September 14, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

 1. How long did it take for you to find your wedding dress? (Wedding dress pics anyone?) Doesn't apply.

2. Someone in your general vicinity releases a NASTY smelling fart. Do you say anything or blow it off? Ignore and walk away.

3. What is the scariest thing that happened to you or scared you recently?  I can't think of anything off the top of my head besides having nightmares almost every night for the past few weeks.

4. Favorite brand and flavor of ice cream.  Ben and Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

5. Are you able to sleep well in hotels? It depends. I'm not sleeping all that well in my own bed these days soooo...

1. Right now, the weather where I live is  HOT. And it's been mildly humid. The humid part is actually kind of ok because it keeps the fire hazard lower but we're not used to humidity so we complain, lol.
2. The best piece of advice I've been given is only you can decide when enough is enough.
3. My most favorite person in all the world is Bailey. My dog.
4. If I were to have a "mission statement" for my life it would be I'm drawing a blank here.
5. My most favorite item in my closet is my Michael Kors clogs, lol. I love them. I also like this sweater/cardigan thing I have made out of alpaca. It's like wrapping myself in a hug it's so soft.
6. The best cure for a bad day is go to bed early and try again the next day.
7. Today is going to be better than my morning has been so far. 

1. I like to drink tea and have soup when I am not feeling well.
2. Roasted potatoes, broccoli, and cauliflower are my favorite vegetables. 
3. I get happy when I have had a pitcher of sangria with the Mister. 
4. I'm surprised by cat when he attacks my hand when I'm leaning on a wall or walking up the stairs and it usually makes me laugh because he doesn't use a lot of claw when he does it.
   

Old Hobbies Made New Again

Hiking at Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego

If you live in San Diego county and you have never gone hiking here, you're just a big dull dud. Within the county, you can go hiking in the city, along the beaches, in the mountains, in the valleys, or out in the desert. We have it all except for the tundra. There's trails for all skill and age levels too. We have day hiking, overnight hikes, mountain biking, trail running, trails for kids, dogs, and horses. Seriously, there's at least one trail in this county that will appeal to everyone.

The first time we lived here, we did quite a bit of hiking. All of it was day hiking trails though or, trails that only take a couple hours at the most and didn't require much more than water and sunscreen. Since we've moved back, we've gone out a couple times here and there. We're taking it to another level now though.

Ever heard of Geocaching? Basically, it's using GPS (or one of the many phone apps out there) to locate a hidden cache. Caches can contain anything from a simple log to sign into, to items that can be tracked, to items that have actual value. The Mister works with a woman who found a $50 iTunes gift card in a cache. We went geocaching for the first time on Monday and out of the six caches we searched for, we found four of them. It was such a total blast! One cache had a trackable item in it. This is an item that has a code on it that allows you to see where it has been. We found one called a travel bug and it started out in Minnesota and traveled to Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin, and finally here. We didn't even go out of our way to find caches because our favorite hiking spot is the Mission Trails Regional Park and it is full of caches. One cache was a few hundred feet from the Youngest child's school and we found that one while waiting for her to get out of school for the day.

View from QuarryHill at MTRP, San Diego

Another twist we're adding to our hiking is birding and identifying plants. We haven't done much of that besides buy some books and pocket guides, but I'm looking forward to giving it a go which we'll be doing on Saturday during our next hike. The weather forecast is predicting a high of 93 so we're getting up around 6:30'ish to try and beat the heat. We tried that last Saturday, getting up at 7:30 and the trail was already hot by the time we got there which was about 7:45. Which reminds me...

Check out this picture:

Do you see the lines painted on the road? This is the staging area to the park entrance that we use. This was taken on Monday so there were only a few cars, but on the weekends, the parking area is packed. Do you know what? Those lines are not parking spots. They are to show that cars aren't supposed to drive on that part of the road. See that lady on the left? She was giving parking tickets to all the people parked at an angle. She was in the middle of writing us one when the Mister asked if she was, indeed, writing us a ticket. She explained why and because we were standing there, let us move our car and park it parallel to the curb (that's our car at the end parked parallel). In all the times we've gone hiking here, we have never once seen cars parked parallel. They are always parked at an angle in what looks like parking spaces. I felt like I was in the middle of an episode of Parking Wars. 99% of the time, I'm on the side of the parking authority on that show. This, however, made me sympathetic to the drivers. There are no signs to indicate that parking within the painted lines is illegal (the sign in the picture that you can't read says "No Dumping). I'm willing to bet that nobody besides us and the people who got tickets that day are aware that you're supposed to park parallel to the curb. It's just not right, imo. Grr. What else are you supposed to think when you see lines painted a car width apart like that???

Anyway, we bought a Camelbak daypack (mine is purple) today at REI. A Camelbak is pack that has a bladder inside of it that holds water. It has a long tube that comes out of it with a bite valve to make it easy to drink while walking, hiking, or running. Our daypack has the water bladder in it plus two other zippered compartments with enough space to hold a first aid kit, snacks, pocket guides plus quite a bit more. It's not big enough for overnight hikes, but it's plenty big to go on 2+ hour hikes. It matches my new shoes, heheheh. I can't wait to take it out on Saturday.

September 7, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

 

1. What is your favorite fall family tradition?  We don't really have a specific fall tradition. I do love putting out my fall decorations though. I suppose you could say that we do up the Ohio State vs. Michigan football game pretty big every year though. I think that's still in the Fall or maybe that's in the winter. I don't know.

2. If money weren't an issue, how many kids would you have?  Just the two that I have. The Mister and I made a conscious decision not to have any more children and money didn't have a thing to do with that decision.

3. If you were to get a tattoo, what would it be and where would you put it?  I wouldn't.

4. What condiment is a must in your house?  A variety of mustards.

5. How did your spouse/fiance propose?  Ha! He was sitting next to me while we were awaiting the results of a home pregnancy test. He wanted to make sure that he asked me to marry him before we knew one way or the other if I was pregnant so that there would never be any doubt as to why he proposed. He simply asked and I said yes. It wasn't terribly romantic but it was very us.

1. I wish I had more ideas for new authors to read because I'm out. I've read all the books currently published by my favorite authors. I'm re-reading the Outlander series because I have nothing else and they're HUGE!
2. I stopped wearing my old running shoes that were the wrong size, didn't support my high arches and killed my shins. I LOVE my new running shoes that I got last night. 
3. My favorite new song right now is Little Talks by Of Monster and Men because I love the rhythm, lyrics, and sound of the singers voices. I also love that I've never heard it on the radio. I like just about every song on their CD.
4. I always sing while driving. I would say that always is a strong word though. But I very often sing while driving in the car by myself. I wouldn't want to kill anyone's ears by making them listen to me, lol.

1. My favorite grade in school was second grade. I loved my teacher. 
2. My favorite teacher was my high school government teacher. He really made me think and out of all my teachers, he made the biggest impression on me.
3. The highest level of education I have complete is high school but I'm 12 credits away from my bachelors. If my classes don't keep getting cancelled, I'll have my degree in the spring. May'ish I think it is.
4. School lunches for me were varied. There were times in elementary and junior high when they were painful for me. High school, for the most part, was ok. 
5. The amount of money you'd have to pay me to go back to high school would be a lot. Being a high school student is a lot simpler than being married with kids, but it's not something I'd care to repeat and I couldn't graduate fast enough. That's saying something considering I graduated a semester early, lol. 
6. A few things that will always remind me of going back to school are buying loose leaf paper, binders, folders, pens, pencils, etc. I loved buying back to school supplies and still do for my kids.
7. The first day of school was always scary. I always worry about my kids' first day back to school but they seem to take it much more in stride than I ever did.

That's it for this week. If you'd like to have fun (and an easy Friday post) and participate, click on any or all of the accompanying pictures to go to the host blog. 

First Day of School 2012 Edition

Today was the first day of 7th grade and the first day of 10th grade for my daughters. It was a day that we were all dreading for different reasons.

The Youngest child is afraid she'll get a mean PE teacher, lol. She didn't really care for her PE teacher last year and is hoping that she gets a new one this year. She also agonized over which new ensemble she had would have the honor of being her back to school outfit. Other than that, she was excited to start back to school. She loves her new clothes, shoes, backpack, and school supplies. It's just the way that it should be for a kid her age.

The Oldest isn't looking forward to anything this year. Again, par for the course for someone her age. She isn't happy unless she has something to complain about so she should, in theory, be ecstatic to go back to school. She hates math specifically and really isn't looking forward to any of her new classes this year. There's also this girl that's been a thorn in her side since last year that she's not looking forward to dealing with this year. Normally, I chalk this kind of thing up to normal girl teenagery-type angst. But I've seen this girl in action. She copies the Oldest child's hair for cripe's sake and spreads rumors about her too. If she, the Oldest, doesn't end up suspended from school for fighting this year, I'll be amazed. Not that I condone violence or fighting and there will a punishment at home in store for her should she resort to violence. But some people don't learn lessons until they're slapped in the face with them...literally.

As for me, I'm not the type of mom that looks forward to the first day of school like an oasis in the desert like most parents do. Having a kid with learning disabilities makes school and homework a challenge beyond the norm. It's just easier having her home. Secondly, I really dislike dealing with the traffic three times a day. It was a nightmare at the Youngest child's school this morning and we even left early in anticipation of the back to school rush. ::sigh::

Other than the traffic though, today has gone off without a hitch so far (knock wood). I still have to pick them up and stuff. But I made them both the breakfast of their choice. Well, mostly. I served up scrambled eggs to the Oldest because she's not a morning person and I thought the extra protein would help her through her day. She is, after all, used to sleeping in until noon or later. She also had toast and Ovaltine. The Youngest had a waffle, banana, and a glass of Ovaltine. I felt very soccer mom-ish this morning, lol.

I found out today that my class that was supposed to start on the 10th is cancelled due to low enrollment. I was switched out to the October 22nd session which is when my other fall semester class is starting. I was hoping to have a staggered schedule this semester but no luck. At this point, I'm keeping my fingers crossed that neither of my classes are cancelled because the October 22nd start date is the last of the fall semester and I've already bought my books. I only have four classes left for pete's sake. Let me get it done!!!

Tomorrow is a run day for the Oldest and I. It's one more thing for which I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Having to get up an hour early to go running before school will take a lot of willpower on both our parts.

Let Me Tell You a Story About a Man Named Jed

This really isn't about Jed but I've had this song in my head since four this morning. I have no idea why. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw that show. Anywho...Why was I up at four am? That is what this story is all about.

I'm sound asleep (for once) and I hear knocking on my bedroom door. After three attempts to hear what the person is saying through the door (I don't function at 4 am), I finally drag my butt out of bed to see what's what. It's the Oldest child and she's telling me that there's a cop at the door. Fantastic. I say jokingly, "You and A weren't running around the neighborhood were you?" She answers back, "Well, A was at the park looking for her ID." It's four in the morning. I have no reply to this so I go down the stairs to talk to the cop who turns out to be housing security.

He informs me that he found A walking around at the park and that city curfew is 2200 for minors. Duh. Then he asks if I was aware that she was out of the house. Again. Duh. Don't I look like I've been roused from a sound sleep?? Then he tells me that he's supposed to call the San Diego police because she's broken curfew, but since she's a guest and doesn't live here, he was going to give her a break. Fine and dandy although, I think he should have called the police but at the same time, I'm glad I don't have to deal with the police too. He tells me that he's going to call her dad though which is again, fine with me. I go into the house, look at A and tell her not to step another foot outside the door, tell both her and the Oldest to go to freaking sleep, and go back to bed myself.

I finally get back to sleep around seven.

A's dad shows up at our house first thing this morning looking very unhappy. I tell him what I know of what happened, which is very little because I hadn't had a chance to ask questions. We apologize to each other and he leaves with A, who has said absolutely nothing and won't look me in the eye. No big surprise. First of all, her excuse for being out of the house was weak and LAME. Kids are so dumb. She doesn't live here. After her dad dropped her off, she didn't leave the house at least until midnight when the Mister and I went to bed. If she was, indeed, looking for her ID at the park, she lost it there sometime after midnight which still means she sneaked out of our house after curfew. I hope she came up with a better lie for her own parents because that's just the worst.

The Oldest child claims she doesn't know why A left the house. If that girl wasn't meeting a boy at that time of the night (she used to live here and still has friends in the area, obviously), then I'm a monkey's uncle. I cringe to think of all the heinous things that could happen to a beautiful, stupid, ignorant 15 year old girl walking the streets in the middle of the night. Military housing or not.

Even though the Oldest child didn't go out with her, she's still guilty of letting her go, not telling us, and for making bad decisions. She's grounded and I'm making her do chores that I don't want to do myself.

I've been through the terrible twos, potty training, babies crying in the middle of the night for no good reason, smeared diapers in the hair, and projectile vomit on the ceilings and walls. TWICE. I would do it all over again fifteen times if I didn't have to do the 14-18 year old stage. Teenagers suck wide. If it's not one thing it's another and it's ALWAYS something. A's dad is an injured war vet who survived cancer. Doesn't she think he's suffered enough?

August 31, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

1. What do you enjoy doing the most with your spouse?  I'm not going for the obvious here. ;) What I like best is when we have quiet time to talk. I love our conversations.

2. How do you eat your taco? From the top or from the side?  A little of both. I start off from the side and then when it gets too tall for my mouth, I whittle away at it from the top.

3. Have you ever shut off the basement light and ran like a fool because you knew someone was down there and would get you?  Not the basement light, but other stairway lights. We had the creepiest stairs in the house that we lived in while I was in high school. I hated those stairs.

4. If you could change one thing about you what would it be and why?  If I could turn it off like a switch, I'd get rid of my anxiety. I think the why of it is obvious.

5. What age do you think is appropriate to have the "bird and the bees" talk with your children?  I don't think there's an exact appropriate age for that talk. I had that talk when I could tell that it was time and it was different for each kid.

1. I love to travel but I hate to drive.

2. Naps make a day better.

3. They didn't think I could stay married and raise great kids but I did and I'm doing it better than most of the people that were vocal about telling me what a huge mistake they thought I was making. Take that and shove it where the sun don't shine.

4. Warning: I'm not shy about speaking my mind. 

1. Over this Labor Day weekend I will be enjoying that last few days of summer vacation. So not looking forward to my kids starting back to school on Tuesday. Ugh! We're also going to try and make it to the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge in downtown San Diego.

2. With the political debates going on right now, my thoughts are I just wish it would be over and people would shut up. I think it's clear that nobody in this country is willing to make smart decisions and I'm tired of all the hot air.

3. Today I have to clean house. After a rather challenging run/walk this morning, I'm not looking forward to it. My left shin is throbbing.

4.  The best thing I've cooked recently is a kickass lasagna. I made that on Thursday. It was gooood.

5. The last thing I bought was hmmm. I can't say. It's supposed to be a surprise.

6. The best movie I saw this summer was nothing that I can think of off the top of my head. I didn't see any new movies. I watched a few DVDs and some old movies on TV but that's it.

7.  The best book I read this summer was A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. It was a fun read.

That's it for this week. If you want to participate, click on any of the accompanying images to go to the hosting blog. I hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day weekend. 

Couch to 5k

 First off, I am not a runner. Even in my teenage years, I couldn't run. I have the lung capacity of an infant. After a few seconds, I'm wheezing and gasping and hoping that I'm not going to pass out on the spot. It's frustrating. A couple years ago, we got an elliptical machine. I can go to town on that thing. We hadn't had it for very long before I was running five miles on it at about a 9-10 minute pace. I figured if I could go that far on the elliptical, surely I could manage a mile or two on the road. Not even. The Mister, who has two marathons, several half marathons, and a few 3 and 5ks under his belt, took me out to give it a go. I barely made it a mile, had shin splints, and couldn't walk without pain for two weeks. So it was back to the elliptical machine.

I don't mind the elliptical machine. We have it in our garage with a portable heating/cooling machine (I can't think of the name of it off the top of my head) so we can use it year around regardless of the weather. It tracks speed, calories burned, heart rate, and has lots of different program simulations for different challenge levels. It also has a tray for my iPod and a drink holder. It's really rather nifty. Still, it gets old staring at the wall and being in the dirty, cluttered garage.

About three weeks ago, I saw a pin on Pinterest for the Couch to 5k program. It starts off really slow and easy and after looking it over, I thought it would be a good way to ease into road running. Not wanting to look like an idiot all by myself, I convinced the Oldest Child to train with me. We're almost done with week three. There are some days when I have to modify the jogging part (which is just sad), but I always jog for the full amount of time each day. I downloaded the Nike+ app for my iPhone and we use it to track our progress. We break records almost every day. For instance, today we had our fastest mile, fastest 1k, farthest run (2.52 miles) and longest run (46:23). I'm still dealing with shin splints and this strange muscle tightness and pain in the sides of my calves. I need new running shoes but was hesitant to pay for them just in case I crapped out in this attempt too, lol. For now, I do my best to push through the pain and hope that I don't do myself an injury. I spend quite a bit of time with ice on my shins, lol.

It's been a great experience so far though. Not only is road running a nice change of scenery, it's been good one-on-one time with the Oldest Child. She's been fantastic at getting up between 7 and 7:30 am during her summer vacation. We plan on continuing through the program even after school starts on Tuesday. Getting up at 6 am to go running though...we'll see how long that lasts before we switch to evening runs, lol!!!

After doing some research on Couch to 5k, I discovered that there are quite a few variations to the program. If you're interested, Google it, peruse the results, and pick one that sounds good to you. This is the program that the Oldest and I are trying out though:  The Couch to 5k Training Program We've modified the program a bit to suit our purposes because the time given for each day just isn't enough to qualify as a workout. We do the minimum amount of jogging AT LEAST, but most days I put in another few minutes of jogging. We also do more walking. In total, we are on the road for 45 minutes, three days a week. I'm also going to start augmenting my workout by running on the elliptical machine two days a week for weight loss purposes.

It would be really great to have company, so if you decide to try it out or have already, I'd like to know.

August 24, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

 1. If you could have been (could be) any profession you wanted (brains and $$$ no problem) what would it be? Geez. This has changed so many times for me over the years. I still would like to work in the book publishing business, but I don't like the swing from print to e-books so much. I guess I would say historian.

2. How often do you clean out your car?  Clean as in, wash, wax, and vacuum? Not that often. Just when it starts to look really grubby. Clean out the trash? My car never has trash in it.

3. Do you wish there was such a thing as fashion police or are you deeply relieved?  It would be nice. I get so sick to death of seeing teenage girls walking around looking like hookers. What's up with that?  I also think it's pretty scandalous to see grown women wearing the same getups as hookers. And when will the droopy pants fad for boys/men be OVER?? Still, my wardrobe is drab and boring so I'd probably get arrested for that so I suppose I should be relieved there is no such thing as fashion police.

4. What's your go to food/drink/activity when stressed? I'm a savory snacker so I like things like chips and crackers. Pair it up with a vanilla Coke and I'm feeling soothed.

5. If you had twins, what would you name them? My sister is a nurse. During her rotation through maternity during her training, she saw a mother give birth to a pair of twins and name then Cinderella and Prince Charming. No joke. If I had twins, I would name them names that I like and not worry about them rhyming or matching.

1. My favorite thing to do on Friday is have a date night with the hubby. Barring that, a nice glass of wine and a book will suffice.
2. This Friday I am cleaning house (I always clean on Fridays), taking the oldest to and from sophomore orientation, and completing day five of the Couch to 5k program.
3. The best thing about a weekend is relaxing from the weekday stresses.
4. Now that summer is almost over, I'm feeling bummed. I love summer. I enjoy not having to worry about the kids and school. I love the freedoms that summer brings.
5. The best thing I did this summer was starting the Couch to 5k program. At least I did one thing that's sort of productive. Other than that, I didn't do a dang thing worth mentioning, lol.
6. The thing I'm looking forward to about Fall is Thanksgiving.
7. If I had to be stuck in one season for the rest of my life I would choose summer. I would like to say spring because of the blooming flowers & mild temperatures, but springs in California are dreary. We have May Gray, June Gloom, and July Whatever. But the clouds, rain, and morning drizzle don't clear out until mid-July.

1. I hate so many things and people, where would I start? On my mind right now as I listen to them banging around sounding like a herd of 20 elephants...noisy neighbors.
2. I have never been to any of the Six Flags theme parks. I fear that they won't measure up to Cedar Point.
3. The hobby I love most is reading and one day I will own a house with a library in it for all my many books.
4. My favorite store to shop at is Nordstrom Rack because of all the fabulous deals you can get on clothes, shoes, and accessories. Speaking of which, I could use a new pair of sunglasses. ;)

That's it for this week. If you want to play along, click on any of the accompanying pictures to go to the hosting blog. 

August 17, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

1. What's the one thing you buy every time you walk into the store? As in the grocery store? I'd have to say milk. We've gone through almost four gallons of milk in the last two weeks. What's up with that?

2. If you had a day all to yourself how would you spend it? If I stayed home, I would just enjoy the peace and quiet with my book or catching up with the DVR. Otherwise, I'd like to spend some time at the mall without people rushing me or making me go into stores full of clothes for today's goth/rebellious/slutty teenager.

3. Are you a speed limit driver? If not, over or under? No. Over. Almost all the time. Usually about ten over unless I'm on the freeway then it's about 15 over. I know. That's bad but if you drive the speed limit here, people run you off the road.

4. What's your favorite dessert to make, homemade or from a mix? I love to make tiramisu at home from scratch.

5. Would you rather have a spider or a mouse scurry across your face (no copping out and saying "neither!!")? I would definitely pick a mouse if I had to choose. I had a spider crawl across my legs the other day and I screamed like a little girl and dumped my laptop on the floor trying to get away from it.

1. The best thing to do on a hot day is either go to the beach or stay inside with the AC and a book.

2. The best place to be on a hot day is at the coast. In San Diego, it's almost always mild at the coast even if it's 90 inland.

3. The best thing to eat on a hot day is fresh fruits and veggies. Or a cold pasta salad. I really like watermelon in the summer.

4. Hot days are great. I love summer. In SoCal, I love when it's so hot outside that when you go out, your skin prickles with the heat. Back east, I love it when it's so humid that when you open the door it hits you in the face. I'm a summer person.

5. My go to uniform on a hot day is shorts and a tank top or t-shirt and flip flops. I don't care what care what Clinton Kelly says about flip flops. I love them.

6. The scent that reminds me of summer is fresh cut grass, sunblock, and the ocean.

7. My favorite thing about summer is the laziness of it. I don't feel pressure to have dinner done at a certain time. I just generally like not being on a schedule of any kind.

1. I read so many pages of my book in a day.

2. I don't like birds as pets but I love dogs, cats, rats, and rabbits.

3. When I watch Weeds, Dexter, or any of my other shows on Showtime and HBO, I like to have a glass of wine.

4. I have 2 IDs, some credit cards, a few pictures, membership cards, and stamps in my wallet.

That's it for this week. If you want to participate, click on any or all of the pictures to go to the hosting blog.

August 10, 2012: Blog Hopping Friday

1. Thunder storms- love them or hate them?

Love them. Storms are something that I truly miss when living in California. We hardly ever get a thunderstorm and when we do, they don't measure up to east coast storms at all. They're pitiful. And they usually also start brush fires so even if we get some lightning and thunder, it's just not worth the fire and smoke afterwards.

2. Do your kids get back to school clothes?

Definitely. It's the time of year when we stock up on new socks and underwear.

3. Do you golf? Do you watch it?

I don't golf. I've tried and I'm terrible but it was for gym class so I don't think that really counts. I bet I could golf if I really wanted to give it a go. I like to have golf on the TV but I don't really watch it. Hearing it reminds me of lazy days spent at my grandparents' house when I was a kid. The Mister golfs but he won't take me with him since his sister and I almost drove a golf cart into a tree SEVENTEEN YEARS AGO! And he says that I hold a grudge. 

4. Showers or baths? 

Showers. I've never been one to relax in a bath. I've tried and all I do is stare around the bathroom waiting until I can get out. 

5. What's the strangest meal you ever ate?

Hmm. Drawing a blank here. I've had buffalo chili once. Does that count?

1. The age that I will be on my upcoming birthday is 36. Thanks so much for making me say it out loud.
2. The best birthday present ever would be a two week vacation. Right now, the destination doesn't matter. I just need two weeks of no kids, no dogs, no house, and no stress. Thanks very much.
3. My favorite birthday to date was nothing that comes to mind. I never had big birthday bashes as a kid and none of my adult birthdays stick out in my mind. 
4. Birthdays make me feel more or less ambivalent. I complain about getting older every year but truthfully, I don't feel much different from year to year. Well, except for the fact that my anxiety gets worse the older that I get. And it's harder to lose weight. Okay. Birthdays suck.
5. The worst birthday I ever had was my thirteenth birthday. My uncle got remarried on my 13th birthday so on what I thought should have been a very momentous day for me, I was pretty much forgotten. I also didn't enjoy my 25th when my husband was in Japan. Or my 27th, 28th, or 29th when we lived in Vermont. 
6. When I was born I was the first girl grandchild on both sides of my family. 
7. So far my favorite age was my mid twenties. I don't really have a specific age. I just liked those years because I didn't feel like a young, dumb kid anymore (even though I still didn't know anything about anything) and I wasn't 30 yet which is the death year of all things young.
 

1. When I was little my mom used to watch cartoons with me every morning before I had to leave for school.

2. Spicy mustard is my favorite condiment.

3. I don't like to celebrate Halloween because my kids usually figure out a way to ruin it every year. It's a pita from beginning to end.

4. My books take up more space on my shelves, in closets, and in my house in general and I can never seems to stop myself from buying more. Although, I buy trade paperback books as ebooks mostly nowadays which helps a lot.

If you'd like to participate, click on any of the pictures above to go to the hosting blog so you can share your link.

Changes

Over the years and many moves, we've had the displeasure of having many different neighbors. We've run the gambit from having neighbors hauled off by the police for drugs to neighbors that I've called the police on for being buttholes. I've had screaming matches in the parking lot with neighbors. I've been woken up at two in the morning by neighbors fighting with each other. I've lived in a pet-free apartment building only to have fleas because our downstairs neighbors didn't think the rule applied to them. In Vermont, neighbors lived far enough away from us that they were never a problem. Well, except for the time that neighbors around the corner and about three or four houses down decided to have a live band in their backyard playing terrible music (I mean terrible in that the band had NO talent) hours past the time they said they'd quiet down and there wasn't a darn thing to be done about it because some of the police were guests.That's what happens when you live in BFE Vermont.

Now, I've had really good neighbors too. We were neighbors with a retired couple at our first house in North Carolina. They were lovely people and took to my girls like adoptive grandparents. They were great and made the fact that we lived catty corner from a house that was obviously full of drug dealers (a bad egg in an otherwise fantastic neighborhood) not so bad. We were sure that after living in actual houses for six years in a row that moving back into multi-family base housing was going to be a nightmare.

When we moved in, a family had already been living in the other side of our townhouse duplex for some time. They recently moved out and a new family moved in a couple weeks ago. In the 2+ years that we shared walls with the first family, we didn't have one single confrontation. We could occasionally hear them stomp up and down the stairs and occasionally hear them hang things on the wall (at least that's what it sounded like). They had two teenaged boys but never once did I hear loud music coming from their house. 2+ years and we didn't even know their names when they moved out and vice versa. They were like us in that we don't stand in our front yards gossiping with everyone that walks down the street. They were a dream come true as far as base housing neighbors go. ::sigh:: I was truly sad when they moved out and terrified to see who would be moving in.

Their house sat empty for quite some time. Not sure why. When the people moved out across the street, their house was empty for less than a week. This time of year is known as PCS Season because it is the peak time in which military families relocate. Housing is at a prime and waiting lists are long. We enjoyed being able to watch movies on our home theater system instead of through the TV speakers. Our bass literally vibrates the whole house which means it sits turned off all the time. When the new family moved in, I was bummed.

They seem okay for the most part. They're a Marine family which is nice. They have two daughters aged 8 and younger than 8. I'm thinking 5 or 6. We hear them thumping up and down the stairs several times a day. I'm sure once we get used to it, I will stop hearing them but it's a big difference from the other family that we heard maybe once or twice a week at the most. Littler kids are harder to herd so I understand them not being quiet on the stairs. So far, there hasn't been any loud music or parties. I haven't said more than good morning to them since they moved in. I'm not looking to make friends. Funnily enough, now that I think about it, I haven't seen the wife at all yet. Just the husband and two kids. Huh.

Anyway, our biggest complaint about them is that one or more of them smokes. It sucks because they smoke outside and I can't leave my doors and windows open to the fresh air because I can smell the smoke drifting into my house. I know this makes me incredibly uptight. It's their house. They pay rent. They can smoke in it. Still, I wish they didn't. ::sigh:: We're all human. Nobody's perfect. We're all boneheads in one way or another. I'm sure they have at least one complaint about us. I slammed a door really hard yesterday being irritated at the kids. I'm sure they heard it.

Thinking back over the years, if this is my only complaint, I should count myself pretty darn lucky. Any neighbor that doesn't have the police called to their house on a regular basis should be considered a good neighbor.

First Impressions

So, I almost had my first public nervous breakdown. Let me tell you about it.

The Mister and I had plans to meet up with an old friend for lunch. He was bringing his girlfriend who we had never met. To begin with, planning this get together was...very mixed up. The days and times kept getting changed which set the foundation for me feeling anxious about it. Ingredient #1:  Lack of Control and Uncertainty. When the day finally came, we headed to La Jolla which was Ingredient #2 in my soup of crazy. Traffic was terrible. La Jolla is a huge touristy-type town here in San Diego. La Jolla + last weekend in July + Sunday = traffic backed up for forever an NO parking. By the time we parked and walked down to the beach, my anxiety level was already approaching an unhealthy level.

Then we meet up with them on the street and decide to get lunch. Ingredient #3:  Eating at a new place. The restaurant was fine. It wasn't super fancy or super crowded but it was enough that I had never been there before to make my anxiety start shooting out of me.

We sat down and I was so upset by this point that I was sweaty and shaky, my hands were swollen, and I had a headache. All I wanted to do was close my eyes and do some deep breathing but I was trying my best not to cause attention to myself which was Ingredient #4:  Trying to pretend everything was fine and hoping I wasn't making a complete fool of myself. The Mister knew what was going on and he kept asking me under his breath if I was okay and he kept stroking my arm or leg to try to reassure me which was only making it worse. He kept looking at me like he was afraid I was going to start foaming at the mouth at any second. I wanted nothing more than to excuse myself to the restroom to try and compose myself but I was stuck in the corner and the new girlfriend would have had to get up so that I could get out. So I sat there and did my best to talk myself off the mental ledge.

It's been a long time since I've lost my composure to that extreme. It wasn't fun and I'm pretty sure I made a really bad first impression. The Mister said later that I looked angry at lunch. I wasn't angry at all. I guess my "trying to be normal face" comes off as my angry face. I need to work on that, lol. The new girlfriend probably thinks that either I'm completely crazy or a total bitch. Or both.

I've been guilty of making snap judgements of people that I've just met. This experience has taught me a lesson about giving people more of a chance. Maybe if I don't like someone right off the bat, they're just socially anxious like I am. Crazy people are fun! Give us a chance.

Never Say Never

On Friday, I participated in Five Question Friday and posted my response. There is a "linky" module on the host's website for this, so I read through other people's responses on their blogs. I have to say, I was really surprised at the number of people who said that as a parent, they would never take their kids to McDonald's but didn't follow through. A few also said that they would never let their kids watch TV. I found both of these responses hilarious. All things in moderation people.

I never said either one of these things when I became a parent. In fact, I loved the shows that I used to watch with my kids as they were babies/toddlers. Franklin, Little Bear, Arthur, Teletubbies, umm, the one show with the yellow people that looked like they were made out of Tinker Toys. One channel we have (I can't think of which one) has some of these shows and sometimes I turn them on for background noise. I miss my kids being that age. Life was so much simpler.

As for McDonald's...You can't blame, and I firmly believe this, fast food on childhood obesity. It is in the parent's control to feed or not feed their kids these foods. Parents are to blame for childhood obesity, and maybe hormones or glands or whatever. McDonald's is a fun sometimes treat and I don't see the harm in it as long as it's not a weekly meal. I personally know some people who eat McDonald's on a weekly basis. And why is it that McDonald's is always singled out as being the "bad" fast food joint? Last time I checked, chili cheese fries were greasy, fried, fatty, and cholesterol-filled and I can name five different fast food places that have them and McDonald's isn't one of them. It's just an example. I'm only trying to say that french fries, greasy hamburgers, and giganto sodas aren't the sole property of McDonald's.

One last thing which has very little to do with this post but I've been dying to say it for MONTHS!!!

Substituting beer for soda and then being all superior because you no longer drink soda is ASININE, RETARDED, and JUST PLAIN STUPID. Gosh! I feel better finally having gotten that off my chest.

Spoiler Alert

I would just like to take this moment in my own little world to thank a few people for making the Olympics a little less enjoyable for me this year. With the plethora of media outlets, social media, and smart phone push alerts, watching my favorite events this year, I knew going into it who was going to win or lose what medal. Try as I might, it was impossible to avoid it. Added to the fact that I live in the Pacific time zone and the only time zone that actually exists is the Eastern time zone (superior, self-important assholes) avoiding Olympic news was an impossibility. It was disappointing.

So thanks for your inability to keep your collective mouths shut for just a few hours so that I might experience the joy of surprise along with my favorite Olympic athletes. Thank you.

Participation

I found these after I posted my 5QF and wanted to participate. Rather than edit that post and put it all in one, I decided to compose a whole new post. It's a treat! Two posts in one day. You're welcome.

I am proud of the young ladies that my girls are becoming. 

This weekend I will roast marshmallows and make s'mores in the backyard with my family. Maybe we'll make a quick run to Target. I think that's about it.

I can't handle social situations. The older I get, the worse my anxiety is getting. What's with that??

A secret dream I have is to publish a book and to move to Europe. Not so secret anymore, eh?

The most annoying thing in the entire world is people who can't use their turn signals and that don't drive the speed limit. Loud mouth people who claim equality for all but don't allow anyone else to have an opinion that differs from theirs.

The most relaxing thing in the entire world is lounging at the beach with a good book, a nice breeze, and not too many people around. Getting to the beach, on the other hand, is not a part of the "relaxing" which is why we haven't gone yet this year.

I think everyone should lighten up. It's summer. Instead of shooting off at the mouth, why don't you grab the sunblock, sunglasses, a book and relax in the sun somewhere.

1. I have no desire to be productive today. I wish someone would come and wash my dirty dishes and cook dinner for me.
2. I love the smell of the ocean because it reminds me of good times and it relaxes me.
3. I wish that my maid would magically appear and make me a happy house frau.
4. In one month I will be starting my next to last semester for my undergrad. FINALLY. And the kids will be going back to school.

Please click each respective picture to go to the hosting website if you'd like to play along. 

August 3, 2012: Five Question Friday

 

1. What is a must in a hotel room?

 

Non-smoking is an absolute must. I can't really think of anything else that I look for in a hotel other than price and location. I used to say free WiFi but that's pretty much a give nowadays.

2. Which Olympic event would you be best at? 

 

Nothing. I'm not athletic and never have been. I've never fired a gun of shot a bow and arrow but maybe I'd be good at those events since they don't require endurance.

3. What's your stance on the Chick-fil-A subject?

 

I've been doing my best to not pay attention to this because I think it's ridiculous. Was everyone unaware of the fact that the Chick-fil-A guy is a traditional Christian? To the point where the stores are closed on Sundays? Was his stance on gay marriage that surprising? Seems to me that people are entitled to their freedom of speech as long as their opinions agree with the loudest group out there. Do I agree with the guy? No. But I'm not going to organize a lynch mob for him either. People seriously need to get some perspective and get a freaking grip. Seems to me that people with such progressive attitudes and opinions are stuck at a place that doesn't allow them to respect or allow for differing opinions. ::shrug::

4. One thing you said you'd never do as a parent, but totally have.

 

Pick my kids' friends. I always said I wouldn't do that but I have. A couple different times actually. I had high hopes that my kids would inherit my husband's ability to "read" people. In the 17 years that I've known him, his judgement of people has only been wrong one time. Of course, this is a subjective opinion of my own, but still. Neither one of my kids seems to have the ability to pick decent friends. They get lucky every once in a while but for the most part, GEEZ!! I usually do my best to just subtlety steer them in a different direction and towards other kids, but I've had to put my foot down twice about two different girls. I'm sorry. But if those girls make it to 18 without ending up pregnant, in rehab, or in jail, I'll be freaking amazed.

5. What's the weirdest thing you've ever found at a yard sale?

 

I don't do yard/garage sales. I hate them. Other people's junk is definitely other people's junk and they can keep it.

Hannah

I was in a ripper of a mood yesterday. And the day before come to think of it. Today's not much better. I was trying to figure out why I was/am so irritable. The littlest things are setting me off and I have a pretty strong urge to break something...or someone. Then I realized the date. It's July 20th. One year ago today we said goodbye to Hannah.

At the time, I couldn't blog about it. I didn't want to talk to anyone about it and I still don't want to talk to anyone about it. I had a really hard time sorting through my feelings and mourning my girl. On the one hand, I couldn't help but feel that I was overreacting. She was, after all, a dog. Some people will say, "just a dog". But if you know me and if you know my husband and daughters, you know that our pets are very much a part of our family. We talk to them like they're people, they sleep in our beds, and they eat Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with us too. Not at the table, but they get their own plate. Hannah wasn't just a dog.

Making the decision to end her pain and sickness was the hardest decision I've ever had to make. My head knew it was the right thing to do but my heart ached. It was a really terrible time. The Mister and I were with her until the end which was also incredibly hard. But we didn't want her to be alone. I cried so hard that I made the vet cry too. I'm crying right now remembering it all.

We made a collage of pictures of Hannah and Bailey to hang on our wall. The vet also made an imprint of her paw in plaster for us too. Both her regular vet and the specialty vet we had to take her to sent us sympathy cards and donated money to a charity for pets (I can't remember which one right now). It's all a comfort to me and my family but I miss her all the time.

She was the goofiest, happiest, and most endearing dog I've ever been around. She was also one of the most loving animals I've ever met too. Her passing left a whole in our home and in our hearts. A year later, it's still hard to think about and both the Mister and I have a hard time talking about her. I guess my way of dealing with it is being angry at everything. I miss my Hannah. She was a fantastic dog and she loved her family and was loved by her family.

The Value of Entertainment

Whatever happened to the idea of entertainment for entertainment's sake? Was such a thing ever really real? I'm pretty much sick and tired of the entertainment industry using music, television, and movies to push their political agendas, ideals, and opinions down my throat.

Just saying.

And maybe certain people should stop and think about something...When they are dogging another group of people for being uptight and judgmental, aren't they doing the exact same thing in return?? But because these certain people have fame and fortune, they get away with it when the other group just gets to be called old fashioned, greedy, and out of touch. Get a clue.

An Argument Older Than Time

:::WARNING! This blog post contains adult content, themes, and language. Do not read it if you're a minor or easily offended. Consider yourself warned.:::
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I've been bouncing this topic around in my head for a good month now. At least. I don't know why I hesitate to put my thoughts into words. I enjoy a good argument. I enjoy instigating arguments. I'm generally an argumentative person. Unfortunately, arguments don't happen on my blog. I'm beginning to question the future of my blogging but that's not the point of this at all. But I think more it's that the subject is a bit difficult to write about to a general audience and it can be construed as TMI.

50 Shades of Grey. Know it? Heard of it? Read it? Loathe it?

I first heard of the 50 Shades trilogy on the Today Show (which I no longer watch since they ditched Ann Curry, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Idiots.) They had a bunch of so-called "house wives" and other "every day" women talking about reading these books. How hot they were. How steamy. How much reading them improved their sex lives. How much their husbands loved them reading the books. Blah blah blah. Still, I was intrigued and downloaded them all to my Nook.

My First Impressions - I'll admit that I read all three straight through in about two days. They were superficially compelling.

To put it briefly, these novels are about a somewhat naive college girl who meets a man who is into S&M and the romance that ensues. Supposedly, and according to the women interviewed on the Today Show, the relationship that plays out in the trilogy is one that all women fantasize about. Hmm. Maybe some women fantasize about a more...adventurous love life, but I don't think that necessarily equates to all women dreaming of being in a relationship where they are dominated by a man who can only relate to a woman when he ties her up for sex. But I can only speak for myself.

After my initial impressions of the books settled into a more distanced perspective, I had a hard time getting past the plethora of typos and grammatical errors. Didn't the author have an editor? I also thought the author's repeated descriptive words were trite and well...repetitive. Very reminiscent of Stephenie Meyer's novels. I'm surprised Mr. Grey didn't sparkle. ;)

In the end, if women used these books as inspiration to spice up their love lives, then more power to them. But what I really think is that for some odd reason, the 50 Shades books brought erotica for women to the mainstream and made it okay for women to read these types of books and admit it out loud. It's an extreme double standard in our society that pornography geared towards men is ubiquitous and even expected and accepted but when a woman picks up a novel in the same vein as 50 Shades, she has to read it in the dark and hide it under her mattress. Which brings me to point #2...

I saw a comment on Facebook recently where someone said that if there had been a movie made about strippers that men got all excited about that they'd be perverts but when a movie like Magic Mike comes out, it's okay for women to want to see it. Hello!!! How many movies have been produced for men having to do with strippers, hookers, gratuitous sex, etc. etc.?? Do women have an equivalent to Hooters or The Tilted Kilt?? How many strip clubs geared specifically to women exist compared to strip clubs for men? And I'm willing to bet that if women had a restaurant called Buns or Banana Hammock and we said that we like to go there for the wings (ha ha), very few of our husbands or boyfriends would eat there with us. We can be expected to eat a meal while some 19 year old coed flaunts her perky boobs in the faces of our men, but I doubt very seriously if men would have a meal with their women while looking at the washboard abs of a well-endowed 19 year old man. Am I wrong?

To conclude...The double standard irritates me. The success and popularity of 50 Shades irritates me. Going by quality of the writing alone, it's like shouting out that women read books without really reading them. It also irritates me that everyone constantly says, "Read them. Your husband will thank you." Psh. Lastly, someone really needs to open up a restaurant where I can ogle some guy's six-pack while I eat my dinner. ;)

July 6, 2012: Five Question Friday

Before we get started...

Today is the Oldest Child's 16th birthday. It's really hard for me to wrap my head around that, lol. Where does the time go? She's grown into a truly beautiful young woman. My birthday wish for her is that she follows through with her dreams and doesn't let fear, uncertainty, or jerkwads stop her.

1. Is love at 1st sight possible?

No. Lust at first sight is but not love. Can you trust and respect someone without actually knowing them? Not really. Love, trust, and respect all go hand in hand.


2. How did you choose your pet's name?

We got Bailey's name from a Boxer Dog name website, lol. We're that creative. 

We named Hannah after Muhammad Ali's daughter because he was a boxer. 

Our cat has gone through many names. He started out being Sophie when we were told he was a girl. We named him/her that just because we liked the name. Then when we found out she was a he, we changed it to Shelly which is short for Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory because of the episode where he had all the cats. Then we were watching old episodes of Psych and someone on that show had a cat they named Chairman Meow. The Mister thought that was so freaking hilarious that we decided that'd be the cat's official name. But to his friends and family, he's Dear Kit-ten or Kit-ten for short. That's because people used to call Chairman Mao Dear Chairman. 

Our rabbit's name is Rex because that's his breed. Yeah. Like I said, we're real creative, lol. 


3. What are you considering giving up (cable, home phone)? 

We stopped having a land line back in 2002 or so. We have four cell phone lines. What in the world do we need with a land line??? It'd be superfluous and a waste of money. Not once in all these years have I said, "I miss our land line." I also totally do not get why people with cell phones keep their land lines unless it's for business reasons and not even really then. I think land lines are dinosaurs and unnecessary. As for cable, I've been tempted to get rid of it for about three or four years now. What holds me back is that the majority of shows that I watch are on HBO and Showtime. I can think of three shows that I watch on CBS, ABC, NBC, or FOX. Everything else I watch on a regular basis is on cable channels. Some things I can watch online and that's great. But shows on HBO and Showtime, I'd have to wait for them to come out on DVD. I hate being behind on my shows. It'd be really hard to have to wait for my favorites to come out on DVD. And bottom line, until we get a better Internet provider with faster and more reliable service, getting rid of our cable isn't an option.


4. How much do you pay your babysitter?

I've never paid a babysitter that I can remember. I've always swapped babysitting with friends and neighbors. Now my kids are both old enough to babysit other kids so it's a non-issue. 


5. How "young" is old enough to babysit?

It really depends on the maturity of the person. Sometimes, I think a 12 year old would be old enough to babysit but in general, I would say 13 or 14. I think the Red Cross certifies babysitters as young 11 or 12 though. Probably 12.