How to Count to Eight in Spanish

Financial Aid

Jeremy went to school today for orientation. He stopped by to finish up all of his financial aid stuff. They told him that he hadn't registered for Selective Services, so he wasn't eligible for any financial aid.

I would like to say something right now. I married the most straight as an arrow man ever to walk the face of this earth. He has always complied with every aspect of US law that he is aware of. He knew about Selective Services (how could he not?) and he registered for Selective Services.

But now he's 31. He is no longer in the Selective Services, so he doesn't have his card anymore. So he gets home at 11:35, after he had been working through the night and then gone up to the school for orientation and dealt with Financial Aid. He calls the number the FA lady gave him, and the automated menu looks him up, but doesn't recognize him. The poor man is dead tired. Now he's trying to remember...did he really sign up for Selective Services? He MUST have, he knew it was the law, and he loves his country. There's no reason why he wouldn't. So he calls back. Goes through all the menus again. Finally, he gets an option to speak to someone. The estimated wait time is 38 minutes! All he wants to do is go to bed, but he has to get this cleared up today or pay for his classes all by himself. So I stayed on hold while Jeremy had something to eat. I finally talked to a lady, and she looked him up. It turns out, one of the digits for his Social Security number was off by a digit in their records. Oops. So she's going to send us verification of his enrollment, but FA wants proof today. I hope they can get it all cleared up. Poor Jeremy keeps running into new obstacles.

I told him we may end up having to wait until next quarter. But he doesn't want to hear that of course. I think he wants to get doing it before he has the chance to think about it hard enough to chicken out. I understand, but now I don't know what to do to encourage him. Why do these things seem to happen to us more often than others? Does it seem to you like we have an inordinately large amount of bureaucratic hang-ups? And now for the most important question: "Why me?" ;)

Eagle Eye

Jeremy and I went to see the movie Eagle Eye last night. It was a pretty good movie, some of the camera work in the action sequences was a little too jumpy which made them hard to follow, but mostly the movie was good. The thing is, if you have seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, you'll find this movie predictable. Eagle Eye borrowed extensively from that movie. The story was still pretty good, the overall message was that overreaching technology is bad. I'd have to say I agree with that sentiment, but the real question is where do we draw the line between safety and invasion of privacy? What do you think?

Fun Times

Here's a photo of my kids with the cake they decorated. See how proud they are! I, on the other hand, was so embarrassed by the way mine turned out, that I have decided not to include any photos of it.

*SIGH*

Some days there's a ton of stuff to write about, and you get some great posts (sometimes 3 in one day!), and sometimes there's nothing good going on, and you're stuck with a less-than-stimulating post for several days headlining the blog. What's a clever blogger to do?

Polling Is Now Closed

Out of our 5 voters, 2 voted for boxers, 1 voted for briefs, and 2 voted for Depends. I see only two of you got the joke. You see, Depends are a brand of underwear made for people with incontinence. It was a play on words. Do you all get it now? You didn't think I'd put up a vulgar poll like that without having a good reason behind it, did you? Well anyway, even though very few people seemed to get the joke, I'm going to send all voters in this weeks' poll a 200 oz. water jug with my face on it. Good times.

How Old Am I?

I was sitting here playing around on my blog, and Daniel was in the room. The Fraggle Rock theme came on, and Daniel knew what it was because I showed the kids a clip from a show that was on YouTube the other night. He asked me if I had seen the whole movie before. I told him that it was a tv show from when I was a kid. Daniel answers with, "Oh! So it was a black and white show?"

The funny thing is, I remember thinking that my parents had been around in covered wagon days, so I guess I can't be too upset with him for thinking I'm a really old lady, it's just funny when it's your kid that thinks that way about you! (Not to mention it used to blow my mind that my parents were born in the 1950s! At least I was born in the same century as my folks! My kids were born in a completely different millenium than I was! Now that's crazy!)

My Brilliant Hubby

Jeremy has decided to start taking horticulture classes with a specialization in golf course design and upkeep. We went up to the college yesterday to get him registered and have him take his placement test. He was really nervous about going because he never did very well in school, and he was sure he would bomb on the placement test. Well, I drop Jeremy off with $15 and his high school transcript (from a Christian school that burned to the ground the summer he graduated, so he had incomplete records...that's a whole other story) and left to troll the mall for a couple of hours while he took the dreaded test. I got back about 5-10 minutes before he finished (great timing, eh?) and Launa and I waited while he got his results. Guess what? He passed with flying colors! He surprised himself (he later confessed to me that he guessed a lot), and is feeling very encouraged about school. He pretty much feels like Superman! He can do this school thing! He has a motivation and a confidence that he didn't have in high school, and I'm so proud and excited for him! The bad news is, that while they accepted his fragmented transcript, they didn't accept his high school's accreditation, and are making him get his GED. So much for toughing it out and finishing school, huh? He still has to get a GED. I'm a little irked about that, but Jeremy is confident that he won't have any trouble taking the test. What a guy!

My Grampa - or - How I Almost Became An Actress And A Scientologist

I was just thinking about my grampa today, and I was thinking about a particularly silly story.

When I was 18, I made a trip to visit the elderly people in my life in Southern California. It was my first trip back since we had moved from there when I was 12. While I was in town they were shooting the movie Swordfish with John Travolta and Halle Berry there. My grampa wanted me to go see where they were shooting, so he took me up there so we could watch. We found the place, and there were all these people milling about. My grampa started walking up to where they were filming, and we got to a place where there were all these extras dressed in SWAT uniforms, and I started thinking, I don't think we're supposed to be walking around back here. Well, my grampa is way ahead of me, and he's just walking around on their set! I start to whisper, "Grampa, I don't think we're supposed to be back here..." When the director starts shouting, "ANYONE WHO IS NOT IN THE FILM, GET ON THAT SIDE OF THE STREET!!!" I think he was talking to us...we were the only ones messing up his shot! I was pretty embarrassed. But my grampa wasn't bothered in the least. He just walked over to where the crowds were assembled to watch while I tried to melt down the drainage ditch.

The Sunday after that, he decided to take me to church. We drove up to this big old Lutheran church, but the parking lot was full, so my grampa parked out on the street. I get out of the car, and I start heading up toward the Lutheran church, when my grampa points to the door right next to me and says, "Okay Mary, there's our door!" I look over, and it's the Ventura branch of the Church of Scientology! "Grampa! We can't go in there!" I say in alarm. My grampa just laughs and says,"I'm just kidding, we're going to the Lutheran Church." HA! It still makes me laugh when I think about it. (Though I probably could have met John Travolta had I gone in there! If they meet on Sundays.)

More Photos Than You Can Shake A Stick At!

So I finally got some photos developed, and I am thrilled with what I got back! Haven't you all been asking about what our dog Superman looks like? Well, wonder no more! Have you ever wondered how close we got to Adam West at Dragon Con? You're about to find out! Do you want to know how great my kids look with Liz's kids? Gaze away my friends, because I have pictures of all of these things and much, much more! Get ready for a virtual smorgasbord for your eyeballs! You lucky dogs!



Here's a great photo of our new giant family member, Superman.




Erik and Launa just before the big move. In the bottom picture, Erik is kissing Launa and she's trying to push him off! Love it! Also, those are Liz's pink toes in the photo, and those ugly man feet must be John's.




Daniel and Jonni. He's 6 months older than that girl, and look how much height she has on him! Long tall Jonni. Look how dirty my lens is in that first photo of them! Wonder why? It's clean on the next one, taken directly after. Weird.



Adam West actually posed for Jeremy to take his photo, but later when we wanted his autograph he wanted $50. We walked away from that particular "opportunity".



This guy's costume was SO cool! He could make the dragon's head move and roar and all kinds of cool stuff. His kids also had small little dragon costumes (without all the bells and whistles) I'm sorry the camera man didn't get pictures of them too, they were cute!





Some of the more interesting things from the Dragon Con parade. Wesley and Buttercup in this photo are Jeremy's sister Stacey and her husband Chris. (He's Superman's veterinarian.)



We saw this Ferrari at Underground Atlanta. Jeremy HAD to take a picture of it.




I took this photo because it was posted and all official looking in Underground Atlanta. Can you spot the silly mistake?



Atlanta, Georgia, home of Coca-Cola. Very cool neon sign I had to get a photo of.



This is a giant spider that made its' home between the house and the porch steps at Jeremy's parents' house. Somehow it's less impressive in the photo - really, it was HUGE!



Launa and her cousin Jocelyn playing the organ at my mom's house.



Launa and her cousin Evelyn eating blocks at my mom's house.



My children holding hands in their sleep. (So sweet!)

There were so many good photos, but I'm afraid I'm going to bog down your computers enough as it is, so I'd better stop here. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed them.

A Novel Idea

Okay, it's confession time.

I HATE to cook. Or maybe it's not that I hate cooking as much as I hate cleaning up after cooking. Whatever it is, I cook as little as possible.

In any event, with Jeremy's massive pay cut, the inevitable has happened. We just can't afford to eat out like we used to.

Confession number two:

The very worst day to cook in my opinion, is Sunday afternoon right after church. If we could eat out one day during the week, the day I would like to eat out is Sunday. We do this pretty often. (I know, that causes others to break the Sabbath, I'm really bad.)

Well, they were having one of those school fundraisers where you eat out one day at a certain restaurant and a portion of your sale goes to the school. That was this Thursday, so we ate at Fuddrucker's. There was no money left to eat out anywhere else this week, and I had originally planned on making ravioli for dinner Thursday, so I decided to make it on Sunday after church.

Let me tell you something. Twice this week, I have not wanted to cook, but I did because I had to. Let me tell you something else. After I had made dinner, I was so glad that I did! My family loved the two meals I made, and I did too. And the fixing and clean-up were not bad at all! I had gotten into the habit of eating out because it was convenient and I didn't want to cook. But cooking isn't so bad, and I feel so much better about myself as a wife and mother. I know I'm doing the best thing for my family, we'll probably lose a ton of weight, and I'm finding out that I'm a pretty good cook too! Yay me!

Fing-a-ma-what?!

I was in the bathroom getting ready for church when my little 3-year-old comes in and asks me (in her tiny voice), "Mom, where is my fing-a-ma-jiggy?" Say what? She's three. She says thing-a-ma-jiggy? She's so funny!

Have You Been Cranky Lately? -

Come for tons of photos of me, stay for the great tunes!

Have You Ever Wondered...?

...what would happen if I went to bed with wet hair?

Now you know.

Fall

We have had the best weather for the last 2 days. It's been a little overcast, but the temperature is perfect outside with a nice breeze blowing. Ahhhh! The house has been opened up, and it feels great. I hope it sticks for a little while.

Polling Is Now Closed

For the first time ever, we have a 100% vote. This is a poll that is sure to go down as one of the most humiliating defeats in the history of the "Have You Been Cranky Lately" polls! A 6 - 0 vote for Drown over Burned to Death! I always knew my readers were smart, but now it has been confirmed to me. You are all right - drowning would probably be rather unpleasant, but burning to death has got to be one of the worst ways to die ever! At least when you drown it's over pretty quickly. Not so much with burning death. (I also heard that you have a feeling of euphoria just before the end with drowning. I wonder how "they" would know?) Anyway, for their participation in this poll, all voters will receive a "Have You Been Cranky Lately" asbestos suit with my face on it. To keep you all safe in case you're ever in a fire. That's right, I'm always thinking about you my friends and faithful viewers.

Where Is That Blasted Light Switch?!

There are three florescent lights in the drop ceiling of my in-laws' family room. Since I have been living at their house, I have been looking for a particular light switch. It belongs to one of those florescent lights. I know where the switches are for every other light in the house. There was a light there, so I knew there must be a switch, even though I had never actually seen the light on. (Maybe it was just for decoration, I wondered occasionally, but that just seemed strange, even to me.)

Last night I was the last one up since the children and in-laws had gone to bed, and Jeremy was taking his pre-work siesta. (I like to stay up until he leaves.) I headed downstairs to watch a little tv and veg for a bit before Jeremy had to get up. The room looked kind of different, and I was trying to figure out why. Then it dawned on me! The mysterious switchless light was on! I got to thinking, "Now I know this light has a switch somewhere, and I'm going to have to find it before I can go to bed, because I don't want to leave this light on all night! And I don't want to wake Jeremy's parents to ask them where the switch is."

Two hours later, Jeremy is off to work and I can go to bed.

The search is on.

I check all the obvious places. Even though I know what all the switches go to, I try them out anyway - just to be sure.

No luck.

I look over every wall in the family room. I check behind the tv. I check behind the couch. I check behind the book cases. I check in the storage closet.

No luck.

Well, I knew they weren't there anyway because I had done a preliminary search of the house for it before out of curiosity, but I was just rechecking. I decide to look in the next closest room - the upstairs kitchen. I try all the switches by the door. It's not there. By now I'm starting to get a little desperate. I just know there's a switch to this light somewhere in this house! There's gotta be! The light is on for goodness sake!

I have a seat at the kitchen table to regroup.

I start thinking.

I layout the downstairs in my mind: Stairs: to the left the laundry room: the lightswitch to it is just outside the door. On the right: the pantry - no light switch to the pantry....

THE PANTRY!!

I head downstairs and look at the pantry. I knew there was no light switch on the outside of it, but I checked anyway. Nope. No light switch. I open the doors. I look on the walls. None on the opposite and side walls. Then, in a flash of brilliance, I check the wall immediately to my left on the backside of the wall the doors to the pantry are on.

The clouds parted, angels were singing, and a heavenly light shone down upon: The Switch!

I found it! I really found it! It took me 15 - 20 minutes, but I found it! I am proud of my clever self for actually being able to find the thing! It was like a real live actual puzzle, and I was able to figure out the secret of the puzzle!

Now before you start wondering why someone would put a light switch there, let me explain. The family room used to be the garage, but they wanted a little more livable space, so they closed in and finished their 2-car garage in the "basement." When they did this, they had two new florescent lights put in, and they extended the wires from the already existing one with the string hanging from the ceiling to about "switch" height so that they could just flip the third lamp on and off when they wanted it. The thing is, the wires were already put in at that particular spot, so because my father-in-law is not an electrician, and didn't want to pay one a gazillion dollars to run the wire, he just did it himself, and put the switch where the extended wire naturally ran. Now I wonder if they ever sell this house if they will let the new owners know where the switch is, or if they will just let them figure it out on their own? Personally, I'd like to buy a house with a little mystery. On the other hand, a hidden light switch might be more irritating than intriguing.



PS - I'm sure I'm only showing you all how dumb I am for not being able to find a light switch for 20 minutes, but I thought the story would be entertaining anyway, so I set aside my pride to entertain you. You're welcome.

Ehh -

Ok, I was having a bit of a time with the long bangs, so I cut them so that they are only moderately long. At least now they cover up my partially bald eyebrow that's on the same side as my natural part! ;)

Oh - found this, and thought the curly-headed ones among us might find it entertaining.

Bangs!

I just cut myself some bangs. I don't know why I ever let them grow out. I have the jaggediest hairline ever (see "Kablooey!"), and I just look better with bangs. So I cut myself some kinda long side-swept bangs, and I may cut them shorter after I've had a couple of days to play with the long ones and know if they're going to work. Really, I need a new haircut altogether because my last one is all grown out and shapeless now. Also it was cut for straight hair, and I've since decided to quit fighting nature and just let my hair do what it wants. I need a curly-friendly haircut. :)

Kablooey!

I think my head might pop.

Happy Birthday Kate!

My sweet and funny niece Kate is 3 today! Happy birthday Kate! Here's a song for you.

Happy Birthday Chris!

Happy birthday to my brother-in-law who takes care of my dag, and who I love to pieces: Chris! It is now the 10th anniversary of his 29th birthday. Love you!


And now for some sad news: I saw a great "I'm With Illogical --->" shirt at Dragon Con, and I wanted to get one for myself. I tracked them down online, and found out that they quit selling that shirt on September 5! That was 4 days ago! I could have gotten one if I'd looked just 4 days ago! And I didn't do it! I missed out! And now, I can't get one of these most awesome of shirts.

Ode To My Friends

That's right. I went and got myself a playlist last night. I made sure to include a song for each of my faithful visitors. See if you can figure out which one is for you. Some are obvious, and some are not as obvious. Here are the people I have songs for: Liz, John, Dana, Renae, Mom, Sarah, Rob, Kathy, Daddy-in-law, Mom-in-law, Stacey, Chris, Timpani, Erik, and of course, myself. Enjoy being my inspiration. Love you guys!

******************************************************************

Oh yeah, and somebody hurry and comment on something before I die. Please.

Bread, Laundromat, Dead Bird, Ichthyologist

BORING! So, nothing's been going on the last couple of days which is why I have not posted anything. I'm just tired of looking at the last post I put up. Hmmm...Oh! One of Daniel's challenge words last week was "Ichthyologist". For those of you who do not know Latin, that is a person who studies fish. Daniel would have gotten 5 points for spelling that one right, and 5 points for the correct definition. I think I'll find out after school if he got them right on his spelling test. I helped my mother-in-law make her famous bread tonight for the first time. She made it for a special occasion, so I don't get any of it. :( But she did make some earlier this week and I got the first piece, so I guess it's fair...er. Also, Superman had an accident in his kennel, so I took his rug to the laundromat to clean it. Guess how much a load of laundry costs to wash in the small washer? 9 quarters! The triple loader was 18 quarters! They didn't even have valet parking or air conditioning in the laundromat! 9 quarters! But what could I do? I had to wash his nasty rug, so I did. (It still smells a little bad - the smell is really in there!) Fortunately, I just happened to have $2.25. I was sure I wouldn't need that much, but I took it anyway, and I'm sure glad I did! At least I was prepared enough for the laundromat that I didn't have to make a second or third trip back! Oh and I also ran over a bird today. You know how they like to fly right out in front of your car? Well, I actually hit one! I didn't see it come out the other side, and when I checked my rearview mirror, there were feathers everywhere! Poor guy. I hope it was quick. :( Whaddaya know? There really was something to write about after all!

The Dark Knight

Well, I finally got to see The Dark Knight last night. I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the theater besides the employees. Really - there were maybe 10 cars out in the parking lot, and I was the only person in the theater that saw Dark Knight. I started to get a little bit freaked thinking "If some sicko were to go on a rampage through here, I'd have nowhere to hide!" (I was sitting right down where the walkway between the front seats and the stadium seats is - right in the first row of stadium seats. I should have sat somewhere that I could duck down if someone came in, so that they would have just looked in and thought that no one was there. It would have cut down on some anxiety. Then I realized, if someone wanted to go on a rampage, they would wait until the movie theater was full not empty so that they could do maximum damage. It didn't help much. I was alone in a dark movie theater with a very frightening Joker (and Maggie Gyllenhaal).

Wow, I'm really sad about Heath Ledger's death. He was totally different as the Joker, and that high-pitched voice he put on was perfect - very creepy. He was a very good actor. I wonder if they will bring the Joker back in any of the sequels? Anyone brave enough to try to fill his shoes, is probably going to have a hard time of it - either they'll be "trying o be Ledger" or they'll be blasted for just plain stinking.

I had read that some people thought the Batman voice was a bit overdone in this version of the movie. I see their point of view, but I don't think I necessarily agree with them only because when he's Batman and has to talk, he has to disguise his voice to a certain degree, and I think that was the point of the Batman voice being used so much. I'd think that after a while his throat would hurt though! Also, I was way proud of myself, because in th initial fight scene, I thought "That's a ridiculous cowl, he can't move his head!" Turns out, that was the point, and was pointed out and fixed later in the movie. Okay, maybe I shouldn't be too proud, I'm pretty sure they made a point of displaying how cumbersome the cowl was, and usually stuff like that has to be spelled out before I get it (I just don't pick up on subtleties I'm afraid).

Anyway, I really liked the movie. I don't like Maggie Gyllenhaal. I have a very hard time believing two very rich and powerful men would be interested in her. Call me shallow, I just don't get it, and I'm somewhat glad they killed her so I don't have to look at her (and all the men mooning over her) in another Batman movie. Here's the odd thing, she and her brother look just alike! And he's cute! (Relatively cute anyway - he gets less cute as he ages, but he's still pretty cute.) The good news is, if she can make it in Hollywood, I totally can! Of course, I don't have the family connections that she does. Ah well. Good movie. I'm sure within a couple of weeks of its' release, it will have magically appeared on my movie shelf with the other Batman movies, Superman, Fantastic 4, Spiderman - you catch my drift.

Another Pair of Jeans - Gone

Would you believe it? I lost another pair of jeans today. Actually, I think I can squeeze a couple of more weeks out of them. The hole is very little, but it's in one of those places where it won't be little for long. I'm down to one pair of jeans...why did all my jeans choose now to wear out on me? I didn't buy them at the same time. They probably know I can't replace them right now. Maybe I can piece new jeans out of my old ones. Sounds like it will take some thought. I have a serious aversion to thought.

I think I should make something very clear about my blog. I will not and do not write ugly things about my family on this blog. I have many reasons for this, but high on my list are these two reasons. First: It's just not classy. After all of the things my family has done for me, how dare I get on the internet and write hateful things about them for the world to see? Second: I know my family reads my blog. Why would I want to hurt them by writing mean things about them? Which brings me to the offending post. I wrote that post because I was frustrated at not being able to get anything done in this state without having to make multiple trips. Yes, I probably need to be a bit better prepared, but really, 3 trips and a possible 4th? By then, it's no longer my fault for being unprepared. Also, I really thought that post was funny. I was kind of proud of it, because I thought I was sure to get a couple of chuckles from it. Boy was I wrong. So here I am, proverbial hat in hand, telling those of you that I love and never meant to hurt, I'm sorry I hurt your feelings. Do you think I would have moved so far away from my side of the family, and Jeremy's $21.00 an hour job if there weren't people and places and things I love here too? No. Blogs are made in part to be an outlet - that's why they are so famous for their rants. Part of the purpose of my blog is to be an outlet, but not to the detriment of my relationship with the people I love.

Polling Is Now Closed

Well, results are in from our latest poll. It turns out that y'all are a bunch of rubbernecking, train wreck watching, injury lovers. 4 out of 6 voters would like to be the guy who cleans up eyeballs, lungs and intestines from a crime scene. (Oh yeah, and also blood and teeth.) I could also see how it would be interesting and would satiate any curiosity you have about what sickos will do to other people. We also had one aspiring sewer inspector, smelly, and rather icky I would think, not to mention the bugs and rodents that must be lurking around down there. Still, that's nothing compared to one that I was really surprised got a vote, and that is a highschool janitor! Really? I'm shocked that someone actually chose that occupation, since I've seen what highschoolers will do to their schools (bathrooms especially), let me just say this: Yuck. Fortunately, I see that everyone was clever enough to stay away from porta-potty cleaning. The good thing about that is that it only takes about 3 minutes to clean one of those things out, since they have it down to a science. The bad thing about it is that a person might clean up to 60 a day. Oh yeah, and a tipped porta-potty would be a nightmare! Anyway, interesting choices. Those who participated in this poll will receive their "Have You Been Cranky Lately?" junior detective kit with a picture of me looking through a magnifying glass on the front. Don't forget to vote in my next poll, you will want our next prize!

The 7 Year Itch

Is actually not so bad. That's right. Today is my 7th anniversary. I was going to find a few snapshots from the time we were dating and now, but they're all in boxes in Shelley's shed, so maybe next year. Anyway, I have been married for seven years, and I have decided that I'm not at all sorry for the best decision I have ever made in my life. Not only am I married to a major hottie, but he is also the only man I want to share my life with. He is strong, hard-working, generous, faithful, dependable, and a great dad. He doesn't leave me alone for long periods of time while he's off having a great time without me. He lets me have my own time if I need it. He is an all around great guy, and a perfect fit for me. Love ya, Jer!