Sunday Evening Weekend Wrap Up

Friday was pretty much the last of the field trip shirts, just a few stragglers left. After school, one of The Youngest's friends came over to play for a few hours and they had fun with all of the toy weapons and legos. I think the oldest is over the newness of the braces and we broke out the wax this morning. He's still convinced he can only eat liquids, despite enjoying a brownie and banana bread at school :-) The boys watched Meet The Robinsons on the big TV for a treat, and the temps finally got below 95 after the sun went down! The neighbor came over and was at the house until nearly 9:00, when MDH came home from soccer.
Saturday, freecycle brought a youth guitar to the house, and we had one of The Boys' friend's Birthday Party. At NOON. in 109 degree heat. Dry heat. At least it was at a park that has a water play area, and they all cooled off. Of course the heat, and the seeming lack of food got The Oldest in a "poor me" frame of mind, and he had 3 meltdowns. At nearly 9 years of age. I think it had more to do with the heat and Friday night's late night than anything else. We came home and had a nice quiet 30 minutes, before the neighbor came over. The Youngest and he had a skirmish that involved spitting, so I sent him home. The Oldest broke out the hose for cooling off out back. MDH came home from a study session at the library and took a nap. When he got up, he ran a few errands for me, and I sat down to play a little Bejeweled. Soon I was hearing an unusual rustling on the shelves behind me, but in the darkened room, I couldn't really see what it was. That is until it fluttered around a bit. Evidently my fur butt cat brought a Blue Jay into the house while we were gone, and it sat on the top shelf through the kids playing, and only when alone with me decided to make itself known. I opened the window and shut the door, but it kept running into the not opened part of the window, so I had to throw a towel over it, and get it out the window myself. The Boys wanted to know if it was dead, because when I did release it, it just lay there. I waved the towel at it, and it flew away. We had a mish mash dinner - cereal for The Youngest, blended spaghetti for The Oldest, leftover pork roast for My Dear Husband, and I had a few croutons - it was still 98 at 8:00 at night, and I was boiling noodles...
Sunday was laundry day, and The Oldest mopped the front room and the kitchen (nice)! I cleaned out the bottom shelf of The Boys' closet, as well as my half of our closet. Got together a couple bags of clothes - some that The Youngest has outgrown, and some that are TOO BIG for me now!!!!!! Although I did have a pity party moment when I realized that My Sis' fat clothes are my goal... We can't all be stick thin, but we can at least all be healthy! We had another kid friend's birthday party at Build-a-Bear Workshop, which was VERY generous of the hosting family. Each Boy got a stuffed animal (Bunny and Grey Wolf), and accessories (A Dracula Costume, Camo Outfit, Camo Tent, Baby Grey Wolf, Rain Boots, Sunglasses, and Roller Skates). Toward the end of BABW, The Youngest pulled me aside to tell me that he loves me and thanked me for all that I do for him. It was such a sweet and tender moment that I almost started crying! Then it was off to Boudin Bakery for pizza and cake and I had a delicious salad! I took the long way home to give The Boys a chance for a short nap. It was while driving, that I had a flashback to out accident last summer. It happens, not frequently, but just the weight of responsibility, and the fact that we all made it out is a miracle, and I am grateful for that, even when circumstances seem difficult, or obstacles seem insurmountable, I am grateful that I live each day. I know we are being watched over, that I lead a charmed life, and for that I am also grateful. Once home, it was mere moments before the neighbors were over and they were all playing until dinner. Dinner was chicken, asparagus and summer squash, and The Oldest even managed 3 pieces of chicken that were no bigger than an eighth of an inch, cubed. He has a mouth full of sores, so I broke out the oragel, and I think he'll be better off in the morning (at least that's my hope).

My Town Shoot Out - Outdoor Food

This week's theme courtesy of Girlichef is Outdoor Food. I had another fur butt encounter that caused me to use these shots for the theme. I encourage you to go and see everyone's contributions here!
This is our cat. She is a good mouser. She brought this one into the house and after I chased them both outside, I was convinced the mouse would scurry to a safer place. I think he either had a death wish, or wanted to play.

She's got this thing in her mouth, and I've locked them both outside. The last think I need is another smelly bloated carcass turning up.She played with this pour or perhaps misguided mouse for a good 2 hours, and I never did find it dead later, so maybe they are now playmates...She doesn't really like her cat food, and so has been supplementing with rodents. I think the Jays like her food though!

Wednesdays and I need a new name

So I had an idea this morning at 3ish while driving home from Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince. I was listening to a replay of Derrick and Romaine And they were taking calls about "A Night of Drinking That Went Horribly, Horribly Wrong". I have certainly had my share of these, but they wouldn't fill more than 2 months of Wanton or Wild or Wicked Wednesdays Weird Wednesdays seems a bit more in step with what happened today, so I'll start with Weird Wednesday tales. This is eerily similar to earlier weird tales of my home. The temperatures here have been hovering just around 100 degrees. Yesterday afternoon, the office/playroom started smelling weird - like melted poo. This morning I spent some time trying to locate where the dog or cat may have left something. It wasn't until late this afternoon that I was able to sniff out the dead, bloated and rotting roof rat. Thankfully, The Dude was able to get it out in one piece, but that left a trail of smell. I sprayed everything down with Febreeze, opened the window, turned up the fan, and shut the door. Two hours later, everything was good to go. I have to wonder when my Little fur butt brought that treat in - this week? while we were on vacation? It makes my skin crawl really. I will regale you with tales of my Drunken nights gone horribly wrong starting next week. In the meantime - vote in the poll at right for your favorite alliterative Wednesday name.

I believe in angels

Woke up with this song going through my head - has been all day, especially the lyric above.

ABBA - I Have A Dream
Uploaded by djoik

Got a call from another cohort at work. Evidently my name is on a list of folks that have been surplussed. He wanted to know if I was taking the money and running, or looking to stay. When I told him I was looking to stay, he asked for my resume, and said he will advocate for me and my team for positions in his organization - YAY! Now I know why the song was in my head all morning.

This popped on in the car on my way to a photo walk:



I listened to this ENDLESSLY in High School. This clip actually had me laughing - remember the Solid Gold Dancers? Marilyn McCoo?
Later in the afternoon, this came across. Normally I wouldn't link to that website, and I wouldn't have if I could have found this version elsewhere, but I didn't. Ru Paul looks AWESOME! I admit to having an obsession with drag queens, and have written about it before.

During my walk I was able to see a couple of streets downtown that I normally do not get to walk. It was eye opening, and nice to slow down the pace and listen to the sounds of the area. I'll have some of the photos in my Friday post, and for Sunday Stills.

I was blown away last night after stumbling across this blog. Nick is only 20, but some of his thoughts are right on the money and I will be using some here. Yesterday's thought that completely hit it on the head for me: "Never let someone become so much of yourself that you lose yourself if you lose them. Love is a chance, not a guarantee…embrace what comes but never fight for what leaves." Nick gets it, and I look forward to reading how his philosophy evolves as he goes along.

My thought of the day, that was brought back to light recently is a quote from the movie Unbreakable, "The villain is the hero of his own story." Too true, and when you are too close to a situation to see the bigger picture, it is even more difficult to see this fact. It's true for normal people too. Many people are just going through their lives with blinders on, thinking that they are doing the right thing, the just thing, and not accepting the reality that their actions and words affect those around them, sometimes very profoundly, and sometimes for the worse. There is a sad lack of self reflection and evaluation. If you knew how badly things were going to turn out, would you have made the same decisions? Why, or why not? I've found that even major cluster fucks of life can provide the opportunity to learn about life, about yourself, about the worth of family and friends. In the immediate aftermath, I think we'd all say that we would do things differently, but after sometimes years of reflection, we find the lesson we were supposed to learn all along. It is then that we change to knowing why things happen, and why we wouldn't change a single thing.

And now some light hearted fair for your enjoyment:

Random Thoughts

Today I was tagged in Facebook by a fried with 25 random things about her, that I was also to do about me. This is what I listed:
1. I used to hate my curly hair and freckles
2. I was once president of a fan club
3. I adore my boys
4. I think people are funny and strange
5. I own a small business
6. I have attended aTV show convention
7. I eat my jelly beans by color
8. I miss my friends
9. I love the smell of the ocean
10. My youngest child weighed 13 pounds at birth
11. I love everything about going to baseball games
12. I do not like snow or cold
13. I can photoshop 40 pounds off of you
14. I wear my heart on my sleeve - always have, and probably always will
15. I was once employed as a bartender
16. I know where the tunnels are in Pleasanton
17. I don't like to be tickled
18. I can play guitar - but just a little bit
19. I am a cautious driver
20. I am certified to climb telephone poles
21. I would move to Key West, if I could
22. I want to really learn to surf
23. Horses make me nervous
24. I find comfort in petting my cat
25. I try to live my life with very few regrets

Still in need of smiles

Today's:



I had a team meeting today where I cried at least 4 times. I have been second guessing all of my decisions as a supervisor, trying to determine what I could have done differently to protect my team. The team doesn't blame me, but I have a very high standard for myself, and I am very sad about all of this.

I am also looking for a job, but have had a difficult time motivating myself to move on. I'm still grieving.

I will miss my team. They are all very good at what they do, and dedicated to making all of our lives easier. Everyone shares knowledge and information, and we take credit as a group. I give each person kudos for their individual accomplishments, not just to the team, but to leadership.

I guess I'm just sick of corporate politics.

I now have an 8 year old!

Today my oldest turns 8. Two days ago he told me he didn't want to be 8 because he didn't want to be the oldest kid in our family. I told him it was okay, and 8 would be a good year for him. This morning, I woke up early to make him Purple French Toast, and Purple milk because that's his favorite color. He also gets to pick what we eat for dinner tonight, and he picked Casper's Hot Dogs. I went to this same Casper's as a kid, and both boys love it. The guys who work there know us and our order before we walk in the door. We'll have cupcakes for dessert, and he can get a milkshake with dinner as a treat. His party is on Friday night at Pump It Up, and he's looking very forward to it!

Saw this today, and it made me crack up!

Found on LOLcats. If you haven't checked them out, and you like cats, GO THERE NOW. They also have a nice selection of rodents, birds, dogs and walrus.

Three in the Morning

Remember when 3:00 am referred to the time you rolled in after clubbing? When you climbed into your bedroom window after ice blocking? When you realized you folks were going to totally bust you for being out so late?

My 3am was strange. Not in the traditional sense, but it did set me to giggling uncontrollably for about a half hour. Daisy (the cat of weird likes) brought in a mouse. Alive. Into my bedroom. Ron managed to chase her to the kitchen, while I went behind them closing all doors. I locked myself in the bedroom, and listened to the chair shuffling, the swearing, and the dog on the wood floors, sounding like a giraffe on roller skates. About 20 minutes later, Ron returns, grumbling and swearing about the cat, and the damned dog, standing between him and that damned mouse. Just the image of an off balance dog cornering a mouse, with Ron looming overhead in his undies started my giggles. It was quite a visual!

That's when I realized that Ron didn't even get dressed to take the mouse outside. I bet the juvenile delinquents that populate my neighborhood got quite the eyeful!

Just yesterday morning at 1:20am, the cat brought in another mouse, this one was dead though, and partially disemboweled. So while higher on the grossness scale, way lower on the exercise scale. That one went out straight away, leaving her meowing at it's empty space on the floor.

I'm okay with her killing, eviscerating, and even eating mice. I just don't want them in my house. Ever.