grounds for excommunication?

I know I am Catholic and all, but......

Someone should come up with a way

to sterilize

the reproductive organs

of CLUTTER!

Image Credit

wheeeee!

Yesterday King took our two oldest to Carowinds to celebrate #2's birthday. Here is video footage that they took on the new Intimidator coaster.

The thing I think is the funniest is his voice throughout the thing. He said he was trying to be chatty at first to help calm the nerves of the kids. Yeah. I'm buying that.

wishes

Happy Birthday to my very good friend who will surely fall down the stairs if I mention her name.

cake clip art

I love how you always make the next number up seem not so daunting an age to be.

mental notes

From now on, just assume it is dirty and put the sock into the dirty clothes pile.

Do not take a whiff even if it IS on the floor beside a basket of clean laundry and looks/feels clean.

Silly Bandz:

yet another fad designed to a) separate people and their money

and b) litter the floor in order to make mothers curse

see also: Beanie Babies, Troll Dolls, Webkinz, Polly Pockets, Pogs,

Tamagotchi (which is the Japanese phrase for Damn, I gotcha again!)

stay tuned

The Yukon started making "those noises" again, much to our chagrin. So, off it went to the shop to get a diagnosis. Stay tuned for the continuing saga!

On the upside, during the 2 mile trip back to our house, the courtesy service driver who brought me back home and I talked about so much.... working out at the gym, ballroom dancing, the fact that we are both Catholic, and the reason he joined the Eastern Orthodox Melkite Church nearly 20 years ago. At one point in his life he thought seriously about becoming a priest. We talked about so much in that short amount of time that you just wouldn't have believed it. I imagine if he didn't have to get back to work, we could have chatted for hours and not come up for air.

Now, I am not saying that I think that all people who work at auto repair shops are uncommunicative, idiotic grease monkeys; rather, I am saying what a breath of fresh air to find such an interesting person who also worked at an auto repair shop.

I love surprises like that, don't you?

just a wee bit jealous

I knew a guy in college who could lose like 50 lbs by playing a couple of games of pick up basketball.

Dang, I wish I had that kind of metabolism.

ok, this is getting old

Who poured rice krispies inside the back of my neck?

is life good or what?

True story. True story.

(only the Auburn grads or seasoned SEC football fans will get this one)

A couple of weeks ago, King and I went to a tapas restaurant and we tried Pad Thai for the first time (have I already mentioned this?). When I told le hubby that I'd like to try Pad Thai he looked at me with an odd tilt of the head and said, "You want to try Pat Dye?!?!" BAH hahaha.

(hrm..guess you had to be there.)

Anyhoo....

Again last week, a friend and I each took our oldest kid plus a friend of theirs to said tapas place and I introduced #1 to the delicious dish. She is allergic to wheat, so the fact that it had rice noodles was perfect. Also, she loves "da speecy-spicy", so it was a complete home run with her.
She came right home and looked in her cookbook (How to Cook Everything) that my favorite sister gave her for Christmas and was excited to not only find the recipe in there, but that the author says it is a very easy dish to make. Whooo!

Win, win situation for moi...

So now I have a teenager who loves to cook and she is going to learn to make one of my new favorite dishes.

this just discovered!

Best, Cheapest Facial: a do-it-yourself car wash on a breezy day

(beats the free, but messy "helping-a-toddler-wipe-and-flushing-while-you-are-still-bent-over-not-realizing-that-the-public-toilet-she-just-used-has-really-powerful-water-pressure" facial)

why oh why oh why

When will I ever learn to wait to bleach the bathroom until I change out of my dressier clothes?!?!?!

a dying priest's wish

In Washington, DC an old priest lay dying in the hospital. For years he had faithfully served the people of the nation's capital and was well-known among the elected officials. He motioned for his nurse to come near.

"Yes, Father?" said the nurse.

"I would really like to see President Obama and Speaker Pelosi before I die," whispered the priest.

"I'll see what I can do, Father," replied the nurse.

The nurse sent the request to the President and Congress and waited for a response. Soon the word arrived; President Obama and Nancy Pelosi would be delighted to visit the priest.

As they went to the hospital, Obama commented to Pelosi, "I don't know why the old priest wants to see us, but it will certainly help our images and might even get me re-elected." Pelosi agreed that it was a good thing.

When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Obama's hand in his right hand and Pelosi's hand in his left hand. There was a silence and a look of serenity on the old priest's face.

Finally President Obama spoke, "Father, of all the people you could have chosen, why did you choose us to be with you as you near the end of your life?"

The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life after our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

"Amen," said Obama.

"Amen," agreed Pelosi.

The old priest continued, "Jesus died between two lying thieves; I would like to do the same."

ever have one of those days....

....when you feel like you need to have a disclaimer stamped across your forehead:

Feeling snappish and sarcastic.

Buyer Beware!

file under: chuckle

Number 3 was trying to understand why the word "appointed" isn't really the opposite of "disappointed".

"Gosh, honey, I'm really appointed in you."

SeewhatImean?

feeling nostalgic for the way things used to be

I just went downtown to purchase white dress pants for Spring Formal. The department store that carries them (the only one) is in the same location they have been in since God was a boy. Time has stood still since about 1978. I feel pretty confident that the saleswomen who work there have been there since then, too.

I didn't want to just go in, get the pants, and leave. The store made me want to linger. So much of this stuff was the same kind of things that were in department stores when I was a child. Classically styled clothes. There were a pair of shoes that I know must have been sitting there since 1982 back when they were first popular.. or perhaps they still make them, I don't know.

Of course I wouldn't know - I haven't been in a department store since about 1985.

No. I have become a slave of WalMart, Target, or even Goodwill. Making the "most" out a dollar.

Our parents were basically the last generation who took their children once or twice a year to a sweet downtown department store, most of which were two stories tall. To get to the upper floor, where the kids' clothes were, you either had to go up a large, polished wooden staircase with handrails that were much too big for a little girl's hand, its clean, brown rubber treads on each step.... or perhaps you'd use the small elevator with little round push-buttons, each kid getting a turn pushing either the "1" on the way up or the "2" on the way down...... or maybe your department store had an escalator, which tested the agility of small feet, something you still sort of fear even to this day when you go to the mall.

This generation of mothers would not be in a hurry on this special shopping day, nor would they be in bad moods because there were genuine, nice, smiling salespeople who helped pick out items from mom's list, which was usually a couple of stock basics: spring dresses, dress pants, Easter hats, undergarments, or shiny, new shoes. Even if mom didn't run into anyone she knew and pause to chit-chat, the saleslady was nice enough and had been there long enough that she remembered you. Sort of like an old friend, but one who has never been to your house for a cookout.

Then, happy moms and kids would go out for a sandwich and ice cream at a local dairy bar. If they were really lucky, daddy worked nearby and could meet them for lunch.

poetic license

Romeo:

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

It is the morn and the kids are at it again!

Juliet:

Ay!

Couch Cushion

Couch Cushion

Wherefor art thou

Couch Cushion?

Deny thy kid and refuse thy floor

Or if thou wilt not, understand

that I will no longer have furniture

for any to sit upon.

Romeo:

Alack!

Look thou, I will pick them all up.

Juliet:

Oh, Romeo, my Romeo!

the good news and then the good news

1. The car repair place in NC called to say my darling Yukon XL is ready.
2. Total: $86 (as opposed to the 2 - 3K we were expecting!)

Now, that is a welcomed answer to a prayer!

word clouds

www.wordle.net

click on "create your own"

You can type in the words or type in a website.

Pure art, man.

Here's the one I created from my blog.

yes, him again

Adding a spot of beautiful comic relief to the week,

in his best Game-Show-Host voice,

making sure he has everyone's full attention

(standing in the middle of the living room, slowly turning, holding his arms in the air)

your favorite and mine says:

"And now......

let's play.....

'Who.... Did.... That.... Stinky Tootie!' "

the black-cloud of a vacation

We just got back from one. hellacious. vacay. And not in a good way.

If I wrote all the details, you would very nearly turn to stone, so I will present it in bullet form, although I think you might need to get up and move around to keep rigor mortis at bay.

Day 1

• car trouble on the way to Mom's
• #1 coming down with sniffles (we think from the record-setting pollen count)

Day 2

• take car to (local, well-respected) fix it shop
• can't get to it until next week (so well-respected that they are absolutely slammed)
• leave it anyway and get a ballpark estimate of 2-3K!
• borrow mom's old convertible to have a "mini getaway" without kids
• drive 1 hour to feel like we are getting "away"
• have car trouble
• find auto repair place
• check into hotel, get the bad news that the day spa no longer offers couple massage
• walk to restaurant, amazing meal, walk back to hotel, collapse into bed

Day 3

• rent car, worry that the company was going to follow us around town and put dings in the car because we refuse to buy insurance coverage (as we are covered on on regular auto ins)
• take troubled convertible to fix it shop
• get told "probably the spark plugs", tune up = $200, but can't get to it until the next day
• leave car
• toodle around town in rental car, find one antique store, scope out restaurant for dinner
• back to hotel to watch Masters Par 3 Tournament
• go to dinner, have another amazing meal, go back to hotel
• get a call from sis saying #1 is feeling worse & where's the inhaler (didn't get packed)
• get call at midnight with the news that #1 can't breathe
• favorite sister knows all the right people and gets a nebulizer/Albeuterol for the weekend
• get zero sleep bc of worry

Day 4

• wake up sore bc of poor excuse for a mattress & aforementioned worry
• wish for the millionth time that the spa still offered couple massage
• get convertible picked up
• return rental car
• shop at two thrift stores
• grab lunch
• drive back to Mom's with the top up bc it looks like it is going to pour down rain any second (black skies, go figure!) but doesn't of course
• arrive at Mom's with the news that ALL the children have the same sniffles that #1 has
• Mom, favorite sis, and I go get pedicures (to drown our sorrows) my pedi chair doesn't work (were you expecting differently?) and the dude was too rough and I "bleeded"
• have amazing meal
• brave Wal Mart for bread, milk, cheese
• back to Mom's, collapse into bed listen to thunderstorm

Day 5

• gorgeous day
• clean up behind kids
• go to thrift store with favorite sister in convertible
• back at Mom's, sit in convertible watching the sky, talking, and laughing for 90 minutes (no one knew we had pulled into the driveway... we just wanted to see how long it would be before they found us)
• gave up bc of full bladders
• went to dinner
• woke up at midnight, 3am, and 6am with #4 wheezing
• thank God over and over again for a sister who handles crises well for her tottering, older sister
• no sleep bc of worry and uncomfortable, hammock-like bed

Day 6

• worry over #4 who is hyper from Albeuterol, yet lethargic due to wheezing/exhaustion
• borrow Mom's minivan, thank God for her generosity, drive home in a panic-stricken state, worried that something will happen to it
• rejoice at the rest #4 gets by sleeping most all the way home
• make it home in time to get to Mass
• go to King's dad's 75th birthday party
• write blog entry, looking over the crazy, "series of unfortunate events" type of week and thanking God that we survived and were blessed to have such a great extended family
• consider life as a recluse
• give serious thought to favorite sister's suggestion of getting an at-home tanning bed so I can become a brown recluse
• chuckle
• turn off computer and go to bed for 100 years

ps

+

Happy Easter

from our family to yours.

+

fuzzy cuteness

Number 1, who made the recent Seder meal, made Easter crafts with her siblings and cousins, who are in town celebrating Easter with us. Aren't these bunnies adorable? They also made an Easter Egg bunting and Resurrection cookies.

Fun times with fun people.

what not to say at the dinner table, especially when we have company

"Um, excuse me, I have something to say. I can wipe myself."

(see if you can guess who)

a beautiful gift

#1 spent all day (no exaggeration) cooking a Seder Passover meal and before we asked for a blessing, she read aloud all the symbolism behind each food. She first explained that there are 7 things (seven, a sacred number, represents completion) on the menu.

• Lamb - signifying the blood of the lamb that was slain at Passover, but for Christians it now represents the Paschal Lamb, the blood of Jesus who died for our sins
• horseradish - a bitter herb symbolizing the harshness of enslaved Hebrews
• apples and pecans with honey and cinnamon (Haroses) - which represented the mortar used by the Hebrews while in slavery
• Potatoes with vinegar - represent their tears shed
• unleavened bread - represents the unleavened bread that the slaves ate just before fleeing Egypt
• Eggs - represents new life , and for Christians a new life in Christ
• romaine lettuce - gratitude to God for all the goods of the earth

What a beautiful gift of time, energy, and love it was for her to do this. OK, she is exempt from that whiny post about our kids not having a work ethic.

watching the clock

Lent officially ends at sundown tonight at which time the Triduum begins.

The next three days in the Catholic Church are like finding the prize in the cereal box. We congregate several times during these three days to remember what Jesus did for us.

There is a wonderful article about the Triduum here. To quote one part, "There are practices we experience during the Triduum that we see at no other time during the year: the washing of the feet, the veneration of the cross, the service of the light, the singing of the Exultet, the baptism of the elect, the reception of the candidates into full membership in the Catholic Church. It is said that the Triduum is so full of moments that can touch our inner being and move our soul that we would not be able to experience them more than once a year."

Powerful, n'est pas?

Oh, and expect to see me on Facebook tonight.