HELLO, DECEMBER

And greetings, winter weather. I have missed you so.

This morning I bundled up in my warmest jacket and braved the crowds at Tarjay to do some grocery shopping. Bonus: I met a fellow Grocery Gamer today! Her name is Erin and we met over the Kraft mac & cheese aisle. That was cool.

Anyway, typically Kroger is much cheaper on groceries, particularly because they double and triple coupons. However, from time to time Target.com has excellent, stackable coupons on their website, so I was able to score lots of good food (and a Christmas gift, too) for a really low price.

Here's a breakdown:

• Cranium Cadoo game (originally $14.99; on sale for $7.49; I had $5.00-off coupon) = $2.49
• 4 packages of Nestle chocolate chips (originally $1.99; I had two stacked coupons for each one equalling 90-cents off each) = $1.09 x 4
• 5 boxes of Kraft mac & cheese (originally .82/box; on sale for .60/box; I had coupons for .50 off each) = $.10 x 5
• 2 containers of Daisy sour cream (originally .92/container; I had coupons for .50 off each) = $.42 x 2
• 2 packages of dairy-sliced cheese - Monterey jack & provolone (1/4 lb. at $1.25 and $1.35 respectively; I had coupons for $1.00 off each) = $.25 + $.35
• 2 packages beef steaks, 6 per package (each just over $5; $2.00 coupon on package, plus $2.00 coupon from website) = approx. $1.00 per package
• 2 lbs. 93/7 lean ground beef ($3.49/lb.; I had two coupons for $1.25 off each pound) = $2.24 x 2
• 1 package taco shells (1.29; I had coupons for $1.00 off each) = $.29
• 2 packages flour tortillas (1.49; I had coupons for $1.00 off each) = $.49 x 2
• 1 package frozen waffles ($1.52; I had coupon for .50 off) = $1.02
• 1 package frozen meatballs ($5.99; I had no coupon, but these are a dollar cheaper than at Kroger - does that count?) = $5.99
• 5 cans diced tomatoes (.49/can; I had coupons for $1.00 off each) = they paid ME $.51 x 5
• 2 cans Mexican-style tomatoes (.89/can; I had coupons for $1.00 off each) = they paid ME $.11 x 2
  

Grand total before coupons: $56.29
Grand total after coupons: $21.19

I bought thirty items and paid just over $21 - which includes the game. And as we all know, games are typically really expensive.

My coupon savings equaled $35.10 ... Even the cashier was impressed. heehee

The Cadoo game is going to be a Christmas gift. I love getting good gifts so inexpensively. And needless to say, I am also loving Target! :)

How's your December shopping coming along?

END OF THE LINE

This is my last post for November 2006. Wow, that sounds final. I can't believe I made it through the entire month and posted every single day. That's quite an accomplishment...maybe next year I'll actually shoot for NaNoWriMo. But don't hold me to that.

Thanks for letting me know what you guys had for dinner last night. As it turns out, beef was not for dinner here at the Pley household. I'd been feeling a little lightheaded all day yesterday, but around 4:00, nausea hit. Fortunately (?), I never did throw up, but I felt bad enough that I skipped dinner altogether. The rest of the family had to fend for themselves:

K - raviolis & Doritos (I am so not winning Mother of the Year this year)
Ry - cereal with milk
Pey - leftover chicken spaghetti
Hubby - tacos and an egg roll from Jack in the Box

Today I am feeling really lightheaded, but a little better overall. But this morning I got a call from the elementary school nurse, who told me that Pey was in her office with a severe headache and nausea. I picked Pey up from school and brought her home, where she promptly threw up not once but twice. The second time was apparently the charm, as ever since that time she has been eating like a horse. I told her to take it slow, which she has been trying to do (poor baby is hungry!), and we've been fortunate that the vomiting has apparently abated. We're now at hour three of non-pukage, so I think things are looking up.

And with that nauseating paragraph, I say "happy November." Have a great day, everyone, and try to stay well!

BEEF. IT'S WHAT'S FOR DINNER.

I couldn't think of anything earth-shattering to write about today, so I thought I'd let everyone know what we're having for dinner tonight:

Mexican food.

I'm defrosting two steaks that I plan to cut up and make fajita-type foodstuffs out of. To go with it, I've got a boatload of salsa, chips, cheese, and jalapenos (thank you, SuperTarget coupons). I do not have guacamole fixings, so we shall have to do without the green stuff, unless I get a hankering to drive down to the local taqueria and buy some. I could make my own, which is super delicious, if I do say so myself, but I'm feeling lazy today.

Why am I going to the trouble of making fajitas if I'm feeling lazy? Because I've got a ton of food thanks to www.thegrocerygame.com, and no good excuse to spend money on going out to dinner.

What's on the menu at your house tonight?

WHAT ARE PENNIES MADE OF

Answer: "dirty copper." That's what hubby always used to say whenever we'd pass a police car sitting on the side of the road. LOL

Tonight, after six months of intense training, my baby brother graduates and becomes a real-life police officer. The ceremony is being held at the Houston Police Academy, where the actual, real-life Houston mayor will be speaking. And thanks to Mr. Mayor, we now have to arrive about two hours early to the ceremony if we want to find a parking place for either our cars or our tushes.

(I hate waiting. Tree owes me one.)

I am pretty sure I'll be teary-eyed at the sight of him all grown up and in uniform; in my mind, he's still the adorable little four-year-old who couldn't stand to be away from my side. But I couldn't be prouder - or more scared. My police officer prayer list continues to grow: it includes Tnk, her partner, and now Tree.

Lord, protect those who protect us. Amen.

MONDAY MONDAY

...really sucks.

I like having everyone home, so the end of this Thanksgiving holiday is a real bummer for me. The whole family staying up late and watching movies together is one of life's good things. I am sure hubby and the kids would agree with me...that is, if they weren't all at school or work right now. Phooey.

The only caveat to this thought process is that K, now that he's a teenager, has other interests at school aside from schoolwork. I'm not naming names, but her initials are "Ashley." I'm actually really okay with this (wow!), so long as K keeps his grades up. It helps that Ash is a very good student - K's Language Arts grade has actually gone up recently (he sits right behind her in that class).

All that to say this: K can't wait to get to school today. He was actually depressed last Tuesday after school because he knew it would be five l-o-n-g days until he got to see her again. We were able to distract him with things like video games and turkey dinners and family time, but I know that in the back of his mind he was thinking about her.

Puppy love is so cute. I just hope I still feel that way when he actually starts dating. Three more years - yikes!

HOME IMPROVEMENTS

Yesterday hubby and I (but mostly hubby) finally hung a new ceiling fan in our bedroom. Installation took a long time, but it looks great and is a vast improvement over the undersized white one we used to have in there.

The white one, by the way, is going to be hung in the breakfast room soon. And by "soon," I mean "hopefully before Easter." That's just the way things work around the Pley household. Best laid plans and all that...

I've been on a Christmas decorating spree since last week. Most of the indoor stuff is done, including hanging a stocking for the pooch, as this is her first Christmas with the family. I just hope Santa remembers pack some bones in his sack. Doggie toys do not go over well around here, as our furbaby immediately destroys any that pass through our doorway. She has even eaten a tire. What a goober.

Yesterday I hung the outdoor wreath and put lights on two bushes that sit on either side of the front porch. It's simple, but looks really nice. I am not a fan of the big inflatable stuff; I'm all about pine garland and plaid bows and the like. Although I did see a VERY cute "ice cube snowman" at Lowe's this morning. If it wasn't forty bucks, it might have found its way into my cart.

Today my mission is to finish setting up the Christmas stuff, then clean and vacuum the house a bit. All the beautiful decor seems a little out of place when I put it on dusty furniture. I think my Dyson needs to come out of the closet and enjoy the scenery for awhile.

Ho ho ho, y'all!

PLEY'S 2nd ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BAKING DAY
Sent this email to dad, his S.O., and my siblings this morning. Man, do I love the holidays!

Hey, everyone! It's about that time again, and here's the plan for this year:

DATE - Tuesday, December 12th
TIME - 9:00 a.m. (or however early you want to get here) until whenever
PLACE - Pley's kitchen
ACTIVITY - Baking Christmas goodies

Feel free to bring your own recipes, or you can use some of mine. I've got a ton of cookbooks, from Better Homes & Gardens to Grandma Deanie's old family cookbook.

I also have a brand-new KitchenAid stand mixer that I'm dying to use. And yes, I'll share. I have two baking sheets but four oven racks (two ovens), so if you want to bring an extra baking sheet, that would be fine.

I have lots of mixing bowls and spoons.

I also have plenty of brown sugar and white sugar, and will be purchasing more baking soda and baking powder, so if your recipes call for those, please save your money. What I do recommend you bring is something on which to take your goodies home. Since I switched over to the stack-n-store system, I'm no longer overrun with extra Tupperware! ;)

We'll have Christmas music on the stereo, the tree will be lit, and of course there will be coffee and/or hot chocolate to drink. Hope to see you all here!

Love,
Pley

NOT THANKFUL

My beloved Longhorns lost today in a suckass game against the Aggies. Way to let us down, UT.

I AM THANKFUL FOR...

1. The good health of my family (knock on wood)
2. Mom's old Home Interiors nativity scene, even though it no longer has its original sheep
3. The replacement sheep I bought on ebay (after K broke the original one), which arrived with a broken ear but still fits in nicely with the rest of the set
4. The Saturn, which continues to chug along after almost a dozen years
5. The red sweater I'm wearing today, which my mother-in-law gave me as a hand-me-down
6. Our digital camera, which was one of the better purchases I've ever made
7. My sister Tnk, whose recovery continues to amaze me and make me cry at the same time
8. My EMT-sis, whose knowledge of emergency medicine is impressive and strangely comforting
9. My brother Tree, who graduates from the police academy next week and about whom I am already worrying
10. My brother in Oklahoma, who is going through marital problems right now but continues to be an incredible dad to his two sons
11. My in-laws, who graciously gave up our Thanksgiving Day celebration this year so that we could celebrate my great-grandmother's 98th birthday with her today
12. My friend Mary, who despite losing her 4-year-old son a dozen years ago, has somehow gone on with her life and prospered
13. My friend Jenn, whom I love like a sister and I don't get to see nearly enough of
14. All my scrapbooking buddies, who make me laugh while helping me get things accomplished at the same time
15. And last but certainly not least, my wonderful husband of 16+ years, without whom I would not be the person I am today. I love you, M.

DECORATING DAY

The kids are out of school for the holiday, so today we decided to get a jump start on Christmas decorating. The tree is up and lit, the stockings are hung, two nativity scenes and a village have been put out, and the bathroom towels have holly and/or Santa on them now.

Still lots more to do - for example, I've gotta get garland around all the banisters, STAT - but we've made a great start.

Tomorrow we're heading to my great-grandmother's house for Thanksgiving. It's also her 98th birthday...and I just realized I have no gift for her. Dang.

Gotta run.

THE ONE FOR EVIL AMY

Let me preface this post by saying that in my 39 years of living, I have encountered only ONE intelligent female radio personality. Her name was Shelby Sweeney, and Houston lost a really good one when she left us. In my experience, most female DJs rely on their perky personalities and ability to laugh at every.single.thing their male counterparts say in order to keep their jobs. Honestly, I would prefer listening to trash-talking males than to bubble-headed bleach blondes in the morning.

So this morning, a local radio station was having a Battle of the Sexes contest, in which a man and woman answer questions for prizes.

The bobblehead female DJ, when introducing the contestants, says "Today's female contestant is Maria, who is a stay-at-home mom. Maria has a part-time job working with computers, so she's one of the smart ones."

The male DJ, to his great credit, replies "But she is at home with three children, so her full-time job is not an easy one."

Bobblehead responds, "Yes, but at least she doesn't have to report to a boss."

You ignorant bitch. Do you honestly think that at-home moms with small children have it easy? I don't know a single sahm who hasn't wanted, at least once, the chance to dress up and go to work and get paid and have lunch with grownups.

And what does "she's one of the smart ones" mean? If you're implying that most at-home moms are stupid, here's a newsflash for you: Some of the stupidest people I know have college degrees and jobs. I think you know who I'm talking about.

THE ANSWER IS: ANN-MARGRET

The Ann-Margret reference in my previous post is from the 90's TV show "Wings" which starred Tim Daly, Steven Weber, and Crystal Bernard.

A recap of the episode entitled "Sports and Leisure": After a fishing trip is ruined by Roy, the gang uninvites him to the Trivial Pursuit party at Helen's. Angry at them initially, he nevertheless accepts their re-invitation to the party and decides to be nice and try to fit in. But his new resolve is foiled by his game partner, Lowell. Lowell has played Trivial Pursuit once before, and his only memory of it is that one of the answers is "Ann-Margret." Therefore, he answers every single question with "Ann-Margret." Except for one - on the last question Lowell and Roy were posed with, the answer actually WAS Ann-Margret, but this time Lowell gave a different name.

Pez, is it what you were thinking? :)

FAMILY THANKSGIVING & GROCERIES

Today we (my side of the family, that is) had our annual Not-On-Thanksgiving-Day Thanksgiving dinner. Tnk hosted it at her house, which was really nice. As I suspected, I strongly felt Mom's presence throughout the afternoon, and I think Tnk did, too. She got choked up during the prayer. I completely understood.

My contribution to the dinner was pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and dump cake - all homemade. And root beer - not homemade - for the kids. All four were big hits amongst the diners.

When we finished eating, my dad decided to clear up Tnk's backyard a bit. He grabbed some old wood we'd stashed outside and started a bonfire. Fortunately for Tnk, her house is in a subdivision with no deed restrictions. Weird, definitely; against the law, nope. The fire grew with more and more wood, and eventually we even tossed the old patio furniture into the flames. Thirty years has that furniture existed, but it was high time it was put out to pasture. Burning the pieces was a little sad for me, though, as I have fond memories of hanging out on that furniture during childhood summers when we'd take breaks from the pool. (Tnk had the pool filled in last year, as the maintenance had become overwhelming.) So farewell, old and decrepit patio furniture. You won't be forgotten.

Moving on...

After bonfire, we played Trivial Pursuit, 90's Edition, which I had picked up for $4.98 at Target earlier this year. It was different from your usual Trivial Pursuit game, but still pretty difficult. We even had a couple of "Ann-Margret" guesses tossed in for good measure, even though that was never the correct answer. (If anyone doesn't get the Ann-Margret joke, let me know.) I won the game, with a little help from Tnk and hubby. Okay, a LOT of help. Hey, I told you the game was hard!

We left Tnk's just after 5:30, which is really REALLY early for one of our family gatherings to end. But it's Sunday and the kids have school and hubby has work tomorrow, so it's good that we came on home. We even had time to fit in a little America's Funniest Videos, which is a Sunday night guilty pleasure in this house.

---

Forgot to mention my trip to Kroger this morning. I purchased 55 items, including but not limited to: a frozen turkey, a bag of dog food, two dozen Eggsland's Best eggs, six cans of Pillsbury cinnamon rolls, three cans of Pillsbury crescent rolls, four bags of Goldfish, five bags of pasta, two bags of Clementine oranges, and a bunch of other groceries. Shelf price was $93.02, but after my coupons, I paid only $34.38! MAN, I love the Grocery Game. :)

LET'S CALL THIS "THE ONE ABOUT TARGET"

Woke up this morning to the sound of the dog's collar jingling at 6:50 a.m. That's really too early to get up on a Saturday, but I did it since hubby is the one who gets up and lets her out about 99% of the time, and I figured I owed him one.

Turns out it was good that Bailey had awakened me early, as I had to make a run to Target to take advantage of their sales and coupons. If you ever shop Target, you should definitely avail yourselves of their coupons - go to www.target.com, then scroll down to the bottom of the page. There you'll find a link to their current coupon deals, which are typically fantastic. Keep in mind that you can stack coupons on many of the deals, too, which makes their prices even lower.

Quick "stacking" tip: Most stores will allow you to use two coupons on one item, provided that one of them is a manufacturer's coupon and the other is a store coupon. You can easily tell which is which by looking at the top of the coupon. Oh, and for the record, all the Target coupons on their website are store coupons, so if you happen to have a manufacturer's coupon for, say, Diet Coke, you can use both and get sodas really cheaply.

Today I purchased 18 items (including four 12-packs of soda, three packs of cheese, two bottles of salsa, three bags of chips, one set of Glade Trios candles, and several other items) and had 19 coupons (stacked two on the candles). The shelf price for everything I bought was $44.73. After my coupons, I paid $19.75.

Love me some Tarjay.

UNDER THE WIRE

Just woke up from a doze on the sofa and realized it's 11:33 p.m. CST, and I had not yet blogged today. Better hurry.

Today was Girl Scouts, where we worked on our Safety Patch. My EMTsis took good care of us and pretty much ran the meeting. She brought the local training ambulance to the house and went over safety measures. She also had a really cool machine that allowed the girls to "call" 911 and practice giving their names and addresses to a recorded-but-very-real-sounding voice. I wish I could remember what this machine is called...I'm going to find out and will post it here soon.

Part two of the meeting involved making fire escape maps. My sister had drawn up a simple floorplan of my house and had the girls draw colored lines to the nearest exits (of which my home has three). She even drew in a "fire" in the kitchen and told the girls to be sure and avoid it when they were drawing the lines. For example, they had to draw a red line from the breakfast nook to the nearest exit, a yellow line from the living room to the nearest exit, etc., but since they had to avoid the fire in the kitchen, it took a little more thought than simple A-to-B line drawing. Clever, sis.

The girls also made bookmarks that said "911 - Police, Fire, Ambulance" on them. I wish we'd had time for everyone to write down their addresses on the back, as several of the girls don't know theirs. Moms - please make sure your kids know their own addresses and phone numbers ASAP. You just never know when they will need that information.

Lastly, EMTsis took the girls outside and told them, "On the count of three, all of your clothes are on fire. Show me what you should do." On three, all eight girls hit the ground and did the right thing - Stop, Drop, and Roll. Yay for my troop!

After all the activities, the girls were allowed to tour the ambulance, where they could touch the oxygen masks, lie on the stretcher, and basically lay their hands on anything they saw (no drugs or needles are ever stocked on the training ambulance, so they were perfectly safe). In a big finale, EMTsis turned on the lights and sirens and gave the girls an earful. It was the perfect end to a really fun meeting!

HATH HELL FROZEN OVER?

Must be holiday time, because the car is in the shop again. Initial quote: $448. Plus tax. Plus some other charges, I'm sure, as I have not paid it yet, and we all know how car "estimates" go.

I'm tired of car repairs, particularly since the Saturn will be twelve years old in January, and currently has about 175,000 miles on it. We've been coasting by with no car payments for the past year or so, but reliable transportation is more important, so I predict car shopping soon.

---

Well, what do you know. The repair shop just called and said that since they didn't have to replace the fuel filter, the cost dropped to $370. That has never happened. I'm too stunned to keep typing...

THIS'LL BE SHORT AND SWEET

I am not feeling at all well this evening. I am experiencing intermittent stabbing pains in my right ear, and I am unbelievably tired. It's the I-can-barely-hold-my-eyes-open-as-I-type-this kind of tired. That's pretty serious for 7:39 p.m., especially since my normal bedtime is around 10:30 or 11:00 on weeknights.

Quick recap of the day:

Worked on Tnk's house today - we took up the nasty lineoleum in the den, finished painting the exterior of the closets and the new drywall around the French doors, and shopped for supplies at Lowe's. We were only moderately successful in our shopping trip, as the paint guy couldn't match the sample we brought him; the door guy could not find an appropriate threshold nor a ball bearing in all of the store; and the cashier didn't know how to look up UPC codes on unmarked items (namely the threshold, which was going to be too big anyway so Tnk told them to just keep it).

Tree was kind enough to bring us lunch from Wendy's. I had a cup of chili, which was really good since I was already starting to feel sick. Plus it was cold outside, so the warmth of the cup felt really good.

I told Tnk I'd help her again tomorrow, but I probably won't be able to. One, I am coming down with something, and two, it looks like the Saturn has one foot in the grave (again). Hubby called on his way home and said that he kept having to shift it into neutral so it wouldn't die at stoplights. Yay, happy fun car shopping.

Off to bed now. Nighty-night.

BACK TO WORK AT TNK'S PLACE

Today the siblings and I worked on Tnk's house for the first time since her accident back in March. I'd forgotten how intensive manual labor can be - what a workout!

Actually, it wasn't that bad. Today I painted the storage room and the closet walls and doors outside that room. It's amazing what a coat of paint can do for a grimy, fingerprinty door. We're nowhere near done with the work on that room, but between my paint job and her window cleaning, it already looks a hundred times better.

Tnk's handyman Mike was there today, too. His job was to cut a 4' x 7' hole in the wall between the living room and the den (formerly known as "the garage," which was enclosed sometime in the '70s). In the hole, Mike is installing French doors. I had to leave before he put the doors up, but even with a gaping rectangle where the wall used to be, both rooms look about twice as spacious as they did before.

The reason for all this work right now is that Tnk is hosting our family Thanksgiving feast at her house this Sunday. I think it will be a fun yet slightly melancholy day: Tnk's house is the same one we grew up in, and the one our mother was living in when she passed away. I know that her presence will be strongly felt.

Tomorrow I'm going back to help out a little more. I know Mom would love all the upgrades we've done on the house; just wish she could be here to see them.

NEW FORMAT

Hello, all! What do you think of the new digs? I miss you guys on my sidebar, but never fear - I will fix my blog up to be just as linky as ever.

Not much to report for today. I did have lunch with my youngest brother (Tree) and Tnk today. I almost never see Tree anymore, so it was a real pleasure to visit for awhile. He is about to graduate from the Houston Police Academy (what is it with my siblings and their law-enforcement yens?) so he and Tnk naturally had lots to talk about. While I love a good story - and they ARE good stories, LOL - I couldn't help but feel a little left out. I have zero excitement in my own life at the moment. Oh, who am I kidding? I have zero excitement in my own life pretty consistently.

Yes, the kids and hubby are great. But I can't top a story about an 80-year-old woman in a bikini being arrested for drunk driving. Not every day, anyway.

Better get dinner started. Whoo, hold me back.

THE MEN IN ORANGE

First of all, let's have a moment of silence for the men in burnt orange, the University of Texas Longhorns, who lost to Kansas State 45-42 last night in a nailbiter. K State injured our quarterback in the first drive, and with our inexperienced backup taking his place, UT had little chance to pull it out. [cue Taps playing softly in the background...]

In soccer news, today is the day! This afternoon the Houston Dynamo vie for the title of MLS Champions against the New England Revolution (Beth, Zach will totally know what I'm talking about :). Thousands of Houstonians have made the trek to the Frisco, Texas, Pizza Hut park to watch the game. We were almost among them, but decided to stay home and watch the game for free on TV. (Plug: ABC network, 2:30 p.m. CST. Tune in and cheer for the orange team!)

In order to send some good mojo their way, our family is having an "orange" party. We're all wearing Dynamo and/or orange shirts, we spread out an orange blanket to cover the couch, and we're partaking of orange foods and beverages. Among the latter:

Oranges
Carrots
Squash soup
Sweet potatoes
Grilled cheese sandwiches made with cheddar, which is closer to orange than American cheese
Cheetos
Nacho-flavor Goldfish
Chips and queso (close to orange, right?)
Orange Fanta for the kids
Diet Sunkist for the adults

Oops, game's about to start. Go Dynamo!

Edited at 5:34 p.m. CST - THEY DID IT! THE DYNAMO WON THE MLS CUP! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THUS QUOTH THE VICHY, "NEVERMORE"

To all who asked how Pey's party went, let me just lay it out there for ya: No more slumber parties at my house. Well, none that include one particular friend of Pey's. Just for fun, let's call her Brat. Brat is nine years old.

She started off the evening by walking into my house for the first time and approaching K, who was playing his guitar. I thought she'd say something like "cool, you play guitar!" Instead, we heard, "My aunt plays better than you do."

Thinking I must have misheard her, I sat there with my mouth open. Then she turns to me and says, "Really, my aunt DOES play waaay better than he does."

K later told me that he really wanted to say "wanna bet?" but he held back. I totally would have given him a pass for saying that.

Other fun with Brat:

1. At my friend's house (where we were scrapbooking), Brat was constantly running all around the house, despite the fact that she'd been told to stop because, among other things, Laura's baby was sleeping. I even caught her looking under door jambs to see what was behind closed doors.

2. After eating pizza, I told all the girls they needed to wash their hands so that they wouldn't get grease on their scrapbooks and pictures. Here's how that conversation played out:

Brat (whining): I don't neeeeed to.
Me: Yes, you do.
Brat (smearing pizza grease on her jeans): NoooOOOooo. I don't either.
Me: Get into the bathroom and wash your hands.
Brat: (stomps and grunts all the way to the bathroom) I'm just going to use water.
Me (sighing heavily): No, you're going to use soap.
Brat: I don't need it.
Me: Yes, you do.

At this point, she stops responding and just rinses her hands off, looking in the mirror and nonchalantly glancing toward the door to see if I'm still there. Knowing that the minute I turn my back she'll try to get away without using soap, I fold my arms, lean against the door, and just stare at her. Eventually I have to tell her again to get some soap, which she finally does. This process took nearly five full minutes.

3. Laura had borrowed a chocolate fountain for last night's crop, which was a big hit with everyone there. I took the girls into the kitchen so they could get some, and I handed them each a small plate. Three of my girls took a few marshmallows and strawberries, but Brat grabbed a big bunch of everything and then announced, "I need MORE chocolate." Then she stuck her plate under the fountain. OMG, what a mess - and a waste of chocolate. I gathered everyone up, let them eat what they had, then told them that was it for the evening. At this point it was nearly 9:00 anyway, and the last thing they needed was more sugar.

4. As it turns out, Brat is one of those sneaky-type girls (I hate that personality trait). Several times throughout the evening, she'd slip from her chair and disappear. I always found her in the kitchen dipping into the fountain again, even though I'd told her no more. She knew what she was doing was wrong, because she'd jump every time she saw me. I herded her back into the living room to work on her scrapbook time after time. (At one point, Laura noticed that I was getting frustrated and quietly offered me a beer. I graciously declined, as I figured "Pey's mom drinks!" would be the story that would get back to Brat's mom.)

5. Near the end of the evening, Brat started chasing Laura's two beautiful dogs around the house. She'd been told repeatedly to stop running, and as I sternly told her to get back to her chair, Laura, quite frustrated by this point, said "You need to go sit on the couch NOW." Now two adults were disciplining Brat, so she complied. She went to the sofa and laid down and went to sleep.

6. Only, no, she didn't. She faked being asleep. About ten minutes later, we had packed up and were ready to leave, and Brat wouldn't get up. She even did the heavy-breathing thing to try and fake us out. I leaned over and sat her up, and she flopped her head to one side, still "sleeping." Then I quietly said, "Well, if you're sleeping, I'll just take you home instead of to my house." Magically, her eyes popped open and she grinned and said, "I want to go to your house."

Darn.

The rest of the night was a blur to me because I felt like I'd been hit by a truck. We put all the girls down on sleeping bags in the living room and rented "Garfield II", and I set myself up a little bed on the sofa (much to Brat's chagrin - which is scary, now that I think about it). I was awakened a few times during the night, but this morning was wonderful because Brat's mom called two hours before everyone was supposed to leave and said that they needed to pick her up early. Oh heavenly bliss.

The other girls, by the way, were terrific. Pey has told everyone that she had a "great" birthday. She is very proud of her scrapbook, and even though I know I'm biased, I have to agree that it's beautiful.

This afternoon I (jokingly) asked Pey if she wanted to have Brat over to spend the night again tonight. She rolled her eyes, sighed, and said "No way." I think she was just as frustrated (and maybe a little embarrassed) as I was over Brat's antics last night.

Some good news - During K's soccer game today, he scored TWO goals! That's the first time he's ever scored a goal during a game, and we couldn't be prouder of him. I wish everyone could have seen the grin on his face; it was awesome.

I think I'll go take that nap now. I have a feeling that the fatigue I feel from last night is going to stay with me for a few days.

FRIDAY NEWS

Pey's birthday party starts in about two hours, when the other three girls arrive and we head out to the birthday crop.

Kim's son, Trey, is out of his coma, but has apparently lost the ability to speak. He's had two MRIs, and another is scheduled. Please continue to pray for the family.

Not much else going on right now. I'll post more tomorrow, if I survive the slumber party tonight, that is! :)

IF YOU'RE A PRAYING PERSON, PLEASE READ THIS

My "amazing" Target finds mean nothing (see post below).

You guys may remember my sister Tnk and her near-fatal accident from earlier this year. She went through several surgeries and months of agonizing physical therapy, but I am happy to report that she is back at work on the police force and doing well.

Tnk made some good friends over the past few months, particularly with her physical therapist, Kimberly. Kim was with her through the whole ordeal, and pushed Tnk hard to get her hands working properly. The fact that Tnk made an almost perfect score on her shooting recertification was in no small part due to Kim's help and support. I had the privilege of meeting her when I'd take Tnk to and from PT.

Two days ago, Kim's 8-year-old son was hit by a speeding car. He was crossing the street near his home - in a 15 mph zone - when a woman doing 50 mph ran over him.

He has been in pediatric intensive care in a coma ever since the accident.

My heart is breaking for this family. They are a wonderful group of people, and they need our prayers.

Thank you.

TAR-JAY RULES

At least, their clearance sales do. I went there this morning because I was a doofus three months ago. Allow me to elaborate...

Sometime back in August or so, I was browsing Target's clearance racks and came across an electronic journal which was marked down from $24.99 to $6.98. Thinking this would be something cool for Pey, I picked it up.

When I went to wrap it the other day, I flipped the box over and read the back: "For use with FLY pentop computer." We-elll, I knew I didn't have one of those lying around, so I google'd it. Imagine my surprise when Amazon.com told me it would cost $125.

Yeah, that's gonna happen.

I knew that Target wouldn't feel obligated to take back the journal that they'd clearanced three months ago, so I resigned myself to getting back into ebay and trying to sell it for Christmas. I really didn't want to do that, but there was just no way I was going to drop a C-note now because I jumped the gun then.

Then glorious, glorious Target, unbeknownst to itself, came to my rescue. Today I was again browsing the clearance racks, as apparently I am wont to do, and I came across a FLY pentop computer, complete with charging stand. I could hardly believe my eyes as I beheld the lone remaining box. This $129.99 set had been marked down to - are you ready for this? - $31.98.

I swept the box up in my arms and placed it gently into my cart. My spirits were soaring, and I'm pretty sure Snow White's little birds were aflitter about my shoulders, too.

Pey will get her journal after all. Thank you, Target, for making a little girl's birthday happier, and making her mommy look a little less doofish today.

BIRTHDAY FESTIVITIES

Tomorrow my baby is turning 9 years old. I think I'll reserve my freak-out for when she hits double-digits. For now, I'm just glad to still have kids in elementary school. That makes me feel young.

Today I went shopping with my MIL. We were on a mission to pick up some gifts for the birthday girl. Pey has been keeping a wishlist in a spiral-bound notebook, so we didn't have much trouble knowing what she wants. The only problem was choosing from the hundreds of things on the list. Her list is five single-spaced pages, plus about a half-dozen sticky notes inside the front cover. The funniest thing on her list: her cousin El, whose mother is selfishly not allowing me to have her. But she is letting me borrow El this weekend for Pey's party, so that will have to suffice.

Speaking of party, Pey is going to have a good one. Her two best friends, plus El, plus Pey, natch, will be there. My friend Laura, who is a Creative Memories consultant, is hosting a scrapbooking crop for the girls. Pey is pretty excited about it! All the girls need to bring with them are about 40 pictures each, and Laura will be there to guide them through setting up their pages and journaling. She's even going to let them use all her tools. It's going to cost me around a hundred dollars for supplies, but the four girls will get to be creative and have some really cool albums to take home with them at the end of the night.

Only they're not going home that night. Pey's having a slumber party after the crop, so now the question is, where is everyone going to sleep? IF they sleep, that is.

Now I've got to get busy straightening up the house. Tomorrow is Pey's actual birthday, and we're having the grandparents over for dinner and presents. Friday = crop. Man, I've got a lot to do. Toodles!

THINGS THAT BUG THE VICHY, PART DEUX OR TROIS OR SO

Things I've noticed in a forum I frequent. I've posted my pet peeves here before, so excuse the duplicated idea.

1) ........................ - Ellipses include three periods and no more. Get your finger off the key already.

2) I had more that I needed. - It's than! It's THAN!

3) waa laa! - [sigh]

4) "dealio" - The word is "deal." Why make it longer?

5) get em' - The correct abbreviation is 'em. I wonder what word is she trying to shorten.

6) !!!!! - Why would someone need that many exclamation points????

7) :) :) :) :) - Overkill. We get that you're happy. Or psychotic.

8) "envie" - It's not cute to shorten envelope. It sounds dumb and I cringe when I read it.

/end rant

Of course, you guys know I'm not talking about you, right? You, my friends, are perfect in every way....................!!!!!

WHAT GOES UP...

...man, I don't want to finish that sentence.

It started off with a wonderful birthday on Friday. In addition to a delicious dinner and two cakes, I was gifted with scrapbook supplies, a Real Simple magazine subscription, and a KitchenAid stand mixer. All good.

On Saturday, hubby took me out shopping and we watched our favorite football team win. We shared two pitchers of beer and a lot of laughs. Even better.

Sunday we were in the stands when the Dynamo took home the Western Conference championship. K even caught a hat thrown into the stands by one of the players. At this point I was on a real high. What a wonderful weekend!

Then last night I was told that my biological father ("B"), whom I cut off all contact with six months ago, had called my in-law's house on my birthday. He left a message on their answering machine. And of course, being the sweetheart my FIL is, he called him back. Damn.

In typical "B" fashion, he obeys the letter of the law, but not the spirit. I can't believe he contacted my in-laws to talk about me. He knew what he was doing was wrong, but he did it anyway.

This may not seem like a big deal to a bystander, but OMG I am so angry right now. I have repeatedly told everyone that I am no longer speaking to B and that I don't want him to know anything - ANYTHING - about our family. I can't even begin to tell you how dead serious I am about this. And this man himself has been told point-blank to stay out of our lives and that we want NOTHING to do with him.

With all my heart and soul, I just wish B would just stay the hell away. I am very concerned because I know how he operates - you give him an inch and he'll take a mile. He will see that returned phone call as an invitation to contact my in-laws anytime. That is not what they want, and it is something I just could not handle.

I feel like I'm on the verge of a breakdown. I am honestly in physical pain right now. If you've ever felt like your heart was literally going to break, then you know how I'm feeling.

It is taking all the strength I have to not type out every awful detail about my life growing up with B right now. I want everyone to understand where I'm coming from and not think I'm overreacting. Trust me, I am not.

ORANGE RULES

First of all, I'm sure you all know that the University of Texas football team whupped up on Oklahoma State last night. Hubby and I were out on a hot date, so we parked ourselves at a table at Hooters and stayed for three hours to watch the game on not one but TWO Hooters' tv sets. Two other tables in our section also held UT fans watching the game with us. It was a blast. Hooters has lots of tv sets. (I think I just like saying Hooters. Hooters. Mature.)

In other orange news, tonight is the Houston Dynamo vs. Colorado Rapids playoff game at Robertson Stadium. We have five tickets paid for and awaiting us at Will-Call. Naturally, it's about to rain.

We went to Dollar Tree earlier today to purchase some cheap rain ponchos. Frugal tip: Dollar Tree sells them in a pack of two for a dollar (duh). There are only five of us, but we went nuts and bought six anyway. So much for the frugalness.

And one more orange thing: I'm sitting here snacking on leftover birthday cake. I actually got two cakes this year - one white/chocolate checkerboard, and one carrot cake. In order to "keep it orange," guess which one I'm eating?

Go Dynamo!

Edited to add: They did it! Dynamo beat Colorado 3-1 and with that, clinched the Western Division title! What a game!

NABLOPOMO DAY FOUR

Last night my in-laws hosted a birthday celebration for me. It was family-only, which was nice, although I do sometimes wish I'd had a party with friends sometime over the years. As it stands, I'm not planning to have any more birthdays, so I guess I'll die without knowing how it feels to have friends at your birthday party. Ah well.

I almost forgot to post today - Saturdays always throw me off. But since NaNoWriMo is not going to happen, I figured I could come up with something to write about every day for a month. This is a good month for that, too, as we have two birthdays and Thanksgiving this month. Lots to chat about.

Right now, however, I don't have time for a long chat. Hubby is taking me out tonight on a post-birthday date. We're supposed to go shopping for me, then go to Hooters to watch the UT game. But that game starts in two hours, hubby is not home from dropping the kids off yet, and when he does get here, he still has to shower and change. I don't predict much shopping tonight, but I may be wrong. I'll keep you posted.

Yay, something to blog about tomorrow!

Toodles.

NOBEMBER TURD

That's how my grandpa used to say that I said "November third" when I was a toddler. Eventually that evolved into people calling me a November Turd. I'd be offended, but hey, sometimes it's probably true.

My EMTsis took me out to lunch today at a restaurant called Hasta La Pasta. If you like Italian cuisine, you'll like this place. I had their signature dish, which is basically fettucine alfredo with cilantro cream sauce and grilled chicken. It was delicious, but man am I full. I couldn't even eat the free cheesecake they brought out for me. On the up side: Leftovers!

As we were finishing up our lunch, our waitress dropped a plate from the table next to us. It shattered all over the place, and I am pretty sure that the pain in my forehead is from shrapnel. I'm glad I was wearing jeans, because pieces of that plate hit me and my sister in the legs with enough force to make us wince. Fortunately, my leftovers had already been boxed and bagged, so they were safe from the fallout. The waitress had no idea the broken plate pieces had travelled that far, and in retrospect, we probably should have said something. If we'd still been eating, we definitely would have, as little pieces of white ceramic were all over our table and on our plates. As it was, we were finished and getting ready to leave.

That said, however, if I should start bleeding from the forehead, I'll be making some phone calls. Hasta La Vista, baby.

DANG

I didn't know I had to officially sign up to do NaBloPoMo. I've officially missed the deadline by eight hours and fifty-six minutes. Fifty seven. Oh well, I'm going to give it a go anyway, mostly because I like their graphic:















Today my dad and his gf are taking me out for an early birthday lunch at Chuy's. I love this place for one reason: their jalapeno ranch dip. When I die, I want my casket to be filled with me, a big jar of this dip, and a bag of chips. I'll definitely get into heaven when the angels see me coming with appetizers.

Then again, maybe I've had too much caffeine this morning.

More later!

NOVEMBER 2006 - Post One

So here it is, the first day of November. I'm going to try and accomplish not one but TWO superhuman feats this month: One blog post per day (thanks, Robin), and NaNoWriMo. I'll tell you right now that I'm much more likely to accomplish the former than the latter, but I'm going to give it a go anyway.

Decisions I've made in the past 24 hours, not all of which are earth-shaking:

• Okay, this first thought is huge: Normally I hate halloween with a true, unbridled passion. But halloween was actually fun this year.
• I can't believe I admitted that I enjoyed October 31st. That has never happened.
• Houston weather is weird. Today is cool and beautiful, with a high of 67*. Yesterday, not so much - it was hot, humid, and mosquitoey just in time for trick-or-treat.
• Much to my chagrin, doing laundry does not become more enjoyable just because I opened a new bottle of great-smelling fabric softener.
• My dog has a tendency to run by outlets and accidentally unplug stuff. For awhile I thought we had a ghost, but it turns out we have a Scottie.
• I like hubby's new job because he has to wear a suit and tie every day. He is unbelievably hot in a suit and tie. Rowr.
• I can write, truly. I just need to set my mind to typing out about 2,000 words per day. Jiminy Cricket, that's a lot of writing, y'all.

I guess I haven't made as many decisions as I thought. But at least I've got Post Number One under my belt. Just twenty-nine more to go! Now, off to NaNoWriMo...

ALL HALLOW'S EVE

Pictures!

Here are the kids all ready to go trick-or-treating. L-R: K is a stick figure (more on that in a moment), Pey is a High School Musical cheerleader, and Ry is Landon Donovan of LA Galaxy fame:

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Here are a couple of pictures of K when we turned off the lights. His costume was the hit of the night. :)

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Hope you all had a great pumpkin day, too.

Updates

Good

Girl Scout meeting went well. We even completed all the requirements for a patch. Before our next meeting, I need to make sure I purchase those patches so that the girls will feel a sense of accomplishment.

Halloween candy bowls are fully stocked (I bought eleven bags of Snickers, Butterfingers, etc. - no cheap stuff this year; thanks Grocery Game).

Kids' costumes are pretty much ready to go. Pey will be a cheerleader from High School Musical, Ry will be Landon Donovan, and K will be a stick figure. Y'all, if his costume works out, I'll be posting pictures all over the place tomorrow. SO neat.

I made Rachael Ray's Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches last night. Yum-O.

My birthday is this Friday.

Bad

Friday I will be thirty-nine. Next year I shan't have a birthday, I think.

I have to take a CPR class on Friday. For Girl Scouts. It's not a requirement, but a "suggestion." I've noticed GSA has lots of "suggestions."

Speaking of Girl Scouts, Fish's comment on my last GSA post was right on the money when she talked about dealing with parents. I could go on for pages, but I'll just give this little anecdote:

At the parents' meeting, we talked about dues. It was decided that dues would be $2 per child, per meeting. Grand total of $20 for the year. Cheap, right? When it came to payment, I said that whatever the parents decided on how to pay would be fine with me, but that we had to come to a consensus - either everyone pays up front, or everyone sends two dollars with their child on meeting days. Anything else would become a financial headache for the Leaders. With God as my witness, I promise that every parent said they'd prefer to pay for the year in advance.

Jump ahead to the GS meeting on Friday: one parent brought me a check for four dollars for her two daughters, "just in case she decides they aren't going to be in Scouts for the whole year." One parent brought ten dollars in cash. Ten. No one else paid at all.

Well, isn't that special. I just can't wait until February cookie sales come along.

YO SE LA VOY, LA VOY AL NARANJA!

Houston Dynamo, you rock. Between you guys and the University of Texas Longhorns, my new favorite color is definitely orange.

Doesn't hurt that we're in the finals and DALLAS IS NOT! Woo!

Next weekend will find us in the stands at Robertson Stadium.

Nuff said.

IT'S FRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIDAY

A local DJ always says "it's Friday" all spread out as in the title of this post. I wish you could hear it; it always makes hubby and me smile.

This particular Friday is not going to be as relaxing for me as your typical Friday. That's because Pey's Girl Scout troop, of which I am the leader, is meeting here at our house right after school today. We already had the requisite Parent Meeting last Monday, which was only slightly more fun than a root canal.

Actually, no, it wasn't.

Our troop consists of eight girls, at least two of which I'd happily boot out if I were given the opportunity. Am I awful for not loving every child I meet? Seriously, shouldn't Scout leaders be blessed with Jesus-like patience when it comes to dealing with the little lambs? If so, then I need to turn in my Pin.

In all fairness, I cannot completely fault the girls for their behavior at the first meeting. My co-leader, who had agreed to lead the girls in a craft or two while I met with parents and had them fill out paperwork, completely ignored her job. She stayed with the parents and chatted while a bunch of eight- and nine-year-olds ran amok in my dining room. Not only that, but she was completely unprepared for the meeting - I'd given her all of her daughters' paperwork ahead of time (two of her kids are in this troop). Alas, she hadn't filled out a single page.

So at this meeting, I was pretty much on my own - corraling the girls while simultaneously trying to keep them quiet enough that I could hear their parents' questions and answer them. By the time all these people left my house, it was after 8:00 p.m. The kids and hubby were hungry and tired, and I was all that plus aggravated. It turns out that while the girls were coloring printouts of the Girl Scout Law and the Girl Scout Promise, they took advantage of the fact that they were pretty much unsupervised to flip the posters over and draw pictures of people committing suicide. One girl said that when she grew up, she was going to be a "Sui-side-kick."

OMG.

Co-leader hears about this after the meeting, and gets upset because her daughters didn't yet know what suicide was, and she didn't want them to learn about it from other kids.

Um, yeah, ya think? Where were YOU when the girls were doing all that? Not where you were supposed to be, I can tell you that.

Typing this out is making me upset again. I just hope today's meeting goes better than the first one. Lord, give me strength.

Mom

As of today, it's been exactly eight years since you left us. I still remember that last day at the hospital like it was yesterday...when the doctors turned off life support, it felt as if they turned off my own heart.

Every time I see a yellow butterfly, I think of you. In a way, I feel that the yellow butterfly is you, watching over us from time to time. I almost always see a yellow butterfly at the soccer fields, and it warms my heart because I know how much you loved to watch K play.

I hope that you can see how wonderful your grandchildren are turning out. K is a very talented guitar player now, Pey loves Girl Scouts and animals, and Ry is incredibly smart and creative - and he gives his dad and Tree a run when it comes to Star Wars trivia. You wouldn't believe it.

I know we didn't always see eye to eye, but you were my mom and I loved you very much. I still do.

I'm heading to the florist to pick up some of your favorite purple flowers, then I'll take them to the cemetery afterwards. I'm sure I'll have more to talk about with you when I get there.

Rest well, Mom. You are deeply missed.

PRODUCT REVIEWS

I was just reading a post on a board that I frequent (rhymes with "Rocery Rame") regarding Tylenol Go Tabs. Reviews are mixed, although the general consensus is "yuck."

So anyway, I started thinking about things I've been using around the house lately. Do I like Glade Air Wisp or not? How's that Oust Air Sanitizer working out? What are my feelings on the Tylenol Go Tabs? What the heck is that on the carpet?

And so it goes.

Tylenol Go Tabs - Convenient; no water required. But not as tasty as Tums (and yes, I know they serve different purposes - I was just making a taste comparison). Jury is still out on how effective they are on headaches.

Glade Air Wisp - Smells a room right good when it's set on high. But it beeps this annoying little high-pitched "where the heck is that beep coming from?!?" beep that irks hubby. Probably not enjoyable for the dog, either.

Glade Plug Ins - Can't tell you how much I lurve these things.

Stayfree Pads - Come on, they're pads. Not bulky, but awfully fold-y. (Women will totally get what I mean by that). Awful necessity. Hate them. Need them.

Vive Pro shampoo/conditioner - I got tons of this stuff for free. To me, the shampoo is just shampoo. If I'd had to pay for the Vive Pro, I'd have saved a couple of bucks and bought Suave. As for the conditioner, I've never met one that beats Pantene for detangling my frizzy mop.

Pantene Ice Shine shampoo/conditioner - Lordy, if this lived up to its promises, I'd buy stock in the company. But the only diff between the Ice Shine and regular Pantene is about two bucks a bottle. Again, if it wasn't free, I'd ... well, I'd still have tried it, as I am an advertising budget's dream, apparently. But I wouldn't buy it twice, so there!

Senseo Coffee Maker - Rocks.My.World. If anyone can tell me where to buy cheap pods, I'd be rather grateful.

Pizza Hut lasagna pizza - Sinfully delicious cholesterol on crust. We ordered it a lot. So why the heck did Pizza Hut stop selling it here? Don't even tell me that PH is concerned about my cholesterol...

Wacky Mac pasta - Turns the water red when you cook the noodles. That might be appealing to children younger than mine. Otherwise, they're just noodles, which basically means that the sauce is all that matters. I paid five cents a bag for this stuff. Worth every penny.

Oust Air Sanitizer - Kills poopy smells in the bathroom air. Can't complain.

Chex Mix chocolate & peanut butter - Oh my gravy, as Rachael Ray would say. Bad bad bad for me. Good good good for my taste buds. It's reminiscent of puppy chow (you know, that stuff you make with Chex and melted chocolate and peanut butter and powdered sugar at Christmastime). I could easily gorge myself on this stuff. And have.

Dyson - There are not enough adjectives in the English language to describe this insane vacuum cleaner. I have had mine for almost exactly a year now, and the honeymoon is still not over.

Carmex - Bliss in a tube. Or stick. Or tub. Carmex is all about choice.

Advil PM - Be sure you're already in bed when you take this stuff, is all I'm saying.

Cottonelle Fresh Wipes - There oughta be a law that every bathroom in the free world has these readily available. Sometimes I even use one to wash my face. A new cloth, of course; don't be gross.

Mary Kay oil-free hydrating cream - Little. Purple. Different. Very good for wearing under Everyday Minerals-type makeup.

Everyday Minerals makeup - Let me put it this way: I'm never going to put cream foundation on my face again. If you try EM, be sure to get Original Glo finishing dust. You won't believe the radiant glow you'll have. M'kay, I'm a freaking commercial. Moving on...

Pledge dusters - If these had existed when my mother was around, her house would have been much cleaner. She hated to clean, but these things almost make dusting fun. I said almost. Let's not get crazy.

Day Runner - Seriously, why so pricey? I've got a terrific At-A-Glance planner that cost six bucks. Day Runners of the same size and capabilities? $40 on clearance. I don't get it. I really don't.

Snapfish.com - Excellent photo developing and uber-cheap prices. They're quick, too. If you want to try them out, your first roll of film developing is free. If you tell them I sent you, I'll get a free 4x6 or somesuch. Drop me a line and I'll give you my email addy. (Shameless plug. Just shameless. Apologies all around.)

That's about it for now. The kidlets are due home from school in a few minutes, and I still have not identified that spot on the carpet.

In Memoriam

Hubby's grandmother, Arthelia, who would have turned 96 years old this coming Sunday, passed away last Saturday morning. She was a remarkable woman who traveled the world, gave birth to five children, and supported her family while her husband fought in WWII. She was a schoolteacher for many years, and in general just a smart cookie!

As she aged and her body slowed down, she still kept going. Art never let her physical limitations keep her from experiencing life. We'd sometimes offer to take her out to lunch, or to the park, or to a movie, knowing that despite her creaky knees, she'd always grab her walker and say, "Well, that'd be nice."

To the very end, her mind was as sharp as a tack. The ever-present crossword puzzle books she carried around helped with her memory retention capabilities, she said. I constantly marveled at the way she was able to keep up with hubby's sharp wit. Not many people were as quick as she.

Saturday afternoon, we sat the kids around the kitchen table and told them that GG had gone to heaven. They were devastated. The last close relative to die was my mother in 1998, and the kids were too young to remember much about her. But they have many more memories of GG, which made it that much harder to let her go.

We are all comforted by the fact that at least she is no longer in pain. And that she is finally reunited with her beloved little sister, Bliss, who died in 1918 when she was five years old. GG is also being greeted by her husband of fifty-plus years, who predeceased her in 1991. I can hear him now - "Art, what took you so long?"

In addition to dozens of other long-lost relatives that she is now reconciled with, she is probably most thrilled to see her firstborn child, who died the day he was born. At the time of his birth, I'm not sure the nurses even let her see the baby, so being able to at long last will be especially wonderful.

For those of us left behind, we say Godspeed to you, Art. We will miss you very much, and will try to live our lives the way you lived yours - with passion, adventure, and love.

16 YEARS ALREADY

And here's to fifty more.

DREAMING OF YOU
Last night I dreamed about friends I've never met. And orange stuff.

So here I was, at the Rachael Ray show, helping her set up the cooking segment. She looked at me and said, “You’re so nicely dressed. How do you always look so put together?” I looked down at my camisole and jacket and thought, “duh, Rach, it’s all about layering.”

A few minutes later, she asked me to run out and get something she needed (what it was escapes me now). I was apparently beamed into someone’s house, where their kitchen table was set with beautiful orange dishes and a large flower arrangement in the center. I heard a noise and turned to find a blonde-headed Jax standing there. He asked me how I liked the table he had set, and I told him it was lovely. Then he asked me if I wanted to see his daddy’s car, and led me to the garage. Inside was a orange Delorean, rather beat up but still cool.

At that point, Pez (wearing a baseball jersey and jeans, and with long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail) came in and asked Jax how he got home from the Mariners game by himself. He said, “I’m good at directions.”

Rachael Ray came into the kitchen then, and said that the table looked good and that she was ready to get started. She cooked up some veal and macaroni & cheese, which Jax declared “delish!” A few minutes later, the doorbell rang – Kimmer was joining us for dinner.

It was sure good to see you guys.

YOU HAD ME AT "HELLO"

We all remember the cheesy line "you complete me" from Jerry McGuire, right? Today I say those words in all honesty to my husband. M, I love you from the bottom of my heart, and I truly believe that we are soul mates. Happy birthday, honey. You are my favorite.

THE MODERN COLONIALIST

Yesterday was Colonial Day at K's school. If the kids dressed up in colonial-era clothing (or gave it their best shot), they got extra credit points. Here was K's choice of outfits:


K sports a pair of navy blue dress slacks, floodwater-length, tucked into twice-worn soccer socks. (On his feet are a pair of modern style ebony lace-up shoes, but the teachers let that slide.) Topping this ensemble is Dad's Old Business Shirt (DOBS), complete with ring around the collar, cinched in at the waist with Mom's Old Brown Belt (MOBB). Our model is unaware that he wore a woman's belt to school all day. Fortunately, so was the rest of the student body.



K is a very shy kid, so I was concerned all day that he'd be [gasp!] noticed! And would come home irritable and colonially grouchy and vowing never to go to school again. But that didn't happen - not only did he enjoy Colonial Day, he said it was one of the most fun times he's ever had at school.

Kids.

WHAT'S UP

If I were my 10-year-old, I'd sarcastically say "the sky" or "the roof." Fortunately, he can no longer say "gas prices," as they have taken a nosedive lately. My favorite filling station currently has regular unleaded at $2.19 per gallon - a price I've not seen in over a year.

So here's what's been going on during my silence the past week or so...

• Tnk is returning to full duty next Thursday. I cannot believe she has recovered from that horrible accident, nor can my mind grasp that my little sister will be back on patrol, at night, with all the bad people and drunks (not that those are mutually exclusive). This is seriously messing with my sleep patterns. It was hard enough worrying about her when she was 100%, but I worry that there may be lingering effects from her accident that may, in the right (or wrong) scenario, compromise her safety. Oh God, I just worry. She would not be happy with me for writing all this, but I don't care. This is my journal and my feelings are relevant. My feelings are relevant. They are. If I could lock her in a little box and keep her safe forever, that's exactly what I'd do.
• Of course, we all know that wouldn't solve anything. She'd just hate me then.
• K played a great soccer game today, and his team won 9-0. This was a milestone for him because it was the first time he'd been on the field since his arm was broken during a game last March. Unfortunately, I missed it because...
• ...I was at BLT all morning. No, not the sandwich; Basic Leader Training for Girl Scouts. That's right, I'm becoming a Girl Scout Leader. I am optimistic about this because I know it will be great for my daughter and me both. I foresee lots of paperwork in my future, but hopefully not lots of tantrums. (Particularly not tantrums by parents.) The reason I'm getting into this now is because Pey's current troop consists of 18 girls - 17 second graders, and Pey, who's in 3rd. What that means in layman's terms is that at the end of this school year, Pey will be the lone scout bridging into Juniors. And next year, her leaders would have fun trying to figure out things that both the Brownies and a Junior could do. Trying to nip this in the bud, I attended Rally earlier this week and was successful in forming my own troop - 6 third graders, and 2 second graders. Not ideal, but much better, as no one will be alone anymore.
• Good news - Hubby has been offered a new job. He's really excited about it as he'll finally be using the two degrees that his parents paid for. He will finally be out of the heavy-deadline business, and cannot wait to get started. Right now, it looks like October 9th will be the big First Day. I'm so proud.
• University of Texas clobbered Rice today in a total blowout. By the end, UT had put in the third string and still managed to rack up more points. I felt bad for Rice because I think Texas was blowing off some steam from their loss to Ohio State last week.
• Fish, if you're reading this, email me because I have some puppet news for you. (Like how I buried that in the big middle of this post? Oops.)
• Pey's friend J is here right now. J called an hour ago and said, "Can I come over and spend the night?" Anyone else would have gotten a quick "uh-uh," but J is Pey's best friend, plus J's mom agreed to be my GS co-leader, and even attended BLT with me today. I kind of feel like I owe her, although in truth J is usually no trouble and Pey likes having another girl around. I guess the dog and I aren't enough femaleness.
• For the record, J's mom was mortified when she heard that J called and invited herself over. I just had to laugh. Some people are hard to get mad at.

That's about it for the rambling. I'm exhausted and will probably be heading to bed really soon. First, though, I have to make sure J and Pey (never noticed that that rhymes before) are down for the night.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

IT'S MY LIFE

A couple of days ago, we took a family drive and went out for dinner at a little restaurant called Skeeter's, then ran a couple of errands. Just for fun, I took our new digital camera with me so that I could document a day in the life of, well, me.

The picture on the right is me in the van, taking an ever-so-candid shot of myself on the way to the restaurant. You might notice the stick-straight hair. After years of stick-my-finger-in-the-light-socket frizziness, I finally gave in and paid Supercuts to straighted my tresses. Did they ever! Take that, Texas humidity! I'm including a "before" picture taken at the reunion last week (why oh why did my hair have to look like that at the reunion?!?)














Before - Chewbacca. After - Rowr.

Moving on.

Pey looks terribly surprised about something. What's in that ketchup, anyway?










At Skeeter's, you can draw on the butcher-paper tablecloths. Here's Pey's drawing of Kirby, who is either quite winded or blowing a bubble. I never took Art History, so I'm at a loss.












Here are the kids acting all fly (in other words, "weird") in front of the restaurant after dinner. I had to crop out some unsuspecting hubcap-missing Toyota's license plate out of the picture, lest one of you innernet stalkers got a hankering to stalk him. You're welcome, Toyota owner. Now get a hubcap; your car looks dumb like that*:













Here's the gas pump where we filled up after dinner. Notice we're paying $2.29 around here right now. Road trip, anyone?












Here's the Kroger where I do my weekly Grocery Game (GG) shopping. I used to hate Kroger because of their stupid shopper's card. Now I know that it's a blessing sent straight from the heavens. Well, maybe straight from corporate headquarters, but who am I to quibble? Between my coupons and that card, I paid $49 Sunday morning for $110 worth of groceries. That's a savings of around 55%! Every week, I challenge myself to spend even less than the week before, and so far I've been successful. I'm totally addicted to GG'ing. It's like crack to me. (Someday I'll post a picture of my overflowing pantry and then you'll understand.)








(again, cropped out lots of license plates - all you car owners owe me for saving you from certain death)

And there you have it - a day (afternoon, really, but you probably wouldn't like the early-morning me) in the life of this Houston girl. Any questions?

*Before anyone accuses me of being a snob, a quick reminder: I drive a 1995 Saturn SL-2 with 172,000 miles on it. It recently got a new headliner, which helps somewhat with its appearance, but it still leaks some mysterious shit from underneath the passenger seat, sports a large winding crack across the windshield, has a console that vibrates more than my cell phone, and has more "doctor" appointments than I do. But hey, at least it has all four hubcaps.

20 YEARS ALREADY?

Last weekend was our 20-year (gulp!) high school reunion. I've been on the planning committee for months, so the buildup for me was huge, lemme tell ya.

Y'all, it was wonderful. We had over a hundred of our classmates in attendance, not including spouses. Well, unless you count dh and me, who both attended the school. And maybe there were one or two other classmates who married each other...but I digress.

The big event was held at a resort just north of Houston. Hubby and I (and several others who didn't want to drive home after the party, if you know what I mean) stayed at the resort on Saturday night. It was great. The toiletries were all from Bath & Body Works, the bedding included a down comforter, and the pillows were feather. Surprisingly, the cost was not outrageous, and I'd definitely consider staying there again sometime.

Anyway, the reunion: As I said, I was on the reunion committee, and my big job was the nametags. That was a task in and of itself, as it was decided that our senior pictures should be on each nametag. So I've spent the last couple of months working on the project - scanning in pages from the yearbooks, cropping each picture down to a manageable size (and moving each into its own individual file), and typing in hundreds of names.

Here's an example:

Tracy
Maidenname
Marriedname



(yep, that's me in 1986)

Those people who didn't have a senior picture taken weren't spared the humiliation, though: I've got yearbooks from all four years of high school, and I found them all! Bwahahaaaa!!! Well, save one, but he was a newbie our junior year and I just couldn't get an old picture of him.

In all seriousness, the nametags were actually a hit. People came up to me all night and said how cool they thought having the pictures with the names was. That right there made all my efforts (and the high cost of printer ink) worthwhile.

Hubby, who had not particularly been looking forward to the reunion, even had a good time. He was as funny and engaging as always, and our old friends commented that he hadn't changed much over the years. (See, M? I told you.)

I know M wanted me to write all about the reunion, but I can't honestly think of much to say that wouldn't be painfully obvious. Some people had not changed at all; some had changed so much that they were virtually unrecognizable. Some were much friendlier than they were in high school, and some were still jackasses. Fortunately, the former was much more common than the latter. One example of the latter, though, came from a guy I went out with (for about five seconds) in high school: The Pussycat Dolls song "Buttons" was on, and I was sitting at the table singing along. This guy came over, knelt down, and said, "I know you think you look good singing that, but I keep picturing you in your minivan. It just doesn't work for you."

Jackass once; jackass always. I'm trying to chalk it up to the fact that he'd been putting away the alcohol for awhile, but it was a mean thing to say anyway.

Overall, though, it was fantastic to see people, and in many ways I was able to close out an unpleasant chapter of my life. Not that high school was particularly bad for me - I was on drill team and had good friends and enjoyed a fair amount of popularity - but you know how you always remember the bad stuff. Anyway, I got a bunch of email addresses and phone numbers, and plan to keep in touch with old friends - and I mean it this time!