Guise Will Be Guise - 12/25/2006

Feliz Navidad Todos! We hope you are having a great Christmas Day. We've had a swell weekend.

Saturday night, Niki came by to visit and spend the night. She's down from Maryland visiting her parents, and came by to see the house and spend a day. We went to the Olive Garden for dinner, where we were placed waaaaaaay in the back of the restaurant. So we were loud. :) It was fun. I think the waitress liked us, even WITH the whole "Niki asked for no green peppers because she's allergic to them, and they gave them to her anyway" thing. She didn't get sick, so it was all good. The waitress was totally scared Niki would have some kind of reaction. She kept coming by the table to check on us.

We stopped at Target to pick up some bread and ...something else I can't remember. I just remember Jake swinging the bread around and then plopping it under the PlayStation 3 demo so he could play it. Niki looks at the bread, looks at me and says "Man, your bread is toast." (pause) To which she & I burst out laughing hysterically, leaving David dazed and confused. It was funny! Bread...toast. *snicker*

Niki spent the night and then Sunday morning, after I remove a substantial chunk out of my ankle shaving (it is still bleeding - I removed the band-aid to change it, and it's still running), my sister Brenda, nephew Jonathan and his dad Fede came up. Brenda got to meet Niki (one of David's oldest friends) and said of Niki: "I like her. She has such a bubbly personality. And she's brave. She drives all over the place by herself!" (Brenda won't drive anywhere more than 1/2 hour by herself. That 1/2 hour is her going to work.)

While Brenda and Niki were getting on, I was driving Jake over to his dad's side of the family's Christmas Dinner. My nephew came to keep me company. Jake went with his family and I went back home. Niki was almost in her car to leave when Jonathan & I pulled back into the driveway. David left for work half an hour later.

Fede made "Viandas & Bacalao." A Puerto Rican dish. I have never made this dish, so he showed me step-by-step as he did it. White Sweet Potatoes (the only way I can describe it), Onions and "Malanga" (another veggy) served in olive oil & garlic with cod fish served with olive oil, garlic & onions. I'm burping just thinking about it. I LOVE this dish, but it keeps loving me back for HOURS later.

Several hours later, I drove back, this time with Isabel and Brenda, to go get Jake at his aunt's house. Jake's aunt gave Isabel a present (very sweet). We got back to watch Jonathan & Jake dance, while Isabel fawned over my sister Brenda's baby chihuahua, Rica. 9 weeks old and teeny! Excuse my saying this but....My daughter's poops are bigger than this dog. She's SO CUTE! The dog, not my daughter's poop.

David arrived home a little after....9:30 p.m.? I can't remember. We let Jake open some birthday presents from my sister. He got a really cool chess set. It's called a Mystical Creations Dragon Chess Set. Wizards, dragons, etc. Really nice.

Here's where the guise comes in to play.

My sister, her husband and son kept bugging us all day to be able to open Christmas presents. I kept saying no. We do it on Christmas day. After Jake opens his wizard chess set, Brenda asks us to come downstairs to the room with the Christmas tree in it. They want to open ONE present, just One, they beg. I concede to only one person getting a present; the one who finds the hidden Christmas pickle in the tree. They search and Jake ends up finding it.

Brenda then hands Jake another birthday present they forgot to give him. Jake opens it, and it's a Playstation game. Cool! Until David mentions "Hey, that's for PS3!" We don't own a PS3. We will never own a PS3 as long as those suckers are as expensive as they are. We do not work our patooties off to throw away that much $$ on a game system. And if you know me, you know my feeling on video games anyway. I tolerate them because I love my two men. Jonathan looks at Brenda and says "Mom! You got the wrong game! PS2! Not PS3!!" Brenda says something like "Oh, I'm sorry! I still have the receipt," while I am saying "It's ok, she can exchange it or mail us the receipt and we can change it out." By this time, Jonathan (or Brenda?) has pulled out the one gift that Jake can open because he found the Christmas pickle. A rather large gift with a handle. I am clueless.

This is Jake's face as he opens up....his Playstation 3. My insane family bought my son a PS3. What? WHAT?? All three of our jaws drop. We are stunned. The 3 of them are laughing hysterically at how they "got us." We're shocked, and saying that this is just too much. They wave us off. They wanted to do this, etc. etc. We're just sitting there, in shock. And I am feeling like a schmo. I got them each gifts that were like, $25 for one, $30 for the other and $25 for the other, and they get him a PS3? Gahhh! My brother-in-law is SO generous, and I felt like I totally let him down because all I got him was a Target gift card because I could not think of what else to get him.

Jake was in HEAVEN, as you can imagine. We were a little shocked, have I mentioned we were shocked yet? Jake in his tween and now teen years has been testing the limits of sarcasm and rudeness as of late, and it's almost like....here...have a $600 present. Yay! We've already had to kick him off of it because he proclaimed that this was "HIS" PS3 and David could not play it once Jake went to bed. *shakes head*

We went to bed and got up around 8:30 a.m. to my brother-in-law already cooking a pork (pernil) in the oven. He was so hungry for it at 8:30 a.m. because he'd been up at 3 in the morning checking on it and basting it. We opened our presents (insert feeling like a schmo again here). We had tons of presents from friends and family members under the tree. We don't open them until Christmas day, even if we get them early in the mail. So we're opening a million gifts and my sister & family are sort-of just sitting there with the lame gifts we got them. *sigh*

Brenda cooked some Puerto Rican rice (arroz con gandules) and I made a green bean casserole. I also put a pre- made apple pie in the oven. (I baked a cheesecake yesterday from scratch, and a chocolate cake the day before). Christmas dinner was served....at 10:30 a.m. Funny.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Beneath You - 12/23/2006

I hate to mop. Because I have mop issues. Can someone PLEASE tell me that they have a mop they love? I HATE MOPS! Hate, hate, hate. I have yet to find a mop that does the job. At my old house, I would end up on my hands and knees, with a bucket and a scrubby brush, hand scrubbing and hand wiping the floor, because no mop could get it clean enough for my liking. Now that I have more floor to mop, this is no longer an option for me.

I had a regular sponge mop. Those are horrible. They do nothing to actually clean stains off the floor.

I bought a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Mop. Don't bother. Biggest waste of $15 or so ever. This thing does nothing for stains, nothing. And it tends to just move dirty water around. I will rinse the mop under hot, clean water in the empty side of the sink, before dipping it into the side of the sink with the water & cleaner. Still, it pushes the dirt around rather that absorbing it.

I bought a Swiffer Wet jet. It's kind of cool. You spray this liquid thing out of it, and then just dry-wipe it with the papery thing underneath. My problem with this is...you're just spraying this chemical and wiping it up and...is it building up? Where is the follow-up wet wiping of this chemical off the floor? I'm finding it weird that there is not water wiping it up. It smells weird too. Too sweet. I have been using the Swiffer to spot clean in between moppings, which is great.
I still need a regular mop. David thinks I am weird. I have had mop issues for YEARS. Years. Anyone have any ideas? If so, PLEASE let me know.

Dear Boy 12/21/2006

Jake....is a teen. Thirteen to be exact. Today. He is 13 today. I am officially old. Older. I've been old for a while. We took him to Disney Quest last weekend. We got him some smaller things too. From us, besides Disney Quest, he got the Lego Star Wars game for PS2, a t-shirt that reads "Books is Good" and a t-shirt that reads "What part of Moooohoooohaaahaaaa don't you understand." He also got $$ from one of my sisters, $$ and new headphones from my in-laws, $$ from David's grandma, another T-shirt from my friend Wendy and a long sleeved t-shirt from her too. He still has more stuff from his dad's side. He'll get those from them this Sunday.

Happy Birthday to one of the sweetest kids ever!

The Harvest 12/21/2006

Last night, Wednesday, we had our company Christmas Dinner.

MAN. Google Texas De Brazil and check it out. It was a lot of fun. Beautifully decorated but LOUD. You would think such a fancy/expensive place would have more of a refined, quiet atmosphere. Tons of employees working there. There is this amazing buffet. Not like a cheesy buffet. Very beautifully done. You walk around and get your salads & such. Things like baked salmon, white rice & beans (Brazilian style), lobster bisque, mozzarella balls dipped in oil & garlic, sushi, potato salad, Parmesan cheese wedges, fried yucca, all kinds of greens, breads, the list goes on & on.

This is the centerpiece of the buffet area.

Then, at your place setting, you have this little plastic-coated paper chip. One side it red and the other is green. There are men running around with these large skewers that they have pulled out of these huge roasting fires. You can see them cooking in a glass room.

Anyway, if your disk is green facing up, these men will stop by your plate and offer to carve you filet mignon, chicken wrapped in bacon, lamb, pork, top sirloin, sausage, etc. etc. If your disc is red, they pass you by. If the person sitting next to you has green, they will stop by and feed them. It was flippin' hysterical. For dessert, we had our choice of 6 items. I chose my favorite, carrot cake, and a cappuccino.

The downside to the night was only two things. First, it was on International Drive. It took me an hour & 15 minutes to get there. It took an hour to get home. That, and David stayed home with the kids. No babysitter. It was too inconvenient. A Wednesday night is not a night to ask someone to watch your kids from say 5:30 to 10:00 p.m. David was actually ok not going. He did not want to drive in rush hour traffic down I-4 to International Drive. This is probably a restaurant we'll never go to, just because of the location and the price. Maybe for a special anniversary or something, when we can actually get a sitter. The night ended with a pep-thank-you talk by our salesman, who also bought us gift cards to Honey Baked Ham for a 7 lb. ham. It was a fun night.

Showtime - 12/16/2006

Jake's 13th birthday is this coming Thursday. Thirteen! A Teen! AAAAAAAAAAKKKKKKKK! I remember 13. At 13, people my age were old farts. *I* am an old fart!

Jake gets to pick what he wants to do on his birthday. Usually, he chooses a restaurant & we go eat. Olive Garden was his pick a couple of times, Kobe Japanese Steak house (where they cook right in front of you) was another he's chosen. This year, though, he wanted to go to Disney Quest. It's an interactive, five-story....arcade, really, located at Downtown Disney (one of my most favorite places to take out-of-town guests. Downtown Disney is almost like going to Disney, but you can walk around the shops and places for free. When Jake I were were alone and on a tight budget, we'd go down there just to walk around and have fun, without having to spend any $$). Five floors of video games, interactive computer games and rides, the perfect place for a 13 year old.

This picture is actually the back of the place. I wish I had taken pictures of the front of it. It is huge, and dark inside. Isabel had a ball too. Check out her cute shirt. We started out by going on a white water rafting trip. A virtual white water rafting trip. It was fun. We got in a raft and the "water" moved us around. The raft was on an air-mattress, if you will, that inflated and deflated to simulate the motion of the water, as it pertained to the video we were watching on the screen.

Then, Jake & I went off to create our own roller coaster while David chased Isabel. You get a scan-card and go to a console. You create your own roller coaster, with loops, twists, drops, jumps, black hole jumps, etc. Then the scan-card saves your roller coaster and you go to the ride simulator. They load your roller coaster into the simulator and you get it. This simulator recreates the roller coaster you created. The thing had us upside-down, twisting & flipping.
David found the "retro" arcade, so I chased Isabel while he played Pac Man, Galaga, Frogger, Q-Bert, etc. You remember those, dont you? You're showing your age, my friend!

David and Jake went on a virtual Aladdin's Magic Carpet ride, while Isabel and I went to a room where you could "color" on a computer screen. She loved it. It was a touch screen and after two seconds, she had the whole program figured out. She made 5 masterpieces by the time David & Jake were done. We did a lot more running about. Jake found the DDR machine....NOT WORKING!! Gasp! They did have a different game called Pump It Up, similar to DDR, but the arrows were diagonal and there was a 5th button in the middle. Took him a bit to figure out the moves. There were a few other guys there playing too. They had been playing that game for a while, because they were all over it.

We went up to the 5th floor and ordered a slice of cheese pizza for Isabel and a whole pie for the rest of us, plus some sodas. Isabel ate all her pizza and was beginning to act loopy. David finished the pizza while Jake and I went to....battle some aliens? A virtual game for 4 people where you are in a spaceship and 3 of you have to shoot down the aliens while the 4th person, the pilot, picks up colonists. Jake ran into a few school friends who were also there, on the way to this game.

After killing aliens, David and I left with Isabel to go to the Jeep and change her diaper. David stayed in the car with Isabel while I went back inside to meet Jake. We stayed for a 20 minute drawing class (a Disney animator taught us how to draw Donald Duck) and then went back out to go home. Isabel had already fallen asleep in the car.

That was our fun Jake-Day celebration, a few days early.

Wild at Heart - 12/05/2006

Last Thursday was month-end at work. Last day of the month to bill stuff. My official motto for month-end is "BILL! BILL! BILL!"

It wasn't as stressful as any other day. The usual stress. Around 2 p.m., I am sitting at my desk, when I realize that I can't get my heart to stop pounding. I stop. I start breathing deeply. I cannot get it to stop. The pulse in my neck is pounding. I had no idea what was happening. I was not stressed or irritated that second or those 10 minutes before, for that matter.

The salesman walks in and sees me with my hand to my neck and my eyes closed. "What's the matter" he asks. "I don't know," I told him. "I can't stop my heart from pounding." He goes into protective mode, God love him, and starts hovering over my desk. "Want to go to the clinic? Let's go, I'll drive." I kept reassuring him I would be ok. He made me get up, walk around and kept telling me to breathe. Like a mother hen, he bugged me. He got me a Coke (not sure if that was even right - caffeine?), he hovered some more, offered to take me to the clinic 2 more times, and told me to stop freaking him out.

I kept working and around 4:30 p.m. I realized everything was back to normal. It was SO weird. I REALLY need to calm down (hence the laughing at the bird lady, rather than freaking out). I have been trying real hard & earnestly, to let things slide off my back, slick as goose poop. :)

Now, if I can shake these flu-like symptoms I'm feeling, that'll be great, thanks.

Wild at Heart, Buffy Season 4, episode 6

Innocence - 12/05/2006

Isabel and I took a "baff" together last night. I needed to bathe her and thought, what the heck. Let's get in the monster tub in my room together. I had never done that with her! Can you believe it?

She thought it was the most hysterical thing ever. First off, she starts by saying "mariposa, mariposa, mariposa." Butterfly, for you non-Spanish speakers. She was pointing at the ink on my hip. Then, when I got in with her, her eyes got all wide and she said "Mommy baff, mommy baff!" We splashed each other a lot, which had her giggling like a maniac. It was so cute. She would slip every so often (no bath safety seat) and then say "Cay-ful!!" (careful!)

Speaking of innocence, I'm driving back from Target to the office. I am heading north in the middle lane. There is a car in south-bound traffic trying to make a U-turn on to north-bound traffic. Well, right where she was, I needed to get in the left lane, because I was going to turn left in half a mile. She's trying to U-turn into the left lane and I'm switching from the middle to the left lane. She has to stop. She FLIPS ME OFF! People still do that?!? Seriously? I didn't even get mad because it was so ridiculous! Here's this lady in her 40's flipping me off. If life is that bad, really, take a breather. LOL So, she ends up behind me when we are turning left. I do the speed limit, cause I'm trying to be a good person, and also it'll make her mad since she seems to be in a rush. I make another left, so does she. A right and another right into the deli, she does the same. She keeps going though, to another business located in the same place as the deli. I'm placing an order for me & my boss and talking to David about "bird lady" when who walks in? Bird lady, asking the deli people if anyone "found" a $20 bill - she thinks she may have lost it half hour earlier when she was in the deli. Yea right. I'm SURE someone will just pick it up & turn it in, lady. I start laughing while on the phone and David has no idea why. I told him that karma just bit Bird Lady's butt.

Innocence, Buffy Season 2, Episode 14

There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb, pt. 2 - 11/29/2006

Howdy. I know, I said I'd "write tomorrow" a few days ago. Can you believe I have not GOTTEN ON LINE until now. I mean, other than for work. SO busy. It may have something to do with a certain fruit of my looms...loins...that has a certain project of the science fair nature that this certain fruit has known for months and yet I only find out about it a day or so before vacation. I digress but I am explaining why we're all with the "busy."



Thursday - Turkey Day. 16 people to feed. David's parents (with a little help from me & Grandma) kicked patootie in feeding 16 people. I helped make this casserole, where almost everything was a slight substitution off the original receipe. It was funny...and delicious. We should have made 2, it was gone in a flash. The only down-side? No leftovers!! Gasp! I loves me some leftovers. I think the only things left were an assortment of stuffings and a little bit of turkey. Good eats = no leftovers I suppose.





I think we played a board game that night, or was that the following night? I know we played Pictionary one night (Team Kaaren/Tricia/Jacob came from behind to victory!) and another night we played Apples to Apples.

Friday we had to load up a U-Haul. We were bringing back a piano (how cool is that? Never had one before), a full-sized bed, a twin-sized bed, a dresser, a little vanity table & chair, a rocking horse (belonged to David) and a lot of other items. SO excited about the beds. YOUR GUEST ROOM IS READY MICHAEL (MAX) !!! *wink* (Seriously though, Michael. Come down.)

We put both the full and the twin bed in one room. I figure that if a family is coming to visit, we can put someone in the twin bed and then 2 other people in the full. It all fit so nicely, too. We bought a small put-it-together-yourself table to go in between the beds so guest have somewhere to put their glasses, etc. on, rather than get up and go to the dresser on the other side of the room. The piano looks FABU in the formal not-yet-finished-painting living room. Litrell, the across-the-street neighbor, helped David move it in. Isabel loves it already. David will play and sing for her and she gets this GOOFY grin (Heather, like the one she had when she heard everyone start to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider.") To coin an Isabel phrase "Sooooo Cute."

There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb - 11/27/2006

We're back. Spent a week in Lookout Mountain, GA. It's so pretty up there. We did not get there until Monday night (10 p.m. or so) so we were really there Tuesday through Friday. We drove back Saturday, so that we could unpack the Jeep and the U-Haul-O'-Stuff we brought back with us. I'm still kind-of pooped. Had to go back to work after being gone a week. That's always a bummer. I need to hop over to AOL real quick and upload some pictures. I took WAY too many and this website only lets me do 50 a month. I think I'm at like 20 so far. I'll put what I can here, and then I will have to link the rest.


Tuesday we just kind-of putzed around. I went to the very quaint post office (think Mayberry, and not in a bad way or anything) with my m-i-l, while David went though boxes and boxes of stuff he had stored at his parents house. You can see me twitching, can't you?

Wednesday, we took the kids and David's grandma letterboxing. We were one for two. Here's Grandma, Isabel & David looking at a view at one of the letterboxing locations. Didn't find this letterbox. The second location was in this terrific park up there. SO much fun for kids. The kids played while grandma & I found the box. Victory! Here's Jake sliding down a humongous slide at this cute park, called The Pumpkin Patch.



Wednesday night was bowling night. Bizarro bowling, as they had you prepay for your games and then they'd randomly turn off our lanes when the prepayments would expire. We could not understand how, if you prepaid 6 people for a game each on one lane, how do you run OUT of $$ if you have not finished bowling. Weird. David's brother Kevin kicked butt. It's cause he's so tall. His arms practically reach the pins anyway. LOL





Thursday! Turkey Day! But before I proceed, let me take you back to....oh, 1975. Meet Hugo, the Man of 1,000 Faces. This creepy little toy was very popular in the 70's. He came with scars, toupee's, two sets of glasses, fake teeth, etc. etc. Creepifying. Apparently, my husband used to scare the heck out of one of his brothers with it. (By the way, THIS picture is from a set currently for sale on e-bay. They are at $51 right now). So, David wants to get rid of Creepy-Hugo, only....Isabel. She...loves Hugo. *shudder*





Here she is, in her beautiful Thanksgiving dress....playing with Hugo. She'd try to stick one of his noses on, and give him kisses. I caught her one night out of bed, down the hall, grabbing Hugo from his box. (She was SOOOO good going to bed. Not crib. Bed. She could get out of the bed, but she wouldn't. She'd lie there like a good girl....except for the Hugo incident). Hugo, alas, is still up in Lookout Mountain. He may get "e-bayed" as well.


Back to my daughter, and the beauty and perfection that is my daughter. (We'll just ignore the humming thing that drives me, as well as restaurant patrons, bonkers). Here she is in that dress again (quite possibly humming, too). Gahh! Gorgeous!




Anywhoo, it's 11:33 p.m. and I HAVE TO WORK IN THE MORNING! Wahhh! I'll continue tomorrow

Lies My Parents Told Me - 11/17/06

Who came up with the "kiss the boo-boo to make it better" thing? Remember that? Remember being little and having your mom or dad kiss it & make it better? If Isabel bonks her noggin, she cries, then she says "Hurts!" and then "Kiss it, Kiss boo-boo," and so we do. So cute. Isabel's finally figured out how to actually give a kiss. Before, it was just this open-mouthed drooly thing; CUTE to look at, not so much for the slobber though. Now, she purses her lips, and makes the kissy noise and everything.


Let me take you on a tangent. I'll work my way back to Isabel.


My mom passed down many things to me: my butt being a prime example. You couldn't have given me the boobs?? I digress. She also passed on to two of us...the pinky-toe. What is commonly referred to in my family circle as...the jacked-up pinky toe. The smallest toe on my feet are jacked up. Mom...jacked-up pinky toes. Vicky (I'm calling you out - LOL!!) - jacked-up pinky toe. Kaaren...Super-Jacked up Pinky Toes. On all 3 of us, our toenails grow split. It's weird and also, ew. Add to that, my corn from being stupid as a teen and wearing stylish yet bad-fitting shoes. The price I paid for fashion. The jacked-up pinky toe scares David. It wigs him out. Can't blame him. Jake finds it both gross and amusing.


Why are we discussing my toes? I was sitting on the couch this week, shoes off. Isabel was on the floor next to the couch. She sees my toes.

"Owwww, Boo boo, mommy, boo boo! Kiss it!" and she proceeds to kiss my toe. Jake is in hysterics. I pull my feet up under me, and tell her thank you but don't kiss mommy's feet.


Anyone got a boo-boo?


Speaking of noggins, Isabel LOVES Noggin, the network. It's a cable channel dedicated to toddlers & pre-schoolers. No commercials, instead they show funny clips and clips for upcoming shows etc. It's intelligent programming for little ones. The host is a cartoon moose, names Moose A. Moose and his bird companion, Zee. It's a great network.


They have a new show called The Upside-Down Show. Two guys from Australia, I think, who are hysterical. Right now, this show is right up there in Isabel's mind with Go Diego, Go. The link above will take you to their Noggin page. Select the videos and see what these guys do. I love their accents.




(Lies My Parents Told Me, Buffy Season 7, Episode 17)

The Message - 11/15/2006

Etiquette...that's out the window. No one cares anymore. They don't. You put forth an effort, you do something for someone....and nothing. I know, I know, we're supposed to do things to be nice to others, but since when is not appreciating what someone does for you o.k.? How many times do you have to get dissed or ignored before you say, "You know what, I'm done?" I HATE excuses. Don't give them to me. You are NOT that busy, that is a bogus excuse. I have children, a full-time job, a house to clean up, dinner to make every night after my full time job. Guess what? I call you. I write you. I send you things. I make cards for people. I carve stamps. I read books. I don't want excuses. Own up or shut up. Oh wait, you have the "shut up" part down, because you never call to say thanks. "Thank you" cards are a ridiculous waste of your time better spent doing who knows what. But by all means, please feel free to complain about OTHER people who don't say thanks to you and don't communicate with you. I'm still waiting for about 5 thank-you calls. I'm done. Call me just because, not because you need something from me. Appreciate me or don't bother. I'm done expending all this energy on selfish people.

(The Message, Firefly Episode 111)

Life of the Party - 11/12/06

After the Bar Mitzvah, we came home and I took a NAP! A Much needed, rather disjointed, unfulfilling nap. Isabel was down for all of a half an hour. We got ready at 10 till 6. Dinner's at 6, but they are all of our yard the street and their yard away from us. This was the first time we were meeting the wife. We've talked to Litrell several times. He's a good looking man. Even David said "Is Litrell good-looking? I think he'd be considered good looking to women." To which I said "Uh HUH," and to which he rolled his eyes. I had seen Stayce from afar (skinny little thing) but had never met her. We walked over, cake & flowers in hand. They greeted us at the door and led us in.


Their house is a two-story by the same builder, but a slightly different floor plan. And also, it looked like a model home and made me feel like "Kaaren & David", the Puerto Rican/White trashy decorators". LOL It was GORGEOUS. They had neutral colors on their walls (unlike K&D,PRWTD), all sorts of pretty pictures, painting, decor. It was nice. The family room? Hello! Looked like a single's pad. Beautiful glass entertainment center, leather couches, just beautiful. They have a KID! A four year old! My family room looks like The Toys R Us giraffe threw up in it. They have a smaller upstairs loft area, but they had a foosball & air hockey table. Jake was in love. 4 bedrooms (one was made into his office). Hey, don't worry. I LOVE MY HOUSE. Love, love, love, love. I love all the wacky colors. I think it is awesome, in a lived-in sort of way.


Some other friends were invited for dinner too. Their daughter plays soccer (SO cute) with the daughter of this couple that came over. And for the record, everyone was so so pretty. And I'm not saying that in a catty way, cause, hello? I'm including myself in there. *snort* They were, though. Stayce is very pretty & sweet, the other couple, Brad & Angela, were very attractive and their daughter was gorgeous as well. Reminded me of a brunette version of David's oldest niece.


The 3 little girls ate first, in the breakfast nook table; hot dogs & Mac & Cheese. Can't go wrong with that. Then the 3 girls went upstairs to play while the adults ate dinner. Dinner was held in the formal dining room. You know, like the purple formal dining room we have....only with furniture. Our formal dining room is currently home to Dora's Talking Kitchen, a basket full of toys and a K'Nex Roller Coaster David and Jake are building. We had steak, baked potato, salad & bread. It was really great.

By about 8:30, Isabel was pretty much done. She had had only a half hour nap. Jake had gone home to get Cranium Turbo Edition so we could all play. David said he'd take Isabel home and we could play the game. That was 8:30. At midnight, Jake & I stroll through the front door. LOL The game was fun, but took forever, because of pauses for more refresments, cake eating, chasing after two little girls who completely trashed the upstairs loft, etc. Fun conversation & fun time. They even asked about grandma, as they had seen the ambulence at 2:30 in the morning that day, and Litrell had asked David about it later on.


All in all, we had a great time.


(Life of the Party, Angel Season 5, Episode 5)

Blind Date - 11/10/2006

Holy cow, we narrowly missed a complete screw-up!

We have had plans to eat dinner with the neighbors for 2 weeks. We told them that on Saturday night, we could not do it because of a Barmitzvah. It was decided that Friday night, the 10th, we'd have dinner with the neighbors.

All week, we heard nothing. David took the night off for this too. Then...today arrives. We still don't know when dinner is. David was home all day but the neighbors were working. In a panic, I rush to the grocery store on the way home, to buy a cake, some flowers for the hostess and cookies for the little girls. I get home...to see the male neighbor get in his car to go to the gym. His wife and daughter are not home yet. We're confused. Did they forget? Is it going to be late? I keep telling David there is no way they would not tell us the time. We need to know, to get ready. So we're all stupid, lol, because no one wants to go over to talk to the lady when she gets home. What if they forgot? I did not want to make them feel bad! We waited until about 7:30 & finally went to dinner.

We just got back aroud 9:30, and neighbor guy is pulling in his driveway too. David yells his name and walks over to the street. They thought we were doing dinner tomorrow!! We reminded him we had a barmitzvah to go to Saturday night. He apologized profusely. David then says "Let's see if we can still work it out. Kaaren, what time is the Barmitzvah?" I can't remember if it is six or seven at night, so I walk in the house to get the invitation.

BOY AM I GLAD I DID! The barmitzvah....is at 9:30 A.M.!!!!! I had NO clue!!! We would have missed it COMPLETELY. David looks at our neighbor and says "I guess we're coming after all."
Jake & I are going to Wal-Mart in a bit, after I get our girl out of the tub. It's open 24 hours. I need to buy a CARD to put Ben's gift/$$ in.

Sleeper - 11/09/2006

Holy shnikes, I'm tired. Tuck me in, please?

Grandma's back in the hospital, in Puerto Rico. :( The fluid is around her lung again. Her daughter and husband are there, so they will take good care of her, if the hospitals can't.

Um....oh, tomorrow night we're invited to dinner at the neighbor across the street's house. Dang it, I meant to bake something and I forgot. What should I bring?!? Wine (ew)? A pie from Publix?

Speaking of Publix....I GIVE ALREADY!! Gaaahh! I give. I have to shop there. Their bakery, deli, produce and meat departments cancel out the fact that they overcharge for the dry goods. I give UP driving further to a store that doesn't carry snap peas or runs out of celery. Celery! *shrugs shoulders*

Saturday night, we're going to a Barmitzvah for one of the boys in Jake's old Cub Scout group (1st-5th grade). Yay Ben! I am very excited to go. Everyone has something nice to wear, but me. Cause of the fatty fatness & all. I have something to wear, just nothing to write home/blog about. I have never been to a Barmitzvah. I've been to a Bat- but not a Bar.

We're working on The Amityville Window. Wait till you see what we did. We should be done soon. I'd say this weekend, but we have too much to do already.

Veronica Mars season 3 is shaping up to be Buffy Season 4. As in, the season that must not be mentioned. I can't even say that. Buffy season 4 was VERY disjointed as far as the arc went (The Initiative? Spike with a chip? Werewolf chic? Riley with Buffy? Please.), but at least it had some terrific stand-alone episodes. (Something Blue, Emmy-nominated Hush, Who are You, Superstar, Restless). Veronica? Not so much this year. Please let it get better.

Off to finish yesterday's episode of Lost.

The Zeppo - 11/07/2006

*hangs head in shame*

I did not vote. ME. I. Did. Not. Vote. Gahhh! My civic duty! My privilege!

I meant to do so after work. David was off tonight, so I was going to head straight there after work. Last night, David made squat $$. A slow night, compounded by the need for dinner and a full tank left him with about $9 cash. Yuck. So when his boss called to see if he wanted to pick up a shift, David said yes. Alas, I had to come straight home to take care of the kids, in a torrential downpour, with tornado warnings in effect for my county. Nice.

I did not vote. I cannot complain about ANYONE in this election, because I did not take the time to go vote. If you did not vote, neither can you. *blows raspberry*

Just an Aside - 11/02/2006

I forgot to mention this about our night out trick or treating.

We're about 2 streets away at a house giving out candy. David turns and mentions that he can see our house from here. The guy (a VERY hyper man who needed to either lay off the caffeine, or quite possibly the speed, not sure which) asks "The two-story one?" David answers yes. The guy then says something like "Oh yea, we see you guys walking by The Amityville Window all the time. Just tonight we saw a guy with a HUGE afro." That would be Jake in his costume wig.

They see our window. They named our window (The Amityville Window), two blocks away. As we walked away, David finally admitted that I was right, we do need some kind of cover over the HUGE window in our house. It is so far up, we're not sure how we'll get to it, but it MUST be done. I have been saying that I feel like the world is watching us. It has.

The Yoko Factor - 10/29/2006

Not trying to bring anyone down or anything, but my blog lately has been a little deeply mired in sadness and/or seriousness. Huzzah! This one is no different. Just having the stress of last week has given me deep thoughts, and not the "Jack Handy" type either.

Ever wonder who will take care of you when you are older? Are you forging deep familial bonds that will take you through to your 80's and on? Man, I hope I am. I hope that one day, someone will have the respect and strength to take care of me. It'll be difficult; I'll be a mean old lady, I'm sure. I'll be grey and have a fat bottom and REALLY bad knees. I just hope someone will have had that something instilled in them, whether my kids by me & David or someone else by their family, that something that will help them take care of me if David can't.

I think about my mom a lot, and who will take care of her. I think it would be me. She's in Puerto Rico, with no pension or 401k, no savings, just her social security. She's married to a man who I'd rather not discuss. OK, I lie. He's quite the machista who would not let my mom work to make her own money, but then does not give her money to spend, unless it is for groceries or house supplies. If the sisters & I send money, she hides it. She just started getting social security and he NOW tells her she can have it direct deposited into his account. They've been together over 10 years (?) and she has never had access to his account. NOW that she's getting a monthly check, by all means, have it direct deposited into his account. Whatever. Mom told him to go fly a kite. LOL If anything happens to him...strike that. WHEN something happens to him, who will take care of her? She's not even sure she is a beneficiary on any of his life insurance policies or pensions. He has kids from a previous marriage, etc. Who knows what will happen to mom.

We kids....we owe our parents, not the other way around. I see grown ADULTS treat their parents as if the parents owed them something. Wahhh! It's pathetic and embarrassing. Those that are not embarrassed by their behavior, those who are clueless, are even worse. My mom raised us basically on her own. She did the best she could under the circumstances to raise three beautiful (lol) head-strong women. Brenda, Kaaren & Vicky. Mom did her best, but we're so different. Different personalities act ...you guessed it...differently. Our parents did what they could with what they had. The fact that you were difficult is not their fault. We're all dysfunctional, yada yada, and I don't make light of people who were abused by their parents. I'm talking about the caring, loving parents who did the best they could with what they had. They don't OWE you anything now that you are grown. Take care of your own messes, your parents don't owe you anything. Be an adult, for Pete's sake!

Life sometimes gets in the way. If your parents help you out during a time of need, more power to you. Pay them back. Mom does not OWE me anything. She does not need to help me pay a bill or work so she can take care of me, a grown woman. It's the other way around. I owe HER. Payback is due on my part, and when the time comes, I will be there. I want to be.

(The Yoko Factor, Buffy Season 4, Episode 20)

Safe - 10/28/2006

My grandparents should have just arrived in Puerto Rico. I booked them a flight for Saturday morning, 8:30 a.m. This meant getting up at 4:30 a.m. They were already up & dressed. I went down in my pj's & started coffee for all of us. I also packed them lunch, consisting of a sandwich each, two fruit cups, some Chex Mix, sugar-free cookies for grandma and regular cookies for grandpa, some spoons and napkins. Grandpa helped grandma down the stairs. I gave them some coffee, and a bowl of cereal each, with some cut-up bananas in it. Jake made himself some oatmeal. Jake came with me to the airport to help. Grandma secretly hands Jake what I think is $20.00 I hear him say "No grandma, it's too much." She shushes him and shoos him away. I later find out it was not $20, it was $40! Then Grandpa slips him a $10. Anyone needing a loan, please see Jake.

I brought the luggage down and loaded the car. David came out to say goodbye to us in the garage. David, who worked late, was staying home with Isabel. We left early, so I drove without any rush or stress. We got to the passenger unloading zone. I searched (and searched) and found a wheelchair. We placed grandma in it. I asked Jake to stand in line at the outside check-in, with grandpa, while I went to the short-term parking lot. I parked and got back to them by the time they called them up.

Tickets in hand, I was about to go in when the Skycap guy yells to me in Spanish to make sure I get a wheelchair pass inside. No clue what that was, but now we had to wait at the INSIDE line. It actually went by fast. I'm thinking they are going to give me...a pass to allow her to be in the wheelchair? No clue. The Delta agent asks me for ID. I hand them my grandparents' id's. She said no, she needed mine. I was confused. She said the pass was for me to be able to go with them all the way to the plane. How cool was that? With all the regulations and restrictions, I thought for sure I would have to drop them off at security and then just watch as my grandpa struggled with a wheelchair, and a large duffel bag. We went through a special security gate for wheelchairs. They scanned the lunch I prepared and had to take out the fruit cups. The fruit cups. They had liquid in them. *sigh* They also took away the toothpaste tube because it was too large. I told grandpa to put all the liquids in the checked in luggage, but forgot to mention the toothpaste.

The 4 of us get in, Jake carrying the duffel bag and I pushing the wheelchair. Quick stop at Starbucks for me and Nathans for Jake (french fries at 7:10 a.m.). We waited right at the gate with them for about an hour. I went to get the grandparents some coffee. They are very picky coffee drinkers. They don't like American. I bought a grande cappuccino (coffee & steamed milk), and a side shot of espresso. I poured the espresso into the cappuccino, added artificial sweetener, and divided it into two cups. "Great Coffee, Kaaren" was their reply.

When they called the flight, we went straight to the front of the line and they immediately started taking grandma down. I had to jump to grab a goodbye kiss from both before they were taken to their seats.

I think about families that have elderly people living with them. I know a couple who have taken care of or still do take care of an elderly relative. Then I read of people with young kids like me, also taking care of their elderly parents or grandparents. My hats off to you. Kudos. Really. From the bottom of my heart, know that I have the deepest respect and admiration for what you do, each & every day.

Tough Love - 10/26/2006

Grandma got out of the hospital this afternoon. My second (or it it third? Second once removed?) cousin Marisol happened to be there. She is my grandma's niece (the size 2). Marisol stayed with them while they checked out and then drove them to my house. My cell phone was grand central station. When are they leaving the hospital? I don't know, I'm at work. When are they flying home? I don't KNOW, I'm at WORK. My boss let me go home early. He was probably as tired of my phone ringing as I was.

I got home and Marisol was feeding them chicken noodle soup, God bless her. I cleaned the kitchen, as it was a wreck. The floor was covered in cookie crumbs. Isabel and my grandparents have about the same coordination, and all 3 were eating cookies, hence the crumbs. I started cooking dinner for Jake & I. Not the same food for my grandparents because they can't eat the same things. I got my grandma changed and into her pj's. I made coffee. I changed Isabel's diaper. I made rice for my grandpa and soup for Isabel. I did more dishes. I swept the floor again. Grandpa asked if I had gone on the internet yet to look at flights. David called & asked me to tape Smallville, oh and had I gone grocery shopping yet.

I went upstairs to put some of Isabel's toys away. In her room, her bed sheets had tons of chocolate spots on it...like she went to bed with a cookie. I changed her sheets. I noticed not one but two days worth of clothes on her dresser. The hamper is 5 feet away, the closet, one. The tags from her new outfit she wore yesterday were still sitting on the dresser. The garbage can, one foot away.

I put my hands to my face and started bawling.

I asked Jake to please start Isabel's bath. He must have heard something in my voice, because not one word, or one huff did I hear. He jumped up and started her bath. Now, I'm off to run downstairs and see if Isabel is done so that I can plunk her in the bath. And tape Smallville. And then put her to bed. And then look at flights on the internet. I might even get a bath. If I can stop crying.

Eternity - 10/25/2006

Grandma wants to go HOME already. Poor thing. Nothing new to report. The doctors are really not telling them WHEN they can leave. Annoying. Here are some pictures:

Grandpa and his two great-grandsons.






Someone got a hold of the painter's tape.


We dressed our girl as a fairy and visited grandma right before bedtime - around 8 p.m. Grandma really enjoyed it.



Tonight, Wednesday, we had a mini-family reunion in the room. 9 people, counting me & grandpa too. David stayed at home w/the kids. It was fun but I forgot the camera. :( OH, and she told my second cousin that she was fat. My cousin's a size 2. LOL!! EVERYONE'S fat.


(Eternity, Angel Season 1, Episode 17)

Life Serial - 10/24/2006

Learned a few things these past few days.

• 
  My grandma only went to school though 4th grade. She said her dad took her out once she learned to write. They didn't want her writing love notes to boys. Abuelo only through 3rd. He's so intelligent. He's self-learned. Abuelo was born in 1923. His mom was 37 when she died - my age. He was 14 and thought she was ancient then.
• 
  My sister Brenda is a rock. She may be a hot head, and quite possibly nuts, but she is a rock. When the chips are down, she is there. She told me she was glad that this happened at my house, because I am so patient and strong. *blows raspberry* Whatever. I was just so grateful she was here. I was so proud of her when, in a blink of an eye, she made a split-second decision to rise above some personal things with other people, for the sake of my grandma. So proud of her.
• 
  The second floor of Fish Memorial is worked on the weekends by only good-looking people. It's true. Ask Brenda.
• 
  Grandma has a funny sense of humor. She grabs grandpa's butt. She hates hospital food, and dang it!! put some salt on this food!
• 
  My grandparents saw a tv show while in Miami about snakes and people who eat snakes. No clue what the show was, but they now insist that Florida is inundated, is teeming, with snakes and we all eat them on a daily basis.
• 
  The same story, after being told a 5th time...not so funny anymore.
• 
  A toddler and an 83 year old together are the Cutest. Thing. Ever. Mrs. Squeaklefritz is enjoying the heck out of abuelo.
• 
  Conspiracy theories are not just for the young.
• 
  Going back to work after one & a half working days off is like...taking a week off. Geezumpete! The piles. The mess. They can't do without me. LOL
• 
  Cafeteria food stinks. Vending machine coffee is putrid. I drove to a local coffee shop to get my abuelo & me some coffee. Alas, abuelo says no one knows how to make coffee in America.
• 
  When YOU are sick in the hospital, how will YOU feel when your son/sister/granddaughter/niece/cousin tells you they are too sick, too tired, it's too far for them to visit you? Will you remember the time YOU were not there for your mom/sister/grandma/aunt/cousin? Remember. Karma's gonna bite you in the arse.
  

(Life Serial, Buffy Season 6, Episode 5)

Helpless pt 2- 10/23/2006

Too tired. Must sleep. Tried to post an update and the flippin computer froze. Too tired to redo. And also tomorrow, Work, gah!

Grandma is fine. One quart of liquid drained from left lung. *EEEssshhhhh* Hospitals seem to suck the energy right out of me.

Helpless - 10/22/2006

Just a VERY quick note. I have not updated because we had an emergency. My grandmother visiting from Puerto Rico was hospitalized Saturday early a.m. (3 a.m.) after our having to call 911 from my house. We're all STILL exhausted and she's still in the hospital.

UPDATE:

It's 11:23 p.m. as I start typing on Sunday night.

My sister Brenda and her son Jonathan were driving up Friday to bring my grandparents for a visit. My grandparents are visiting from Puerto Rico & have been in Florida for a little over a week. They were supposed to come up Thursday night, I was going to take all Friday off work to spend the day with them, hanging out. Then, on Saturday, I was to drive them to Tampa for a birthday party, where my dad would be. He would then take them to his house for a few days.

Plans got changed a bit due to their not being back from visiting my aunt in Miami until Thursday. I went to work on Friday and left at noon. I drove home and they arrived shortly thereafter. The grandparents were tired!! The had just driven from Miami to West Palm the day before, and now drove 3 hours up to my house. That may not seem like a lot to you, but for two 83-year-old people, it's exhausting.

My grandma is this little short lady who can't hear well. She walks really slow and is always laughing. She hugs me and says "My Negrita! (dark girl), you look good. You're fat." *sigh* Yep. I'm fat. Later, my sister Brenda, who had not heard my grandma's comment, came up to me and told me I looked good. I pouted and said that Grandma said I was fat. Brenda starts cracking up and said, "Listen to what she told me. She said 'Brenda! You're so fat!! No wonder your husband bought that new trailer out front. So he can haul your big butt in it'." Brenda proceeds to crack up and told me not to feel bad. Everyone's fat.

I cooked dinner for all of us (my sister Brenda & nephew were spending the night as well) and we all relaxed and hung out. Grandpa asked Brenda to send his daughter (our aunt) a "computer telegraph." Hee hee. An e-mail. He doesn't know what it's called. He was very adament that Brenda send the telegraph now! because Aunt Carmen was leaving the office soon. Brenda tried to explain (again) that e-mails don't go anywhere, and Aunt Carmen can check them from home or work anytime. But he insisted, so Brenda sent the computer telegraph.

Grandma wanted to visit her grandkids (7 of us) and her great-grandkids (5). She just decided out of the blue 3 weeks ago, so they came. That day, Friday, Grandma did not make it upstairs until it was time for bed. She's had fluid in her left lung for at least 2 months now. The medical system in Puerto Rico is horrible. They've asked for the lung to be drained, but they said no, not until we run a CT scan. They went for a CT scan and have been awaiting the results....for 4 weeks. Four weeks of being out of breath and tired. They call & no one will tell them anything.

David & I gave my grandparents our bedroom. The guest room right now consists of a mattress on the floor, and there's no way they are getting up & down off the floor. J's bed is WAY too high for grandma to get on. Even my bed was a little difficult for her. She showered and Brenda helped her to bed. Last I remember, the boys, J & Jonathan, were playing DDR, Brenda was on the computer, and the grandparents were in bed as was Mrs. Squeaklefritz, who happilly went to bed at 8:30 p.m. after being serenaded by her great-grandpa playing guitar. I went to sleep in the guest room at around midnight.

At 2:00 a.m., Brenda wakes me to say that we need to take my grandma to the hospital. She was downstairs (?) and was having chest & back pain. Her face hurt too. It was not a stroke though; she was speaking clearly and had full motor function on both sides (Yay, CPR/First Aid Class). Also, Brenda's been studying for...6 months (?) for Medical Assistant and starts her externship on Monday. I head downstairs and grandma's on the couch. Her heart was beating erratically, her pulse was through the roof, and she said her chest hurt. I call David to see where he was - I did not want to leave the kids alone. He said he was just pulling in the driveway. I called 911 and proceeded to give them the wrong street - I told them we lived on "Avenue" rather than "Drive." David heard me & corrected me. I was nervous. As I'm calling 911, Grandma throws up. Brenda's tending to her and I'm running upstairs to get dressed. The Fire/Rescue team arrived first, in 5 minutes. Very nicely done Oh County of Mine. They were followed by the EMT's about 4 minutes after they arrived. The EMT's put her on a gurney and we (Brenda, Gramps and I) followed them to the Hospital. Florida Hospital Fish Memorial is about 9 miles away from my house in Orange City. They admitted her to the ER. I sat in the empty waiting room while Grandpa, with Brenda translating and helping calm him, went to give them her information. Grandpa was nervous and when he gets nervous he ... overreacts? No, that's not what I am trying to say. He gives too much detail, too much information that boggs things down. Brenda & I were trying to be quick & concise back at the house so we can get her the heck out of the house and to the hospital. They would ask a question about her medical history. No one knows her better than grandpa, but he would want to go into everything that happened with her, when all that was required was a "yes" or "no." Poor guy, I can't blame him, but we just wanted to hurry up. They asked what kind of medication she was on and he pulls out this HUGE make-up style bag FULL of medicine. Everything from stool softener, heartburn medicine, aspirin, to the real meds. Way too many. I tried looking through it briefly, but had no clue and just handed the huge bag to one of the EMT's, after removing the stool softener. :)

So, back to the hospital. We got there at 3 a.m. At 5 a.m. Brenda came out & told me to take gramps home for a nap and breakfast and then come back. She would stay with grandma. We came home at 5:15-5:20 and slept until 8:30 a.m., when Isabel woke me up. Breakfast made, kids fed, I woke David up at 10:30-ish to tell him we were leaving soon, as visiting hours started at 11:00 a.m. Brenda had since called to tell us that grandma was stabilized and in a room. We left at 10:45 and were in the hospital room from 11:15 or so until 7:30 p.m. MAN, hospitals are draining.

It's 11:59 on Sunday and I am SO tired. There's more to tell, but it'll have to wait. I am taking off tomorrow from work to take care of grandma at the hospital.

(Helpless, Buffy Season 3, Episode 12)

Go Fish - 10/16/2006

The other night, we were watching a local news station, and kept seeing commercials for seafood restaurants in our new county. The restaurants were all on the water, with outdoor tables, tons of steaming shellfish and cold beverages. I told David that that was the kind of seafood place I wanted to go to one day. We last went to Red Lobster. I like Red Lobster, but it's more of the "fast food" joint of the seafood restaurants.

Tonight, we went out. I thought we were going to Target to shop and then grab a bite to eat, only we went left on the main road instead of right. I thought maybe we were going to the shops in the next city over. Instead, David asked the GPS to find us seafood restaurants. We ended up in New Smyrna Beach. We drove up & down A1A looking at restaurants and decided on PJ's. It wasn't on the beach side, it was on the other side of the island. The lagoon side? Whatever. We sat outside in the cool, cool weather with the sun setting. We ate seafood-stuffed mushrooms and salads with fresh-baked bread. Our girl saw them take the bread out of the huge, round oven she called a "cave." J had a mushroom cheese burger, our girl had chicken nuggets, David had seafood-stuffed jumbo shrimp and rice, and I had Steamed Crab Legs & fries. It was messy and terrific. I told David that the restaurant was just what I had envisioned. He raised his hands in the air and did a white-boy dance. It was a fun time. We got in the car and drove up & down A1A looking at all the condos & homes on the beach. It took us about 25 minutes to get home

"Go Fish," Buffy Season 2, Episode 20

Rm w/a Vu - 10/12/2006

I was just painting the front entry way about two hours ago and pretty much stopped mid-stoke. I'm gonna pull a "Battlestar Gallactica" on you. Here we go.

48 hours ago:
I bring down a manila folder with all the paint samples available at Lowe's. HUGE folder. I asked David to look through it for ideas for the front entry way.

36 Hours Ago:
David shows me 5 different pamphlets. Each pamphlet has about 7 samples in it. I ask him to jot down which ones he likes. He mentions he likes the silver/grey color best. I mention it is too dark.

12 hours ago:
David calls me at work and asks me if I looked at the 5 cards he pulled out. I said yes, but he had not marked which ones he was talking about. He mentioned the silver/grey again. I mentioned again that I did not like it.

10 hours ago:
David calls me at work to say he has marked the samples with numbers 1-5. The silver/grey being his favorite. I should look at them, but the grey is his favorite. He then calls to say he's already gone and bought the grey paint.

4 hours ago:
David calls me from his work to ask if I had seen the grey paint. I said yes, and it's ugly and too dark. He gets upset that I never like what he chooses.

Side note: We have painted 10 rooms/areas, with a total of 15 colors. Ask me how many *I* chose? Five of 15. I chose the yellow loft, Jake's 2 colors, and helped choose the 2 in the kitchen. The other 10, David (the formal living room = 2. The formal dining room = 1. The family room = 1. The entry way =1 not counting grey. Our daughter's room = 2. Our master bedroom and bath = 2. He chose all those himself. And the UGLY turquoise color chosen for the family room that was not used.) He chose 10 colors! And he says I don't ever like what he chooses?

2 hours ago:
I start painting the main wall to the entry way. The front door entrance. What people will see when they first walk it. I am going to give this a shot, by gum. Maybe it will grow on me like the "Pensive Plum" did. This is not silver. It is grey. Steel grey. J walks down and says "Eww! Who picked that?" I stop after doing maybe 1/4 of one wall and go to clean the brush and pan. Maybe I need to see it with daylight? I don't know.

5 minutes ago
David just came home. I gave him the paint-choosing stats in his favor. We're sort-of just standing in the hall staring at the grey. We'll get back to you on it.

I've Got You Under My Skin - 10/11/2006

I had a pleasant surprise when I went to our mailbox this afternoon after work. Soaps! Yay Soaps!! Some of you know that I buy homemade soaps from a friend who is local. *waves at Amy* She makes soap in her home. A home filled with a mildly mentally challenged dog named Scout, a husband who I know personally as a saint, and four boys, FOUR. Ages 14, twin 12 year olds & one six year old. For about 4 years, I called the 12 year olds, "my twins." They were in Cub Scouts with my son (I was either the Assistant Den Leader or the Den Leader in those years) from Kindergarten through 5th grade. Of the 25 or so Tigers that started in 1st grade, my son, her twins and one other boy, were the only 4 that made it all the way through to Webelos & got their Arrow of Light. *pats self on back*

But enough about ME and the greatness that is me.

Back to soap: I've sent some as gifts to three sisters, sisters-in-law, mom-in-law, mom, grandma-in-law, teachers, etc. etc. They are YUMMY and I want to eat them. Go! Buy from Amy. The holidays are coming. Click on the links on the left of her site to see her seasonal & regular soaps. Today I received one each of: Brandied Pear, Cranberry Mint (minty!), Sunny Skies (smells like...the beach), Hazelnut Coffee ('nuff said), Snowy Night, Rosemary Mint with Dead Sea Mud, Once Upon a Hippy (Spa Salt Soap - should that say Sea Salt Soap?), one that smells like Autumn Spice and one that smells Vanilla-like (the last 2 were not labeled). She also included two tub teas, 4 small soap samples and a Moisture Rich Sugar Scrub - Patchouli & Lime (One Upon a Hippy). Main ingredient? SUGAR. See what I mean by wanting to eat it all. I had one sister tell me she uses them as decoration, because they were too pretty. My reply? Hello? USE them, she'll make more. I got my brother-in-law one with beer in it - he loved it. Said it was manly. Yup, you can go buy less expensive soap, that'll dry your skin out & make it feel stretched. Or you can INDULGE. :)

Don't worry, ladies. Christmas is coming and Soap Trios will be ordered.

This advertisement brought to you courtesy of the free stuff Amy always gives me.

"I've Got You Under My Skin," Angel Season 1 Episode 14

Fool for Love - 10/10/06

I'm sitting at the dining room table, while dinner is in the oven, with a pen & paper. Spread out across the table were 3 cookbooks (Betty Crocker - don't laugh, it's great, Fix it & Forget it for Crockpots, Rachel Ray 30-Minute Meals 2) and a Recipe Keeper binder. I was picking recipes so that I could plan my weekly shopping list. All the books are open and I'm writing away. My little girl walks up, sees the cookbooks and says "Food. I...wuff...food. I wuff hot... dogs." I laughed aloud and grabbed her for a smooch. She loves her hot dogs.


"Fool For Love," Buffy Season 5, Episode 7

Lessons - 10/06/2006

If the current fiasco involving Republican Senator (senator, right?) Foley has not taught you anything, you need to go back to school. We live in a society now where anything we say, or more importantly anything we type, can come back and bite you in your nethers. If you think no one is reading, you are a fool. You think these e-mails and IM's go away once you hit delete? Please. That little bit of information is not only saved on the recipient's e-mail address, but your computer, and the server of the e-mail provider you are using. Let's also not forget that ever-popular "forward" button. Lord forbid you work for a company with an IT department. They ARE reading your e-mail and probably have some e-mail policy saying they can do so. Pay attention class: if it's something you do not want to get out, something private and personal...pick up a phone. Or better yet, talk to the person face to face. Information is everywhere. You can't stop the signal.

"Lessons," Buffy Season 7, Episode 1

Becoming Pt. 1 - 10/04/2006

David called me yesterday at 4:15 to say J still was not home. He rides his bike and is usually there by 3:40. He tried calling J's phone, but did not get an answer. I call - no answer. Then about 10 minutes later, J calls me & says "I'm home." I said "What took you so long?!? I was worried." He said "You worry too much. I was walking home with a friend."

"Oh, who?"
"This girl."
"Reeeeeaaalllly?"
"Mom, stop."
"What's her name?"
"Pamela..I gotto go, I'll talk to you later."

Later on, I asked more. She's in 7th grade, half German, half Hispanic (she's a little darker than you mom) and she "seemed lonely" so he walked with her.

Today? David drove him to school so he did not have his bike, so he can walk home again.
Is that a new grey hair I see? I needed a new box of Miss Clairol anyway.

Becoming Pt. 1, Buffy Season 2, Episode 21

Older and Far Away - 09/24/2006

"Go, Go, Go, Go Kaaren, it's your birthday, we're gonna party like it's your birthday, we're gonna drink Bacardi like it's your birthday, and you know we don't give a ..cause it's your birthday."

Don't like Bacardi, but it's My Birthday!! Yay & Yuck. I am old. Mom called and sister Brenda text messaged me. Mom also sent me a box with a pair of HUGE pants. Very comfortable khaki colored drawstring cotton/linen pants, but very huge. I wore them to work on Friday. I also got candles, a purse and some jewelry from mom. Brenda sent me two t-shirts; one I wore yesterday, the other I am wearing now. David's parents sent me bubble bath for my huge tub. I have body gel coming out my ears but no bubble bath. So, I got some and used the Cherry Blossom scent in the tub last night.

We went to brunch at IHOP and had lousy service. The waitress had too many tables and was very forgetful. J & our girl both needed a refill and never got one. David needed tabasco. He never got it. He ended up walking to a table across from us to ask to borrow theirs. I wonder how David tipped. She was just plain bad.

We went to Kohls to return a pair of pants I got last week and just did not need. I wanted to use the refund to get some new place mats to match the new kitchen colors, but every time I'd find something I liked, there were only 3 or 4 of them. I want 6. I guess I'll have to go to Bed, Bath & Beyond during my lunch break & see what they have there.

Belonging - 09/30/2006

Howdy all. My sisters came last night and left today. Brenda invited our other sister Vicky and, surprise! She came along. We had Brenda, Jonathan, Vicky and of course Miss Diva over for the night. Brenda brought up the picture she made for our girl.

When our girl saw the picture, her eyes got wide and she said "Dowa!" (Remember, click the picture to make it bigger. If you right click and do open in new window, you'll be able to scroll up & down each picture).

Awesome, right? And since I was taking pictures, here is the rest of her bedroom. This is what you see when you walk in her room.

The crib is sort-of a daybed right now, but the side guard is so huge, it still keeps in her her bed. She can't get out unless we help her. Those are the Disney colors we were discussing. There is a border of "fairy dust." It was done with a Disney stencil and was quite the pain. When you look straight to the right on the wall here, we have a shelf with drawers, where we hung her fairy wings from last year's Halloween costume.

Notice that David painstakingly painted all the edges/molding by hand. Also to the right when you walk in is her closet and her changing table.

Straight ahead is a wall with a window. Notice the toy chest David & I (mostly David) finished & sealed. We put up some shelves here as well. The Dora/Diego picture is already hanging on the wall now. There is still the large wall over her bed that we need to do something with. Just not sure what that is yet.

The family arrived while I was at work - some time around 3:30 p.m. I got off work around 4 p.m. and got home at 4:40-ish. David had to work. :( The sisters walked around the house again, commenting on this & that, while Jake & Jonathan played Guitar Hero. Like Dance Dance Revolution, only with a guitar. The boys also played with DDR. It was hysterical watching my nephew try to figure out the dance steps. I tell ya, it's really difficult the first few times. Jonathan is hooked and wants to buy DDR now. We went to a local strip mall where there was a Chinese & an Italian restaurant. We each ordered take-out (3 of us Chinese, 2 of us Italian) and brought it back home to eat. Mrs. Squeaklefritz went to bed, the boys continued their dance-a-thon, and the sisters sat downstairs in the family room gossiping (yes, we talked about you) :)
I woke up at 4:00 a.m. to find Jake & Jon still playing and I told Jake is go to sleep already. By the time my girl woke up at 8 a.m., everyone was scattered throughout the house. Jake fell asleep on the big couch in the loft. Jonathan slept in Jake's bed, Brenda was in the guest room, Vicky & Diva were downstairs on the family room couch. David was snoring away in our bedroom. Vicky & Diva moved up to the guest room when we all got up & started making noise in the kitchen. We just lounged about pretty much doing nothing until they left at 1:40 or so. (Vicky, you left your pajama pants. They're in the dryer right now. I threw them in the wash with all the towels). It was a quick wham-bam-thank-you-visit. :) Funny side note. My sister Vicky is the home decorating queen. When I got home from work at 4:30, she had already taken down my family room curtains and rearranged them, because I had "threaded them wrong." Something about one pointing towards the window and one away. I also noticed that the garbage can in the downstairs bathroom had been moved. LOL As she talked & walked through the family room, she was straightening my pictures and books. As she IS the home decorating queen, I am totally cool with any help I can get. Oh, I got presents from Vicky too. A gift card to Old Navy (shop-piiiiiiing) and a Booby Fairy.

Sorry, Vicky, but I am pretty sure the Booby Fairy moved on to greener pastures....like 20 years ago. The big butt fairy, though, is alive & well and living in my closet.

"Belonging," Angel Season 2, Episode 19

The Puppet Show - 09/23/2006

Well, I'm mad. We have our annual insurance enrollment time at work. If you need to make any additions or changes to our health, dental or vision plans, now is the time to change. I'm having some toast and a cup o' joe while I am reading the forms. THEY have decided that they don't think we need vision coverage or orthodontia coverage (braces) for children in our company. As a mother of a toddler and also a 12 year old who a) wears glasses and b) needs braces, I am extremely mad. Braces alone run $3-4k and our current plan only covers $1500 of that. I still would have had to pay out-of-pocket expenses, but NOW we have to pay the whole thing. Apparently, those who decided this, must not have kids. My son is due for his eye appointment too. This really stinks. They act like they are doing us a favor by not having this. They might be for the non-kid-having sect, but not me! This will deter a lot of people from giving their kids the braces they need. Mom was poor and we did not have insurance growing up (thanks dad), so none of us got braces. Vicky ended up getting braces at like age 29 or 30. My lower teeth could use a straightening, but I don't care. Thanks, oh wise company, for making us parents have to go in hock to fix our kids teeth and be able to help them, you know, SEE in class. Boo! A pox on you!

Inca Mummy Girl - 09/21/2006

Seriously. When will I ever use this title? Never. LOL So, a random title for a random blog.
Let's say you have to get out of the car after you have parked it, but you need to walk around and get something out of the passenger seat; something bulky or whatever. Do you walk around the front of your car? Or do you swing around the back? I go around the back and I DON'T KNOW WHY!! It's so weird. I catch myself doing it all the time. I would think going around the front would be quicker (shorter front end than tail), but I still go around the back. Did my mom instill in me a fear of walking in front of cars? Am I trying to get more exercise?(psshhhyea, right) No clue, but I find it weird.

Tomorrow I'm going to get re-certified for CPR & First Aid. A whole day out of the office. Yay! So, if I'm ever around and you're...say..gagging, I'm your gal.

What else, what else. Oh yeaaa....yesterday, I'm changing our girl into her pj's. There's a mirror on her changing table, so she's looking at herself as I take off her shirt. (I typed shity - LOL my fingers were on the wrong keys!!) So, she points to her teeeeeeeny little baby nip and says "Booby!" I just stare and say "What did she say?" Jake's laughing out in the loft and says "Yea, David taught her that today." Nice.

Where the Wild Things Are - 09/17/2006

These love bugs are driving us BONKERS! If you're not from the south/southeast, you may not know what a love bug us. Meet a love bug couple.

These pesky little things only come out twice a year; now and I think some time in March. They are pains in the butts. They fly around while mating, just like the picture above. Yup, they fly around like that. They swarm everywhere and their physical make-up ruins your car's finish. This physical make-up also deters other predators (lizards, spiders) from eating them. They think the love bugs are gross too. Contrary to Urban Lore, they were NOT created in a lab at the University of Florida. Their first reported sighting was actual in the early 1930's in Texas. These suckers are SWARMING around our house. Tons of dead ones can be found littering our front and back doors. The living ones are all hovering around everywhere. They get in the house every time we open a door. David and our girl tend to squish them all day long, and I get to clean up with the broom. *sigh*

New Topic: David thinks it's funny/weird that when I go to check out at the grocery store, I put things on the moving belt based on where they will go in my house. The refrigerated items all go together, the freezer items go together, the pantry items all go together. I sort, David laughs, but...when we get home, I can grab one bag and head for the fridge. I don't have to dance between the pantry, the fridge, the freezer. I am *so* efficient, aren't I? Don't laugh or I'll poke you with the carrots.

Earshot - 09/07/2006

My son has to ride his bike 1.7 miles to school and 1.7 miles back. Uphill. Both ways. Barefoot. In snow. Ok, I made the snow part up. He rides almost 3.5 miles a day. The kid has thinned out and shot up. He's gorgeous.

The large road that our Drive is off of was the "detour" road to be taken by people for when another road was under construction. Since we moved in, this large road near us was very busy. Now, they have re-opened the other road, and ours is no longer the detour road. It's great. The main road off ours is almost deserted. I mentioned that one day last week to my son. He said something to the effect of "Yea. When I ride my bike home, I stop at the intersection of *our street & main road* and just listen to the wind. You can hear the wind in the trees, now that there aren't so many cars. It's relaxing." He's a poet at heart.

The Girl in Question - 09/07/2006

She's two, I get that. She can barely say words. She's not potty trained. I get that. I just cannot understand whyyyyyyyyyy she must use her HEAD as her napkin. My girl! She of the bologna-smelling head. No matter what she is eating, it must be eaten with her hands. Try explaining to a 2 year old that soup is not to be eaten with one's hand - one's entire hand completely submerged in the bowl. But most importantly, that one's hair is not a napkin. Hand in soup, suck hand, wipe hand on hair. Repeat. Take sandwich, separate the meat & cheese from the bread. Eat the mayonnaise-covered meat. Wipe hand on hair. Repeat. Ignore spoon given with Dora Yogurt. Shove hand in yogurt. Suck hand. Wipe hand in hair. Repeat.

Try combing her hair after this. I mostly feel like laughing hysterically........ and licking her head

Gone - 09/01/2006

Ernesto came and went...and I must have missed something. It rained for, oh, 10 minutes. Schools were out! The roads were empty! (I got to work WAY faster than usual. I hate that. It's 7:40. I am NOT here. Pretend you don't see me. Do not TALK to me until 8:00. I have been known to sit in my car, listening to the radio until 7:59:40 - I need the 20 seconds to lock up & walk up the stairs). Offices were closed, people "hunkered down" for those 10 mph gusts. Hey, let me shut up. I am thankful to God that nothing happened. We need a bit of nothing this year.

Me & Miss Clairol are pals, by the way. Everything turned out fine. I just WANT A HAIR CUT because it is too long and heavy and I am bored, bored, bored, and can I make this sentence any more "run-on-ie?"

Dad and step-mom are coming over tomorrow to finally see the house. So, it's major clean-up time tonight. I just CLEANED these toilets 3 days ago. I did! So why are all 3 so gross again? I get cranky when I clean - everyone here (except Miss Squeak) knows this & avoids me. They are wise.

Edit: *falling off chair laughing* So, I'm sitting here typing. My girl is in her room playing. I can see her from here. Her temporary room is right off the loft area. La la la. Noise, playing, noise, talking to herself. She's saying something, but I'm not really hearing. Finally I hear what she is saying when she YELLS AT THE TOP OF HER LUNGS: BECK!!! Beck, btw, is how she pronounces bed. She wants to go to beck, and she wants to go to beck NOW, LADY. This is the weirdest kid ever, people. She loves her bed. Loves it. (She used to pull me off the couch at the old house, walk me to her room and point to her crib). BECK! I yell "Ooops! Sorry!" and run in the room. She's standing there, one hand on the crib rail, the other holding her blankie to her face. When she gets tired, she sniffs her blankie. I pick her up, smooch her & put her in. She does her happy, lying-down wiggle dance. She must wiggle - it's a requirement. Blankie to face. "Gooood (pause) Night (pause) Mamiii." I close the door and that's that. Not a peep. She is so cool.