Shhhhhhh!!!!!!

Don't look now...but I have NOTHING on my calendar tomorrow after 12 pm, Saturday is clear, and there's no cheerleading practice on Sunday.

Please, dear Lord...let us be activity and disaster-free for those 60 precious hours...

I hit the $5 movie rack at Target again...this is becoming a sickness...but I got "Rebecca" with my secret childhood romantic idol...Sir Laurence Olivier.

Can't wait!!!

Dang! A few months too late...

...or this would have been the ideal wedding gift for Clamuck and crew. Well maybe for their first housewarming gift.

Incidentally, you two...be on the lookout for a certain backordered item that should be arriving while I'm out of town next week.

One for the Random files

UPDATE: two things - 1) a commenter who wishes to remain anonymous says that the urge to knock stuff over is because I am such a law-and-order rule-abider that it's normal to have urges to do something brazenly non-conformist once in awhile. Whew! 2) Okay...I love this pattern, but another more formal one I've been looking at with beady eyes is on clearance. Hmmmm.....the birthday's in 4 days, and, most conveniently, the anniversary is in 8 days...heh heh heh...

I just learned a few days ago that the Athlete's mom and I share a bizarre disorder...a seasonal dish/glassware fetish.

I use 5 patterns throughout the year...sometimes more. Springtime (yay! only a few days til I get to make the change!) is a refreshing, sunny yellow and blue floral on a white background. Memorial Day - Sept. 11 is a commemorative set - a primitive flag pattern that I got at Target because it benefitted a 9/11 charity. Sept. 12 - Black Friday is the southwestern Mikasa pattern we registered for when we got married, and Christmas is a Pfalzgraff Christmas tree/winter/polar bear setting, with 4 spare settings of a matching plain red, used as a "filler" when I have more than 12 to dine. I also have Valentine's Day dishes, as well as my 23 formal Lenox wedding china place settings, and a 4-setting Christmas china that was an early Christmas gift from the Beloved, along with some Spode Christmas Tree pieces I've collected along the way. I will spare you the details of all the coordinating glasses and formal stemware.

Fortunately, I have a big-@ss kitchen with ridiculous amounts of cabinet space and a butler's pantry with built-in china cabinets. I have terrible urges to get a Spode formal Thanksgiving service...as well as a new Mikasa blue and white Southern-y floral pattern that just came out. The Beloved said I could make that last one my birthday present to myself....but I'd have to give one of the others up. Princess agrees - she wants me to box up the spring set for her to take off to college and beyond. And I could do that...easily....

I'm so glad someone else out there understands this...Mom of Athlete gave a set to her oldest for that first college apartment, then went out the next day and bought herself a new service for 8 in a pattern she'd been coveting for a few years.

Now for the truly sick part - this only pertains to me. When I walk past the fine china and crystal section at a department store, I occasionally have a mad, never-would-act-on-it-in-a-million-years, "wonder what it would be like?"-ish urge to smash everything to bits...yet I get nervous and make sure kids and handbags are under tight control lest one of us accidentally knock into anything while we are in or near that part of the store. (I didn't tell her that part. Not sure it's normal. Hee!)

I am sure there's some sort of strange psychological meaning behind all this...

Anyway, now that I have spilled this pithy little secret and insight into my psyche, anybody got something like that going on, dishware or otherwise? Or is it time for me to seek help?

Classified: Calling for a Collared Gamer

Any priestly types out there on X-Box Live?

Inquiring Athletes want to know...

Looking for a traditional, orthodox priest willing to answer questions, catechize and get chainsawed while doing so.

I think this is a very interesting concept, really...casting the net while playing Gears of War or Call of Duty - why not?

Still here...

...just a whirlwind week with the recovering post-appendix Princess here at home. No time for the laptop at all.

And I have to say it, just between me, you and the internet, I'm really not into the spiritual reflection mode that I usually am at this point in the liturgical calendar year. I haven't had a chance to get my laundry done, for cryin' out loud! So I'm feeling Lentless.

I'm trying. I really am.

All Hail Captain Drano!

...a.k.a., the 22 month old Ultimate Clog Remover...

Blue and Brown (die Birkenstocken) have been found...one under the crib, the other in the large diaper bag I don't use anymore, which was in his closet.

Weasel.

Stayin' Alive

I know it's been a bit light of late, but never fear...just checking in with a few quick items/deep thoughts:

1. I miss the Beloved. A lot. Not just for his Boy wrangling and missing keys/gloves/sunglasses/shoe finding skills, although those are both legendary and necessary. He is by far the better half of this relationship.

[I am currently missing one each of my blue and brown Birk clogs. Anyone have any ideas?]

2. I adore the Princess-Athlete couple. They are so darling together, they are very comfy and companionable, and they're nigh inseparable...but they maintain the "just very good friends" pretense at school. This annoys me. I shouldn't really care so long as they are happy, but it really bugs me. And it comes from my child and her hypersensitivity about what others think. WHO CARES?!? But she's only 15, so it matters to her. A lot.

3. Speaking of the Princess, we spent yesterday and today running between the doc and the hospital ruling out appendicitis. The Athlete heard she'd left school complaining of right-side abdominal pain and was at the hospital within 5 minutes of hearing she'd been sent there. He said not a word, but came in and sat at her side, holding her hand (kissed it a few times, too) as we waited for blood draws and abdominal scans.

4. Why am I always so busy if I am supposed to be a stay at home mom now? WTF[rig]*? I didn't even have a chance to go to Mass today. I think I may safely say that the Boy took care of things and anointed me himself...at one point, I looked in the mirror and realized I had yogurt smeared on my forehead and in my hair.

5. I've decided to give up sugar for Lent. Splenda is fine for the tea and coffee, but I'm already feeling like a feral animal getting ready to prowl the aisles of the local convenience store and fell a few Snickers bars under the pretense of going there to grab a gallon of milk. (Me = lioness; Snickers = unfortunate wayward gazelle)

6. * In addition to sugar, I promised our little Therese I'd be better about cussing. Between that and no sugar...$%^&*(^%^&*!!!

7. I have a chest cold on top of everything else. Mucinex, I love you.

That is all.

For Clamuck...

Back off Brangelina and Bennifer....

Now, I've only seen one photo, but this guy bears something of a resemblance to the Canuck.

This is hifreakinlarious, but not for the young'uns to see.

Ahh Ahh Ahh...!

1. VON! That's VON Cheerleader who vants to see the T[v]ilight movie this veekend, but can't! [Ahh ahh ahh...!]

.

2. TWO! That's TWO dedicated parents who vill be driving her to Rochester to freeze their bahookies off vatching her cheer at an outdoor football playoff game in Rochester tomorrow.

.

3. THREE! There's THREE inches of snow predicted to fall in Rochester tomorrow!

.

4. FOUR! That's FOUR hours of driving for the TWO dedicated parents tomorrow to get the VON Cheerleader to the game in THREE inches of snow! [Ahh Ahh Ahh....!]

.

5. FIFTH! That's VON FIFTH of R-r-r-rumpleminze! That's vhat Kit vill have tucked in her parka tomorrow to be dumped into the hot chocolate during the game!

.

AHH AHH AHHHHHH!!!!!!!

.

(Thank you to Fr. Erik and his Vampire posts for the inspiration...)

A Break from Bitter

Courtesy of our dear Clam

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but you always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

Earplugs

I need them. Every time I hear the words "President-Elect Obama" I have this immediate urge to either throw things at the tv, rip out the car radio, or engage in an impromptu primal scream therapy session. (.

After yesterday's leaks to the press regarding The One's meeting with Bush, the stats saying that 72% of us believe The One can fix the economy, the re-emergence of Farrakhan and Wright to discuss The One, and the overall cockiness of The One and his entourage.....

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

[Excuse the interruption, primal scream event in progress]

I may have to give up all external media until America sees the light.

The Eyes Have It

Like Kasia, I am languishing under the covers...another kid-inflicted cold seems to be creeping in, darn it. I also seem to be posting more substantive things in others' comboxes, so I'm too worn out to be interesting here. So until I get the grey matter back on task, here's another goofy quiz, but oddly, it's not too far off the real "moi":

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are a Bette!

You are a Bette -- "I must be strong"

Bettes are direct, self-reliant, self-confident, and protective.

How to Get Along with Me

• * Stand up for yourself... and me.


• * Be confident, strong, and direct.


• * Don't gossip about me or betray my trust.


• * Be vulnerable and share your feelings. See and acknowledge my tender, vulnerable side.


• * Give me space to be alone.


• * Acknowledge the contributions I make, but don't flatter me.


• * I often speak in an assertive way. Don't automatically assume it's a personal attack.


• * When I scream, curse, and stomp around, try to remember that's just the way I am.

What I Like About Being a Bette

• * being independent and self-reliant


• * being able to take charge and meet challenges head on


• * being courageous, straightforward, and honest


• * getting all the enjoyment I can out of life


• * supporting, empowering, and protecting those close to me


• * upholding just causes

What's Hard About Being a Bette

• * overwhelming people with my bluntness; scaring them away when I don't intend to


• * being restless and impatient with others' incompetence


• * sticking my neck out for people and receiving no appreciation for it


• * never forgetting injuries or injustices


• * putting too much pressure on myself


• * getting high blood pressure when people don't obey the rules or when things don't go right

Bettes as Children Often

• * are independent; have an inner strength and a fighting spirit


• * are sometimes loners


• * seize control so they won't be controlled


• * figure out others' weaknesses


• * attack verbally or physically when provoked


• * take charge in the family because they perceive themselves as the strongest, or grow up in difficult or abusive surroundings

Bettes as Parents

• * are often loyal, caring, involved, and devoted


• * are sometimes overprotective


• * can be demanding, controlling, and rigid

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

It's only a 2-question quiz - try it out and have a little fun!

An Aspie's Ode to Stinky Diapers

A burst of new song overheard last night in the living room during a rather malodorous diaper change:

It isn't funny to be stinky
'Cause stinking isn't funny

It doesn't bother you

Because your nose is stuffy

.

And it's not funny to sneeze

When your little nose is runny

Quit rubbing all that snot
On your nekkid tummy

You don't have to smell you
Stop laughing, it's not funny...

Followed by:

"MA-MMMMAAAAA! He's disgusting! I need help!"

After clearing the toxic waste spill, I ran upstairs to write it down before I forgot it. Oh, did I laugh!!!

Silly stuff

Sometimes you've gotta take a break from the usual stuff. H/T to the most excellent Vincenzo...

You Are a Brownie

Decadent and intense, you aren't for the weakhearted. Those who can deal with your strong flavor find out how sweet you really are.

What Dessert Are You Most Like?

Mmmmmmm.....chocolate.......

Sunday Night Trivia

Interesting and thought provoking tidbit I just caught on the news:

On this date in 1947, Harry Truman gave the first nationally televised presidential address.

The subject?

Two years after the war was over and prosperity was beginning to abound in the USA, the President asked Americans to abstain from meat on Tuesdays and Thursdays in order to assist Europe's recovery efforts.
And Americans, used to rationing and cutting back to aid the greater good at home, stepped up to the plate and did it for the people of Europe, some of whom had been deadly enemies not too long before. We shared what we had with nations struggling to recover from years of social, economic, and agricultural devastation.

After Mass this evening, a VERY traditional/orthodox friend of mine (we are each others' oasis in the DOR) came up and grabbed me to tell me how angry she's getting as the election draws near, how frightening the discourse is, and how people all around us - including so many of our Catholic acquaintances - just DO NOT GET how terrible an Obama administration would be for this country. The visiting priest came up and joined in our conversation, and we discussed today's Gospel. I asked them, and I'll ask you. Are we as a nation, as a world, attacking the servants and killing the heir? Are we throwing away our chance to enter the kingdom with both hands?

I truly cannot imagine the people of this nation, at this time, in this culture of decadence and entitlement we've created, answering Harry Truman's call to help others in this day and age. Tough economic times are upon us, and will be for quite some time to come. People are going to be displaced and desperate.

What will you do? Not that you have to become a communist or give away all you have beyond what you need, but what kind of contribution can you make, be it financial, volunteering, or becoming more active in the community or in government to help ease the suffering and solve the problem? Most people will do nothing, protect their own interests, and sit back complaining about how awful and unfair it all is.

I don't want to be one of those people.

The Phantom of Obama

Photo and transcript from Rush Limbaugh's website - someone who knows of my Princess' love of the show sent it to me. LOL!!!

Barack Obama wants the public to think he's Mr. Nice Guy, soft-spoken, erudite, a new kind of politician, new, fresh, unique, uniter. He's going to come around and he's going to just wave his hand and all of these partisan feelings of rancor are going to vanish. He is inciting partisan feelings of rancor; he is inciting hatred; he is inciting racism; he is using every tactic he can to make people as mad as he can make them, all for the
purpose of manipulating them for their support. He's Mr. Nice Guy while his thugs are in Alaska looking for dirt on Sarah Palin, hacking into her personal e-mail account while he runs race-baiting ads and lies about what he's done and lies about what Senator McCain has done. He's running a two-tier campaign. Chicago tactics behind the scenes, new politics imagery in front of the cameras, Barack Obama, a man whose mask has been removed. There can be no mistake who he
is now. There can be no conclusion other than he is just an average Chicago thug, typical liberal Democrat politician when you strip everything else away. [. . .] You know, we could call this The Phantom of Obama.

The mask is coming off, and the view is not pretty.

Big Daddy B: A Bad Dream

Ever notice how dreams you have in the morning are more vivid and bizarre that the middle of the night kind?

This morning, I had to get up and do 6 am doggie relief, as the Beloved is still hobbled by his gout. So I got 'em outside, gave 'em kibble, started the coffee, but then came back up and crawled back into bed because it was a bit chilly and my feet were cold. Somehow, I managed to fall asleep again.

Suddenly, it was January 21, 2009, and BO was our new president. (A dream, remember?!?) I was sitting in bed watching the news, which had a new feature, the "Prez-cam," which was embedded in the White House. But BO was not aware of it. So he's in some sort of posh office (not the Oval Office) with Oprah, Michelle, Howard Dean, Dennis Kucinich, Ron Paul (?!?), Jesse Jackson, JFK (who was still alive, but in hiding, and had not aged since 1963) and a bunch of Hollywood celebrities. He was holding some sort of strategy meeting about what to do for his first 100 days in office. Someone in the back of the crowd asked him how soon he would be implementing a bunch of his social policies, and he just laughed and laughed.

"I didn't mean any of that sh*t! You all better just get yourselves out of my office, because Big Daddy B is in the hiz-zouse now, and all we're gonna do is party!"

And then all of a sudden the room - and the White House lawn - was full of his young college supporters, scantily clad, having some sort of MTV Spring Break bump and grind dance beach party. They started flinging paint all over the White House, which Big Daddy B declared could no longer be white, because that was a symbol of racism. The camera then showed an exterior shot of the White House, which was painted (perfectly) in the colors of the rainbow. Big Daddy B came out onto a balcony in some sort of rapper/emperor outfit - think Huggy Bear meets Naploeon Bonaparte - and George Bush handed him a crown and sceptre, which he snatched and put on himself. Then, rather than your typical inaugural speech, he instead announced that he was divorcing his wife, firing everyone from their jobs, and disbanding the military. Someone told him about the Prez-cam, and again he laughed, because he'd abolished term limits and planned to be there for life. Dream me was horrified, and made sleeping me wake up.

This dream disturbs me on so many levels - not only did it contain every negative racial stereotype imaginable (something I abhor in real life), but the country was thrown into chaos, the traditional family chucked aside, the economy destroyed, and there was no hope of recovery.

Where the hell did this come from?!? I mean, it sounds like an allegory, but it was just a dream. And being a morning dream, it was very "real" and vivid - it's midnight now and I remember so much detail from this morning.

I think this might warrant therapy.

Requiem for Andy

Sometimes the muse strikes...late. But it occurred to me this afternoon on my drive home:

In a tree

By the Brook

There's a songbird who sings...

[Ok, well, not so much anymore]

I am still cleaning up bird seed and millet chunks in my library.

Miss you, little buddy.

Rainy Sunday Randomness

I admit it: where computers are concerned, I'm pretty much hopeless when it comes to much more than basic word processing and minor photo-fixing (red eye reduction, etc. ) despite all the easy programs for such things.

It really is a pity, as I've gotten all sorts of interesting video moments courtesy of Digi's fabulous recommendation of the Flip Mino, but because I lack talent, and as I've pledged not to put the older ones' faces on the blog (and soon will not post any more baby pics) for purposes of their privacy and safety, here's a quick look at our gorgeous local scenery, just a few minutes away from our summer retreat spot on Seneca Lake.

And a shamelessly adorable shot of the Boy enjoying the best of the lake breeze:

[removed by request of family-sorry!]

Mean wife moment

Ok, I know I'm bad...but the poor beleaguered beloved just got home from a day of security and fire training, sits down on the couch and stretches back with a huge sigh...and Jack the Cat chose that precise moment to jump into his lap for some dude time. Like a 12 lb bowling ball to the unprotected belly and manly bits. The sound of pain and all the air rushing out of his lungs - it was too much.

All three females are howling like hyenas, weak and weeping with laughter, the baby catches on and starts giggling, which makes the Beloved gather up what's left of his dignity and hobble to the kitchen for a drink, and perhaps a cold compress, grumbling about his "mean wife" and offspring. He had a little smirk going on, but still...

The cat, still not sure what our human issues are, is somewhere hiding on the third floor. ("Dude, all I wanted was a little ear and belly scratch...no need to freak out on me!")

It's like any given "Funniest Home Videos" moment. What is it about seeing such things that makes us laugh like that?

(My tummy still hurts!)