A Sociological Study of Terror

I posted this link a couple of weeks ago about the crazy windboarder.
Since then, I've had some interesting feedback.

Female reaction:
excerpted from a comment: "AHHHH!!! I just kept saying "don't let go! don't let go! don't let go" over and over in my head while I held my breath."

Male reaction:
[hysterical laughter to the point of tears]

My very large study group of 6 (3 each M/F) shows this reaction to be universal.

Someone had a baby yesterday.

That makes someone a daddy. And someone a mama.
But I can't figure out what it makes me.

Yeah - I know I'm a grandmother (OMG), but I just can't come up with what I want Little G to call me. DH kinda likes "Pepere" (pronounced peh-pay), which is what he would have called one of his grandfathers, had he lived long enough. The companion to that is "Memere", (pronounced meh-may). That's ok, but since I'm not even remotely French, it doesn't exactly fit y'know?

I need your help. What did you call your grandmothers? What do your kids call their grandmothers? I need to pick something sometime...

You gotta be CRAZY

There are no words. By that I mean I have no words.
That other guy has plenty...

Are Quirky Tastes Inherited?

I can't wait. It's almost time to put up the Christmas decorations.
Now, lots of people love Christmas decorations, but it's not the typical tree and ornaments that I get all excited about.

I love putting my Anna Lee collection out on display.

I understand there really aren't that many people who share my affinity for these Anna Lee dolls. I set all my Anna Lee dolls out on table tops and floors and shelves and people (some in my own family) walk by and shake their head. They don't see the charm.

My kids know if they want to completely thrill me, a little Anna Lee doll will do it.
I agree with most of my critics that they're a little odd. A little quirky. I think that's what I love most about them. They have a personality. I'm sure I get this from my mother. She also loved these dolls, and I'm not sure if I love them because she convinced me of their charm or that came from me. Either way, I know I have some quirky tastes and I think they might be hereditary.

That way I can blame it all on Mom.

Thanks, Mom!

Beagroomzmom gets all Crafty and stuff

I got to be crafty for the last second wedding we had on November 1. Yes, a wedding can be thrown together in less than a week, and it can turn out nice, and it can even have some handmade favors.


I took two Hershey Kisses (awwww...) laid them flat end to flat end
wrapped them in blue cellophane and attached them to florists wire with green florist tape. I would have put green leaves on them, but the theme, such as it was, was blue and silver.





I added the little Thank you for sharing our special day note with a little vellum cover to the flower with a little blue ribbon.

Do you think anyone noticed that the hole the ribbon went through was in the shape of a heart? yeah, probably not. But I thought it was cute.









Strategically place them in the napkin at each plate. Ta DA! Wedding favor.







****************
Also - can I just say how irritating it is that the "preview" in Blogger does not look anything like the real product? It must take me 10 times publishing to get these things lined up decently. And I don't even try to make it pretty. Does anyone else have that problem, or is it just me? I might be just a teensy bit crafty, but I'm apparently not nearly enough techy...
(oh, and btw - I give up. there must be a better way)

The Bane of my Fall

This starts in August, continues through the college season and then we have the college BOWL picks.

ESPN, this is a case of love/hate. You (and various members of our family) have turned college football into an obsession. Three years ago, if we didn't know Louisiana beat Florida, we didn't care. Now we not only care, we need to keep track of who else cares and how many points are available for us to move up in the standings and whether with this pick we can move ahead of a certain other player. (By "us" and "we", I mean in the royal sense, since it certainly affects me even though I seem to have the good sense to remain uninvolved directly) It also instigates some pretty good smack talk, though I think with the political debates flying around this fall, that smack talk has fallen off a bit this year. Wait till 2009.

Love: I love it that DH has such a good time with this. He's totally involved (read, OBSESSED) with it and has weekly conversations with brothers, children and nephews that he typically doesn't talk to that much. That's good stuff. He goes out of his way to make sure the two kids we have playing get their picks in before the deadline. He was never that responsible with checking on their homework!

Hate: I hate it that DH is so completely involved that he is always checking the scores, standings, etc during otherwise completely enjoyable events. His focus is always on his i-phone where he can get the latest from the internet. OK maybe I hate Apple just a little too for making this possible.

See, I'm not looking at the phone in my hand, I swear. I'm watching the little one. Watch, I'll put it back in my pocket now. Really.




This is the bane of my Fall - but I have winter to get reacquainted with him.

Oh wait - that's the college basketball pick'em time. Damn.

And THIS is why I live in California.

Forecast as of 4:00 am PST on November 15, 2008
In case you missed that - NOVEMBER 15th! This is MID-NOVEMBER! This is exactly when I do NOT miss Chicago! We're headed out to a local amusement park for DH's birthday. (HB, btw) in NOVEMBER! and we're not even in Southern Cal, where they get to cheat and be all closer to the equator and all.
I love it here.

Today
Sunny. Highs in the mid 70s to lower 80s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Tonight
Clear. Lows in the 40s to mid 50s. Northeast winds around 5 mph in the evening...becoming light.

Sunday
Sunny. Highs in the 70s to lower 80s. Northeast winds around 5 mph.

Sunday Night
Clear. Lows in the 40s to mid 50s. North winds around 5 mph...becoming northeast after midnight.

Monday
Sunny. Highs in the 70s. Light winds.

Monday Night
Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 40s to lower 50s.

Tuesday through Thursday
Mostly clear. Highs in the 60s to mid 70s. Lows in the 40s to lower 50s.

Thursday Night and Friday
Partly cloudy. Lows in the 40s to lower 50s. Highs in the 60s.

Copyright © 2008 The Weather Underground, Inc.

And now we return you to Halloween

For nearly a year, LK has wanted to be a Vampire Queen for Halloween. She has not varied from this goal the entire year. I can pinpoint it back to last Halloween when she was a very cute Minnie Mouse and saw the potential for blood and gore. I blame the 5th graders.

She still wanted to be a Vampire Queen even after I told her the story of M, who when he was 6 wanted to be a vampire. When I had him all dressed up and the make up on his face, I let him look in the mirror. He screamed and started crying. I tried to show him it was just make believe, but he scared himself so much that I quickly washed his face, found some jeans, a flannel shirt, a bandana and a cowboy hat. He made a great vampire - but you know? Somethings are just not worth it.



The other 1st grade girls? Very cute. Cheerleaders, Dorothy, Princesses, various animals and 50's girls. And one Vampire Queen.

Way to stick with your convictions, little one!

Another letter

 

Because I thought she should know.

Open Letter

to my fabulous BIL who faithfully called voters in swing states over the past several weeks.


Thank you.

Third time's the charm

Or,
I finally have a daughter-in-law.

Favorite quote:
"They're gonna get married if I have to do it myself!" Uttered from the Most Reverend Doctor Lunasea, who graciously got herself ordained in the Christian Glory Church where Glory reigns and where, with a minimum of fuss, you too can be a minister; just so we could actually have an end to the saga. Of course, it helps that she was well aware of, and in fact attended one of, the previous attempts.

Michael & Mariela Wedding

This shindig was thrown together at the very last minute (seriously) and turned out just lovely. Despite the rainy day, we had a very nice time. We had a real cake, incredible lobster stuffed filet, twice baked potatoes, asparagas bundles etc. I actually don't know if this link will work, but Picasa offered me the option, so I'm trying it.

I managed not to have to go trick or treating with LK the evening before, so I spent my time finishing up favors and table decorations. This is not really the way I'd suggest throwing a wedding, but it worked. Of course, it helps to have family members who own a catering and rental shop. We definitely took advantage of their expertise and inventory. It was either that or paper plates. The minister was the groom's godmother and the caterer was the groom's godfather. Kinda nice that way.

The Bride's immediate family will still not recognize the relationship, but a couple of cousins and a friend were able to share the day, so thankfully, she was not all alone with just her inlaws! All in all, it was a very nice day.

another milestone down - only 3 weeks or so for the next one! Fortunately for us, some other little character is responsible for arranging that one.

Stayin' Alive

Heard on the radio yesterday that playing the BeeGees song "Stayin Alive" during CPR is beneficial because the beat is pert near perfect for timing of compressions.
I could just see it - in ERs and ICUs everywhere, the strains of the BeeGees in the background. At least until there is a workers comp case or two for mental distress.
Back in the 70s it was Yankee Doodle. Not sure which one I prefer.


Oh - and while looking around for stuff about this - there's a comment by Tex at Guitar Girl RN where he is already rewriting the lyrics -

'Well, you can tell by the way I CPR,
I compress real well, I'm a Superstar....."

now I can totally get behind that!

Taking the Linky Way Out

I could say more, but these posts do such a good job, I thought I'd just lead you to them.

C'mon California - No on Prop 8.

Being Visible

An esteemed colleague of mine rides his bike to work on occasion (actually a couple of them do, but this story is just about one of them). A few weeks ago, he tangled with a car and the car won.

OK. It was a pedestrian. And the pedestrian won. That just doesn't sound as impressive does it? Anyway, he didn't feel so great for a week or so.
So he decided to go visible.














Additions: yellow bumpers, new yellow helmet, coat, caution sign, reflectors. I just love this guy - he cracks me up. But damn - SOMEONE will see his next crash - we're pretty sure of that!

And in the spirit of sharing wisdom, here are his helmet links:

Bicycle helmet linkage:
Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

The Safety is Sexy Campaign - You'd look hotter in a helmet

Wear A Helmet

(Ba)rack my world

WHAAAAT is this?
Rod Sterling must be around the corner here somewhere.

Last night:
DH and I had a "date night". Rare. Very rare.
He opens the car door for me. Never happens. (not complaining - just a fact)
I get in and see this:


in his cup holder.
I'm convinced I'm in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

Parents Weekend accomplishes what is it supposed to accomplish.
 

We get to see the facilities
 

We get to check out the local tailgate efforts
 

We take a picture to record the occasion
 

and we visit with each other.

The interesting thing about Freshman Family Weekend is that it probably accomplishes exactly what it is intended to accomplish. BK is not as bothered by being so far away and we're happier that he's there. Good all around.

What I did on Summer Vacation, Part 3

Because all good things come in threes (and some barely passable ones, too, but we'll not go into that), part three shares a fun birthday party with a particularly cute nephew, also known as A. and his equally cute mother, also known as Lunasea, who takes after her slightly older sister also known as me.


We chased after a gaggle? tribe? flock? - turns out it is a rafter of turkeys we chased around the yard. And if my camera had just captured the last one to the right, I'd have demonstrated that multiple of 3 theme again. Yes, this is stretching it a bit thin, but hey...


I had the opportunity to visit some friends from my days in Chicago and drive by one of the houses I lived in nearly 3x10 years ago. Strangely enough - it looks almost exactly the same!

AND, we went to Indiana University for Freshman Parent's weekend in order to make faces we hadn't made for 3x10 days or so.

What I did on Summer Vacation, Part 2

Continuing that theme that our college student might never get to to these things ever again, BK beat the crap out of us at bowling.
(We never bowl - usually our scores are right there with the 64 guy)
Anyone who tells you saying goodbye is easy hasn't been with these two at the airport.



LK was a dunk tank target. It took 3 kids and an invitation to the 3rd kid to go up and hit the bullseye with her hand but she got dunked.






And we watched someone climb a climbing wall in bare feet. Must have hurt.

What I did on summer vacation, part 1

Catching up on my summer blogging:

I went on a roller coaster and screamed with LK.

I protected her from certain attack. Or maybe I just recorded it for posterity.








We prepared to say goodbye to our Hoosier with very many dinners out or special things to do which we were sure he would NEVER have the opportunity to do again IN HIS LIFETIME!

We had a very creative dessert prepared for us. We didn't eat much of it, but we admired it mightily, for it was prepared with love. And a lot of chocolate syrup.

Karma - Send - Now

DDD has an official, for a national tour, callback tomorrow. I'm sure it's the first of many, but WOO HOO this is awesome!


She says she's not getting ahead of herself and that there's no way she'll actually get cast at her first callback, but it seems silly not to help her out a little...


I want to gather all our collective internetish good karma and send it her way.




Everybody, on three:

1

2

3


OHMMMMMM....








OK - I might be a little fuzzy on the meaning of Karma, but it seemed right at the time.

So let's all at least send some encouragement her way... You GO, GIRL!!!

Overachievers overachieve

Remember how weird it was for three olympians in three different sports from the same small town, let alone the same high school and same graduating class? Well, happy to say, they all brought medals home with them! Simply amazing. I keep wondering why NBC didn't pick up on that little story...

So howyadoin?

Most frequently asked question:
"So, How're ya doin'?"
Next most frequently asked question:
"Is it weird?"
Followed by:
"How's LK doing with it?"

I can only assume these people are talking about the hole in my chest where wind whistles in and out with some regularity. I'm not sure how it attracts the attention it does. I try to keep it covered, but somehow it becomes noticeable.

I've been afflicted with this a couple times before, so I understand that it will slowly close up and I'll only hear that faint whistling sound now and then. But it's hard to convey that to curious friends.

I'll be gathering and sending care package #1 when - whoosh - there it is again. Looking at the kitchen table set for 3. whoosh. Running into GF (who understandably talks to him considerably more often than I) who says he's having a hard time today - pretty lonely. WHOOSH... will that damn wind kick it down a notch, please???

Maybe it's because this was my baby for so very long... maybe because he still hung around the house fairly regularly... maybe because he allowed me to talk with him when things were so up and down with GF. Maybe because the last two times, I still had a super busy house to keep up with. Or maybe I have blocked the memory of just how long this feeling takes to become normal.

All I know is that -

re Q1: Hanging in there, wishing I could talk to him at least every other day. Enjoying the clean bedroom while missing the mess. Feeling detached from things - even work, which is pretty consuming. Working hard to conjur some energy to create a "real" dinner. Wishing there was a hockey game to watch.

re Q2: Yes. Definitely.

re Q3: Surprisingly well. She is appropriately and wonderfully self-centered and has gotten into the swing of being a first grader, bringing home the lovely green slips from her teacher exclaming just how exceptional she is. It helps so much that she enjoys her teacher and the classroom. She doesn't hang out in his room, she doesn't ask to talk to him all the time (though she knows she can call him whenever she wants). She's just busy being 6 years old. I think it hits her now and then, but she has two other older siblings who show up and then leave, so it's not as foreign to her as one might think.

Good thing I've got twelve more years before I have to do this again.

Letting Go

"She's had eighteen years

To get ready for this day

She should be past the tears

She cries some anyway"

BK - Be safe, be good, wear your coat. Study hard, but still have fun. Remember the people you love, and remember how much we love you. Have a fabulous 4 years in Indiana.

Damn, this is hard.

Funny...

Found in piano today.

My family.

What a bunch of comedians.

Overachievers non-Anonymous

DDD has always felt that her graduating class lacked cohesiveness. They were not all the best of friends. That is probably typical of many high school experiences.


BK's class was so different. There were certainly cliques and social "types", but the lines were more blurred than in most classes. It was a singularly nice class.


I just realized today why DDD's class was so different.




They were just too darn busy overachieving.

Crazy Hair Day

In which I read an email from camp saying that crazy hair day is tomorrow. And I go shopping with LK to buy some colored hair spray and only find blue. And I get up and put crazy ponytails in hair and spray several of them blue and put colorful ribbons every which way in crazy ponytails



only to find out that the email was sent the day BEFORE yesterday, making yesterday crazy hair day instead of today.

Bah.