Songs of Sorrow

People vent their frustrations in a lot of different ways.  When Ella gets worked up I usually want to cut my ears off, but sometimes Ella delights us with some entertainment.  I just wish I would have caught the part about how she hates chicken and that Jack is not a nice brother.

ELLA #1

ELLA#2

This Love

I've got to say it.

There are items you buy. Regularly. Items that you really like.  And then one day you open one of these items and it's not the same.  You know the expression, don't fix something that's not broken?  Well, don't already!  Who makes the decision to change something, to screw something up?  Who says, I don't think these should taste like yumminess anymore.  I think crap is the better way to go? Who's in charge here?!

Sweetheart Candies.  Have you tried them this year?  These things have been selling for millions of years and all of a sudden they change how they taste?   Oh dear.  What is happening to this world?


1.  I LOVE York Peppermint Patties.  Something that has stayed the same for millions of years.

2.  I LOVE when my kids don't fight.

3.  I LOVE when I don't have to carpool.

4.  I LOVE when Gator lets me have my way.

5.  I LOVE that my 10 year anniversary is coming up and once again, we don't have any plans.  Boooo.

6.  I LOVE a good book.

7.  I LOVE that Madonna was in my dream last night.

8.  I LOVE that I've been able to reconnect with friends through blogging.

9.  I LOVE good hair days.  Today is not one of them.

10.  I LOVE throwing things away.

11.  I LOVE sweaty people at the gym who smell like mildew.  

12.  I LOVE that we're actually getting a tax return.

13.  I LOVE that this post has taken me 45 minutes to write because my internet keeps going down. Boooo!

14.  I LOVE Allison's sugar cookies!  Holy smokes, they were amazing!  This weekend, I will be attempting to recreate the divineness .... although I'm sure they won't be nearly as delicious!

LOVE on the Rocks

Not feeling so loving today.  This will be a tough one.  Early-out school schedule = grumpy kids & grumpy mom. 

1.  I LOVE a beautiful blue sky.

2.  I LOVE that this week is almost over.

3.  I LOVE when Jack says the words spooky and squirrels. Preferably in the same sentence. 

4.  I LOVE that Ella says revy  instead of very.  Like, "she doesn't do cartwheels revy good."  I should work on this, I know.

5.  I LOVE Calamity Jane

6.  I LOVE when I think to ask for prescriptions ahead of time.

7.  I LOVE that I sold my bar stools within a half an hour of posting them.

8.  I LOVE that Gator gets up with Jack in the morning.

9.  I LOVE that I got a triathlon reminder in my email.  Makes me think of summer!

10.  I LOVE that it's almost time for Girl Scout cookies.

11.  I LOVE that I actually have a vacation planned for the summer.

12.  I LOVE that this week is almost over ... wait, did I already say that?

13.  I LOVE that I'm not putting a YouTube video on this post!

A Big Hunk of LOVE

1.  I LOVE chips and salsa.  I will never, ever, turn them down!

2.  I LOVE having flowers in my home ... I LOVE when I don't have to buy them myself.

3.    I LOVE when Jack says his prayers.

4.  I LOVE nap time.  If it were my nap time I'd LOVE it even more.

5.  I LOVE it when people come and clean my house for me.  Oh, wait.  That never happens.

6.  I LOVE when Ella lets me dance and sing and thinks I'm awesome.  Oh, wait.  That doesn't happen either.

7.  I LOVE Walmart.  Actually, I hate it.  But today, I LOVE it.

8.  I LOVE when Gator thinks I'm funny.  Believe it or not, this isn't as easy as it used to be.


9.  I LOVE when you're running, and you're exhausted, and the perfect song comes on a gives you a boost.  Axl sure saved my butt this morning.

10.  I LOVE that I remembered to wash my favorite pants yesterday so I can loaf around in them today!  I don't love that I'll have to change my loaf-around pants before YW tonight.  Boooo!

11.  I LOVE music ... especially when it applies to my blog posts (seriously, what is it with me and YouTube lately?)!

 

LOVE

There are a lot of things I don't love.  As much as I try to be a half-full kind of gal, it's not really the way I roll.  It's February, which brings to mind a few of those not-so-loved, previously mentioned, items.   But I'm changing my tune -- at least for the next 14 (umm, 13?) days.

1.  I LOVE storage.  It's amazing what a set of shelves can do for a girl!  My father-in-law is building us shelves to line the entire back section of our garage.  He started installing them today.  I am so thrilled about this!  The storage is going to be fabulous and the crap is going to be gone.  The white trash look we've had going on for a little while has not been my favorite.

2.  I LOVE when dinner is made before 2:00 pm.

3.  I LOVE a nice, cold, Diet Dr. Pepper at lunch time. 

4.  I LOVE this.  Don't roll your eyes -- just appreciate the art for what it is. (My favorite section is :52 - 1:08.  I dare you not to smile!)

5.  I LOVE that I didn't get get up and go to the gym this morning and my kids slept until 7:30.

6.  I LOVE Buddy the Elf.

Going Global

In the last two weeks I have had blog visitors from Brazil, Tunisia, Italy, Ukraine, Romania, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Finland--some of these more than once and all have spent at least 30 seconds looking at my blog.

I have visitors from all over the great United States.

I average 42 visits a day.

This week I have had 163 visits.

Today alone, 24.

Here is the important part to this -- I may think I am cool but I KNOW I am not THAT cool.

This blog doesn't have enough substance to have global friends. I am not popular enough to know anyone outside a 10 mile radius. For every post I do, I'm lucky if I get 3 comments. 24 people have looked at my blog today and I hope to get 3 comments!! So, in the wise words of El Guapo, what I'm basically trying to say is,

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU????"

I think having a private blog is lame. Oh, I get why people do it but let's face it, blogs get forgotten when they're private. I'm also not sure my dad could figure out how to set up a login ...I'd like to avoid this.

So, let's play a game. If you read this, leave a comment -- give me a little reassurance of who's actually looking at this blog! If we've burned the villages and pruned the hedges together, let's reminisce! If you live in Rome, let's be friends because I'd like to come and visit. If I don't know you, introduce yourself! If you live in South Carolina, do you happen to live near the beach and can we also be friends? If you are Mr. Tunisia and you are have pictures of my kids on your wall, give a shout out so I can delete this blog immediately. If you are stalking my blog because you knew me back when, FESS UP!!

I've played this game before -- back when I felt a little more safe and happy in blog land. My mystery Belgium visitor has me not feeling so safe and happy. Help me out, would ya?

Hope for Haiti

If any of you happened to be sitting in front of your TV on Friday night, chances are good that you caught the Hope for Haiti telethon. Two hours and a box of tissues later, my heart just ached. My favorite performance of the evening: Justin Timberlake, Matt Morris and Charlie Sexton. Amazing.

song #2

I need a happy song today. Infections in my body don't make me happy and unfortunately, it seems that I have a couple.

This song makes me happy. I didn't like it at first, but it's grown on me. Hope you are all infection and grumpy free!

And the card attached would say ...

Today is day 6 of this ridiculous cold. The kind where you think your sinuses might explode any minute, when you cough so hard you almost throw-up and you don't get a single ounce of sleep. Yes, I am on day 6. Day 6 is when the tears start coming because I'm feeling so sorry for myself and I think I'm never, ever going to feel good again.

I have amazing friends. And why do I love my friends?

- Immediate Facebook responses to my whining. I love when people respond.

- S. called and asked if she could do carpool for me. S. has spent the last two days dealing with her chemo crap but she asked anyway.

- V. switched playgroup with me without a single hesitation. I know she wanted to hesitate. This was glorious for me because a.) I hate having playgroup at my house and b.) I have another week to get my house back in order. Of course, this is all assuming that I might actually get better in the next week.

-J. brought over freshly baked, warm bread with a ribbon tied around it. I love bread and I love ribbons. It was absolutely divine.

-A. and J. (a different J.) came to my house with Cafe Rio and a Diet DP the size of my vacuum. A. even crawled out her driver window twice (picture Dukes of Hazard) to make sure I had everything. Heaven!

This all happened before noon today. I am feeling very thankful.

Uhhh.... not quite.

Now, bronze this, put it in my entry and I would be very happy.

p.s. Does anyone else think that Kate from Plus 8 might be one of the most ridiculous people ever? I have never seen that show, but that lady never goes away!

.

Confession

I've always wanted to be in a band. Really. With cheering fans and sweaty guitarists. This must stem from my need for attention.

Does anyone want to join my band? I can rock a slide whistle like you've never seen!

Song #1

Since I'm slowly starting into my training, I've decided that every week I'm going to find a great running song. Music makes all the difference in my exercising ability. I probably won't share all of my finds with you ...or maybe I will ... but today, I'm going to. Please share your faves as well -- I could use some ideas!

This song makes me happy. It is not new to the world and it is not new to my ipod. I took a break from it for a while but I've put back into the rotation.

Hope this makes your day happy!

I Got Nothin

I was really looking forward to Resolution #36. You know, jump back on the blogging bandwagon, share some of my incredibly insightful thoughts, show everyone how hilariously funny I am ... until I realized during my very first week back that I GOT NOTHIN!! I couldn't think of a single thing to say. Amazing, but true.

So, just because you're are all so lucky, here is some random stuff.

* I just finished watching the second half of the The Bachelor. I hate this show. Why, why, why does it always suck me in?!

* My feet are like blocks of velcro. Absolutely lovely. I'm trying to figure out how to make some improvements .... lazer removal might be my only option. Any foot softening suggestions? Please?

* There's a deliciously new dryer sitting in my laundry room! Oh, it's beautiful! Thanks for all your comments -- I love being validated! I thought my desire to do laundry would increase once I got it, but strangely, it hasn't.

* Book club was good this month. I'm thinking about going again next month.

* I love my calling. I'm so thankful to have it. But seriously? SERIOUSLY???

* Channel 4 might have the worst news people ever .... well, maybe 13 ... toss up, really.

* I think that if there's a hundred dollar bill in plain sight every single day, just hanging in front of my face, it's just begging to be spent.

* My triathlon training has started. Not in full force, but it has definitely started. My tired legs are telling me so.

* I am so thankful that school has started up again, that I got Jack into a preschool for fall.

* I really need to find a place to go for a February mini-vacation. I'm aiming to keep my Winter Depression under control this year. Anyone want to invite me and my kids to come and stay with them? We're really low maintenance -- just a soft bed, a few prepared meals, white fluffy towels .....

* When I get up and go to the gym in the mornings, my kids sleep until 7:30. When I don't, they rise and shine at 6:30. What the heck?!

* I just read the Andre Aggasi autobiography in 24 hours. If you like the F-word, read this book. However, F-words aside, interesting story. I had a big poster of Andre on my wall during my younger years .... my thoughts of him will never be the same.

Should I keep going?? I've got a million of them floating around this brain of mine ....

Why I won't do laundry.

Hello Again Hello

Hello?

[tap, tap]

This thing on? Anybody there?



Really ...... ANYBODY THERE??


It's been a while... I don't blame anyone for leaving .... there's only so much checking-back you can do, you know ....

hello?....

Anyway .... I'm back. Did you hear me? I'M BACK!! Resolution #36: Blog regularly (or at least somewhat regularly) .... However ...

Are blogs over and done with? Do people care anymore? Should I even waste more of my time doing this? I know I should say I'm doing this for journaling, or family history, or whatever, but have you read this thing? No sane mother would count this as journaling ... No sane mother would want her kids to read the ramblings of their half-sane mother ... .see what I mean? Makes no sense!

Anyway. I'll blog for while. See how it goes. In the mean time, the rest of you better work on yours!