com

Hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Money bags

Did you find a bag of money somewhere? I've been looking and I can't find one anywhere. I have so many things I want to do but this pesky thing called a job keeps getting in the way. If I could just find a bag of money then I wouldn't have to work so much and I have the time and resources to do the things I want to do.
I told hubby and my BFF that I figured out what I wanted to be when I grow up. A philanthropist. They both said I needed to have lots more money to do that. Although on further reflection, hubby said I do an awful good job at giving away money we don't have as it is. Smart ass!
Maybe I should go buy a lottery ticket. I know that not buying one seems to be impeding my chances of winning. Oh well, back to work. Gimme patience.

PJs in the afternoon

Do you remember lazy summer days as a kid sleeping in until afternoon and having breakfast when the rest of the world was already digesting lunch? Not a care in the world. Go to the pool, if you want. Watch TV, if you want. Walk over to a friend's house and play, if you want. Not a care in the world. A time way back when there was a summer vacation, no responsibilities. Ahhh...I remember.

I came as close as I am going to come to reliving that this weekend. I did ALL of my errands and met all of my obligations on Saturday. I mean ALL of them. Everything got done. All that adult responsible stuff: banking, groceries, visits, sundry shopping, laundry, closet cleaning, house cleaning etc. I, (read: hubby and I) did a lot on Saturday. We didn't really plan it. We just both got up had a quick breakfast with minimal coordinating of if you are going here get this and that type of talk and then we both took off. Of course, by the time we were done we felt like we had gone through the wringer. My back hurt, my feet hurt, I was plum tired. We ordered dinner and watched a couple of movies and some TV shows we had recorded. That was the beginning of the unwind.

After showers and ordering dinner, we looked at each other and asked what else do we have to do? Nothing. I don't think either of us could believe it. I actually went and checked all the hampers to make sure they were empty and they were. WOW! Then we realized we could sleep in on Sunday. I was giddy that I'd even be home to fix a nice Sunday breakfast, like I used to once upon a time. So we sat and vegged in front to of the TV. I lasted a couple of hours then thought there must be something I have to do. I ended up giving myself a manicure while still watching TV.

Sunday was lovely! I woke up late (10am- that's sleeping in!), made coffee, pancake batter etc and waited for someone else to wake up for breakfast while watching From Here To Eternity. By 11:30 I made myself breakfast everyone else was still asleep. And then I realized it was almost noon on a Sunday and I still had my PJs on. OMG! I can't even remember when the last time was that happened. The others woke up and had breakfast and we just laid on the sofa watching TV. I didn't shower and dress until 4:00 because I was going to dinner with some girlfriends. I still don't believe it. I felt so relaxed after dinner. We were home early (a little after 9pm) and by 9:30 I was back in my PJs. I needed that. I think I need to schedule more white space in my life to truly do nothing.

Father's Day baking and cooking

On this recessionary Father's Day I decided to bake for the dads. So, for my dad I baked up a batch of slightly burnt (that's how he likes them and yes I already confirmed years ago that this wasn't just something he told his young daughter to console her but he honestly like the taste of the overly browned cookies) sugar cookies. Of course the fun was when I gave them to him in a Christmas tin because it's what I had on hand. It gave us a laugh and he promised to return it so that I could refill it for Christmas.

I also made a Lemon Meringue Pie. It's one of hubby's favorites and I haven't made it in I think like 20 years. He didn't think it had been that long but I think he's confusing Key Lime and Lemon Meringue. The meringue did separate slightly from the crust but the filling didn't weep or separate so it still looked OK. And it was tasty if I do say so myself and I'm not a really big fan. I just had a little piece to taste it.

I also attempted to make a Lemon cake that was trashed. I have no idea what I did wrong. I'm sure I forgot a key ingredient or two because it didn't bake right, it didn't set up like a cake. I didn't stress it, I just trashed it and kept going. I still have the recipe out and I WILL try it again and I WILL get it right.

After all of that, last night I did the first part in the preparing of Vaca Frita. I am making that tonight for some friends and 19s girlfriend who are all coming over for dinner. That means I had soup today for lunch because the first part is boiling the meat which produces an awesome beef stock to which I added a bunch of veggies and a bag of egg noodles. It is so good.

Next weekend I plan on sewing. Let's see how that works out.

Again and again

I know I haven't been posting much lately but I have been wallowing, languishing, freaking out, pulling myself up, shaking it off and then starting all over again and again and again. I get bursts of Ok and then trip over myself again. I really need it to stop.

I have been struggling of late with my birthday, my mother, her death, I am now the age my mother ever was right after she was diagnosed. At this point in her life, she had been diagnosed with a rare cancer, operated, not able to attend my wedding, was undergoing chemo and had been told she had 6 maybe 8 months to live if she was lucky. That was really hard to type.

I cannot imagine being in her position right now. There are so many things I want to see and do. It's freaking me out.

I am reading a book called Motherless Daughters by Hope Edelman. It's comforting and heart wrenching at the same time. It's killing me slowly and making me stronger all at once. First and foremost its consoling me in that I'm not nuts. What I am feeling is normal and lots of women go through the same thing. Mourning isn't finite. I knew that but now I am reading bout other women going through it the same way. That's comforting. It's killing me because it's making me think and face some things that I hadn't until now which I guess is good but its hard. It's draining. It's exhausting.

I haven't cried this much in a long time. I can't read the book and not end up in tears. A story, a reference of something totally abstract will turn on my internal faucet and there ya go.

Visiting my GM has been much harder for me lately not because she's doing poorly or anything just because all these feelings are very raw right now. I have to force myself to do things like nothing's going on inside and yet I sneak a few tears here and a few tears there when I am by myself in an attempt to not burst into a puddle in front of other people. I thought that maybe writing about it would help a little but this is hard, the screen is blurry through my watery eyes. I need to be patient with myself. I think I need to find some real me time to let this whole thing happen and figure out how to deal with it a bit better. I am hoping the answer is in the yet unread portion of the book. Deep breath...close my eyes...deep breath...open my eyes...smile. Now let me call dad and finalize weekend plans. Here we go!

Lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics

That's what laodicean means. It was the final word in this year's Scripps National Spelling Bee and Kavya Shivashankar got it. I watched the final rounds and was thrilled I could spell 1 of the championship words - guayabera- woo hoo for me! I was stunned as I have been in the past as I watched these children spell words that I had never heard of before in my life. I think it's amazing.

I was also extremely thrilled that this was on prime time TV. Very cool. In a world where surviving a Japanese game show and bachelor/bachelorette reality shows are on their umpteenth seasons, it was truly refreshing that the National Spelling Bee competition was a main event. As I thought more on the topic it occurred to me that although it made the news (and unfortunately still is) the Miss USA pageant wasn't on prime time. If it was even on TV, I don't know. The advertisements weren't in my face that's for sure. I only knew it happened because of Miss. CA's response in the Q&A.

I remember watching all those pageants when I was a kid, mostly I think because it was the only thing on. I mean we only had 3 channels, remember. Now, I'm thinking it's a good sign that the Spelling Bee is a bigger deal than a beauty pageant. I'm happy that we are watching and encouraging kids to use their heads, words are important. Hmm...maybe Miss. CA could have used that lesson, then she would have been able to answer in a truthful yet perhaps less controversial way.

NOTE: I have to comment on the irony that the spellchecker did not recognize the contest winning word: laodicean. LOL!

Breathing, Sleeping - important things

Breathing is really important. You are thinking, DUH! Well, I know it's restating the obvious but when you have spent basically 3 weeks so congested that you sleep sitting up and it can hurt to open your eyes and swallowing takes effort because you are so dang tired of concentrating on breathing and swallowing it's a godsend when you can finally breathe clearly again. I'm just saying. Today is finally that day. It's the first morning I have ventured to not take any meds and don't feel like I am walking with my head in a cloud all day. I'm not 100% but I really am much much better. Breathing is a beautiful thing. I am grateful that I can breathe and sleep better.

Of course, now I am ready for the sleepless nights of summer. I know I bring it on myself, my children don't formally have finite curfews. I just need to know where they are. And so I don't sleep well in summer because since they don't have to get up early they can stay up late and by default I sleep in fits and keep waking to see where they are. We have a system. A light stays on in the front hallways and their doors are open. From bed I can lean over and see if the light is still on (everyone's not home) and the doors are open (no one is in the room) or closed (they are in and down for the night- yea!). My cell phone is on the night stand and periodically the vibrations wake me and let me know that someone is on the move advising me of the new location. Gratefully, even 19 still does this. I know the boy is in college and doesn't live here most of the year but like I tell him I just want to know. I'm not passing judgement and he's good with that. So, this morning when at 4:45 I got a text *sleeping at Friend's house, not coming home, luvya* I was finally able to fall into a deep solid sleep since 16's door had been closed since 12:30ish. Ahh, those wonderful sleepless summer nights. Here we go again and yet I wouldn't trade it for the world. Gimme patience mucho mucho patience.

Head fog

I have been sick as a dog for days. I am so congested! It hurt to even turn my head on the pillow. Yesterday I couldn't even open my eyes. Everything from my nose up was just plain stuffed and sore. I am marginally better today. Still stuffed but not as sore and therefore able to drag myself to work to catch-up and then rest this weekend.

Rest - hah! I have the CLAST exam to take tomorrow morning. May the math gods smile down on me tomorrow morning. Of all the weekends...oh, well, it is what it is. The entire test is like 41/2 hours so I'll take a few pencils, a box of tissues and many cough drops and hope for the best.

Then Sunday I will have to go see my grandmother for our weekly visit because well because she's my GM and I have to. enough said.

In between all that I hope to get some rest and plenty of fluids so that I can be ready for next week and catch-up with everything I missed this week. Gimme patience!

Brand Spanking New!

That's my new car! It's fantabulous! I love it! That's even the right color! Woo Hoo! Momma's got a brand new car!

Wheels

I am going car shopping this weekend! We have GOT to get another car because I have places to go and things to do and its hard to get the car with teenagers in the house. I don't want to spend the summer sharing a car with 2 teenage boys. It's hard enough to share with one! Gimme patience!

Summertime

It's Memorial Day Weekend. Where I grew up that was the beginning of summer! The community pools opened (no one had private pools) and we were all there Saturday morning waiting for the lifeguard to come open up at 10am. The water was cold but we didn't give a hoot. It was summertime! Mothers would come down with sandwiches and command us to come out and eat a few hours later and then we'd get back in the water until closing. Sunday we did it all again! and Monday we'd be there first thing because we didn't have all day. We were going to be dragged out of the pool soon to be taken to a parade and then BBQ. Honestly, we just wanted it to be done with to get back in the pool. I mean the parade was nice and the food was good. But we couldn't wait to be handed our popsicles that we ate walking back to the pool. It would melt and drip all down our arms but we didn't care becasue we were going to jump in the pool to clean off.

After the first week we slowed down a bit and only went to the pool after lunch. All the moms took the babies in the morning. They were everywhere. Don't jump over here because of the babies. Children stop splashing like that you are gong to drown the babies. They would get on our last nerve. So, we gave them the pool in the morning and took it over in the afternoon. Now, when I say took over I mean took over. This was a very large pool, it was for an entire community but we monopolized it in the afternoons and played Marco Polo and had relay races and diving competitions and who can make the biggest cannonball splash competitions and who can keep their legs straight while doing a handstand under water competitions and on and on.

Before lunch it depended on which mom was watching us what we could do. One mom made us read. She made us read real books the funny papers didn't count. Ugh! It was horrible. And she knew all the books and would ask you things about it to make sure that you had actually read. Awful. Another mom would let us just watch TV and play quietly. We just had to be quiet because she was always tired (in my adult years I realize now she was always hung over). The girls would play Barbie and the boys would play GI Joe. It would all be good until the boys invariably launched an invasion on the Barbie townhouse and we'd scream and get kicked out fo the house to go be outside. Another mom didn't want us underfoot and we had to be outside and getting fresh air. So, we'd be on the playground or we'd play baseball using trees and shrubs as bases.

Summers were great. The morning set depending on the mom in charge, afternoons in the pool until sundown and then stay up late because who needs to go to bed early in the summer. NO ONE, there's no school! I wish I could do some of that again. Those were the days, the lazy days of summer.

Pretty in Pink

I like color. I realize that you wouldn't know it anymore looking at my wardrobe or honestly even looking around my house. Hubby isn't as into color as I am and therefore most of the house just blends together but that's another story.

I started thinking about color again a while back when sitting at a restaurant for breakfast a woman more robust than I walked in chatting happily with some friends, I guess. She was wearing a pink dress and strappy sandals. When I say pink, I mean hot pink, really bright hot pink. The dress was made of a jersey fabric that didn't flow but was clinging to her rotund body pronouncing all of her rolls and I have no clue how she didn't topple over or cut off her circulation with the straps that were cutting into her ankle and her feet and toes pouring over the poor soles. I watched her walk in and not fit into the booth she was directed to and ask for a chair to be set at the end of the booth. She sat at the end, her friends sat on either side of the booth.

I was a tad dumbstruck not at her size but at her attire. I couldn't imagine wearing that. Then I looked around and most of the patrons were pretty colorless. There was one floral print but even that was toned down with a lot of pastels. Then I thought - this is sad! I used to wear those colors. I even asked hubby, Remember the suit I had that was that hot pink color? He did. I wore that suit, a long sleeve jacket and short skirt that was hot pick. The jacket had big gold buttons and I wore it with a silk scarf that was a floral print with hot pink, royal blue and very bright green.

That made me think of other colors I used to wear. There was a killer red suit with black and gold buttons and a yellow suit that I probably could have worn for Halloween to be a sunflower. I had a royal blue dress that had a full flowing skirt and I even used to wear a dress that was purple with white polka dots. I had lots of color. It all went away. I'm not sure when exactly but I think it had to do with my weight. So, in an attempt to remedy that because color makes me happy. I have purchased a few items with color. I bought a pair of crop pants in not black but BROWN! and I bought some tops, brown, grey, red, light pink and I even bought a pink pullover. It's not hot pink, I'm ready for that but it's not a pastel either. I also bought a pair of brown sandals. Hey, baby steps people. I am going to get color back into my life.

I am even discussing paint colors for different rooms in the house with hubby and well you already know the car we bought is not white as most of our cars have always been but Glacier Blue with a grey interior.

So, look out people, here comes some color!

Wait! It's raining!

As you know I didn't grow up here in South Florida where during the rainy season it rains every afternoon. I grew up in Northern Virginia where you know weather sticks around for a few days and then goes on to harass some other part of the country.



I would visit Miami in December and be told not to wash my hair because it's too cold outside. HUH? Are you crazy? Does that mean that half the world doesn't wash their hair for half the year? In Virginia I could shower, bathe and wash my hair regardless of the temperature outside.



When I moved here way back when and I used to take a bus to work. This was nothing new to me I commuted to high school on public transportation taking 2 buses and a subway. No biggie. One day I am leaving the office and go through the doors of the building to find a mass of people standing there. Just standing there. I thought something had happened, so I patiently waited for maybe 3 minutes. When I couldn't hear anything going on I asked, What happened? It's raining I was told. HUH? And did someone fall? No. What's everyone waiting for? It's raining, I was told again. They were waiting for it to stop. HUH? Now, I realize that we aren't all postal workers or anything that must go on through rain, sleet and snow yadda yadda but people it's water. It's not going to hurt you unless of course you are the Wicked Witch of the West, if that's the case by all means wait inside until the rain passes. I elbowed my way to the front of the crowd and horror of horrors walked in the rain to my bus stop. Imagine. I did not melt or burst into flames.



Now, I told you all that to tell you this. Last night was my coffee night with my girlfriends and only 3 of us showed up. Why? Because it was raining. Here we go again. You aren't walking over, you are driving in your car where you will be inside dry. I understand that maybe you want to wait a few minutes if it got particularly rough in your neighborhood momentarily. I mean I have been living here for +20 years, I've heard the rain excuse before. So, we waited and waited and they didn't show. Amazingly one, God Bless her!, got in her car (remaining dry because she has a porte-cochere) and got @15 blocks when she decided to turn around and go home. She called to tell us that she turned around because it was raining too much and there were puddles everywhere. I had no words. I could only laugh. I doubt we will ever let her live it down. I can hear us 20 years from now when it starts to sprinkle "Be careful with the puddles!"



I've said it before and I will say it again, you can't make this stuff up! I love my friends they add confort and joy to my life even when they don't show up for coffee.

It's time.

16 and I had our first evening alone. I know we weren't alone we were together but you know what I mean. No hubby. He's never been on a business trip. I have. I have never been at home on my own for any extended period of time until now. I'm thinking it's about time. I did live by myself before we were married but that was a lifetime ago.


16 specifically asked me NOT to wake him in the morning. He says he looses approx. 3 or 4 minutes of sleep every morning because hubby wakes him up on the way to the kitchen. I agreed to let him get up on his own if he let me get up on my own. Cool deal.


I showered in the evening and so I was going to be able to sleep a little longer in the morning. I set my alarms for 6:15 and 6:30am. All's good. I easily went to sleep as usual around midnight and slept like a baby until... I dunno what time it was but it wasn't 6:15 yet!

This morning hubby's horridly loud alarm went off. I don't know what time it was because I don't sleep with my glasses on and couldn't see the clock. ARGHHH! I forgot to turn of hubby's alarm clock and it rang earlier than I needed, I smacked it on the top. Quiet, good, sleep. And it rang again. Oh, for the love of down pillows!, I banged it again. Quiet, good, deep breathe, try to sleep, and it rang again! Apparently, banging it on the top merely activates the snooze setting and it kept ringing every 9 minutes until I finally pulled the plug out of the wall. Ahhh, now I could sleep again. NOT! It was now actually time for me to get up because MY alarm now rang. Fine! Whatever! I was getting a headache anyway from all the alarms ringing.

2-1/2 weeks

Hubby is jetting off to the Big Easy today for 2 1/2 weeks for work. I'm hoping that this time apart will bring us closer together. I already noticed a few things the past few days that make me think it might just happen that way. I don't know. We'll see. I have been scanning airfare to see if I can go up for Memorial weekend and maybe we could have a mini-vacation just the 2 of us. I don't know. We'll see. It's really not that long, 2-1/2 weeks.
When I told hubby that this time apart may bring us closer. He looked skeptical and I told him that old line that goes something like - If its love, set it free and it will come back to you- and he countered with - Out of sight, out of mind. We talked a little bit about it and I don't know, we'll see how things feel later, I guess.

I snuck in a List of Things To Do in his bag. I attached this list to a picture of the whole family from when we went to Key West last year. Here's the list.
1) Work lots and make lots of extra $. :)
2) Go sightseeing and find some places you want to show me.
3) Stroll Bourbon street, people watch and find a place to take me.
4) Try something new and tell me all about it.
5) Find and buy a birthday present for your wife.
6) Have FUN!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch I have an agenda full of things to do and I am trying to prioritize them and squeeze in some quality one-on-one time with 16. It's just the 2 of us and one car so we have to coordinate all our errands, obligations, responsibilities and socializing. It's the end of the school year for him so there are many events and projects and much studying for finals that's going on during this time.

It should be an interesting couple of weeks.

An Egg? Really?

Well, Hilda's question got me thinking. I have no clue why Humpty is an egg. I had never questioned it before. I simply accepted that Humpty was an egg. Why shouldn't I? The egg was everywhere. Were we all just brainwashed into thinking Humpty was an egg by some random artist and has this farce been perpetuated throughout the years by educators and publishers everywhere? The rhyme doesn't say anything about an egg. So, why IS Humpty Dumpty portrayed as an egg? Thank goodness for the Internet. I would have given up searching for the answer if I would have had to go through how many books trying to research the answer. Too much work. But after some simple surfing around, the short of the long of it is that it was originally a rhyming riddle and the answer is an egg. Cool. So, there you go that's why Humpty is an egg.

Click below for further info:

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1494/why-is-humpty-dumpty-portrayed-as-an-egg-even-though-eggs-arent-mentioned-in-the-nursery-rhyme