Tracie's 80s Lyrics Challenge

I've seen a few of these online in different places, and ever since I saw the first one, I wanted to do one of my own. So here it is. I spent about a million hours putting it together over the course of a few days last month -- time well spent, no?

Here are some of the others you can find online:
http://www.zyworld.com/andywhelan/
http://www.stwing.upenn.edu/~pmarin/80s.html

I'm sure it's probably self-explanatory, but just in case it's not, the idea is to guess which 80s song each lyric comes from.

1. We stick together ‘cause we’re strong

2. I don’t understand the wicked things we do

3. Don’t leave your destiny to chance

4. You say that you love me, and that you always will

5. She got a turned-up nose

6. Baby’s gone, all alone

7. You’d better forget it, you’ll never get it

8. Kind hearts don’t grab any glory

9. Words are so cheap, but they can turn out expensive

10. I couldn’t really put it much plainer

11. Come on and touch that place in me that’s calling out your name

12.‘Cause if you’re hungry, take a bite of me

13. Most peculiar, Mama

14. You know you make me feel so strong

15. Called me names and you called your dad

16. But loving you’s the harder part

17. I’m gonna try with all my might to make the storyline come true

18. Frame me and hang me on the wall

19. The sun is bursting right out of the sky

20. Candles, they light the dark

21. Choose my color, find a star

22. As long as we abuse it we are never going to lose it

23. You wanna martyr me too

24. Who’s got the touch to calm the storm inside

25. Add me to the broken hearts you’ve collected

28. He could pretend to give her everything

29. You were the one that they said was so weird

30. But I know which way I’d run to if the choice was mine

31. Lose yourself in wild romance

32. Is there so much hate for the ones we love?

33. Every minute of every hour

34. I’ve always worked for my living

35. I go crazy wondering what there is to really see

36. You know you satisfy everything in me

37. But it just might save your life

38. Hi guys, by the way

39. The voice of reason is one I left so far behind

40. And in her eyes, two sapphires blue

41. We remain tender together

42. It’s just a step up to paradise

43. One to one, man to man

44. You’re obliged to conform when there’s no other course

45. Carry your cup in your hand

46. It was smellin’ like a locker room

47. Always wanting more, he’d leave you longing for

48. Well don’t wait any longer

49. A leader speaks, that leader dies

50. Raise a glass, enjoy the scenery

51. You, me, and all that stuff we’re so scared of

52. Remember when the words were so new

53. I’m a man with a mission in two or three editions

54. I like to tease them

55. I’ve got a real nice place to go

56. What is this madness that makes my motor run?

57. It’s make-believe until it’s only a matter of time

58. I love your precious heart

59. It's a game of give and take

60. Step into a life of maybe

61. We’re just following ancient history

62. Just a little uncertainty can bring you down

63. It isn’t safe to walk the city streets alone

64. When you hear temptation call

65. ‘Cause what would they say if they ever knew

66. That’s where you belong, in my arms, baby, yeah

67. Here today, built to last

68. I know what it means to work hard on machines

69. Take a ride in a big yellow taxi

70. How can our love grow?

71. I can’t believe you do what you do

72. Some guys do nothing but complain

73. We’re gonna live forever

74. ‘Cause we seem to understand the urgency

75. Was it a boy when you wanted a girl?

76. In the midnight hour, I can feel your power

77. You can shoot me straight to the top

78. Turned you into someone new

79. You’ll say anything to avoid a fight

80. Don’t you wonder what we’ll find?

81. My head is full of magic, baby

82. Have we become a habit?

83. Without a noise, without my pride

84. She wants to multiply

85. And it’s hard to keep a good man down

86. Always the same theme

87. But no other man’s gonna do

88. I believe there’s so much to believe in

89. It’s too hot to handle so I got to get up and go

90. Pushing the day into the night time

91. No one can blame you for running to him

92. And you leave me, making me blue

93. Instead you laid still in the grass, all coiled up and hissing

94. But on a midnight watch I realized why twice you ran away

95. And now they’re after me

96. I’m caught up in the magic I see in you

96. You look like you’re lots of fun

97. It felt like the world would freeze

98. Then one day she came back

99. No stars are out tonight, but we’re shining our own light

100. I never thought I’d realize what love was, what love was, what love was

50 Book Challenge: #18 - Hallelujah!

18. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (BC*)

I finally finished this thing! And don't get me wrong, I really liked it -- it was just long. And I'm not sure I really understood it really well, so I'm looking forward to our book club discussion about it.

Now I've started The Mommy Myth, about "the new momism" that's supposed to make women feel like having children is the highest calling possible for them at the same time it sets standards for childrearing that no mother could possibly measure up to. Very interesting, but if it starts getting me too angry, I may have to set it aside for something lighter. I've got 6 or 8 books sitting on the shelf waiting to be read right now, so there's a lot to choose from :-)

I just spent (wasted) several hours looking at the website AwfulPlasticSurgery.com to see what the stars are all doing to their faces. Naturally, all of the expected culprits were there: Tara Reid and her boob job, Farrah Fawcett looking like someone's been beating her about the face regularly for the last 20 years, Melanie Griffith and her horrifying lips. What I found shocking were most of the other people listed there. Sure, breast implants get all the press, but did you know that there is one acceptable nose shape in the entertainment industry -- one with a well-defined but narrow bridge and a tip that protrudes just a bit? And did you know that practically everyone you might see in a movie these days has had surgery to get it? Even stunningly beautiful women like Natalie Portman and Halle Berry have had rhinoplasty. WTF?

Anyhoo, I have concluded that there is one very good, very compelling reason not to have plastic surgery, at least not to one's face in an attempt to stall the aging process. And it's not the old rigmarole about how people should age naturally because natural is beautiful and all that. As I approach my 35th birthday, aging naturally is my plan, though I really don't know how I'll feel 10 or 20 years from now. I would never say never, though at this moment I would say "most likely not." Anyway, really, the most compelling reason I can think of to avoid botox, face lifts, cheek implants, brow lifts (I don't even understand what that is), nose jobs and collagen lips (God no, please!) is that there is a strong possibility that they will make your face look weird. And bad. And unnatural. And not younger, just more plastic. Older people with smooth foreheads and tight skin around the sides of their eyes and overly-defined cheekbones that didn't used to be there? Don't look younger. They look like older people who have had plastic surgery. Occasionally the results are nice, but for the most part, even on the ones who don't end up with an odd, artificial sheen to their skin or that perpetually surprised look that screams "face lift!", the work still doesn't do what it's intended to do, which is to make the person look like they did when they were younger.

Don't get me wrong -- I am not against correcting something you've always hated about your body or face. I myself still consider have lipo on my thighs from time to time, just because no amount of weight loss seems to really get rid of the extra-ass-cheek equivalent I have on each outer thigh. I could also live with the bags under my eyes that I've had since I was a toddler, though I can't imagine risky surgery in that area of my face to correct them. And again, I don't have any moral objection to people trying to delay the aging process -- I just object to what people are doing to their faces in the process. I'm not saying, just accept the aging process because the real thing is inner beauty and your natural face and all that crap -- I merely want to suggest accepting that the state of our current surgical technology is not what it might someday be, and giving some serious thought to whether it's worth it to risk coming out looking like the Joker.

I will state without qualification that collagen injections to the lips need to stop NOW. I'm not kidding. Stop it! Inflamation is not sexy, people. It's just gross.

Rachel Rocks! and William is a thespian

Tonight was the Montgomery Elementary School Talent Show, and both my kids participated. Will appeared in a little play called "How Courage Learned to Fly" -- he played Father Robin, and he was very cute patting each of his "eggs" before they hatched. Rachel and her friend Allyn, Beatles fans that they are, sang the song "I'll Follow the Sun," and they were so good! A lot of the kids who sang didn't sing loudly or clearly enough into the microphones, but Rachel and Allyn came through loud and clear. When they sang the line "And now the time has come, and so, my love, I must go," everyone kind of laughed, and it was kind of funny. Anyway, I teared up a little, and since the last time I teared up during a performance of Rachel's, I ended up totally losing it (this was back in kindergarten), I forced myself to get it together before I put on another embarrassing display.

Anyway, I'm just totally excited and proud of both kids. Here is a picture of the two of them, with Allyn:

They did so great!

I'm So Immature

Normally on school days, I get the kids off to school and then, unless I have something else to stop me, I go to the gym or for a run. Today I had something else to stop me -- I was driving on Will's class field trip, which turned out to be to the Entomology department museum at UCD. So I put on my workout clothes (and a lovely ensemble that is) and my running shoes and packed up my book and my water to ensure that after my field trip duties were over, I got right over to the gym and worked out.

It's a beautiful day today, and being on campus always makes me want to spend more time there. Campus is a special place -- everywhere you look, people are just kind of, you know, loitering. Oh sure, some of them have textbooks open or are discussing coursework with their companions or what have you -- but really, it's all just glorified loitering. Some of them have even given up all pretense of making good use of their time between classes and are asleep. I always thought campus would be just the perfect place to hang out and spend all my time if only I didn't have, you know, classes and work and stuff to deal with. So now, here I am, no pesky classes or job to gum up my schedule, and do I ever go to campus? No. Today I had to buy a $6 parking pass, and it lasted all day, and since it was so gorgeous out, naturally I started thinking about how I should come back and -- what? Run on campus? Walk around campus? And then it hit me like a water balloon in the middle of the desert -- my bike! I could ride my bike to campus! And suddenly my day was all full of sunshine, both literal and figurative.

Getting excited about riding my bike and wanting to be on campus more got me thinking about my mental age again. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this in my blog or not, but a few years ago in therapy, my therapist mentioned that there's a theory of the mind that in our own self-image, we mature to a certain age and then continue to experience ourselves at that age for the rest of our lives. I glommed right on to this idea because I often feel like a teenager masquerading as an adult. I've expected this feeling to lift over time, but it really hasn't. I guess I thought that at some point, I would realize that I was really, finally, totally grown up and mature, and I even had an epiphany that I was an adult once, at Lucky in El Cerrito back in 1985, when I was walking down the baking aisle searching for a container of Chinese Five Spices with Rachel in the backpack on my back. But now, thinking back on it, I realize that although my thought at that moment was "I'm really an adult now," what was really happening was that I was doing things that an adult would do. And now, 10 years later, when I've done all kinds of things that adults do, like signing loan papers and driving carpools and exciting things like that, I still check back once in a while and think, nope -- I still don't really feel like a grown-up. And days like today, when I look back and yearn for my college years, when I get giddy about the idea riding my bike just like I was 8 years old again, on these days, it's hammered home again that I still don't feel like an adult. Maybe I never will. But maybe that's okay.

Ten Minutes to Kill

In a few minutes I have to head over to the school to drive Will's class on a field trip, so I thought I'd post quickly. It's another busy day ahead -- field trip, gym, home to shower and dress, pick up kids, then at 4:15 I'm over at the school setting up the used book sale for Montgomery Days and working there for the first hour. After that, we'll hopefully get to spend some time with Ryan before he does his voluteer job, and after the carnival is over, it's time for the talent show! It's going to be a lot of fun :-)

Goals for this weekend: finish East of Eden, patch the holes in the walls in all three bathrooms, buy paint for the kids' bathroom, and maybe even get started painting it. I've settled on a tangerine-type color, and I think it's going to look great. I'd like to replace the mirror in there as well, but first things first!

I'm off to school...

My life this week: this and that

1) I rejoined WW this past Saturday and I'm excited about weighing in the day after tomorrow. I feel like I've done pretty well and I really hope to see evidence on the scale. And I also really hope that I don't feel discouraged if that evidence isn't there, or is small. I really want to stick with this!

2) Busy with school stuff this week! Yesterday, I drove on a field trip for Rachel's class to Columbia State Park, where they learn about the Gold Rush. The place was waaaaaay out in BFE, and is part historical experience, part tourist trap. The buildings there are old and authentic, but they sure have a lot of shops selling the usual souvenir crap. Rachel's class ate it up! They especially liked the candy store, which isn't surprising. Ryan still remembers that candy store fondly from his own fourth grade trip to Columbia 25 years ago.

Today: talent show practice after school, 2:35-?, then a tee ball game (please please PLEASE get rained out!) and a campfire meeting, which Ryan is going to attend. He's a good guy.

Tomorrow: possibly driving on a field trip for Will's class in the morning, I can't remember where they're going. In the afternoon, I will help set up the Used Book Sale for the Montgomery Days carnival at the school and work there for the first 45 minutes. Then Ryan will work at the bean bag toss booth for 45 minutes. And then later in the evening, the talent show will happen at last. I know both kids are looking forward to it and I'm proud of them, but I'm looking forward to the end of it too.

3) I'm trudging through East of Eden for book club. It's quite good and I'm enjoying it, but it's long. I'm starting to worry a little about making my 50-Book goal by the end of the year, but then, I'll probably be able to blow through quite a few books over the summer. I realized the other day how good the mix of books I'm getting from being in two book clubs in addition to making my own choices is for me. I look forward to starting each new book with the same anticipation I used to feel as a kid, when I would come home from the library with a stack of 25 books every week and read 3 or 4 of them simultaneously :-)

4) Going to lunch with Ryan today. I am determined to make good choices!

5) I'm still liking my new haircut. I discovered it's really easy to blow dry it flipped out and some days it doesn't even new curling iron correction beyond that. Good stuff. Still no picture...

6) I took a stability ball class at the gym this morning -- first one in 4 or 5 weeks -- and my ass is going to be sore tomorrow. I mean that literally...

7) A few weeks ago I started thinking about what a pain it'll be to remodel the kitchen and tried to do some reorganizing and repair to see how long I could live with the current one. I told myself, I don't use all the stuff we already have -- why do I need more storage. This week I'm coming back around to the remodelling idea. Quantity of storage is not the problem -- it's the arrangement and accessibility of the storage we have. So now I'm thinking more in terms of getting what we want but keeping it as simple as possible. I'm hoping we can do it the IKEA way to contain costs and keep the chaos to a minimum, but I guess we'll have to see.

8) I put the URL for this blog in my email signature like I've been thinking about doing for a while, so maybe we'll get some more traffic through here. That would be nice :-)

So, is there anyone else out there who thinks of numbers and letters as having genders? Ever since I was a little girl:

Female:A, B, H, K, M, N, Q, R, S, 2, 3 and 6
Male:C, D, E, F, G, I, J, L, O, P, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z, 1, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9

I never wrote it out like that before and I'm a little disappointed that the male ones outnumber the female ones. It's hardly a feminist issue, but I wonder why my little girl mind devised it that way?

We have a new look!

I've wanted to change the look of this blog pretty much since I started it. I wasn't particularly in love with the old look -- I just picked the greenest of the templates Blogger had, and I never did like the greens in it -- they were yellower greens and I tend to like my greens bluer. Tonight, with assistance from Becky (thank you!), I was able to figure out how to the change the HTML code to alter the colors, and after I futzed around with the template I was already using for a while, I chose a much simpler one, located my ideal shade of green (for this week -- I could easily change it on a frequent basis if I so choose!), added white text, and voila! In the Green House is now a more pleasing green. And that, as Martha Stewart would say, is a good thing.

I chose the name In the Green House because my blog needed a title and my house is green and green is my favorite color. It didn't occur to me until just now that there is also such a thing as a greenhouse where you grow plants. I do have a dead African violet upstairs in the new room :-) If I was another sort of blogger, I might come up with some dippy metaphor about how our house is a greenhouse of ideas and imagination, or young minds, or whatever, but that kind of thing = yuckness to me. Yay!

Crap! I made garlic parmesan bread in the bread machine today. I bragged about it in chat. The house began to smell divine. And then after 4 1/2 long hours, the timer went off, and I opened the bread machine, and -- didn't rise hardly at all. I was supposed to get a medium-sized loaf, but the thing is only 2 1/2 inches high. No doubt it'll still be delicious, but I am definitely disappointed.

Shrek 2

Okay, I loved the first "Shrek," and I particularly loved the end where Fiona is an ogre and she's all "I don't understand -- I'm supposed to be beautiful" and Shrek is all "But you are beautiful" and they're all happy and in love and all that hooey. Good stuff. Shrek 2 is cute but just not as good -- in the ranks of CGI movies, "Toy Story" and "Shrek" being the top of the heap and "Shark Tale" being the bottom, I'd put it somewhere around the lower middle -- in there with "Ice Age" and "Robots" maybe. Here's the thing -- human Shrek is hot. I mean, I was really struck by this. I don't know how human Fiona ranks with guys -- I'm thinking way below Jessica Rabbit in terms of boinkable cartoon characters -- but human Shrek? Yum. And you know what? I just didn't buy that there was any compelling reason why the two of them couldn't remain good-looking humans at the end of that movie. They loved each other no matter what, right? They still had the same personalities -- Shrek was still a big, gross, rude ogre on the inside, and it was demonstrated that Fiona was the same in either form in the first movie. There was no reason they couldn't still go back and live happily in their swamp even if they were humans.

I'm not saying there was anything wrong with them being green and ogre-y, just that the message at the end of the movie seemed to be that there was something superior about it, and I don't buy that. Sure, it's what's on the inside that counts, but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with being hot. Besides, Shrek had some inferiority issues based on how people treated him because of his looks. He had the love of a good woman to show him he had inner beauty and all the crap, so how exactly was a really good makeover going to hurt? Especially since then he could go and be more comfortable when he visited his in-laws.

It would be different if I could see being an ogre as more of an ethnic thing, where he didn't want to change his identity to fit into another group. But he wasn't part of a group of ogres either, and it didn't seem like he really liked being one all that much to begin with. It wasn't like he was having trouble adjusting to him human body either -- that didn't even come up. I think the point of the resolution of the first movie was that on the inside, Shrek and Fiona were two good-hearted, rowdy, fun-loving people who could love each other regardless of what was on the outside. They knew they had that together. Fiona accepted her ogre form and found happiness in the swamp with Shrek -- I argue they would have gone on just as happily ever after as a couple of good-looking humans who happened to live in a quaint little rustic cabin in the swamp and who enjoyed a good mud bath from time to time. And I know I wouldn't have thought any less of them if they'd made that choice. All else being equal -- who wouldn't prefer to be attractive?

But I guess the scriptwriter or whoever didn't think that would be a very PC ending. Which is ironic, since the movie industry is constantly sending us exactly the opposite of that "beauty is on the inside" message...

Generally I'm not that thrilled to wake up on a morning in mid-May to gray, showery-looking skies, but today was a perfect day for running. I went about 10 am, and it was so nice! It was cool but not cold, and there was a bit of a breeze (particularly when I was moving north-south or vice versa) but not enough to give me an earache. And it sprinkled on and off while I was out there, but only enough for me to feel pleasant little cool splashes on my arms.

I've been going out extra-unencumbered when I can. My mp3 player hasn't been working, so I haven't had that and my earphones. I don't take my fanny pack and water bottle when I'm not running to the gym, and this morning I didn't even take glasses since it wasn't sunny enough for me to need my sunglasses and my regular ones get fogged up -- it's easier to just be blind. I was wearing a tee shirt and my long-sleeved running pants, and it all just felt good. Did the whole 3 1/2 miles (or whatever it is) feeling really nice and peaceful.

"Arrested Development" is coming back next year! That means both of the shows I was worried about (the other being "Veronica Mars") are out of danger and I will get to enjoy them for another year :-)

My kids are spoiled

I was going to walk to school to pick up the kids today, but then I was heading back from the other side of town a little late, and it was kind of sprinkling on and off, and I ended up just driving over and picking them up instead. So they were spared that big long 1/8 of a mile walk. What a relief, huh?

I talked to Rachel's pediatrician today. She said she wasn't surprised Rachel's fingernail came off, and also said it would take about 6 months to grow a new one. So yay! Now we get to look at that thing for the next 6 months...

Bleah!

Okay, so I generally do pretty well with the ickier parts of parenting. There was the aforementioned squirting of the private area in the bathroom of Airport Beach in Maui. When Rachel gets migraines, I have to give her a suppositories. I have assisted in the final stages of bad constipation in both my children. And this past week, I dealt with Rachel's infected finger pretty well. I squeezed stuff out of it with my own fingers a few times, even. But that situation has finally confronted me with parenting ickiness I am finding it tough to abide. The final chapter in the infected finger saga (I hope!) is that the finger nail has come off. Ew! Ew! Ew!

Unfortunately our first inkling of this came last night when we were having dinner with our friends Lisa and Paul and their children. Lisa is the most squeamish person I know, and as Rachel and I had a short discussion of her finger beginning with her disturbing announcement that her nail was coming off and ending with my gasping and putting my hands over my mouth after she showed me how it could flip up like a car hood, Lisa, who is close to 9 months pregnant, turned a color comparing to that of printer paper. Not fun.

Our solution last night was to just leave the nail on there, held on by a bandage, but at some point in the night I decided that might not be sanitary, so a little while ago we took off the nail, rinsed the finger, and recovered it with a fresh bandage. While doing so, I got to feeling a little faint but made it through. But it was horrifying. Fingers are meant to have nails on them, y'all. Please, don't try this at home!

Well, crap -- I just looked and it turns out my post did go through the other day. Since I wrote the follow-up/replacement post, I just left the picture of Rachel singing her solo up for that one. Oh well, I guess I suck.

Rachel's Finger, or: Holy Crap, California History is Boring! (2nd attempt)

Tuesday I wrote this long post about Rachel's show and and Rachel's finger and it wasn't really that funny so I'm kind of glad it ended up floating around somewhere in cyberspace instead of on my blog. In it, I went on and on about how boring the 4th grade show, "California Alive!" is and how this is the second year I've seen it and *snore* and all that. And really, you know, they're 9 and 10 years old, and through no fault of their own, they live in a state with a really boring history and attend a school where part of the 4th grade curriculum is immortalizing said boring history in song. And this year, violin solos. Whatever. They worked hard and did a good job, so kudos to the 4th grade at Montgomery. Another rite of passage fulfilled.

The thing that really sucked about the show was that Rachel lives for this kind of thing but she didn't enjoy performing in this one at all because she has this infected finger. She's been chewing on her fingers a lot lately and her left index finger ended up infected around the cuticle, and Sunday and Monday it got pretty painful. On Monday afternoon I took her to the doctor and she was put on antibiotics with instructions to soak it and bring her back Wednesday if it wasn't better. Tuesday morning, I kept her home from school because it was big and gross and painful, and I even took a picture of it, which became part of the blog entry that wasn't. Which was stupid because a) who wants to look at that?, b) it wasn't a good enough picture that you could really tell what it looked like, and c) by afternoon it looked about 10 times worse anyway. First thing Wednesday, I made an appointment to take her to see the doctor again.

We hadn't seen our regular ped on Monday, and when she saw Rachel's finger for the first time on Wednesday, she stared at it, frowning. She mentioned getting another ped in to slice it open, but then decided to just try poking it herself, which she did, and which opened it up just fine. She squeezed most of the stuff out of it and took a sample to send to the lab, and Rachel was great and calm and everything, even though the ped kept re-poking it to open it more and all. Then she totally freaked out and cried and cried when they gave her a shot of antibiotics in the butt, and I felt horrible and took her out to lunch and to the video store and then I ordered her some used Beatles cassettes off Amazon.

I wanted to send her to school today even though I knew I was going to have to pull her out for an hour or so to take her back to the doctor for a re-check, but this morning the finger was looking pus-filled again and it wasn't draining and she was insisting it hurt to much to hold a pencil, so I kept her home again (that's 9 days she's been out in the past few weeks :-/), and here we are. I don't know if the antibiotics she's taking are helping in the least, and I don't want it to be staph but at least if it is, that would explain why it doesn't seem to be getting better. I guess we'll find out around 11:20 this morning. I hope so, because right now, in addition to being home from school, she has a finger that looks like it belongs a corpse that's been pulled out of the water after 3 or 4 days :-P

My hair

I had my hair cut last Friday. The whole time we were in Hawaii, it looked gruesome and knowing that I had an appointment to get it colored and cut the day after we got home was very psychologically helpful to me. I went in and told my hairdresser I wanted it off, and she and I discussed it and then she started cutting and I ended up with a short layered cut that I liked a lot, something I thought was pretty different from what I had before.

And then, over the next several days, I saw lots and lots of people I know, and maybe 2 of them said anything about it.

Naturally, after a couple of days, I started to get paranoid. I began to worry that it was such a hideous new 'do that everyone had noticed and no one wanted to say anything. I knew this was stupid because of all the times I've told people I liked their new haircuts (or outfits or shoes or whatever) when I really didn't but I'm a nice person and they had a new haircut (or a new outfit or new shoes) and having a compliment about it would make them feel good. And I knew that even if people didn't think my new haircut was wonderful, there was no way it was so horrible that people were just averting their eyes as though I'd been disfigured in some way.

In any case, obviously the truth is that, in spite of how different this haircut feels to me, it's not different enough for most people I encounter at school or whatever have even noticed. Even my good friend I ran into last night said "I like your hair -- it's different, right?" Uh, yeah. *sigh* It seems the rest of the world is not as obsessed with the state of my hair as I am...

TV

I would post over at Television Without Pity where this kind of stuff belongs except that they are soooo picky on the forums. God forbid anyone says what anyone else has said already. I can understand there is a bandwidth reason over there -- that's fine -- I'm choosing not to participate is what I'm saying.

Anyway, the "Veronica Mars" finale last night -- awesome! Actually, the last two episodes were great. I'm really excited this show got renewed. Watch it, people! Watch the DVDs of season one and tell me that's not better that 99% of what's on TV these days. Seriously, you won't be disappointed.

"The Amazing Race" -- woo hoo! The best team wins, again! You couldn't ask for nicer people who would appreciate their winnings more than Uchenna and Joyce. They were so lovely to each other and to everyone else, and when they said they were going for another baby, I almost burst into tears. They seemed like their lives really and truly had been changed. Now, I'm actually not a hater of Rob and Amber like many. I didn't root for them on Survivor and I didn't want them to win here, but I totally give them props for always treating each other well, throughout the race, no matter how hairy things got. Rob may well be a self-important jackass prick, but there is no doubt that he is nuts about Amber, and the one time he got testy with her, in this last episode, he immediately apologized for it. I think they actually have a pretty good chance of having a happy life together and I wish them well with it. And I cannot stand the teams that turn on each other in times of great stress, in large part because I worry that that's how I would be if Ryan and I ever did something like this show together.

Anyway, last night was a good night on TV, so yay! And now my Tuesday night TV/activities-outside-the-house conflict is over for a while, so that's good too. Which is not to say that I'm not counting the days till my two favorite shows in the world start their new seasons!

Rachel's Finger, or: Holy Crap, California History is Boring!

Here's a picture of Rachel when she sang her little solo:

Too bad I didn't know how to zoom in with my camera till I was looking through the manual this morning, huh?

Maui: the last two days

I've actually been home about 5 days now, but I did decent job of journalling while we were over there so I want to finish the job.

Wednesday was our last full day in Maui. I'd planned to rent some snorkling equipment for our last beach visit, but when returning Ryan's rental Miata ended up taking longer than expected, I decided to scrap those plans so we could all just get out to the beach as soon as we could. We headed back to Airport Beach and spent probably 2 hours there, floating and swimming and enjoying the water. The surf was gentle enough that the kids enjoyed kind of rolling around in it, which was fun for them, but -- it meant that Rachel and I ended up back in the bathroom with her naked and me squirting her with a water bottle once again. Bleah. At least this time we caught it early enough that she was able to go back out in the water for a while after that.

When everyone was ready to head back to the condo, we packed up, rinsed off, and headed back. We went in the pool for a while to get all the sand off and then cleaned up and rested for a while in the condo. Mid-afternoon, we drove into Lahaina for lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise. The good news: no cruise ship docked offshore today, so Lahaina wasn't too crowded. Bad news: it was HOT. And humid. Having showered felt pointless. Even though CiP is open-air, it was pleasant due to getting the breeze off the water, and we had a good lunch there. Walking around Lahaina afterward was less than pleasant though. I was looking for gifts for a few of my friends, Rachel was looking for a tee shirt, Ryan was trying to sneak off to a jewelry store and buy me a Mother's Day gift, and it just seemed like we could hardly get anywhere. We did take the kids to the Celebrities gallery to see the Beatles exhibit, but it wasn't quite the same without them playing Beatles music, and the kids were so hot and crabby by the time we got there that they didn't get much out of it. We got some ice cream, made our purchases, and slogged our way back to the car, and as soon as we got back to the condo, Dana and the kids and I jumped in out swimsuits and headed out to the pool. Weird weather out there. Suddenly it was cold, with the sun behind the clouds. The kids swam and Dana and I went in the hot tub, then sat out on lounges. But as soon as the sun came back out, it felt like it was searing our skin. We spent about half an hour out there and then said goodbye to the pool for the final time. We spent the evening hanging out, finishing what we could of the leftover food, and getting organized and packed up. I was the last to go to bed, around 10, after I finished the book I was reading.

The next morning we were up around 6:30 and we mostly bustled around packing up. Left in plenty of time to get to the airport, drop off the rental, check in, etc -- IF we hadn't gotten behind the slowest driver ever on the highway back to Kahului. Also, Will got carsick and we ended up stop to let him throw up by the side of the road. Long story short: what should have been a 30-minute drive took an hour. We pulled up to the car rental return in a state of silent anxiety, grabbed our stuff, hopped the shuttle to the airport, and happily walked right up to the counter to check in with North American. Dana got in line to wait to check in at United, but since her flight left more than an hour after ours, that was fine. Little did we know they were going to make a federal case out of the can of Off! in one of our suitcases. We told them to just pull it out and throw it away, but they still insisted on filling out paperwork and getting a bunch of signatures before they let us go. We were still kind of freaking out about getting to the plane on time, even though it was 45 minutes till it was supposed to take off, mostly because we hadn't seen what the security line looked like yet and we knew it was potentially long, and the airline people were just taking their time, la la la. Finally they let us go and we sprinted off toward the gate (gate 39 in an airport with 39 gates, naturally). The kids were asking questions and we were telling them to stop, and for some reason Ryan blurted out that "our plane is getting ready to leave." OMG, I could have killed him. Will immediately bursts into hysterical sobs, which only slows him more, and we're both trying to calm him. I'm not sure if Ryan even noticed that I didn't speak to him for the next hour or so.

Well, the security line was nothing, and we hiked all the way to our gate at the opposite end of the airport, where the nice airline people told us to relax while we sat and filled out our boarding passes for this part of the flight -- we boarded in plenty of time and I read HP4 to Will for the length of the 18-minute flight to Honolulu. Once we got there, we had an hour layover and actually had to get off the plane -- we had lunch, picked up a few things, reboarded, and flew back to Oakland. Once again, we rented the digital TV thing, and after Will had a nap, he watched "Racing Stripes" with Rachel while Ryan and I read and I napped. We got in on time at about 10 pm, waited a bit for our luggage, waited forever for our shuttle back to the La Quinta motel where our car was parked (we later discovered that Rachel left her backpack on that shuttle -- Ryan went back to Oakland to get it on Saturday) and got on the road. Were in our own beds in Davis by 1 am -- but it only felt like 10.

All in all, great vacation. I can't wait to do it again!

50 Book Challenge: #17

Nursery Crimes by Ayelet Waldman (BC)

Enh. I like the idea of a stay-at-home mom who gets so bored that she starts solving crimes/mysteries, but this one didn't really grab me. I didn't like the way her daughter and parenting skills were written. The husband who is home all the time was a convenience I found hard to swallow as well. Also, I figured out who the killer was quite a while before the heroine did, so that was kind of annoying. I don't see this one generating much discussion at book club, which is fine since I didn't spend much on it and it only took me a day to read. Am now plowing through East of Eden by Steinbeck. It's long and kind of dense but I'm moving through it pretty quickly and I'll look forward to the discussion.

50 Book Challenge - #16

16. Therapy by Jonathan Kellerman (*)

These books are preposterous, and badly written besides, but I eat them up. He's the only mystery writer whose books I always read, and I always go along rolling my eyes at the writing and eating up the story. The man can weave an intriguing tale! Ironically, the next book on my list is also a mystery -- a book club selection, looks fairly flimsy but I'll probably enjoy it. I have another, Rape in Paradise, a true crime book I picked up at Costco the other day, that I can start on the plane tomorrow if I blow through the book club mystery, but when I get home I probably have to start right in on East of Eden, which is my other book club selection for May and is pretty damn long.

Maui: Losing track of the Days!

I'm way behind here but I'm going to try to catch up -- briefly at least!

Sunday: not a beach day, as we were heading back to Kahului to pick Dana up at the airport. We checked her flight online and found it was running about 30 minutes late, but we were ready to leave by 9:30 so we went ahead and did so. Stopped by Hilo Hattie's in Lahaina to pick up a few things, including a new Hawaiian shirt for Ryan, as the one he was wearing had a little altercation with Will's elbow and the pocket got half ripped off :-) We enjoyed most of a can of butter toffee-covered macadamia nuts on the way to the airport. We were going to make a KMart run once we got to Kahului but that ended up not happening, so once we met Dana, we went to KMart and picked up a few more things, then had lunch at a sketchy but delicious little Mexican place by the aquarium, then hit Safeway (and Maui Dive Shop for a new swim shirt for Will) on the way back to the condo. We spent the rest of the afternoon by the pool, then watched some of the ultimately doomed Kings/Sonics game. Ryan grilled steaks out by the pool for dinner, and we hung out on the balcony for the rest of the evening. At some point, Dana bravely disappeared upstairs with the kids. She is so laid back! It doesn't seem to bother her one bit to be up there with them, in the heat, with Will insisting on sleeping in the smaller of the two beds *with* her and their stuff *everywhere*. I guess she is still used to it from growing up with all those brothers.

Monday -- up early, of course, and we were at the beach (Kapalua again) by 9. At first the water was frighteningly cold and I didn't think I was going to be able to stay in it, but then it got nicer and we were out there a long time. Dana and I ultimately headed up the beach to read (and/or nap) in the sun, but Ryan stayed out in the water with the kids for what seemed like forever! When they finally came in, they were ready to head back to the condo. It was 11:30! We knew they were going to be *zonked*. When we got back, Dana, the kids and I jumped in the pool to cool off/get the sand off before going back to the condo to shower, and after lunch Ryan took the kids down to the pool while Dana and I went shopping :-) I bought a Fresh Produce tank top (way too expensive but I couldn't resist) and then found the cutest dress -- knit, periwinkle blue with a turtle design on the front (yeah, there's a dolphin too, but I don't really care about that :-)), and it was actually cut in such a way as to be flattering on me! It had stupid pockets but I knew I could take care of them. So I was pleased with that. We went back to the condo and I spent about an hour doing surgery on the dress, and then Ryan called a cab and he and I headed into Lahaina for our "date" while Dana stayed with the kids. We had dinner at a nice little place where we could sit on the patio, then wandered, shopped, had another drink, shopped some more, and got some ice cream. I bought my mom a necklace for Mother's Day (and two for myself!), and we went into the Celebrities gallery, which we'd read had a Beatles thing going on. It was very cool and we are definitely planning to get the kids over there today (our last day :-() We were in a cab headed back to the condo by 8:30 pm -- so much for late night! We had fun though. When we got back, Dana and the kids had already headed upstairs for the evening, and Ryan and I sat on the balcony and enjoyed the evening air for while before going to bed.

Tuesday morning, I took Ryan and his golf clubs over to a car rental place early and he headed off for a day of golf. When we were all ready, Dana, the kids and I went to the aquarium. It was kind of muggy and the kids were a little punchy, but it was a nice little aquarium and we had a nice time. I loved the sea turtles and I could have hung with them a while longer. Dana and I both also really liked the dark room with the jellyfish tank in the middle. I could have sat there with them all day! After we were done there, we got some ice cream and headed back to the condo for lunch. Watched about half "The Incredibles" before Dana and Will started picking on each other and then it was time to hit the pool. We spent about an hour and half down there. The kids were really good even though Dana and I didn't spend much time actually in the pool with them -- there were lots of kids in there, and Will's swimming skills are really coming along (though I was glad he had hit noodle). We came back to the condo and the kids and I showered -- then we hung out and watched Oprah till Ryan got home and wanted to watch the Kings game. I fixed burritos for dinner and we ate and Ryan bitched about the way the game was going, and Dana and I busted out the Arbor Mist, and I just read and read. I don't think I've ever blown through a Jonathan Kellerman mystery in 2 1/2 days before, but maybe I'm wrong. Anyway, the Kings season is over (it's a building year, people!) and we sat on the balcony drinking and laughing for a while, and then Dana disappeared and Ryan went to bed and I wanted to finish my book but I kept falling asleep on the couch. Finally sat up and made myself finish it.

That brings us to this morning. Plans for the day -- head to the beach, and I want to rent some snorkle equipment on the way -- then come back here, clean up, go to Lahaina for lunch/dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise and take the kids to see the Beatles thing at the Celebrities gallery. And then come back here and start packing up, as we have to head to the airport tomorrow morning. I KNEW this trip was going to go by too fast! I comfort myself with a few things:
1) it's pretty humid here, and I miss the mild spring weather and air conditioning at home
2) my hair is disgusting, and it's been freeing to just let it go and not worry what it looks like, but I have an appointment to have it colored and cut off short on the morning after we get home
3) I miss my car. The one we have here sucks.

None of this is to say that I wouldn't extend our trip by a few days, given the choice, but you have to find the silver lining where you can, no?

More 50 Book Challenge

14. Drop City by T.C. Boyle (BC, *)
15. The Beatles by Hunter Davies

I haven't decided whether I would recommend this Beatles book quite yet. It goes into minute detail about how the group came together and rose to fame, but it was originally written in 1968 and only has updates since then. They hadn't even done their last couple of albums by the time the original book was finished, so it feels incomplete. At the same time, it had so much detail, so many comments from the Beatles themselves, and was so British and engrossing, that I want to give it a thumbs-up. I'll have to read some more books about them before I form a full opinion about this one. I'm particularly interested in reading about their individual lives after the band broke up, and about the music itself and the creative process behind writing the songs.

Drop City was a fun, if lengthy, read about a 70s commune, which I read for one of my book clubs. Now I've started a Jonathan Kellerman page-turner. Definitely beach reading :-)

Maui, Day 3

Yesterday was a really nice day! We were all up around 5 am again, of course, and after eating breakfast, hanging out, etc, around 7 am, Will and I headed out to find our beach for the day. It was frustrating -- we couldn't hardly find beach access among all the condos, and we came back feeling like it had been a useless trip. But we all headed off in our swimsuits with towels in the car, planning to go back to Airport Beach, where we'd been the day before, but we went north first, in search of the ABC Store I *swore* I'd seen. We didn't find it, but we did find access to Kapalua (sp?) beach, so we decided to check it out. And it was great! We went there the first day on our last trip, but for some reason we hadn't really enjoyed it, and had ended up spending the rest of our beach-going days at Airport. This time I think it will be the opposite. We spent about 2 hours there, mostly floating beyond the surf, but also collecting coral and rocks, then headed home to shower and have lunch. We decided to eat at Hula Grill, where we had lunch one day wit my parents, and as we were pulling into the parking garage at Whaler's Village, we noticed how tired we all were. Floating around out there seems really relaxing, but it's amazingly tiring! The kids barely stayed awake through lunch. We were going to do a little shopping before heading back, but we ended up nixing that so we could head right back to the condo to nap. Naturally, Will fell asleep in the car on the way back, and I was the only one who actually ended up napping when we got back. Around 4 pm, the 4 of us headed down to the pool for about an hour, and then we came back to the condo. I fixed the kids some mac & cheese for dinner, and Ryan fixed taquitoes for the two of us, which we ate out on the balcony after it cooled off a little. The kids watched a Rugrats DVD for what seemed like several hours while we sat on the balcony, hanging out, talking and reading. They went to bed at some point, and we came inside. Ryan zonked out on the couch for quite a while and I read and read till past 10. It felt like quite an accomplishment! I'm very near the end of this book about the Beatles I'm reading, and it's so interesting, I just could hardly put it down. Anyway, this morning we will be headed back into Kahului (sp?) to pick up Dana at the airport, and we will probably go to the aquarium while we are out that way as well. Should be another fun day!

Maui: Days 1 & 2

We had such a smooth day travelling to Maui yesterday! Got up early at the motel near the Oakland airport and took their shuttle over to the airport -- it was pouring and it didn't make me feel very sorry about leaving CA! I'd been nervous about our flights because we were booked on an airline I'd never heard of before -- North American -- but it turned out to be great! Once we found our way past the huge Sun Trips check-in line, we walked right up to the NA counter, then went through security and soon boarded our plane. The flight was uncrowded and we had a whole row (6 seats) to ourselves, and we rented a little digital TV thing so the kids were able to watch "Shark Tale" and "Racing Stripes." Will and I took a nice nap as well. And when we got off the plane and went to the baggage claim, our bags were already waiting for us!

Our rental is yet another crappy GM minivan -- I didn't even know Oldsmobile *made* a minivan! -- but it's getting us around just fine. And after killing several hours with very tired, bored kids (we landed at 10:30 am and couldn't get into our condo till 3, so we hit Costco and KMart, ate lunch at Cool Cat Cafe in Lahaina and shopped at Hilo Hattie's as well), we drove to the Papakea resort where we are staying. The condo is functional other than a kind of scary spiral staircase up to the loft where the kids sleep, but it's all very comfortable and the grounds are just beautiful. Ryan took the kids in the pool while I went grocery shopping and got the condo organized -- then we had our Costco roast chicken for dinner and the kids were in bed early. We watched "Survivor" and "CSI" and then hit the sack. I'm surprised we made it that long, having been up since 5 am Pacific time!

Not surprisingly, we were all up by 5 am Hawaii time this morning. We killed several hours hanging around, eating breakfast and hanging out, and then I made a quick trip to Longs before we packed up a picnic and went over to Airport Beach, where we spent a lot of time last time we were here. We were a little dismayed at how high the tide was and the roughness of the waves compared to last time, but there was a storm fairly recently, and that definitely affected things. For a while, poor Ryan made the kids stay close to shore, convinced he was going to lose one of them in the water. We go through this every time we go to the ocean. Ryan grew up taking all of his vacations at the ocean but never actually swimming into it, and if he had his way, the kids would stand at his sides, holding his hands and not going in past their ankles. This was never going to work since a) these kids like the ocean and b)the waves were crashing so hard on the beach that it was actually safer out further, beyond where they broke. I know it's counter-intuitive, but it's the truth, and it took me a while to convince him, but once I did, it was good. Out in the water was the clincher that I need to go on a diet -- my butt actually functions as a floatation device. That's great when you are floating in the ocean, but since I don't spend all that much of time time floating, I'd like to do something about it. Will work on that when I get home!

Anyway, the beach is great -- except for the sand. That shit gets *everywhere*. It gets in places you might never have thought of! I certainly never anticipated being in a beach rest room, standing in front of my 10YO daughter and encouraging her to spread her personal parts out so I could pour water from a water bottle on them :-/ Poor kid. She seemed to feel a lot better afterward though, so it was worth it. When we returned to the beach, Ryan and Will had also had enough, so we snacked a little, packed up, and headed home to our condo. It was almost noon!

We rinsed off, ate lunch, vegged a bit, then went out to the pool, which is really nice -- warm and with a tile-bottom so your feet dont get chewed up. We were out there maybe an hour, then we came back to the condo. Ryan took the kids down to the putting green they have here for a bit while I napped, then Will and I went out to get pizza and salad for dinner while Ryan watched the Kings defeat Seattle on TV. Now the kids are in bed (Will was sleeping by 6:30 and was in bed by 7:30) and Ryan and I are out on the balcony (I refuse to call it a "lanai" like everyone else around here). I asked him if he wanted to watch a movie but he said he wouldn't make it through one. So I suppose he'll be heading to bed soom, and maybe I will too. In spite of my nap, I'm feeling pretty punchy. We discussed plans for tomorrow and have already decided we will make less of a production of going to the beach tomorrow -- we won't worry about packing a lunch and all, and we'll go early and plan to come back and eat here. Not sure if we'll go back to the same place.

Laundry to fold!

Weird Nights

I've been have night sweats where I wake up drenched, and it sucks. This has been going on for more than a year, only before it was maybe once or twice a month, and now that I'm on medication that's supposed to control this and other hormonal issues, it's happening more like twice a week. Or more. Blech.

Last night, in addition to waking up drenched in my own sweat, I also got a nosebleed. I think it was related to my nose ring -- maybe I was rubbing my nose and the end of it poked me somewhere up in my nasal cavity and made it bleed. All I know is that as I was waking up, I had a vague sense that something was wrong in my nasal area, and the next thing I knew, my one nostril was a faucet and I used tissue after tissue to catch the flow and finally ended up going back to sleep with one wadded up and crammed up my nose. Very lovely. When I woke up, it looked like someone had been murdered on my side of the bed, so I'm washing my sheets. Just what I have time for this morning.

This week I had two dreams where I still lived at 83 Ryegate Place, the home I grew up in. Which naturally takes me back to the question I often have of how and why my dream-brain has gotten stuck, sort of, in my childhood. One of the dreams I had this week was about the hens coming to visit -- only I lived at home with my mom and that's where we all came to stay. It was like Ryan and the kids didn't exist. And sometimes I have dreams where they do definitely exist, and I still live on Ryegate, and they live -- I don't know, it doesn't come up. I've even had dreams where I seem to be in high school and I'm dealing with getting to class on time, whether I have homework or if I can remember the combination to my locker or there's a cute guy I'm all excited about -- but I'm also stressing about finding a babysitter for the kids so I can actually go to school. Very weird. I've always wondered why my dreams are still stuck in San Ramon. Maybe because I still "experience myself" as a teenager, as my therapist talked about? I don't know. Still curious though.

Exercise

I've been working my ass off (would that I meant that literally!) exercising this week, even though my allergies are killing me. Monday, I walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes and lifted weights (abs and upper body). Tuesday, 45 minutes on the elliptical trainer and weight lifting (abs and lower body). Yesterday I ran three miles and did abs, and today I took an hour-long stability ball class that just about killed me. During the last 15 minutes, the teacher had us in constant motion to get our heartrates up, so I even got some cardio in.

Tomorrow is a day off. We're skipping the gym and going shopping :-)

The Dog

Buster is surprisingly clever sometimes, but this day wasn't one of those times. He could tell I was going to be going out soon and didn't want me to find him and put him in his crate.

And More

12. Cold Blooded by Carlton Smith
13. The Ladies of Missalonghi by Colleen McCullough (BC, *)

Currently working on two more -- one parenting-type book that will probably take a while to slog through, and also a book about a 70s commune for one of my book clubs.

50 Book Challenge

11. The Clique by Lisi Harrison

I generally like young adult fiction but the above kind of sucked. The true crime book I'm currently reading does too. But I'm going to start reading two more books this weekend, one of which is something I've read before, which I'm reading again for book club, and it's a good one, so at least I know I'm guaranteed one good read in the next few days. Although I would still argue I shouldn't have to read something I've already read to read something good. It's annoying that all these books are turning out to be kind of crappy lately :-/

I'm not saying everything with which I've ever festooned a vehicle makes tons of sense or anything, but... why exactly would anyone want to put, on the back of a perfectly nice-looking car, a sticker with a picture of a monkey that says "I Fling Poo"? Is there any logical explanation for this? I think not.

More for the 50 Book Challenge

9. Final Gifts : Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying by Maggie Callanan & Patricia Kelley (BC, *)
10. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby (*)

Now I get to pick something new to read! I have a true crime book, a Tuesday Next sci-fi thing, a teen novel, and a couple of other things to choose from...

This may be a new record in lack-of-blog-updating, even for me. But it's been a busy-ass couple of weeks. Last weekend my friends were here and it was pretty much an eat-, drink-, laugh-, sing- and shop-fest for three or four days. Lots of fun, and we got to spend it with Mr. E, the world's cutest baby! A true humdinger of a Cluckfest.

Some total asshole stole Rachel's bike last weekend. I hope whoever did it gets big painful boils all over their face and private parts.

My friend Janine's mom died on Monday morning. I met her once and she was a lovely, nice lady. I know Janine and her boys are really missing her, and I've been thinking about them pretty much constantly this week.

I managed to chop up the pad of my right index finger when I was trimming the bushes with electric hedgeclippers on Wednesday afternoon. Thanks for Sue for coming over, calming me down, cleaning up the blood I dripped all over the place on the front porch, and driving me to the doctor's office. And to think just the day before, I'd been lecturing her about being too available and dependable for her crazy friends!

Thursday I was part of a committee who interviewed speech therapists for the school district. It was very interesting and I kind of enjoyed it. I'm still curious about how I made the list of special-ed parents who were asked to participate though.

Ryan hurt his tailbone and has been complaining about it a lot this week. I don't blame him -- I've suffered through that particular malady before and it really sucks.

This week I "had it out" with my parents in a pretty major way. We aren't really the kind of family that does that kind of thing, so I gave it a lot of thought beforehand, and then when I did speak to them, I did it by email, which seems kind of wussy, but just thinking about what I wanted to say got me crying so I decided it was best to do it that way. The basic issue is that for several years I've felt like we don't get to spend very much time with them. It seems like they are always doing things with other friends, other relatives, everyone but us, and over the years I've had my feelings hurt over specific incidences of this happening more times than I can remember. I was afraid that my mom wouldn't take it well, but in the end I'm glad I spoke up. Both of my parents agreed that we all don't see each other often enough, and they both assured me that seeing us is as important to them as seeing their friends. I also found out that my mom is really, really stressed over everything that's going on with my grandma right now, and so I feel bad to have dumped my issues on her right now, but on the other hand, now that I know about it, I can step up and do some things to help out, and being left out of these kinds of things has been another frustration of mine. So ultimately I think it's a good thing I spoke up. The kids and I will be going down there to see them tomorrow -- I'm going to help my mom shop for some things for my grandma's new place, and the kids will spend the day with my dad.

On the way down, we will stop in to see my brother's fiance and her sister so I can try on the bridesmaid dress they ordered for me: http://www.maxstudio.com/website/product_pages/4308g57/section_category_sale_dresses-8-jad_main.htm I'm taking my bag of push-up bras and magic underwear, and hopefully I won't look like a total cow in it!

Okay, two hours is probably long enough to have sat on my ass with the computer...

To the Guy I Ran Off the Road This Morning

I'm sorry.

I was turning left. You were going straight and had the right of way. I was paying no attention and just turned right into your path, causing you to swerve up on to the curb and coming to a sudden, rocking stop. You looked terrified and stunned.

It was completely my fault, and I can't apologize enough. If there'd been anywhere for me to stop and lean out the window, I would have called out an apology to you and let you spew profanity at me for a few minutes. But I was behind you and already blocking traffic, so I had to drive on, and I wasn't even able to make eye contact.

It was completely my fault and I suck. I was talking to my friend in the passenger seat and not paying attention to my driving when I should have been. I am so glad you didn't hit anything or get hurt. If someone had done to me what I did to you, I would hate them forever. I hope you tell everyone you see today how some total moron almost killed you this morning, and how they should watch out for the chick in the white minivan.

Again, I'm sorry. I hope the rest of your day goes a lot better.

50 Book Challenge

I just read about this online challege to read 50 books in a calendar year. Sounds like fun! I read a lot anyway, usually in the range of 1-2 books a week when I'm in a "reading mood," so it's possible I could do double the 50-book goal, but then I let reading go by the wayside quite often as well, so I do think 50 books is a good goal. Being in two book clubs will help with diversity of selection -- otherwise the whole list would probably be made up of true crime books *blushing*

This will be my first entry. Hopefully I can remember pretty much everything I've read so far this year. I will note which ones are book club selections (BC) and which ones I'd recommend (*).
1. The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (BC,*)
2. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell (BC)
3. All She Wanted by Aphrodite Jones
4. The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler (BC)
5. The Art of Mending by Elizabeth Berg (BC)
6. Breaking Her Fall by Stephen Goodwin (*)
7. The Sweet Potato Queen's Field Guide to Men by Jill Conner Browne (*)
8. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant (BC)

Right now I'm reading Final Gifts : Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying by Maggie Callanan & Patricia Kelley, which is also a book club selection. Next will probably be another true crime book.

William

Yesterday I yanked another one of his front teeth out, at his request. He said it hurt, but he didn't cry. I have to admit, I'm impressed. Between the tooth-yanking thing him learning to ride his bike (and always recovering quickly on the occasions he falls off), he's been pretty tough lately, and generally that's not a word I would use to describe him.

Inertia

He's home "sick" today. And sadly, I think I let him stay home in large part because *I* was feeling lazy, and I knew that if both kids went to school, I would have to get dressed, ride my bike to the gym, and take torture (otherwise known as stability ball) class, then after having coffee with Sue, ride my bike home BUT if he stayed, home, I'd get to sit on the couch with my laptop all morning. Which is exactly what I've done. I've *thought* about going out to the car to retrieve my yoga mat and then using it to do my yoga tape, but so far I haven't actually done that. Nor have I paid the bills, something I wouldn't even have to get off the computer to do. Instead I've been sitting here reading random blogs and chatting with my not-so-talkative friends while Will watches TV and fondles himself. Someday that boy will learn to keep his hands out of his pants when others are about. But I suspect it won't be today, because we're both being way too damn lazy for something that productive to occur.

I know I will feel A LOT better about myself after I do something on my mental to-do list, so why is it so hard to actually get moving?

Autism is a fact of life in our house, and I finally learned to that it was okay to laugh about it, thanks to my friend Judy, who also has a child with autism. When she told me sometimes answered the phone "Judy's House of Autism!" and talked about having "the auties" in the backseat of her car, I busted out laughing. And guess what? The sky didn't fall and no one was struck dead and crispy by a thunder bolt. It doesn't mean I don't take my child's disability seriously, and I'm not making fun of my child -- I'm just finding the occasional silver lining on the cloud. So thanks for that, Judy.

Last night at Bunko, Gerri, a woman I don't know very well but whose husband's softball team played Ryan's last summer, asked me if my daughter was playing softball this spring, and I said no. I don't go around explaining Rachel to the whole world -- for instance, if she says something weird when we're checking out at the grocery store, I don't whisper "she's autistic!" to the checker or anything -- but usually I do mention it to people I'm acquainted with, especially other parents, with whom I talk about parenting things. So I continued, saying she didn't really play team sports, and then, "she has autism." For some weird reason, this met with peals of laughter from my two other friends, Sue and Jeannie, who were sitting there (in their defense, we were all a little drunk), and Sue goes "that's a sport in itself!" And we all cracked up (though Gerri looked a little uncomfortable). Anyway, it was fun. It was nice to be among friends who know my sense of humor and who I know are fond of Rachel but understand our struggles too. Sometimes all you can do is have a laugh, you know?

In related news, yesterday afternoon, Rachel freaked out about doing her homework -- it was very nearly a visit to the "Vortex of Indecision" where we used to go almost every day -- and I thought "oh shit, spring's here!" I made an appointment for her to go to the doctor so we can talk about upping her anti-depressant and get her on an antihistamine. I really hope we can get through the rest of this school year without too much disruption -- I know it's probably too much to hope for for her to do as well as she did last year, in such a structured classroom, but I'm hoping she's matured enough in the last year or two that she at least do better than she did two years ago, when she kept getting sent to the principal's office :-/

The Oscars

Yeah, I know, everything there is to be said about the Oscars has already been said, and most people don't care anyway. But I'm going to talk about them because this is my damn blog and I feel like it.

We watch the Oscars every year, and this year I was actually kind of excited about it for a while because it seemed like some actual good movies were nominated for some awards. Then I got sick of all the hype and if Ryan had said to me a few minutes before it started "Let's rent a movie instead," I would have been fine with that. Then the stupid show started and I was glued to the set for the next three hours (except when I went to the store to get some dinner).

General comments: The actresses are all too skinny. Messy hair looks... messy. Dear Renee Zellwegger: have you ever noticed that people start talking about how great you look whenever you're carrying some of that "extra" Bridget Jones weight around and then we are start saying you look like a scarecrow with fish lips when you lose it again? Oh, I don't know -- just thought I'd mention it. I seriously thought Penelope Cruz was Salma Hayak and vice versa, up until the one I thought was Salma left the stage and then Ryan said something about Salma's hair and used the power of Tivo to prove to me that it was Penelope who left the stage. Can't stand either of them so it doesn't make a whole lot of difference, I guess.

Hilary Swank's dress was a cool idea, but the front needed to be executed a lot better for me to give it a thumbs up. I liked her hair though. Take the dress from her first Oscar win and the hair from her second and you've got a pretty awesome look overall. I didn't like the short spiky hair on her the first time around and I liked it even less on Annette Bening this year. Maybe Annette thought that's what made the difference the last time around and adopted it for herself.

I hate to agree with Kathy Griffin's E! Fashion Police opinion about anything, but I thought Imelda Staunton looked pretty awesome too. So did Kate Winslett. So did that actress from "Maria Full of Grace" who was supposed to be so great but who we'll probably never see again. Okay, doesn't Gwyneth Paltrow probably keep, like, a stable of stylists around her, and couldn't one of them make sure she wears a dress that is flattering to her bust to the Oscars one of these days? By my count, we've now seen her wear way too big (the year she won), way too small (this year), and way more than I wanted to see (the year of that black mesh diaster). Aside from that, her hair looked flat and boring. This woman is a fashion icon?

Scarlett Johanssen's hair looked fuzzy to me. Maybe a little less peroxide?

Wait, there were men there? I guess nobody much cares since it's not as fun to ask "who" they're wearing when one tux looks pretty much like all the rest of them. I will say that Johnny Depp looked ridiculous. It's not that much fun to make fun of him for that, though, because "ridiculous" may well have been exactly what he was going for.

I'm not even going to say much about who actually won awards, since I didn't see hardly any of the movies that were nominated. I'm just going to whine about my biggest pet peeve, which is that the two screenplay awards have become more a consolation prize than anything else. It seems like most years there's a movie that gets all kinds of Oscar buzz and is intelligent and usually a comedy, and everyone seems to love it but in the end it's just not as big and flashy and dramatic as the eventual winner, and the next thing you know, the smaller buzzworthy movie has lost all the acting awards, and director and best picture -- forget it -- but the screenwriter goes home with a little gold guy and hey, that's a prestigious one too, right? Only -- come on. How many times has this happened? This year it was *twice* -- people peed themselves over "Sideways" and "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (both comedies, it must be noted), and they got all kinds of press and have won all kinds of other awards prior to the Oscars, but on the big night -- oh, sorry, we don't want you to go home empty-handed, so here's the writing prize. Last year, I didn't begrudge "Lord of the Rings" a single award it won and I didn't even like "Lost in Translation" all that much, but it was the same story -- one was big and one was little. And the most egregious example I can think of was the year that big bloated piece of crap "Titanic" won almost everything it was nominated for (it wasn't even nominated in the Original Screenplay category, which to me is evidence that there may be a God) while "L.A. Confidential" went home with a screenplay award and Best Supporting Actress for Kim Basinger (!?!).

Don't get me wrong -- I absolutely think the screenplay awards *should* be prestigious. If I were to win an Oscar, a screenplay award is the one I would want to win, and the films that win them do tend to be really well written, so at least there is some justice there.I'm glad Charlie Kaufman won an Oscar because the guy is just brilliant -- he writes some of the only movies I've ever seen where I sit there halfway through them thinking "I have absolutely no idea what's going to happen next!" I was similarly happy when whoever adapted "Sideways" won, because that movie was incredibly funny.

The problem is that both of those movies deserved to win other awards too, not just the consolation prize. I think the fact that these really cool but not big and flashy enough movies win screenplay awards but not usually much else, even if they get tons of nominations, is symptom of just about everything that's wrong with movie-making these days. For me, it all begins and ends with the script -- I don't care if the scenery and special effects are any good if I don't buy the storyline, and the most brilliant acting performance just suffocates under the weight of bad dialogue. I probably sound elitest and all, but I don't care. Drama or comedy, it has been be well-written if it's going to get my stamp of approval. And in my perfect world, the screenplay awards would be the most important awards they gave out.


Anyway, those are my Oscar thoughts. Or the ones I can think of right now, anyway.

Being Completely Stupid, or Why I'm a Bad Mom

This evening I had one of those situations that just makes you feel like the biggest pile of crap ever. The other day, Will went up to Ryan and said he had hiccups and needed to be scared. I have no idea of Ryan yelling "BOO!!!" at him a few seconds later actually made his hiccups go away, but for some reason when I was going upstairs this evening I was thinking about that and I decided to sneak up on Will and give him a scare. I determined he was in the "new room" with the door closed, listening to Beatles music, and even maybe dancing around some, so I burst in and yelled "BOO!!!" as loud as I could.

At which point my sweet baby spun around with a horrified expression on his face and burst into tears.

Now, I know better than this. It wasn't too long ago that we were watching a Kings' game and when Mike Bibby sank a three-pointer to tie the game right at the buzzer, Ryan and I both yelled "YES!!!" so loud that Will, who'd been sitting there playing with his K'Nex and minding his own business, shrieked in terror and sobbed. (And then they still lost in overtime.) So it's not like this sort of thing is without precedent, and I really don't know what I was thinking.

Of course I went right in and hugged him and apologized profusely, but I wasn't quite done trying to get myself off the hook, so I explained that I thought he might have hiccups so I decided to scare them out of him. He pointed out, through his tears, that you really need to check and make sure someone has hiccups before you do that too them, which of course is absolutely true and made me feel worse. I kept rubbing his back and finally said that I was just trying to be funny, and I realized that it was a mistake and apologized again, which he seemed to accept. Then I told him the great thing was that he got to pay me back and scare me sometime. Mr. Finesse that he is, he proceeded to do so three times within 10 minutes -- only once with much success -- at which point I told him he'd probably paid me back, and he agreed and seemed cheerful.

Anyway, another lesson learned. The kid is a little fragile. I won't mess with him like that again.

Soccer, or Why I'm a Bad Mom

My name is Tracie, and *sob*... my children don't play soccer!

We live in one of those towns where youth soccer is not just an activity -- it's a way of life. I suppose most suburban American cities like this anymore, but here in Davis, we don't do anything halfway. Therefore, it's pretty much expected that once a kid gets to be 5 or so years old, Mom is going to sign that kid up to play soccer. I managed to avoid this with Rachel due to her autism -- no one questioned it -- but now that William has been of soccer-playing age for two falls and I have yet to sign him up, I seem to get called on it more and more. My reasons for not signing him up are these:
1) I hate soccer.
2) My husband, who loves all sports, hates soccer.
3) Will hasn't asked to play.

I think these are good reasons. I think they are the only reasons I should need to get myself off the hook for not signing him up, and most people let it go with that, but on increasingly frequent occasions, parents I'm conversing with on the subject behave as though not signing my son up for soccer is a subtle form of child abuse, and I'm forced to trot out the rest of my reasons:
4) We don't, as a family, care to take time out of our weekends to go to soccer games and such. I don't mind weekday commitments and the occasional weekend event for Girl Scouts or Little League or something, but I just really don't want to have to plan every Saturday for several months around soccer games.
5) I played soccer as a kid and detested it, so it's not like my loathing of soccer just comes out of nowhere. I do seriously hate it, with reason.
6) Although Will is not really much of an athlete, he does play tee ball, and has asked to take gymnastics and tennis as well. If he wanted to play soccer, I'm sure he would ask to do so, but he hasn't. I have to assume that means he doesn't want to. Trust me, the kid is not shy about asking for what he wants.

Believe it or not, this still isn't enough to satisfy some of the people I've talked to. One mom completely blew off everything I had to say and kept arguing about how great it was. Well, I guess that's wonderful for her family and her kids, who I assume enjoy playing soccer. And if Will was chomping at the bit to play, I promise, I would sign him up. But for God's sake, I simply refuse to buy that there is something essential about playing soccer for any kid growing up in the suburbs, something so important that he or she is going to get out of it that the need to expend time, energy and money on it overrides things like the fact that the kid has no interest in playing and his parents don't really care to go there, all things being equal. It's a pair of cleats, a ball, and a net. I think he can learn just as much about sportsmanship and all that other good stuff playing some other sport that he's actually excited about playing.

I feel like rambling this morning, probably largely because none of my friends are online for me to ramble to. That's probably a good thing since I'm in this rambly mood.

Lots of stuff happened this week. In addition to me getting a bike and riding it all over the place, I also got my first ever traffic ticket, for failure to yield. I've been trying to decide if that's some kind of metaphor for my life. Anyway, I think it was kind of a BS ticket, as do all (three) of the people I've told about it so far. Ryan thinks I should fight it, and offered to go with me and argue my case. I gave that about 2 seconds of consideration, especially since he followed up his offer by telling me we probably wouldn't win. And what exactly would the point of that be?

My grandma is evidently in the hospital again, which is not good, of course. I need to call my mom and find out what's happening on that front, but I keep putting it off.

In much less important news -- the Kings traded Webber. Yee-haw! He's an excellent player for another team, but his presence has been throwing off the Kings' chemistry for close to a year now, and that amazing teamwork they have is what makes them great. I hope he goes and kicks butt for Sixers (not against the Kings) but sorry, I'm glad to see him go. Now our awesome guys like Bibby and Miller and Songaila and of course, my baby Peja, can really shine :-)

The sun is trying to come out today and I'm glad. Ryan was supposed to go to San Diego this weekend and he cancelled for a couple of work-related reasons that I didn't agree with and I was kind of annoyed about it, but I told him he needed to go play 18 holes of golf and he's planning to do that. I also promised the kids I would take them on a long bike ride and I'm going to do that too. I'd said Borders, but who knows -- depending on how well they do with it, maybe we'll go all the way to campus and hang out at the Coffee House for a while instead. That would be fun.

Tonight I'm going to Mom's Night In and will get to hang out with some friends I haven't seen much of lately, so that will be nice. Not sure about the concept of staying in rather than going out and why it would be superior, but I don't have little kids anymore so maybe that's part of it. And that's pretty much the whole agenda for this weekend. As opposed to next weekend, which is ridiculous (scrapbooking with my aunt Ann and the Girl Scout cookie site sale Friday, helping to set up for the Montgomery Auction, the Auction before-party and the Auction itself on Saturday, going bridesmaids dress shopping on Sunday) and the following weekend, when the Hens will be here (yay! I heart that!). I really have a tremendous amount to do in the next two weeks and I should probably wrap my brain around that, but at this point I'm mostly thinking about going shopping for something to wear to the Auction next weekend and other silly things like that.

Speaking of the Auction, I've got paperwork to do and I suppose it's time to make myself useful so I should really get to it...

The Dog

Everyone should have a creature who loves them as much as Buster loves me. This morning he whined at our door and woke us up, which was fine and made sense, since it was after 8:30 and we certainly prefer him coming to ask to be let out to decorating the carpet and he probably had to go pretty bad by then. I came downstairs and let him out, then went back upstairs to put on some sweats and slippers. The kids let him back in and he bounded back upstairs. Ryan was going back downstairs by then, but he came in demanded attention from me, so I had to sit down for a minute and rub his head and tell him he was a good boy before I changed my clothes. Then he sat at the top of the stairs waiting impatiently for me to come with him, went downstairs just ahead of me, looking back no fewer than three times to make sure I was following, then sat and waited for me on the couch, ears perked and looking somewhat forlorn while I made coffee. Now he is settled in against my thigh here on the couch and I really don't have the slightest doubt he would stay here all day, without moving, if I didn't move either. I find this all a bit weird because it seems like he's become somewhat clingier lately for not apparent reason. I mean, I know I'm his favorite -- there has been no doubt in my mind since the incident where he stole several pairs of my underpants out of the dirty laundry pile I left on the floor and absconded to his bed with them -- but we've had him for nearly five years and he used to be able to go up and down the stairs without making sure I was right behind.

He drives me crazy and I complain about it him all the time, but geez, it's hard not to respond to this kind of devotion. Sure, he barks, and he has the worst breath in dog history, and he acts pathetic, and we can't take him anywhere, and in the last few days he's unloaded such lethal gas that I worried my eyelashes might be singed off, but he's cute and cuddly, and recently when I was bitching about him in a chat room, my friend Judy said "you know you love that little shit." Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Sorry my new bike has been keeping me from updating my blog the last few days

Yeah, I know, I was lousy about updating even before I got the bike, but that's my excuse this week. Anyway, other than picking the kids up from school yesterday because I didn't want to listen to Rachel whining, I have maintained a strict policy of riding my bike anyplace I want to go in South Davis for the last few days, and yesterday I even ventured to the other side of the freeway into town. Had coffee and bought a couple of books at Borders, then came home. I love have a basket to carry things in! I love the ache I get in my thighs when I've ridden a ways! I love my bike! Yep, I'm seven years old again...

I've often thought I was enjoying a delayed adolescence in the last few years, but today I experienced a return to something more like the age of ten, when I got a bike and rode down the street. A couple of weeks ago, I taught my son how to ride without training wheels, and since then I've been enjoying him ride as fast as he can up and down our street. Ryan and I have dallied with the idea of getting an adult bike for the two of us to share since Rachel learned how to ride two years ago, just so we'd be able to go on rides with the kids sometimes, but we never got serious about it. One of the carrots I dangled in front of Will when he was learning a couple of weeks ago was that I would get a bike so we could ride togther too. Till now I've made do with getting on my rollerblades and getting out there with them when they've wanted to go for a spin. But Ryan won't do that, and I know he didn't enjoy running behind them to the park yesterday. Plus today is such a beautiful day. So I decided to go to the bike shop downtown where I've been admiring cruiser-style bikes for the past two years, and when I got there, this big purple one caught my eye. The bike store guy said I could take it for a spin around the block if I was so inclined, so I thought, what the hell? And I climbed on it and took off down the street.

Wheee! Why did I ever stop riding a bike? Well, I do remember that none of them were ever as comfortable as this one, which has a nice wide seat and those big handlebars that make it so you don't have to lean forward when you're riding. There is also the fact that I have mostly lived places a lot hillier than Davis in 13 or so years since I rode a bike much. Still, I was surprised as how quickly I returned to that feeling that I know my son has when he's zooming up and down our street on his little bike these last couple of weeks. It's the kind of feeling you just don't get driving a car. Well, not after the first couple of weeks you have your license, anyway.

I did take one more bike -- a less expensive blue cruiser with the boy-bar across the frame -- out for a test-ride, but it just wasn't the same as the purple one. So I brought it home, and took it for a ride around the neighborhood before I put it away. Hopefully the kids will be up for a ride when they get home too...

I sure hope Ryan doesn't mind riding a purple girl-bike!

The sun is shining here today. I am thinking about walking to school to pick up the kids this afternoon, though I know that decision is likely to meet with nothing but complaints from my charges (little ingrates). We should enjoy this weather to the fullest, if only in appreciation of the fact that we don't live where there is snow on the ground and the mommies have to write to their e-friends for advice on what lotions will keeps their kids' skin from cracking and bleeding. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know -- you guys love the snow. Well, you can keep it. I'll take short-sleeves weather in February, thank you very much!

Good news

MCI hasn't called in several days. Maybe they read my blog!

Coolness, Pt II

Some interesting (to me) tidbits about coolness:

1. I've recently become acquainted with a high school classmate (I don't say re-acquainted because I actually didn't really know him in high school)who lives nearby and we've become friends. A few weeks ago we had lunch, and it was interesting talking about high school because his concept of who was popular back then was completely different than mine. I tend to remember the cheerleaders and jocks and all those people, while he kept talking about his advanced-placement classmates, the people who ran student government and all that. It had never occurred to me that other people would have a completely different perspective on who all got all the attention back then. Incidentally, this guy who is my friend now was quite cool himself. He probably didn't think so, but I remember

2. A couple of months ago, a friend of mine told me her 15-year-old daughter had told her, "Tracie's so cool! I wish she was my mom!" Sad how happy that made me. The experience of it was tempered somewhat by the fact that my friend told me this right in front of her daughter, and her daughter and I avoided eye contact after that.

3. The rules of coolness have definitely changed since I was an adolescent.
A lot of people probably think the fact that I drive a minivan is uncool. I know driving one doesn't make me cool, but I think the fact that I fully acknowledge that minivans aren't cool and I still love driving mine makes me cool. I have my nose pierced because I think it's cool, not in hopes of having other people think I'm cool. And so on. Overall, at the ripe age of 34, I think I have achieved a level of detachment about these kinds of things that would have made me seem extremely cool at 16.

4. I enjoy my life a lot more now than I did when I used to worry about trying to be cool. I should probably not be devoting so much thought to coolness right now -- it's likely to harsh my mellow pretty soon.

Coolness

Since I started writing this blog, I have been thinking about degrees of coolness. I read other people's blogs sometimes, and I've discovered from that exploration as well as having read a few other kinds of sites that there is some kind of legion of coolness in the blogging world to which I (and most of the millions of other blog-owners online) do not belong. I've only come across one -- it's entirely possible that I'm not cool enough to have come across the others. The people who are part of this legion all seem to have connections to one or both of the following websites: http://www.damnhellasskings.com/ and http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/. I enjoy both of these sites and I honestly don't mean to disparage anyone connected with them in this post (or any subsequent posts on this topic). I am just really intrigued by the idea of people becoming prominent online, and having others come to think they're cool, based on what they write. Let's face it: I'm jealous.

The idea of being the author of a "famous" blog appeals to me for so many reasons! Just writing down my random thoughts and experiences, couched in what I imagine to be my rapier wit, and have people bookmark me and check my site regularly for new pearls of my wisdom? Receiving actual entries to my guestbook, frequently hearing how awesome I am? Referring to all my other hip blog-community friends by their online names, and the cool places we go and interesting, blog-entry-worthy experiences we have? Does it get any better than this?

I don't expect it to happen though. Largely for the same reason I keep not doing anything to get my novels published -- I'm scared. I'm scared of drawing attention to myself, and I'm scared of making people angry or offending them with something I've written. For me, it's always been this way. Question: how much does cool have to do with a) not caring if you make people mad, and b) willingness to draw attention to oneself? The number of people I've even told that I have this blog is pretty small. My own husband didn't know I had it for two months. I give out my daughter's blog address more readily than I give out my own. But really -- I didn't start this blog to remain anonymous or maintain my privacy, and anyone who uses that reasoning really needs to think about it some more. I have never been one to keep a journal -- it's always bored me. The fact that people might read what I have to say here is the entire reason I'm writing. The fact that not many do is probably one of the things that keeps me from posting more regularly. Overall, I'm kind of disgusted with myself on the whole blog-front. The whole idea of seeking prominence is, in the end, just too scary. Woe is me.

Enough of my pity party. Time to use the blow dryer before my hair is lost cause for the day. Don't ever say I don't have my priorities in order!

*Beep*

Hi, you've reached the Bezerras. If you're someone we might actually want to speak to, please leave us a message. If you're a telemarketer calling from a business like MCI, please take us off your list and don't ever call again. If we were interested in what you want to sell us, we wouldn't have used our Caller ID to avoid talking to you the first 87 times you called. We will continue to do so until you get it through your thick skulls that we do not want to to talk to you. Ever. That's why we have Caller ID -- so we can avoid talking to telemarketers. Guess what, MCI? You've called us, like, 20 times in the last week. You're up there with stalker ex-boyfriends and people to whom we owe money. Save yourself some time and effort and just erase our number from your list already. Really. You'll sleep better for it tonight, and so will we. Good-bye forever. Really. Go away.

This is why you shouldn't have my family over to your house for dinner

Saturday evening, we went to the home of some new friends for dinner. They live in a huge, beautiful house with white carpetting and expensive electronics. From the moment we walked in, I was a little worried one or both of my children would damage or destroy something. But we went on to have a pleasant evening. Our friends' son is as into the Beatles as our kids currently are, so they watched "Yellow Submarine" on DVD and were enjoying it so much and being so good that we adults decided to retire to the dining room to eat without them. We had a very nice, peaceful dinner, and the kids continued to be occupied by the movie.

After dinner we went into the kitchen and were having some dessert when disaster finally struck. Will wandered into their home office (where they keep their DVD collection and some cool Beatles figures) and proceeded to deposit the contents of his stomach on the off-white carpetting. It was, quite simply, a heart-stopping amount of vomit. How it all came out of a 6-year-old boy, I do not know. Our friends were very kind about it, but needless to say, we were utterly mortified. Ryan and I cleaned up the bulk of it and then our hostess got out a little steam cleaner thing and proceeded to make the entire spot fade away while the rest of us stood around and made jokes about what they would do to our carpet when they came over to our house for dinner. Nevertheless, the event brought the evening to a bit of a subdued conclusion.

At last report, the carpet came completely clean, our friends are somewhat amused over the incident, and we still don't know why Will threw up -- though he did so again at home approximately 24 hours after the first incident. In the toilet, of course. It figures!