Everyday is my birthday

I have been slowly putting my computer back together after a virus found its way into it, eating only the things most important to me- my pictures. I have saved most of them, but some were tragically lost forever. Things have been more like normal this week: the kids both came down with a virus on their own last week. For six hours, they traded turns in hanging their heads over the pot.

In better news- two of my brothers have finished their undergrad studies this week. One of my nieces celebrated her 9th birthday, and my dad dropped off a box of doughnuts for us when he picked up her gift. I have an appointment with the head (get it? "head") doctor of neurology at the University of Pennsylvania next week. Hopefully he'll have some answers for us. In any case, it's a good excuse for a Pat's famous Phili cheesesteak.


Happily, I haven't had a seizure in about three weeks. Nice. I can see how that's possible though. I have steadily worked myself up to 1000mg of Keppra, and 1000mg of Depakote per day. I think it's safe to say that I could quite possibly stare at a strobe light while simultaneously playing cards online, and take a final exam, and never come close to having one. My brain has become mush. Consequentially, so has my ass. I don't feel much like doing anything. Yes, yes- I know that's the whole point, but explain that to the little ones and my constantly growling stomach. I have been going through weeks of unending sleepiness, followed by nights of restlessness. Today, for example, I woke up at 3:13 AM. And, by "wake up," I really mean that my body is moving around, probably eating something, but my brain feels like it's at our local bar, sad that they've turned on the lights for "last call."

Well, the weather has changed for the better. I am able to go outside and the kids get to do something other than watch me sleep (like weed my garden). The local farmers are back at work. Tomato plants have begun to sprout out all over the hills. My windows have been open for at least 36 hours straight, and I've even got my base tan underway while finally getting to the sixth chapter of "Crime and Punishment." Dylan has teaching Jordan how to fill each and every empty glass with a lovely bouquet of Dandelions each day. I have been teaching Mark how to fill my wine glass in the same manner at dusk. If I could just stay awake and keep my allergies in check so that I'm not sleeping or dripping snot into that wine, I would have pretty much the perfect life.

Random Cacophony of a Few Weeks

So I got a bit cocky in my last post. I apologize, but can make no promises that it will never happen again. My brain took care of the retaliation for any of you who may have felt jaded. Let me tell you how much fun it is to stop, drop, and roll in front of your in laws. After attempting to convince Mark that no further action was required after the seizure, Mark promptly ignored me, called my mother (what a snitch), and took me to the ER. They did nothing but add some new meds. I'm now on Keppra 500mg BID (2xs a day), and Depakote 250mg BID. I pretty much slept through the two days following.

I have now voluntarily removed myself from all driving activities for the sake of everyone on the road. This is not such a bad thing. I no longer have very valid reasons to ignore the growing laundry pile, the starving children, and the crap which multiplies daily in the house. I have learned that neither of the kids like the following: Cod, London Broil, Spinach, Lemon, or Lamb Chops.



Later on in the week, we developed a leak in out water line which runs from the well to the house. A quick "two or three" hour job turned into a two day job, coupled with a 200+ foot trench which crossed the driveway and ended behind the house. Just like state highway workers- there was one guy working while all others stood and "managed." I was no exception.










Also of note during last week: my debit/credit card numbers were stolen. Some chick, who lives in San Angelo, Texas had a great time in Salt Lake City, Utah. She stayed at a hotel, went clothes shopping, and even did an online background check on me first. So, naturally, I did what any sane person would do. I canceled the card, contacted the bank about the purchases, contacted each place where she had charged, and reamed out the managers for not requiring the actual card to make a purchase, and found the girl's MySpace. In one day, she charged the equivalent to one month's worth of meds. In clothes, she racked up the same amount that I spend on one week's groceries. I know who she is now, and so does the bank and Visa. Who's laughing now, biatch!

On Saturday I went on a bus trip to the Big Apple with Mark's mom and sister. We went to see the Broadway show: Mary Poppins. It was nothing short of phenomenal. The three bags of M&M's (yes, I shared) which I purchased for $12 were made up for completely when Mary flew over my head at the end. And no, I couldn't see her underwear- perverts. Before we got into the theater, we had some (limited) time to tour parts of the city. We rode the subway, took a rickshaw ride around Central Park, walked past Times Square, the Naked Cowboy, St. Patrick's, Strawberry Hill, and Tiffany's (where I'm still looking for "Cat" the cat).



So, what's better than one musical? Two in a row! The next night, my grandfather, aunt, uncle, and I went to see Jesus Christ Superstar. I've never seen the movie, but due to my upbringing, I am pretty educated about the story behind J.C. The actor (Ted Neeley) who played Jesus was the actor from the original movie. He was great and all, but I couldn't get past the fact that he sounded like a hybrid mix of David Bowie and Barry Gibb. Coupled with some disco-type music, I was half expecting Jesus to start singing "Ziggy Stardust" on a lighted disco floor with Travolta. I think I was missing the idea. During the encore, I was clapping wildly for the actor who played Judas, Corey Glover, when the woman sitting next to me leaned over to my ear and said, "Can you believe that the colored guy is getting the standing ovation?!" If the strobe lights could have stopped for a moment, I would have hit her in the shin with her own cane.

On a lighter note: Mark and I finally gave into the persuasive and persistent marketers for the Nintendo Wii, and bought one. Dylan would have to be a natural at it, wouldn't he. While I can barely move my arms today from playing baseball, he's always wanting to play. I will give $100 to the person who can beat him at boxing. The kid is undefeated.

Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I need to go wash my hair. More droppings later on...

McMid Terms

It was one of those wear-your-pajamas, feed-the-kids-Burger-King-and-let-them-use-the-nugget-box-as-a-hat, and watch-Animal-Planet-all-day days. I'm trying to get through mid terms this week.

More Miscellaneous Pets

After much anticipation, Dylan's harvester ants arrived in the mail today. He had gotten the ant farm for Christmas, and it comes with a voucher for free ants. Most of the ants arrived alive. Only four or five came "pre-dead," as Dylan puts it. Both boys were ecstatic when they were moving around in their new home. The blue gel is both what they tunnel in and their food source. Before anyone asks- no, the kids can't open up the plastic container. No little buggies will be getting out on my watch.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre

So sorry

I'm sorry for the lack of updates. I have been unexpectedly consumed by work and school work. Work isn't bad because it's been steady, predictable. School, on the other hand, has been crazy.

I am enrolled in three classes now. All are online. I am in Interpersonal Communications, Marketing, and a Mentoring class.

My Interpersonal Communications class has been controversial. Our instructor posts questions on a discussion board and encourages us to respond, and then reply to other's posts. The first controversial question somehow (you know how things go) ended up into immigration. While I believe that every human being wants to somehow improve their lives, and live to the best of their ability, some people disagreed with me. Fine. Disagree, I don't mind someone with a different opinion.

My problem came when someone said "Why do they (Mexicans) need to come to our country anyway? If they don't like it, they should stay in their own country and fix it. Megan's law came about when the little girl's mom worked hard enough for it." I cannot (CANNOT) stand ignorance. Someone who has no idea of the lives of other countries governments and infrastructures should not assume that things can just be fixed. And what the hell does Megan's Law have to do with it?

This week, another question posted by the instructor- What should we do about holidays and schools? I think that giving each child a set amount of vacation days per year sounds like a good idea. Well, the woman from the previous spat sought me out and make fun of my ideas. She attempted to ridicule and belittle my thought. She made horribly snide remarks to others about me. I feel like I'm back in high school.

OK, my Marketing class isn't anywhere as emotionally charged as the COMM course, but aggravating nonetheless. It is the class where I have to (this sounds arrogant) put up with people who cannot write in complete sentences. They say things like "lolz!!! OMG! Roflmfao!" Need I say more? In addition, my instructor puts into "groups" to do collective projects. I am always doing all of the work so that my grade won't suffer for it. When I talked to the instructor about this, she said that it was a situation which happens in real life, so I should learn how to deal with it. WTF?! LOLZ! OMG!

Finally, Mentoring... I read a book "Purple Cow" to write a book summary for the semester project. The book is complete garbage. I should write exactly that....repeatedly on 4-5 pages, double-spaced, with one inch margins on all sides and hand it in.

Don't get the wrong impression, good things have been going on as well. Mark and I are going on a trip in a couple weeks to the New York Wineries. I pulled Dylan out of preschool because he was bored and learning nothing, so I have been able to spend more time with him. He will be going to kindergarten this coming fall, so I am relishing in this time. I went to an art opening for a man named "Chris Rainier" who is a photographer for National Geographic. He worked as an assistant for Ansel Adams. OMG! LOLZ! His show was titled "Ancient Marks." It was all about tattoos. It was nothing less than inspiring. A local newspaper was there to take pictures for their article, and lucky me was in one of the pictures in today's paper. Yeah, I looked good. I'm so glad I wore the red peep-toe shoes. It elongated my legs. Hey, this is MY blog. It's always all about me. Right?!

Random thought s which have occupied too much valuable brain power lately: Cereal. I have been obsessing over the marketing that has gone into cereal. Damn school...makes me think about things. Target markets, marketing segments, multi-market segments, demographics, "Purple Cows," etc.

Also- American Idol. Yes, I am one of those people. I watch and laugh, but I can't carry a tune. Tonight I was going to pick up pizza, and in the car (sans children) sang Mr. Big's "Be With You" very loudly, and very very poorly. It was so bad that at one point, I was laughing at my own singing. Bad.

Anyway, this post surely makes up for my negligence. I'll try to be better this week. LOLZ! OMG!

Around the World

Last night was the premiere showing of the "Sarah Silverman Program." I was hesitant at first, but I ended up laughing my ass off. Below it the first of four videos that Comedy Central has on their site. It'll take only ten minutes to watch all four, but you should.



Sarah Silverman Program videos link

Update

Five. I have FIVE cavities. The dentist blames my kids. Pregnancy ruins calcium and enamel on teeth. That's a good enough excuse for me.

As I suspected, the dentist was livid that I rarely floss. Yeah, yeah, yeah. After he noticed my lack of flossing enthusiasm, he pulled out some pictures of rotten moths and teeth from people who didn't floss. Consider me a changed woman. There is now a roll of floss in each of the following places: my purse, the desk, the living room basket, in my bathroom cabinet, in the basket with all my hair things, and one for good measure on top of my printer. 'Nuff said.

Mark needs two wisdom teeth removed (snicker, ahem- I mean ohhh). However, he only has two cavities. I wish I had brought my camera. There would have been a great shot of Mark in the chair with white knuckles.

Anyway, I'm insanely busy with school work this week, and I'm going to an art opening for a photographer who shoots pictures of tattoos tomorrow. So, I may not be posting again until Friday when I expect to be grounded due to the upcoming snow storm.

Thank God I had a Gun

Really? I must be sending out mixed signals to somewhere. Although I receive all fashion, fitness, and Buddhist-related magazines, someone obviously thought that The Blue Press was a catalog that I really needed to have.

My favorite section by far is the books and video section. Just look at this great find! I'm sure it'll get the Newbery Medal. I can feel it.

Pain in my undercarriage

Tuesday was my automotive day, I decided.

Being the good, abiding citizen I am, I took my car to the garage to have it inspected. As I started to pull it in, the guy started to laugh at me and said, "Baby, (laughter laughter) you almost made it an entire year! (laughter, laughter)" He then pulled the guy out from the back and showed him my stickers. (more laughter, laughter ha ha.)

Laugh it up, funny boy. Just give me some new '08 stickers.

Next, I took the kids with me to get the oil changed. The guy tells me that besides an oil change, I also need my transmission flushed out... per manufacturer recommendations, of course.

"No thank you," I tell him.

He then tells me that my car needs the signature service. (I don't even know what that is.)

"No, thank you."

Then, he says that I should definitely consider changing the differential fluid.

"Ah, no."

Then, the best- Pathetically, as a last-ditch effort, he tells me that my brand new wipers looked dry-rotted.

"You're kidding, right? Just change the oil."

Miscellaneous miscellaneousness

Big surprise here: Jordan hates Santa. Every muscle in his skinny little body went rigid when he got within a couple feet of the fat guy. The Santa camera was broken, so Mark will take the credit for this stunning picture.

I swear I've wanted to update here, but it was just out of my hands. Two reasons: One- the weather is unseasonably warm, and we've been playing outside. Two- I've been a bit sick and have been busy getting my blood drained from my body everyday this week.

The only things to suffer happen to be this blog and the annual cookie bake. I've made three dozen cookies for just us this year.

Besides all of that, I'm ready for the holidays and D's birthday. I wouldn't push it and say I was excited. But ready? I guess.

In closing, I will share this picture of my mailbox. I hit the door of it with my car. Yep. The first person I thought of was the eldest of my younger brothers. He has a history of hitting mailboxes. Only, he seems to do it on a much grander scheme. Maybe we'll get together this week and show 'em who's boss.

I can't promise anything as far as posting until the 28th or so. So, I will wish you all a very peaceful, healthy, and happy holiday.

December?

It's not supposed to be warm in December. On Friday, the boys and I played outside in the abnormally balmy 66 degree weather. I had all the windows and doors open, and turned the house heat off. It's been warm for a while too. All week, really. The average for this time of year is 42 degrees, but I remember it being cooler than that most of the time. By this time (at least) we normally would have had a couple inches of snow.

The warm weather allowed me to clean off the side porch before the snow, ice, and rock salt comes. (Look closely- the window is crooked)

Later in the day, we received many warnings of another flash flood, winds up to 50mph, and possible tornado activity (not normal around here). I prepared the best I could: flashlights, candles, gas-powered sump pump, overnight bag, unplugged all expensive electronics. I was ready. Fortunately, the storm blew over in barely a moment.

The kids ate pizza through the whole thing, yelling for Santa to "hold on!" while I took pictures of the oddness between the approaching thunder storm and Christmas lights. I should feel lucky, but in reality, I feel a bit ripped off. Where's my fire and brimstone?

Today, we have been brought out of our odd weather, and back to the very normal, all-too-average, 40 degree predicted weather. Everything is right again in the world.

Rockin' the Whammy Bar

My sister in law got a game called "Guitar Hero" for her birthday, and Mark and I were instantly hooked...neither one of us with any kind of musical ability. Dawn let us borrow the game for the week. We have been playing it ever since. Mark is slightly more obsessed with it than me. I am not too good at it, but it's still fun to pretend that I really am playing Thunder Kiss '65 to a huge crowd. What a dork- glasses, sweats, plastic guitar, and my Playstation 2.

Try Not to Laugh

While reading up on the MLK memorial (below this post), and admiring Clinton's little speech given at the ceremony, I came across this article:

This deer from Michigan has finally freed the large, plastic, smiley-face pumpkin from his head.


I did some research, and found that it's a growing epidemic. I guess deer have a thing for pumpkins, because last year a deer got his head stuck in a real pumpkin. Quote from the article: "The Pennsylvania Game Commission asks anyone who has seen a deer with a pumpkin head to call 1-814-643-1831." I think it's the deer's way of protecting himself during hunting season...orange vest, orange pumpkin- same thing, right?

Smile, it's the Armageddon!

I went grocery shopping yesterday, and although it was no day from hell, I considered it pretty normal as I called for Dylan to stoptouchingeverythingandkeepup through out the store.

Of course it was raining, so I was thoroughly drenched when I was done loading and unloading the car. I made lunch quick for the boys so that they could sit (out of my way) and eat while I put the groceries away.

It was at this point that a Jehovah's Witness decided to come by my house to tell me that the "End of the false religion was near."

Thank you, I'll make a mental note of that. Now, If you'll excuse me, I have flat leaf parsley that needs to be washed and dried before it wilts.

As I looked down at the pamphlet that this little old lady gave to me, I no longer wondered why everyone hates it when the Jehovah's Witnesses come to their door.

"What?!"

I don't know anything about any of these people, but watch Faith Hill's response.



And as she stomped off, she probably said something like, "Underwood?! More like Underwear!"

Puppy Love

Mark's sister, Dawn, asked us to babysit. She has no kids, but she has one gorgeous dog. A puppy, really. The kids love him, he doesn't jump, he's very patient and insanely toleranty of kids, he rarely makes any kind of noise, and his drool is kept to a very bare minimum. LOVE him.

The only problem? He is painfully shy. He hides behind his owners whenever someone comes too close for his liking. When they aren't around, he finds a good corner to hide in.

She dropped him off with his food (which he never touched), a leash, a toy, and one sock. He came into our house, crawled under the table, and went into a scared rabbit mode- standing very, very still- no blinking even.

You can imagine how funny it was to the kids...a dog that plays hide and seek?! Woot!

As the day wore on, Guinness became less afraid of us. The kids had their Power Ranger riding his back, and they played peek-a-boo with him as he tried to sleep.

During the night, when we were all in bed, I could hear his dog tags jingling downstairs. When I came down to check on him, I turned on the light in the living room, and he froze.

There he was, in a half-pounce stance, eyes as big as saucers, and with Dawn's sock hanging from his mouth. He stood very, very still, moving his eyes around as if to tell me, "What?! I'm not doing a thing. Just standing here...."

After turning the light back off, and returning upstairs, I heard his jingling tags again.

Now, if I could just find a way to either kidnap him, or convince Dawn that he's better off with me...

Roots

These are my great grand parents. (My maternal grandmother's parents) I never got to meat Pa, as he died a few years before I was born. I did get thirteen years with my great grandmother before she died.

I came across this picture in one of my mom's albums. I took it, scanned it in, and will get a print made for my kitchen- suiting for her, as that is where she spent all of her time. When I saw this picture I swear I could smell her kitchen and hear her raspy voice.

It's Just the Old Lady Smell, Honey.

On foggy days, I use the magic of the rear defroster to get the dew off the back window. I just like a nice, clean window, okay? On said rear window is a sticker that was applied by my Great Aunt Ethel, about 5 years ago, when she owned the car. This sweet old (99 years old) woman, who wore tailored jackets and lived in a small neighborhood for most of her life, apparently belonged to the NRA. She placed the token NRA sticker on the back window to show her enduing support. I am not too sure that she even knew what the NRA is. Probably not.

I bought the car from Ethel's estate when she died last year, and got a giggle thinking about her driving around in the car with the sticker, so I left it on in her memory. Plus, I think it gives me some street cred in my parts.

As we made our trip to the store, I turned on my rear defroster to rid of the morning dew. When we arrived at the store, Dylan informs me that my car smells. Whatever, I have three air fresheners, but the Chicken McNugget smell takes a while to come out, you know?

However, while I was unbuckling Jordan from his cage, excuse me-car seat, I looked up to see the NRA sticker fully engulfed. The sticker caught fire from the defroster, probably because the sticker was so old and dried out. I did get the sticker fire out, but can you just imagine what a glory it looked like-- a shiny, sleek, white car, blazing down the street-kids wiggling around, waving to each car- everyone inside oblivious to the small camp fire in the back window. Insert theme song from Dukes of Hazzard.

I Heart (your corporation name here).

I went through a Starbucks phase last year. I would drink a double tall, non-fat, no whip mocha pretty much every day. My obsession became quite costly, so I cut down to about one mocha, twice a week. Mark decided to get me a gift card for Starbucks as part of my Christmas present last year. Very thoughtful. Very tasty.

After I used up the $25 that he put onto the card, I "reloaded" the card online with $10. It was much easier for me to hand over a card than to search for exact change. While I reloaded my card online, I also registered the card. It would make me eligable for discounts, blah, blah, blah.

I haven't gone to Starbucks now in about three months or so. I kind of just lost my passion for it. So, imagine my surprise and delight when I received a letter from them yesterday, telling me that they put $10 onto my card because I registered it. Thank you.

Do you remember that day I received no mail? Do you remember when I asked for a giftcard (sure it was Gap, but who cares) for no reason? I think some of the top people in Starbucks read my blog, became sad that I had no mail, and felt that they had too much money. (Roll eyes) Riiiiiight, Sarah....

So, I'm going to try for another, just in case another huge corporation is reading my blog and feeling too rich: I would really love to get a giftcard to any of the following stores: Gap, Old Navy, Canon, Target, Toys R Us, Ford, Borders, and Taco Bell. Thank you.