What now?

1. I saw this video, and thought it was really funny. I guess it's more funny if you've seen Jaime Fox's "Blame it on the Alcohol", which is kindof funny all by itself because Ronnie Howard is in it.

2. When my Boy was home for Spring Break, he walked around one day singing, "Kanye West - thinks he's the best" I thought that was pretty funny, for some reason. (because it's true?) The Girl says kids at her school put three fingers in front of their eyes to imitate Kanye - I guess they're making fun of the glasses he wears in one of his videos. I think he's OK, but I don't like that new, flat sound of his new songs.

3. A few weeks ago Lil Kim got voted off Dancing with the Stars, and I just couldn't believe it! I guess there are a lot of country fans out there, but that Ty was pretty cute. I was really impressed with Lil Kim. I'd watched her Reality show, but this show showed her in a different light, and you could see how sweet and pretty she is. And even though this isn't her kind of dance, she gave a really good show every time. She's a real professional.

Usually I don't even vote, but this time I voted for Gils at the last minute. He was the only one without any dance training (I think gymnastics trains girls somewhat similarly to ballet), and I think he did a great job. I was surprised that Shawn won in the end, but they really were all so good, it was pretty even.

4. Could American Idol have been more surprising? Everyone was saying that Adam would win, and I think even Kris believed it too. I have to give him credit for still trying his best and doing a great job with "Heartless." This is also a Kanye West song, and the Girl said, "He managed to make that song sound good!" But when Ryan Seacrest announced that the winner was Kris, the Girl, who was listening from the bedroom, said, "First Lil Kim and now this!"

Don't do this, don't do that

As Mother's Day rolls around again, I'm reminded how much my little girl is growing up. One year she saw Regis & Kelly on TV say that they were looking for people to write in about their wonderful mothers and get them something from their dreams. She looked up at me and I could see she was thinking I was a great Mom and she should do that for me, and I told her it was OK, she didn't have to write a letter. I was happy that she thought I was a great Mom.

Now she's getting older and quieter, while at the same time more irresponsible and silly. She recently didn't even tell her father about the father-daughter dance they'd gone to the last few years, and he was sad about that. But I can see she's gearing up for middle school, and starting to withdraw and fight with us more.

Finally last weekend I told her that she's fighting with me too much. I can see she's headed into the years where everything I tell her is going to be wrong.

We learned from the Boy that kids try NOT to do what you tell them. For instance, I always told him, "No matter what you do, don't bring home a C. I'll get you tutoring, I'll help you any way I can. Just don't get any C's. So his last semester of school he got 4 A's and a C. Everyone says, "That's great about the A's!" But the C was the one thing I told him not to do!

So with that in mind, I want to say to tell the Girl the following:

Don't get good grades. In fact, quit school! Quit sports too.
Get into a relationship early, and what the heck, get married as young as possible!
Don't read, and whatever you do, don't go to college.
Don't learn how to drive, or get a job.
Don't be happy.

Hopefully, in her need to have us be wrong about everything, she'd go against us in a positive direction.

Think that would work?

Eight things

My horoscope, at Free Will Astrology.com, said the following for this week:

"identify five other ways to enjoy yourself without having to spend a fortune or hurt the earth. It's an excellent time, astrologically speaking, to experiment with the hypothesis that cutting down on consumerism can help you discover new approaches to feeling really good. "

So I sat down to think of 5 things, and I thought of a few more, too!

1. Drive somewhere high and look at the lights. You can even take something fun to eat or drink - like a box of doughnuts! No alcohol, though, as that could make the drive down too scary!

2. With kids, it's fun to make your own pizza. Make the dough in advance, then at dinner time divide it into pieces or into one big pizza with everything you want on it. Kids like making their own and eating their own creations.

3. Drive somewhere and enjoy nature = to the mountains to see and play in the snow, to the beach, to a waterfall. Take a light picnic!

4. Movie night! Pick out a few new movies (or oldies but goodies) and make some special popcorn (like maybe Tabasco Popcorn) and get comfortable!

5.Go to a restaurant and split something, like an order of nachos or a bowl of Pho. OK, maybe order a margarita or two. Relax, enjoy, talk and have fun.

6. Make an appetizer dinner. Dig your tin of smoked fish out of the pantry, some capers, olives, maybe some cheese in the refrigerator. Make one or two of your favorite snacks, and add some crackers and/or tortilla crisps, and snack the night away!

7. Have a soup party! Make one or two of your favorite soups, and invite your friends to bring a soup as well as a mug and a spoon. Share the soups, maybe provide some crackers and bread to back them up. Inexpensive, and not much cleanup, as people rinse out and take home their mugs and spoons.

8. Keep track of local restaurant specials. Often they have deals to get people in during the week, or have snacks for FAC. For instance, the local restaurant has "Taco Tuesday" and another has "Margarita Monday." We did this a lot in college too, and it made for some affordable dates.

Things I learned from Reality TV in 2008

-I learned that nearly every problem with dogs can be solved with chicken - or else you tell the dog "Uh uh!." from "It's me or the Dog."

-I learned that every problem with a dog is the fault of the human. And also that humans exude an "energy" that is picked up on by dogs, and we all part of the pack I found out that it's more important to be a good pack leader than a friend to the dog, and to forget the past, look to the future, and live in the now. - From "Dog Whisperer"

-I learned way more than I ever wanted to about Cloris Leachman - from "Dancing with the Stars."

-I learned that every overly messy houses and hoarding problems are "foolishness" and a symptom of another issue. I also learned to put a large flower in my hair. - from "Clean House."

-I learned that even someone with 8 kids can have OCD and refuse let their kids walk barefoot on hotel room carpet (like the bedspreads are better? - from "Jon and Kate plus 8."

-I learned you have to taste your food before sending it out to be eaten - on "Top Chef."

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a nice New Year's Eve. I ate way too much, and now have to start exercising more.

My sister, R, went to Aspen to visit friends for New Year's Eve. My Dad was worried about her driving in the mountains, but it turns out he should have been worried about a nut delivering bombs to banks. What are the odds, right? They ended up evacuating parts of town, so altho she didn't get evacuated, she couldn't go out for New Year's Eve! Everything was shut down!

But I guess she could hear the police cars and the police detonating the bombs. I heard the guy left long rambling notes around town, threatening mass destruction. I think he just wanted to be heard, and thought no one would read his long rambling notes unless he punctuated them with bombs!

My sister- she's always where the action is.

Birthday Christmas

I had a really nice Christmas this year. It started out with The Boy's birthday, tho, as that comes first (Dec 23.) That was not as nice. His girlfriend took him out to breakfast with his friends, and I asked if he could come back and stick around for most of the day, because his grandparents, etc., might want to call him on his birthday. He said sure.

Then he left for breakfast around noon and didn't even call until 5. I was SO mad at him. I had started getting angry around 3. I just like people to do what they say they're going to do. When he got home, I asked why he said he'd stick around and then didn't even try. He said he'd been playing monopoly and lost track of time. I said that would be a good excuse for a few hours, but not 5.

When we went to dinner at Chilis, I got back at him by telling our waitress that it was his birthday, so that they all came and sang at him and clapped at him and gave him a chocolate shake. He hates that. Ha!

I spent all evening feeling acute pangs of disappointment at how he's turned out. I keep wanting to think he's grown up and dependable now, but he keeps proving me wrong. The next morning I reminded myself that my happiness cannot depend on the actions of others, or I'll really be in trouble.

We went to D's for dinner on Christmas Eve, and it was so delicious. She made jambalaya, and I was so full that I felt sleepy in church.

The next day we opened our presents. I was surprised to get a gift from Sister #2 that I'd given her last year - a cute little Karma kit. She never even opened it! I was kindof offended at first, but then I thought that since it's karma, maybe it SHOULD come back to me! What goes around comes around. In that vein, I'm giving it back to her for her birthday.

People told us they were cutting back this year, but mostly we didn't notice it. We got some very thoughtful gifts. Not as many as some years, but at this point in our lives we don't need any more filler presents. No more Christmas decorations, no knick knacks please.

There wasn't as much clean-up afterwards, and for me, no post-present malaise.

It was great.

How about you?

Good news and bad news

The good news is I got a call from the Dr. today - it was just a cyst, not cancer.

The bad news is that I got a letter in the mail - I didn't get the job.

All in all, I'd rather have my health than the job, so it's all good.


Happy Holidays!