Wednesday, April 30, 2008

1-25 facts

My 100th post is in 4 days! Yippee! To honor that, I thought I would do the blog thing and write 100 things about me. Doing it all in one post was a little daunting and hey, do you really have the time to read 100 things in one sitting? I figure 25 a day will keep you coming back for more. To be my friend, you need to know this stuff, in case you are ever quizzed about me or something. So, these are in no particular order, just the way they came to me.

TADA....100 THINGS ABOUT ME, 1-25

  1. I have blue eyes with brown specks.
  2. Until age 13 some people thought I was a boy. (I guess Tom-boy wasn't so in, in the 70's)
  3. Spent summers growing up in Ogunquit, ME.
  4. My first boyfriend in Ogunquit, was a friend of mine. He wore tube socks with short athletic shorts. (There's another plus for the 70's)
  5. Had posters of Shawn Cassidy and the Bay City Rollers on my bedroom wall.
  6. I've had my oldest friend since first grade (Merriam School, Acton MA) Hi Melis!
  7. Melissa moved to Maine in 4th grade and we would trade vacation weeks at each other's house.
  8. 8. I am 5 years older than my sister, and 6 years older than my brother.
  9. My first stitches were in my chin when I was 2. I drove a Fisher Price giraffe down a neighbors very steep driveway.
  10. I had surgery and had to stay in the hospital when I was 4. My memory of that is dipping yellow lollipops in ginger-ale.
  11. I have had 9 dermoid cysts on my ovaries. This in turn has equalled many surgeries.
  12. I have had a hysterectomy. Yay!
  13. I broke my knee cap the day before college graduation, but didn't realize it until 2 weeks later.
  14. My aunt sent a Chippendale man holding balloons to my college graduation.
  15. I can speak french.
  16. I've been to France twice, but want to go about 10 more times.
  17. I love tulips.
  18. I love the smell of hyacinth and lilacs.
  19. I don't drink caffeine.
  20. I was a competitive ski racer for 15 years.
  21. Because of that, I like to drive fast.
  22. I went to my first overnight camp in Mt. Hood, Oregon. It was a ski camp in July and we skied on the glaciers on Mt. Hood.
  23. I love to swim.
  24. Ogunquit Beach is my favorite beach. Great waves for body surfing, no seaweed, soft sand and the tide goes out forever!
  25. I am afraid of the dark.
Did I make you want to come back for more? Let's hope I think of more-ha,ha,ha.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Braces

BEFORE:
AFTER:
This is going to take some getting use to. K was so brave and now she is so stylish with pink and green braces!

Monday, April 28, 2008

Buck Tooth Betty (Not Nice!)

Just when I thought I had nothing to blog about tonight.....
DH took K and B to their hip hop class this afternoon. I went to a meeting on regionalization with another town. Since I am running for school comm., I need to be up on these things. I am even going to have to answer questions on TV (well, the local channel) on Wed night. UGH/ACK/BLEH. Yes, I am already wondering what to wear. Do they give you a clothing budget once you get on the school comm?

Anyway, K comes running in the door with "that" face on. I knew something was up the minute I saw her. "B called me Bucktooth Betty." Mind you, I am not sitting on the couch wrapped up in a silk shawl drinking martinis. I am in full, re-heat leftovers, cook a pizza, chug a glass of wine so I can get dinner on the table the minute they get home, mode. She bursts into tears, B comes up trying to explain how it just slipped out. Now this is the one thing that K can't handle. Her front teeth are protruding and she is getting braces tomorrow (oh, yeah, that will be a story and a 1/2). B knows I have no tolerance for teasing at this level (talk about going for the jugular). So B bursts into tears too and heads for her room and slams the door so hard, a picture falls off the wall. Since K has told me of her pain, she is automatically better.

B, after I get DH's and K's dinner on the table, tries to explain on how it is K's fault that her teeth are sticking out there and she just had to comment on it. I tried to say that this is K's main concern. I didn't want to come out and say if someone called B chubby she would have had the same reaction. She said that she wrote in her journal that K was "stupid". I had to explain to her that writing in her journal was actually a good way to release feelings and that I am sure I had written not so nice things about my sister when I was younger. (I take them all back now Karen, you are my best friend and I wouldn't trade you for a puppy anymore!) Anyway B was mad at K for telling me in the first place especially when it "just slipped out". I had to put it straight to B and tell her that she was actually in the wrong here.Trust me, she did not want to hear that!

So, now I am exhausted (even moreso now that I just typed this all out). Let me copy John Lennon and ask, "Can't we just all get along?" OY!

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Road trippin'

I know you are breathlessly awaiting the pictures from our 2 off Cape road trips. It's probably a wonder how you have been sleeping for the past few days. Well, it's time and here are a few. Didn't think you would need (or want) to see all 91 of them. We'll start with our amazing day in Duxbury, MA. The temp at the house was in the 80's and at the beach (that you can drive your car onto!) it was in the 70's. Just right for 2 moms to relax and chat while 5 kids wrote stories, put toes in the water, played pickle and sculptured mermaids.
One day back at home and then we were off again, this time to Westford to a college friend who married a college friend's home. There we met up with another college friend, are you getting this? Anyway, the hot tub was the hot spot. We told J that he would love this picture one day. Him in the hot tub with 5 chicks and only one being his sister! I don't think he believed us.
We were really surprised when Spiderman showed up. I mean nobody was in need of any help per say. We just needed to refill our glasses for Pete's sake.
I think he just wanted some ice-cream.
Yes, Kimball Farm has the best ice-cream of anywhere I know and trust me, I know! We had some Friday night and had to go again on Saturday (for lunch of course!). My girl's and my college roommate's girl's puffy heart each other. See...
Their smiles turned to frowns when we said it was time to go our separate ways.
Until July, when we meet again.....
I (dragged) took my girls through Concord center and onto the Old North Bridge. This is where the Revolutionary War began. B is reading about Paul Revere, so I thought I would give her some touchable history.
One thing about Cape Cod, is our trees are on the shortish side. I have heard that it is from all the wind. The wind stunts their growth. Concord does not have this problem and the girls couldn't have been happier!
Today was a tough day because all of us were anticipating school tomorrow. They don't want to go and I can't blame them. We have had a taste of summer all week which is more than unusual for April school vacation. So it's back to the annoying alarm clock rousting us out of bed. Thankfully we are on the downward slide toward summer vacation and the next 7 or 8 weeks should fly by!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Friends....

I will post about friends tonight and post about the last few days, complete with pictures, tomorrow. A message to my friends that live here on the Cape, I love you and cherish every moment spent with you, to my bloggy friends... you have opened up a whole new world for me, one which I am loving and learning new things every day...

This week, I was able to spend time with "old" friends. One friend from Grad school and 3 friends from college. It is so unbelievably great to get together with friends that you have had for (oh, God, ) almost 20 years----how can that be????. You have history with them and things are easy. You pick up where you left off. The winter is not a great time to see or keep in touch with people, but come spring, we always try to get together. It's so easy to walk around Karen's kitchen and make lunch for our 5 kids, or to chat with Becky like we had spoken the day before or see Jen's kids and have them remember me from last summer. Becky's girls, when asked what their relationship with my girls is, say, "Um, they are more than friends, kinda like cousins, but not blood relatives...." We talk, drink wine, help each other out, catch up and of course, tell a few stories. For instance, there was Quisinnaire's Rod from Grad school. We were taking a class on math for early childhood education and were talking about Quisinnaire Rods. They are a measuring device that help kids with 1's,10's, 100's ect.. Well, one day in class,(with Matt Damon's mom as our teacher) our friend Elizabeth said something about Quisinnaire's Rod which sent us into a fit of giggles. Of course, we were in grad school and you would have thought we were a bit more mature, but evidently not. And we still laugh about it today.

We talk about our kids and what is going right or wrong and we can say anything and be assured that we will not be judged from one another. We can eat mucho ice-cream like it has no calories because it didn't when we were in college. Or maybe because we were athletes then, it didn't stick to the thighs like it does today. Either way, we just don't care.

Our kids get along together like long lost cousins. If we had to live on a commune together, we would all manage and get along swimmingly. There would be plenty of laughter, too. We definitely wouldn't be wearing dresses from the 1900's like in some other sects, but we would work as a team. Anyway, being home and finishing up a fabulous vacation week visiting "old" friends, makes me a little sad that my "old" friends are an hour to 3 1/2 hours away. Luckily, the Cape is a big draw for people in the summer and I am assured that they will all be down once school gets out!

Friday, April 25, 2008

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

"It's a Beautiful Day"

It was a beautiful, sunny Cape Cod day today. The best thing about it was that the girls didn't have school (and don't all week). When I was little, we had a house in Ogunquit, Maine. One of my favorite places in the world. Anyway, we would open up our cottage during April vacation. It seemed every April vacation was cold and rainy and sometimes snowy. One time we made snowbunies because it was near Easter and it snowed! My mom would usually lose patience with us by mid-week and we would go home. Must be the global warming thing or something, but this week has been fabulous!

This morning, we went and checked up on DH who was working on boats before he went fishing tonight.
These are our 2 boats.

This is K with Gretel on the boat. Yes, they have the same curly hair. Later in the day, Gretel tried to jump into the water.

We also collected a bunch of stuff on the beach for B because she went to a Fairy house building afternoon at the library. Of course I had to take a few pictures because there are now colors in the world other than gray, brown and gray.

B and K, too cool for school!

We dropped B at the library where she made a fabulous fairy house! Maybe a fairy will come live in it tonight and leave her a present. She has a pool, bed, bathroom and swing at her pad. And with all the flowers, it smells delicious! What fairy wouldn't want to spend a night or 2 here?



Tomorrow we are headed off Cape to visit my dear friend and her kiddos. We are considering going to the beach because it is going to be 80!? Do I dare even dream that it could get to 80 tomorrow? The thing about Cape Cod, is that this weather could all be a big tease and we could be back in the 50's for weeks on end in May and even June. Better enjoy it while it is here! Hope the weather where you are is nice!

Monday, April 21, 2008

C the Hero!

My nephew C spent the day with us. He and K are the same age and best buddies. Early this morning, he saved his brother's life. That is S, who I wrote about a few weeks ago. Evidently, S and C went quahogging early this morning. Hmm, how to explain quahogging. A quahog is a hard shelled clam. One can either stand waist deep in water and rake for them or stand in a boat with a long rake and collect them. Either way it is hard on the arms and shoulders. S and C were taking a small boat to the spot where they put on their waders
and jump in the water (waist deep). Well, C's rake was on a different boat and they tried to grab it on their way by, but S fell into the water instead. Mind you, it's the ocean and the water is probably 40 at the most. C said it was the longest 30 seconds of his life, having to turn the boat around and collect S (who had put his waders on before he got in the boat) whose waders immediately filled with water. He ran into another boat (at it's mooring) and ran over a buoy before he got back to S. He pulled S back into the boat and a man on the shore took them home. S was scared, C was scared. Neither one raked for quahogs today.

The funniest part was, if one can find a funny part in saving one's life, was that when I picked him up this morning from his house, he asked me if how often I wrote my blog. I said, pretty much every day. And he said that I would have to write about him today! So yes, I am writing about you today, C. I am very proud of you for saving S's life. S must have 9 lives, like a cat! I am so happy you hung out with us all day and you looked really good on the horses this afternoon! Oh yeah, and I am glad that your skin is baby butt smooth since the girls gave you a facial.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Horsie business

"Hey (or Hay) K, whatcha eating? It smells good. It smells like something I might like. Maybe a little sip of this stuff in the green bottle?
Or better yet, how about some chicken? It sure smells good and you have ridden me all morning and the hay today is a little dull on taste.....So can I have some?
Isn't life grand when you can share your lunch with one of your best friends?

Saturday, April 19, 2008

Eggs

Enjoyed laying in bed leisurely this morning talking to B. She's always good for interesting facts or observations. Like.... "you could use a lawn mower to shave your arm pits" or after telling her that some women never shave their armpits, "Ewww, wouldn't their hair come down their arm and out their tshirt?". She was telling me how she wanted to be a Dr and go to Harvard, Stanford or Princeton and asking if her elementary school grades counted in getting into college. Evidently she got a few wrong on some computer program at school and thought it would hinder her shot at the ivy leagues. 3rd grade and she is worrying about how she's getting into college. I really better start saving some (lots and lots) of money. Or hope that her golfing skills get really, really good. Then the conversation turned to when my grandparents died, which ones were at my wedding and the years of all these things. Trust me when I say that was a lot of math for my early morning brain. She asked how my mom's mom (Nanny) died. I said that she had Alzheimer's and ovarian cancer. "What is ovarian cancer?" So I started off by saying you know how girls have ovaries and they make eggs..... The look on her face was priceless as she said,"We make eggs?!" We had been through the baby making talk, but she was thinking of chicken's and eggs and that we could lay them! ROFL!

Surprisingly enough she asked for eggs for breakfast.

Friday, April 18, 2008

Beautiful Day


Let me just say how beautiful today was! Sunny, mid 60's, something to appreciate after having a 6 month winter. I actually got a little too much sun (could there be such a thing?) on my face today from sitting in a parking lot for an hour. OK, I will start at the beginning....

After I dropped K and B at school, I called my mom to see if she wanted to go get a pedicure. She said yes, so off we went to our favorite Vietnamese pedi center. My friend, Jen, was there too, soaking her toes in a nice hot tub. We all chatted and laughed, even though my girl clipped a little too much once and just about sent me through the roof. I am so damned nice, I didn't say anything, just let her have her way with her little torture tools. I think I get pedis once and awhile just for the lower leg rub. Ahhh, smooth. She was talking very fast and foreign to my mom's girl. I think she was commenting on how my feet haven't seen the light of day since October. Poor, poor feet. So Jen happened to mention she was going to a furniture clearance sale. We were there before she could get the sentence out of her mouth. Oh, we had to pick up my dad first.
My mom and dad found a great kitchen table, complete with chairs for a great price. We called DH to see if he could come pick them up in his truck. He said, "Be there in 15 minutes". What a good son-in-law! Meanwhile, another friend of mine came and another. It was like a party and this sale was in the parking lot of the clearance warehouse. So we all sat on the couches and chatted for an hour in between me buying 6 kitchen chairs and my friend, Michael buying a couch. Jen had already bought her pull out sofa. That of course equals good time and face burn! The afternoon was complete with a trip to Dairy Queen with my mom.
The girls are out of school now for a week, they went riding with DH. This evening I went to a Southern Living Party complete with lobster face. One of the woman there worked for an interior designer so she knew everything. (Yes, everything!) Some advice she doled out willingly was:
"Never mix paisley with checks" (She might have told that to some nursing homes I have seen.)
"You can mix antiques with modern as long as you have the same color family." (Is that like mixing the Redfields and McCoys?)
"Mix circles and squares." (How about martinis and wine?)
"Curtains should be called 'window treatments' " (Unfortunately many of my windows are devoid of curtains or window treatments.)
I , of course was waiting to see what this diva of design was going to buy so I could copy and she cut out early! The nerve. Blasting us with all this designer information and then leaving. I have a name for this type of person.... Tease! Brought me straight back to High School in a matter of seconds!

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Random Musings

Random musings:

*Thanks for all the input from yesterday's word's of wisdom. I appreciate the new ones too!

*Why do I have a dog?
*I did not drink all that beer and wine in one day. (It took me 2.)

*My therapist told me he was proud of me today. :) I have waited 10 years to hear that!

*I found 12 white t-shirts in my car yesterday when I was taking out random jackets from the girls that had been collecting there. I could not for the life of me remember how I had gotten a bag of white t-shirts in my car or why they would be there. I started with asking K if she knew anything about them. She said, "I brought them home so you could write 'Gym in a Box' on them. Duh!" OK, I added the Duh. I guess I wasn't listening too well when she told me on Monday after invention club. I guess I am in charge of the 'team uniforms'.

*My mother-in-law spent $25 to send her eldest son's birthday present to him from Florida. That is love!

*I haven't been sleeping so well this week.

*I got to do another radio announcement thing yesterday! I am seeing a new career in my future!

*Spring is springing up all over the place here. The daffodils are out in full bloom and the forsythia is turning it's beautiful, bright yellow.

*I am actually excited that tomorrow at 2:30 begins our April vacation! We aren't going to Florida like many of my friends, but it means no schedules for a week! Yippee! That is until someone utters my least favorite phrase..."I'm bored!". I don't know how anyone can be bored. I have so much to do, I crave sitting down and reading a catalog for Pete's sake.

*Maybe I'll sleep tonight now that I have emptied my brain of it's musings.

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Pearls of Wisdom

I have been trying to make an office, a bedroom for the summer rental season. This is requiring me to clean out thousands of pictures, random stuff for craft projects, pictures the girls have painted, lots of fleece, my gift closet and a few folders. In one of my folders I found a small page I tore out of Family Circle on 11/20/01. It was titled Patti's Pearls of Wisdom. I have no idea who Patti is, but she had some good advice so I thought I would share....

*The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them.
*Every exit is an entrance to someplace else.
*Your self-worth is more important than your net worth.
*Anger is like the blade of a butcher knife--very difficult to hold on to for long without harming yourself.
*You can't smooth out the surf, but you can learn to ride the wave.
*Look at life through the windshield, not the rearview mirror.
*Don't try to change the wind_change the sails.

Do you have a favorite?

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Paris, part trois (3)

Yesterday, funny, today more of the landmarks. By the way, the ice cream I had in Paris was white chocolate and my mom had mango something or other. I always go for some sort of chocolate!
The Eiffel Tower encased in smog. Nice, huh? Because it was so warm there, the skies were not clear most of the time in the city.

This is Sacre Couer. I had the best cardio workout there for 5 euros. First I had to climb a bunch of stairs to get to the church. Then, I thought I would check out the crypt. Yeah, so I was willing to scare myself. They weren't open though, but the towers were. I paid about $8 to hike (and I mean HIKE) up hundreds of stairs in narrow turrets with no windows. Where was my traveling partner you ask? Bellied up to a cafe having a beer, I mean expresso. The view from the top was pretty cool though.

This is one of the beautiful windows in Notre Dame. Yes, as in hunchback, Quasimodo, Notre Dame. It is truly a beautiful church. The detail is amazing! Of course when we were outside the church, I had to tell my mom about how when I stayed in a nearby hostel 20 years before, my friends and I went to a liquor store and bought beer. Of course, we weren't smart enough to buy twist off caps, so spent some time trying to pry the tops off using the gates around Notre Dame. She was impressed.(Um, not really).

The most beautiful place we went to was a town called Giverny (pronounced gee-ver-knee). This is the view looking out of Claude Monet's upstair's bedroom at his gardens. They were breathtakingly beautiful! The garden had some beautiful Wisteria, too.
But my Mom's all time favorite picture is this one I took in the garden of the Rodin museum. She thinks this will be she and my Dad in another 50 years or so....
So that concludes your tour of Paris. Please feel free to send me some money so I can go again and you can live vicariously through my trip! I'll even send you a postcard! Or if you want to go in 9 years when I turn 50, we can rent a big house in the south of France and explore that end of the country!

Monday, April 14, 2008

Paris, France part deux (2)

The following are some pictures from Paris from last April. These are the funnier ones of the bunch. If you want to see many, many pictures from Paris, read yesterday's blog.

Statues were a big source of amusement for us and thankfully, Paris had one around every block. I have many a picture of naked male statues, but I will only grace you with the 3 funniest statue "situations".
"Oh, woah as me. Get this damn bird off my head!"

Then at the Rodin museum, we saw them taking away some statues that had seen their
time. Were they going to statue heaven? I don't know, but they seemed pretty tied up about it.

Then, there was the French man standing next to a little pond where kids were floating boats. He's got his requisite scarf on (it was about 75 degrees) and he's holding a balloon for his kid (I hope).
One day we went to the BEST ICE-CREAM place in all of Paris according to guide books and actual people. Who knew we were only to get a teaspoon full on top of a regular cone? I am actually holding mine and my mom's in this picture, but if she had turned around, I probably would have scoffed hers down as well.

My mom and I have the same (twisted, warped) sense of humor. At many of the parks in Paris, you are not allowed to sit on the grass! Yes, unbelievable. So, we are at these ponds and the park is packed. There are chairs around, but you have to search for them and grab them when you can. I (swear) I was searching for 2 chairs for us, but my mom found her own, which I found hysterical. Could have been the beers we sucked back at a cafe, who knows?
We think we are the funniest people we know. That's probably why we made such good traveling partners. Tomorrow, I will try to show the more beautiful pictures.

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Paris, but a memory...

While having Sunday night supper tonight with my parents, sister and brother in law, my mom and I realized at this time last year we were in Paris. As in Paris, France, not as in Paris, Maine. It was what I really, really wanted for my 40th birthday. I had been in France for 5 weeks my sophomore year in college and so badly wanted to go back! I tried to get a group of friends to go, but everyone said, "Great idea, but no can do". So I persuaded (begged) my mom into going with me. We found a great deal on Travelocity that included air fare and hotel. We had the absolute greatest time!!!! My mom and I are very compatible and had the same goals for our trip. We are not the type of people that have to see every painting in every museum. We are more of the sit at a cafe and drink wine, eat brie and bread and people watch. We did plenty of that since the weather was beautiful and in the 70's the whole week (very rare for Paris). We read books, talked, laughed and took about 1000 pictures. My french came back fairly quick considering I hadn't been speaking it in quite a few years. If you want to look at some of my pictures from the trip, go here and use the password: paris. I will write some more specifics from our trip tomorrow.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Catching Up!

I haven't disappeared. This searching for a new principal is big stuff. Actually 2 days of interviews and then a "hash it all out" session, fried me for the week. Oh, what I could write about if they didn't make me sign my rights away in blood before I left the Superintendent's office. News from other blogs is that ManicDawn, Michelle, and Mimi are going to meet for the first time in Chicago this weekend and Dawn, Michelle and Mimi will see Oprah on Monday. This show will be live on Monday, so we get instant gratification if we want to scan the audience for these wonderful 3 women. Buford Betty reports that there are Lilly Pulitzer dresses in Cotsco this week. I also saw some in TJMaxx. 

K is turning 11 on May 6th and having a spa party (complete with sleep over). Have any of you held a spa party before? We are looking for ideas on what worked, what didn't. I think there will be about 6 or 7 of them. 

OK, going to sit with K and B while they watch RV with Robin Williams. It is very funny if you like potty humor. They are cracking up, I am surprised you can't hear them!

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Names Have Been Changed to Protect the Not-So-Innocent

So I am sitting with my glass of Chardonnay at my computer trying to comprehend the last 2 days. Our elementary school is looking for a new principal and I am the token parent on the search committee. There are 9 of us on this comm. We have interviewed 11 people over the past 2 days (6 yesterday, 5 today). I am a little fried, to say the least. I can't even discuss the candidates or the sordid details of our lunch time talk. Too bad, because all I could think of was "oohh this would be great for the blog!".

My parents had the girls this afternoon. When I got out at 5, I raced to pick the dog/lamb up from my sister's house and then the girls from my parents and then drove (ok, raced) to the next town for B's soccer practice. We then drove back to parent's house where Mom had made us dinner. Thanks Mom! Then the girls and I jumped in the car to get home for showers and bedtime. On the way home, I almost drove into a cemetery. Not because I wanted to visit anyone or join anyone residing there, but because of what K innocently blurted out from the back seat.

" I got asked out by Nathan Little today. I told him I would rather die first than date him."

Yes, my innocent 11 (almost 12)yr old tells me this as I was driving. Thankfully, I was only going about 30, because I literally slammed on the brakes and choked. After breathing into a paper bag for a few minutes, I was able to carry on a mom/daughter conversation.

me, "He really asked you out?"
K, "He was desperate. He asked every girl out in the 5th grade!"
me, "I don't think you would be my definition of someone to ask out if someone were desperate. You are a very smart, caring, beautiful girl." (Teachable moment, people!)
K, "Yeah, but he asked out everyone!"
me, "Did you say to his face that you would rather die first than date him?" (Me, feeling a wee bit of sympathy for the poor boy along with a lot of dislike.)
K, "No, Sam came around and asked all the girls one at a time, if we liked Nathan. We all told him 'no!'. Sarah even went as far as saying, "I would kick him and then spit on him if he asked me out." (My thought was these girls are a little dramatic {and violent!}).

I can't wait to find out what is going to happen at the 5/6th grade skate night on Saturday. Maybe the father will be in charge of pick up and drop off that night. UGH!

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Spring is Coming?

After many, many days of clouds, rain, chilliness.... the sun was out today. I was happy about this and so was Gretel. I don't suggest trying this at home, but while I was driving I snapped this picture of her with her head out the sunroof. Ah, the life of a dog.

Monday, April 7, 2008

Candy issues

My close friends will laugh at this, but Melisa over at www.thesuburbanscrawl.blogspot.com asked these questions about M&Ms.

"1. Do you eat your M&Ms one at a time, a couple at a time, or by the handful?

2. Do you eat them according to a certain color first, or do you not care about color?

3. Do you suck on them, bite them in half before eating, or just chomp on them in a carefree manner?

4. Do you miss tan-colored M&Ms in the bag of assorted colors?

5. Did you think it was a travesty to replace the tan with the blue? Would you have preferred another color (I think purple was the other choice) or did you just want them to leave the tan in there?"

So, I grabbed her questions for my post because this was just too good to answer in the comment section of her blog. I am an M&M addict. I should be in a rehab somewhere (preferably warm) for M&M addicts. If you could get arrested for eating too many M&Ms, I would have lost my license for the rest of my life. I was thinking how I needed to get to BJ's to buy a supersize bag tomorrow because I am out of all my supplies. I usually eat about 6 at a time and suck them. No regard to color. When the reds first came out, I was worried about them and wouldn't eat them because I heard they caused cancer. Now that they come in any color..... any color goes. I am ok with blue now, too. I just don't care about the color, just the oral fixation on them and the taste. I often time mix them with planter's peanuts. This has a different, more saltier taste than the peanut M&Ms.

Now you know. It is an addiction I am not proud of, but one that is fed by stress and driving. (I like to eat when I drive distances). Please forgive me, because I am sure that I have seemed like the perfect person, wife, mom so far, I have an addiction stronger than me. My dentist (who is my neighbor) couldn't understand why I had 2 cavities 2 years ago. I asked, "hmmm, could it be all the M&Ms I eat during the day?" He didn't believe I ate that many, but I guess, my teeth don't lie. I would probably be on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swim suit addition if I could kick this habit, but the allure of being Ms. Green M&M 2008 is a stronger goal.

Sunday, April 6, 2008

Spring Soccer, MA style

Yesterday was the first game of spring soccer. Never mind that our first game was over 1 1/2 hours away (East Bum F*@k, MA), but it was CHILLY! I was disillusioned years ago when I signed my girls up for spring soccer. Weekends, sitting in the sun cheering on a soccer team. I must have been high when I thought that, because in reality, MA spring soccer is down right chilly and you're lucky if the field does not have snow or rain puddles on it. This was B playing yesterday.....

Notice hat, 2 layers under team shirt, and sweatpants over shorts. Brrrrr (along with a few sprinkles). But, there is some sign of hope and warmth in the picture. Can you spot it? Yup, that's right, beach chairs. I didn't even bring mine to the game because I couldn't put my hand on them minutes before we left. Must be somewhere in the basement, I'll have them for next week. I had to keep jumping up and down at this game anyway to make sure I had all my appendages still intact.

B has been coughing a lot while running and I took her to the Dr. Friday. She has been diagnosed with exercise induced asthma. Does anyone know anything about this? She is on Singulair and an inhaler before running. She does not like the taste of the inhaler and she doesn't think it works (she's only used it 2 times: yesterday's game and today's practice). I have to look more into it, but evidently it is pretty common. Anywho, if you have any knowledge, advice, spare wine you can send to me, please let me know. Oh and a great ending is that she scored the winning goal in yesterday's game!!!

Saturday, April 5, 2008

Hubby Meme

OK, sweet Melisa tagged me for a meme. {Mom, that means she did a post on her site and wants me to do it on my site. I know that last one confused you.} It's an interesting one because it's about my DH. A few of my friends have asked me what DH stands for. Well.. some days it stands for dear husband, and others, damn husband. Honestly, before you read this post, Matt is a great guy (his mom paid me to say that- Hi Pat :), just kidding, anyway he worries about providing for us, keeping my checkbook in the black etc.....I'll just get on with it.....

How long have you been together?
Since October of 1990. OK, sit right back and you'll hear a tale.....the way we met is kind of a cool story about fate....When I moved to the Cape in 1990, I didn't know anything about it. I watched a local show that spotlighted the cape and all it had to offer. There was a dad and his 2 boys (strapping young men) on the show. I thought , "Hey maybe, I will run in to them some day?". Fast forward to October, when I was at a coffee house(as in bar with live music) and in walked Matt, the hunk I had seen on the boat with his dad. Me, not shy in alcoholic situations, "Hey weren't you on tv in June with your dad and brother?" And it has been bliss (hahahaahahhahhhahhh) since then!
How long did you date? Ah, before we got married? Almost 4 years.
How old is he? 41, we are the same age for a month, then he's older.
Who said ‘I love you’ first? Hmmm, has Matt ever said that? It was definitely me the first 400 times, then I think he caught on.
Who is taller? Me shrimpy- 5'5, Him tall guy- 6'2
Who is smarter? I would love to say 'me of course' and do say that quite often, but he is very smart in certain subjects I have no knowledge of. Business planning, taxes, insurance, fixing anything on a boat, math. Me, I am more of the schooling smart kind of gal.
Who does the laundry? Um, me. Do men actually know how to use a washing machine?
Who does the dishes? Yeah, that would be me, too. Once, when we first go married, we had a thing going where one cooks, one cleans up. What did happen to that rule?
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? OK, this has long been my side, but over the last year, Matt has conquered it. He says I have the better alarm clock. Maybe, it's time we switch alarm clocks?
Who pays the bills? Crap, we have to pay them?
Who mows the lawn? Your's truly. Yup, I am wonder woman. I learned at a young age how to mow the lawn on a riding mower and loved doing it. Now, I just love the look of a freshly mowed lawn and would wait to the cows come home if I waited for Matt to do it.
Who cooks dinner? ME,ME,ME,ME,ME,ME
Who is more stubborn? HIM,HIM,HIM,HIM
Who kissed who first? Um, memory is failing me on that one....
Who asked who out? Well, it might have been slutty me. We were in a bar one night and I asked him to play darts with me. Little did I know he didn't like to wear his glasses because he didn't think they were cool and he could barely see the dart board.
Who proposed? He did, but that's another story. He had the ring before Christmas, chickened out until I demanded my unopened Christmas present on Valentine's Day. He wanted to save it until my birthday (the end of March). He was so stressed out, he practically threw it at me.
Who is more sensitive? Sniff, sniff, me

Ok, so now you know who wears the pants in the family. Me, obviously. Somedays I would like to take them off and wear a ball gown and eat bonbons on the couch, but that's so not me or my life and that's OK!

I'm new to this tagging thing, so I am going to open it up to anyone reading. If you want to share your husbands (cushy) life with blog world, bring it on, just let me know!

Matt, me, K and B (Fall 07)

Friday, April 4, 2008

DJ Sue

In case anyone was wondering.... K woke up with a smile on her face this morning. Nothing was mentioned from last night. Today was crazy hair or hat day. This is what my little petunia looked like this morning...


When I was younger, radio stations fascinated me. Maybe it was just that I loved music so much. I loved meeting radio announcers in real life to see if they looked like what I imagined them to look like. (Sadly, that was usually a disappointment). Remember WKRP in Cincinnati?

Yeah, ok, loved that show. Something about the big head phones and microphone always appealed to me. So, when my sister mentioned last night that I could come do a radio spot today with her, I was all over it! We are part of a group (Women of Fishing Families) that puts on a maritime festival in the spring. We went to the station with another woman who runs the Maritime Museum in Hyannis. Together, we have gotten a grant to run a photography contest for kids to see their take on the fishing, clamming, lobstering, basically maritime atmosphere of the Cape. We were interviewed to talk about the contest and our respective groups. It won't air until next Sunday. All I can say is the guy should have done the uncut version of our interview. We were all chatting away, cracking jokes before the red studio light went on and then after it went off, we all breathed a sigh of relief, wiped our sweaty palms and continued our "pregame comedy show"! My sister, Karen, compared the red "on" light to the scene on The Brady Bunch where they are shooting a demo and Peter freezes when he sees the red light. She felt she froze when it went on, but honestly,she did just fine! I think we all did. Doesn't she look like a natural? Very laid back!

Right before, I asked her if she shut off her cell phone and she assured me she did. However, it was on vibrate and it buzzed for about the first 3 minutes of the interview. Hopefully those big mics didn't pick that up (or me giggling about it!) All in all, a fun experience. I did really want to bust into one of the DJ rooms and set up some tunes. Maybe if I ever get invited back, I will talk my way onto the air as a guest DJ, impress the masses and wind up as the DJ on the Ellen Show. Sure Stryker is a babe, but I am sure Ellen and I would have a great time together!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

A*s Kicking

I often wonder how a 65 lb 10 year old can kick my a*s to the curb in the matter of an hour.

Let me preface this with our afternoon. K went to a friend's house after school, B had chorus. I picked B up at 3:30, K at 4. We ran into Job Lot (discount "crap" store), went to wish my brother in law Happy Birthday and wound up talking with nephew,S for 1/2 hour. We got home, I had dinner on the table by 6 (this hasn't happened in awhile thanks to the time change), the girls and I(DH out fishing) ate and laughed.... Where/when did it go downhill?

At some point the good mood started to crumble. K got in the shower, B was on my bed watching tv. Both girls were whining about how they needed a back massage so I obliged. Maybe that was my mistake. Maybe I should have whined to them and made them give me one! One's wasn't as long as the other, one started whining to the other, one started yelling at the other, one started singing to annoy the other..... You get the picture. They were both in respective rooms at 7:45 with no finishing program they were watching. K could not handle that and slammed the door in my face. B just got into bed and read. K pushed her luck and tried to watch more tv, but I said, "Do that and no going to BFF's birthday party on Saturday". Something must have registered because she claimed she didn't care about BFF's party, but did everything except turn on the tv . She cried for quite some time and claimed she didn't like me, I was the meanest mom, wasn't tired.. the works. I told her I loved her, put B to bed and came downstairs to a big bowl of popcorn and glass of wine. Or was it a big glass of wine and a few kernels of popcorn? Either way... She came downstairs (9:15). Said what was really bothering her was that she didn't want to go to school tomorrow because of a writing project. Yesterday the teacher said her opening was great, today she said it needed some work and she was writing like a 4th grader. (she's a 5th grader). This is the kid that has struggled with school since the get go. Until this year, she has been pulled out for extra reading help. She blurted out this afternoon that she got a 100 on her oral report that she gave yesterday and she was so proud of herself! (As was I!) So, she is not the best writer. Please don't insult her by saying she is writing like a 4th grader. Oh the horrors, I know, a 4th grader.

I do love her teacher and she does many a creative project with the class. K loves her too (for the most part). I might have to tell her that the next time she compares something K has done to a 4th grader, she may have to take her home for the night because I only have so much wine and can only handle so many a*s kickings.

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Shaw's Rocks!

When did I become the person that gets excited about grocery stores? This, to me, is VERY scary. Excited? About a grocery store? When I was younger, I used to go to the grocery store with my mom. It was that oldest kid guilt thing, I guess. I felt like I should go with my mom to the grocery store to keep her company. Why that was, I don't know. She knew EVERYBODY in the grocery store! We would stop in the middle of each aisle and catch up with each person we saw. Maybe I went with her just to get her to buy food because now she will think and talk about going to the grocery store for a full day and a half before she actually gets there.

So, back to me, (it always comes back to me)..... I dropped B at soccer practice in Orleans tonight. That is a different town than which we live. I had to run to the grocery store because I was out of the basics: bread, milk and paper towels. The paper towels being the most important because I go through like a roll a day. I went to Shaw's instead of my regular Stop and Shop which is closer to my house. I grabbed a little basket because I only needed 3 items. Got that? Only 3 items. What woman actually goes into a grocery store and buys only the 3 items that she needs? My husband could, but not me. Half way through the store, I upgraded to a cart. This is where the story becomes sad. I was getting excited at the different things this store carried than the store I normally shop at. Obviously I was missing out on new products by not experimenting with different grocery stores! Normally, I get bored by the grocery store (and a little angry too, at how much money it sucks out of me each month). I get bored of making the same lunches, dinners, snacks etc... But at Shaw's tonight, I was practically giddy with excitement! I am shaking my head in disbelief at how pitiful that just sounded. Ugh. These are some of the new products I found....

A new Ocean Spray drink? Yummy! One that will give me energy and help prevent bladder infections?! Cool! Pickles in little bowls that I can put in B's lunch? Ooooh, is she going to be psyched when she opens her lunch box tomorrow! Breadsticks to dip in peanut butter? What a great snack that both girls will like and it's different than goldfish and pretzels! Plus, not pictured are the large pork bones that I bought my dog and my nephew-dog for a treat when they are on their playdate tomorrow. Have I ever seen these items at Stop and Shop? I think not! I've got to go lay down and rest now. I just had a full cardio workout at the grocery store!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Happy Birthday, S!

Today is my oldest nephew, S's, birthday! He is turning 14! OK, that in itself is unbelievable. I remember holding him in his little primary colored Gymboree clothes and wondering if I would ever be responsible enough to have my own baby. I guess someone thought I was responsible because I wound up with 2. Anyway, more about S. I have so many snapshots in my mind of him. Standing in his Dad's fishing boots when he was about 3, having baths in the sink, being the big kid in the tub with his brothers and cousins, playing soccer, finding every jump on the hill to ski off, and the swagger he adopted when he was about 11 because he was so cool! In November of 2005, S looked like this...

He had just survived 5 months of intensive chemotherapy. He fought the C word like a samurai warrior. He put up with hospital stays, blood transfusions, nausea, cravings, a summer spent mostly inside instead of outside and all the other crap that comes with cancer.

Now, S looks like this....

He has gained weight, grown a few inches and still has that great smile. He plays soccer, basketball, baseball and skis like a downhill racer. He still allows me to hug him and I even got to give him a kiss this morning when he ran in to pick up his cupcakes. You got it, I am the aunt/mom that likes to bake, so I get asked to make the special funfetti cupcakes every year! Do I mind? No way. He is a real trooper and has worked hard to come out on the other side of cancer as a better, stronger person. I am so proud of him!