Into the second hour of our road trip to Disney World...so far so good ;-). Who knew the speed limit in Indiana was 70 mph? That got Tom REALLY excited, which is as excited as he is gonna get for the next week seeing as how all 4 of us are sharing a hotel room.
Here are the "5 Commandments of the Road Trip" by my older son:
1. Shut up and don't complain.
2. Be patient.
3. Don't fight.
4. There isn't that much food so don't ask all the time.
5. Be bored in silence.
Not bad, huh? The boys are on a point system for behavior for the trip...points can be redeemed for $ to buy crap in Disney. I will keep you informed of the point totals which I am sure will be directly proportional to my mood throughout the week.
So far the boys are tied...2 points each. And in case you are wondering, yes, points can be deducted. Absolute power is mine!! Bwahahahaha!
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Life Is Too Short...
I think over the past decade or so I have mellowed some. Not everyone would agree with that, but I think I have, so that is all that matters. ;-) Having kids SHOULD mellow a person somewhat. I know there is plenty to worry about once you have kids, but you have to let some things go. And actually, I have come to realize the past couple of years that I am a pretty happy person. Some of it is because things are ok in my life, some of it is because I choose to let other things go. For whatever reason, I do think that you can choose to be happy for the most part. That doesn't mean that sh*t doesn't happen, or that unfortunate or unfair things don't occur. But it does mean that you can choose the way you handle those things and you can embrace the "good stuff" all the more.
So...here are some things I have found life to be too short to perseverate on:
1. Not everyone will like me. I spent a lot of time when I was younger worrying about this and trying to be "oh so perfect". While it still bothers me if someone doesn't like me or agree with me, I try to remember that they are dumb and then I move on ;-).
2. Disliking someone because they made a bad choice...People do dumb things. Life is too short for me to hold grudges against people who have not harmed me personally or intentionally. I don't have the time or energy to alienate people who wronged someone else when that someone else has forgiven them. That being said, there are some people that I just don't like. But I prefer to attribute that to good taste.
3. Changes at work...I love my job and where I work. I might not agree with everything that goes on but I'm not the boss. That doesn't mean I don't get annoyed when someone asks me to reinvent the wheel, but I have learned to move forward in a way I didn't know how to do 10 or 15 years ago.
4. Having the perfectly clean house. I have kids, and they are boys, my house won't ever be clean again.
5. Counting every calorie...If I get killed by a bear tomorrow my casket might weigh 5 pounds more than I'd like. But then again, I'll be dead so it is really the pallbearers problem, not mine. If you are in a healthy weight zone, no need to obsess.
6. Having it all...I will never be rich, I will always (hopefully) have "just enough". It is not worth thinking about what I don't have, what I can't do and what I can't afford. I could let that bother me since in the area where I live most people have "above and beyond". It used to bother me more...maybe because I am pretty happy as I mentioned above. The old saying "money can't buy happiness" is true...of course, it HELPS, but it doesn't create it ;-).
7. Flossing is a waste of time...ok, maybe not really. But I'm busy online every night trying to write entertaining little ditties for you people. I don't have time for more grooming. And yes, I may regret this later in life...but then again, life is too short to worry and I have dental insurance.
There is more of course, but that is just off the top of my head. And I am busy packing for Disney World...so, you're gettin' a short, odd numbered list this week. Life is too short for me to worry about even numbers, I am focusing on a road trip, time with my family and seeing the happiest place on Earth.
Life may be too short for some things but the key is for you to enjoy what it is, what you have and what you can do.
So...here are some things I have found life to be too short to perseverate on:
1. Not everyone will like me. I spent a lot of time when I was younger worrying about this and trying to be "oh so perfect". While it still bothers me if someone doesn't like me or agree with me, I try to remember that they are dumb and then I move on ;-).
2. Disliking someone because they made a bad choice...People do dumb things. Life is too short for me to hold grudges against people who have not harmed me personally or intentionally. I don't have the time or energy to alienate people who wronged someone else when that someone else has forgiven them. That being said, there are some people that I just don't like. But I prefer to attribute that to good taste.
3. Changes at work...I love my job and where I work. I might not agree with everything that goes on but I'm not the boss. That doesn't mean I don't get annoyed when someone asks me to reinvent the wheel, but I have learned to move forward in a way I didn't know how to do 10 or 15 years ago.
4. Having the perfectly clean house. I have kids, and they are boys, my house won't ever be clean again.
5. Counting every calorie...If I get killed by a bear tomorrow my casket might weigh 5 pounds more than I'd like. But then again, I'll be dead so it is really the pallbearers problem, not mine. If you are in a healthy weight zone, no need to obsess.
6. Having it all...I will never be rich, I will always (hopefully) have "just enough". It is not worth thinking about what I don't have, what I can't do and what I can't afford. I could let that bother me since in the area where I live most people have "above and beyond". It used to bother me more...maybe because I am pretty happy as I mentioned above. The old saying "money can't buy happiness" is true...of course, it HELPS, but it doesn't create it ;-).
7. Flossing is a waste of time...ok, maybe not really. But I'm busy online every night trying to write entertaining little ditties for you people. I don't have time for more grooming. And yes, I may regret this later in life...but then again, life is too short to worry and I have dental insurance.
There is more of course, but that is just off the top of my head. And I am busy packing for Disney World...so, you're gettin' a short, odd numbered list this week. Life is too short for me to worry about even numbers, I am focusing on a road trip, time with my family and seeing the happiest place on Earth.
Life may be too short for some things but the key is for you to enjoy what it is, what you have and what you can do.
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Well, yes...it DID rain on our parade!
So we just LOVE the 4th of July. We have several family tranditions that have evolved over the years. On the 3d we BBQ with friends and then walk to our town's fireworks. The fireworks were exceptionally good last night, and it was the first year in many that it wasn't 90 plus degrees...I actually wore a jacket while eating the traditional Swedish Fish and Twizzlers. We sat with friends and the kids are now old enough to run around the field and find their way back to us when necessary...nice!
On the 4th our town does it up BIG! We do the pancake breakfast/carnival/art fair at the park district center and field. Well, AJ and I did it with a friend and her daughter this year since Ryder had baseball and Tom went there. But it was nice...especially interesting was the artist who paints on toilet seat covers. He had a lovely rendition of the album cover for "Dark Side of the Moon", but I digress...
Ryder's team lost in the bottom of the last inning with him pitching...and yes, ther IS crying in baseball when you are 9 and were previously undefeated. And then it drizzled throughout the parade, but there was candy thrown at our heads and bagpipers galore, so that was nice.
Then (as every year) we sprint to the car and drive to the next 'burb south for the parade that goes past the in-laws house. The drizzle progressed to full on rain, but the show...er, parade went on.
I'm dried off now, sitting at the in-laws with a glass of wine and some salted almonds. If the rain let's up we will do more fireworks...or just go home. We keep reminding ourselves of all the years we are melting in the heat. Next year we can say, "Remember last year when everything was soggy?"
Happy 4th to all...wave a flag, light a sparkler and eat a hot dog. I love summer :-).
On the 4th our town does it up BIG! We do the pancake breakfast/carnival/art fair at the park district center and field. Well, AJ and I did it with a friend and her daughter this year since Ryder had baseball and Tom went there. But it was nice...especially interesting was the artist who paints on toilet seat covers. He had a lovely rendition of the album cover for "Dark Side of the Moon", but I digress...
Ryder's team lost in the bottom of the last inning with him pitching...and yes, ther IS crying in baseball when you are 9 and were previously undefeated. And then it drizzled throughout the parade, but there was candy thrown at our heads and bagpipers galore, so that was nice.
Then (as every year) we sprint to the car and drive to the next 'burb south for the parade that goes past the in-laws house. The drizzle progressed to full on rain, but the show...er, parade went on.
I'm dried off now, sitting at the in-laws with a glass of wine and some salted almonds. If the rain let's up we will do more fireworks...or just go home. We keep reminding ourselves of all the years we are melting in the heat. Next year we can say, "Remember last year when everything was soggy?"
Happy 4th to all...wave a flag, light a sparkler and eat a hot dog. I love summer :-).
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Suspending Belief...
I love tv. I mean really love it. I watch it all the time and I am not afraid to say that aloud. As a kid, I had few limitations on my tv time and in turn, my kids have few limitations as well. So far, they are not too messed up...if you can overlook a few ill-timed Simpsons or Family Guy quotes at family dinners. Anyway, my point is that all of this makes me (in my own mind) a "TV Expert" if you will, a connoisseur of sorts. I believe in the positive effects of television. But to completely embrace the world of tv you have to be willing to suspend belief on a lot of topics. If you don't, it is just annoying and you end up noticing stupid things. So...here are things you must be willing to overlook:
1. Characters can hear things that Steve Austin never could have heard. But yet, they DON'T hear something just around the corner. This serves to push storylines forward or hold them back, depending on when sweeps week is.
2. They use cell phones in hospitals all the time! When my kid had a concussion and was in the ER getting a CAT scan I forced Tom to call the grandparents on his cell and the nurse reprimanded him. I wanted to point out that on tv they do it all the time...but I was busy.
3. They never actually say good bye when on the phone and this is not seen as rude. I get a call back from my mother when I do this...of course perhaps my ending the conversation with, "Whatever!" and slamming the phone down might have something to do with it too.
4. People never have to wait in lines...unless the premise of the show is that they are in a hurry. On "Seinfeld" they waited in lines all the time, but that show was about nothing.
5. Redecorating is flawless, seamless and takes no time at all. No back ordered supplies, no behind schedule contractors, no rain delays. Yeah, that happens in real life all the time, right?
6. The "pop in" is a staple. On tv people are always just stopping over and popping in to each others' houses. Aside from next door neighbors this really does not happen in real life. And if it did, you'd be annoyed. I'm busy. I do not have time to sit around and chit-chat with people that I did not invite over. If I want you in my house I will invite you...and you better bring wine.
7. Women wake up with make-up on. If normal women go to sleep with make-up on they will wake up a runny, streaky mess. Plus, leaving make-up on 24/7 leads to acne. (Something else that never plagues tv people...except for P. Diddy or Jessica Simpson who use ProActiv, as do I).
8. On tv, when people entertain they always have enough matching chairs, dishes, glasses etc...When my whole family comes over we have to use 2 different tables and 3 different sets of chairs. If I have more than 10 people we use paper plates. And I know on soaps they are all rich but this is the case on sitcoms too...except "Roseanne" but barely making ends meet was the premise of that show.
Clearly there are more "way fakey" things on tv, but there are the ones that jump out at me consistently. Feel free to list any other ones below...but if you don't watch tv (shudder, gasp) no need to judge the rest of us, just go read a book or something ;-).
1. Characters can hear things that Steve Austin never could have heard. But yet, they DON'T hear something just around the corner. This serves to push storylines forward or hold them back, depending on when sweeps week is.
2. They use cell phones in hospitals all the time! When my kid had a concussion and was in the ER getting a CAT scan I forced Tom to call the grandparents on his cell and the nurse reprimanded him. I wanted to point out that on tv they do it all the time...but I was busy.
3. They never actually say good bye when on the phone and this is not seen as rude. I get a call back from my mother when I do this...of course perhaps my ending the conversation with, "Whatever!" and slamming the phone down might have something to do with it too.
4. People never have to wait in lines...unless the premise of the show is that they are in a hurry. On "Seinfeld" they waited in lines all the time, but that show was about nothing.
5. Redecorating is flawless, seamless and takes no time at all. No back ordered supplies, no behind schedule contractors, no rain delays. Yeah, that happens in real life all the time, right?
6. The "pop in" is a staple. On tv people are always just stopping over and popping in to each others' houses. Aside from next door neighbors this really does not happen in real life. And if it did, you'd be annoyed. I'm busy. I do not have time to sit around and chit-chat with people that I did not invite over. If I want you in my house I will invite you...and you better bring wine.
7. Women wake up with make-up on. If normal women go to sleep with make-up on they will wake up a runny, streaky mess. Plus, leaving make-up on 24/7 leads to acne. (Something else that never plagues tv people...except for P. Diddy or Jessica Simpson who use ProActiv, as do I).
8. On tv, when people entertain they always have enough matching chairs, dishes, glasses etc...When my whole family comes over we have to use 2 different tables and 3 different sets of chairs. If I have more than 10 people we use paper plates. And I know on soaps they are all rich but this is the case on sitcoms too...except "Roseanne" but barely making ends meet was the premise of that show.
Clearly there are more "way fakey" things on tv, but there are the ones that jump out at me consistently. Feel free to list any other ones below...but if you don't watch tv (shudder, gasp) no need to judge the rest of us, just go read a book or something ;-).
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Guilty Pleasures
There are a lot of things I will admit to, and some that I probably shouldn't. I'm going to come clean now on some of them. But remember this is MY list. You can disagree, but no judging! Only *I* can judge on my page ;-). So here are some things I like, enjoy or take part in but would not admit to just anyone, until now:
1. 80's hair bands and their ballads...Nothing more enticing than Poison or Warrant singing a love song. I could listen to them forever in my car, singing my little tone-deaf heart out. Seriously, "Heaven" is just that. I defy you to NOT sing along. And if you can honestly tell me that "Every Rose Has its Thorn" or "Something to Believe In", didn't do it for you in high school (or college maybe), you were a wannabe who was busy with the Dead and their whole bandwagon. Not that I'm judging...
2. Twinkies and Ding Dongs...They take me back to childhood. I used to have one in my lunch everyday, back in the day when kids just ate yummy stuff and didn't have to have healthy junk shoved down their gullets. Hostess cakes still taste as good, but I swear they are smaller than they used to be!!
3. Soap operas...I love soaps and I am not afraid to quote them! Adventure, romance, fashion and too much plastic surgery. I love the fact that some of these people have been on my tv since I was in junior high. I love it when the new writers screw up and rewrite history that I lived through with the people of Port Charles or Llanview. I love that Tom still remembers how we scheduled classes around One Life To Live the first couple years of college. Mostly now it is General Hospital and One Life to Live. I gave up All My Children years ago, but I can still tune in a be kind of up to date a few times a year. Soaps are the epitome of guilty pleasures because it is all so fake. From the relationships to the stolen babies to the rampant mobsters, that crap ain't real! But the people are pretty and the romance is overboard fabulous. You can't beat it!
4. Sitcoms...I do not care that they are "mindless and insipid". I think that people who act all high and mighty and criticize sitcoms are just afraid that after all this time of looking down their noses at them they might actually LAUGH if they watched one. They are funny...if you can watch a whole episode of "Two and a Half Men" and not laugh there is clearly something wrong with you (Brian V!!). There is nothing like classic Fraiser or Will & Grace episodes either. Hysterical.
5. Frozen pizza...I love most of it...especially ones that taste like good old-fashioned cafeteria pizza. It doesn't mean I don't like REAL pizza, it just means I appreciate both kinds. I can go both ways, you know? And what ever happened to John's pizza? Remember those? They were small and came three to a box. We used to eat them after school. I miss those.
6. Romance novels...I love them...Nora Roberts, Linda Miller, Catherine Coulter. My favorites are what my friends and I affectionately call "prairie sex" novels. Those are old west romance novels. You have to kind of suspend belief about how horribly those people all smelled and just go with the rugged romance. Very hot.
There are other things in life that are pleasures...but most of the above would be things that some of you would be all "are you serious?" about. But everyone has SOMETHING they like that fits in that category. If you say you don't you are either lying (shame, shame!) or BORING. Seriously, have some depth people...and share it with the rest of us. Let us be the judge ;-).
1. 80's hair bands and their ballads...Nothing more enticing than Poison or Warrant singing a love song. I could listen to them forever in my car, singing my little tone-deaf heart out. Seriously, "Heaven" is just that. I defy you to NOT sing along. And if you can honestly tell me that "Every Rose Has its Thorn" or "Something to Believe In", didn't do it for you in high school (or college maybe), you were a wannabe who was busy with the Dead and their whole bandwagon. Not that I'm judging...
2. Twinkies and Ding Dongs...They take me back to childhood. I used to have one in my lunch everyday, back in the day when kids just ate yummy stuff and didn't have to have healthy junk shoved down their gullets. Hostess cakes still taste as good, but I swear they are smaller than they used to be!!
3. Soap operas...I love soaps and I am not afraid to quote them! Adventure, romance, fashion and too much plastic surgery. I love the fact that some of these people have been on my tv since I was in junior high. I love it when the new writers screw up and rewrite history that I lived through with the people of Port Charles or Llanview. I love that Tom still remembers how we scheduled classes around One Life To Live the first couple years of college. Mostly now it is General Hospital and One Life to Live. I gave up All My Children years ago, but I can still tune in a be kind of up to date a few times a year. Soaps are the epitome of guilty pleasures because it is all so fake. From the relationships to the stolen babies to the rampant mobsters, that crap ain't real! But the people are pretty and the romance is overboard fabulous. You can't beat it!
4. Sitcoms...I do not care that they are "mindless and insipid". I think that people who act all high and mighty and criticize sitcoms are just afraid that after all this time of looking down their noses at them they might actually LAUGH if they watched one. They are funny...if you can watch a whole episode of "Two and a Half Men" and not laugh there is clearly something wrong with you (Brian V!!). There is nothing like classic Fraiser or Will & Grace episodes either. Hysterical.
5. Frozen pizza...I love most of it...especially ones that taste like good old-fashioned cafeteria pizza. It doesn't mean I don't like REAL pizza, it just means I appreciate both kinds. I can go both ways, you know? And what ever happened to John's pizza? Remember those? They were small and came three to a box. We used to eat them after school. I miss those.
6. Romance novels...I love them...Nora Roberts, Linda Miller, Catherine Coulter. My favorites are what my friends and I affectionately call "prairie sex" novels. Those are old west romance novels. You have to kind of suspend belief about how horribly those people all smelled and just go with the rugged romance. Very hot.
There are other things in life that are pleasures...but most of the above would be things that some of you would be all "are you serious?" about. But everyone has SOMETHING they like that fits in that category. If you say you don't you are either lying (shame, shame!) or BORING. Seriously, have some depth people...and share it with the rest of us. Let us be the judge ;-).
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