Post It Note Tuesday

If you want to play along, check out SupahMommy's site. It's great fun!

An Award and Random Things About Me

Mindy at The Inquisitive Mom gave us this cool award! She's got a great blog - with heartfelt posts and two super cute kiddos that make me smile every time I see pictures. Really, they just always remind me of the innocence of happy children. Go check her out if you haven't already!


We're supposed to share 7 random things about ourselves and pass it on. And since I'm doing the post today, they are all about me!
And passing it on to.... Bodaat... blogging one day at a time She is so real and honest and fun. Check her out!

1. There are movies that I will watch over and over again. I own most of them on dvd, but hardly ever watch them that way. Instead I end up watching them when I come across them flipping through the channels. Commercials and all. How lazy is that?

2. I love Dave Matthews Band. There's something about Dave's more-than-slightly-autistic-savant ways that just makes my toes curl. Love, love, love him. Going to his concert at The Gorge this coming Labor Day Weekend. Can't wait. (Although I'm taking my husband and am wishing I was taking a girlfriend - it would be a lot more fun to think he's hot with another girl)

3. I'm incredibly shy. Yet, I love people and love socializing. Recently, I have been pushing myself to reach out to old and new friends as part of my life rebuilding project. It is both hard and richly rewarding.

4. It's no surprise that I'm a blogger and I like to write. But when I'm stressed, I absolutely long for time alone to write. To dump all my stress into written word. And (like right now) when I don't have time to do it, I get really cranky.

5. Over the last few months I've become obsessed with running. I'm currently training for a 10K and want to work up to a half marathon. (But have no interest in running a full marathon, thanks anyway.)

6. The first concert I ever went to was Adam and the Ants. I went with Lela and her sister. Dating myself, I know.

7. I used to think baseball was the dumbest sport ever. Then I married a baseball lover. And fell in love with the game. Good thing, as my son is also a die hard, and this time of year I spend more time at the baseball field than at home.


***Ally

World Cup Funnies

If you don't follow the World Cup, I'll explain quickly. USA lost. And it sucked. Ghana scored in the first 5 minutes, USA scored WAY late in the game to tie it up. Went to extra time. Ghana scored. USA did not. We lose. We're out. Done. Finished. End of story.

But in the stands sat Bill Clinton and Mick Jagger side by side. Twitter was a tweetin'. And they were funny. I have no idea who these Tweeters are, but figure I'd leave their names in to give them credit since I'm using their stuff.

*_maryyyyy "Mick Jagger and Bill Clinton wouldn't have taken that long to score", that made me laugh.

*WhitlockJason Did u read Clinton's lips: "Tell those strippers the party is back on."

*MothaCitysBoy Mick Jagger sittin next to Bill Clinton at the stadium. One couldn't get no satisfaction and the other got too much.

and more....

*mr_sevensi Tomorrow Obama will announce that Ghana has weapons of mass destruction

*kevcecil Well done Ghana! There will be a surgical military strike on your cities in the morning but it will have been worth it.

*DrewFromTV From my friend Skip Torvinen - Official cause of death: Ghanarrhea
(that one is Drew Carey, y'all)


Always good to find some humor in the depressing.

***Ally

Once In A Lifetime

Something terrible has happened.

I have to miss the U.S.A. vs. Ghana World Cup game Saturday due to a baby shower. There is really no way out of it. I am driving my husband's 91- year-old grandmother there and it would look pretty bad if I did a no-show. Ugggggg! WHY is this happening to me?

The U.S. has not made it to the top 16 since 1930! Okay, I have to calm down and be happy for the mother-to-be, the wife of my husband's cousin. We didn't even attend their wedding because "children" were not welcomed. That meant that my 12-year-old son and 17-year-old stepson were not invited. I know because I double checked with the mother of the groom.

We did the classy thing and sent a hundred dollar check to the happy couple. And they lost it. I know because the 90-year-old grandma told me. You want to know what my husband said? "Too bad. That's not my problem."

No, it was MY problem. Later that year the mother of the groom brought it to my attention in front of the new bride (who was rightfully mortified). Thanks, husband, for putting me in a really awkward position. I pretended that I didn't hear her. I can be a pretty good actress like that sometimes.

This is, of course, the new bride that is now pregnant and the mother of the groom that is throwing the baby shower I will be attending instead of watching the once-in-a-lifetime World Cup game. Are you following all this?

So, please pray with me that the U.S team will slaughter (or just barely squeek by) the Ghana team so I can watch them play again.

Or that the mother-to-be will be a huge soccer fan and have the game on during her stupid baby shower.

-Lela

Broke, Busted, Disgusted, and Grateful

Yesterday started out rough. I have gained 8 pounds since April (how does that happen?), money is tight, and the cupboards are getting bare. Leftover spaghetti, frozen fishsticks, and some stale bread are going to have to last until Friday when my husband gets paid. Oh, and the microwave is broken. I have to go to a baby shower Saturday morning and I can no longer touch up my gray roots with a black Sharpee.

I was really feeling depressed until I turned on the World Cup game to watch U.S.A. vs. Algeria. I am a huge soccer fan, but even if you don't know the game, you gotta love our boys! I actually cried when they scored the winning goal in the 90-plus minute. Suddenly, my problems seemed so petty.

Here's what I decided to be grateful for:

1. I gained weight but I am healthy and strong. I am grateful for my boot camp trainer, Mark, who inspires me and cheers me on when I am about to hurl.

2. Money is tight but at least my husband has a job and I don't have to work.

3. My family loves fishsticks and stale bread can be made into toasted garlic bread for the spaghetti, that I can warm up on the stove.

4. I checked the ads and Walgreens had hair dye on sale for $1.99.

I got off the couch and grabbed the American flag from the hall closet. After setting the pole in its slot in the front of the house, I came back in and watched replays of Landon Donovan's goal.

It wasn't going to be such a bad day after all.

-Lela

More Oil Spill Tragedies

I usually try to keep my posts a little lighter. But today, yet another travesty out of the oil spill came to my attention. BP is refusing to allow boats in to rescue sea turtles that get trapped in their control burn areas before they burn. Disgusting. You'd think someone in their PR department would realize that they could get a just a little positive press by DOING THE RIGHT THING JUST ONCE.

If your stomach can handle more, you can read about it here.

Things I Learned This Past Weekend

Things I learned at, yet another, 15 year old baseball tournament.

~Teenage boys at a hotel will always find teenage girls to sit in the hot tub with.

~Teenage boys smell.

~Teenage boys make the worst nutrition decisions in the world.

~Parents of teenage boys don't always supervise their decisions. About food or teenage girls.

~Sharing a bathroom with a teenage boy is gross. Especially a small, hotel bathroom.

~Teenage boys are oblivious that they are not the only guests at the hotel.

~14 teenage boys in a hot tub will over flow it, and lower the water level by a good foot.

~Teenage boys still make you proud when they make good decisions and act mature.

Someday, I will look back and really miss these times.

***Ally

Just My Luck

I had the misfortune of having a flat tire this weekend. While in another city 2-1/2 hours from home. While at a baseball tournament for my son, without my husband. Of course. (He so owes me!)

But I am capable of changing a tire. However, I'm apparently not capable of loosening machine tightened lug nuts. Lucky me, there were some other dads there ready and willing to come to my rescue. (After all, it was Father's Day. I had to let them feel important.)

And we have the repair/replace plan from Firestone and they were able to fix the tire and get it remounted.

However, I had to wait in line behind three other tire repairs, which took an hour. And I had to pee. I tried to hold it, but I finally had to give in.

I had to use the single, one toilet bathroom in the place.

Strike #1 - No seat covers.
That's okay, I have strong legs. I can do the squat & hover.

Strike #2 - yeah, you can see for yourself... eww.

Strike # 3 - the floor. Ga-ross.

But WAIT....

Awww, now doesn't that make it all better?

Nice flowers. In the auto shop bathroom. This has to be somebody's idea of a joke.

I survived. It only took a gallon of sanitizer to make me breath easy again, but I got there. And my tire got fixed so I could drive home!

***Ally

Yipeee!!!!

I've had the longest week ever. Stress piled on top of stress. I finally said to myself, this has to turn around. It can't keep getting worse. (Well it can, but I was trying to think positive)

So yesterday, I hauled my 1-1/2 month old computer into the Apple store and sheepishly explained that I had dumped 1/2 a cup of coffee on it. I knew the $$$$ amount was going to be big. And it was. Repairs, which are not covered under warranty for "liquid damage" (which tells me I'm not the only dumb-ass in the country to do this) were $755.

And you know what he did? He looked at me with pity and told me that this one time only, Apple will "take care of it for me" (at no charge!) since the computer is so new.

I think I stopped breathing for a second.

And then I pulled myself together and thanked him profusely. Sheepishly. And promised that no liquids would ever get near my computer again. So in 5-7 days, I will start all over with reinstalling info, programs, data, etc.

So finally, something GOOD happened this week! YAY!!!!!!

And then we went to the oral surgeon consult for my son. Can you say $2800 with no dental insurance? Welcome to my world.

***Ally

Teenage Son's Facebook Status: Ungrounded

My son plays bass guitar in the middle school band. Practice is every day before school from 7:30am - 8:15am. Last week my son set off and forgot his lunch. I was going to be a nice mommy and walk it down the street and around the corner to his school for him.

I finished my coffee and left the house about 15 minutes after he did. Now, I could have really embarrassed him by knocking on the band door and saying, "Heeeeere's you lunch, Honey!" Instead I decided to just set it next to his backpack outside the door, but I didn't see his backpack. Hmmmm. I squinched my face up to the window and looked for his long blond hair and slouchy posture. Not there. Hmmmm.

Aha! There he was, across the playground playing basketball with a group of boys. He must have felt my evil eye on him because he suddenly turned around and looked right at me.

"Oh, hi, Mom!" he yelled and waved casually. Like he was pleasantly surprised to see me instead of mortified to see me.

I waved him over to me and gave him my most serious, pissed-off look. "Why aren't you in band?"

"I told you I was skipping today."

I was actually stunned by the lameness of that excuse.

"GET YOUR ASS IN THERE!" I yelled, and walked away.

He got grounded for a week and had to surrender his phone. Oh yeah, and we gave him the lecture on lying and not being trustworthy blah, blah, blah.

But something interesting happened yesterday. He was awarded a medal for his accomplishment in band. He fessed up to me that he had skipped more than once (I knew it!) and felt bad for winning the medal.

"Good," I said, "You should feel bad."

And I meant it. And I am pretty sure that winning that medal was worse punishment than being grounded.

-Lela, looking forward to the last day of school

Favorite Sex In The City Quotes

Just pure entertainment today. Great quotes from Sex In The City:


Samantha: Normal is the halfway point between what you want and what you can get.


Carrie: When you're a teenager, all you want to do is buy beer. But once you hit 30 all you want to do is to get carded.


Charlotte: ...you shouldn't be talking like that at all, Samantha, it's rude and politically incorrect.
Carrie: Sweetie, a reminder: Samantha is rude and politically incorrect.
Miranda: She's an equal opportunity offender.


Samantha: Drinking with three blondes! I guess that's a regular day for you.
Hugh Hefner: A slow one, yes.


Carrie: Someone once said that two halves make a whole. And when two halves move in together, it makes a whole lot of stuff.


Carrie: Miranda was a huge fan of the Yankees. I was a huge fan of being anywhere you could smoke and drink at two in the afternoon without judgment.


Charlotte: I just know no matter how good I feel about myself, if I see Christy Turlington, I just want to give up!
Miranda: Well, I just want to tie her down and force-feed her lard, but that's the difference between you and me.


Carrie: Men in their forties are like the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle -- tricky, complicated, and you're never really sure you got the right answer.


Carrie: Therapy? It's just so self-indulgent. Ancient man didn't need shrinks to survive.
Miranda: Ancient man only lived until thirty.


Have a great day!
(quotes from About.com Quotes - always better when someone else compiles them for you)

Post It Note Tuesday

If you want to play along, check out SupahMommy's site. It's great fun!

High School Sports Suck

If your kids are young, let me give you this warning: high school sports politics are an absolute nightmare.

One bully coach can lead to this:
~free form swearing in front of the players
~calling the players "stupid" and "worthless"
~swearing directly at each player, individually, after a loss - to their face... with the f-bomb
~using the terms "queer" and "fags" when referring to rival schools

Want to complain? Go for it. If he doesn't cut your kid, your kid will never see playing time again.

Every fiber of my being wants to be the parent who is willing to stand up for what's right. I want to scream from the rooftops until someone listens and his ass is fired. I want to rally the other parents to go to the Athletic Director and demand something be done. You would not believe what it's like to talk to the other parents, who are all scared to ruin their kids' dreams by taking a stand.

Parents who have gone to the coach or athletic director before, have seen their kids cut from the team. Always with some *coaching-best-for-the-team* reason.

My son went through Little League. He has played for two different select/summer teams, with coaches who made it their goal to help these kids make their high school teams. His dream, for years, has been to play high school ball. Just that. His current select/summer team coach is a dream. He coaches with respect, integrity and morals. He builds character.

And now High School Coach-From-Hell wants them to play summer ball on a new High School Summer Team next summer (2011). And he wants them to commit "IN" or "OUT" by Friday. And he wants them to give up their other teams, which will require a commitment by August. With no details of how the team will run and NO COMMITMENT from him that they will make the school team next year. Because he doesn't like summer teams. And he wants to control their entire baseball lives.

We, all the parents, understand what saying no means. It means that we put an X on our kid's back. We double their chances of being cut next year. It also means if they say yes, and don't make the cut for the school team next year (which is ALWAYS possible with this coach), they shoot themselves in the foot and will be left with no team at all.

We, my family, haven't decided what to do. We are talking to other parents, trying to figure out a solution to at least buy us some time.

In the mean time, the lesson learned is that while bullying will not be tolerated by students, teachers and coaches are exempt.

Want to know the real kicker? This coach teaches special ed. Can you imagine?

Stressed,
***Ally

I Wanna Live In A Van Down By The River

I highly recommend vacations without your family.

As you know, I sneaked out of town recently to visit Ally in Palm Springs, but I also went river rafting with my California girlfriends last weekend. I traveled in a luxurious motor home with 4 other gals and "camped" on the Kern river somewhere in California where the weather was hot and the river was wild.

We hung paper lanterns, lights, and a blow-up flamingo on the R.V. awning to make it look pretty. Although there was some farting, there was no fighting, whining, or smelly feet. No one left underwear laying around with skid marks. Everyone was considerate. It was pure bliss.

At night we sat around the camp fire drinking beers, laughing and looking at the stars. I never got a headache and I never got mad once. I never even raised my voice.

The rafting trip was an experience of a lifetime. Not only did we conquer class 4 rapids, some of us voluntarily jumped into the river's calmer spots and jumped off cliffs. The joke of the day was that we all had a crush on our guide. Not only because he was yummy to look at, but he bossed us around and made decisions for us. In a good way.

We returned home, our bodies sore from rowing, laughing, and hanging on for dear life. Back to our husbands, children, messy homes and dirty laundry. Back to homework, unfinished home projects, and grocery shopping.

Our families may need us now . . . but we will always have the river.

-Lela

Will I Ever Sleep Again?

Helpful Hints if you'd like to continue sleeping with your spouse:

After a long weekend, when your spouse (me) is really tired - DO NOT walk into the bedroom after he/she (me) has fallen asleep and violently flip the covers back on your side of the bed, scaring the living daylights out of your spouse (me) and giving him/her (me) and adrenaline rush to keep them awake for another hour.

The next night, after you spouse (me) tells you how exhausted they are, and goes off to bed early, falling asleep with the tv on, don't come in and ask, "Are you sleeping?" to make sure it's okay to turn tv off. It's okay. Really. If they (me) aren't asleep, I guarantee you they'll open their eyes and tell you to turn it back on. But when you wake them (me) up with your question, and it takes them (me) another 1-1/2 hours to go back to sleep, it's pretty much guaranteed you'll be looking for another bed.

Just sayin'.

***Ally

Wordless Wednesday - Where I'd Rather Be

No comments on the paleness of my winter skin or the freakish shape of my feet. You get the idea, right?

Now...

Why is today wordless? Well because yesterday I read a post that said it all. Click here and go read Erin's post at The Mother Load. She's one of my favorite bloggers and fellow greenie. My heart breaks repeatedly for this disaster and the length of time we are putting up with it. It kills me that while I do my mundane daily things, the oil spill goes on. And on.
Go read it now!


***Ally

Post It Note Tuesday

If you want to play along, check out SupahMommy's site. It's great fun!

Another Road Trip - By MYSELF!

A very dear friend of mine was celebrating her 50th birthday with a bash in a neighboring state - about a 4-1/2 hour drive - on Saturday night.

It was a busy weekend for us. The boy had a baseball game scheduled early Saturday and another late Sunday. And he was asked to play with the band in church on Sunday - a first, as he usually plays with the youth band off in their own building.

I was torn, as I wanted to see him play, but this party meant a lot to me, as she is a good friend, who I don't get to see often enough.

I decided to go, leaving the husband and the boy home to go on with the schedule.

I drove down in sunshine - the sunroof open, MY music playing as loud or as quiet as I wanted. I have to admit, it was pretty peaceful.

I stayed in a hotel - by myself. While it was weird at first, I decided to embrace it, and relished in the ability to do what I wanted, watch what I wanted, take as long in the bathroom as I wanted, take as long a shower as I wanted. Nice! I could have danced naked, and no one would have been the wiser. I didn't, but I COULD have.

The drive home wasn't quite as fun, as it was raining - hard at times, and there were at least three traffic jams. But I had my music, so I sat tight and powered through. The drive home is never as much fun anyway.

The birthday girl cried when she saw me - she didn't know I was coming. That right there made it worth the trip.

Oh, and a friend of hers said I looked younger now than I did in an old picture taken 20 years ago. And an old guy asked me if I was a college student. Dude, I am reveling in those flattering remarks!!! Even if they are easily explained by bad 80's styling and senility. I'm taking them as compliments!

I have to say, I'm now entertaining thoughts of by-myself-getaways. Not often, but maybe every once in a while. It's kind of refreshing to just be alone with your thoughts in your own head. A little scary at times, but good, all the same. Try it - you might like it!

***Ally

What I Learned This Week

I was reading Nucking Futs Mama's list of Things I Learned This Week, and decided to give it a go! So here's what I let soak into my brain this week:

1. Summer really doesn't start here until July 5th. While the rest of the country enjoys the beginning of summer, the Pacific Northwest remains shrouded in rain clouds. And yes, I have to re-learn this every freaking year.

2. I do NOT recover from traveling like I used to. All I want to do is sleep for a day!

3. When you are careful to sunscreen your body, but forget your arms, you will have ridiculous burn lines at your shoulders.

4. When I don't read the news, I'm less depressed.

5. When I don't read the news, I have no freaking idea what's going on in the world. Dennis Hopper died!

6. I'm still shy. Even at 42. WTH? But I love getting to know people better.

7. Teenage boys with girlfriends will make you bite your tongue more than you allow yourself to speak. Unless of course you want him to shut down and never talk to you again.

8. I am not very good at having to take it easy working out due to injury. In fact, I suck at it. Even though I help other athletes through their injuries for a living.

9. I should have taken Spanish instead of French in high school. The other baseball team was yelling in Spanish and all we could make out was "loco". Damn.

10. Running on the treadmill is FREAK-ING BOR-ING after two miles. See #1 about the rain.

***Ally

Conversations of the Surprising Nature

Being thrown together for four days with your kids teammates parents can go interesting ways. My recent experience in Palm Springs was surprisingly pleasant.

I discovered that a couple of the other parents have gutter minds, like I do. Here are three quotes that quickly went south. I'll give you a huge shout out if you can figure out what we were actually talking about - at least in the first two.

1. From the bleachers, "Ally, you know how to make it big, don't you?"

2. A team mom to another team dad (not related) at poolside, "Yours is hard, right?"

3. A team mom to another team mom on the room side patios, "He was just here trimming my bush. He's going to come trim yours next."



I also discovered that the quiet parent that doesn't talk much, is quite funny when he does. And he likes tequila.

~During after dinner drinks and conversation poolside with the moms, the dad stopped by. "Red wine? Don't you ladies have any tequila? Geez!"

~And the giggle fest of the night - five women waiting to pick up pizzas at Pizza Hut for the boys to eat poolside. Each has a frosty beer mug in front of them. All are empty except for one slow-poke. But it's time to go. The women can be heard chanting, "Chug, chug, chug, chug.." Front door opens. Non-alcohol consuming coach walks in.... moms are unfazed. As they leave the restaurant, pizzas in hand, one proclaims like a newspaper headline, "Moms chug beer at Pizza Hut in Palm Springs for $10 pizza special!"

Yeah, 100 degrees will do that to you. And for the record, we did not sit around and get drunk all weekend. In fact, we rarely had more than one drink after dinner at the pool, or a cold beer after a long hot day in the sun. And I had nothing a couple nights. Except that night I went out with Lela to dinner. But in our defense, it was only TWO margaritas each and no one warned us of the reputation the restaurant had for it's STRONG, home made margaritas...

***Ally

P.S., I Love You

That's me and Ally in Palm Springs drinking our $38 pitcher of margaritas. And yes, they were worth it, if you don't include the hangover we had the next day. We realized we can't drink like we did when we were in our twenties!


Here are some other things that are a little harder to do in your forties while vacationing with girlfriends:

1. You can't just "throw on a swimsuit" anymore. Ally had a waxing incident she had to deal with and my tankini top kept rolling upward, exposing the muffin top!

2. Forget about the Hawaiian Tropics dark tanning oil from our youth. We were slathered and sprayed with no less than 30 sunblock.

3. When you are in your forties it takes a lot longer to get ready.

4. Bralessness is not an option.

5. Things cost more.

6. You have more money to spend.

7. If you don't properly hydrate while you are drinking tequila, your urine will be really bright yellow and scary when you take a wiz at 3 in the morning.

8. Hangovers hurt more.

9. Hangovers last longer.

10. When you drink and laugh with girlfriends in your forties, you sometimes pee your pants a little.

-Lela

Hotel, Motel or Inn?

My son's baseball team & parents traveled to Palm Springs for a tournament last weekend. One of the mom's graciously got online and found us a place to stay. The website looked great and the price was incredible **warning bells**. The golden rule: you get what you pay for.

How to know when your "Boutique Hotel" is really a piece of crap:

~When you sit down on the bed and it doesn't move. Because it's hard as a rock.

~When hairdryers are "Available upon request". But there is a mini-fridge and ironing board in every room. Wha?

~When "Continental Breakfast" is really a voucher to take to the restaurant across the parking lot. The 'voucher' is good for coffee, juice & a packaged pastry OR ONE WHOLE DOLLAR off a real breakfast. (fyi: real breakfast was really good!)

~When you open the bathroom door and it smacks into the toilet. See here:
~When the towels are 24" X 36", thickness somewhere around three sheets of copy paper, and color somewhere between light gray and disgusting.

~When the really big pool has no 'pool towels' and you are forced to use the bath towels - see description above.

~When the directional vents on the air conditioner have been broken off and it blows directly on you all night long. And it's too hot to turn it off.

~When the bathroom exhaust fan looks like this:
All said, I will admit that the pool was nice and clean, the boys didn't care, and we had a great time. Next time, however, we will stay in a chain hotel with a reputation!
***Ally