Celebrating Women...for the Real World

We Have Moved!

2007-03-23T22:11:00.000-05:00

Yep...we did it! We finally made the jump. You can visit us at:

celebratingwomen.wordpress.com

Please understand that we are rearranging furniture and it will take us a little while to settle in. So pull up a box to sit on and join us at our new place. I'll be working on updating our blogroll and other widgits on the new site so be patient friends.

Stuff Portrait Friday....Part Deux!

2007-03-23T00:00:00.000-05:00

FRIDAY!!! My favorite day of the week would be FRIDAY!!! Of course that means that it is time for Stuff Portrait Friday; brought to you by the very sick (and needs to get well) Kristine over at Random and Odd.

She made it easy for us today. Our assignment is "TWO" and for us over here at Celebrating Women that could only mean:

Sheri & SuZan

(aka Thelma and Louise)

So for TWO-DAY (bwahahahahah) we give you our TWO favorite beverages...Coffee & Margaritas (preferably not together).

So let us know if you played and go and cheer up Kristine to help her feel better.

Thursday-Yeah!

2007-03-22T07:59:00.000-05:00

Man, once Thursday rolls around, I feel like there's hope! I've almost made it through the week! Coming back from Spring Break was tough. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. It's hard to be stuck in the office when there is so much I could be doing......outside........away from asshats!

Are you bitches ready for Blogger Blowout? Yeah! Just one more month! We are going to have so much fun! Can't wait to see all you bitches! Note to self....start shopping for appropriate boobage top and good butt jeans!

Hmmm, this post seems to be a lot of randomness.

BTW-Any Idol watchers? If yes, then let me ask you this. Why is that Sanjaya Michael Jackson Wanna Be still on? And he's in the top 10!! WTF?!?

To close this post of random nothingness, I thought I'd share a funny with you. At 10:30 last night my daughter hadn't made it home yet. It's not like her to not call and check in. Of course the worry factor started. I called her, her phone wasn't working (she dropped it off the roof when she was leaning out the window checking the weather whilst talking with a friend and deciding what to wear). So I call boyfriend's phone. She gets on the line and I'm like "where are you?" She said she was at boyfriend's house. I asked, "shouldn't you be home?" To which she replied, "What time is it?". I say, "It's after 10:30!" To which she says, "Oh, we were reading and guess we lost track of time."

Reading - that's a new one!

Spring Has Sprung

2007-03-20T23:09:00.000-05:00

Spring is officially here in H-town. How do I know this you ask? Just look at the crap I see on my car every morning.

Yes, isn't that lovely? No wonder my sinuses are going crazy.

Now for the fun part of Spring...During Spring break I made two flower gardens. The small one about killed me because the ground was so hard I had to take a pick ax to it. Then came the torrential rains.

It was messy and muddy but sooooooo much easier to dig up the dirt. I was actually able to level most of the back yard and make the larger bed.

This bed has some sort of annual (I don't remember what they are), a bush that has blue flowers (no I don't know what it is called either), carpet roses, pink jasmine and white crystal. This bed smells so good when you walk out on the deck.

The larger of the two beds I am most proud of. I am still such a novice on the landscaping thing but I really enjoyed putting it together. The only problem is when I go to the garden store I am overwhelmed with all the different plants.

This bed has: Saratoga Tobacco Plants, white crystals, fox tail ferns, azaleas, humming bird sage and petunias.

Can you believe I was on top of a rock pile and picked out the rocks for the borders. Big G was amused until I picked out the bolders to go in the bed.

Tickle Tuesday

2007-03-20T08:10:00.000-05:00

It's not Monday; and it's not Hump Day; so it must be "Tickle Tuesday". Tickle Tuesday is our attempt to lighten your load and make you smile. If you want to join in, let us know. We'll come by and visit.

Subject: BABIES FIRST EXAMINATION!!!

A woman and a baby were in the doctor's examining room, waiting for the doctor to come in for the baby's first exam. The doctor arrived, and examined the baby, checked his weight, and being a little concerned, asked if the baby was breast-fed or bottle-fed?

"Breast-fed,"she replied.

"Well, strip down to your waist" the doctor ordered.

She did. He pinched her nipples, pressed, kneaded, and rubbed both breasts for a while in a very professional and detailed examination.

Motioning to her to get dressed The doctor said, "No wonder this baby is underweight. You don't have any milk."

"I know," she said, "I'm his Grandma, but I'm glad I came."

The moral of the story-sometimes it's good to be the Grandma!

Back in the saddle

2007-03-19T12:54:00.000-05:00

Thanks to SuZan, you saw more than just this last week........

That would be blank space. I took a much needed break from life. I didn't turn on my computer, check bank balances, blog, nothing. I did nothing (other than laundry, plant flowers, shop, and hang out with the kids). Oh, and baseball. My son had three games over the weekend. But other than that, I basically did everything other than what my normal day entails.

During our retail therapy, SuZan and I tossed around the idea of renaming our blog. See, this blog isn't at all what it started out to be. Originally we wanted to start a blog full of ideas to help women, moms, grandmas, whoever get through the day. Then we met an awesome group of ladies we refer to as "our blogging bitches". Now this blog has turned into a place to bitch, vent, share, laugh, cry, etc. We are also thinking about putting our big girl panties on and switching from blogger to Word Press or something.

The problem we encountered when trying to think of a name that was witty and wonderful was......everything we came up with was or could have been construed as porn! We have, however, met some interesting people who have stumbled across our sight when searching for gay/lesbian women to rock their world. Sorry, we're not gay or lesbian, although when our husbands start acting like asses (which we all know hardly ever happens), the thought may have crossed our minds.

What we need from you, our Internets, are suggestions. Should we rename this blog? If so, suggestions please. Should we keep the name? You know, change is a good thing. Some names we've tossed around: Thelma & Louise; Double Trouble; Hmmmm, guess that's all we've come up with. Come on guys, can ya help some sistahs out?

Stuff Portrait Friday!

2007-03-16T00:00:00.000-05:00

Fridays are coming more fast and furious these days so it can only mean that it is time for Kristine's SPFs. This week, Kristine wants to see our letters. Some of us can remember getting these things in the mail with actual handwriting on a piece of paper; but I don't have any of them.

So I'll give you the letter R and the letter O (as in Random and Odd). I work with a lot of kids at my schools on handwriting. Why when you get an OT license, it automatically makes you a handwriting expert? I'll never know; but here are my letters:

Then after I got this brilliant idea, Big G suggested this:

My keyboard has the letters that I use every day.

So tell us...did you play?

The New Kid on the Block

2007-03-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

Lone Star Scouter

Now that Sheri and I have been blogging for about two years and Sheri's hubby (jkOnTheRun)has blogged for over five years, Big G is hopping on the blogging train and has his own.

We have to be patient because he is a two-finger typist but he will get it done. Go over and say hello to Big G and give him some words of encouragement, besides, I think he's kinda hot. He always says that he is geek challenged but can put together a computer, he just can't operate them well.

(click Lone Star Scouter for the link to his blog)

~~~~~~~~~~

Beware of the ides of March!

(no reason for typing this, I've just always wanted to say it)

~~~~~~~~~~

We are supposed to have good weather today. I hope so because we have had two days of torrential rains. I have to rescue my flower garden since Mother nature tried to wash it away.

Well I didn't know!

2007-03-14T08:41:00.000-05:00

INTERESTING OBSERVATION

1. The sport of choice for the urban poor is BASKETBALL.

2 The sport of choice for maintenance level employees is BOWLING

3 The sport of choice for front-line workers is FOOTBALL.

4 The sport of choice for supervisorsis BASEBALL.

5 The sport of choice for middle management is TENNIS.and........

6 The sport of choice for corporate executives and officers is GOLF.

THE AMAZING CONCLUSION:
The higher you go in the corporate structure, the smaller your balls become.

Tickle Tuesday....and other stuff!

2007-03-13T08:50:00.000-05:00

There are always two ways to look at everything.

One day a man and his wife were sitting at a table at his high school reunion. He kept staring at a drunken lady swigging her drink as she sat alone at a nearby table.

The wife asks, "Do you know her?" "Yes," he sighed, "She's my old girlfriend. I understand she took to drinking right after we split up those many years ago, and I hear she hasn't been sober since."

"My gosh!" says the wife, "Who would think a person could go on celebrating that long?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Wow! Ya'll do ask some interesting questions so here we go:

Kami: Hmmmm; I think the most embarrassed was when G2 was in Cub Scouts and we were at Scout Fair. In one of the booths they were making bouncy balls out of rubber bands (they were kinda cool). So I'm making a ball and Big G was next to me. I lean towards him and say "hey baby, ya wanna rubber?" I then look up and see that I have just said that to a 16 year old, pimple face Boy Scout...yeah...nice.

Ktlee: Besides family and marriage I think I'm most proud of my education. We were a young family, I worked full time and I went to school at night. I did it the hard way, and with a lot of support, but I did it.

Carrie: No, I didn't know what OT was. When the printing company that I worked for sold, I went to work for a Rehabilitation Hospital that we did printing for. I was a secretary for OT, Vocational Services and Marketing. When I would see what all the therapists were doing, I decided that I was working way too hard.

Amiee: Wow...that is a good question. The juggling act is the most difficult. I like to be at a school the same day every week. It facilitates me being part of the team, but when you have 8 schools, in 4.5 days and your kid's annual ARDs keep popping up all over the calender. The most frustrating thing is when you have a teacher that asks you how to work with a problem, you help them set it up, explain the strategies and how they work. You then go in the following week to follow up and NOTHING has been implemented.

Shell: Vacation (hmmmmmm), I would like to go to Spain; there are several places there I would like to see, then maybe Greece.

SFG: Blogger I would like to meet. I'm very lucky in the fact that I know many of you. However, you SFG are on my list of "must meet"; and as for your other question...we'll talk later.

Tammy: I have loved Toronto and would love to live there (in summer). I thought I could be tough about the snow but my trip to Arizona enlightened me that I do get cold. The reasons why I love Toronto are, the city is so clean, it is beautiful; it has the best mass transit system I have ever seen; the people were so friendly; I'll just pack up and move into Casa Loma.

Nancy: Hey there, so far I have planted some pink jasmine, carpet roses, a bromeliad, some annuals, and transplanted a bush with blue flowers (I don't know it's name).

Whew.....made it though!

Monday Monday!

2007-03-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

I can't seem to get use to daylight savings time. At least my car is set to the right time, I never changed it back in October, so I guess I'll stop getting places an hour early (yeah right); however, I do feel I'm behind and I just woke up. Not to mention that I am sore as hell! Sheri and I went on a plant shopping spree (well Sheri did, I bought one plant and a bunch of dirt).

Why am I sore? I started on a planting bed in the back yard. The darn soil/clay/sand/rocks was so hard it took a pic ax to break it up. OMG the back yard needs so much TLC, I have no idea how long it will take (maybe towards the end of summer). I wanted to post a picture of the new garden but I only got as far as the planing bed, so maybe for tomorrow I'll have something for ya.

Oh, and to end the day last night, I had put a tarp over the planting bed because it was going to rain. We used bags of dirt to weigh it down, then the strapping young Zeus needed to go outside and he had a field day with the dirt. He ripped the bags open and spread them all over the deck...sigh...doggies.

So, I guess we'll jump on the band waggon (I'm offering up Sheri too). You've seen this before on other sites, leave me a question in my comments section and I'll post later with the answers.

Stuff Portrait Friday...Luggage Style

2007-03-09T00:00:00.000-06:00

TGIF! Finally Friday is HERE! This afternoon will mark the start of Spring Break (woo hoo). This week Kristine wants us to take a picture of our luggage. Good thing she didn't ask us for a picture of our baggage, because we would be here all day.

When I talked to Sheri about SPF she told me that her luggage is up in the attic so she told me "I think I will pass".

My Luggage

So you see my luggage is plain, boring and black. Nothing exciting, especially looking for it at the baggage claim at the airport. Sheri is always talking about her OCD, w-e-l-l, I think there is a little OCD in all of us. See the coffee press on top of my luggage? I never travel without it. First thing I pack is my coffee press, freshly ground beans and my creamer. Yep...a little OCD myself.

So tell us...did you play? Go let Kristine know if you did too.

BTW:

Say Happy Birthday to Big G, he hits the bit 40...............something (hehehe). Happy birtday honey; I love you!

This & That

2007-03-08T08:08:00.000-06:00

Today's post is a Hodge podge of thoughts floating through that area at the top of my body between my ears.

I think about stupid things while I'm showering in the morning. Take into account that the shower occurs pre-coffee, therefor, not all thoughts/ponderings make sense. Take today for example. I was pondering the fact that I really must have things be "the same". I was thinking back to when I was young (teenager years) and how I (we) did everything in our power to not conform. We rebelled when our parents told us it was room cleaning day, or to put away our clothes. We hated that we has "assigned" seats in school and thought it a big deal when our teachers let us sit wherever we wanted. Maybe it was just me, but I remember my friends were the same way. Now I find that if things aren't "the same", my day seems off kilter. As an example, here is my morning routine:

Smack alarm and cuss
stumble to bathroom and turn on heat light and shower
turn on sink
go pea
brush teeth/wash face
shower
toner/lotion on face
lip balm

Then, and only then will it be safe to talk to me. But only talk. No questions. Why, well the next step in the program is coffee. Can't talk much before coffee.

And it's not just the shower routine. If I go to the gym, I use the same locker every time. If I go to the restroom at the office, I go to the same stall. Hmmm, maybe it's a touch of OCD. Ya think?

What else was I going to write about. Hmmmm. Don't quite remember. Oh yeah. I just ordered oldest's senior portraits (yeah, a little late, his fault. Trying to teach teenagers responsibility is tough!) I spent a shit ton of money. Can't tell you how much cause hubs reads the blog. Let me just say a shit ton.

This brings about another ponderance. What exactly was I thinking when I had three children. It's not the fact that there are three, but so close together? It wasn't bad when they were young, but now that they are teenagers, I worry in stereo. And the money-crap. As much as I'd like to take my hubs up on the offer to be a kept woman, ugh. See, I don't feel totally guilty when I spend money cause I make a decent salary. It's nice to spend without thinking and perseverating over every penny! Because my kids are so close in age, there is no break to recover financially. Let me give you an example of expenses during Sr. year:

SAT Prep Class $150
SAT test $80
College App fees - $35 - $75 each (times three schools)
Cars
Gas
Insurance (yes, the kids help, but.......)
Sports (If your kid participates in school activities you will have Club fees, ticket purchases, out to eat expenses, t-shirts, etc., etc., etc. SuZan and I were talking how our check registers from July and August was filled with entries-to the school)
Homecoming Expenses (Boys cost as much as girls)
Class Rings ($350 plus)
Sr. Portraits (Can't tell you how much, but it's up there)
Letter jackets if they participate in sports (The jacket was free, so far I've spent about $300 in patches/embroidery, etc. When they say the jacket is free, that's all you get, the jacket)
Prom expenses (I've been contributing to project prom since last May. I've tallied about $500 in contributions through all the different fund raisers).

See where I'm coming from. Now remember, I have a daughter that's a Jr. She too costs $$$. See, she is ahead of the game and already starting to apply at colleges.

Ugh! Teenagers-the best form of birth control!

Many Thanks

2007-03-07T06:33:00.000-06:00

It seems that it has been an eternity since I last blogged. Sheri has had to "take over" and keep it up by herself. Sheri thanks...you rock!

I also wanted to thank all the blogger b*tches. Thank you for your IM's, cards and phone calls, I appreciate your kindness and support.

SuZan

~~~~~~~~~~

Did you ever have a stupid moment? Well I had a major one when I went to Arizona. I am so used to Houston that I packed for Houston weather...smart...Ha! Phoenix's weather was very much like Houston's right now but when I made it up to Flagstaff you want to see what I saw?

Yes, I froze my tootsies off! I have not seen this much snow since I was five or six! nylon socks and a jacket just doesn't cut it. I am usually so warm nature, but I think my blood has thinned because I was cold. At one point, I couldn't feel my feet.

~~~~~~~~~~

Now here is just a random shot:

Here is Houston. Well actually I think it is Kingwood (I wasn't on the downtown side on approach). I'm so glad to be home. I'll catch up with everyone this afternoon, I miss ya'll and want to catch up with the blogs.

Have a great day!

Terrific Tuesday

2007-03-06T08:50:00.000-06:00

As you've noticed, we've been a little remiss in posting lately. The memorial for SuZan's sister was this past weekend. Of course, I had a little date with the porcelain thrown and it took me quite some time to recover. My stomach still isn't real fond of food. I wonder how long that will last.

On my way in to the office, there was no shortage of people who pissed me off. I was going to do a "stab people in the neck" post. Instead I thought it would be much more uplifting to post about the positive things in life. My challenge to you, my internet friends, is to post at least 10 positive things in your life. Go ahead! I'll post mine. They can be as sappy as you'd like. Nothing is inconsequential.

Here it goes:

1) My children are healthy.
2) My rent for March is paid
3) All other bills for March are paid (and a little stashed away for spring break)
4) The weather has been pretty awesome (even with the allergies that come with it)
5) Spring break is next week! (Lighter traffic, sleeping in-woo hoo!)
6) The office bitch is a bit under the weather and will be going home (yes-peace and quiet)
7) My husband has more work than he can handle (this is a good thing)
8) We are getting the pool ready for some "spring break action". Love this~
9) Blogger Blow-out Houston Style is right around the corner. I can't wait to see the bitches!
10)Margarita Saturday! SuZan and I plan to bring Spring Break in with a bang! Beware, there may be some drunk dialing going on!

Wow-I feel better all ready. I know longer have the urge to do any neck stabbing! Have a great day!

Stuff Portrait Friday - Say What?

2007-03-02T08:24:00.000-06:00

I'm such a bad blogger. SuZan usually takes care of this post for the week. I told her not to worry, I'd have everything under control and I'd take care of it! Shit, I suck. I had good intentions, does that count?

Anywho, Kristine over at Random and Odd hosts Stuff Portrait Friday. She picks a theme, anyone can participate. It's great fun. Check out her site for better information.

This weeks theme is leftovers. Anything leftover. Be creative. Seeing as how I fell asleep at 8:30 last night, I didn't post the picture of my leftover chicken soup. Chicken Soup? Yes, that's the only thing that dind't send me flying to this:

We became fast friends this past week. I can't like stomach bugs. I just can't!

So then I found this picture:

This is what was leftover of my energy after visiting the aforementioned "porcelain thrown". Not much. Me and the dog. That was about all I could handle.

Tah for now! Let us know if you played!

Yesterday Spring Fever; Today-Not So Much

2007-03-01T08:15:00.000-06:00

Well, that was short lived. I no longer feel the urge to purge and clean those areas of my house that so easily get neglected. I think I'm on round two of the crud! Over the weekend I had the stomach yuck with fever. Hot, cold, chills, sweating-the whole 9 yards. Kept me in bed for almost two days. Tuesday I still wasn't feeling so hot, but made it through the day. Yesterday-felt great! I was ready to take on the world. Then I ate. Not good. I've been eating a very soft, mild diet. Doesn't matter. My stomach still doesn't like it. Today I woke up with sore throat, achy, exhausted, no strength. I'm sick and tired of this shit!

Could someone please send the germ killer to my house! Please!

Spring Fever!

2007-02-28T08:34:00.000-06:00

Holy smokes! I woke up with Spring Fever! No, not the bad kind, the good kind! I have had the crud since Saturday. Man, this morning I woke up, and finally feel normal! Between feeling well and the fabo weather we've been having, I have all kinds of energy!

If I wasn't at work today, I would be home weeding at least two flower beds, then I'd move the refrigerator and clean behind it. After that I think I'd attack my daughter's room. How can teenagers live like that? I can't imagine that I ever lived like that (and lucky for me, there's no one around to tattle and tell me otherwise).

I sure hope this mood lasts through the weekend. Can you just imagine how much I'll get done! Anyone else having a touch of Spring Fever?

Tag-I'm It!

2007-02-27T08:37:00.000-06:00

My "Partner In Crime" SuZan tagged me, so I must participate.

My task:

I will tell you 6 weird things about myself, but one of them will be false. You have to choose the one that is false. Here we go:

1. My mother made a replica of the State Capital Building in Harrisburg PA out of sugar.

2. When my husband and I watch porn, this always leads to a "bow chica bow bow" session.

3. I always must load the coffee mugs in the dishwasher the same way and on the same side. Can't put them anywhere else.

4. I love it when someone else washes my clothes.

5. I can't fall asleep without the TV.

6. I have this whole "shower, coffee, make-up" routine that I must follow every morning or the whole day will be off.

OK. Not all that weird. But in my own way, I am. I must say that having children has mellowed me to some degree. I won't freak totally out; just partially.

Can you guess which one is a lie?

Why?

2007-02-25T15:25:00.000-06:00

Taken From Us Too Soon

Sunday started out as any other Sunday. It was beautiful; cool, sunny, just absolutely gorgeous. The perfect day to work out in the garden and start getting it ready for spring.

Late morning the phone rank and it was my Niece calling to let me know that my sister had died.

WHAT???

My niece is pregnant and my sister was there helping her out with her other kids, and was getting ready to go back home to my BIL. Apparently Saturday night she had an upset stomach and complained that her hands and feet felt cold.

She went to bed and died in her sleep.

I am struggling with the emotions that I'm feeling right now. I'm so upset and numb that I cannot wrap my mind around the fact that she is gone.

I talked to her last week and she sounded good. She was even talking to Big G on what type of trekking poles to buy for hiking. This is not right and is not fair. I am no help to my niece right now because I am in such disbelief. I want to know why so badly that I feel almost consumed. Even knowing the stages of grief doesn't make this any easier.

I. Am. Numb

Tag...I'm It!

2007-02-25T10:25:00.000-06:00

Tagged by Christie:

When I started this, I asked Big G to help me out and tell me what is weird about me. He wouldn't help and just kept saying that it was a trick question and he wasn't going there.

I will tell you 6 weird things about myself, but one of them will be false. You have to choose the one that is false. Here we go:

I have to sleep with three pillows; one between my knees, one for my head, and one to prop my hand up on.
I cannot stand for the scrubby sponge to be left in the sink and get all yucky as things are put into said sink.
I have this thing for kitchen gagets. Now I didn't say I liked to cook or that I was even good at it; but I love kitchen gagets.
I dated this guy when I was in High School. The relationship was totally tabu. I was an American and he was from Bulgaria (cold war days). His father's job was that he was an Editor for a Bulgarian magazine in Mexico City. I only saw a 1969 copy of the magazine over the years.
I just love going camping with my guys in the great outdoors, especially in summer.
I am addicted to LOST.

There you go. I don't know how interesting this is? Now, if you can correctly identify the one fake then you win a...huh...something.

I'm tagging my partner in crime Sheri; however, she is disqualified from identifying my fake weird fact.

Stuff Portrait Friday...List Style

2007-02-23T06:51:00.000-06:00

IT'S FRIDAY!!! I can't tell you how thrilled I am that it is Friday. I think one more weekend and I can get well...FINALLY. Anyway this week Kristine wants to see our lists and maybe a doodle while we are at it. Well I am a list person and can't seem to function without them.

MY LIST

I have written lists everywhere (even the week's dinner menu on the fridge) but I thought that I would show you my attempt to bring out the geeky me with my PDA. This is a list of my coworkers. I don't like having my phone full of programed numbers so I have the numbers listed in my PDA as a quick reference when I need to contact someone.

MY DOODLE

So here is my doodle. I'm not artistic so I give you just a little game of tic-tac-toe to pass the time. This happened at the last continuing ed conference I attended, the therapist next to me and I had some fun.

So let us know if you played; and let Kristine know also.

Don't Get Mad, Get Even

2007-02-22T10:02:00.000-06:00

Many of you asked what I'm planning on doing in regards to the post below. I said, "I'm going to use her game against her." Here is a small sample of what I've done thus far.

1) Never piss off the person who handles IT. The person below has the brain about the size of a pea. She is lazy. She talks about all that needs to be done, but doesn't due anything. When her boss asks why it's not done, it's always "because of her piece of shit computer or printer". Well folks, she is on her 3rd new computer in 3 years. The others-I've distributed them to other members of the firm and, believe it or not, they work quite well. This tells you that it must not be the computer, but the user. What's the best way to screw with someone who is clueless when it comes to computers? You use your network access to mess with her documents or block her access to certain things. You then fix it from the server before you go to her cube. When you (I) access her documents or files, everything works just fine. All fingers thus point to the aforementioned pea brained user. Oh, and let me add that you make sure her boss is always around when making her look like a fool!

2) Never mess with the person who cuts the checks. It's amazing how your check requests "get lost" and never make it to my inbox. It must be your computer (refer back to step 1 and make user look twice as stupid).

3) As I mentioned, she's nice to my face but stabs me in the back. Well, I'm not that special. She does that to everyone. What's one way to make a whole office (including the boss) turn against a person? You bring up the ugly things she's told you about that person then give that reaction of "Oh, I guess I shouldn't have said anything. I thought you knew."

And that, my friends, is just the tip of the iceberg. I've done many more things like, moved a file from her desk and put it somewhere else. Then, while she's frantically looking for it and blaming everyone else for her stupidity, I wait for the boss to come out. I "offer my assistance" and go to the place where "she must have left it". Always of course it's right under her nose. But she'd rather blame someone than look for it.

I will now leave you with the inspirational message that was on my calendar today:

"Inside me lives a skinny woman crying to get out. But I can usually shut the bitch up with cookies."

-Cora Harvey Armstong

"Life goes better if we are the first to laugh at ourselves."

The Things We Do

2007-02-21T08:44:00.000-06:00

Have you ever encountered someone that you knew didn't like you? Even more, you knew they didn't like you but were so nice to your face? Then you hear the things they say behind your back. People suck. Sometimes the flesh takes over and my evil twin comes out. I say this because, instead of being upset about what this person says, I fully attend to use her game against her. How mean is that? Yes, the world is run by three year olds!

In other news, the family and baby went home yesterday. It's going to take some time to get things back in order. My youngest son gave up his room and slept on the sofa while they were here. He said that as soon as his head hit the pillow last night, he was out! I checked on him before I went to bed. When I woke him up this morning, I swear he was in the same position!

My 18 year old son got a full dose of baby as his room is right beside the room they were sleeping in. Every time baby woke up, M woke up. He asked me yesterday if all babies cry like that. What do you think my answer was? YES! Then I told them they cry more! Don't want any baby thoughts in his or girlfriend's head!

I got the mouth guard as suggested by the dentist. Football Widow mentioned that hers stays in the cute little case in her bathroom. Now I know why. Can I get a yuck? Plus, it's very hard to, um, get jiggy with it if the moment....arises?! Not sure how long I'll use it. If it's anything like my resolve to floss my teeth nightly, it won't be long. I suck.

Enough boring dribble for today. Do check back tomorrow as I'm sure something exciting is bound to happen in our lives. Yeah, maybe not, but who knows, there's a lot more dribble where this came from!

Have a great day!

Back in the Saddle

2007-02-20T08:27:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know today is Tickle Tuesday. I hate to let you all down, but it's been a bit hectic in our household. If you all remember, this little guy was visiting......

I know, I've used this picture already. But darn it, he is just so darn cute!!!!! Besides, I've been far too busy being Grandma to download the other 300 pictures! If I remember correctly, he had a mouth full of green beans. This kid can eat. Of course I had to introduce him to the finer things in life like mac & cheese, girl scout cookies, etc. Always with mom's permission by the way. I remember what it was like when mine were little and people would feed them stuff they weren't allowed to have.

Well, they left at 5:30 a.m. this morning and let me tell you, the house is this eerie kind of quiet. I'm sure going to miss this little guy! Now I just have big, smelly guys to keep me entertained!

In light of all this baby stuff, I thought I'd leave you with this. Please read it. I'm sure every mom (and dad) will relate to what it says.

Have a great day and hug your babies. They grow up just too dang quick!

WORRY

Is there a magic cutoff period when offspring become accountable for their own actions? Is there a wonderful moment when parents can become detached spectators in the lives of their children and shrug, "It's their life," and feel nothing?

When I was in my twenties, I stood in a hospital corridor waiting for doctors to put a few stitches in my son's head. I asked, "When do you stop worrying?"

The nurse said, "When they get out of the accident stage."

My mother smiled faintly and said nothing.

When I was in my thirties, I sat on a little chair in a classroom and heard how one of my children talked incessantly, disrupted the class, and was headed for
a career making license plates. As if to read my mind, a teacher said, "Don't worry, they all go through this stage and then you can sit back, relax and enjoy them."

My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

When I was in my forties, I spent a lifetime waiting for the phone to ring, the cars to come home, the front door to open. A friend said,
"They're trying to find themselves. Don't worry, in a few years, you can stop worrying. They'll be adults."

My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

By the time I was 50, I was sick & tired of being vulnerable. I was still worrying over my children, but there was a new wrinkle.
There was nothing I could do about it.

My mother just smiled faintly and said nothing.

I continued to anguish over their failures, be tormented by their frustrations and absorbed in their disappointments.

My friends said that when my kids got married I could stop worrying and lead my own life. I wanted to believe that, but I was
haunted by my mother's warm smile and her occasional, "You look pale. Are you all right?" Call me the minute you get home.
Are you depressed about something?"

Can it be that parents are sentenced to a lifetime of worry? Is concern for one another handed down like a torch to blaze the trail
of human frailties and the fears o f the unknown? Is concern a curse or is it a virtue that elevates us to the highest form of life?

One of my children became quite irritable recently, saying to me, "Where were you? I've been calling for 3 days, and no one answered. I was worried."

I smiled a warm smile. The torch has been passed.