A holiday inside a holiday...

OMG! OMG! OMG!

You are so totally not going to guess how many posts I have done!!!  Oh, you know?  Oh really?  How many then?  Did you say 100?  Oh.  Well. 

YOU'RE RIGHT!

This is my 100th post on this blog!  Really!  Can you believe it?  No?  Me neither!

And the coolest part is that this...my 100th post...is falling on none other than...

HALLOWEEN!!!

How fun is that?  I will always remember the day I wrote my 100th post because it fell on a holiday!  Woot, woot!

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So, what can I do to make this...my 100th post...more fun?  How about talk about the fact that it is Halloween?  Yeah?  Okay.  :)

 

The Haunted House last night was solidly okay.  I didn't scream.  I yelled.  I cussed (a lot).  I just about threw my hands up and said "I'm done!" (which is what they tell you to do if it gets to be too much for you) when the monster that jumped out of a closed door pointed in the direction of a small opening in a fireplace instructing us to crawl through.  Um yeah.  I don't think so.  I looked at him and said "no".  He looked at me and nodded his bony skull.  I stared at him in disbelief and tried to remember what I was supposed to do to just get out.  Then, I was pulled in the direction of the fireplace and shoved through the opening at which time the air stopped making it through to my lungs.  I'm a bit claustrophobic, you see, and the thought of crawling through anything in a Haunted House makes my throat close up and my eyes bug out of my head.  Um, yeah.  There is something about not being able to crawl as fast as I can run that just freaks the shit out of me!  Yikes! 

But, I made it.  And that happened to be the very last room.  And I walked out a bit disappointed that it was over.  But I didn't pee my pants. 

All in all, it was a good experience.  Oh...and we scared the crap out of some teenaged girls in front of and behind us so that was fun!  :)

Lady K and I--We don't look scared...but this is the before picture!

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The kids are ready for Halloween tonight.  Here is what their costumes will look like...

 

                (Teensy as Ariel and me as a Pirate at the Girl Scout Party on Tuesday)

 

                           (Dear Hubby as Frankenstein and Bubba as the Grim Reaper

at the Boy Scout party on Monday.)

 Okay, well, time to get back to the daily grind.  Hope everyone has a

         Happy Halloween!

Ghosts and Witches and Pee Pants...oh my!

There are two things that prominently come up around Halloween in my house...and they both get brought up by my kids any time they hear the words PUMPKIN or HAUNTED HOUSE.

Number 1:  PUMPKIN

While standing outside the elementary school building yesterday with Insanity (my daycare provider), waiting for all seven kids to exit the building (I play the role of chauffeur every Wednesday because Insanity herself doesn't have enough room nor enough seat belts to haul around all of those kids), I mention that our plans for that evening will include carving pumpkins.  Bubba, who up until this point gave no indication that he was listening to our conversation, piped up with this comment:

"Mom's allergic to pumpkins!"

Yes, folks, I have an allergic reaction to pumpkins...sort of.  A few years ago, I developed a rash on my arms immediately after scraping the guts out of a pumpkin for Halloween.  It was red and a bit itchy but nothing extremely painful or horrible to deal with.  It only occurs when I stick my hand inside a pumpkin and never when I eat the said vegetable.  Just a skin irritation, really, and it is no big deal...

...but ever since then, my children have told everyone who mentions a pumpkin in their presence that their mommy is allergic to pumpkins. 

Wanna see the pumpkins we carved?  Of course you do!!!  Ta Da!!!

That is a skull and cross-bones (or bonehead in my household), a kitty cat, and a scary guy with Bubba's name carved into it.  We originally had four pumpkins (note the one in the background) but when we carved out the top to begin the process of de-gutting it, this is what we found...

This picture does not do justice to the absolute grossness that was inside this pumpkin.  It was rotten through and through, complete with mold!  Yuck, yuck, yuck!  Needless to say, we were short one pumpkin so I kindly sacrificed my creative abilities for those of my more jack-o-lantern loving family members. 

Number 2:  HAUNTED HOUSE

I am not a lover of being scared.  I don't enjoy scary movies (I usually avoid anything that is rated R for any reason other than nudity or sex scenes).  The paranormal creeps me out something fierce, i.e. I am terrified of ghosts!  I do, however, love to watch tv shows that are a bit freaky (such as Fringe and Supernatural) as long as I have my hubby there to save me and I can watch something "light" right afterwards to wipe it from my mind.  ((I am a mess of contradictions!))

With that said, I also must tell you that I go to the local huge Haunted House just about every year.  Usually it's because my hubby wants to go, sometimes it's because a group of friends get together and I am always up for a group activity, but really it's a little bit about me wanting to conquer something that really terrifies me. 

Walking into a Haunted House, I always am assured that no one will touch me if I don't touch them.  I KNOW that I will come out of there alive and unscathed and still I am freaked out beyond belief.  Shaking and terrified.  Heart pounding out of my chest, gripping onto someone, anyone, for dear life.   

That is what I think of when I hear the words HAUNTED HOUSE. 

My kids...they think of pee pants...and mention it as often as they can.  Here is why...

It was pitch black.  One hand was gripped tightly to the hand of the man in front, the other to the coat sleeve of the one behind.  Terrified beyond the point of being able to scream,  eyes closed tight, breaths coming in short gasps and squeezing down a very narrow hallway with shoulders dragging along each wall, the lungs began to shut down as the claustrophobia set in.  And then...salvation.  An opening.  The walls fell away to a wide open room.  The air rushed back into the lungs and filled them with the sweet sense of refreshment, freedom.  The terror was over.  My grip relaxed and I sighed with relief.

HHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNKKKKK!

Bright headlights lit up the room.  The horn blared.  The semi truck came speeding at me.  A scream escaped my lips as my knees gave out and I found myself curled into the fetal position upon the floor and then it happened...

...I wet myself.

Yes, folks.  I did.  I wet my pants in pure terror of being run over by an eighteen wheeler.  Maybe it was because of the monsters and killers lurking around every corner of the haunted house.  Maybe it was because I had forgotten to use the port-a-john before entering.  Maybe it was because my abusive step-dad drove truck and this particular incident brought those terrible feelings right back to the surface.  Whatever the reason, I peed my pants right there on the floor of the Haunted House...

...and that is what my kids remind me of every time a Haunted House gets mentioned.

"I remember when you peed your pants at the Haunted House, Mommy.  Do you?"

"Yes, darling.  BUT YOU WEREN'T EVEN THERE!!!!!"

Conversation amongst Leaders...

"I don't like kids."

GASP!

"Then why the hell are you a Girl Scout Leader?"

"To try and get parents more involved in the lives of their kids.  You are here to teach the kids.  I'm here to teach the adults."

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You know those parents that drop off their child at the school and make them run across the street nearly getting hit by a slowly passing car just because they are too lazy or in too much of a hurry to find a parking spot?

How about those that enroll their child in an extracurricular activity just so that they can have a "babysitter" and alone time?  Yeah, I am talking about the ones who roll on by as they push the kid out the car door with their soccer bag or their dance gear instead of walking the child into the building.

Those parents who know full well that they are supposed to sign the child in but can't be bothered enough to put pen to paper?

Those parents that don't care enough to look through the backpack, sign the permission slips, or pay attention to when it is their child's turn to bring in snacks?

Yep, those.  They drive me nuts.  I want the parents of my Girls Scouts to take an active role of participation in their daughters lives and activities.  I want all parents to take an active role in their children's lives....in a perfect world.

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DISCLAIMER:  I am not now, nor have I ever been a perfect parent.  I have been known to miss, truth be told, sending items for several show and tell days.  There are days when the kid's homework just doesn't get accomplished until the next morning at the breakfast table because we were not home to do it the night before.  I work full-time, as does my husband and we are tired when we arrive home, so our kids don't always get a balanced, nutritious meal for dinner.  But I try. 

I volunteer at their schools for class parties when I am able.  I drop them off at the curb in front of their building at school maintaining their independence as well as their safety.  I instill the love of reading in both of my children by setting a good example and I go through their backpacks every night in an effort to understand what they are doing in school.  I pay attention...and that is what I wish other parents did as well. 

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I am not a fan of immature behavior.  I hate petty little antics and people who do not know when to take life seriously.  That is why I am not fond of children.  They are loud, they are nosey and they are messy (mine included).  Children are chaos personified.  I prefer to live without chaos, but...

...when those girls come running up to me on the playground at school or in the grocery store and throw their arms around my waist, I melt.

So, I guess, I am in it for the girls.  I am a Girl Scout Leader to be a good role model to these girls...and they in turn make me a better person. 

Jump Starting a life...on List Making Tuesday...

It's the dead of winter.  A cold and stormy day.  The wind is whipping the bare branches of the trees so hard you fear they may snap.  Unfortunately,  you have to go somewhere.  You bundle yourself up in your heaviest coat, boot , wool hat and mittens (all black to reflect your depressed mood brought on by months of cold darkness ) and wade your way through the twelve inches of snow to reach you lonely, frozen car.  You yank hard on the driver's door in an effort to get it open and plop down on the seat.  Un-gloving your hand, you slide the small silver key into the ignition and turn.  You get nothing.  No noise, no sign of life, nothing.  It doesn't even try.  What now?  You need a jump start...and that will require a kind soul to help you out.

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So what do you do when that scenario is real?  Not real as in you can't start  you car but real as in you can't seem to start your life.  Major changes have come about and you just can't seem to get a hold on anything that will pull you out of the depths of the depression you are in.  You seek the advice of a friend.  A kind soul to help you out. 

Ta Da!  Here I am!

My ideal life is bouncing from one thing to the next.  Does that make me flighty?  Maybe.  But, the thing is that I know that life is about the little things, the experiences that we have.  You will not die remembering how many nights you spent watching tv.  You will not die remembering the name of every book you read.  You may not make a huge impact in the world in terms of wealth or popularity.  You may not become the worlds greatest humanitarian.  But you will remember the experiences.

So, I say BOUNCE!  Bounce form one thing to the next and rack up as many experiences as you can.  Make your life memorable even if it's not perfect.  Make it worth it, even if it isn't easy.  Live your life...and do your best to enjoy every minute of it.

IDEAS TO JUMP START YOUR LIFE...

• Get a part-time job at a place you never would have thought to work...a pet store, a fast food restaurant, a kennel, a grocery store...don't be afraid to quit if it is too much for you to handle.
• Write a book...about anything.  Parenting, lifestyle differences, self-help, fictional, children's.  Just write what you know.  Write your legacy, your life story...for your child.
• Paint a picture (like one you said you would do for a friend!).  Put everything you have into creating something amazing that can be cherished by someone.
• Take a class.  Any kind of class...educational, art, hobby, classes offered online, at a craft store or through community education.  Just learn something and it could open doors you never knew existed.
• Meet someone new.  Anyone.  Male, female, elderly or child.  Introduce yourself to someone you don't know and strike up a conversation.  You never know what kind of friendship it could become. 
• Create a work of art.  A sculpture, an afghan, a song.  Make something beautiful and then share  it with someone unexpected.
• Start a new business venture.  Get hands on and come up with a plan of attack and just go for it. 
• Take a trip.  Explore your surroundings.  Experience the world you have at your fingertips.
• Visit an old friend...one you haven't seen or heard from in a while.  Make a date and enjoy that person's company.  Talk, listen, laugh, cry and remember.
• Volunteer somewhere...a woman's shelter, a dog pound, the local Boy/Girl Scout office.  Count your blessings as you help others learn and grow and you see those less fortunate than yourself.

Don't cite money as an issue.  Don't cite time.  you can do these things if you want to.  "Don't bitch about something that you won't work to change."  Just Bounce...from one thing to the next until you have experienced more than your fair share in this life.  Just enjoy those moments that you have for you are way more fortunate than many of those around you.

After all, you have the awesomeness that is me on your side.  :)

Teenaged Striped Stupidity...

So remember a few posts back, I told you that I never did anything stupid when I was younger?  Well that's not entirely true.  However, I have not once gotten caught by the police nor have I done anything that warrants actually being arrested in my lifetime.  ((I did get put in handcuffs once, but that was just for fun at a friend's party a few years ago.  You can just dream up your own stories behind that one.))

I thought long and hard about whether not I have ever egged someone's house and came to the conclusion that I have not.  

Remember these?  Yeah, me too.  They used to line the front walks of ever middle class American home because everyone shopped at the same place...Wally World!  I used to drive around, or walk around if we were too poor for gas money when I was in high school...probably my  junior year (yeah I should have grown out of the stupidity by then but lived an extremely sheltered life for the years prior to that and needed to get it out of my system).  My friends and I would take these candy canes from people's yards and "misplace" them in someone else's Christmas yard-scape.  Occasionally, we would leave them on doorsteps a few blocks away.  Technically it was theft, but I like to look at it as "misplacement of goods".  Sounds less stupid and more sophisticated that way.  Although, I know now that I was a moron and no better than my nephew.  The difference?  I never got caught by the cops...or my mom!

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You want more teenaged stupidity?  The same year that we performed the "Candy Cane Capers", you could have also caught us traipsing around town on Halloween wearing black lipstick "kiss" prints on our foreheads as part of our costumes.  What were we?  Teenagers...too old to Trick-or-Treat in costumes but too young to stay home and hand out candy.  :)

Yep, we were cool!!!  What teenaged mishaps do you have in your past?

The POETS Society...I'm totally in!

Today is Friday!  Woot, woot!  And the better news is...I don't have any plans tonight!!!  Bubba is headed to a friend's house after school and Dear Hubby and I are taking Teensy out to dinner.  I have been unusually busy at work all day so I am ready to slack off.  Of course, that is when I find this...

I am totally in on The Poets Society (if I am cool enough to join in that is?!?).  I officially am saying...

PISS ON EVERYTHING, TOMORROW'S SATURDAY!!! 

Enjoy the rest of your day everyone.  I am sure going to!

 

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Post Script:  A huge THANKS to The Real Life Fairy Tale Princess over at www.onemorefairytale.blogspot.com for the wonderful reason to not post today.  It's much appreciated!!!  ((Click on her link.  Really, do it.  Her blog is all pink and princessy and sooo cute.  I love it.  Check her out already!))

You might be a redneck if...

You give your grandson a set of these for his 8th birthday...

Yes, folks.  I am aware that the above picture is of cut off  cow hooves.  I am also quite aware that the normal eight year old boy doesn't get cow hooves for his birthday.

All I can say is...we live in a rural environment, she had just butchered a cow to fill her freezer and at least I am not showing you a picture of the cow nuts that I was expecting him to get.  :)

 

And, yes...they went into the garbage can after he showed everyone in the family!  We aren't quite gross enough to display such awful things!

Updating the Emptiness...

Today, it's been five months.  And that is all I will say about that.

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I was looking forward to an evening of ease and tv gazing for the first time in seriously two weeks, however, looking around my house this morning, I realized that wasn't going to happen. 

Despite the fact that I will have an extra set of children over to play tonight and therefore, two more mouths to feed dinner to, I am really looking forward to just being in my house. 

The time spent there will include making dinner for 6 while cleaning the kitchen and dining room of all the clutter, paperwork, mail, school papers, projects and groceries that just never got put away.  It will also include folding several hundred baskets of laundry that have been haphazardly dropped upon my bedroom floor and then consequently putting said clothing away where it belongs.  And, of course, we can't forget the eight thousand boxes of newly acquired memorabilia, decorations, and miscellaneous odd stuff that have taken over the living room--it all needs to be sorted and stored away in the colorful totes I bought last week. 

But you know what?  I am ready.  I will be home...in my own house...and doing things on MY TERMS, so I am ready to tackle the monstrosity that my house has become after over two weeks of pure neglect. 

Of course, tomorrow night I have a meeting to attend and this weekend seems to be filled up as well, so I will take what few moments I can get in my safe place before I head back into the big, mean world to carry out my tasks.  Fun, fun, fun.

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More updates:

I am getting a cold and therefore, an ear infection that is killing my head.  I feel like there is water sitting on my ear drum and nothing has helped it so far.

I had a chiropractor appointment yesterday morning and found out that my left shoulder had rotated forward in it's socket due to a climb up a nearby mountain last weekend (pics to follow later).  Today the shoulder doesn't hurt but the lower back feels like crap.  I have to go back to visit the chiropractor on Monday.

We went grocery shopping last night at Wal-Mart and spent $292.00.  We joked with the cashier about starting up a charge account since we spend so much in that damn store.  Apparently, we are not the only ones...she just has them keep every paycheck because she knows she'll spend it there anyway!

Bubba's 8th birthday was on Saturday and he received a very interesting gift from his grandma.  It deserves it's own post.  Look for it later this week.

Some of my family members were in town over the weekend.  It was an okay time.  Except that my nephew got together with my hubby's nephew and the two of them egged a house one night.  One of them got picked up by the cops.  Argh!  I don't remember being in that much trouble OR doing stuff that dumb when I was young.  Well, maybe I do...  That might be an interesting blog post!

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That's about it for right now.  I am going to get back to work and get something accomplished, I think.  Enjoy the little things in your day!  I hope it's not as windy where you are as it is here!

NaBloPoMo...

Yes, all, I know that I have been MIA lately.  Unfortunately, life demanded more of my attention than I was able to give and therefore I have spent the last few weeks running around non-stop and not really accomplishing anything of value.  A blog entry has been on my to-do list every day and yet it just hasn't gotten done. 

However, I have signed up for November's NaBloPoMo or National Blog Post Month for those of you new to the lingo.  I will try with all I have in me to write one blog post every day of that entire month.  Yes, including weekends!  So cut me a little slack now and you will be rewarded in the upcoming month.  Okay?

For now, though, I am about ready to head on home, unload the contents of my freezer that have been residing at my mother's house since our refrigerator broke down and then head out to do some actual grocery shopping.  It is high time we stop living off of bread, peanut butter and fast food.  Tootles.

Taking the easy way out!

It's Friday, people!  Yay!  Well, it should be a good thing but really I am so tired I am not sure it is even registering that it is Friday.  But all bitching aside, I thought I would share some pics with you today in an effort to remember the little things in this life and not spend too much time doing a blog entry. 

My most wonderful hubby caught unaware in a moment of joy.

My favorite waterfall in the entire world not even 20 minutes from my house.  Many great memories have been made here.

The innocence in the amazing eyes of my little chica girl.  Love it!

Kisses from my punk--growing up way to fast but is still my baby!

The beauty of nature around us is amazing when cherished for a few moment each day.  Lady K caught this wonderful sight for me.

A sunset captured on a still summer evening brings new meaning to the word beautiful!

Have a great weekend all!  I'll be back Monday, hopefully refreshed and renewed and ready to rock and roll!

Skeeve says it gets worse...

It has been extremely hard to come up with topics for blog posts around here because my brain hasn't been producing very many coherent thoughts.  I have been home, literally, only to sleep since last Friday and it is starting to take it's toll on me.  The bad thing?  There isn't an end in sight to the never-ending run around that is challenging me right now. 

I missed List Making Tuesday (which has me a bit frazzled, to be honest) and could use a list right now to get my thoughts in order so that I can proceed with this week...and the next.  So, in an effort to get myself together, here we go.

To start with, here is what I have been up to...

*Girl Scouts has officially begun.  I have taken an more active co-leader position this year which means that I am the one hunting down parents for signatures instead of just showing up to meetings.  The other leader was unable to attend the first meeting and therefore made it a bit more difficult to introduce the new members of the troop as well as get out all information that the girls and parents needed to start the fall fundraising sale. 

*I became the Product Manager for this area of Girl Scouts which means that I have to make sure and get all local troop leaders all information regarding the Fall fundraiser, enter all of their information in the computer when the sale is over, make sure that the troop leaders, as well as, all parents, pick up the stuff they sell for delivery and dole out all incentives earned (which will all be delivered to my house and must be sorted and organized by yours truly).

*Helping my daughter sell nuts, candies and magazine subscriptions to raise money for her Girl Scout troop.  She has high hopes in the way of incentives and I in turn have high hopes in the amount of money we raise for our activities. 

*School Conferences.  Yep, it is already time to check in with those teachers to see how the kids are faring.  I speak with Teensy's teacher all the time because her daughter is one of my Girl Scouts, so there was nothing new to learn there.  Bubba is doing well.  The only issue is he is a little talkative sometimes and really if you know me at all that will come as absolutely no surprise to you.  All in all, good reports.

*Dear hubby's sisters are visiting from their respective foreign countries for a few weeks.  This, of course, means family time.  We got together with extended family for the traditional Cheese Buttons dinner last Saturday and will be having a family dinner in a nearby town this Friday. 

*The biggest time consumer and most stressful thing right now is that we are going through my Mother-in-Laws possessions.  Cleaning out the house for Dad by divvying up the things that he doesn't want sitting around in whatever new house he finds to buy and move into in an effort to move on with life, I guess.  Isn't it too soon, you ask?  Um, yes...in my opinion.  But I don't have a say.  We have been at Dad's five out of the last 6 days and will be there tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday as well.  We may get a break on Monday but it seems unlikely.

*I have also attended a Cooking Show with my Mom, a Spaghetti dinner with the in-laws, helped with a garage sale at my office, tried to work on laundry, planned a birthday party for my son, dealt with a broken down refrigerator and living out coolers for three days, and made sure that both kids were fed, bathed (occasionally) and had their homework done every night. 

The things that I still have coming up and things that I need to make sure get done include...

*Getting several parents to sign the correct permission forms for the Girl Scouts fall fundraiser since they all completed the wrong one due to a lack of communication on the part of some higher up in the organization...and definitely not me!

*Help my mom put together a float for her business for the Homecoming parade next Friday and then be in that parade with her to hand out pens for promotions.

*Attend a Girl Scout meeting and a nephew's family get-together birthday party on the same night at the same time.  Not quite sure how to pull that one off yet. 

*Finish out the last 5 days of the marathon "Divvy up Mom's Things" session before the sisters finally leave for their respective foreign countries...which is just in time for my siblings to roll into town for four more days of family togetherness!  Yipp-fricking-ee!!

*Enjoy a date night out with my hubby to see the wonderfully funny Carlos Mencia...that is if I don't fall asleep from sheer exhaustion or keel over from the amazing stress that is weighing down on my shoulders.  Oh yeah, and of course, IF we remember to find a babysitter between now and then!

*Take my son to Chuck E. Cheese's with four of his best friends (and my daughter and one of her friends because we have to be somewhat fair) to celebrate the fact that he is turning 8 years old and sit eating so-so pizza and drinking flat cola while they terrorize the small establishment for hours on end all while hoping that they pass out from exhaustion by the time we leave so that we have a quiet trip back home.

*Finish a project that I started for my friend in Iraq (Hi Jennifer!!!) so that she has something to keep her company and show her that we love her and are thinking about her all the time and get it in the mail so that it can reach her before hell freezes over before she goes back home sooner instead of later.

*Performing our cleaning job twice, purchase two children's birthday gifts and cards for two adults, keep up on the laundry, housecleaning and homework, keep the children bathed and fed regularly, pay the upcoming bills, hike a mountain, attend a birthday party for an ailing Grandparent and write a letter to another, plus run children to scouts, school, dance, daycare and home and keep the family happy with our attendance record at family functions...AND IT MUST ALL BE DONE  in the few hours that exist between the time I get off work and the time I collapse into bed to sleep fitfully.

Just a side note:  The above has all occurred or will occur between October 1st and October 19th.  After the 19th, I have one more Girl Scout meeting as well as a Leader Meeting, two Boy Scout meetings, a wedding, two dance classes, and a lot of  Product Manager duties to do (since the fundraiser ends on the 20th).  Plus I have to make a Halloween costume and buy candy, decorate for the holiday, take my kids Trick-or-Treating, bake goodies and help out at Bubba's class party and purchase three more adult birthday cards all before OCTOBER 31ST!!!

Anyone care to trade schedules???  Anyone???  No.  Damn.

Oh, what's with the title, you ask?  It's a reference to one of my favorite quotes from Robert Aspirin's M.Y.T.H series of books:

"When things are blackest, I just tell myself 'cheer up, things could be worse!' And sure enough, they get worse!"                                                                                                - Skeeve

That, dear readers, is my life.  *sigh* 

Constant flying of the bird...

I know that I didn't put up an entry for List Making Tuesday and I apologize.  I will try to get to it later today.  However, in the meantime, here is my entry for today.  In honor of the fact that my life seems to be flipping me off on a constant basis as of late, here is the history of how the middle finger phenomenon came to be...

Well, now......here's something I never knew before, and now that I know it, I feel compelled to send it on to my more intelligent friends in the hope that they, too, will feel edified.  Isn't history more fun when you know something about it?  

Before the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, the French, anticipating victory over the English, proposed to cut off the middle finger of all captured English soldiers.  Without the middle finger it would be impossible to draw the renowned English longbow and therefore they would be incapable of fighting in the future.  This famous English longbow was made of the native English Yew tree, and the act of drawing the longbow was known as 'plucking the yew' (or 'pluck yew').

Much to the bewilderment of the French, the English won a major upset and began mocking the French by waving their middle fingers at the defeated French, saying, See, we can still pluck yew!  Since 'pluck yew' is rather difficult to say, the difficult consonant cluster at the beginning has gradually changed to a labiodentals fricative F', and thus the words often used in conjunction with the one-finger-salute!  It is also because of the pheasant feathers on the arrows used with the longbow that the symbolic gesture is known as 'giving the bird.'

So now you know something new.  Enjoy your Hump Day!

High Ranking on the lame-o-meter...

WARNING:  This blog entry is going to suck beyond belief. 

Today is Monday and by definition it has to suck.  I can usually get through Mondays without much difficulty especially since I get off work 45 minutes early to pick up Teensy from dance.  Today, however, is a different story.  I woke up with a migraine unlike any I've had in a long time.  I couldn't find my Motrin and as a substitute I took 4 Acetominophen.  It hasn't helped over an hour later.  My stomach feels as if it is about to spew the contents of last nights dinner all over the keyboard and the right side of my head and neck feels like it is about to explode brain spatter upon the printer.  I want to curl up in a ball in a dark room for the next four hours in the hopes that my body will return to it's normal state of being.  But, I am sitting at work and that doesn't seem to be in the cards for me today.  So I hope to get to feeling better so that I can stick out the day and not ruin the much needed paycheck of this week.

That's it.  Nothing else can spew forth from my brain this morning.  Despite my state of ickiness, I hope you all have a much better day ahead of you. 

Where I grow an inkling...and act upon it...

I received an e-mail the other day that contained a detailed account of  Nov. 15, 1917.  Do you know what happened on that night, dubbed the "Night of Terror"?  I didn't either.  I was clueless as it isn't a lesson I remember being taught in school.  Let me enlighten you a little bit (or reiterate the facts if you already are ahead of me and know what I am talking about)...

Women were picketing the White House for the right to cast a vote in the election process and innocent and defenseless as they were, they were tossed in jail.  It seems that men didn't want to change and allow women the right to their own opinions.  On the night of November 15, 1917, the warden at the Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia ordered his guards to teach a lesson to the suffragists and by the end of the night  forty prison guards wielding clubs and their warden's blessing went on a rampage and the women were barely alive the next morning. 

These woman suffered greatly in and effort to get their voices heard in the government.  Their picket lines, their nights in jail, their sacrifices...it all added up to women being allowed the right to vote.  To ME being allowed to vote.  For MY voice to be heard.

Confession time:  I wasn't going to vote this year.  I don't believe in voting if I am not informed and I have had no interest at all in watching debates or reading about the issues.  But this e-mail changed my tune.  Who am I to tell those women that their suffering was for nothing?  Who am I to cast aside the right that they fought so hard for me to have?  I am nobody.  But I am a nobody with a voice that can be heard through my vote.  And so, I am catching up, my dear readers.  Catching up on the issues.  Catching up on the research.  I am formulating my own opinion based upon what I know to be the facts of this election.  I am standing on my own two feet and declaring my right to be heard in this country.

As I have said before, I usually don't figure out exactly what my heart's desire is or what my deep down opinion is until I start talking (or in this case writing) so in the coming weeks, as I try to sort through the issues, my posts may become political in nature at times.  I promise to follow them up by light anecdotes and meaningless lists like you are already accustomed to but I need an outlet to figure out where my belief systems run...and I am afraid that if I start talking politics at home all the time, the family might mutiny!!!

So, here is me getting an inkling and acting upon it...and teaching my daughter a lesson in the process.  I will be taking her to the polls with me on November 4th so that she can see that she has the power to make a difference, too.  And maybe one day it will be her that I am out there voting for!!!

(Conferring over ratification [of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution] at [National Woman's Party] headquarters, Jackson Pl [ace] [ Washington , D.C. ]. L-R Mrs. Lawrence Lewis, Mrs. Abby Scott Baker, Anita Pollitzer, Alice Paul, Florence Boeckel, Mabel Vernon (standing, right))

What does an 8 year old think of the election?

Okay, so first of all, he's not 8 yet.  I keep telling people he's 8 already and yet we have another couple of weeks before his birthday.  Why am I trying to make him grow up so fast? 

Anyway, on to the actual topic of this post...

Who will my 8-year old vote for in the upcoming election?

"I hope that Obam guy doesn't  win this voting thing we have coming up.  He's gonna get rid of all the guns and bullets and shut down all the gun stores."

Um, my guess is that my son will be voting for McCain. 

Disclaimer:  This is just how my son's brain works.  He is extremely interested in being in the military when he grows up.  He has never played cops and robbers, it's always been GI Joes and war.  He wasn't allowed to play with guns (even water guns) in our home until he was about 6 years old and has never been allowed video games that are violent in nature. 

Bubba is quite a bit ahead of me in this election process.  I have no clue which candidate would be better for our country!

Favorite Children's book of all time...

Michelle over at My Semblance of Sanity just hit her 300th blog post!  Wow!  I haven't yet hit that 100 mark so that is quite an accomplishment on her part.  Anyway, Michelle is a children's book writer and she has asked the readers of her blog to post about their favorite children's books (of course, there is a contest involved in which even you can win an original piece of artwork done by Michelle---I own one and I love it and they would make wonderful gifts for the upcoming holidays!--just go to her site and read for details.)  So on with my entry!!!

I am having a problem coming up with just one favorite children's book because...well, because I love to read and books are my passion, so I will have to tell you about my top two (Sorry, Michelle, I just couldn't narrow it down any further!).  So here they are...

This has to be my all-time favorite in poetry books.  I am sure that it doesn't hold a candle to the classic poets but it's right up my alley.  The reason it's my favorite?  It's all about the memories people, all about the memories...

When I was in sixth grade, I attended a normal elementary school in a very different way than most of the kids.  I was in an experimental "country school classroom" which meant that I was in a regular size classroom in the regular school but with a twist.  There were first through sixth graders all in the same classroom with only three of us in the sixth grade that attended the class.  We were taught the normal sixth grade lessons but also got the hands on experience of helping the younger kids with their learning, meaning that we were teachers as well as students.  We left the comfort of our room to attend D.A.R.E and other special programs with our "regular sixth grade classmates" so as not to miss out on anything special. 

Our principal was a round, gray-haired man and he liked to pay special attention to our classroom because it was such a change of pace.  Every Friday, he would come in to the room and read us poems from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein using animated gestures and interesting voices.  We always sat in rapt attention; riveted by the man and drawn into the stories within the poems.  I can still to this day, hear his voice in my head reciting "Boa Constrictor".  His willingness to put himself out there in front of us every week fostered a love of reading in my moldable little being. 

Next up, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street" by Dr. Seuss.  To be fair, you must know that I love just about anything by Dr. Suess (at least the stuff written for children, as I have yet to read all of his more political based adult writing) but this book reminds me of me when I was young.  The tales that the boy comes up with, his imagination running wild, speaks to my inner child like no other book.  I am prone to exaggerations (still to this day) as was the boy in the book and I have this inner voice that always tells me that no one will believe the story I tell about my life because although true, it is beyond some people's grasp of reality can be.  Much to my delight (and sometimes horror), my beloved son has my imagination through and through.  His exaggerations are a bit bigger but the premise is the same and his imagination is great.

Those are my top two favorite children's books.  Both of them take me back to my childhood and you can bet they are both on my bookshelf at home for my own kids to love and enjoy. 

What are your favorites?  Really?  Well, hop on over to My Semblance of Sanity and read the rules and then write up an entry about your faves so that you, too can win some original artwork for the child in you!