Thursday, August 27, 2009

Dancing with the Perfectly’s

Mr. P needed to mow the lawn. He’s been needing to mow it for weeks now, and has sort of, oopsie, been too busy to deal with it.

A few nights ago he mowed the little patch of grass that is in our fenced area for the dogs. Dex’s poor wenis was dragging along the potentially sharp blades of grass. We couldn’t see where the poopie was anymore. Unfortunately, we’ve been lax in gathering the poopies outside this summer. So even though we NOW CAN SEE the poopies, they remain at rest on the lawn.

Anyway…..last night he rushed home, only to find me in my nightgown already---I am my mother and have taken to my ‘gown’ earlier and earlier of an evening. So, I politely asked him to go forth and purchase me some white wine for our SHRIMP FRA DIAVALO (or however it’s spelled). He was flustered, but being the nice boy he is, ran to Wal Mart to buy the REALLY cheap stuff I keep on hand for cooking. It’s $2.97 for Pinot Grigio.

He came home, and began the arduous task of mowing our large yard. That is mostly thick, THICK zoysia grass. I made sure he didn’t mind if son #2 and I went ahead and ate my fabulous pasta before he was done, and he didn’t, and he merrily skipped to do lawn boy chores.

Son #2 and I ate watching a fun re-run of Ghost Hunters ( of which I missed the new one….read on and you’ll see why. It’s DVR’d, though). Soon, my normally work til it’s done hubby came in the door exclaiming ‘WHEW’ and seemed mildly excited (which is super excited for my mild mannered man)…I asked what, and he mentioned he was hot, and oh yeah….’I just got stung by a bunch of bees” or something to that effect.

I jump up, and follow him into the bathroom where he’s quickly stripping to get into the shower. He slams the door in my face, as he realizes that there are what we now think were yellow jackets still on his clothing. Son #2 came down the hall to offer any teenage assistance he could. We could hear Mr. P in the bathroom cussing and swatting at the yellow jacket (herein called wasps) with a towel. ‘Thwack……Thwack……..shit….shit…..THWACK…….’

He opened the door again (little bathroom that is HOT) and continued to undress. Son #2 is worried, I’m worried....I’m trying to determine how many stings he has, and as he reaches down and unlaces his boot, there’s a wasp resting on his foot. He gingerly steps into the tub to try to corrall the sucker, and it breaks FREE. Once again he’s yelling for me to shut the door!!! He’s wildly waving his towel around again, slinging sweat, profanities and trying to kill the offending wasp. I pull the door closed again, and ZING….I was stung on the neck, right below the chin. He’s yelling “where is it, where is it???”, and I’m trying to calmly explain that it’s out in the hall with me, stinging my neck. He yanks the bathroom door open again wielding his towel to protect his wife, and we couldn’t find the wasp. Soon, as he was disrobing some more, I realized it was DOWN MY NIGHTGOWN and trying to go into my armpit. I pull the top of the nightshirt away from my body and am mouthing to my son….”help….help” and he’s yelling to his dad “it’s still on Mom….” And Mr. P runs to the rescue. The little wasp flew off of my armpit/chestal area, and was immediately THWACKED and killed.

By this time, I could see angry red welts on his ankles, and his arm. He sat down on the toilet seat to take off his other boot, and lo and behold….there was a freaking wasp in his drawers and he SAT ON IT, thereby having his butt cheek stung. Hard. He jumped up and ran around the tiny bathroom some more…..I honestly think the judges of Dancing with the Stars would have been UBER impressed!!!!

He finally was undressed, all rogue wasps were dead, and he jumped into the shower to wash himself and the stings……..I’m sitting on the toilet waiting for him…I wasn’t going to leave him in there to go into anaphylactic SHOCK…….his poor butt cheek was on fire.

Ultimately we counted 11 stings on him, and one on me. He had one on his arm, one on his butt and the rest on his legs. Apparently he’d run over something or disturbed something as he was mowing. He couldn’t go back and move the mower, because the wasps were SWARMING the bag of the lawn mower…….so hopefully, we can get it out of the way today…….and get some spray!!

Happy Thursday!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Viva Las Vegas!

So Perfectly’s dad was in Las Vegas on a business trip. He brought me back a PURSE….a totally awesome purse. I adore purses/bags/handbags…or whatever you prefer to call them.

I never purchase really expensive, name brand, leather purses. I generally get them from the clearance racks at places like Kohl’s and J C Penney. I tend to gravitate towards bright colors (although, black is good, too). Patterns are often awesome as well. So a REAL LEATHER purse is quite the luxury for Perfectly…… it’s buttery yellow and all soft and has lots of metal hardware. It’s amazing what a bag does for my mood. Just LOOK at it!!!!


Then….another day of work. Today is the kickoff of the Charitable Campaign for the year. State Employees can donate to the charity of their choice (through the United Way) via payroll deduction. I’m a big proponent of this. I think it’s awesome when someone gives $1 per paycheck….and you may multiply that by 60,000 State of Missouri employees, that we can actually make a change somehow, somewhere. Obviously, many give much more, and some choose not to give, but either way, we provide a large offering to the United Way organizations every year.

With that said, there are SOME organizations that I don’t necessarily choose to contribute to. Actually, I don’t contribute to most, because I only give a small amount each month, so I pick and choose the organizations that I want my few dollars to benefit. So, I suppose I should say that there are organizations that I just plain don’t agree with. I gravitate towards the Humane Society and other animal rescue organizations………

I don’t dabble in politics. Working where I do, it is NOT forbidden to have a political view, or support a party. It is forbidden to do any politicking on work time, and using work resources. However, I firmly believe that peoples politics are their own, and it’s not right for me to stick my neck out for any party, cause or ‘thing’ of the moment. I don’t like confrontation, I don’t like people telling me I’m wrong, when I don’t think I am…I don’t like disdainful looks of people who are unwilling to waiver on any opinion that isn’t their Minister’s.

So, anyway…back to the Charitable campaign….Jakki and I wandered around looking for the bundle of free bootie that we usually get. Remember the loot from last year? Mini cutting boards, lots of paper and pens? Little gadgets? Yeah…this year pickins’ were slim. I managed to get 9 pens, and a snack bar. I try not to take the brochures from the tables, because I really am only interested in the free stuff (unless it’s a booth I want to donate to), and because it’s a waste of that organizations money, because I usually pitch them….If I can’t write with/on them or eat them….then they generally are trash.

But there are organizations that rely on donations to support causes that I patently disagree with—I try to avoid those. Most people are gracious when you politely turn away from their spiel about whatever good they try to do. Today, a pro life organization ignored my polite pass by of their table, and handed me a flyer. I politely returned it to them. Their table was full of propaganda and actual plastic models of babies in different states of gestation. I had no interest in supporting them…..although I support their right to request donations-----if people want to buy into that organization, then so be it.

I am pro choice. CHOICE, people. That means whatever CHOICE a woman or couple makes that is best for them is what I support. I do not support fear mongering and videos of partial birth abortions, and photos of fetuses, and the like scaring the daylights out of a possibly lesser educated person…or someone who doesn’t know that there are other options for them, and if abortion is what they want to consider, than they should be given supportive, solid FACTUAL information to ASSIST them in finding their way. Not bullying or scaring them into a decision that supports the beliefs of others.

I’m sorry, I have dear friends that may not totally agree with me on this topic. I mean no offense to them. That is the beauty of our country and of friendship…it’s OKAY to disagree and still have an awesome relationship with someone. So, for those of you that I adore, but don’t agree with me on this topic, please understand that I respect your personal decisions about it as much as I respect my own….and to please not be offended that I support something that is such a controversy.

See? THIS is why I don’t voice my views out loud, because I always backpedal worrying that I’ve offended SOMEONE. I want to be strong and say what I support, but I don’t want it to interfere with my work and work life, and my sense of fairness for everyone. Ugh. I’m a contradiction.

I’m also nervous as a cat because I brought a co-worker some clam chowder for lunch. No, sillies, not the clam chowder from 2 weeks ago (although, I’ll keep that in mind for people I don’t like…..), and again, my WANT TO PLEASE thing kicks in and I worry that she’ll hate it and choke it down out of obligation. Or something.

It’s Ghost Hunters Wednesday---and I’m looking forward to an evening of Ghostly suspense!!!

Toodles for now!!! Oh, it’s also apparently stinky feet day for me. Phew…..any ways to combat it in sandal type shoes that I wear ALL THE TIME. Icky!!!!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

White Wedding

Have I mentioned lately that I live in quite a rural area? I mean, our city is almost 40,000 people. Our Mall is going to the dogs, and will probably be gone in the next several years. We have Columbia (100,000), Kansas City and St. Louis. The rest of our little state is pretty much rural.

Saturday, I went to a local winery with a good friend. They have my favorite wine of the moment …”Captains Red”, which of course is a sweet red wine. I’ve decided that I don’t care much for whites. Even sweet ones. I much prefer the sweet reds. Anyway…….this particular winery and brewery is FOR SALE!! Now how totally fun would it be to run a winery? Think of all the fun events you could host!! And the bistro-is type FOOD you could serve!!!

We ordered a salmon spread and a quesadilla….and both, frankly, were nasty. I mean, edible, but edible as Mc Donalds is edible……..the Salmon Spread seemed to be canned salmon mixed with some mayo and capers to put on crostini. It wasn’t what I wanted to eat. The quesadilla was, well….a quesadilla. Cheesey……it was supposed to be a mushroom quesadilla, but there weren’t many mushrooms to be found in the kind of gritty cheese. **Sigh** at least the wine was awesome.

We decided, impulsively, to head to ANOTHER winery a few miles away, in a tiny town called Hartsburg. Hartsburg is known all throughout Mid Missouri for it’s annual PUMPKIN FESTIVAL, and the fact that the Katy Trail runs right through it. It’s a river bottom town, with acres of pumpkin and squash fields. They have a tiny little winery in the center of town. We got there, ordered ANOTHER bottle of wine, and went outside to see what happens in little Hartsburg on an early Saturday evening.

Guess what? A LOT!! There was to be live music at the winery, and a WEDDING across the street! They’ve got a tiny city park and a gazebo that was all decorated with Christmas lights for a WEDDING!! A caboose sits next to the gazebo…and apparently, it can be rented for $55.00 per night---attached to the caboose is a little house thingy—and apparently, there is a shower and bathroom in that abode, that the caboose dwellers can use.

We got to the winery around 5:15, and the wedding didn’t start til 6:30 (we were told), but by 5:45, we saw food that was catered being carried into the caboose. We spent our evening imagining what was about to happen. We watched as guests began to arrive and mill around. The musician arrived, and we could see lots of young men attired in cargo shorts, flip flops and a white dress shirt (untucked) The first couple of boys we saw, we thought may have been just a fluke. Young men in the wedding that hadn’t changed yet, or something. The walked over to the winery and purchased a bottle of wine, and went on into the caboose. They didn’t LOOK old enough to buy wine, but then again….I’m 43, an everyone seems to resemble a young whipper-snapper these days.

We began to see a photographer, guests, and a young girl in an off-white dress running around hugging more of the cargo shorted, flip flop wearing, untucked dress shirt sporting fellows. My friend and I were taking bets on who was getting married. I voted for a very young couple. She voted on an older couple…..maybe a 2nd marriage?

The musician came to the winery, and set up. Much to my chagrin, he had at least 2 if not 3 speakers. I don’t like loud music that keeps me from talking. I don’t mind music in the background, but if it impedes my ability to chat…I get really annoyed. Again, my friend was betting on his acoustic guitar not being loud, but I worried nonetheless.

As it turned out…..his first number was a James Taylor song. He had quite a pleasant voice. It was all very background-ish and soft. I was THRILLED. Unfortunately, after nearly 45 minutes of the James Taylor wanna be putting his own unique, one trick pony spin on EVERY SONG HE SANG got really old, really fast.

Anyway, we were watching the cargo, flip flop clad crew and realized that near 7pm (must not have been a 6:30 wedding), that some of the boys had red CARNATIONS on their shirts. Still no ties….no pants…..no dress shoes…….

At one point, one of the young men decided to unbutton his shirt to show some girl in a brown tube top dress his abs, and lo and behold….his tattoo leading down to…..well…….um……..DOWN. Okay? Just down.

We saw another white shirted boy hugging EVERYONE in sight. Not just a quick air hug….but long, deep HUGS. We were FACINATED! The guests wore everything from cowboy hats and jeans, to cute summer dresses……..it wasn’t a large crowd, but they all seemed to come and buy wine!!!

We began to focus on the house right next door to the winery (yes…….the house is tucked between a restaurant and a winery……but there are many houses on this street, so with their 100 or so residents, I guess you put a business where there are people.

There was a lot of people coming in and out. Especially a couple sitting on the porch to smoke and their dachshund. We spent WAY too much time trying to figure out all the particulars. We were as excited as the young cargo short crew appeared to be!!!

As the event began to take shape, we realized that the deep hugger was the GROOM!!!! He, too, had on cargo shorts, flip flops, a white shirt and carnation. We watched a grandma be escorted up the gazebo steps by two of the boys, and before anyone could even begin to hear the wedding music (thankfully, wanna be James Taylor took an appropriate break), we saw a NEW GIRL….in a red dress walk from the house next to the winery…..across the street. She was escorted by one of the cargo short crew. So, we now realize that the other similarly dressed boys must be GROOMSMEN…….!!!!!!

Suddenly I heard a gasp! It was ME!! The bride was emerging from the HOUSE NEXT DOOR!! By now we could hear faint strains of a guitar…….she was escorted by two more of the cargo crew…….She was in a white princess type dress, and a TIARA!!!!! She was brunette and lovely.

These two young escorts stood behind her…so were they bridesmen? There was only one bridesmaid, and the assemblage of cargo shorted boys far outweighed the girl in numbers, so we assume that some must be bridesmen.

The ceremony took all of about 10 minutes. The officiant wore a red St. Louis Cardinals hat during the ceremony. I could not see much of his other attire, but my imagination told me denim was involved.


We got commentary from the gal working at the winery, and apparently the newly wedded couple were step brother and sister? I think she said the parents of the youngsters had gotten married a few years before, so although they were not truly related, it seemed like a relatively odd thing for the kids to marry too!!

To me, it seemed like a quaint, perfect evening wedding. Not much fuss---casually dressed young men representing their friends/family. A catered event without the cocktails and fanciful waiters……just a buffet line through the caboose. It appeared to be small, and intimate. It was apparent that a platinum budget wasn’t used, but it was also apparent that the group involved were closeknit and comfortable.

Champagne and chocolate fountains are nice…..but really? Other than one evening and a memory, who really cares? I think people should take a more cargo short and flip flop attitude……enjoy the MOMENT with people you love, and in a setting that works. It doesn’t matter if you have Christmas lights adorning a wood gazebo, instead of crystal chandeliers. What is important is whom you are marrying, and how happy you are.

Who knew we’d be headed to a wedding on Saturday? It was TOTALLY fun and refreshing. Welcome to rural Missouri, where groomsmen in shorts, and ministers in hats make for a FUN wedding.

Toodles for now!!

Friday, August 21, 2009

Frustration

On top of the stress of sending the eldest duckling to college, and the fact that he’s behaving like an ingrate, he also had a traffic accident the evening before he left for school. No tickets were given, and the ‘contributing circumstances’ on the police report show that the other driver was inattentive, and was following too closely.

The police report showing that information is a GOOD thing……except the other driver DIDN’T HAVE ANY INSURANCE. That’s right. No insurance. Well……let me revamp…..he has insurance NOW, because he or somebody on his behalf obtained coverage for him 17 MINUTES AFTER THE CRASH.

And there is no ‘retroactive’ coverage….so if he wasn’t covered at the moment of the accident, HE WASN’T COVERED. Despite his efforts to cover his ASS…it would appear that we are stuck with the bill.

Yeah…good times ABOUND this week.

I am terribly frustrated. Eldest duckling has no car, therefore no way to obtain a job. He has some speeding tickets, so his insurance is OUTRAGEOUS, so we covered him with liability ONLY, because of the cost, so of course, our coverage doesn’t repair his car even with the fact the other dude isn’t insured.

I am trying not to cry. The bill is $2266.46. I don’t have it. I know that eldest duckling should hold some responsibility for his own vehicle, but…with no job…….he doesn’t have it either.

The person that hit him is a young man as well. I halfway want to report everything to the proper departments and have his license REVOKED and then sue him for the amount of repairs if he doesn’t pay for them. But the mom half of me feels bad for the kid…I’m sure he doesn’t have a dime to his name either……and to take his license and to obtain a legal judgement on him would be hard on HIM too…….

The thing that bothers me the most is that he’s fraudulently trying to appear as if he had insurance. But he got it AFTER THE FACT of the accident. This makes me think he’s not quite on the up and up……..

We can have just the suspension fixed and leave the dented/scratched bumper and fender cover for much less. But the investment that grandpa made for a lovely vehicle for the kid will be totally devalued if that happens. But even the suspension fix, which is necessary for driving, is $1000.00, which is as bad as the $2200 to have it fixed. If I don’t have it, it doesn’t matter if it’s $1000.00 or $10,000.00 in the moment.

Obviously in the long haul, the smaller amounts are easier to swallow, BUT……..it still sucks. Sucks.

And speaking of things that suck….Mr. Perfectly has gotten word that he (and every one else, we assume) is being denied access to the football field sidelines this year. Every year since The oldest has been in 6th grade, Mr P. has maintained a sports blog with photos and info for the kids sports endeavors. For some reason they aren’t letting him take his normal, awesome sideline photos. We’ve not been given a reason why, either, which I find strange.

I don’t know why, but it seems like I always end up sounding like a whiny, negative Nellie. I’m sorry if that’s how I come off…..I try to stay positive, but some weeks just stink.

Happy Friday---toodles for now.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

It's Back!! Drunken Ghost Hunter's Wednesday's!!!

Yep.....that's right!!! Ghost Hunters is supposed to begin airing it's new season TONIGHT. I can't wait. It's been a nerve wracking few days, and it will be enjoyable to sit down, with a glass of wine and watch the guys try to catch ghosts.

It'll be doubly nice, because the plan for dinner is BLT sandwiches which aren't terribly taxing. Easy and wine are the theme for this evening's dinner and entertainment.

I dont' have much to add today. It's been a relatively quiet day---not much drama, or anything out of the ordinary.

I hadn't mentioned that on top of the college drama, son #1 had an accident on Friday evening. One would think by looking at the car that it may not be damaged too much, BUT when driven, it's all swimmy and shimmying.......like the suspension is damaged. I suppose there is some DRAMA in that story---because of course, I don't want MAH BABY to be at fault, but that is what it's looking like...........so I've been a little worked up over the outcome of the accident. And hoping beyond HOPE that the repairs will be able to be paid in payments. I dont' know if the shop will do that for us or not, but I've asked. The owner said he'd see what the damages are to the car, and we'd see what we could work out. I take that to be a positive sign.

I've been wanting peanut butter cookies with M & M's in them. I bought some at a local farmer's market a few weeks back and they were GOOD. I just don't want to mess with making them......I want some to just appear....fresh, hot, yummy cookies.

I'm out of here for now. We'll talk ghosts tomorrow, if the hunters find any..

toodles for now.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Moved In

No. I'm not obsessive over my baby being gone. Nope. I'm doing just fine. Fine...you hear me? FINE.

I don't call him or text him very often. Really, I don't. He doesn't complain over the frequency either. He's polite like that.

this is his dorm room...that will stay neat...you know, because he's a responsible young man.....

He'll manage to get up tomorrow for his classes at 8 am, too...I'm SURE of it. Again, that inherent responsiblity.










Monday, August 17, 2009

The Zoo I call Life

I live in a nutty, nutty world.

I'd like to point out a few things that are CRAZY in my life. I don't do bullet points, so y'all will have to deal with it my way...the not computer literate way.

1) My oldest son (whose now in college) doesn't want to talk to me. Unless he needs something. Like how to bake a frozen pizza without a pan. THE INSTRUCTIONS SAY HE NEEDS A PAN...HE DOESN'T HAVE A PIZZA PAN. What should he do? Can he bake it right on the rack? AM I SURE IT WILL BE OKAY BAKED RIGHT ON THE RACK??? Really sure????

2) Despite the fact college boy didn't want to converse with me, I decided to call him back to check the result of the pizza being baked on the rack instead of IN A PAN. And to make sure he turned off the oven and wasn't burning the dorm down on night #2. He was harried and out of breath when I reached him. He was freaked out because he didn't have any way to get the PIZZA OUT OF THE OVEN. He didn't have an OVEN MITT. I wanted to tell him to man up....that Bobby Flay just pulls crap out of pans and ovens with his BARE HANDS.......but instead of paying for a hospital co-pay, I reminded him that he had brand new hand towels in his room that he could use in lieu of an OVEN MITT.

3) When waiting to check him in to the dorm (prior to being able to move in), I sat next to a girl who'd apparently been waiting longer than she wished to for her turn to check in. She commented very softly that the people BEFORE the ones in the room at that time were there for 45 MINUTES. And she sighed real big. She kept talking in this little tiny mousey voice....I never could hear her....and after asking her to repeat herself several times, I just got up and left. I still was never sure if she was talking to me or to herself.

4) When moving son #1 INTO his dorm room, he was totally appalled that I was not going to be carrying his stuff into his room for him while he unpacked his clothing from a suitcase. He couldn't understand WHY he had to carry all that stuff in when he had UNPACKING to do.

5) My husband walked into the bathroom to put something away for Son #1, and encountered one of the OTHER guys from the OTHER room using their shared bathroom......yeah...dude..we'll shake hands later........sorry for the AWKWARD moment!! Learn to lock common doors before you take a whiz.

6) After a week of loud arguing, and packing and me freaking out over the move to the dorm....we left. We were on the road....I texted son #2 to let him know we were on the way to the college. He was at football Practice, and I thought it to be a nice mom thing to do to let him know we were leaving town. So I texted something like " We are on the way to Moberly....see you later!!". His response? "What are you doing there?". Seriously..........did you miss the fact that your brother graduated, packed and moved out of the house? That the shouting wasn't all for fun?

7) Today, Son #1 texted me asking me for some information regarding his internet access.....I called him (because texting is a pain in the ass), and he was annoyed to be talking to me. I gave him the place where he needed to go, and tried to talk to him and was met with a resounding "I don't want to talk to you!!", and a hang up. Literally a minute later a text from him came through "What room did you say it was?". If I wasn't such a wuss, I'd have said "you didn't want to TALK TO ME....remember??". But of course, I didn't. I saved his ass and gave him the info.


I am sad, nervous and wished he could live me forever. I'm also worried that somehow he WILL live with me forever. I don't understand how our lives seem so crazy when other's seem quite normal and easy.

Maybe other people have the same things happen to them........they just hide it and live the percieved 'perfect life' that I wish for. I swear........it's amazing that he managed to get out of his room by himself.........but yet he's old enough to hold a cigarette, or if ever drafted a freaking GUN.......it amazes me that people so young are expected to SURVIVE. It's scary, people.

Toodles for now.

Friday, August 14, 2009

SO MUCH on my MIND

My baby leaves for college tomorrow. It’s been a rough few months. He’s been less than gracious in his attitude, and it makes me want to SCREAM. Yet he’s my son, and I adore him, and I tend to go overboard to try to smooth things over. This upsets Mr. P to no end. Which causes the cycle to go around and around and around.

Son #1 has always been VERY demanding, strong willed and difficult. He also can be loving and understanding. He’s funny and handsome. For whatever reason, he feels he’s entitled, and there’s no making him understand our point of view. Our family has gone overboard in their quest to make his transition from a teen living at home, to a young man entering college a smooth one. His grandparents have purchased nearly EVERYTHING he needs to set up his dorm room……….we’ve bought a refrigerator and all his life necessities. Yet, he’s balking at the task of cleaning his room and clearing out the 9 or 10 baskets of LAUNDRY that he has scattered around his tiny little room. His room will remain his, but I want the room to be neat and orderly so we don’t have to keep the door shut all the time.

I want guests to sleep there (should we ever have any), and I want him to have a cozy, CLEAN place he can come to when he returns home. He swears it will be done, but he’s not moving an inch to work on it, so the frustration is mounting. All he cares about is partying and making sure his move is bought and paid for. By us. Our effort. Our money. And our time. He doesn’t want to give anything or show any appreciation. It’s a vicious, ugly circle right now.

Then yesterday, I went for a pedicure, and had a good one for once. The little girl actually used one of those razor things on my heels to scrape all the dead skin from them. The foot and leg massage were quite lovely, and my purple toenails are so cute. I have tiny stubby toes, with tiny stubby toenails. My feet are very small—as in short. But they are chubby and I have a high instep, so shoes are a bitch for me to find. A high instep, double wide size 6? It ain’t happening.

The little girl doing the pedicure looked at me and immediately suggested I get my brows waxed…..nice. Is it a sales pitch or are my gnarly brows really THAT bad? I suspect it’s an even combination of the two. After my toes were done, I went into the BACK room for my brow waxing. I laid on a table, where the female version of Tony Soprano took hold of my forehead and whipped my head around like nobody’s business. Commenting “oh wow” when I was laid back for a good view. She roughly applied the wax and put so much pressure on the fabric strips, that I thought most certainly my eyeballs would pop out of the socket! Amidst the flurry of head and neck whipping to rid my face of rogue eyebrow hair, she muttered “LIP?” while she was ripping hair out of my brows. I declined. I can’t decide if I’m THAT hairy, or if these people were into sales in a MAJOR way? She managed to wax my brows, and give me a mirror for a short peek in a span of ……oh, I don’t know……3 minutes? No Joke……it was the quickest brow wax EVER!!!!!! All in all, it wasn’t a bad job, either………but she was a LITTLE rough.

Mr. P and I then went to the NEW Wal-Mart Supercenter to buy son #1’s stuff for his new life. Son #1, of course, didn’t want to join us. We wandered around and around that store trying to no overbuy…which for us is a difficult task. Mr. Entitlement had called ‘dibs’ on the hair cutting clippers that we have. He keeps his hair cropped short----and just assumed that he’d get the clippers. Not thinking or caring that Mr. P, who also keep his hair cropped short, may need them as well. So, Mr. P just bought himself a new set in a nice carrying case. Son #1 can have the old ones…..that have all the pieces scattered in a shoe box.

We then went home and had frozen pizza and watched the exciting episode of ‘Big Brother’ on CBS. I’m a reality show junkie……and Big Brother is one of my favorites……unfortunately. I tried to pick up some of the trash littering son “#1’s room, but got bored quickly of that task and quit.

I realize much of my stress is self imposed. I want everything to be ‘perfect’ and I want my son, Beaver, to happily skip off to school, and want his mom to help him get all set up in his room….to help him buy books, and then go out to dinner and have a lovely send off for his high achieving goals to be reached in college.

Instead, it’s a scene from a bad teen movie. Harried parents trying to please angst-ridden son who JUST WANTS THEM TO LEAVE ALREADY…so he can find the first and nearest PARTAY……forget dinner, forget cute bedding sets…and stocking his brand new fridge..JUST LEAVE SO HE CAN GET DRUNK!!!!!!!!!! Don’t tell him how to prevent swine flu……..he wants to get with his new found dorm buddies and discuss hangover remedies!!

I’m sad, nervous and quite anxious over this endeavor. Wish me luck, and if anyone wants to come help with the move, and to corral an angst ridden teen who thinks his parents are lame…..come on. We could use the help.

Happy Friday……………we’ll see how mom survives today…..Friday…her FAVORITE day (normally).

Toodles for now.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Floppy

I do not know why I choose one of the hottest days of the Summer to be in the mood to cook. I get sweaty and huffy when it's hot and I'm cooking, but the OUTCOME is usually so awesome.

I am making clam chowder for dinner. I know....traditionally, folks don't eat steaming hot bowls of rich soup in the middle of summer, but it sounds good. With crusty bread or crackers? MMMMMMMMM

I am also making salsa. I have some beyond able to use in anything else tomatoes and peppers, so salsa it is. Mr. P. loves my salsa, and I've not made any at all this summer, so this will be a treat.

I am a little slow on the draw regarding jokes and humor. I tend to not get jokes and am unable to deliver them AT ALL. I am not quick with the comeback, or witty on a dime. However, I do crack myself up sometimes. This isn't a difficult task, but somehow nobody else seems to appreciate my own brand of humor.

When I was a little girl in Des Moines, Ia., there was a local afternoon kids program called FLOPPY. It was every kid's dream to be on Floppy. When I was 6 or 7, my cute, blond self was ON THE FLOPPY SHOW. My allergies had apparently kicked in, and I spend most of the show wiping my nose on the hem of my totally rad 70's polyester dress. Yep, my 15 minutes of fame consisted of snot and embarassing my family.

Anyway, 35 years later, my beautiful mommy brought me a FLOPPY t-shirt when she was here recently. I love it. It's too big and comfy. I wear my sloppy t-shirt to the grocery store and around the house. Mr. P brought it to my attention, that with folks here in Missouri not knowing about Duane Elliott and Floppy, it may be regarded as a testament to my breasts. Yeah....again....me and Floppy doin' myself proud.

So, I'm off to the grocery......to shop for my soup and salsa, and me and Floppy will be strutting PROUDLY through the aisles.

See you there!!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Artsy News!!!

So.....remember Mr. P's Worldwide Photo Walks he went on a couple of weeks ago? One in Columbia, MO., and and one at the Lake of the Ozarks, MO.???? The object of this was to have as many communities that wanted to participate in a photo walk all on the same day.

Each participant submitted their two favorite photos to the local walk co-ordinator. They and/or the ones deemed in charge chose their favorite shot of the whole group and that shot will be submitted to the WORLDWIDE contest of photos. I showed you here the photos that Mr. P submitted to each walk.

He got notification on Friday that one of his photos from the Lake Walk was chosen to be submitted to the WORLDWIDE contest. AND, his second photo, was chosen for an honorable mention. The Honorable Mention photos don't get anything, but it's still a testament to his ability, I think!!!

So, go check it out! The winning photo from the Lake is the "Lonely Bumper Car" and the "Skee Ball" was the honorable mention. Personally, my favorite was the 'Skee Ball', but I think his was the 'Lonely Bumper Car".

He won a digital photography book and an 8x10 print of his winning photo.

He's over the moon with excitement. This is something he LOVES, and although family and friends all love his photos, this is just an additional boost to his own knowledge that he's good.

He's not heard from the Columbia, MO. walk coordinator. He feels like he won't win anything there.......although I don't know why, but that's the sense that he personally has. But it really doesn't matter, because one of HIS photos will be submitted to the WORLDWIDE walk contest. That is just too cool for words.

Go Mr. P!!!!!!

Go the Artsy post and check them out. Which is YOUR favorite?

Toodles for now.