Hello and welcome to the MENTAL HEALTH HOTLINE.


If you are obsessive compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.

If you are co-dependant, ask someone to press 2 for you.

If you have multiple personalities, press 3,4,5 and 6.

If you are paranoid, we know what you are and what you want. Stay on the line and we'll trace your call.

If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transfered to the mother ship.

If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and the small voice will tell you which number to press.

If you are depressive, it doesn't matter which number you press. No one will answer you.

If you are dislexic, press 69696969.

If you have a nervous disorder, please fidget with the # key until the beep. After the beep, please wait for the beep.

If you have short term memory loss, please try your call again later.

And if you have low self esteem, please hang up. All of our operators are too busy for your shit!

Wednesday, February 28, 2007

An Afterthought

So... All this unwanted drama over my ex made me realize something!

I'm pretty lucky!

You see, it just occured to me that the INSANE PSYCHOTIC MULE'S ASS I USED TO CALL MY MOTHER IN LAW is stuck with her son for the rest of his natural life.

AND

That STUPID ALBINO P.O.S. NON-REPRODUCTIVE IDIOT I MARRIED is stuck with her as his mother for the rest of her life.

Since he's a perfect example of why animals eat their young and she is the reason children divorce their parents, I think it's pretty fitting that they're STUCK with each other!

I feel better now.

Got any "creative" names for people you can't stand... I'd love to hear them!

Let's Get Married!!

Random Conversation

Me: I'm still pissy
Daddy: Why?
Me: Because I married an IDIOT!
Daddy: What'd I do?
Me: I'm not married to YOU! I'm not married to anyone anymore. Thank God!
Daddy: *grinning sinisterly* Oh, you will be!
Me: Oh, no sir!
Daddy: Oh, yes! You're giving me THAT tax break!!
*mutual laughter*
Daddy: *in a loud goofy voice* "$250 dollar tax break!! Honey!!! Did you know about this?!? LET'S GET MARRIED!!!"

(better break out the hammer and smash a pinkie... or two)

The Amazing Never-Ending Ex-Husband!

So, for all of you out there who think that getting married is a cool and trendy thing to do. I'm going to put my two cents in on the subject (and let off some built up steam in the process!)

Quick backstory: So a few years back, I met this guy. Just some random albino I picked up at a motel (FIRST WARNING SIGN!) He seemed nice enough, but what the hell did I know? So after about six months of dating we decided we should get married (what can I say, the sex was good so I figured I could handle it! - sorry too much?) Anyway, we get engaged and his mother turned into the bitch from hell (SECOND WARNING SIGN!) But I had these delusions of marriage and figured I could handle anything that his Mom had to dish out. So my family bit their tongues and allowed me to marry this idiot. The wedding, while beautiful, was a social disaster (THIRD WARNING SIGN!) After three years of marriage I decided that he drank too much, spent too much, stayed out too much, and was generally useless to me. So I moved on.

Now for the good news.

Since leaving his sorry ass, I've managed to pay off all my debts (Note: I wrote our divorce decree because he was too cheap to hire a lawyer so I made sure he got stuck with all the debts he'd ran up!) I also learned that two people can live in the same house without wanting to kill each other all the time, bills can be paid on time if both parties do their share, and not all men think it's okay to stay out until morning partying with their friends.

For the most part, I've done a pretty good job of moving on with my life and eliminating him and his mistakes from mine!

I was mistaken!

You see (a little more back story) in 2005 my (ex) husband renewed the tags on our vehicles. No big deal right? WRONG! I later learned (when the cop was knocking on our door) that he'd bounced the check and didn't bother to fix the problem!! (who ignors a bounced check to the COUNTY!!) Anyway, no biggie, he took care of it, and I had bigger money problems to worry about at the time.

Last year (in the middle of our divorce) I took his name off my vehicle, renewed my tags and proceeded on as if he didn't exist.

However, this year when I went to renew my tags online, it wouldn't let me pull up the info on my old car. Over the phone a lady told me it must have been an error on the State's part & I'd just have to come in person to handle it. No biggie, I can do that!

Today, I went to pay my tags in person. While there, I find out EXACTLY why I couldn't file online. It seems that since I married an IDIOT, I'm now on a "no check list". I'll have to pay my tags IN CASH for the next four or so years!! (Good thing I'd planned on paying cash anyway or I'd have been SOL today!) I tried to make light of it to the clerk (it's not her fault I married an ASSHOLE!)

But the more I thought about it, the madder I got. Why? Because the bad check isn't associated with his NAME, it's associated with the vehicles that were registered! Which means that he (Mr. I don't care if I can afford it, I'm getting a new truck) can pay his tags with a check or online or by mail or by phone. But since I'm still driving the same good ol' car I had when I married him, I (Mrs. Doesn't write a check without calling my bank before & after) CANNOT!!

That sort of BURNS me!

Anyway, the moral of the story is...
...$15 marriage licence
...several hours of typing divorce decree (est. value $400+)
...$111 court costs
...$3 in gas to pay CASH for tag renewal
...Knowing that his BOYS can't swim? PRICELESS!!!

If you're thinking about marrying someone, take a step back (SOBER UP!!) spend 3 months in Uganda, purposely smash your pinky with a hammer, volunteer for a colonoscopy and then decide if it's really worth it.

Go Ahead, Laugh At the Pregnant Chick!

Random conversation #1:
*shopping in Walden Books*
Me: *looking at Pilates book on the clearance shelf* Yeah, Pilates! I practice Yoga every morning when I put my socks on!
Ang: *drops book she's looking at & bursts into laughter*
Me: Glad you see the humor in it, I find it to be quite a pain in the ass!

Random conversation #2:
*passing through Sears*
Me: Awww... cute shirt. I don't buy cute clothes anymore!
Ang: Oh, you're clothes are always cute, you just don't "feel" cute.
Me: No, it's okay. I've resigned myself to being okay with walking around like a hippo in a floral printed shower curtain!
Ang: *dies of laughter*

Random conversation #3:
*sitting at my desk trying to hang my calendar on my bulletin board*
Me: Who's bright idea was it to put this bulletin board clear back here behind my desk?
Sam: Hmmm... I know who that was.
Me: Well, I'm an idiot!
Sam: Having problems?
Me: Yeah, this belly wasn't in my way when I got the bright idea to stick this thing clear back here! Why didn't you warn me that this might happen?
Sam: *gives me that "where'd you think the baby was going to grow" look & laughs*

Random conversation #4:
*staring at foot in disgust*
Sam: What's wrong?
Me: Oh, just my latest pregnancy complaint.
Sam: What's that?
Me: I've got an ingrown toenail that is screaming "Cut my toe of at the HIP!!"
Sam: *laughing* I hate that, I finally broke down and took care of mine last night.
Me: Yeah, I hate it. You just have to get out the tools and say, "Okay toe, I'm going to start cutting here and I'm going to keep cutting higher and higher until you quit hurtin!"
Sam: *laughing harder* That's pretty much how it goes!
Me: At least you can reach yours. First I have to get mine up here, then I can only sit like this so long before my body goes "Oh Hell NO!!"
Sam: *still laughing* That's hilarious!
Me: Glad you think so. I'm seriously considering wrapping my shoe in yellow police tape. Then I'll put a sign out that says, "Step on the toe and DIE!!"

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Good Sign It's Past My Bedtime

Daddy Dearest gets up and makes the bed. He then returns to the living room with something ominously concealed in his hands.

Daddy: Hold out your hand
Me: *cringing and yanking hand away*
Daddy: Just hold out your hand
Me: This better not be icky! *cringing, preparing to scream & throw whatever is placed in my hand*

Daddy drops two chewable vitamins in my hand. hehe... yes, I'm obviously PARANOID!!

I might be offended if it weren't for the fact that I'd told him I was going to bed an hour ago and he knows how miserable I feel in the mornings. If anyone else did it, I'd suspect alterior motives, but Daddy has only the best of intentions.

Goodnight... I think... no, seriously... Goodnight... FOR REAL!!

Baby On Board

Okay, so I spend many a part of my day browsing through baby products, baby blogs, baby message boards, etc. (There seems to be a pattern here. You'd think I was pregnant or something!)

Anyway, I must admit that I am a little shocked by some of the things that I find. I am more shocked to read some of the things that Mommies-To-Be write.

Now, as this is my first child, I must say that I in no way consider myself an expect on pregnancy or being a parent (thus my total reluctance to give parenting advice to others). However, it concerns me that some people who are well on their way to becoming parents do not understand the basic concepts of pregnancy. So, I'm going to try to clear up a few myths I've seen people ask about.

  1. There is no reason to totally SPAZ out if your calender says you should be due on the 30th and the sonogram says you're due on the 27th! IT'S 3 DAYS!!! Seriously, by the time the 1st rolls around you'll be praying for that baby to get out of there!
  2. On a similar note, it is asking a lot of your baby to say, "Well, we're due on the 30th, but my friend wants it on her birthday which is the 21st. I'm hoping the baby comes EARLY but not THAT early!" Umm... that's 9 days. A due date is only accurate to a plus or minus two weeks. So you're saying that you wouldn't mind your baby making it's debut 5 days early, but you'll hyperventilate if he or she decides to break out 6 days early?
  3. No! It is NOT true that pregnant teenagers ALWAYS have girls! Just because the four girls you know that got pregnant as teenagers HAD girls, does not mean that ALL teenage mothers have girls!
  4. Your baby's umbilical cord is NOT attached to your belly button. Therefor, it simply is not logical to believe that your child is pulling on the cord because your belly button is moving. Your belly button is where YOUR umbilical cord was attached to YOU. Your baby's umbilical cord is attached to your placenta which is attached to your uterus. If your baby's umbilical cord was attached to your belly button, you'd have a hole there and would have to bottle feed your baby via your belly button for nine months! One of these days I'll get creative and draw a picture of what THAT would look like... until then, just imagine!
  5. Placenta Previa is when your placenta is located in a very low position close to the cervex. It could present complications during labor & delivery, but your pregnancy can usually progress normally until then. Proclampsia is when your placenta separates from the uterus prior to labor and delivery. This usually requires IMMEDIATE medical attention. Confusing the two is a MAJOR thing!!! Thus my reason for #6!
  6. While the net may be a good place to vent or catch up on the latest trends and news, please do NOT use message boards as a substitute for medical advice! ALWAYS ask your doctors if you have any medical questions. You wouldn't ask medical advice from a woman who was bottle-feeding her belly button on the street! Please use caution when accepting advice online. Just because a woman is pregnant like you, doesn't mean she has the slightest idea how she got that way!!

This is a Fun Game!!

Wanna know what the weather is like where I am? Check out The Weather Channel.

Wanna gossip about the locals? Write your own blog.

Wanna whine about your problems? Take a number.

Wanna catch up on how your relatives are doing? Try calling them.

Wanna pretend there isn't a problem? Keep pretending I don't notice!

Wanna blame my hormones? See if my opinions change once she gets here!

Wanna keep playing games? Fine by me, I'm just starting to break in the ball bat!

Wanna play nice with me? Might take a little growing up on your part

Wanna know what this is all about? You're so smart, you should be able to figure it out.

Think your good at Leap Frog? I'm an expert at Keep Away!!

Note: For a moment I forgot that people who don't know my messed up family really do read my posts on occasion. In which case this post probably confuses the heck out of you. Briefly put, it's a family drama involving an individual who thinks she can be best buddies with me (and the baby) while eliminating my parents from her life. The only reason it's posted here is to humor my online family. Hope that clears things up!

This Might Be Fun

This post is just for Tink...

Note: I love Shel Silverstein and this will in no way do justice to that writing. This is just my boredom insanely mixing with Tink's comment and my moderate poetry skills.

Where the Sidewalk Ends

There is a place where the sidewalk ends, I guess they ran out of concrete.

You'll find a gaping hole there so I suggest you watch your feet.

When I get really bored I stroll to where the sidewalk ends at

I throw things in the gaping hole and listen for them to go *splat*

One day I threw a penny in and waited with a patient ear

Trying to guess how long it'd be before that landing sound I'd hear

I bent my knees and craned my neck but only silence echoed in the black

That's when I learned where the sidewalk ends, things fall in and don't come back

Then in my mind a dark idea, I'd found the perfect hiding spot

For all the things that drive me mad. I began to grin at this new thought

I tossed the neighbors and their dog, into that never-ending pit

Now I don't have to look out my window and stare at Fido's shit

One day my brother ticked me off so I took him where the sidewalk ends

And while he listened for his penny, I smiled and shoved him in

I took my exes 4x4 and stuck the gear in drive

And then I simply stood and watched as it took one final dive

Where the sidewalk ends I think, you'll find a lot of junk

I've tossed some jeans, and all my trash and many things that stunk

So if you ever find yourself, standing where the sidewalk ends

You just might want to watch your back and pray you are my friend!

-Ellie's Mommie 2006

Brought to you by the letter "B"

We will return to our regularly scheduled blog, right after this brief conversation.

Me: I need something to blog about today...
Daddy: Blog about Blogging Bloggers Blogging their Blogging Brains out ALL Blogging Day!!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog!

It Just Won't STOP!!!

I have come to the conclusions that my Crazy Cousin is the devil incarnate!

Why? Have you read her blogs? Have you noticed that she posts a daily "song that will stick in your head and drive you batty beyond any hope of therapy"? Do you realize that I know the words to all of these songs so they do nothing but roll around repeatedly in my head driving me crazier than I already am? Do you realize that if by chance I've forgotten some of the words to these songs, my cousin is evil enough to have written them out to remind me? Do you realize that I have had the theme song from the Fresh Prince stuck in my head since SUNDAY? Do you realize that now, clammering around as the background music to the Fresh Prince, I have Scooby Doo playing as well?


AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

...Now... this is a story all about how my Scooby-Dooby-Doo turned upside down,
and I'd like to take a minute, oh where are you?
I'll tell you how we got some work to do now
In... Scooby-Dooby-Doo born and raised
on the playground is where are you?,
chillin' out, maxin', relaxin', we need some help from you now.
C'mon Scooby-Doo outside the school
When a couple of guys said "I see you"
started making slivers in my neighborhood...


You get the drift right?


Yes, it's sad, but so true. My cousin is SATAN!!!!


However, since I've earned almost $11 in ad clicks today, and I know she contributes to that... I'll forgive her!

Monday, February 26, 2007

Maternity Madness!

So, have you ever seen a Bella Band? It's this little tube of fabric which is specifically designed to hold up maternity pants or cover your ever expanding belly so that youcan wear you pre-prego clothes longer. Personally, I've thought it was a good idea ever since I started fastening my pants with a hair tie.

You see, I've learned a few things about clothing and the ever expanding body of a pregnant woman!

  1. While your pre-pregnant hip huggers might fit ideally underneath your bulging belly, you will no doubt spend the day trying to pull the back of your pants up so that your ass doesn't hang out in the half moon fashion.
  2. Long maternity shirts can cover the previously mentioned "half-moon effect". However, you will still spend your day pulling the back of your pants up because you can feel that plumber's crack effect!
  3. Hair ties are ideal for expanding a tight waistband. Unfortunately, at some point you will undoubtedly outgrow the zipper. Unless you are the type who doesn't mind a little lower-level air conditioning, you will eventually have to break down and wear real maternity pants!
  4. When you finally break down and slide into that first giant elastic waistband, you will discover that you now have to spend most of your day pulling up the front of your pants to prevent the ever attractive "crotch-around-the-knees effect".

This is where that Bella Band would come in very handy. However, where I live there aren't many options available to shop for maternity items. That's where being raised on hand-me-downs, garage sale specials, and improvised furniture comes in quite handy.

My solution: a black knit tube top! I must say that it is about 85% effective which means I only have to pull my pants up about three times in the course of the day, as opposed to 326 times!

Barbie's Legs Popped Off Again!!

I realize that in my messed up pregnant brain things aren't always the way they should be, but I must say that today definately took the cake!

Let me explain. I have a fabulous set of maternity pants that my mother picked up for the criminal price of $3 a pair. They are all hip, cute, and most importantly they don't fall off my ass when I sit down. However, there is one pair that I haven't quite got the hang of yet. Just a pair of plain denim maternity pants. Nothing fancy smancy about them, except that they have a pretty red and yellow decorative seam. The weird part about it is that the decorative seam is on the inseam! Yes, that's right. The decorative seam runs up the inside of my legs. It reminds me a lot of an airport runway. Here you go kid! Everything's well lit when you decide to make your entry!!

So back to my pregnancy brain. Today, I'm sitting at my desk with one leg thrown clumsily over the other knee. As I look down at my pant leg, I can't help but notice (once again) this decorative inseam. And what was the first thought that popped in my mind?

"Oh my god! My legs are on backwards!!"

How Much is that Playhouse in the Backyard?

So, here I was browsing through incredibly outrageous things that people buy for their spoiled little shitheads. There are $49,000 armoires that look like the shoe the old woman lived in. $47,000 beds designed to replicated Cinderella's coach. A Victorian playhouse which can be customized with cable, running water, electricity, and wireless communication with a price that starts around $23,400.



There once was a freaky family, who lived in a condo
They bought stupid shit because they had too much dough
Their daughter grew up and ran off with some rock stars
The son can be found hanging out in the gay bars
And mommy and daddy have spent all they had
Now they live in the playhouse, now isn't that sad




Anyway, all kidding aside, I did find this awesome bed. I can't say I'd pay $3,000 for it. But still. If that isn't the coolest bed I've ever seen! The top holds a 30" x 60" loft mattress while a twin mattress fits below.

It is SOOOOO Cool!!

Sorry, just had to share!

And yes, I will admit that if I was a millionaire I would buy the armoire and the Cindrella coach and the damn playhouse too! Why? Because, if I had the money to spoil the shit out of my daughter, you better bet I would!

Sunday, February 25, 2007

Six Ridiculous Baby Products!!

Okay, so I was on a search for ridiculous baby items. And boy did I find some! From the over-protective parent's accesories, to the I don't have time to play Mommy accesories, there seems to be no end to the pointless nature of the products on the market!

Here we have the ThudGuard (a.k.a. The Thug Guard) Worried that your toddle will bump his fragile noggin? Concerned that she'll start hanging out with a bad crowd? Sleepless nights about you child getting involved with sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll? Have no fear! The Thug Guard is here!! Guaranteed to assure that your childs precious grey matter will remain fully intact long enough for him or her to gain full motor skills. Also, designed to prevent any normal social interaction with other toddlers. Rest assured with Thug Guard, your child will be the laughing stock of the neighborhood and you will no longer have to worry that they will join the local gang movement. Thug Guard guarantees that your child will never get laid or fit in with other children, thus eliminating the worry of teen-pregnancy and drug use. Thug guard comes complete with a lifetime supply of pocket protectors and scientific calculators. Today, for a special reduced rate, you can recieve a lifetime supscription to Why I Hate My Parents. Your welcome package will include valuable coupons for discounts on family counseling sessions, legal consultants, and drug rehab programs. Don't miss out on this special oppotunity!!



Here we have the TummyTub!! Designed to bring the stability and security of the womb to bathtime, this plastic tub is ideal for the family who keeps random body parts in large jars in the pantry! No more filling the sink or tub with water to give baby a bath, simply fill this convienent bucket with water and bathe your baby at the dinner table! Much better than conventional buckets because there are no handles or toxic plastic additives. Guaranteed to make your child feel as comfortable as it was cramped up in your womb for nine months.



The Baby Keeper! Designed to eliminate the hassel of where to put your baby while you pee! This special harness was made specifically for the purpose of hanging your youngster on the door of any public bathroom stall. While we do not recommend you place your purse in this location, due to the high rates of theft, we feel that your baby will be secure and comfortable hanging on the bathroom door while you drop a load! Also convientent for work at home parents who need a place to store the baby while completing those necessary filing tasks. Other uses may include: hanging your child on your own bathroom door so you can get that much needed bubble bath, storing your child in the closet while the boss is visiting for dinner, or hanging the child on the front door as a unique welcome wreath!


The Zaky Pillow! A uniquely designed pillow in the shape of human hands is perfectly designed for any parent who is infatuated with the Addam's Family! This pillow is specially made to provide the same comforting touch that Mommy or Daddy might provide. Perfect for the parents who simply cannot bother to hold their child. Also ideal for providing that special touch while Mommy and Daddy are off creating a little brother or sister.

The Walk-O-Long. Another Hand's Free Parenting device, designed for parents who feel that actually touching their child will create a psychological complex. This soft, comfortable, bungee cord will allow you to pick your toddler up off the floor during that clumsy learning to walk stage. No more stooping over to comfort a boo boo. Simply yank on the Walk-O-Long and your toddler will be up and running again in no time. This device is useful for children up to the age of 10. It can substitute as a leash when taking your child out in public and is ideal for helping to steady a child who is learning to roller skate. The Walk-O-Long is the perfect gift for any parent who is dreadfully afraid of catching some horrible germ from their young child. No more need for that dangerous parent-child contact.

And finally, for the parent who simple does not have the time to bother with feeding time. We bring you the Pacifier Sipper! Put that sucking action to good use with this specially designed pacifier straw. Perfect for parents who's schedules are too busy to tend to their child's basic needs. Just pop in the binky and be on your way! Also ideal for parents who don't mind if their thirteen year old is running around with a pacifier in their mouth and no comprehension of how to use a cup. This fantastic product is brought to you by the makers of Beer Helmets! We guarantee your child will fit right in at any hillbilly gathering where men wear beer cans on their heads and drink out of them with straws. Finally, Daddy and Baby can bond over meal time.

People Scare the Sh!t Out of Me!

This site makes me feel so much better about my family and the people that I know. All these years I've thought I grew up in a really messed up family. Come to find out, there are people way more f#cked up than US!!

  • Awe... look... what a sweet little doggy on the front step staring out at the pond.
  • Oh, look at the innocent kitty daydreaming about catnip and balls of string
  • Okay, so lizards aren't all that cute and cuddly, but some people like to keep them around for pets.
  • And the guinea pig just out enjoying a casual day in the garden
  • And this good ol' boy, lounging on the porch like any devoted dog.

So what could possibly make me think that these pet's owners are the creepiest, freakiest, most insane individuals on earth?

It's really quite simple. All these pets are DEAD!! That's right! DEAD!! Kicked the bucket! Gone to the Pet Shop in the Sky! No longer of MORTAL being! They are DEAD!! And their loving (aka. chemically unstable) owners had them stuffed!! Correction! FREEZE DRIED!!

Thank you Pet Preservation for officially creeping me out!!

Another Sesame Street Lesson



The ABC's of Pregnancy






A - A$$H*L3 (What Daddy will probably get called at least once during delivery!)


B - Baby Belly


C - Cheeseburgers (aka: The Quickest Way to Cheer Mommy Up)


D - Daddy Dearest


E - Expensive (i.e. Doctor's Bills, Baby Supplies, Maternity Clothes, etc.)


F - Feet (What I would love to see again!)


G - Gigantic (How big I feel!)


H - Hormonal!!


I - It's a Girl!!!


J - Jello (What my belly looks like when baby gets frisky)


K - Kickboxer (What our little girl will be when she grows up)


L - Legs (Something I long to shave again!)


M - Motherhood


N - Nookie (What I have no desire for these day. Sorry, was that too much?)


O - Obstetrician (Someone who probably knows more about you than your significant other at this point!)


P - Pain killers (What I'll be screaming for the minute I hit the hospital doors!)


Q - Questions (10,000 thoughts that scramble your brain on a daily basis. 9,999 of them have no right answer)


R - Rhogam (A shot that makes your butt cheek hurt for 3 days afterwards)


S - Sleep (A rare commodity from now until graduation)


T - Third Trimester (The longest three months of your life)


U - Ultrasound (Those fabulous prenatal pictures that are so very expensive)


V - Virgin (What I swear I am!!)


W - Waddle When you Walk!!


X - X-Rays (Just another excuse for avoiding the dentist!)


Y - Yoga (The art of being able to put your socks on in the morning)


Z - Zippers (What I'm thankful my shoes have, rather than laces)

10 things I hate about being pregnant:

  1. Trying to find clothes that fit without making me look like a hippopotamus in a shower curtain
  2. Putting on my shoes and socks in the morning
  3. Feeling like I need to take a nap every two hours
  4. The thought of all the extra wieght I'm going to have this summer
  5. The weird things that are going on with my belly button
  6. Not being able to sleep on my stomach because it's like balancing and elephant on a basketball
  7. Not being able to be in a bad mood without someone chalking it up to hormones
  8. Having to perfect various yoga positions in order to take a bath
  9. 1500 side effects for which there is no cure
  10. A list of 5000 things that need to be done in the next 3 months and no energy to do them

10 things I love about being pregnant

  1. Not feeling guilty for making the 17-year-old grocery boy push my cart out to the car in 20 degree weather
  2. Watching my belly wiggle like jello when the baby moves
  3. Having an excuse for my total inability to concentrate or form logical thought processes
  4. Being able to blame my bad day on the baby
  5. Being able to eat as much as my heart desires without people giving me funny looks
  6. Shopping for cute little girl's outfits
  7. The way Daddy smiles when he's rubbing my belly
  8. Having an excuse for why the dishes aren't done & the trash is sitting on the front step
  9. Being able to order a virgin Pina Colada without looking like a sissy
  10. Of course, our sweet (obnoxious) little girl.

Crumple vs.Fold

Sesame Street now presents:

Another Random Conversation!

Scene: Me & Daddy Dearest in the bathroom (him using the mirror & me using the facilities - sorry if that's too much)

Me: *out of the blue* So, do you crumple or do you fold?
Daddy: Fold
Me: Me too *folding*
Daddy: F#@% CRUMPLES!! Crumples cause mistakes!!!
Me: *hysterical laughter*

This conversation was brought to you by the letters
T and P.

Saturday, February 24, 2007

My Little Sister!!


Okay, so ever since my "baby" sister started her modeling stuff I've had to bite my tongue. She's all grown up now and while most of the pictures I've seen of her are very tasteful, many of them did make me want to go kamakaze-hormonal-big-sister on the photographer.
However, this is her most recent pic and frankly, I think it is so gorgeous I can't help but brag about her.
She's BEAUTIFUL! Of course I've always known that, but this picture is FABULOUS!!

Randomness (In honor of my cousin)

Just another random conversation:

*takes Daddy Dearest's hands in my own and smiles up at him*
Me: Honey, you have sheet wrinkles on your face. (he'd just woke up)
Daddy: *grinning* I also have fecal matter on my hands!
Me: AAAHHHH! *lets go immediately*

Just a note: There was nothing on his hands, but me holding them was keeping him from his morning cigarette.

Cheap Entertainment

Okay, so it's obvious by now that I am easily entertained by the simplest things.

Quick Fact: Yesterday I got my mother & my cousin to sign up for AdSense ads on their blogspot sites so that when I'm bored I can click their ads and have the satisfaction that I'm making money for the people I love. It's not much, but the ads don't take up much space so we figure we'll give it a shot. (If you're interested, there's a link under my "Google Tools" section that will let you sign up and waste away your life too!)

Anyway, today I went to their sites and checked out their ads. And what I found has amused me to no end. AdSense is designed to give you advertisements that are targeted to the content of your site (you'll notice that mine are usually pregnancy related). However, as my family's sites have not been up for very long, Adsense has not yet "learned" very much about their sites.

Therein lies the humor.

My mother's site had an advertisement today titled "God - Total Union with God" I about died. Anyone who knows my mother very well knows that she is as close to "Anti-Christian" as it comes. It's not that she has a problem with God, just that she has a problem with the way most people present their God and she just doesn't want you telling her that she's wrong because your invisible man in the sky says so.

As for my cousin's site. It was proudly sporting a "Dead Animal Removal" ad. This is only funny to me because I am well aware of her problems with rodent control and how much she truly despises mice and other rodents.

Yes, I realize that some may not see the humor in this sort of stuff, but as I said before, "I am easily entertained!"

Friday, February 23, 2007

Just One More Thing About Commercials

Have you seen this commercial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DqX7VxW3wL0

I mean seriously... The Most Advanced Piece of Technology You'll Ever Pee On?

Need I even say more?

While We're Talking About Commercials


Here's a great commercial idea from the ramblings of Daddy Dearest (after watching me skillfully remove my bra after work, while remaining fully dressed):


Woman walking out of a business meeting removes her bra under her shirt & tosses it in the secretary's wastebasket.

Woman sitting in a fine restaurant removes her bra from under her shirt & tosses it on the dirty stack of dishes.

Woman in a movie theater removes her bra from under her shirt & tosses it in the row behind her.

Four women get off work and begin drive home. All remove their bras under their shirts and toss them out the window on the freeway.

Scenes of abandoned bras in various odd places (i.e. the elevator, hanging on a gas pump, a park bench, etc.)

One woman undressing that evening before bed and still wearing her bra.

Commentary, "Finally, a bra that really CAN give you 18 full hours of comfort!"


Now tell me that almost every woman in America can't relate to that!

Wonder Maxi to the RESCUE!!


Okay, maybe it's just me, but what's up with the new Stayfree Maxi Pad Commercial?


If you haven't seen it, I'll give you a brief recap:


Three women lounging on a rooftop in the sun. A watertower nearby springs a leak. Blondie jumps to the rescue with her package of Stayfree Maxi Pads. One Maxi absorbs all of the watertower's leaking water. Returning to her seat, another woman "pets" the maxi and declares, "It's still DRY!!!". Blondie places the maxi back in her purse!


I realize that given my current state, it's been some time since I've had to bother with the burdens of maxi pads. However, never in my entire life has a maxi pad made me feel like a SUPERHERO!! As a matter of fact, anytime I've ever needed to carry my maxi pads around with me, I certainly was in no mood to jump to the rescue of anyone.


PLEASE!! Show me something I might believe:


Woman sitting in a police station being questioned about the death of her boyfriend. The officer asks if she has an alibi. "Why yes officer, as a matter of fact, I do! You see, I woke with a killer migraine, crawled out of bed doubled over with cramps, drug my half-dead body to the bathroom where I downed half a bottle of Midol and dug my Stayfree Maxi Pads out from under the sink. I then walked zombi-fashion to the kitchen where I proceded to consume a half-pint of Rocky Road ice cream for breakfast before settling on the couch to watch Oprah. My boyfriend knocked on the front door, but all I had the energy to do was throw the remote at the door. Realizing that I'd rather be watching Dr. Phil, I crawled acrossed the room to retrieve the remote and decided to let my boyfriend inside. I was hoping that I could talk him into running me a warm bath. Unfortunately, when I opened the door I found him dead in the hallway. At first I was shocked, but then it suddenly occured to me that I needed to change my maxi. After spending 15 minutes in the bathroom, I downed the other half of the Midol bottle and ran my bath. 30 minutes later, I crawled back to the couch and became enthrawled in my favorite soap opera. It was 45 minutes and a king size Snickers bar later that I remembered I'd left Bobby lying dead in the hallway. I was trying to remember where I left the cordless phone when I had to rush to the bathroom again to prevent a HUGE disaster! I finally found the phone on my bedroom floor where I'd left it when I called in sick this morning and was just about to dial 9-1-1 when the police began banging on my front door. Now if you don't mind, could someone make a trip to the corner gas station to pick me up some Stayfree Maxi Pads because the crappy maxi pads provided in the women's restroom are not qualified to absorb what drips from a toddler's sippy cup?"


Now see... I would BUY that!!

Thursday, February 22, 2007

Yes! I have NO life!!

So I'm sitting here bored out of my mind contemplating the horrors of fishing cat vomit out of a toilet with a fork and realizing that indeed, I have NO LIFE!!

That's all there is to it!


Daddy Dearest left for work three hours ago (after kissing his girls who declared they would VEG on the couch for the evening!)


What have I (we) done since? We've inventoried our books and analyzed what they said about us! We've browsed through neighboring blogs (re-reading the horrors mentioned above). We've drank a Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper and wished that there was someone online to talk to. We've checked our Analytics and "WooHooed" at the fact we had a visitor from the fabulously far away state of Hawaii. We've peed several times! And we answered the phone to tell Daddy we wanted breadsticks with cheese and Flinstone's Complete for supper!!


Now look how productive we've been!!


I must confess that pregnancy makes me feel like the LAZIEST person on the planet!!


I know that I'm not ACTUALLY the LAZIEST because... well... I inventoried our book collection! Yeah! I really lazy (or sane) person would have never bothered to do that.


So, I am slowly coming to terms with my total lack of a life. I'm embracing my BOREDOM and hoping that somewhere in all of it, I'll be inspired to do something totally ridiculous (like assess my personality via my personal library collection). Who knows, maybe my boredom has inspired me to return my late library books (not likely since I'm halfway through two of them!)


But thankfully, as I sit here and wait for my breadsticks with cheese to arrive, I have the peace of mind knowing that our current living arrangement forbids pets and therefore...


...I do NOT have to fish cat vomit out of a toilet with a FORK!!!


(if you're very VERY bad... in you're next life you'll be a FORK!!!)

Analyze this!


Okay, so anyone who knows me is well aware of the fact that I am a BOOK JUNKIE!!

That is not to say that I read a lot of books. No, I just collect them so that people who visit my house THINK I read a lot of books. Thus the title "Book Junkie" as opposed to "Reading Junkie".
There are many parts to this addiction of mine. This first part is that "inner idealist" who aspires to have someday read all of the books. A second part cannot bear to get rid of literature I have not yet gotten around to reading myself. A third part is overly impressed by the vast amount of knowledge (both factual and fictional) that is readily available to my fingertips. Still a fourth part is simple too selfish to part with a collection that I have worked hard to collect. Add into this mix the simple fact that I'm a packrat (it's genetically drilled into my brain) and you get a never ending (and ever growing) accumulation of literature.

Inside my small one bedroom apartment you will find a bookshelf full of Stephen King, another rack of various novels and resource books, a corner cabinet of New Age material, a few books stranded on my desk, and a box of romance novels in my bedroom (this is most baffeling to me as I have not read a romance novel since I was 16).

As I have recently come to terms with my ADDICTION, I thought it might be interesting to take a look at what my books say about me. How much information can you obtain about a person by simply observing their personal library? I was shocked to learn quite a lot about myself.

Below is a list of books you can find in my livingroom (I have excluded the romance novels). Books I have actually read (cover to cover) are in bold, while books I have started to read (or read parts of) are in italics. And here is what I've learned about myself from my books. Let me know if you discover any other inciteful information from this list:

  1. I love old books. Really old books: An 1886 Medical Dictionary

  2. I'm fascinated with my Celtic heritage: The Celtic Tree Oracle; Touch of the Irish; Celtic Magic

  3. I find dreams very interesting: A Dictionary of Dream Symbols; From Dreams to Discovery; Dream Interpretations for Beginners; Oracle of the Dreamtime

  4. I don't do organized religion: Wicca: A Guide to the Solitary Practitioner; Llewellyn's 2000 Magical Almanac; 1999 Witch's Almanac; 2000 Witch's Almanac; Wicca 2000;
    Magical Charms from A to Z; The Complete Book of Magic & Witchcraft; How to Uncover Your Past Lives;
    Goddess in My Pocket; Pocket Guide to Wicca; The Little Giant Encyclopedia of Fortune Telling; Dictionary of Mythology

  5. I'm a hopeless romantic: I Hope You Dance; Sonnets of Love & Friendship

  6. I want to have a yard (and a garden) someday: Natural Landscaping; Introductory Horticulture

  7. I don't have a long enough attention span to read a 1000+ page novel (seriously, I've gotten halfway through this book about 4 times, so I figure that's similar to having read it twice!): The Witching Hour

  8. I love poetry: Treehouse; Covenants; Platte Valley Homestead; Things Taking Shape

  9. I'm fascinated by the supernatural: Strange Tales; In Defense of Ghosts

  10. A book substitutes as 2 hours of inservice for my job: For the Love of Ann; When Rabbit Howls; Yesterday's Child; Leslie; Somewhere a Child Is Crying

  11. I enjoy astronomy: Planets; Universe

  12. Altering books is fun: The New Book of Knowledge A1; Tim McGraw & the Dancehouse Doctors

  13. I can't part with books (even if I have no intention of reading them): When the Wind Blows; Backroads; The Door to December; The Servants of Twilight; Vampires; The Bear & the Dragon

  14. I love a good laugh: I Didn't Plan To Be a Witch

  15. I really can finish a book (but then I don't want to part with it): The Passion;
    The Amittyville Horror (2 copies)

  16. I'm a sucker for a classic: Gone With the Wind

  17. College books are too expensive to get rid of: Literature

  18. My boss shouldn't ask me to write AR tests for books I have no interest in: The Heritage of Shannara; The Teeth of the Tiger

  19. I am terrible about returning my library books (these are only a few months overdue, my last set was 2 years past due. Thankfully, no late fees!): Black & Blue; The Saint of Dragons; Spellfall; Freaky Green Eyes

  20. I have an excellent memory (borrowed this from a co-worker 2 years ago): Portrait of a Serial Killer

  21. I should really brush up on my history: World History: Connections to Today

  22. I love arts & crafts: Papercrafts & Origami; Art Deco

  23. I taught myself to play the guitar (kind of): 2 Guitar Books

  24. I'm pregnant with my first child: What To Expect When You're Expecting; The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy

  25. I like easy excercise & hate medicine: Yoga, Tai Chi, Massage Therapies & Healing Remedies

  26. I want our baby to be smart: My Book House Collection 1-12

  27. I love Stephen King books: Different Seasons; Four Past Midnight; The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon; Skeleton Crew; Night Shift; Talisman; Rose Madder; Dolores Claiborne; Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three

  28. But I'm not too fond of reading Stephen King books: Firestarter; The Dead Zone; The Dark Half; Thinner; Bag of Bones; Insomnia; IT; Dark Tower: The Gunslinger; Dark Tower III: The Wastelands; Dark Tower IV: The Wizard & the Glass

  29. And this is my favorite... I'm rather strange (these are the only three books on the computer desk): The Instant Tarot Reader; The Holy Bible; and The Complete Bartender

Stalking my boyfriend!

Woohoo! I have discovered a new and interesting SPYWARE tool! Now, from the comfort of my desk at work, I can know whether Daddy dearest will be awake when I get home from work or not. It's really not a big deal either way. The man works evenings and so he usually stays awake all night and sleeps while I'm at work. However, it does make me more prepared for my arrival home.

You see, there is a difference between coming home to a man who has been awake long enough to have his "morning" cigarette and can of soda, and coming home to an utterly exhausted man who isn't truely convinced that his job is worth getting out of that cozy bed. The first means I get to walk in the door with a smile on my face and happily announce, "Honey, I'm HOME!!" while the later means I should quietly tiptoe through the apartment until it's time to wake the sleeping giant with gentle hugs and kisses (much like myself, he has an inner demon that is not exactly human for about 30 minutes after awakening!)

I greatly prefer to come home to the wide awake version of Daddy. Partially because I like to see his beaming smile when I walk through the door, but also because I'm starting to nod off at that point in the day causing my inner demon (Sybil) to come out. Some of you might think that two demon's would be perfectly suited for each other. You would be DEAD WRONG! You see Sybil does NOT play well with others. She's more of the "chew them up and spit them out" type. Thus, if you put her in the same room with the "not quite awake and kinda grouchy" demon that Daddy possesses, there is bound to be screaming, eye gouging, and eventually an evil Sybilian battle cry!

So you see, this new SPYWARE tool will come in very handy in the near future because I will be better prepared to have Sybil chained down extra tight on occasions which Daddy has decided to sleep in.

I know, I know, you're all dying to learn what my SPYWARE tool is.

Quite simply, MSN Messenger!

Yes, I know... how boring! But honestly, I'm sitting on the computer at work, logged into my messenger, waiting to see if the YeahWhooos come on, when suddenly I get a message:

"You have just been logged into messenger on another computer. Click here to log in again!"

Well, isn't that neat? Guess Daddy woke up!

Phone call to Daddy:
--*ring ring*
--Daddy: Yes, dear?
--Me: Hi honey. You just got on the computer didn't you?
--Daddy: Yes! STALKER!!!
--Me: *giggles*
--Daddy: STALKER! *click*

Top 10 Reasons I HATE American Idol!!


10. It just dawned on me that I don't even like the logo for American Idol. The A is meesy, American is crooked and Idol is... anyway... I think it's ugly.

9. Do we really care? We get wrapped up in the hype and the voting and the SCANDAL!! But afterwards, if it wasn't "you're #1" that won it all. Do you really care? Personally, the only Idol winner I truely know much about is Carrie Underwood. Why? Well, because I voted for her for a whole season and then she happened to make it work afterwards. Did I care when her first album came out? No, it was okay, but I didn't jump for joy. Do I care now? Not really, but I'm super in love with her latest hit song and therefore it's all good. Was Carrie Underwood's winning American Idol the highlight of my life? year? month? week? No, maybe the highlight of my evening on that particular evening but that's only because it was like picking the winning horse in the Kentucky Derby even though you didn't win a dime!

8. The hypocracy. Everyone gets so mad because Simon criticizes (harshly at times) the singer's ability (or lack of). That's fine, but if you're going to complain about what an ASS he is, don't you dare let me catch you laughing when they show the "Season's Worst" episode!

7. American Idol Karaoke CD Packs!! OK... Even I am DUMBSTRUCK by this. American Idol IS just a big KARAOKE show people!! No matter what they'd like you to think. I can go to any local college bar and hear people sing who are equally as BAD and equally as GOOD!! It's KARAOKE for people too lazy to go to the BAR!! The Karaoke CD has 3 more songs than Carrie Underwood's HIT ALBUM and costs $3 more!!

6. The ALL NEW DVD American Idol BOARD GAME (American Idol - All Star Challenge DVD)!! Oh, yes, see me? I cannot contain my excitement! PLEASE, encourage youth around the world to go forth and make idiots out of themselves and have their self-esteem crushed for all eternity because a DVD told them they SUCKED!! THANK YOU!!!

5. Nothing makes me want to puke more than hearing one of my favorite songs BOTCHED by some pop star wannabe.

4. Simon Cowell - okay, so he's a jerk and he's mean and that's not really why I hate him. Honestly, I hate him because he's so Metro-sexual it sickens me. Oh and for "Il Divo"!!

3. I have trouble sitting through 2 hours worth of a movie (even a good movie) what in the world would inspire a network to air 2 hours of mind-numbing KARAOKE!!!

2. Who is the BAD friend who told some of these people that they CAN SING? I mean honestly, don't YOU have friends who would keep you from going on national TV and making an ASS of yourself?

AND the NUMBER 1 reason why I HATE American Idol isssssssss.......................
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(Warning: I'm very irate about this one!)
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(No. Seriously. This ticks me off!)
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(I'm telling you, this won't be pretty!)
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1. WHO THE @#%& DO THEY THINK THEY ARE? I HAVE TO WAIT 2 MORE WEEKS TO SEE AN EPISODE OF "HOUSE" BECAUSE AMERICA IS INFATUATED WITH IDIOTS THAT CANNOT SING!! WHAT THE %$#@ KIND OF #$% IS THIS? DON'T YOU PEOPLE REALIZE THAT THE SARCASM OF GREGORY HOUSE IS FAR MORE ENTERTAINING TO LISTEN TO THAN SOME BIMBO IN TIGHT PANTS SING BITS AND PIECES OF OTHER PEOPLE'S SONGS? HAVE YOU NO FRIGGING SHAME? I'M DYING HERE!! AND TO MAKE IT WORSE, YOU REPLACE "HOUSE" WITH SOMETHING TOTALLY CRAPTASTIC!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

My Amazing Chameleon Clothes

Okay... YES! I LIED!! I'm a LIAR!! LIARS go to HELL!! Guess I'll see you all there!

I know I said I'd tell you all about my chameleon clothes as soon as I finished digesting my fried chicken. However, something came up. I have no idea what exactly came up. I just know it did. But thankfully, I left myself this reminder so that I could come back and tell you all about my chameleon clothes!

Late last week, I dressed in a very nice set of sweatshirts and headed off to work. after about an hour at work, I found myself staring in a puzzled manner at my sweatshirt. Noticing my puzzled look, my co-workers asked me if I was okay. I informed them that everything was fine, except that when I put this shirt on that morning. It was dark GREEN!!

My co-worker stares at my shirt (which is very obviously chocolate brown) and simply said, "Um, no dear. It WASN'T!"

The brown still looked nice over the top of the olive green shirt I was wearing, but the point was that too me, it was GREEN that morning!!

As both of my co-workers stared at me in that "baby-has-sucked-her-last-brain-cell" look, I admitted that I had gotten dressed in the dark that morning to keep from waking Daddy dearest up. Of course this created a chorus of laughter from them and the suggestion that next time, I turn on the light.

So yesterday, having dressed with the assistance of a light, I discovered that I wasn't entirely crazy. I did in fact own two GREEN sweatshirts which I had intended to wear together the previous week. Now, being able to see them, I decided to wear them on this particular day! Upon arriving to work I proudly confessed that I had found the other GREEN shirt. Which brought forth a chuckle and comments of "Guess you turned on the light today!"

Later that day, my two co-workers realized that they had both dressed in coordinating black and tan outfits. They immediately turned to me (in my GREEN shirts and blue jeans) and jokingly asked where I had been when the phone call went out that morning. I tried to convince them that I had a hangover that morning and refused to answer the phone. While they were amused, my current physical state casted a shadow of doubt on that alabi.

I immediately stood up shocked and stared at my clothes. "What are you talking about? This morning when I got dressed I thought this WAS black and tan!!!"

Now that, they believed!

Monday, February 19, 2007

Soda Can From Hell!

Today I encountered the soda from Hell. It was a mystery soda I had purchased from the seemingly normal vending machine in the office. There was a minor dent upon the bottom of the can, but nothing to deter the average soda drinker.

This devilish can had sat on my desk for about ten minutes when I finally decided to open it. During those ten minutes it had not been disturbed in the slightest way to provoke an irritable nature. However, upon opening the can it immediately fizzed in a very threatening manner. As if it thought about exploding all over me, but then thought otherwise. I sipped away the soda foam, thankful that we had adverted a potential disaster for both me and the computer's keyboard. Much to my surprise, I found that the can was still foaming. On two more occasions I sipped away the excess foaminess expecting the endless (yet, extremely slow) flow to eventually subside. As the clock ticked on, the can continued to foam over at the top in a strange and eerie fashion. I finally resorted to the age old trick of placing your finger in the soda. The bubbles quickly dispersed, but once my finger was removed, the entourage began again.

Finally, out of great concern for my own safety, I poured the liquid concoction into a plastic cup so that I might better examine it. Upon close examination there were swirls of rainbows within the liquid much like you would see in a spot of oil poured upon the ground. This I could easily have overlooked, after all, I did stick my fingers in the liquid and surely they were oily.

However, as I watched the endless flow of fizzling bubbles on the surface of the soda, it became clear to me that they were moving in oddly straight lines. There was no randomness to the bubbles. They swirled around in connected lines of chaos like some strange ballet.

At this point in the discussion, I must admit that I was concerned that I may be hallucinating. Therefore I called over a co-worker who verified that while I may be clinically insane, I was NOT hallucinating. There was definitely something very wrong with my soda.

So, for the personal safety of all of us involved, I chose to trash my fifty cent can of soda. It was a tragedy, but one I was willing to make after what I had witnessed. Please, be wary of all suspicious soda cans that spit fuzzy bubbles for no apparent reason.

Sunday, February 18, 2007

Today Smooth Legs; Tommorow the World!

Yes! I shaved my legs today! Okay, so I semi-shaved my legs in a way that only a pregnant woman can appreciate. I hearby swear by the Schick Quatro which allowed me to clumsily go over areas (even though I couldn't see them) without obtaining a single nick. Daddy Dearest thinks the fact that I accomplished this is the most hilarious thing in the world. Imagine how funny he'd think it was if he'd actually been present to observe this miraculous act of manuevering.

My next goal will be to paint my toenails. Of course, if Daddy was really sweet he'd do it for me. However, considering the fact that the man nearly projectile vomits at the smell of fingernail polish, I highly doubt that will be a reality. I am determined, nonetheless, to have painted toenails in the near future. Even if I have to pay the neighbor ladies 9-year-old to do it!

Flatlined


Since my brain is currently running on "flat-line" (exhausted from my bath) this just seems like a good thing to do to pass the time between now and bedtime.


  1. What time did you get up this morning? Noon... only because the tennisball sized knot in my back insisted that there was no way it would allow me to sleep one minute longer.

  2. Diamonds or Pearls? In a heartbeat... DIAMONDS! The next guy who asks me my ring size will get a resounding "one carat or larger!"

  3. What was the last movie you saw at the cinema? Epic Movie, and I must say it was quite romantic. Not the movie, but the fact that we had the entire theater to ourselves on Valentine's Day. At one point I kicked my feet up and stretched out across three seats. What more could a pregnant woman want?

  4. What's your favorite TV show? Hands down it's "House". Hugh Laurie is captivatingly hilarious and sarcastic.

  5. What did you eat for breakfast? Spaghetti O's... hey, it was noon & I'm pregnant... anything goes!

  6. What foods do you dislike? lima beans, sushi, blue cheese dressing

  7. Your favorite potato chip? Sunchips

  8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I don't usually listen to CD's (all my music is on the PC) but today I dug out a burned Avril Lavigne CD just so I could blare it on the surround sound and piss the neighbors off (that's what happens when you turn your music up loud enough to wake the pregnant chick from her much need afternoon nap!)

  9. What kind of car do you drive? A red 1991 Oldsomobile Eighty-eight that Grandpa bought for the baby (it's on loan to me until she gets her own license)

  10. Favorite sandwich? Salami and cheese on whole wheat bread

  11. What characteristics do you despise? arogance, self-pity, laziness, and dishonesty

  12. What are your favorite clothes? lately it happens to be anything that doesn't make me look like a hippo in a shower curtain... but usually it's just jeans and a t-shirt. I am however, known to dress up for no particular reason (a girl just needs to feel pretty sometimes!)

  13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Italy... I've fallen in love with it ever since I watched some romantic drama about a divorced woman who buys a house in Tuscany (the name of the movie has slipped my mind at the moment, but I shall feel no shame!)

  14. What color is your bathroom? cream with Poker decor (yes, Daddy dearest got to decorate the bathroom)

  15. Favorite brand of clothing? Are you kidding me? Everything I wear these days says "mommy", "expecting", or "soon to be" on the tags! When I'm not in a state of "knocked-upness" I tend to buy whatever is cheap and cute!

  16. Favorite time of day? Evenings - I'm more likely to stay up too late than wake up early.

  17. Where would you want to retire to? A nice farm in the middle of nowhere where the nearest neighbor is a mile or more away.

  18. Favorite sport to watch? not really a sports fan, but I've been known to catch a NASCAR race here and there, I enjoy watching the bull riding from time to time, and I can vaguely recall a heated match of soccor that caught my attention as I channel surfed.

  19. Coke or Pepsi? I'm a coke girl! Even better if you can spice it up with my good friend Captain Morgan.

  20. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Pretty sure I addressed this in #16... I don't even think I qualify as a human being before 11 am.

  21. Any new or exciting news that you'd like to share? Why yes, thanks for asking... I managed to shave my legs this evening and I must say, "That is quite an accomplishment for someone in my current state!"

  22. What did you want to be when you were little? I wanted to be a veterinarian until I was a Junior in high school. Then I decided that I liked animals a hell of a lot more than I liked most people and I would be totally devistated if I had to watch one suffer and know there was nothing I could do to help them. So then I decided to be a psychologist in the hopes that I would figure out why I am so "messed up" in the head. Now days, I have decided that all I really want to be is happy and a good Mom. Someday, I'll decide what I want to do when I grow up, in the mean time, I'm pretty satisfied with who I am.

  23. What is your best childhood memory? Working cattle with Dad. "Serious moments" with Mom. Hanging out with my best friend or my favorite cousin. And an awesome trip to Chicago (16 and unsupervised!)

  24. Nicknames? Curtain Climber, Bubba, Kiddo, Punky, K-Ore, and the everlasting "Willie"

  25. Piercings? Just my ears. Though my mother suggested a while back that my bellybutton would look cute pierced (thank goodness I never listen to her or else I'd have a basketball with a tow hitch right now!)

  26. Eye color? bluish grey with a strange yellowish color in the middle.

  27. Favorite day of the week? Saturday... the work week is behind me and there's still a little weekend to spare.

  28. Favorite resteraunt? locally it's Carlos O'Kelleys because I'm a sucker for good Mexican food... but Kansas City has a Margaritas which is like HEAVEN!! Of course I'm always up for a good steak-house too.

  29. Favorite ice-cream? Usually I prefer sherbert because it is much kinder to my stomach, however, I have a terrible weakness for Ben & Jerry's Half Baked. Cookie dough & brownie bites in chocolate icecream... GENIUS!

  30. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Don't have a credit card, would not really be too keen on maxing it out if I did... however, I wouldn't mind maxing out a stranger's credit card in Hobby Lobby, Best Buy, or T.J.Max

  31. Bedtime? Whenever my bladder, my legs, my head, and the baby can all come to agreement that it is time to let Mommy sleep. Unfortunately, that usually ends up being about midnight or 1 am.

  32. What are you listening to right now? The aquarium beside the desk, the fan in the bedroom, and the various voices fighting for control of my brain!

  33. How many tattoos do you have? None... I really want one though. Something tasteful and easily covered. Problem being is that now that I'm grown and can afford it, I'm affraid my pain tolerance might not be what it used to be. I've considered getting one right after this little girl arrives. Certainly a tattoo has to pale in comparison to giving birth.

  34. Next film you'll see? There's a whole slew of them I'd like to see, but we rarely make it out to the theater these days. Since we tend to opt for horror or comedies, I'd have to guess either "The Messengers" if we go out in the near future... or "Reno 911" which looks stupidly hilarious.

  35. Tag anyone. okay, Anyone is free to consider themselves tagged so long as they leave me a comment so I know they were here!

Oh the Joys?

What I have learned today:

1) Even if you want to, the likelyhood of being able to sleep eight hours straight is slim to none at this point in a pregnancy. If you aren't getting up to relieve your bladder, a baby is reenacting "Karate Kid" on your inner organs. And as soon as everything gets settled back into its proper locations, you will discover that you are no longer comfortable in the position you have chosen. By the time you get to the eight hour mark, you cannot find a comfortable position to save your life because no matter which way you twist your enormous figure, you feel as if you are sleeping with a tennis ball taped to your back and a baskbetball taped to your stomach.

2) How you feel during your pregnancy, is probably very similar to how you will feel when you are ninety. Much like a ninety-year-old woman, I must get out of a seated position in a very slow manner (sometimes requiring assistance), I find that naps have become my new best friend (noon naps, afternoon naps, evening naps), and I have discovered that you can hurt in places that you never imagined existed.

3) Larger breasts are not all they are cracked up to be. I find myself situating my chair so that my chest can rest on the desk while I type. Reaching my back to scratch, apply lotion, or wash, involves moving one side of my chest or another out of the way. That is not to mention the task of holstering these two things so they don't give me a black eye during daily activities.

4) A warm bath, while soothing and inviting, also doubles as a torture device and aerobic workout. I imagine it would be very similar to trying to fit a full grown hippopotomus into a thrity gallon aquarium. I find myself extremely thankful that our apartment is handicap accesible and that our bathroom is fully equipped with "hoist your fat ass out of the tub" bars. Just leaning forward to reheat the water involves moving several protruding body parts out of the way and mastering an advanced level yoga position. Wetting, washing, rinsing, conditioning and re-rinsing your hair burns enough calories to compensate for the extra large chocolate shake you had for lunch. And lets not even get into how hard it is to wash various areas (like your back).

I could go on and on about the discomforts of pregnancy and the neverending list of things I can no longer do productively, however, having just burned about 1500 calories bathing myself and hoisting my enormous figure from the porceline hell, I simply do not have the energy to type anymore.

Condoms for Everyone


So my recent rant on how condoms should be given away free with practically every transaction has inspired my family members. They have decided to start buying little Ellie condoms for every occasion (including her baby shower).

While I'm not totally against this, I must say that it's a shame to know that all those condoms will expire before our daughter gets the opportunity to use them (especially since we're seriously considering locking her away & convincing her that all the boys died in a horrific plane crash!)

Therefore, I'll be more than happy to donate all of Ellie's unused condoms to anyone who feels they need a little added protection.

I recommend always using a condom when you visit your auto mechanic, local county treasure, voting booth, or car dealership. You know that eventually these visits will result in you getting screwed, so it's just smart to carry a condom with you.

Also, it couldn't hurt to wrap a few condoms around your computer. With all the viruses going around these days, it's just better to be safe than sorry.

One last thought, if you happen to be a woman, living within a one hundred mile radius of my biological father, please carry several condoms with you and considering taking birth control pills because it is quite obvious that all he has to do is look at a woman and she's knocked up.

Please let me know if you need any addition protection or advice.

Random Conversations

Daddy: Night Mrs. Cold Ass
Me: Mrs. what?
Daddy: Cold Ass
Me: Why?
Daddy: Because your butt cheek is cold
Me: Yours is warm? No fair!
Daddy: Well maybe if you wore clothes, your ass wouldn't be so cold!
*looks at him funny*
Daddy: And maybe if your underwear covered your cheeks they wouldn't be so cold!
*shrugs and rolls over*
Daddy: Goodnight dear
Me: Nighty nite
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Daddy: Show Travis how big your belly is.
*stands up to be presented like a prize hog*
Travis: Damn! That's awesome!
Daddy: *rubs belly* Yeah!
*returns to chair*
Daddy: This month she's supposed to get really fat!
Travis: It's not fat! You asshole!
Daddy: Well, actually...
Me: In his defense, it's fat. No way we're having a twenty pound baby!
Travis: yeah, but there's water and all that
*I have a feeling that Daddy's friend is trying to get him in trouble*
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That was pretty much the extent of my humor today... it's been a dull day... no one really managed to make me laugh and frankly that is sad since it's so very easy to do.

Saturday, February 17, 2007

Proof that the system is flawed

Okay, first let me state a few things:

1) I fully support your right to worship whichever make-believe man in the sky suits your fancy.
2) If you don't believe there is a make-believe man in the sky, I fully support that as well.
3) If your make-believe man in the sky is actually a woman in a tree or an alien in outer space, I'm okay with that too.
4) Please do not tell me that my make-believe man in the sky is not real because I'm quite happy with my own delusions.
5) This really has very little to do with the various make-believe men/women/aliens in the sky/trees/outer space.

What this does have something to do with is the U.S. Government.

We are all aware of the fact that our politicians are lying to us. I'm okay with the politicians lying because they all do it and we know they do it. I've gotten to where it's kind of cute. Like the little kid who gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar and responds, "I was getting it for YOU!" Yeah, it's a lie, but those cute squishy cheeks and that innocent smile get me every time. I feel that way about politicians.

However, there is one major lie that just burns me to no end: the separation of church and state.

It doesn't EXIST!!

So we end up with legal battles over whether the 10 commandments can stand on display in the courthouse lawn, or whether we can sing Christmas songs in public schools or say the Pledge of Allegiance with the word "God" in it.

(My personal opinions: If you don't believe in the 10 commandments, don't read them; if you are against Christmas, don't participate; and if you don't like the word "God", don't say it.)

Unfortunately, in a country that insists on claiming that church and state need to remain separate entities, these are inevitable battles that will be fought in an effort to achieve that goal.

What baffles me then, is why there is so much "hoopla" over other political issues.

Example #1 - Gay marriage

I personally have no problem with homosexuals who wish to marry. At this point in my life I can honestly say that I see no reason why anyone would want to get married, but it seems to be the trendy thing to do. Why shouldn't we allow homosexuals to be as miserable as the rest of us?

So here is where I get confused. The biggest argument against gay marriage comes from the religious sects. Okay, so we have separation of church and state. Problem easily solved. If you have to use the words "God", "religion", "Bible", or "sin" to defend your argument in the Supreme Court... YOU LOSE!! Hello gay marriage! (or union or partnership or whatever else you'd like to call it to keep from offending your fragile religious sensibilities)

Please, as far as I see it, "straight" marriages aren't fairing out to well, so maybe we should let someone else have a go. Maybe they know something we don't!

Example #2 - Evolution vs. Creationism in Public Schools

Regardless of whether you believe in evolution or not, it is a major issue in the scientific community. So the way I see it is pretty simple. There are a few solutions to this problem:

1) Do away with evolution. In which case, there is no Charles Darwin, no dinosaurs, no Galapagos Islands, no Big Bang, no species evolution, and no hope for human advancement in many genetic and otherwise useful studies.

2) Do away with creationism. This is not likely to happen, but perhaps we could come to some understanding that the two could possibly co-exist. I don’t know, maybe the make-believe man in the sky has a greater plan that humans could ever imagine and he didn't tell us everything WORD FOR WORD! Maybe when he said that the world was created in seven days he meant it figuratively. Perhaps, he has a different perspective on what a day is. And maybe, just maybe, he left some gaps and holes in his story just to see if we were smart enough to fill them in or whether we'd just follow around like a bunch of blind rats.

3) Teach them both. This is by far the most complicated and least desirable solution for everyone involved. Honestly, lets think about this. I want my daughter to learn about evolution and you want your daughter to learn about creationism, and the parent's down the street are Native American and they want their kid to learn about the Spirit of Nature, and John Travolta wants his kid to learn about aliens, and the Satanistic couple three blocks down wants there kid to learn something totally different that none of us can even imagine. This simply opens the door for a crazy and ludicrous snowball effect that will have all of our kids so messed up that they’d be walking around with tin foil hats and straws hanging out their ears.

4) Do away with the State standards, which require our children to complete three years of high school Science before graduation and instead make all Science courses electives. This happens to be my favorite because regardless, I would require my child to take science courses anyway. Thus she would have the opportunity to go on and make BIG BUCKS in fields of study that your child doesn't even know exist.

5) Leave Science in the classroom and Religion at HOME! This just seems like the most logical choice to me. Honestly, parents are supposed to be the best teachers anyway! If my child comes home and tells me that the Science teacher taught her that we may have come from monkeys, I won't have a problem with it. If you have a problem with it, there is a simple solution. Sit your child down and explain to him/her that some people do believe that humans come from monkeys, but that feel they are wrong. This is not something that you can "shelter" your child from (unless of course you intent on following them around for the rest of their lives and curse profanities at anyone who might breach the subject to your 40-year-old son).

Of course if we return to the topic of this debate, which is the separation of church and state, then there is nothing to argue about now is there. Public Schools are run by the STATE! Referring back to my four "catch words" previously mentioned, if you have to use "God", "religion", "Bible", or "sin" to defend your case, it has no business in a school. Problem solved! Evolution can be taught without the teacher bringing up any of these words therefore evolution is IN and creationism (and all other religious "Where we came from" stories) are OUT!

Example #3 - Sex Ed

This is my HOT TOPIC (I like that store) of the day. Sitting down with a female student to help her with her Health homework a few weeks ago, I discovered a very shocking thing. This 14-year-old girl was completely oblivious to what HIV, AIDS and other STDs were! I was in total shock! Yes, you might argue that she should have paid better attention in her health class, but at the same time it was very disturbing to me that no one had bothered to have "The Talk" with this teenage girl (who just happens to be dating an older boy in school). I provided the bare minimum needed to complete the assignment (let me note that I am not the Health teacher and this is not my forte, therefore not the subject I wanted to discuss in too much detail for fear of over-stepping my bounds). Afterwards, a phone call was made to the family explaining that they might want to discuss the matter in more detail with the girl at home. The whole point of this story boils down to the fact that it should not be the job of the school to have the "birds and bees" discussion. However, since it seems that some parents are not having these talks at home, the weight of it does fall into the school's lap. As a matter of public health and safety, I think it is very important that teenagers are educated in these matters.

So where is the controversy? Whether or not condoms should be available to children in high school restrooms! And here I must voice my opinions loud and clear. MOST DEFINATELY!!! As a matter of fact, I think that condoms should be placed on every street corner in a "Free to take" bucket. I think that condoms should be taped to ever bottle of beer sold. I think that condoms should come with every McDonald's extra value meal! Get your oil changed? Here's your free condom! Buy a pair of shoes? Bonus, free condom! I think that police officers should check your driver's license, registration, and whether or not you are carrying a condom whenever they pull you over. Anytime you enter a bar, they should check your ID and your condom! Get the picture?

Do I think that giving away condoms will make more people have sex? NO! I think people who want to have sex have sex and people who don't, well they DON'T! The only reason that condoms are a big deal is because we as the public make them a big deal. If there were condoms everywhere you looked, you wouldn't think anything about them. The only concern I have about mass supplying free condoms is the fact that blown up condoms would be found in random (and probably hilarious) places for some time after the initial integration.

Let me point out that I hope and I pray that my daughter waits until she reaches a mature age before she even thinks about having sex. However, do not for a minute think that I’m delusional enough to believe that teenagers aren't having sex and won't continue to do so. If my daughter is going to someday have sex (providing we don't lock her in a bomb shelter and convince her that there is no such thing as boys and Daddy is the last one) I want to know that no matter where she is, she is protected. I guarantee you that the instant I believe she might be interested in such matters there will be a discussion about using protection and birth control. And I fully intend to make certain that both are available to her without having to jump through hoops to get them.

So my last thought for the evening (at least on this matter) is simple. If you take religion out of the debate, there is no reason why you couldn't put condoms EVERYWHERE!

How Much Do You Recall?


Okay, so for some reason my mother is currently asking what the 10 commandments are. I picture she is forming some rancidly hilarious blog about her Anti-Christian views that will probably make me pee myself. But before I go and read what she writes I thought I would tell you how hard it is to come up with the 10 commandments from memory if you haven't set foot in a church since you were say 10.

This is what I came up with:

1- Don't kill stupid people (maim, just don't kill!)
2- Don't tell any lies
3- Don't say naughty words or call God bad names
4- Don't cheat on your spouse
5- Don't steal
6- Don't wish you had other people's shit
7- Don't claim to have any other invisible men in the sky
8- Love & honor the idiots that brought you into this world
9- Don't work on Sunday
and
10-

Well SHIT!

The truth is that I forgot what the last one is, but considering I've already broken 8 of the above mentioned rules, I'm pretty well screwed!

However, I am giving myself a 90% on the DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU DID WRONG? TEST, which means I get and A-

So yes, I'll be getting a one-way ticket straight to Hell, but on the plus side, I won't have any problems making the Dean's List. Mom will be SO PROUD!!!

Friday, February 16, 2007

What do you mean I'm pregnant?

Okay, so I'm sitting here tonight looking around our disheavaled apartment thinking, "Oh my God! We're going to have a baby!" Yeah, I know, you'd think at this point in the pregnancy I'd have already figured that out. What can I say, I'm a tad bit oblivious!

So suddenly panic has set in. Not at the fact that we're bringing a new baby into this world. Not at the fact that we will be responsible for every aspect of this little girl's life for the next umpteen some odd years. No. I have no disallusions that parenting will be easy, but at the same time, I'm pretty confident that the two of us will make pretty good parents.

So why did I panic?

Well, frankly, we're both kinda packrats (I being the more guilty of us). That being said, I'm looking around our small one bedroom apartment, where absolutely every nook and cranny is filled with pointless stupid junk, and I can't help but wonder, "Where the hell are we going to keep this kid?"

Seriously. It was hard enough trying to figure out where we were going to put our fishtank. How in the heck are we going to squeeze another living human being into this space?

So, in a terrified struggle to be a good Mommy, I start picking apart all the possibilities.

There's a small amount of space on the pantry shelves between the crock pot and the canned goods.

The oven is always a possibility because we all know that I have no clue how to even operate that hot box-like feature, and since Daddy is rarely at home, it may be a good storage spot.

The living room closet is out of the question but there is a cozy little spot underneath the desk here.

The bedroom is pretty cramped but I suppose I could sacrafice my TV stand and the television that has not been turned on in about 2 months b/c after moving the extra TV into the bedroom I had a "lightbulb" moment reminding me that there was no cable hookup in that room.

It doesn't really matter that they warn you not to sleep with your baby in your bed because frankly, most of the time there isn't even room for me in the bed, let alone my other half or a small defenseless infant (at least Daddy has the ability to remove himself to the couch when I start throwing punches in my sleep).

As a last resort I could always keep the baby in the bathtub. No worries that it might roll out or crawl away. Unfortunately, we learned a while back that if the door were to be shut while the knob was in the locked position, there is no key to it! That's a fine thing for a pregnant woman to find out at 7 am with a baby hippopotomus pushing on her bladder. Thankfully, Daddy dearest is quick with a screwdriver and was able to remove the door hinges in no time flat.

As I sit here and worry that our darling daughter may have to spend her first days sleeping in the kitchen sink, it dawns on me that I really need to get on the ball. There's clutter to throw out, papers to sort and file, forms to fill out so the hospital is prepared for us, etc.

I've got less than three months to decide just how many empty boxes we really need to store in the pantry and find some miracle solution for the clothes that seem to pile up in various spots throughout the apartment. Or else I'll be digging through stacks of papers and various articles of clothing in search of a baby's binkie or worse, a baby!

Personality Profile

I just took a survey with a site that pays me to participate. Unfortunately, I cannot refer you to this site because it requires that the company invite you to participate.

If you ever get an opportunity to join "Knowledge Networks" (and you don't mind wasting 5-10 minutes every so often) I recommend it. It's not a huge money maker, I've been a member of their program since 2004 and only redeemed $150, but this latest survey was very interesting. It was a personality profile that took about 5 minutes to complete. I must say it was eerily accurate. However, they do not spam your email or provide your personal information. You recieve the equivilent of $1 per survey (at least), even if you do not qualify to participate.

Anway, back to my personality profile. Here is what it said about me.

Great possibilities with insight and long-range vision are identified by this profile. They represent the modern day philosophers, like Aristotle, Plato, and Socrates, waxing eloquently with metaphors, synonyms, and antonyms. They often deal with philosophical and theoretical aspects of ideas and develop them to fit the current situation. They have a natural gift for expressing ideas, whether written or oral. They like to concentrate on a project and dislike all of the details not relevant to the subject. They can be quite enthusiastic and persuasive on their chosen subject especially when writing about it. They can be ingenious at creating unpredictable combinations of harmony and beauty, using colorful words, and integrating feelings into their plans.

Composers are not technically oriented or mechanically inclined, but rather are interested in the human aspects of how people work. Learning seems to be easy when the subject matter is presented as either abstract or as examples of use in context. They organize information into useable formats as well as other potential combinations. They enjoy exploring many possibilities. They are direct communicators, but will also use symbolism or metaphoric language in different situations.

They are very curious about new ideas and make excellent students as they readily take in text and languages. They like to work on large, independent projects on their own and somehow get them finished, but not always on time. They are often so absorbed in their efforts that they do not notice that they may appear to be unsociable. Actually, they are quite warm, friendly, and make excellent, loyal friends. They like to be social creatures and crave the approval of others.

They have a creative and artistic way with words that are filled with emotions. They like to use their words in one-on-one discussions rather than group discussions. They enjoy and like to interact with people. They want to have such a profound effect on people that they can influence those they work with make to changes in life. Composers make excellent social workers.

Composers procrastinate and do not make decisions quickly. They want to think about all of the ramifications of a decision. They tend to shy away from corporate procedures and structure, as they require some latitude to be spontaneous and develop their special and unusual correlations. Cleaning their messy environments is not a high priority as they look for ways to allow for abstract ideas to flow.

This profile likes time to reflect and does not like the busy, fast-paced world. Their unassertive style is portrayed by a low energy level, which serves them well when patiently dealing with people. They are very patient with people and tend not to be judgmental of others' actions. They expect their results to be in the future rather than immediately.

They are not usually athletically inclined and avoid sports. They are interested in the human side of sports and want to know about the players' backgrounds.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

How do you spell that again?

The hardest word in the world for me to spell is “weird”. I always want to spell it wierd. Either way it looks very weird to me. Can you imagine trying to sort these two spellings out and trying to determine which was the proper spelling?

“How do you spell weird?”
“W-E-I-R-D”
“Well that looks weird!”
“That’s because it is ‘weird’.”
“I would have spelled it W-I-E-R-D.”
“No, I think that looks weird!”
“That’s what we’re trying to spell!”
“No, it just doesn’t look right.”
“Now they both look weird!”
“Well, they can’t both be ‘weird’. There’s only one way to spell it!”
“I don’t know, but one of them is ‘weird’ and the other one is just weird!”

Our Poor Child!




This week has made me to determine that our darling daughter-to-be is doomed to a life of utter hopelessness. It will be a sheer miracle if this poor child somehow manages to form intellectual thought processes so long as she is living under our roof. No don’t get me wrong, both my darling sweetheart and I are actually very intellectual. However, there are times when something happens that just makes me wonder if we are really as bright as we might think.

Case in point, earlier this week, Daddy Dearest began rummaging through the kitchen cupboards looking for something to snack on. After some browsing and debating, he eventually settled on a can of pork and beans. He opened the can, poured it onto a paper plate, microwaved it and sat down to enjoy. About halfway through his meal, he pauses and looks at me. “There are only beans in this.”

I stared at him in utter shock for a few moments before it dawned on me that he was being serious. At that point I burst into hysterical bouts of laughter. Gasping for breath, I ask him, “Haven’t you ever had pork and beans before? Don’t you know it’s just a pork flavored sauce & a little piece of pork fat?”

Realizing that this is definitely one of those moments when you really have no choice but to laugh at yourself, he laughs with me and says, “Well, of course I’ve had pork and beans before. I just kind of figured that I always got ripped off.”

We both had a good chuckle about the whole thing and after begging me to never tell a soul, he smiled and called me a few choice words for promising to blog the whole story.

In all fairness though, I cannot lay all the blame for our child’s intellectual potential on her Daddy’s shoulders. Just this morning he came in and gently awoke me with a “Happy Day-After-Valentine’s Day” kiss. It was sweet and romantic and I wanted to repay him before I left for work. So after I was fully prepared (at least physically) to trudge out into the bitterly cold winter weather, I wrapped my arms around him and planted a big kiss on his cheek. I then stated (oh how I hate to admit this!) “Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving!”

Yes, our little Ellie is tragically DOOMED!!!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Survival of the Fattest!


At 28 weeks pregnant I have come to the tragic conclusion that I may not see where I am actually walking until May.

In the aftermath of our most recent snowstorm, I find that I spend my time walking in a face down posture, carefully assessing the traction potential of each step. I worry that by the time the snow clears, I’ll have such a crook in my neck that I’ll have to spend our daughter’s college fund paying a chiropractor to put everything back in place. Yesterday, while carefully waddling my way along the treacherous sidewalk to our apartment, I ran our neighbor into a snow bank. It wasn’t until I got safety into our apartment that I finally looked up and asked my sweetheart who I had plowed off the road. Learning it was the notorious owner of “Spot” (see previous post) I didn’t feel nearly as bad.

So, this is my warning to everyone. Until the snow and ice are completely gone and I no longer have to worry about the tailbone breaking potential of each and every step, I suggest that you keep a close eye on where you are going. I shall assume no responsibility for plowing over anyone that happens to be in my way.

Just consider it survival of the FATTEST!

Let's Play Ball!!


Oh the games people play now

Every night and everyday now

Never meanin' what they say now

Never sayin' what they mean


After a great amount of forethought, I have decided that I’m tired of the games that people are playing. I always tell people to avoid the excess drama in their lives unless they can find a way to be entertained by the drama. I’ve finally decided to take my own advice.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m tired of the drama. However, I do believe that the game is starting to look rather interesting. So I think I’ll strap on a pair of cleats, pull out the baseball bat, and see if I can’t knock some homers out.

I’m not really sure of the rules. Yes, I’ve watched the game from the sidelines for years, but I’ve never really done much more than point and laugh or roll my eyes, depending on which side I was rooting for. It might take me a few innings to get the hang of how this whole game works, but I think I know enough about the basics to hold my own from the start.

So, cross your fingers and wish me luck. I guarantee, if I get into the swing of things, I’ll be setting some new world records.

A note to my teammates: you’ll be getting your copy of our new pictures as soon as I get back to town for cards.

A note to the rest: if you do not receive a picture in the near future, you can probably assume that you and I are no longer on the same team.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Go Ahead, Ask Me About My Monday!




Okay, so here's my "believable" excuse. Honestly, I wasn't being a blog slacker this weekend, I just hadn't blogged anything that would interest anyone except my family, so I didn't bother wasting anyone's time here. As for Monday's excuse, well, I think this post pretty well sums up how my Monday went, and I'm certain you will all forgive me for not writing on that day. Had I blogged this on Monday it would have been nothing more than a bitching rant about how much I hated everything. Having held off a day, I am satisfied that it has evolved into a semi-humorous rambling of what a messed up day I had. And no doubt, the length certainly makes up for all three days of missed postings.

I feel that someone should really write to my neighbors and warn them that they are living next door to a highly volatile hormonal pregnant woman.

Previously, my complaints have been limited to minor venting. However, after this past week, I’m on the verge of hiring the local vagabonds to wreak havoc on my neighbors.

Let me elaborate:

In the past, I have been quite disturbed by the fact that my neighbors have allowed their dog (I like to call him Spot) to do his business in the small patch of grass that we like to call a front yard. The housing director has attempted to rectify this situation. First by sending out a news letter announcing that it is just disgusting to allow your animals to poop in the yard and demanding that everyone pick up after their animals. Second, by speaking personally to them about Spot’s preferred location of defecating. Both times, the yard has been immediately cleaned. However, this seems to go in one ear and out the other as they yard quickly fills up with the offending brown material soon after the confrontation.

At this point it must be noted that I am losing my patience. Last week, this 28-week pregnant, waddling hippo made two trips to her car to haul in about 10 bags of groceries in the freezing cold. As I rounded the corner of the apartment building, arms loaded with 3 gallons of milk, I looked up from the careful placing of each awkward step to notice Spot was doing his business in the “front yard” while his 20 something owner stood at the screen door and watched. Had she not immediately called him inside and shut her door, I would have confronted her on it. I mean honestly, how hard would it have been for her to have taken 5 steps out the door and directed Spot (who doesn’t know better) to poop in the part of the yard that is not immediately in front of our doors? It cannot be harder than carrying 20 extra pounds around on the front of your stomach every day.

To make matters worse, last night everything just went to hell in a handbag. Frankly, by the time I got to sleep, I was just proud that I had not committed a multiple homicide in the course of the evening.

My day started when my darling dearest entered the bedroom at 8:06 am and asked if I was going to work. (I’m supposed to be at work at 8:15). I leapt from my bed, banging the back of my hand on the corner of the two-drawer file cabinet that doubles as a nightstand. I immediately walked to the living room (shivering in my underwear) and called work to let them know I was running late. After perfecting the many yoga positions that are required for a pregnant woman to get dressed in the morning, I relaxed while an apologetic man started my car. I then waddled through the blustering drizzle, carefully avoiding the patch of black ice that I had been warned about, got in my car and drove to work. I then managed though a pretty uneventful day at work.

After work, I made my way to the post office to collect a package I was expecting from my mother. While the all day drizzle was little more than a cold and annoying mist, it was collecting at a rapid enough rate to send cold droplets of water dripping from the awning of a building down the back of my neck. After about twenty minutes in line, listening to some twit tell the post lady why she had to mail her packages at the last minute, I finally collected one of the two expected packages and drove home. I managed to throw a purse over one shoulder, my soda in that hand, and balance the box on a hip with the keys in that hand, while I kicked the car door shut (all the while, looking more and more like a drowning cat). Having secured my vehicle I took four waddling steps forward, only to realize I had left the headlights on! (My apologies to the neighbor who nicely stepped outside to inform me of this. I would have acknowledged her was I not focused on balancing all of my junk and a pregnant belly on a traction-challenged surface.)

Waddling back to the driver’s door, I tried to figure out how to free one hand enough to get a key in the lock. This in itself was an act that Circ de Sole would be proud to call their own. After shutting off the headlights, relocking the doors, and rebalancing the box, I managed to waddle carefully to the apartment.

I was happily greeted by my darling dearest, who attentively admired each outfit I modeled for him and offered up roast and potatoes he had prepared for supper. Later, he offered to take me to the movies, since he would have to work on Valentine’s Day. After choosing a movie, he decided to take a nap, and I took the half hour to chat with my family online. At the predetermined time, I woke my darling and we prepared for a night on the town. Dressed and pressed we headed for the door where, upon opening it, we were greeted by two inches of snow that had not been there the hour before! Beings that we are both of a rather stubborn determined nature, we decided it wasn’t slick so what the heck. We mushed onward to the car. I then sat in the warmth of the passenger seat as he swept the snow off of all the windows (you know that wet, my dog pissed on this, sticky snow that you can’t even shake off). Realizing that it was still snowing, and not certain of just how bad it was expected to get, the two of us decided that a trip to the gas station was as far as we were going to attempt.

Reluctantly, we returned home with beverages to satisfy both of us. As we turned the corner of the apartment building, what to my wondering eyes did I see? It was SPOT! Right there in his “favorite” place, leaving a little gift to offend my olfactory glands. Where was the male half of his ownership? Standing at the screen door watching as the dog did his business! I cannot believe this! The two of us, have just left the warmth of the apartment to go six blocks and this couple cannot step outside the door of their apartment onto the step (which has a roof over it) to assure their dog does his duty in a less offensive area! I am simply appalled at the laziness (not to mention the fresh smell of doggy manure).

The rest of the night progressed in a pretty uneventful manner, until which time that I decided to go to bed.

Realizing I had early doctor’s appointments the following morning, I felt that I should get some sleep at a decent time. I shut everything down about 9:30 pm, shut off the lights, and proceeded through the regular bedtime routines. I then maneuvered the sleeping beast back onto his side of the bed in order to retrieve my body pillow (a necessary item for any pregnant woman who intends to sleep a wink) from underneath him. Finally, satisfied that everything was in order, I popped two Flintstone’s vitamins and curled up in a semi-comfortable position that rather resembles a hippopotamus with a leg lock on a giant red sea cow.

As I closed my eyes and began to fantasize about wearing a string bikini on some deserted tropical beach, three things happened in a simultaneous manner: the baby decided to begin an aerobic kickboxing routine, I suddenly had to pee again, and my ears were invaded by the thumping sound of my neighbor’s subwoofer blaring through my living room and bedroom walls.
Not entirely prepared to give up on my honest attempt at sleep, I decided to ignore the baby (and the fact that I had to pee) and instead, I stuck headphones in my ears to drown out the subwoofer. It did not take long to realize that this was not an effective solution to my problem and I was immediately furious.

I sat bolt upright in bed and threw the headphones across the room, which resulted in my darling dearest awaking in a panic asking me if I was okay, to which I mumbled some obscenity under my breath and stormed into the living room where I banged on the adjoining wall as hard as I could (great, now my hand hurts all the way to my elbow).

Luckily for my neighbors, there is a distinctive difference between the sound of an irritated neighbor banging on the wall and the sound that a pissed off pregnant chick makes when she is standing in her underwear slapping your wall with all her might. The subwoofer was silenced upon demand. This is of course the only thing that prevented me from marching outside in the snow (in my underwear) and banging on their front door only to strangle them with an extension cord as soon as they opened it.

Finally blessed with some much-needed silence, I returned to the comfort (I use the term lightly) of a bed that is not equipped to hold two grown adults and the ever-growing stomach they have created. Of course, by now, I’m so worked up that sleep would have been difficult anyway, but to make matters worse, I am overcome with a bout of restless leg syndrome. Oh, the joys of pregnancy. What were those joys again?

I removed myself from the bed (about as graceful as an elephant attempting to climb a tree) and proceeded back to the living room until a later time. After searching though several internet sites, reading a couple of messages that were left for me, and venting on my mother via messenger, I was finally able to make a final attempt at sleep. Thankfully this time, I was much more successful and soon found myself lounging under a giant umbrella, sipping piňa coladas as some native islander painted my toenails (yes, I fantasize about painted toenails. You would to0 if you could hardly reach yours.)

On the plus side, I woke up today and found that the roads were clear enough that I did not have to reschedule the three appointments I had planned. I learned that a glucose test is not nearly as bad as I expected, and I passed with flying colors. We picked up our photos from Sears and even bought the extra prints they offered at a “special” price. I got to spend the whole evening chatting with my favorite cousin online and I thoroughly enjoyed tonight’s episode of House. I guess my neighbors can live another day.

Slacking




Yes, I know I'm slacking on my blog, but honestly I've been busy. I promise, I'll be sure to have a new post (with an extremely believable excuse) before the end of the night. I'm working on it right now, but frankly "House" is coming on in less than an hour and since it's the only time I refuse to pry myself away from the TV (even if the apartment was on fire) today's string of excuses (and obsinities about my weekend) will simply have to wait until later tonight.

Friday, February 9, 2007

I think I should buy a magazine rack.


So this evening while spending a few moments in my bathroom with nothing to entertain my wandering mind except a cream colored wall and the white terry cloth towel hanging on the rack, I was greatly disturbed to find a face staring back at me from my towel.

Now, of course, it definitely took a bit of imagination and the perfect lighting, but if you squinted just right, there it was. The terry nubs of the towel were going this way and that and in the shadows and highlights there were two eyes, the shadow of a nose, and a mouth. Perhaps it was the face of Jesus Christ. Maybe it was the Virgin Mary. I cannot say truthfully who exactly was staring back at me from the towel, only that it disturbed me to find that suddenly I was not alone in my own bathroom. I certainly do not make a habit of allowing strange faces to peek in on me while I am performing my bathroom acts.
I quickly reached out and smudged my hand over the area, thus erasing the face that was etched into the terry cloth. I was shocked to find, that where the face previously was, there was now the image of a coyotes head staring back at me. Figuring that a coyote was less likely to tell my neighbors all about the bathroom events than the face that I previously saw, I finished my bathroom duties and left the coyote where he was.
Back in the living room, I’ve decided to move the tequila bottle farther from the desk, as it is obviously leaking from the bottle and causing intoxicating fumes to fill the air. Next, I will add “magazine rack” to the shopping list on the fridge, so that future visits to the bathroom can include intellectual reading material, rather than strange stretched of my own twisted imagination!

Frankly...


We've been married a year! You just weren't invited!!

Okay, here’s something I just don’t understand about our society. I don’t understand why it is that when people find out that an unmarried couple is pregnant, the first question that pops into their mind is, “Well, are you going to get married?”

So, upon further thought I can understand how this might pop into one’s mind, it’s only human nature to wonder these things. However, it puts a whole new meaning to the word “untactful” when you have the nerve to actually ask the couple, “So, are you going to get married?”
I mean honestly, there are only two logical reasons I can think of for why you would ask this question outright (maybe that’s because only two people have actually asked us).

The first reason that you may ask a couple this question is really quite simple. Your religious denomination has convinced you that the proper thing to do is to get married. This is one reason, as annoying and stupid as I might find it, that I can actually forgive. I can forgive it because I have learned that religion has a tendency to overrule simple common sense and human decency. However, I cannot help but ponder this for a moment. If your religion believes that this is the next logical step in life, than I must assume that it probably feels that the couples previous lifestyle was “sinful” and that the unborn child was conceived in an act of “sin”. That being said, why would someone of such a strong religious faith care whether or not the couple continued to live in “sin” or whether they tried to cover up the “sinful” act by getting married? Being totally confused by this, I must admit that I hold no grudge against my child’s grandmother for asking this of her son. She asked the question, he told her we weren’t and she graciously accepted his choice. Regardless of what she may or may not think, she has the class and human decency to keep her opinions to herself on the matter. I like her!

The second reason that you might ask a couple this question is not nearly as simple and falls more into a category of sinister. You are really just a good for nothing, nosey, gossip-whoring, rumormonger (as I believe was the case with the other person who asked us this question). This person really doesn’t care what your intentions are or why you might choose one path over another. All they really want is to get as much information as they can to gossip to their friends about you. In this case, there is really no wrong or right answer to the question at hand. If you tell the person, “Yes, we think that marriage is the next logical step,” they will tell all their friends how tragic it is that you are getting married because you got pregnant. If on the other hand, you tell this person that you do not believe a baby is a good reason to get married, they are likely to tell their friends how tragic it is that your poor child will be born a bastard. (Just a note here: If I ever hear anyone call MY child a bastard, they will need some serious dental work done in the near future.)

I’m certain that there are probably a few other reasons that someone might ask this question of an unmarried couple who was expecting, but I am not yet aware of these reasons because everyone who really knows the two of us has not needed to ask. They simply knew us well enough to realize that we do not believe a baby is the right reason to get married. Oh, we may talk about it now and then, and we may crack a joke here and there, but at this particular moment in our pre-baby lives we are not seriously considering getting married before the baby gets here.

So I am still perplexed at why we find it acceptable to ask a pregnant couple (I use that term lightly because it is obvious to anyone with two eyes that only ONE of us is pregnant!) if they have any plans to get married in the near future. I mean think about it this way. If a married couple came up to you and told you they had decided not to have any more children, would you immediately ask, “Oh, well are you getting a divorce?” I’m certain that unless you were talking to my biological father this question would never enter your mind. Why is that? Getting a divorce is almost as “trendy” as getting married these days!

Stop Pretending Already!

Everyone has at least one person in their life that just won't seem to go away. You know, that asshole relative that insists on making everyone's lives miserable and who just refuses to die. Or that idiot ex that still lives in the same neighborhood as you and has become a constant reminder of something you'd just soon forget. Everyone has them. That neighbor who parks in your spot every chance they get or lets their dog piss on your rose bushes in the middle of the night. There are just some people who seem to stick around like bad pennies and pop up at the most inopportune moments in your life.

My question is, "Why do you try to pretend they don't exist?" Oh yes, I understand that we'd all like to let bygones be bygones and we all have these strange delusions of being "better people".

But honestly, there are just some things in life that are not going to go away. As much as we'd like to move on and get past things, there will always be at least one person who insists on making your day shitty.

So stop pretending that everything is all sunshine and light and start tuning into your dark side.

I must admit that I'm generally a pretty chipper person who is easy going and doesn't hold too much of a grudge. I tend to be pretty forgiving, though far from naive, and I try to make the best of the worse situations. I'm positive enough to be able to look back on my life and honestly say, "I have no regrets!" Given the opportunity to do it all again, I wouldn't change a damn thing, because frankly, that would change who I am today. Even in my most idiotic of moments, I have walked away from my mistakes a better person for having made them.

That being said, I am certainly not all flowers and daisies!

I do not pretend for a moment that the things that irritate me ARE NOT THERE. Every day, on my way to work, I must drive past my ex-husband's workplace and see HIS truck parked in the front lot. As much as I'd like to forget that someone like him is roaming around WASTING PERFECTLY GOOD OXYGEN, I can't for the life of me do it. Each morning, I find myself glancing in the direction of the parking lot and finding that red truck. On a good day, I take little more than a passing glance. On a bad day, I mumble obscenities under my breath and imagine flipping him the bird if he were there to see it. Then there are those days where I imagine that he was walking across the road to get something at the gas station and my brakes mysteriously fail.

Don't get me wrong. It's not that I dwell in the past. I'm very happy with my current life and 90% of the time I don't even give a passing thought to the negative aspects of my life. It's just the fact that some things just don't disappear. And I figure, if they aren't going to go away then THERE IS NO SENSE IN PRETENDING THEY AREN'T THERE.

I think that is just unhealthy all around.

If you convince yourself that these things are no longer in your life and that there is no possible way you could be reminded of them ever again, then you are setting yourself up for total failure when all of the sudden you pass them on the street.

On the other hand, if you've practiced flipping them off every morning, then it will be no big surprise when you meet them at the gas station 6 months from now. It'll just be second nature to flip them off and proceed with your day unscathed.

So my advice to you is to STOP sweeping your nosey neighbor under the rug. STOP hiding your ex lover in the closet with the rest of the skeletons. STOP trying to be the image of perfection that you will never be able to fully attain!

Instead, get out your HIP WADERS; march through the daily BULL SHIT of life, HOLD YOUR HEAD UP HIGH and PROUDLY PROCLAIM that you are well aware that your best friend's neighbor is the same PIECE OF CRAP that you mistakenly fell in love with 10 years ago.

DON'T HOLD BACK!

DON'T live in a delusion and allow the assholes of the world to somehow alter your views on reality!

TAKE OFF your damned rose-colored glasses and come to terms with the fact that while you are generally a good person who tries to do right, you wouldn't mind seeing some people plastered on a missing persons report!

You can't undo your past and it isn't going to go away,

SO DAMN IT...

AT LEAST BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF!!!

Thursday, February 8, 2007

The Tragic Fate of Wiley


If you've never seen what passes for a zoo in a small midwestern town, you are definately missing out. To say the least, the facility we drove through today could be compared to the Alcatraz of the Animal Kindom. The free-admission zoo in this tiny little town makes you contemplate what crimes these animals must have committed to be sentenced to a life of incarceration in a Midwest community.
I must admit that the small boring cages might tug at the heart strings of some animal lovers, but I rather like to think that the animals were probably rescued from places that were far worse than their current homes.
While driving along the parkway that passes near the walking area (it was too damn cold to actually walk through the "zoo") one particular cage caught my attention. Behind the large wire silo which house a seemingly comatose monkey, stuffed between a daydreaming bobcat and another unseen creature was a lone coyote.
Why, might you ask, would a common coyote in a pen pose any interest to a native farm girl? Well, frankly, he was seriously distraught!
Wiley coyote was repeatedly circling around his cage in the most monotonous manner I have ever seen. While I must sypathize slightly with his utter boredom, I couldn't help but contemplate what must be going through his mind.
"Bored. Bored. So bored. God I'm bored. I see wire. Yep, more wire. What's with all the wire? Bored! Wonder if I can dig out! Dirt. Dirt. Dirt! SHIT! CONCRETE! Damn, I broke a nail! Bored! Gotta get out! Gotta get free! BORED! Jesus Christ I'm bored! FUCK! I'm so BORED! I think I've been here before! Yep, passed that corner a few seconds ago! BORED! Please, just shoot me! Can't you see I'm bored? Bored!"
By the time we pulled away far enough that I could no longer see the unfortunate prisoner, I was laughing so hard I could hardly breathe.
While I'm sure there are those out there who will not find the humor in this, I must say, it was absolutely hilarious. It could definately fall under one of those things that you just had to SEE!
A quick aside, if you think I'm cruel because I'm laughing at the "poor unfortunate creature" please understand that a small part of me did feel sorry for him. But a larger part of me knows exactly what a coyote will do to a small newborn calf. This larger part of me cannot get over the humor of
"Bored. Bored. God I am so fucking bored! Think I'll circle the cage again. Yep, same as it was a few seconds ago. Still BORED!"

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

The Saga of a Sperm Donor


So, if you recently read my post about my family tree, you can probably guess that I don’t think too highly of the creature that donated my paternal DNA. It is no secret that this man is lower than whale scum on the evolutionary ladder in my life.

Despite the fact that I have managed to live a full and prosperous life in his absence, I find that his ongoing actions are still playing a major roll in my life.

As you may or may not know, I am blessed with the unique privilege of being an only child with the luxury of six other siblings. In short, it’s really the best of both worlds. I get all the attention of my loving and adoring parents because I am not forced to share their affections with other children. At the same time, I get all the perks of being a little sister, a big sister, an aunt and so on. I’ve been blessed to be a poor roll model for my siblings and yet I never had to face the repercussions of their actions because there was little that their biological parents could do to reprimand me.

My only wish is that somehow, I could separate that common-link of paternal heritage, while still maintaining the connections to my siblings, which I hold quite dear. Unfortunately, the DNA provider has left an undeniable mark on each and every one of his offspring, which prevents us from severing that tie completely.

Recently, I learned, with no real surprise, that wife 5 was oblivious to the facts surrounding her marriage and the history of her not-so-endearing husband.

It seems that the man has had a real string of bad luck with the ladies. Apparently, he told wife 5 that all of his other wives had cheated on him and that’s why none of his other marriages worked out. Guess that’s why he spent all that time incarcerated. He just needed to get away from those “sinful” women and their “hellish” ways. Being someone’s boyfriend for close to a decade must make you forget all about the horrors of marriage though. It certainly didn’t take him long to jump back into the swing of things once he was back in the free world.

I wasn’t in the least bit surprised to learn that the man also seemed to have developed a strange sort of amnesia. It seems that he could remember all the made up details of his past, including those evil women that he married, but he failed to recall that he had 6 children roaming around in the world. That completely explains why the minute each child was born he began shopping for the next womb to carry his prodigy. It wasn’t his fault! He just didn’t realize that he had six of us floating around in the world. Poor guy thought he was going to miss out on his chance to pass on his DNA!

It’s a great blessing that despite his many flaws and faults, he was able to have 7 children who are blessed with excellent memories of what a worthless father-figure he was. The poor guy is so confused about the gaps and holes in his life that he’d be lost without us. When you combine the memories of his children with the facts that his ex-wives and mistresses are aware of, you can almost paint a full picture of his history. Between us all, we’ve been able to fill in gaps for wife 5, so that she can proceed through life with her eyes wide open.

Now that she is no longer shrouded in the delusions of a delirious idiot, maybe she will be able to make more informed decisions in the future. In the very least, she’s been given the opportunity to level the playing field in her upcoming divorce and custody hearing. Let us all hope that history is not in the process of repeating itself in the near future, as clearly, he will need to start shopping for his next baby factory quite soon.

Random Ramblings of a Roaming Mind




Sometimes I pass the day in a haze of absurd questions that run through my mind like a stock ticker and make me question my own sanity.

1) If radiation from a nuclear power plant causes cancer, whatever inspired us to try & treat cancer with radiation?

2) If we had stopped trying to cure HIV & AIDS 30 years ago when it killed it victims quickly, would it have died out on its own?

3) What ingredients go into Baby oil?

4) There was a time when family & home came before education and was scheduled around farming & work. Now school is expected to come first. Are we really surprised by the decline in the quality of family life & work ethic?

5) More wars are waged in the name of God than for any other reason. Does that make you wonder, considering murder is a “sin”?

6) Paradox: A tollbooth on a FREEway!

7) Burning coal is a great source of energy. Has anyone ever tried to burn diamonds?

8) Coal is black & produces black smoke. What color smoke would diamonds produce?

9) If headphones can cause hearing damage when turned up too loud, why do they make it so you can turn the volume up so high?

10) If lawmakers are voted in by the majority and laws have to go through legislation, what does it say about our society when we have so many stupid laws?

These are the things I NEED to know!

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Family Trees & Long Division


So, anyone who knows me, knows that I am blessed (or in some cases cursed) with a very unusual family tree. My oldest sister and I have dubbed it more of a "hedge" than a tree.

This might puzzle you at first, but I assure you, there is nothing simple when it comes to my family tree. I'll give you a brief example and we'll just see if you can keep it all straight on the first try!

My bio father (let's call him DNA since that's all he really offered) has 5 ex wives, 2 ex-mistresses, and umteen odd women we don't know about! We'll start there.

DNA marries wife 1 and they have my oldest sister whose age I can only determine by adding X to my own age. DNA & wife 1 divorce.
DNA marries wife 2, has no children & divorces her. However, while married to wife 2, DNA meets mistress A with whom he has a son that went to high school with my oldest 1st cousin.
After mistress A, DNA meets my mother, has me, marries & is later divorced. While married to my mother, wife 3, DNA hooks up with mistress B and has another daughter 1 year younger than me.
After this, DNA marries wife 4. This happens to be his longest official marriage and results in my youngest sister whose age I can only determine by subtracting X from my own age. While married to wife 4, DNA adopts her son with her ex-husband 2. Afterwards, DNA & wife 4 are divorced.
Due to extenuating circumstances, DNA is unable to be with any women for several years after this divorce (he may however have had a couple of boyfriends!)
At his first opportunity, DNA marries wife 5 and has my baby brother who is (I kid you not) 25 years younger than me! Soon after the birth of their son, DNA & wife are divorced.
DNA is currently on the market for his next "Baby Factory"!

I know I said that I would give you a "brief" example, but as you see, there is nothing "brief" about the facts of my family. If you've been able to stick with me so far, then you can imagine how complicated matters get when you add into the mix that all of the wives involved remarried & had children with other men. That means that there are at least 7 children in this world who must master the art of long division & trigonometry just to figure out how one sibling is related to them.

Honestly, it's down right ridiculous. No wonder I'm so good at mathematics. I've spent my life juggling 6 half siblings, numerous step-brothers & sisters, step-mothers, step-fathers, not-quite-step relatives, and their pets. It takes 15 pages of quadratic equations just to calculate someone's birthday. By then, I end up sending them a "Belated" card appologizing for the fact that I carried the 5 and misplaced the decimal!

Properly prepared pregnant woman!


Okay, so I've passed a threshold in this pregnancy. You no longer have to wonder whether I've put on a few pounds or if I'm actually pregnant. There is no doubt in anyone's mind that this large protrussion from my abdomen is a child growing inside me.

So I find myself holding back my sarcasm & avoid responding with comments like "No, I'm not pregnant! I just swallowed a watermelon seed!"

I have, as a result, become the greatest amusement to both of my female co-workers now. From teasing remarks about how well I waddle my way down the hall, to comments about how the little bumps and jolts from my little one only get worse, I find myself the center of attention more often than I might like.

One of my co-workers knows full well that I value my personal space but loves nothing more than to feel a baby kick. At one point today she asked if the baby was kicking still, to which I responded, "No, she's finally decided to lay off!" At which point she grinned and proceeded to inform me that was too bad, because she was considering assaulting me.

The subject of discussion today (as it so often is) was about what I could expect in the near future. I was informed that people will stop asking me if I'm pregnant & when I'm due, only to make comments like, "Haven't you had that baby yet?"

We proceeded to list a variety of sarcastic remarks to say in return to this obviously ridiculous question.

1) Yes, but I thought pregnancy was so fitting on me that I thought I'd keep the look.
2) Well of course I did! We're pregnant AGAIN!
3) Well sure, they were twins! I had one 2 weeks ago & now we're waiting on the other one.
4) No, I decided that labor just didn't fit into my schedule yet so we're holding off on the baby.
5) Nah, we've got this one on lay-away. We're still making payments!
6) Nope, still waiting on a permission slip from my Mom!

So I'm loading myself full of sarcastic ammunition. Non-pregos beware! I'm fully armed!

Monday, February 5, 2007

Train of Thought De-railed


Sometimes I wonder where my train of thought goes when I'm at a total loss for words. I swear, I can sit here trying to come up with something to write about to no avail. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, I'll be inspired by the most unusual of topics.

Do you ever remember watching
"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" as a child? That's exactly what I think about when I picture my own "train of thought." I picture the Trolley that goes through Mr. Rogers house and then disappears off into the Neighborhood of Make-Believe I'm not really certain of what goes on in the parallel environment my mind escapes to because, unlike Mr. Rogers, I am not privy to the comings and goings of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. All I know is that when my mind finally returns from this unscheduled "vacation" I am immediately flooded with the most absurd thoughts and ideas.

For example, do animals have moments, like humans, where they have totally irrational thoughts that make utterly no sense? Honestly, does my mother’s dog lay on her pillow in the living room and stare at the ceiling for hours wondering, “I can’t remember where I left that yellow ball. Someday when she’s not looking I’ll get that squirrel. How many feathers does a turkey really have? Oh my goodness! Where did my cat go?”

Does a cat pace back and forth along the edge of the couch thinking, “If only I’d skipped that tuna. I can’t believe how fat my behind has gotten. What will all the neighbor cats think? Oh, I just can’t bear to go near the window like this! What if someone sees me?”

It’s just strange the way my mind functions, or in some cases refuses to function at times. I find myself having to stop and think about how old I am. For the life of me, I can never remember my sisters’ ages. I have absolutely no idea why I left my car keys in my coffee cup for several days before I found them.

And yet, I can easily recall the most mundane facts without any difficulty. I can still recall the first part pneumonic device I used to remember the U.S. presidents when I was a senior in high school – Wash the Ad that makes Jeff Mad on Monday. I can remember the order in which
our school bus picked up all of the students, even recalling each of their names. To this day I can still tell you the full names of all the men I’ve dated, including the names of their parents, siblings, other relatives and the birthdays of most of them.

Yet, for the life of me, I cannot remember what I did with the envelope containing my W-2. I remember getting it quite early in the year and thinking, “This is a logical place!” I remember setting it there until the other two W-2’s had arrived and I could file my taxes. Now, I am unable t0 find that stupid envelope to save my life. No doubt the trolley has carried it off to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe and I will only discover its whereabouts when it is good and ready to return to me.


Friday, February 2, 2007

About My Disease

Anyone who knows me even a little bit, soon finds out that I am what you might call "kitchen challenged". My skills in the kitchen are quite limited.

Don't get me wrong, it's not like I burn water or routinely set off smoke detectors. As a matter of fact, when the mood strikes me, I can actually cook a pretty good meal. The problem is simply that kitchens and I don't usually see eye to eye on how things should work. I tend to fumble with gadgets, drop things, and in general make a nuicence of myself in a kitchen-related environment.

I've become a firm believer that there is a disease known as "Kitchenitis" which causes normal kitchen items to either become dangerous or unresponsive any time I approach them.

My many kitchen incidents have also led me to suffer from a side-effect I call "Kitchenphobia". I break into cold sweats and hives the minute I am required to do enter a kitchen-like environment.

When I first started writing about my severe case of "kitchenitis", I was under the impression that I was the only person on the planet who suffered from this rare illness. However, I have since learned that I am not alone. This horrible illness seems to run in my family and I have even seen signs of it in other people across the country.

The following posts clearly indicate the severity of this problem and as you read them, I hope that you will see just how serious this issue really is.

Please take all necessary precautions to protect yourself and those you love from this horrific illness. It is clear that it can strike anyone at anytime.