The More Things Change...
...the more things change !!
I'm talking specifically about tBLOG. I've been posting here since October 2004. I have shared a great deal of myself and made some truly wonderful, faceless friends (and faceless refers to the fact I've never actually met them, face to face). I don't post very often anymore. There's really no specific reason I don't post, with the possible exception of laziness. But I do come around. Alot.
I'm sad to come here and see the multitude of 'spam' posting's. I know that the tBLOG guys have worked very hard (for little to no real revenue) to eliminate this particular scab on free websites like this, but they seem to be damn near unstoppable. While I don't like this, I haven't cancelled my account, I haven't stopped coming to read some excellent posts, no, I haven't done any of that. But I don't post that often...
I think back to when the hallowed halls of tBLOG were jam-packed of writing fury. Not all of it was of the 'excellent' writer caliber, but it certainly was entertaining! I remember a number of good "grudge matches" between some pretty forked-toungued (fingered? lol) bloggers, numerous character assainations, and a few hot and heavy romances! I remember a close-knit community that shared their lives with one another. I remember the heartaches and triumphs. I miss these.
Understand, the tBLOG family is still alive and well, and I for one am grateful! But it is different. And I just can't apply the old adage, "the more things change, the more they stay the same" to tBLOG anymore. Can you?
I love the concept of online blogging. I have no less than 15 blogs I read daily, religiously. I would love to have the dedicated following some of these bloggers have, but right now I just don't want the responsibilty. Another old adage comes to mind, "you can't have your cake and eat it too"!!
I have no plans to leave tBLOG. I would however like to have a more "spam-free" diet!
What do you think?
Can American Companies...
...not find any American workers capable of handling customer service calls? This job can't be that hard, and I know some of these huge companies can certainly afford to pay American people do this job. I am so sick and tired of talking to customer service reps. that can't understand a damn word I say and vice versa. I realize many of these (as well as other) jobs are outsourced but isn't it possible, and least of all courteous, to find countries with workers that speak audible English?
I suppose we could boycott these companies, an act that seems to get results, but I'm afraid we'd have nowhere to shop as it seems this practice is very commonplace. I realize this is opening up a huge can of political worms, and I'm not trying to do that, but I spent a very frustrating hour on the phone with a cable customer service rep and am not a happy camper right now (hence even more run-on sentences than usual, lol).
If there is a person or place, politically speaking, that might be able to address this issue; please share that info with me. ASAP!!
I Caved
At the urging of a couple of girlfriends I have created a MySpace page! I guess it's not such a big thing considering I've had an account for a long time (used soley to spy upon the pages of the teenagers in my house, this was of course before they became wise to my game and set all their pages to private). Being somewhat familiar with MySpace I spent little time with all the 'fancy-schmancy' page layouts and such, but I have spent a good deal of time browsing for possible long lost friends. I'm happy to say I've run into a few and re-lived some comical memories but while looking around I have to say that there are a few things some people do that I will NEVER do, including but not limited to...
- Pasting those glittery, adult based, graphic greetings that say things like, "Thanks for the add" or "Just dropping by to say hi!", "Hi Sexy" ; I think you're getting the picture here.
- I will not add one of those annoying as Hell music player thingy's!!
- I will never post up a layout background of some 'busy' scene and then use a very light font color making the whole thing impossible to decipher.
I suppose as time goes by I will be adding to this list but for now these are the few that really stand out in my mind.
Something else that has stood out in my mind... well I'm not really sure how to put this delicately, but here goes, there are a lot and I do mean a lot of very unattractive people out there. Not to say that I have any room to talk but there are some pictures posted that honestly leave me with my my mouth agape, shaking my head. At first I thought it was just my geographical locale that was producing these types of profiles (being from the South the probability was high) but after a little more investigating I realized it's not a localized thing. I realize that MySpace is not intended to be a site to romantically hook-up (or is it?) but why some of these folks post the pics they do is just beyond me.
Anyhoo I'm there. I'm semi-blogging there sometimes. If you have a MySpace page and would like a new friend drop me a tmail and we'll meet up there!
Is It Spring Yet?
The air was always thick with chlorine and Hawiian Tropic suntan oil. You could hear multiple radios playing anything from Three Dog Night to The Carpenters. Girls, young and old alike wore bikini's, and I never really understood why. I mean some of the 'Mothers' truly should have not been wearing a two-piece bathing suit of any kind. But they wore them just the same. There were no men here, or should I say very few men over the age of eighteen. We saw men whizzing past in golf carts but rarely ever inside the chain-length fence. There were exceptions to this rule but only a very special occasion brought the 'dads' into our little world.
This was Summer to me and many others just like me. This was Summer at the country club, a place I never associated with any kind of privilege, ever. In fact when I was older I often felt a little silly recanting my Summer's there, I didn't want to sound snooty, especially given my geographical locale. The Monday-Saturday was always the same; up at 9:00 a.m. rushing to make beds, straighten the house, defrost something for dinner and out the door usually with a packed lunch in hand (we may have summered at the CC but we had our limits) there were optimum sun 'hours' to be enjoyed and my Mother had a tan quota to meet. This extensive sun exposure led to many a day caked in zinc oxide, freckles, and I fear a yet undetected melanoma or twelve.
We did this same routine for years. This was Summer.
Can you tell I'm ready for warmer weather?
Duck, Duck, Goose.
Today I turned another year older. I told a friend over the weekend I wanted no 'Pomp and Circumstance' this year so I've held off posting (ya like I post so regularly these days, LOL) until there's barely an hour left of the day!
I had a pretty good day. Me, the daughter and grand-prince went to the 'Duck Park'. The town I live in has a charming little park by a big stream full of ducks and geese. There are picnic tables and a walking path. We brought our lunch and enjoyed the 60 degree weather. The prince loved the outdoors, and the cars and trucks driving by. I thought he might be a little more intrigued with the ducks than he was but all in all it was a good time.
I'm not feeling so great right now, praying I don't have the flu which is at almost epidemic proportions in these parts right now, the local schools were closed two days last week due to illness. I felt great all day but as the sun went down so did I. Hopefully it's just a cold.
Daily Grind
Yes, she's alive! lol
I've had a blue million ideas to post over the last week but everytime I had a minute to post tBLOG was down, as most of you already know.
Everything here in Hooterville is pretty much the same, per usual. The kids still torment me on a daily basis, the hubby is knee-deep in school work (he's back in college); not so sure I can tolerate this higher education... again! The grand-prince is just beyond grand. My Dad had a scary week, a bout of A-Fib (yes the same crap I live with round the clock) landed him in the hospital overnight, but we think it's nothing too serious. We bought another car, I hate car payments, I mean I hate car payments.
Men's basketball is a popular topic 'round these parts right now, specifically collegiate men's basketball. Memphis (#1) takes on Tennessee (#2) tomorrow night. Should be a good game.
Guess that hits the high points, so, what's new with you?
Still Here
Well, pretty much the same old, same old around here.
Spent the weekend in Gatlinburg at the annual church youth retreat I've been chaperoning for years and years, I'm about to run out of teenagers! It makes me kind of sad to think about the near future when I won't have anyone to 'chaperone'. I made the trip with the son and two step-sons, we had a great time but it was way cold, 10 degrees on Sunday morning!
The grandprince is sick :( He has a pretty nasty respiratory virus but is getting better quickly thanks to daily breathing treatments. I've been snapping pictures with the new camera like crazy but can't figure out how to get them off of the Media Center?? We're currently shopping for a new laptop so hopefully it will have a better program.
I guess this is pretty big news; I'm going back to school! The man started back and the 'higher education' bug bit me hard. I will be attempting to obtain a degree in Web Design and Layout. Starting out small focusing on an Associate's Degree after which I'll decide about going further. I started thinking about my golden years and realized that given my health issues there very possibly could come a day when me working outside the home on any level might not be possible but I could most likely work from home and lets face it the age of web development and commerce isn't going anywhere, so it just seemed like a good choice. I'm very excited but also a little nervous as most of my classes will be through the Regents Online courses. I think I have the motivation but worry a little about the organization and discipline it will take. Time will tell.
I wish I were more motivated to write. I miss the blog community but it seems like my 'real' life always throws a big wrench into the best laid plans. Oh who am I kidding, I've gotten lazy. There, I said it.
So, what's new with you?
Insanity 101
My husband's ex wife is in town with her husband, and their son. Her family lives here locally and frequently visits us, they invite us to every family function and even got us Christmas presents. This is just damn weird to me. I think it's great if ex's can remain civil to one another, but let's face it, it's just not natural to be "friends".... is it?
Tonight the ex and her immediate family dropped by for an impromptu discussion involving some property she and my husband still own. This land has never been an issue for us as it's to be given to their children when they reach age 25. Her mother has been living on the land for the last year and feels like she is entitled to a portion of it. My husband is never going to agree to give her any of it, and they know that so they've resorted to trying to convince the boys to do it. Idiots I tell ya, like those young men could convince my husband to do such a thing.
If you're sitting there shaking your head while reading this, welcome to my world! I can't imagine my ex husband and his wife sitting on my sofa laughing and giggling with me and Tim! Oh God, I just can't fathom it. My husband is just as stunned as I am. But the rest of the clan, oh I imagine they think there's nothing wrong with this picture. It's just twisted, twisted, twisted.
These little episodes don't happen very often, but every time they do I am left feeling like this. Someone tell me, am I really the crazy one here?
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas to all!
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
I have been attempting to answer comments for the last 30 hours or so but it seems that everytime I try tBlog has different ideas! I will get around to it. Just wanted to quickly update Christmas happenings; we had an absolute BLAST doing 'Chinese Christmas' with my family, my youngest sister and Dad were a little apprehensive going in but I honestly think they might have enjoyed it the most! I ended up bringing home one of the gifts I'd brought (everytime I'd get a gift someone else would take it, lol). It was a quesadilla maker and we tried her out this afternoon and loved it.
After celebrating with my family for the early evening we came back home with all the children and exchanged gifts. I think all the kids were happy even though they mainly got practical gifts from us. My hubby spoiled me yet again and bought me too many things but the best was... *drumroll please* A DIGITAL CAMERA!!! Yes, we have officially joined the age of technology and I will soon be posting sickening amounts of photos of the grandprince! Speaking of the prince, he seemed to enjoy the festivities but really liked wearing the bows on his head- ok maybe we really enjoyed him wearing the bows! Heh.
The man and I were talking this afternoon remembering how when we were younger the afternoon of Christmas Day was sort of sad. We'd waited for so long for the 'big' day and then it was just over. Even still we knew that 364 days from now we'd be excited again.
I hope you had a great Christmas wherever you are. To my faithful readers and friends I wish you nothing but love and happiness in the New Year.
S.
In Fair Shape
Well, I know this shouldn't surprise me but here we are 6 days away from Christmas and I'm sick as a dog! Sneezing, coughing, fevering, chilling, etc... I've managed to stay pretty healthy this winter until now. I don't think it's the flu but it sure would qualify of 'totally feeling like crap' status.
On the upside, before I fell ill and into my bed I managed to make about 10 lbs. of pepermint bark to give as gifts. I wrapped almost all of the gifts we bought Saturday, and have them under the tree. This friends, is a major accomplishment for me. Usually I'm frantically wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve.
I think my boys are finally growing up a bit, while they're were mildly curious about the gifts there's been no begging to open 'just one' and no manic shaking of the boxes! Last year I resorted to giving each of them a new name. You see they'd drive us crazy about the gifts and comparing this one to that one, so last Christmas I renamed each of the children with one of the names of the Seven Dwarf's it worked wonderfully until I lost my master list of who was who!! This actually made things a little more fun. Sleepy would open a gift that really belonged to Sneezy, Doc would open a gift that belonged to Dopey, and so on and so on.
Another year I assigned each child a 'number' and each gift was addressed to a specific number. I didn't lose my list that year, thankfully! Also each of the gifts I give the kids come from 'Santa' which they think is silly but I like it and I think secretly they do too!
What's your Christmas progress?
Clean-Up on Aisle 7
I'm going Christmas shopping Saturday. This will most likely be the only shopping excursion I make during the holiday season. Of course I won't remember everything and I'll make a few harried trips to Wal-Mart but the bulk of the shopping will be done Saturday with no less than 7,853 other people ( I imagine).
Shopping trips of yore were much different. I suppose if there is an upside of shopping for teenagers it's the fact that there are very few mad-cap adventures looking for scarce toys like 'Tickle-Me Elmo' or 'Power Ranger' crap. I did a lot of shopping for 'Power Ranger' crap. A lot.
My son had two best friends in pre-school, Matt and Trent. The three of them were inseperable primarily because their Mom's were BFF's. The 3 (Mom's) of us planned a number of outings that Christmas season 11 years ago. The first one I had to cancel out on at the last minute due to a nasty stomach flu. Unfortunately the other two Mom's ran into the deal of the century; they found two 'Saba's' at Toy's-R-Us. What is a Saba you ask? Read on, dear friend...
Saba is the talking Sabre and advisor of the White Ranger. He was given to Tommy by Zordon for control of the White Tigerzord. A reluctant duo at first, Tommy and Saba finally learned to work together, with Saba quickly becoming the silent partner.
Saba was the thing 5 year old boys dream's were made of, my friend. Did I mention there were only two? My heart ached for my little power ranger when they gave me the news, but I knew in my heart had I been the one to find the coveted Saba I would have snatched it up as well. The Mom's promised me that we'd find one the following week when the shopping spree would move South to Chattanooga.
As soon as my feet hit the pavement of the Toys-R-Us I was on a mission. There was no internet back then and no way to know for sure if the toy was in stock... anywhere remotely close. I lept out of the van at a dead run, headed straight for the action figure aisle. No bother stopping to ask any of the store employees, that would only slow me down, I knew what I wanted. I skimmed the right side of the shelves, nothing, not even a pair of white ranger gloves.
Midway up the left side I saw it.
It wasn't Saba, but it was close. It was the Dragon Dagger, side kick to the Green Ranger. For those who didn't know the Green Ranger was the head honcho before the White Ranger took the helm. And I was less than 3 feet from it. My heart began to pound. "How cool would it be for him to have this toy. My God it's almost vintage." I grabbed the box with both hands, readying myself to dance a little jig, and then it happened.
From out of nowhere her big 'ol mitt of a hand grabbed the box dead center, "Hey bitch, that's mine." Whoa. "Bitch?" I murmered. "You heard me, that's mine." The wooly-mammoth-of-a-woman growled. Aiming to take the high road I said, "Ma'am I'm very sorry but you were no where near this toy, in fact there was no one in this aisle when I picked it up. I'm very sorry but I have a 5 year old little boy who must have this Dragon Dagger" and with that I turned to leave. Actually I was prepared to run!
Mrs. Grizzly Adams had a different agenda. She grabbed me by the elbow, spun me around and once again grabbed the box. At this point my Southern etiquette went out the window. I clutched the box to my bosom, pushed her hard away from me and made a mad dash to the check out line. Lucky for me I was quicker than she, coupled with the fact that she'd scared the very bejeesus out of me, I arrived at the check out lane cash in hand and very out of breath. I turned to see if she'd followed, luckily she hadn't.
I paid for my treasure and waited by the service desk for my friends. Oh, and there were no Saba's in the store and according to the manager they didn't expect to get anymore in stock until June or so. I knew my little boy would be disappointed at first then he'd realize he had a toy that absolutely nobody else had. Of course, he'd also have no idea what that toy really cost... my dignity.
Yes, I'll admit that their 'toys' now are more expensive but rarely is there a gadget they just have to have. I suppose I shouldn't have been so dead-set on getting that toy but I was. All the scenario's I'd imagined in my mind revolving around Christmas morning couldn't compare with the awe and wander in his sleepy eyes that day so many years ago. Dignity or no, it was worth it then, and it still is.
Curious
What are your plans for New Year's Eve?*
*related post to follow changed my mind :)
Bust A Move(ment)
**DISCLAIMER** This post will contain material that might be considered offensive to: anyone eating, the weak-stomached, etc. Please continue reading at your own risk...
Here in TGTBTU land I live with 3 young men. 3 healthy young men. I've learned a lot from these fella's. Things like; persons of the opposite sex will actually openly flirt with a guy who hasn't brused his teeth in 3 days, the art of setting your ass ablaze while sticking a lighter to your bum during a fart, and regardless of the imbalance of their daily diet (i.e. atleast two of them never and I mean never eat a green vegetable) they have the ability to discard human waste in apocalyptic proportions. I am about to elaborate on the last example...
On Thanksgiving day we had a little plumbing problem in the central bathroom, this bathroom is the largest one and the one the young men use 99.9% of the time. Because there were no hardware stores open we were unable to purchase the necessary parts to make the minor repair. So, we just decided that we'd shut off the water and make our guests aware that they'd have to use the smaller bathroom located in the master bedroom. This was no problemo for any of us, but my husband made some sort of 'cutesy' remark in passing regarding the resident young men using our bathroom until their's was repaired. It went something like this; "turn off the water and move the plunger to our bathroom." I didn't realize the brilliance of that remark until later in the evening.
The oldest of the 3 came to our room around 8 p.m. needing to use the facilities, that act only took minutes followed by 10 minutes of plunging. The youngest of the 3 entered our domain a little over an hour later announcing his 'need'. His deposit took the better part of 20 minutes to clear. What the h...
The man and I are, well, *ahem* perfectly regular but we've never once in our two years here had the need for a plunger in that bathroom. Yet in the course of two hours our toilet had been violated, TWICE!
Is this just an 'age thing'? As mentioned above they don't eat even close to their RDA of fiber or fruits & veggies, so how is this possible? And if it is what will happen if their colon one day rebels against them? I forsee an abdominal lockdown of epic proportions!
I think our household plumbing is counting down the days until these 3 find another throne.
Where's The Boob?
Anyhoo... Thanksgiving went off without a hitch, well that's almost completely true. No problems with the family, everyone chipped in and helped and there were no altercations. Something to be thankful for as the memory of 'The Great Turkey War of '94' flashes in the back of my mind. But I digress, everything went well. We scheduled eating to commence at 5 p.m., the latest we've ever got together and I must say for me, the head chef, it was fabulous! No getting out of bed at the crack-ass of dawn, no cooking like a mad woman to have everything ready by noon. It was wonderful. Well, except for one major faux pas on my behalf...
I wasn't pressed for time, I wasn't pissed off at the man or any of the children, my day was going fantastic but for some reason, for some unknown reason, I did one of the most boneheaded things I've ever done as a cook...
I roasted the turkey, *gasp*...
breast-side DOWN!!! Now believe me when I say, when it comes to cooking the entire Thanksgiving meal, this ain't my first rodeo. I've been doing it for years, as well as cooking atleast one additional turkey a year. I know where the bosom is, and I know full well it should be in the upright position. I've gone over and over the turkey prep time trying to piece together how I could have done such an idiotic thing, but for the life of me I haven't a clue. There's no rhyme or reason.
Suffice it to say, the bird tasted good, really good. I missed the crispy skin bordering my skillfully carved piece of white meat but the taste might have been even a little better. The breast portion was almost as if it had been 'poached' in its own juices, succulent even. But I felt like an idiot when I realized what I'd done!
Otherwise it was a good holiday, as I hope yours was.
A Different Breed of Blog
I've been doing a lot of blog reading as of late. There are a lot of blogs out there!
There seems to be a very high number of 30 something Mom's who blog. Most of these Mothers stay at home, have 3.2 children and homeschool them. They take lots and lots of pictures to post on their very glossy, professional-looking, blogs. In fact some are even dubbed as 'photo journals'. I like photos as much as the next gal but some of these blogs chronicle every event happening in the lives of these stay at home Mom's, kids, and Daddys. Not that that's a crime, but I just don't happen to see the point. I am currently exploring the purchase of a good digital camera and have plans of posting pictures I take... eventually. Long time readers of TGTBTU (The Good, The Bad and The Ugly; I've learned that having nifty abbreviations for lots of things seem to be kosher in the blog world) aren't holding their breath for this, they know I've been going to buy a digital cam for what, oh, 2 years now?
There's one particular blog I've been reading on a regular basis. I won't post the link because (a) this lady typically gets no less than 150 comments per post, and (b) I'm jealous and don't wanna give her any more publicity! I never said I wasn't the jealous type... did I? The blog of which I type has a beautiful layout, simple, tasteful, eye-catching- things this former graphic artist appreciates. But 300 comments regarding her latest business venture (a 2008 calendar featuring her amatuer photography)? These women (who comment) celebrate who can comment first after an entry is posted, it's insane. The only other blog that rivals her comments in volume is Perez Hilton and that's pretty scary in and of itself.
The same lady above also homeschools her four children too. Is one of the homeschool core courses PhotoShop 101? I'll make no bones about my feelings regarding homeschooling, and trust me I've been debating the finer points for a good many years now. However, I fully respect any parents decision about their own child's education. I just don't happen agree with most of the reasoning behind homeschooling. But for this genre of bloggers it seems to be the norm, almost mandatory.
I feel kind of old when I read these blogs. I don't run across many 40 something women blogging about the trials of raising teenagers while experiencing the total bliss of time with the likes of the Grandprince. Hmm, perhaps I'll blaze that trail? With a snazzy layout and lots-o pictures to boot!
Manic-less Monday
I absolutely love having Monday's off! Tuesday morning's I'm like a race horse out of the gates and I don't slow down until Sunday night. Then on Monday morning (most of the time) I have nothing at all to do... I love it. I would marry Monday morning if I weren't already legally bound to Mr. B.
The only downside is that the first half of Tuesday is spent being Monday! heh
Hope you're having a good Monday too :)
Rain & Turkey Talk
For the last two days I've really had the urge to blog, naturally the tBlog gods had a different agenda! Needless to say I can't remember a single one of the riveting post topics I'd been bouncing around in my head. Oh well...
Sometimes, technology sucks.
The Southern U.S. is finally getting some rain! Hallelujah. Guess the good folks over in Georgia should have been doing some of that praying months ago, huh? I drove home in some of the worst weather I've ever had the misfortune of traveling in. At one point the country song 'Jesus, Take The Wheel' took on a whole new meaning to me.
It now appears that I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. Our plans have been up in the air because my Aunt has just recently been diagnosed with cancer and we'd thought about going to Texas, but we're going to stay home and my house is the only logical choice for a family gathering. My Dad volunteered my sister's home (he lives there with her since my Mother died) and I did briefly consider it, but the appliances (namely the oven) don't work very well. I mean they work, but not very accurately. Not that I'm some kind of professional that requires top-of-the line things, but when I'm looking at cooking a 20lb. bird, I want an oven that can do it in less than 24 hours.
I took over the Thanksgiving day meal many years ago to help my Mom out, but when I started, this the family wasn't nearly as large, the children were young and small not the 'Lumberjacks' they are now, and well, I just wasn't as tired then. So I'm delegating. I'm planning the menu and going to let everyone bring something(s).
Of course even with the help, I will do too much. I will be completely exhausted by the time the first leg is mercilessly ripped from the turkey carcass and eating will be the last thing on my mind. So I will celebrate Thanksgiving on Friday afternoon with all the leftovers like I have done for several years now.
The Gosselins
FOLLOW UP TO PREVIOUS POST!!
Had a great time on Saturday! Jon & Kate were very sweet and entertaining, and they're both MUCH 'smaller' than they appear on television. Not that they come across on the screen as being huge, I just had an image of taller people. Their presentation was very good, they are spiritual people, much more so than you get from the TV show. That is no accident, the producers intentionally don't focus on their religious convictions. It's obvious the Gosselins aren't happy with that fact but abide with it as long as their day to day lives are portrayed as accurately as possible and both of them attest that for the most part they are.
It's overwhelming to think about what daily life must be like for them, I mean even on the best of days there's got to be someone crying and unhappy all the time, the law of averages would guarantee it. Yet they both seem pretty content and satisified. During the question/answer portion of the program I revealed the fact that at one point I had 5 teenagers in the house, they were very curious! During the reception time we could speak with them one on one, Kate looks at me and says, "Ok, so, do I even want to know what a house full of teenagers is like?" to which I replied, "No." We all had a good laugh and I told them that I do cherish the memories of those times but I wouldn't go back for all the tea in China! I laughed, they laughed, we took pictures and we were gone.
Coming up soon on TLC will be the hour-long special documenting their 17 hour car ride to DisneyWorld, I know I'll be tuning in!
Eight IS Enough
Tomorrow I'm going with a couple of friends to hear Jon & Kate (the two adults in the picture above) Gosselin speak about life with 8 children, yes you read correctly EIGHT children! The whole family are currently the stars of the TLC show Jon & Kate plus 8 shown several times a week between TLC and DiscoveryHealth channels.
I think the couple are adorable, he's a laid back IT guy and she's a self-professed 'germaphobe' who even with EIGHT children cleans her kitchen floor 3 times as day, on her hands and knees! Granted, they're both young and seem to be in good health but the everyday routine is grueling, even for couple of young, healthy folks.
I give them a lot of credit for trying to do things that a 'normal' family would do, i.e. going to the pumpkin farm to get jack-o-lanterns or a trip with the whole Hee Haw gang to DutchWorld. I know what trying to get a couple of little ones ready to go is like, I simply can't imagine what it would be like in the Gosselin house.
If you'd like to know more or check out the times you could watch the show locally just visit this link: http://health.discovery.com/convergence/gosselins /gosselins.html" title="http://health.discovery.com/convergence/gosselins /gosselins.html" target="_blank"http://health.discovery.com/c...
I'll update later in the weekend and let you know how the day goes!
The Heart of The Matter
The potentially deadly condition mentioned in the above article is the disease I have. In the 16 years since my diagnosis I have worked very hard on not letting the possibilities of this disease rule my life. While I will never be a marathon runner putting myself at risk of sudden death it's events like this that shake me to the core, not so much for me but for my offsprings, and their offsprings, etc.
My heart goes out to the family of Ryan Shay, how devastating it must be to lose a seemingly healthy, world-class athlete but to live with the knowledge that somewhere down the line someone could have found the disease, diagnosed it, and prevented his early death. I'm not trying to imply that someone was negligent, but most definitely there were signs that something might have been out of the ordinary. If genetic testing were more affordable and widely used Ryan could have been tested and prevented from ever participating in high cardiovascular activities. Would Ryan have changed the course of his live? Perhaps not but atleast he would have had the option.
Where Does Time Go?
My 'baby' is 16 today!
It's surreal to think that amount of time has passed. I sat here today thinking about all the birthday parties, Halloween costumes, Emergency Room visits, mass quantities of macaroni & cheese, Happy Meals, vacations with him tethered to me preventing him from 'wandering off', and about a million other things that make Jacob... Jacob.
I'll love you forever,
I'll like you for always,
As long as I'm living
my baby you'll be.
Happy Birthday Son!
Partly Cloudy
After several days of rain (which we desperately needed) the sun is shining brightly...
...but it's still gray, damp, and gloomy in my head.
I keep humming "I can see clearly now the rain is gone" and it's driving me bonkers, I have NO clue why it's on my mind. It's like my subconscious mind is playing tricks on me. Doing its best to brighten my day. It ain't workin. And I don't know why...
*sigh*
From Fire To The Floor.
I woke up this morning to Fox News (not my choice, the man had left it on) broadcasting two vastly different stories.
The Forest Fires in Southern California: I have been to SoCal several times, twice to San Diego. It's just frightening to see the fires out of control. They were broadcasting footage of families leaving in the middle of the night. I can't imagine how terrifying that must be. I used to think that earthquakes were the greatest thing to fear in California, but now I'm starting to think the fires may be. All of those in the line of fire are in my thoughts and prayers now.
Marie Osmond collapses on 'Dancing With The Stars': Ok, brace yourselves but this is one reality-type show that this self-proclaimed addict does not follow! Imagine that. But I was as intrigued as anyone else this morning when every network was showing the bits of tape of her dropping like a rock to the floor. Poor Marie. I thought she handled it quite well, God knows I've had my share of embarrassing situations and I could certainly sympathize. It's been reported that some of the audience thought it was 'staged' but I knew instantly it wasn't the first time I saw the clip; had it been staged, Marie would have been checking first thing to make sure her backside was covered and she didn't! Don't really know what to make of all the 'reasons' I've heard thus far, and really don't care, but I have to give her kudos for handling it so graceful. But then again, it's not all that surprising I mean she's been an Osmond all her life, she's got to be used to the ridicule.
Friendly Fire
"I really hope we can stay friends." "Despite all that's gone wrong between us I do hope we are able to remain friends." "I don't hate you, I really think we'll always be good friends."
ATTENTION ANYONE LOOKING TO BREAK UP WITH ANOTHER PERSON
We honestly don't want to hear any of the above statements when we break up, ok? One of my single girlfriends is currently 'breaking' up, well, I guess she's breaking up. Actually she's just kicking a bad habit, I think you have to actually date someone in order to break up with them, and I wouldn't call their relationship dating, if you know what I mean.
Today she tells me of their last conversation when he says, with all the sincerity of a raging yeast infection, "I know we're always gonna be buddies!" Buddy, my ass. I realize that most men and women who are trying to let someone down gently want to make things as easy on the person they're breaking up as they can, or that's what they say. We all know it's just to make them feel better for their slime-bag behavior. And that slime-bag behavior isn't gender biased, I know some pretty foul men and women. But lets face it, you've probably been intimate with the person you're breaking up with, there's more than likely been a lot of time spent getting to know one another, possibly even promises of a more committed union, so why if you've decided you can't date them (or be married to them) anymore do you want to call them a 'friend'?
I'm not trying to imply that we should harbor hateful feelings, but a friend? I don't think so. A friend is someone I call on when I'm needing support, not a person that I invested time in getting to know only to be told that they're not interested in spending that kind of one-on-one time with me anymore.
I'd much rather end a relationship with something like, "I don't want you to have a disfiguring car accident, or be struck down with some incureable disease, but if you do have to suffer a little heartache similar to what you've caused me along the way, then so be it." Now that's honesty.
When I stood in my kitchen some 10 years ago listening to my then husband ramble on and on as to why he didn't think he wanted to be married anymore he finished by saying, and I quote, "I'm really hoping we can be friends Shannon." to which I replied "Listen Dickwad*, I don't need anymore friends, what I need is a father for these children." Be my friend? Are ya kidding me? We've lived together for 11 years and after constantly being told what a failure I was as a wife, mother, human being, you're telling me that a divorce will erase all those feelings and somehow foster the perfect environment for friendship? Don't insult my intelligence, I know perfectly well he had no intentions of being my friend. Just like my girlfriend knows that her guy-pal isn't interested in a new friend.
Breaking up really is hard to do, but there's a right way and a wrong way, just like most every other situation in life :)
*Name changed to protect the low life sperm donor I was once married to.
Gently Used
I've been a registered member of eBay for about 8 months now. When I found out I was going to be a grandmother I started 'shopping' for things I'd need at my home. I'll admit the first few weeks were addicting and frustrating. I'd bid on item after item only to be outbid (usually at the last minute) by a more seasoned shopper. Finally I won my first auction! It was for a Fisher Price "bouncy seat" that vibrated and had a mobile-type thing with fishies and real water that bubbled. I think with shipping I paid a little over $30 for the gently used item. A week or so later I was looking around a local consignment shop and found a multitude of bouncy seats that had been just as gently used for less than half of what I'd paid! To add insult to injury I also ran across several 'pack & play' cribs that were almost identical to 3 I was bidding on at HALF the price they were on eBay. What gives?
I have made a few other purchases on eBay, and was very satisified with the product and the price. But I had been burnt on the baby items and since had only bought things locally either new or used. Tonight I was bored and roaming around eBay, I found myself once again in the Baby Dept. My daughter had asked me to get the baby one of those night light's that had a projector in it for Christmas, the kind that projects images of stars, moons, Winnie The Pooh, and most everything else onto the ceiling. I agree that the grandprince would love this and it will also help lull him to sleep...we hope! There weren't many on eBay but after doing a little investigating I started looking for new items on Wal-Mart.com and Target.com, to my amazement I found that one item on eBay was almost triple the cost of the identical item at Wally World...BRAND NEW!! The eBay item wasn't clearly identified as new or gently used (a very popular term there). I debated about sending the seller an e-mail with the URL of the Wal-Mart site but decided against it.
I guess when you're shopping online, particularly at auction sites, it's definitely a must for the buyer to beware, huh?
