Hump Day and why not

This Saturday is my baby girl's wedding shower. It still seems a little surreal to see those words typed out on my computer screen. Where did all the years go... Joycie is 23 years old now, and the age I was when I married her dad. It fills my heart to see her so happy with Mike. The wedding is in 38 days. But we'll have none of the last-minute craziness because Joyce is super duper organized. As with any big life event, I'm wishing I had lost weight. Eh. Fuck it. I'm 52 years old and so tired of that feeling. Back when I was young, in my teens and twenties, I always felt so much that I needed to lose weight, and of course now looking at those photos I wanna go back and kick my young self in the head and say ENJOY IT, YOU SILLY TWIT. Coz I looked pretty good.

I guess I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed. I'm not freaking out because Joyce is marrying our wonderful Mike, not at all. I'm so happy. It's just been a lot of stuff going on this past year or so, busy, busy... Probably I need a fucking vacation. Ha! Instead, I drive a lot lately, to and from work, to and from wherever Sam needs to go (that's a long story), and so on.

 And what the heck is it with all the crap people put on their vehicles... I've seen a few of those "in loving memory" window decals lately. I don't get it. Yesterday I saw one that was "in loving memory of my daughter" then followed with name, date of birth, date of death, etc. Why? I get it that people have so many different forms of grief, but window decals are the current equivalent of a bumper sticker. Bumper stickers, by their nature, are meant to announce such things as your opinions and your political beliefs to the world. I don't understand wanting to announce the death of someone you love, such as a child, to the world by a plastic window decal on your pickup truck.

And those small white oval stickers with letters on them... those suck. What is the point? You cannot tell what they are about, not while driving. I've seen one on a car at work that I finally got to see close up because I walked by the car in the parking lot. It's for some island where the dude apparently went golfing. But unless you're standing close to that stupid oval sticker, you would never know that. Give me a "Say Ya To Da U.P." bumper sticker in big letters any day!

What's my bumper sticker of choice on my car? Which is my old Caddy, by the way, since Sam's driving the Rendezvous. It's rust. And that's actually not by choice. The damn thing is starting to rust out all over. Sigh.

Kevin's been going crazy landscaping lately. New topic, btw. I had a large herb garden for about 20 years, and next to it a rock garden. Both had been looking pretty bad lately since they've been mostly neglected since 2007. Kev dismantled, dug out, excavated with his tractor and planted grass. I was initially a bit upset, but that lasted about 10 minutes. And then I was all eh, fuck it. It really looks nice now. Kev plans to put in a patio-like area off the deck with a nice fire pit in it. We'll plant some herbs around it. He's getting the yard all spruced up (with no spruce trees involved) because he's preparing for Sammy's high school graduation open house next year. Crazy.

Wiley says hello to everyone and wants to know where the hell you've all been. Oh, wait, that's us who has been absent from this blog! Hahahaha. eh. Fuck it. You all are busy too, right.

high ate us

Seems like every time I sit down at my computer to do a blog post, I end up playing Spider Solitaire. And then I feel guilty for not working on my company laptop instead. It's very crushing to one's creative inspiration.

So... how 'bout some bullet points? Ok, sure.

• I cannot fecking believe it's December 6th. Already.


• I just finished a book on tape where the story's setting was Ireland, and now I keep using 'fecking' to describe many, many things. I also talked in an Irish accent for a while, which Joyce informed me was not an Irish accent and then she told me to knock it off.


• My Dad makes the best home-made bread (in his bread machine), and I just had 2 pieces toasted, with butter and honey. Heaven. Thank you, Daddy.


• Sammy had surgery on his right elbow on Wednesday, Nov. 5th, one day after his 14th birthday. The surgeon had to put a screw into his bone to hold the end that had broken off. He did not get a cast; he had a splint and a sling for a couple of weeks. He's now going to physical therapy... the elbow dislocation was the issue. The PT is to help him regain arm extension. Sam's hoping his arm will be ready in time for basketball... me, too. Otherwise, he will be very sad.


• Joycie turned 20 years old the day before Thanksgiving. Sometimes she seems more adult than I feel. Mentally, that is. Physically, I'm the oldest person on Earth.


• I came home from work yesterday and Joycie & Mike had decorated the entire house, inside and out, with all our Christmas decorations. And lit candles. The house looked and smelled so Christmasy wonderful. We're getting our tree Monday evening (Kev has to work this weekend, just like last weekend).


• It's snowing right now. Big, fat flakes. And it's really, really coming down! It is so beautiful.


• Speaking of creativity... my sister, Joie, has joined me at Space Studios the past month. She is making 2 large coil pots for lamp bases, and she's doing a superb job on them. They are going to be gorgeous.


• I saw a vanity plate the other day that read, FANILOW. When I got closer to the car, I saw her bumper sticker that read, I'm broke, single and love Barry Manilow. Wanna go out?


• I have a list of items I have yet to do blog posts on, and it goes all the way back to May. Criminey!


• I paid something like $1.40 a gallon for gas the other day. On one hand, I'm so relieved. On the other hand, I'm burning with anger. How can it have been over $5 a gallon just a short time ago?... Fecking criminals, that's how.


• Whenever I use "on one hand" and "on the other hand" I think of Randy Travis. Mmmmmm....


• Joycie's Mike is now an Uncle Mike. His brother's son was born the day after Thanksgiving. My fingers are itching to hold that newborn baby boy.


• I want Kenny to win Survivor. But I just love Bob. Detest Corrine. And if my man proposed marriage to me with that much bawling, I'd have to say... uh... no. I mean really. There's sweet... and then there's sappy.


• I've been listening to books on tape a lot lately. It's nice to be "reading" again. Joyce insisted I read "Twilight" so I tried. I got about a third of the way through it. I couldn't finish it because: a) it hurts my neck looking down to read and I can't seem to get the book at a good level with pillows for my trifocals so reading is not fun, and b) it was stupid. Sorry. I'm misunderstood and in high school and in love with a vampire. Puh-lease. Clearly, however, I'm in the minority. That is one popular book series, and movie. If you've read it and enjoyed it, fine. Now go read Kaye Gibbons' book "Ellen Foster." Your brain deserves it.


• My sister, Kathy, just called me. (Hi, Sicko!) (She's got a bad cold.) She asked me what I was doing, and I said, "I am actually typing up a blog post!" That's what she was calling me for... to tell me to update my blog and that it's not Halloween anymore and it's not even Thanksgiving. Ha! Like I hadn't noticed. I noticed, I noticed. I'm just in denial. Christmas is NOT in 19 days.


• Is anyone else creeped out by the Grey's Anatomy story line of Izzy with her dead fiance? Ew. I mean the guy's a hunk and all, but... ew.


• Two things I heard at work recently that made me laugh. 1) I'm all stuffed up; I think I'm allergic to this place. 2) I'm not afraid of work, I'll lay down right beside it & fall asleep.


• At work lately there has been a huge focus on safety. Well, there has always been a big focus on safety where I work, but lately it's been even more pronounced. I totally agree with it. But... we all received an e-mail on Tuesday, Nov. 4th... Election Day, which was an unusually warm Nov. 4th... this is the text of it, verbatim, typos and all: "The nice warm temps have given us the extra time needed to complete those last few tasks that need completing outside at work and at home. Don't let the distractions of hurrying home to do that job take your focus off of the task at hand while at work, the same while finishing up the jobs at home. The nice warn temps can bring out the conversations while you are working, Stay focused, enjoy the last of the warm weather, and put the finishing touches on those tasks to be prepared for the winter ahead. As election day is upon us, there are a lot of people driving around, waiting in long lines and rushing to get to their next destination. Please take time today to look for extra hazards and slow down as this is a busy day for all." Seriously. You can't make this shit up.


• Mike, Joycie and I are going shopping today together so Joyce can spend her Michael's Craft Store gift card we gave to her for her birthday... on scrapbooking stuff. And then lunch.


• And then home and nap. (For me.)

Spread your wings, baby

I was trying to photograph the goldfinch pair, and got this photo...



I have a kazillion and one bird photos to sort through. You'll probably see some of them.

My nephew, Michael, moves into his freshman dorm room tomorrow. Very exciting! Michael is the one who was Valedictorian of his class & who got the wonderful scholarship at CMU. He told me I could post his Valedictorian speech on YouTube, so as soon as I figure out how to do that, I shall share it with you. Along with photos.

Sammy and Kevin just got home from Sammy's football practice. My poor boy could hardly walk. Two things happened tonight during practice, the result being both his ankles are very sore. He limped into the house, and watching him almost made me cry. So I got him soaking in the spa tub right now, with lavender Epsom salts, a vanilla laced hot chocolate and a ice water chaser.

I love it that Sammy loves playing football, and he's one of the bigger sized boys who does really well... but I hate it when he hurts. And that, most definitely, is part of football. Oy.

Speaking of hating... damn it all, but my vertigo is back. With a vengeance. It suckith mightily.

Speaking of loving... my Momma had hip replacement surgery 11 days ago, and she is doing so great! The surgeon said she needed it badly... she even had shards of bone pieces floating around that joint, with no cartilage left... bone on bone. And that's one painful thing. I sure hope I'm as tough as my Mom is when I'm her age. What a woman.

I saw two bumper stickers the other day that made me chuckle and then go, huh?... and hmmm... One said "Ask Me About My Grandcats" and the other said "I Love (heart) My Donkey".

Then I saw yet another personalized license plate (they are everywhere now, have you noticed???... you will now...), and this one I liked. It was "B QUIET". I really liked it. It was on a big SUV in the left lane, right in front of me, while beside me was some crappy car with a crappy teenager driving it with his crappy radio playing crappy music at a very LOUD volume. B QUIET indeed.

Our family loves TV. Big fans of TV. I found 2 shows recently on the USA channel. One is "Burn Notice" and the other is "In Plain Sight" and they're both great. Still enjoying "Saving Grace" (that Holly Hunter is ripped!) and "The Closer" immensely as well. We never seem to watch live TV now, though, and it's nice because it cuts down on the TV time... most of my screen time lately seems to be in front of my company laptop screen... *sigh* Oddly enough, I haven't been watching much of the Summer Olympics. (And I am not liking at all the stupid animal atheletes thing Google has going... must change my home page.) We usually do get into the Olympics a lot... just not this year. Don't know why. We're are watching TV... Kev has the Tigers on right now, recorded so he didn't miss the start of the game & zipping through commercials (and boring parts).

We have a DVR with Dish Network, and I just did the thing where I hooked up an external hard drive to transfer shows over to it from the DVR, so I can record and store to my heart's content... And make it worth the one-time activation fee of about forty bucks. I've been doing a lot of research on the 'net, hoping there was a way to use that hard drive on my computer to burn some things to DVD, but alas, no. Oh, well. Though I have read of some problems retrieving the recorded events (getting back to the DVR from the hard drive), but I've experienced no problems. I am recording a LOT of stuff... hoping that one day in the not too distant future I will be able to watch all these episodes and movies I'm recording. Sammy and I have a saying going... "Things'll be fine in '09!"

Here's hoping, baby. Fly away vertigo, fly away.

Bless me

I like to take note of bumper stickers. Lately, I've noticed that I don't see many of them... but I'm seeing a lot of car window decals. So I have decided that they're the same thing... car window decals are simply the modernization of bumper stickers.

I saw this one on a crappy vehicle yesterday...



(For all you Catholics who just got interested, you can buy it here for just a $1.83!)

The crappy vehicle was old and nondescript (coz I don't even remember what it was), and the Blessed Virgin was placed in the center of his back window. On the lower, right-hand corner of the same window was another decal. It read, in all caps, "MY OTHER RIDE IS YOUR GIRLFRIEND."

Gee, I hope she's not named Mary. But wouldn't that be ironic?

My morning commute entertainment

Listening to an AM local news radio station this morning... This is a roughly accurate excerpt from the on air conversation between the 2 guys, dare I say newscasters?, on the show:
Guy 1: Hey, have you seen those big presents? If you're driving on I75 or blah-blah-blah...
Guy 2: Oh yeah, I've seen those - the billboards that look like big wrapped presents with a big bow.
Guy 1: Yeah, I wonder what they're all about.
Guy 2: I've seen maybe 3 of them so far. There's no writing on them.
Guy 1: Yeah, no writing at all. So what do you think's going on?
Guy 2: Maybe it will be some big announcement, like when they unwrap the present.
[me: Ya think?!]
Guy 1: What do you think it's about?
Guy 2: I don't know, but someone is doing something, that's for sure.
[me: OMG, how profound.]
Switching back to CMU public radio, even if it is all about fund-raising.
Two minutes later: Turning off radio.

Bumper sticker seen shortly after turning off radio:
God Doesn't Believe in Atheists

B.S.

With Joycie at college now, I found this bumper sticker pretty funny...



She's getting a B.A., by the way... and it would probably be more like, "Do you want hot or mild?"...

Bumper Stickers

It's been a while since I've done a post about bumper stickers. Why you ask? Because I haven't seen very many lately. Almost none. Once in a while the usual, "You call me a BITCH like that's a bad thing." Boy, is that one getting old. *snore* And there are always a lot of NASCAR stickers to look at on the backs of vehicles. Personally, I just don't get the whole NASCAR thing. But then I never got "Days of Our Lives" or "General Hospital" either. The beer drinking part I get, but I don't need anything NASCAR to drink me some beers or 2. I also have stopped taking note of most of the political bumper stickers. You've all seen them all, too. *snore*

Then, the other day I saw this sticker on the ass of a Saturn:

If you're not OUTRAGED,
you're not paying attention.

Well, ok then, color me outraged...


Eh. *snore* Just can’t keep that outrage on track. Sorry, downer dude in the Saturn. I’m just too Happy.


Yeah, probably the beer thing.

Then a couple of days ago, I saw this oldie-but-goodie:

I don’t suffer from insanity,
I enjoy every minute of it.

Words of wisdom, Lloyd, my man. Words of wisdom.


And then this morning on my way from an early PT session, heading into work, I hit the motherload! A nice, new-looking Ford pickup with 7... count ‘em, SEVEN... bumper stickers on the back of it. I hit the brakes & grabbed my trusty Sony... they read, from right to left, capitalization realistically represented:

SOMEWHERE IN TEXAS
THERE’S A VILLAGE
MISSING AN IDIOT

AGAINST ABORTION?
THEN DON’T HAVE ONE

If You Want a Country
Run By Religion
Move to Iran

ONE NATION
UNDER-EDUCATED

Religions are just cults
with more members

Don’t Pray in Our School
I won’t Think in Your Church

HOMOPHOBIA
IS A SOCIAL DISEASE

I know! Me, too... I read that first one and thought to myself, “now this is going to be entertaining...” What was especially entertaining was the old guy driving the pickup... picking his nose. Eh.

Bumping on the edge

There's been a decided lack of interesting bumper stickers during my routine travels lately. The best I've seen lately are: a) If You Don't Like Country Music You Can Kiss My Ass, and b) You Call Me a BITCH Like It's a Bad Thing.

I like that TV commercial where someone sees someone else doing something nice for a stranger, so then they do something nice, then so on and so on... Great commercial... ummm... just can't remember what it's selling.

But anyway, very nice concept. Completely lost on a couple of people in my department at work. One woman has a sign posted outside of her cubicle that reads, "Go Away" in large text. Another has a sign that reads, "Your lack of planning does not make an emergency for me."

Did I mention this department is a service organization? Hmmm...

Another bumper sticker

This is one I saw the other day while waiting in line at the Walgreens drive-thru pharmacy window. The car in front of me was a red Alero or something similar, and the bumper sticker was red with white writing... it took me a little while to realize it was a bumper sticker and then to figure it out...

Dyslexic Devil Worshippers
Sell Their Souls To Santa

my mind kept reading it as Satan, and I couldn't figure out what was so funny about that... ah... then I actually read it. Cracked me up. Imagine being in the car next to me watching me stare intently with a puzzled look on my face at the back of the car in front of me and then watch me start laughing. I suppose the expression on your face would look very similar to the older guy's who was sitting in the Buick next to me when I looked over at him and caught his eye... briefly, because he quickly looked away and didn't look over at me again.

Conflicted

I ran some errands at lunch time today, and always being on the lookout for interesting bumper stickers, I noticed this old, beat up red Ford SUV thing. Only I think it was manufactured prior to the widespread use of the modern term "SUV"... Covered in dirt, dust and rust, the bright white window sticker really stood out. It read:

BAD ASS Girls DRIVE
...Chevy Emblem here in middle...
BAD ASS TOYS

This clanged with me on so many levels.
1) Definitely not in the category of "bad ass" vehicle,
2) Ummm... the original saying is Bad Ass BOYS because it rhymes with TOYS,
3) Did they not notice the CHEVY emblem??..., and
4) There was some scruffy young man driving it.
(I got a good look, it was definitely a young man).

What?!!

And then I thought, hey, that's pretty funny.

Lunch time posting

because when in the hell else am I gonna have time to do it? And I don't really have time now... but anyway...

How Well Do You Know Yourself?
Joycie gave Sammy one of those electronic toys, 20 Questions, for Christmas. I've had it for weeks and he hasn't even missed it. I've been trying to get to correctly guess that I'm thinking of it... that is, ITSELF -- the 20Q toy I'm holding in my hands. But I guess it doesn't know itself all that well... unless it thinks it's an MP3 player, a Game Boy or a Furby.

I Can't Believe I Didn't Write A Post About This
Joycie, now 17 years of age, finally got her ears pierced back in January when we were at some big mall shopping for a prom dress. Really, I thought she was never going to pierce her ears. Part of me liked that about her... a lot! Another part of me wanted to buy pretty earrings for her. Especially since she has long hair & she wears it in a pony tail often. After 2 months, I still look at her with my opal earrings in her ears and it seems strange to me. I have pictures that I took with my cell phone of the actual piercing... must include here sometime.

Another Great Bumper Sticker
There's room for all God's creatures...
on my plate right next to the potatoes.

It's Not Time To Freak Out Yet
Kev & I went to a meeting at the high school last night for parents of students graduating next year, in 2007. Holy shitmoly. Too. Much. Information.
And really, now that I've calmed down, it's not going to be all that bad. Yes, there's a lot of stuff to do next year, and thank goodness for Visa (ugh!), but all in good time. Anyway, Joycie has everything under control. She has never been one to wait until the last minute (thankfully, she didn't inherit my strong procrastination genes), and we've never had to harp on her to do her homework or anything. She's very self-driven, self-motivated. One thing we heard at the meeting was that she should be taking a math class in her senior year, and she's already set her schedule... with no math class. Kev was freaking out a little about that, but Joycie HATES math. She's had 3 years of it, and that's all she's going to give it in high school. I support her decision. She already knows what she wants (teaching degree) and where she wants to get it. We just have to cough up the cash. Now that's when Kevvie can really freak.

And Speaking Of Procrastination... and Visa...
I still haven't got all the paperwork together to give to our tax guy. Which wouldn't be a totally bad thing, except we are sure to get a nice refund this year. What in the hell am I waiting for???

Kev Is Expecting Soon
And he'll be the proud owner of a brand, spanking new log splitter. You would think he was given the key to the city, for pity's sake. He's very excited. Should be here in a few weeks.

Oh, Good! You're Finally Done Coz I Need Your Help
It's amazing how open we are as a family. With Kev working swing shifts, plus schedule changes due to overtime, he and I have learned to fit the cuddlin' in when we can. Even if it is at 5:00 pm. The kids know not to even touch the bedroom door. Even if they have a pressing question on how to handle something on their Excel spreadsheet they're working on...

Brace Face, Metal Mouth
Sammy got his Braces, Part 2. Upper and lower. Thank goodness for Visa. (Is there an echo in here???) He was very glad to not have to wear the retainer any longer, and he was actually pretty excited about getting the braces. I think he was looking forward to the attention. But all that's settled down now and mostly he wishes he could chew gum.

Big Comfy Chair Day
Another photo I'll have to post... Our Spring Break is the week after next, and we're not going anywhere for it! Yay! I'm taking the whole week off, though, and we're going to get so much done at home. My list of things to do is tremendously impressive. And I've already got one thing done. We bought Sammy a big, comfy chair and ottoman for his bedroom, along with a floor lamp. We stayed home at Spring Break a few years ago and bought Joycie a big, comfy recliner for her room, so now it was Sammy's turn. We had a heck of a time getting that sucker through the doorways into the house then his bedroom. But it's a beauty. And it is soooooo comfortable. Dark red soft leather. Sammy loves it. Just wait until he sees his part of the to do list. I'm already practicing... remember the chair, son?

I'm Sick of "Lost" Re-Runs
That's really all I have to say about that.