if you can't think of anything nice to say

....the only lesson i decided to hold onto (except the clean underwear one), was if you have nothing nice to say don't say anything at all. so i won't say anything about my kids, my husband, the idiot who handles my account, my MIL, or anyone. cause "that's it....I hate everyone!" ....that is a quote stolen form my youngest, who was then 4 , after a very long day at Disney. i feel it applies today....

goodbye to the family(ies)

for the last 2 weeks that is all HBO has been reminding me to " say goodbye to the family for the last time this year". watch the explosive season finale before the FINAL 8 episodes. you know what... GOODBYE.

i swear, how can a show that started out so great turn into such a ho hum? i just don't get it. even this season started off awesome. Tony got shot, for those of you who don't watch. but that was it. everything else stunk up the joint. how do the writers for HBO shows even justify it? they had to come up with what, 12 stinkin shows a season, and they can't keep it interesting? i don't even think there were 12 episodes this year. blah on you Soprano's. i will watch the FINAL 8 episodes, only because i have to see how it all ends, but i will do it with a chip on my shoulder i tell ya. of course it will probably be 10 months before it's on again so i'll have all kind of time to stew over this.

on the flip side though, the finale they didn't hype, Big Love, was great. i won't say anything in case someone who watches didn't see yet, but it had me in tears. for real, and i haven't cried since Mulder left the X Files. so now here i sit wondering what the hell am i supposed to do now? i had 2 shows i watched, now i have nothing until football season (95 days i think).

it isn't like i can't fill that void with, oh maybe cleaning the boy's bathroom, or something useful. but it's nice to have something to look forward to. i liked saying "hey it's sunday, i'll actually have something to watch tonite", now i have 3 looong months with a gaping hole in the part of my brain longing for entertainment.

of course football season creates a beast the likes of which none of you have seen yet, so "get your popcorn" (loser TO)...and give me a good book to read or something.

vacation memories

Vacations are looming ahead (woohoo!!!!!), starting this upcoming weekend i am heading to Va beach to visit my sister for a few, then to Albany for my soon to be born nephew's baby shower, then i am going solo with my g/f's to AC for a couple days. the first week in July the hubs and chillins and i are going to the beach for a week.

most people right about this time will be dreaming ahead to the sun and sand, or visiting the relatives, lazy days etc. not this family, oh no. we are thinking ahead to the FOOD. it's almost embarrassing to write, but it's true. pizza that actually tastes like pizza, a cheesesteak that isn't a steakum with american cheese put on top, boardwalk fries with MALT vinegar , BAGELS sweet bagels,crispy on the outside, warm and chewy inside,and no one says to you "do you want it toasted?" because that would be a crime. calling for sushi to be delivered, and a roast beef sandwich where the roast beef is almost still rare. these are things that should never be taken for granted.

because i grew up east coast and my hubs traveled a couple years in the military before we moved in together we both have a palate for good food. ok who doesn't? but we have tasted it, lived it and enjoyed it. added to the fact before the kids schedules got hectic we would sit around on a friday and say man i feel like some pizza...so we would head up to NYC for the weekend. mmm cheesesteak? down to Philly. we traveled alot. we were spoiled. we are now paying the price.

the food where i live SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS. it really sucks. i ordered a pizza last night and was reminded why i gave up my favorite sausage and peppers. you are either going to get green peppers or mild to hot pepper rings. i specifically asked "do you have SWEET pepper strips?" um yeah was the answer. ummm NO they were not sweet pepper strips you pizza man loser. even in a city as large as Pittsburgh, i have yet to find something truly enjoyable. everyone looks to cabbage like it were a god around here. WTF is wrong with all of you?

you can't even find the good ingredients in the stores to attempt to create it at home. i know it's time to get outta here and consume mass quantities. last night i had a dream about those little hawaiian bananas i lived on last summer. it is sad. the calories i will consume while on vacation will also be sad, but at least i'll be smiling.

life lessons

i consider myself to be a fairly brave, even tempered, rational person. i think most people who know me would agree. i don't back down from a challenge, and i stay calm in the face of chaos. all those traits go right out the window when my oldest is driving.

he actually doesn't even drive that badly. especially considering he has a lunatic in the passenger seat. i do all those things...you know...hitting an imaginary brake, tilting my body hoping i will make the car veer a little more in the proper direction, raise my voice to an almost alarming level every damn time a car in front of him applies the brake. i don't even recognize myself. i hate it.

when we go to drive somewhere i can hear it in the back of my head a full 30 seconds before he even says it..."can i drive?" or the more manly "i'm driving". i look for excuses "the sun is too bright", "not with your brothers in the car", "cloudy, might rain"..my list is endless. when i do relent and let him drive i honestly feel queasy. you know that feeling you get when you're on a roller coaster and climbing the BIG hill? i have that feeling from the minute he asks until we park.

here's the kicker...i really want him to get his license. i do. i know some people are thinking i don't want him to grow up. sooo not true. him driving equals a lot less running for me. he even has a car ready and waiting that we are giving him. i'm kinda irked that he can't get his license until sept 11, which will be a full month into football season. and means i will be getting the "come get me" phone call at all times of the night and day.

to steal a line from Roseanne...."Now i know why some animals eat their young"

sniff...sniff

what's that smell? that smell my friends and neighbors is the sweet smell of some FRESHLY CUT GRASS!!!!!

the gods are against me

i am not sure exactly what is living in my front yard, but it must be fabulous. perhaps an ancient pygmie tribe, or some wild almost extinct creature, maybe an herb that will cure cancer. i honestly don't know, but i wish the damn thing would get in touch with National Geographic, be discovered, and get outta my yard. i really want to cut the grass.

i can think of no other reason why the fates are against me ever strolling through my front yard without fear of snakes, and severe blood loss. it is insane. i told you all the story of the missing lawn mower. so i went and got another, and actually the people who sold my old one, sold me another used one very close to my own (a little better actually) for an incredibly reasonable price. so now of course i feel REAL bad about that stink eye/evil wish i sent their way. but anyway, i got it home and it RAINED buckets for the next 48 hours, then the day it was nice, i had no time or free kids to work on it. we are up to Sat morning now, i wake up at 7, the sun is shining, i have nowhere to be...i am cuttin the grass....sike. literally 2 laps around the yard and, because the grass is so high i cannot see, i hit a rock. snaps the mower belt. spend all day saturday attempting to get a belt. it seems that while it is a nice mower, belts for it are damn near impossible to find in stock. finally i surrendered. it was Sat 5pm of Memorial day weekend. I gave up until Tuesday.

Tuesday i went to my auto parts store in town and asked him to order me one, he did, and I got it yesterday at noon. it is very difficult to put on so I had to wait for my neighbor to get home at 4 to put it on (as hub is not home). then i had to take the oldest to football and middle guy had a baseball game. the clouds come rolling in, thunder and lightning on the horizon..you know the usual. but alas...the storm holds off and i am getting super excited "i am finally going to cut the grass!!!!"

i got the back grass 1/2 cut (thank you Jesus) and the spring that they had to remove to put the new belt on was not replaced properly, so all operations are halted again.

you know there are a few household chores i really enjoy. cutting the grass is one of them. maybe i'm weird or something, but it makes me feel good to look out over a freshly cut yard. i left a cell phone in the yard this morning with my atm card i am hoping the pygmies get the hint.

class of '06

wow, i finally got a chance to catch up on alot of the other blogs i read. it's nice to see i'm not the only one who has been slacking lately. yea class of '06!!! a very good friend of mine had her oldest graduate last night...there were so many times during his adolescence she honestly didn't think he would make it...and he has!!! i am as proud of him as i would be my own. he drives up the road after graduation last night beeping loudly, yelling out the window..it was priceless.

things here are good...dad in all of his infinite wisdom, gave the boys a gift last week. i sent a pic to some of you. dirtbikes..yup. real live motorized dirt bikes. he just came home one day with 3 of 'em. then he bailed. hahahaha...actually he went up to NY to help his dad for a few days. but the dirtbike battle is raging, of course they are new and it is all anyone wants to do. and i am not in charge of the bikes...so they have to call him and ask. grrrrrrrrr.

summer hit us like a brick wall, 9 days ago i had the heat on and now it's been 90 for the last 3 days. we went to the pool for the first time yesterday and the water was like ICE..but it was nice. and of course everyone is trying to jam an entire summer into the last 5 days. umm we have 3 looooong months..relax.

welp my neice and i are heading to the gym this morning. i am determined to get into some sort of shape...because this ovally, pear like, nothing fits anymore one is starting to bum me out. i figure even if she quits on me in a couple weeks i'll be in the habit by then. i am actually looking forward to it. i like to exercise, it's just hard to get back into it when you fall out. wish me luck.....

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. ours was nice, relaxing and calm. until yesterday. my middle guy had been asked to join the hs band for the Spring, so that he could march in the parade on Memorial Day. because sports and band usually collide this was the only time he would probably be able to do this so he did. he plays snare drum, and much to my surprise he is very good. way to fight genetics bud!

so he gets to school and they head over to the parade, line up etc. he makes it all the way to the end, and as they are heading into the veterans cemetary for a tribute...boom...down he goes. i, of course, am not there. i watched the beginning and had plans to meet my sister. so i was home and getting ready to head out when the phone rings. let me just say it does not matter why they tell you one of your kids is in an ambulance headed to the hospital.....you freak out. add that to the fact that the whole way down my cell phone is ringing incessantly, people were franticlly trying to reach me, not knowing i was already on my way. i still can't believe i made it in one piece.

have no fear, he is fine. just a little dehydration, a little too hot in the uniform, and no breakfast added up to him passing out. he is a little bruised from landing on his drum, but thats all. let me say that he is now the first person to make band a contact sport, and he is the hero, because after he passed out, the one director let them march in their street clothes. (they were marching sans parade to the VFW to play and have a picnic)

and i received a wonderful gift. i had really been feeling blue about living here lately. i miss my sibs and i have been very down on this whole area in general. yesterday i realized how special it is to be part of a small town community. everyone was concerned, when i called the one mom back after we got the "all clear", i heard her relay the message to everyone and they cheered. then i find out at least 6 different people were willing to give up their afternoon to ride down with my son so he wouldn't be alone until i got there, and this morning another mom stopped to let me know she had grabbed his uniform and washed it, brought back his sneakers and took his band shoes from me to hand them in. this place may be lacking a Panera, but it's got alot of heart.

amen

well we made it. I think in all honesty Memorial Day should be my favorite holiday (as opposed to Christmas). as much as i look forward to Spring getting here, i usually cannot wait for it to end. this year was no exception, and Memorial day brings about the end of the VERY hectic spring work season, and the end of school. for me this equals money in the bank (yeah!!!) and a much more relaxed schedule. although T ball will start next week, and baseball won't end until July, AND the oldest has to still be at school 4 days a week and Saturday's all summer for football....but you know what i mean.

here's a pic from the big nite...yeah i only have 4 more years with a child in elementary school...WOW. I remember at one point in my life thinking it would take forever. geez time goes by.

wanted...yard boy

this is one for the "only happens in my life" file. thats a file that my sibs have created for me, ONLY because they live in the city and do not have in laws in their yard, nor do any of them have children yet ( can't wait!!!!). from that description, i'm sure you can imagine what that file contains. here's one more....

in the fall my mower, which is a big tractor ride on mower, needed to be fixed. one of the guys who worked for me took it on the truck one day and dropped it off to be fixed. then he stopped working for me. the phone # he gave to call when it was done, i have now learned, was his cell phone that we gave him while he was working. the same cell phone that sat in my office all winter collecting dust, turned off.

spring rolled around, and i had no idea where my mower was. yeah real funny. and the guy who dropped it off to be fixed is no where around. FINALLY, my FIL mentions that a shop near his farm out here (yes he 1/2 followed too, at least he doesn't live here) had called him 2 months ago about a mower, but he had no clue what they were talking about. they sold my mower 2 weeks ago for $400.00. and because my yard looks like this pic here, i now need to go shell out prob 4 times that to replace it.

on the upside, i did get to see what an image search of "jungle weeds" will produce. hahaha

interview in laws BEFORE you wed

ok i'm going to take a chance here and delve into untested waters. i mean what are the chances my MIL will stumble upon this ...right? I know, i know...everyone has horror stories. we almost all have them and can't get rid of them. some people even like them. some people are fortunate enough to only see them a couple times a year.

mine lives in my back yard. literally, she lives about 300 yards from my back deck..in range...i mean straight back. thankfully she no longer lives with my FIL..becuase if they both lived there i would have no choice but to leave my hub. she lives there, with her husband, and our neice who she is raising ( well letting her sleep there while i do everything else for her i should say). want more? her husband works for us, meaning she takes full advantage of the fact she is related to the boss. PLUS she followed us out here. we moved away from all of them (hint hint)...and she followed.

i know right now some of you are thinking "i wish my MIL lived close, it would be nice to have someone so close to help with the kids". WRONG....we tried that a couple times. not only do we have to pay her, but she would just leave the kids at our house, and send my neice up (she's 15) to "keep an eye on things". the only thing she's keeping an eye on up here are the throngs of 16 yr olds my son parades through here if i'm gone. leaving the MIL in charge is a little less effective than leaving the 7 yr old in charge. lesson learned.

now the reason i am soooo bitter today you ask? my MIL is 2 things ...1) a huge drama queen, and 2) a new found hypochondriac (sp?). she has also been laid off for the last month, creating a hypochondriac drama queen with way too much time on her hands. what does all this equal for me....a LOT of time at the ER in the last 4 weeks. not only that...she calls my hub , who is working 2 hours away, crying that "she doesn't know whats wrong with her", so that he will call me to come see what's the matter, and ineveitably go to ER.

please don't think me cruel, if i thought something was wrong ...i would be concerned. the dr's keep telling her it's stress/anxiety, she refuses to believe. she had some stress tests scheduled for next month, now they are doing them today. first she "knew" she was going to "take a stroke"...now this guy told her maybe it's an ulcer. all i know is next time i get that call....i'm checking myself in too, on a flight to Fiji.

one for "why didn't i think of that" file

i came across this awhile ago, and finally ordered it yesterday.you put the lotion on the foam pad and apply to "hard to reach areas"
you know, i knew the world needed one...i knew I needed one. but was i smart enough to invent foam on a stick? oh hell no. i had visions of complicated pumps, tubing, etc...all i needed was foam on a stick..you can get this at aswechange.com....and i am freaked out enough that i actually get a catalog called as we change. of course that doesn't hold a candle to the email from Kodak yesterday entirely in German . i am either leading a double life, or getting someone else's email.

rules to vacation

yeah summer is almost here...i love summer. although by today's weather,it feels more like winter break is upon us. school is over on Thurs, i really enjoy the first 6 weeks or so of summer vaca. less scheduling and no more fighting over homework..a few trips...the usual



however, i must implement, and follow a system. a system that no matter what, i will keep to. promise.

• i will not let any more than 2 meals a week come from sheetz, mcd's, bk....or the pizza place.
• 3 meals a day will be consumed, at appointed times. this is not Denny's i do not offer breakfast all day
• bedtime for the kids will be at least 4 hours prior to my usual wake up time...4 am is not an option this year
• sleeping will be done in beds...or at least bedrooms.
• NOONE will do ANYTHING if the job i asked them to do 3 days ago does not get done. even if it means i suffer too.
• sleepovers must be pre arranged. meaning i better not wake up to more children in my house than were here when i went to sleep.
• sleepovers will also be limited to 2 days. 48 hours and they must go, or come home, at least for the duration of a shower and a meal.
• i swear...the first time i am startled from sleep by someone skate boarding in the garage, or using the stairs for a purpose other than they are intended, EVERYONE will suffer.
• the living room is intended for the entire family, as is the tv.

keeping to these guidlines will hopefully keep scurvy at bay, keep me sane into week 7 of vacation, and stop my kids from groaning every time i go to open my mouth.

(brief) foray into pop culture

madonna crucifies herself and tommy hilfiger and axl rose duke it out? WTF? did i wake up in the twilight zone or what? you see...this i why i don't watch alot of tv. things like that, more like when things like that are considered "news" it angers me. i am not sure what madonna is trying to say by crucifying herself, but i think she may have lost me. i just read the review for her new tour and i have to say.."get over yourself". go on stage, dance and sing your songs and then go away. and ticket prices are...$380.00. ummm Metallica could reincarnate cliff burton and i wouldn't pay 380 bucks.

and the whole axl rose/tommy hilfiger...i cannot even imagine that one. it seems as though it was a slap fight. the image is just too much...i cannot comment any longer. my coffee is about to do the out the nose thing.

hey i'm no snob. i subscribe to People, and i look forward to it arriving. but if i click on the "news" link i expect to see something a little more substantial that that.

reality tv is another thing, i really don't like it. i like 2 reality shows. Little People, Big World, and Tuckerville. Little People is very real, in fact so real sometimes i wonder if they have secretly been watching my own family. watching that show is like reading someone's blog. it all goes in. i love it. and Tuckerville, well it isn't anything like my own family, obviously, as i have yet to make millions in country music. but it is outrageous, and for tanya tucker...that is very real. if you're gonna call it reality tv....make it real. it is not real to be unemployed and living in a home most people could never afford, nor is it real to be stranded on an island with nothing but your wits (and about 30 production people around) to survive.

i think this all goes back to me getting old....i'll be calling 20 somethings young people next.

not the sharpest tool in the shed..

i must really be tired. i mean last year was unusally stressful, and maybe thats why i feel like i do now. i didn't actually get my winter rest. but i am REALLY tired lately. and i don't mean in the sense like if i crash for 10 hours i'll feel better. more like if i were given a week with absolutely nothing to do, i would probably spend most of it in a coma.

it is starting to show...i got this great coffee maker from my dad for Christmas and if you look you can see that the coffee gets made in the tank in the front. my only complaint about this coffee maker has always been that you need to fill that whole big thing up with water and pour it in the back to make coffee. now i know what every single one of you is thinking...just give me a minute.

my sink is very small and if there is more than a couple dishes in it, the container wouldn't fit in the sink. which meant i would have to do the dishes first. this morning ( a full 5 months later) i realized i could just fill the back up using a cup. eliminating the need to do dishes before my coffee. no words can express how dumb i feel.....happy saturday.

can i get an abacus

the electronics in my house are getting a little big for their britches. it started with the fax machine earlier in the spring. then the phones got into it, the cable dsl (or whatever it's called) is always being snooty, and the grand finale now my computer.

i am not a techno kinda person. i have never really been one to spend hours of my free time on the computer. i didn't even know blogs existed until about 10 months ago. i honestly don't even like to talk on the phone. maybe it's because i have 3 kids, or maybe it's because i have no choice but to do these things for work. i don't know, but the thought of spending precious free time with something else beeping or yelling at me makes me cringe. give me a locked closet, a flash light and a book and i'll see you in 2 hours.

which is why when i go to buy something new i prefer to go middle of the road. i KNOW that in a year something is going to go wrong and i am not going to want to try to fix it. i'm disposable about these things ...i admit it. i will hold on to a pair of sweats for 8 years, but a computer..seee ya. now i am stuck, my fax i spent 80 bucks on..it's history. the phones hey i got 2 or 3 years out of them i'm happy.my computer is a different story.

as i mentioned earlier my husband always wants the biggest and the best. good for him, his choice. unfortunately last winter when my old computer died he came with me to buy a new one. out i walked with $2700 worth of computer. then a year ago he bought me this great printer and it was like $600. i didn't need a new printer but hey giving electronics is his way of showing love. now here i am 18 months later with a computer i have to chant gypsy curses to, and hope the wind is blowing NE, but no more than 8 mph. and a printer that shakes my entire house when it does its thing. gee thanks hun.

i am leaving the office supplies for the tv..hah

ps...COULD SOMEONE PLEASE TURN OFF THE RAIN???!!!

temptation

my oldest forgot his cell phone today...it was horrific. the temptation to snoop was so great, i was releived when i was notified i would be spending all afternoon and evening driving to ohio and back. it's not that i don't trust him...i do. but he's 16 and there was a text from "my love", who BETTER be his g/f. arrgggg. but i don't want to be that mom. i respect my kid's privacy, until they prove to me i can't.

i don't mean to sound naive, he is a handful at times, and i KNOW he is no angel. but he does well in school, and works hard at sports. and the few times he has done things i wouldn't have approved of, he's told me what has gone on. it is so hard though. next year he will be a junior...i know what i was doing then and it scares the bejeezus outta me.

in sept he will be driving, and in 2 years he will be graduating from hs. i guess it's time to realize i have done the best i can and pray for it all to work out. besides if i started snooping now, he'd catch on and hide everything ...which would leave me having to clean his room to find stuff. :)

blah blah blah

not a whole lot for me to talk about today, the rain is making me very lazy. the ideas are swirling , constantly. i am sooo creative after all. haha but the rain is really dampening my spirits. just 2 weeks ago i was thinking it was just like that heckel and jeckel cartoon when i was little. you know the one "it's never gonna rain again again" . and whammo....it rained. although it could be worse, i think maine is the only reason new hampshire hasn't washed off the map. we don't have anywhere near the issues they do. just makes you feel yucky.

then this morning i heard on the news they were attempting to locate jimmy hoffa's remains. a "new lead" has them looking in michigan. WHY? it's been 30 some odd years, it's very obvious he's dead. why waste federal time and money digging up yet another farm? i swear the money the government spends on nonsense sickens me...with all the problems that they could work on to actually make a difference to living people. i am not overly political, but common sense needs to rule our country again. (me for pres in 08)

hold on while i get down from my soapbox

i decided to rearrange my living room. now that i have the option. before the new tv, my options were very limited because the beast only fit on one wall. so i got everything switched and i like it. except now i seriously need to steam my carpet. i usually do it once a year, now i'm thinking that wasn't quite enough.

fianlly a great thing happened to me this morning. i was driving home after my morning rounds (school, gas, school etc..) and was miserable because it was raining. like a sunny day, "sweet home alabama" comes on...i love that song. it is the one song that no matter what i turn it up sing my lungs out, drum on the steering wheel, and dance in my seat. plus it always makes me think of my one brother...who actually air guitared to it at his wedding...while greeting guests. so i am in a better mood for now. and in a desperate ploy for interaction....what is your song that makes you feel that way? cmon you know you have one.....

ahhhhh

click this http://www.jmarco.com i think i found the cure to my doldrums. this catalog has the cutest things i have seen all in one place in awhile...if you're thinking how did i pull myself away from the tv. i didn't i'm on the kid's laptop :)

the redneck in me

if i seem alittle bleary eyed and out of sorts this morning, it is for good reason. we added a new family member last night, and quite honestly it is exhausting me. we did it, i didn't think the day would ever come. we have finally went and got ourselves a brand new teee veee. and in true redneck fashion, and my husband's inability to do anything on a small scale, it is almost as big as my living room.

not that i am any stranger to large tv's, as anyone who has ever been to my home will tell you. the one being replaced is a 70" monster that actually had to be moved in using a skid loader and required removing a sliding glass door. unfortunately we now have no clue how to rid ourselves of what we affectionately call "the beast".

if you go into circuit city and walk straight back to the "we got you sucker" aisle, you'll probably see my new tv. but i love it, it's a sony hdtv deal we downgraded to 60", and it came with hometheater and i believe an hd dvd player. while i may not watch alot of tv, i do love new gadgets. this one takes the cake. i think it senses when i'm having a bad day and even tells me how pretty i am when neccesary.

funny too, my horoscope told me to just relax and take it easy today. so you know what i'm going to go do......