The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

**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.

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.

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!

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 :)

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.

 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!

 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!

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/11/03/spo rts/s185810D24.DTL&" title="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2007/11/03/spo rts/s185810D24.DTL&" target="_blank"http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin...;tsp=1&type=sports

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.