I Should Write a Book

Boodle was out on our back porch playing with Moon Sand all afternoon, and it was time to come inside and do homework. We had already predetermined that she would just do her reading tonight, as the teacher had not posted the math or language homework online yet.

When it came time to come inside, she was loudly protesting. I, being the quick-thinking genius that I am, came up with a new, spectacularly awesome idea. Are you ready?

I let her read OUTSIDE. I know, right? INGENIOUS. I bet NO ONE has ever tried alternative teaching methods such as this before. I should really write a book.



(Although, probably, there's SOMEONE out there who's covered this topic. They probably already wrote the book, and this was covered in the PREFACE.)

Another Sign of Spring

Here in Texas, it's apparently a tradition to go out and take pictures amongst the bluebonnets when they bloom in early spring. It's a dicey proposition, because if you go too early to find them, they are sparse, wait too long and they are dead. I appear to have Goldilock's touch, and the girls and I found this field to be just right.

This is our first foray into the bluebonnet arena, so I'm pretty sure I did not do it correctly. The impression that I get (ooh, earworm) is you are supposed to dress the children in their church finest and make lovely photos together.

Um, yeah, this was a fortunate whim, and I had to beg Boodle to be there in the first place. You can see by the outfits (please guard your eyes from the color-clash) that we are a fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants crowd right now. Oh, and it was windy. And cold at first, until the girls got into it and forgot to complain.

Welcome, Spring

I've been listening to this song over and over again. Patty Griffin can be very melancholy, but this one brings to mind happy memories of the coming spring.




"Burgundy Shoes"

We wait for the bus that's going to Bangor
In my plaid dress and burgundy shoes
In your red lipstick and lilac kerchief
You're the most pretty lady in the world
Sun

The bus driver smiles, a dime and a nickel
We climb on our seats, the vinyl is cold
"Michelle ma belle", the song that you loved then
You hold my hand and sing to yourself
Sun sun
Sun sun
Sun sun sun sun

Sun sun sun sun
Sun sun sun sun
Sun

The leaves are green and new like a baby
Tulips are red, now I don't miss the snow
It's the first day I don't wear my big boots
You hold my hand, I've got burgundy shoes
Burgundy shoes, burgundy shoes
Sun


This brings back memories of me and my mom, sitting in the front seat of the van. Our shoulders pressed against one another, seatbelted together. Wearing shorts and tank tops over our bathing suits, on our way to the beach for the first time after a long California winter.

Okay, we lived in California, so how long and miserable could winter REALLY be? But you get what I'm saying. Good memories.

Haaam On The Run *Update!!*

Yep, we've got a runaway hamster. Boodle got distracted while letting her hamster run around the hallway and he's in the weeds. Or in the dryer vent, one of the two. As of this writing, he's been MIA for 4 hours. We've left Cheerios out in the hallway, and put his open cage on the floor, hoping he will be lured back to creature comforts.

Unfortunately, he's not the brightest hamster out there. When you put him in his ball, he wanders around for a few minutes, and then camps out in a corner and falls asleep. Conversely, when we set him up in his hamster playpen (oh yes, this is an actual product that we paid actual money for), he FLIPS OUT and spends at least a half an hour trying to get OUT of the playpen. So, I cannot fathom what he's done with himself now that he's actually achieved absolute freedom. Dora the Explorer? Ostrich with Head in Sand? Deer in Headlights?

We'll keep you posted on our hamster adventure. I'm sure you can't wait. And you're welcome for the Paul McCartney/Wings earworm.

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11pm Update: Still no sign of Hamilton. Now the girls are asleep, the house is quiet and dark, and I just know as I'm walking to the kitchen to get some pudding carrot sticks, he's going to dart across my path and scare the sh!t out of me. Stupid hamster. When I find him, I'm give him a giant plick on the nose. Don't think I won't.

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6:45am Aaaaaand, he's back. Sure enough, leaving his cage open on the floor, coupled with his disastrous survival skills, led Hamilton to tuck himself into bed sometime last night. Boodle woke me at 6:30am to give me the good news. Hamilton saved himself a good nose-plicking. Boodle earned one for daring to rouse me before my alarm went off.

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Wordless Wednesday: The Resemblance? Uncanny.

(I swear, I gave birth to this child. I went through morning sickness, a PUPPS rash, post-partum anxiety and everything, and she has the nerve to look exactly like her beloved aunt. That is so not fair.)

So I'm at the Gym...

Observation 1:

I arrive and begin stretching on the big mat. I am not at all limber, so I'm barely able to touch my toes while sitting down, and I can't get my forehead anywhere near to my knee or anything like that. As I'm struggling, I see the woman next to me contorting into all these different stretching poses, and I think, wow, I stink. But THEN I start thinking, well she's just further along in her fitness regime than I am. I'm not doing so bad, and hey, I'm HERE, aren't I?

Then I get on an elliptical machine and see her walk by as she's leaving. That woman is 7 months pregnant if she's a day. I suck.

Observation 2:

I'm doing the 30 minute circuit arm machines, and as I sit there, a guy brings a stool/step thingy over to the pull up bars and puts a 12 pound weight in front of the stool. I watch as he gets on the stool, grips the pull up bar and steps off. He then picks up the weight WITH HIS FEET, and proceeds to do a bunch of pull ups. Dude, that is so hot. The Man better get back her from San Francisco soon, or I'm going to run away with Pull Up Guy.

Observation 3:

I went to go shower, and in the stall I was going to use was one sock and a ripped open packet of Earl Gray Tea. The hell? Is there some mystery beauty treatment involving footwear and tea that I'm unaware of? And can I use any type of tea? Oolong? Orange Pekoe? This is going to bother me until I see this woman in the act and demand to know what she's doing.

Observation 4:

This doesn't really have to do with the gym, except the problem manifested itself there. As I was doing the arm machines, I noticed that my shoulders and upper arm muscles were particularly sore. I realize that I recently unlocked the boxing activity on Wii Fit, and I think I'm a wee bit overzealous in the punching. Picturing certain faces whilst boxing can be dangerous. I'm just sayin'.

I Watch Stupid TV

I just sat through a scene on One Tree Hill. Wait, stop. I should explain why I still watch this show, but there are no words. It's bad. It's not even "so bad it's good" bad. It's just bad, yet I continue to have it in my DVR.

Here's the scene that should really force me to delete this show:

The evil dad who killed his brother and has done all sorts of dastardly things is in need of a new heart. One finally comes, but as the transport guys is walking through the hospital, a dog that earlier had ingested some quantity of cannabis bolts in front of him, tripping the guy with his leash. The cooler goes flying, sending the heart skittering across the floor, where it is soon carried away in the jaws of the dog. Who apparently has the munchies.

Yeah, I'm gonna delete that. Soon. After this episode. I promise.

How Much Is That Doggie...

The hamsters we got for the girls in September have definitely staved off the girls hunger for getting a dog. We've had not a single request for one since Hamilton and Three Legged Max came into our lives.

But when my neighbor comes by with these guys?


They just might get their hopes up again.

How much work do you think FOUR hamsters might be?

Out of the Mouths...

Overheard my SIX and EIGHT year olds -

Loodle: I'm the tallest girl in my class, so all the boys are really attracted to me.

Boodle: That happens to me ALL THE TIME.

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Note I received from Boodle:

"Dear mom and dad, I do Not i Repete I do Not like it when you anoye me it is eretating to me. so try and work on that i will try not to lose my temper. i will work on that to. Love, Boodle"

Just to be certain, she added her phone number and address, in case we had any questions.

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Girls playing outside with rakes and such:

Loodle: What's this stick for?

Boodle: Your butt.

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Thank GOD we moved to Texas, what with they're superior schools and all. We're raising such refined, eloquent young women.

Always a Bright Side

My sister in law and her kids left today. I'm feeling a little, well, you could say I'm... see, I would describe it as a wee bit of... hmmm, I'm freaking bummed. There. I said it. It sucks. I love her to pieces. And she went and left. To go back to her HUSBAND and her life and her dog. Whatever.

Did you know that she and I were best friends before I even hooked up with her brother? Lest you think me a hobag user, she and I actually met in 5th grade, started hanging out a LOT in high school when we both realized that being dorks together was more fun, and we've been inseparable ever since. Only after graduation did I start eying her family tree. We've known each other for 27 years. God that makes me feel ancient, but in a good way.

So I'm missing her something fierce. And I miss my family. And friends. And my waistline. And the ability to eat a Snickers and Dr. Pepper for lunch and still weight 135 pounds. Okay, I don't miss that because ugh, but you're picking up what I'm laying down, right?

However, here's the thing. I am not usually one to dwell and wallow and bemoan. I recently had a conversation with a good friend, and it was confirmed that I tend to bitch some but then move on. That's my M.O. Always has been. Internally, I'm a firestorm of angst for a while, I vent a bit, and then I try to move on.

I tend to look at the bright side of things. How can I stay so down with all the positives out there? Oh, I don't mean to sound like a Pollyanna. But really, what good will it do me to dwell in the negative all the time?

I moved to Texas, leaving all of my family and friends behind. That sucked. However, The Man's cousins moved here before we did, and I've enjoyed spending more time with them (even though we only seem to get together when other relatives visit. What's up with that?)

My good friend Laura, who is attempting to kill me with step classes and pre-dawn walking, dropped everything and took an hour out of her day to run me around town getting my vehicle fixed. And she offers all the time to have my kids come over if I need to get stuff done. How cool is that to move to a new place, and find someone so amazing that is there for you?

And just when I was feeling so down that my sister in law is leaving soon, I read this post by my best bloggy friend Meg, who brought tears to my eyes in an altogether different and ultimately awesome way. How can I stay down with friends such as these?

I'm mmpfmm pounds overweight, stupid Wii Fit tells me all the time. However, I'm doing something about it. Slowly but surely. And really? In the grand scheme of things, The Man is happy to come home to me, and I'm able to run around with my kids and fit into my clothes. The rest will come off in time. (Hopefully in time so you won't see my before bathing suit picture. Lord love a duck.)

What a rambling post. I guess I just want you to know that I'm really thankful for the bright side in my life, and I hope that you're finding your blessings around you. Right this minute.

Wordless Wednesday: Pretty Pretty Princess

They're Coming! Tonight!! Goodbye!!!

My sister in law Tiffany and her two flu-ridden, germ-spreading spawn munchkins are in town for the next week, so you know how my posting has become sporadic? Now it will become downright nonexistent. At least until something hilarious happens.

(You know what's hilarious? When your car goes in to be repaired, and they tell you three days, and you give them five just to be safe, and then they call you the day before you need your car to pick up people at the airport and they tell you, yeah, it's more like EIGHT days. That's HILARIOUS! You know what's also hilarious? Telling your car guy "Holy CRAP" and also, "Well, can you just NOT paint the front, and I'll pick it up tomorrow and then just bring it back next week after they leave and THEN you can paint it?". Chris the car guy thought that was just so funny. He laughed a little too much, so now I'm confused.)

Happy spring break everyone!

Wait, it's not spring break for the whole nation? Just central Texas? Oh, shoot.

Happy... Revolutionary Attack on the Presidential Palace in Cuba Day! Shut up, it's on the Earth Calendar and everything. Do you think they have cake for that?

I'm So Hungry, I've Got My Days Wrong

Okay, not really on the hungry part, because I cannot do a diet where I can't eat. But somehow, I posted Wordless Wednesday on Tuesday, so what IS wrong with me?

That means today should be Fashion Tuesday, if I were actually still doing Fashion Tuesday, but I think you'd get tired of Loodle's current trend. Every day it's the same: either one knee high sock and one ankle sock, or leggings with one leg pulled up to her knee and the other left down at her ankle. I don't know why, so don't even ask me, but suffice it to say, I'm going to go buy a ton more knee socks because I kinda like this particular bit of quirky.

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This morning I was supposed to go walking with my buddy Laura again for the first time since Fall. We were getting up and walking at 6:15am (that's MORNING time), but when it got cold here in Texas, not to mention dark as pitch, we gave it up. Today was to be our triumphant return.



Yeah, not so much. I don't know about you, but a 90% chance of severe thunderstorm coupled with the "cold" and the raging wind I currently hear outside my living room scream danger and misery.

Guess I'll hang out with my super awesome trainer on Wii Fit instead.

Wordless Wednesday: Ride 'Em, Cowgirl

Wii Fit Will Get Me Fit

Wait, I can't rhyme fit with fit? Dang it.

We bought a Wii Fit this weekend. I am proud to say I am overweight. YES, I'm proud, because I wasn't even close to the obese section. Whew. Again, thank you Lord for all 5'10" you gave me.

This morning I actually did a workout, and can I rock the virtual hula hoop! I got 4 of them on my Mii at once. I would LOVE to try that in real life once, but the fact that Loodle knocked out her second loose tooth with one today dissuades me somehow.

Two weeks into the great Forty and Fit weight loss challenge, I have lost 4.5 pounds. Whoo hoo! Of course, limiting myself to NO trips to McDonald's instead of mmfphm trips each week helps A LOT.

5.5 pounds in 7.5 weeks. Hula hoop, here I come.

No More Freeloading Hamsters

I'm so done with these freaking hamsters just laying around and doing NOTHING to contribute around here except pooping everywhere, breaking legs and plotting their next escape.

Time to put 'em to work.

Wordless Wednesday: Flashback

Boodle December 2001



Loodle July 2004

By The Numbers

Time at which I woke up this morning: 9:15am

Hours spent doodling on iTunes and making two mix CD's: 1.5

Amount of guilt I felt for time spent on iTunes: <1

Number that 1 guilt represents: I have no clue

Number of prescription I'm on to try and kick an infection that won't freakin' go away: 2

Number of days it's been since I've been to the gym: 7

Amount of guilt I feel over that number: 67

Pounds I've lost so far in the Fit and Forty challenge: 2

Pounds represented most likely by cessation of bloating: 1.8

Number of cheese rolls I had at lunch with The Man: 1

Number I WANTED to eat: 13

Number of cheese rolls The Man ate: 0

Amount of shit he gave me for my one cheese roll: 74

Number of times he accidentally spit a cucumber seed onto my plate: 1

Speed at which the poor, unfortunate beetle on my windshield flew off on my way home: 47 mph

Number of times the tiny spider living in my sun visor dropped down then quickly back up while I was driving: 5

Number of flicks it took to get him out my window at a red light: 1

Number of seconds hostile gentleman behind me spent gesturing wildly when I had the AUDACITY not to run the red: 5

Number of seconds hostile gentleman behind me spent picking up detritus from the floor of his truck after his miscalculation of my commitment to stopping at red light: 54

Amount of satisfaction I had at watching him clean up his junk: 100%

What's The Feline Version of Cujo?

Please click through to this web page, and watch the video of the World's Ugliest Cat, and then come back and add your horror to mine.

Thank you.

FYI: He looks nothing like this -