Also known as Hump Day. I personally think the term "Hump Day" sounds kind of sleazy - like Wednesdays are for fooling around instead of working. But that's just me (and my obviously not-very-nice mind). So from now on Wednesdays will be known as Woo-Hoo Wednesdays to celebrate being halfway to the weekend. If you actually are fooling around instead of working, the Woo-Hoo still works for you.
Work-wise, today was a pretty good day. Some of my kids made me smile (and even laugh out loud a few times), which is nice. Others made me want to bang my head on the wall in frustration. Typical day. The good news is no matter what kind of days I have now, there are only 17 of them left. Woo-Hoo!
The swine flu continues to worry my Mexico vacation friends. I did contact the resort's head office and was told that since the government hasn't actually banned travel to Mexico the best they can do for me is sell me reservation insurance instead of letting me roll over that reservation until next summer. Just what I want to do: spend more money to not go on vacation. Right now, we're all kind of thinking that we'll go anyway. Worst case, we'll have the plane and the resort to ourselves. Hey, we can pretend we're really rich people with a whole resort to ourselves! Woo-Hoo!
American Idol: For the most part, I think they did the Rat Pack proud.
Kris sang a really sweet song and sounded good, but there was no "wow" factor. Allison did a great job and looked good, but I'm not sure her fan base is big enough to keep her in it. Matt started out OK but didn't follow through - he may be the one leaving. Danny sang one of my favorites from that era, "Come Rain or Come Shine" and for the first time I really liked him. And then there was Adam. "Feeling Good" is another one I like and he did an awesome job with it. Say what you will about his orientation, his lifestyle, his mannerisms, whatever; the man is a performer. When he came down those stairs and strode across the stage he owned the joint. I even played the video (courtesy of the AI website) and closed my eyes so I could just listen and not be sidetracked by the performance aspect of it, and his voice is truly unbelievable. It left me wanting more. Maybe I'll quit trying to find someone to go to an AI tour date with me and just wait for an Adam Lambert concert. It took me 57 minutes to cast my phone-vote, so he's probably safe. Danny should be, too, but I think it's a toss up among the other three as to who will leave tonight. If if had to pick who's going home, I'd say Matt but it could be Allison. The bottom line here is: I really don't care as long as it's not Adam. If he were to leave it would be a bigger surprise than when Chris Daughtry only got 4th place a few years ago. Today's phrase definitely works when talking about Adam: Woo-Hoo!
I got no knitting done last night. First I was too busy trying to vote for Adam and then I had to call a couple of friends and discuss Adam and then I had to check out idolbloglive and see what they said about Adam. It's Adam's fault: if he weren't so good, I would have had more time to knit. I won't hold it against him, though. :o) I will get knitting done tonight. Woo-Hoo!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Torture Me if it's Tuesday...
and it's definitely Tuesday.
Some days I honestly wonder why I bother getting out of bed. The world would keep moving along just fine if I stayed curled up under my quilt and I would spare myself the frustration of feeling like I take one step forward and two steps back, work-wise. Yes, it's been that kind of day. I know that a lot of it has to do with A.) the weather - cloudy again today (please understand that two days without the sun in Colorado is equivalent to about three months of sunless existence anywhere else - we like our blue skies and get cranky very quickly when deprived), B.) there are only 17 school days left until summer break, and C.) the carnival is coming to town and will open up tomorrow night. B & C alone would be enough to get the kids wound up but add in A with its potential to ruin carnival opening night....serious recipe for trouble.
Speaking of sunshine and Colorado, here's a true story from when my first husband (Colorado native) and I were newly wed and living in Italy. Italy is a beautiful country, but it has its share of cloudy/rainy days. At the time, I had never set foot in Colorado but I was learning plenty from my new husband. Things like: the skies are bluer in Colorado than anywhere else, the air is cleaner, life is better. Obviously we would be moving back to Colorado as soon as possible. (Which we did.) So, anyway, the Italian summer faded to autumn: the days got shorter, the weather got cooler, and the rainy season began. Where we lived, it rarely snowed but it sure did rain. Me, having lived in Italy for six years by then, I was used to it. Plus I spent my early childhood in England and then later moved to Ohio. Clouds and rain were a normal part of life. First husband - not so much. After about ten straight days of clouds with rain in various forms (mist/drizzle/steady/sideways blown by wind), he was extremely cranky. New bride that I was, I took exception to this crankiness and was told (and this is a direct quote - I still remember after all these years): "Sarah, it's not my fault. I haven't seen the sun in a week and I'll be this way until the weather gets better. I can't go for long periods without the sun - I was raised in Colorado and I'm used to the sun. We have sunshine 320 days a year and I need the sun." Two thoughts went through my mind: 1.) B***s**t, and 2.) It's a long time 'til Spring, is he going to be cranky the whole time??? (followed by thought #3 "OMG, what have I done? I'm married to this man!", but that's a whole different story). Anyway, a lot of years have passed since that conversation and I now find myself cranky if there's no sunshine for extended periods of time. And by extended, I mean two days. Seriously. You get used to it and when it's not there... let's just say I wouldn't welcome a move to Seattle. But looking back, I still think it was a BS excuse for him being cranky. And he's now my ex-husband so I'm not inclined to cut him any slack.
On to other things. By other, I mean American Idol. (It's performance night, what did you expect???) I am so looking forward to this category of songs - Rat Pack. I'm not old enough to remember the heyday of Frank, Dino, Sammy, et al, but I've heard enough of those songs to think it will be a memorable night. Dare I hope that Adam will sing "My Way" his way? It's probably too much to ask. I think there's definite trainwreck potential (Matt, Danny, maybe Allison) as well as the opportunity for someone (please let it be You Know Who) to have what they call a "moment". I also hope that all five decide to dress from that era - Allison would look beautiful in a classy cocktail dress and the guys would look spiffy in suits or even tuxes.
Here's a Tortured Tuesday Silver Lining: One of my students provided me with the most lame excuse for not working that I have ever heard: "The writing surface of this desk is too hard and it makes it too difficult for me to work on this math paper." I'm not joking - he looked me right in the eye and actually said those words. So now I have the standard by which to judge all future lame excuses for not working. If that's not a Silver Lining, I don't know what is.
Until tomorrow....
Some days I honestly wonder why I bother getting out of bed. The world would keep moving along just fine if I stayed curled up under my quilt and I would spare myself the frustration of feeling like I take one step forward and two steps back, work-wise. Yes, it's been that kind of day. I know that a lot of it has to do with A.) the weather - cloudy again today (please understand that two days without the sun in Colorado is equivalent to about three months of sunless existence anywhere else - we like our blue skies and get cranky very quickly when deprived), B.) there are only 17 school days left until summer break, and C.) the carnival is coming to town and will open up tomorrow night. B & C alone would be enough to get the kids wound up but add in A with its potential to ruin carnival opening night....serious recipe for trouble.
Speaking of sunshine and Colorado, here's a true story from when my first husband (Colorado native) and I were newly wed and living in Italy. Italy is a beautiful country, but it has its share of cloudy/rainy days. At the time, I had never set foot in Colorado but I was learning plenty from my new husband. Things like: the skies are bluer in Colorado than anywhere else, the air is cleaner, life is better. Obviously we would be moving back to Colorado as soon as possible. (Which we did.) So, anyway, the Italian summer faded to autumn: the days got shorter, the weather got cooler, and the rainy season began. Where we lived, it rarely snowed but it sure did rain. Me, having lived in Italy for six years by then, I was used to it. Plus I spent my early childhood in England and then later moved to Ohio. Clouds and rain were a normal part of life. First husband - not so much. After about ten straight days of clouds with rain in various forms (mist/drizzle/steady/sideways blown by wind), he was extremely cranky. New bride that I was, I took exception to this crankiness and was told (and this is a direct quote - I still remember after all these years): "Sarah, it's not my fault. I haven't seen the sun in a week and I'll be this way until the weather gets better. I can't go for long periods without the sun - I was raised in Colorado and I'm used to the sun. We have sunshine 320 days a year and I need the sun." Two thoughts went through my mind: 1.) B***s**t, and 2.) It's a long time 'til Spring, is he going to be cranky the whole time??? (followed by thought #3 "OMG, what have I done? I'm married to this man!", but that's a whole different story). Anyway, a lot of years have passed since that conversation and I now find myself cranky if there's no sunshine for extended periods of time. And by extended, I mean two days. Seriously. You get used to it and when it's not there... let's just say I wouldn't welcome a move to Seattle. But looking back, I still think it was a BS excuse for him being cranky. And he's now my ex-husband so I'm not inclined to cut him any slack.
On to other things. By other, I mean American Idol. (It's performance night, what did you expect???) I am so looking forward to this category of songs - Rat Pack. I'm not old enough to remember the heyday of Frank, Dino, Sammy, et al, but I've heard enough of those songs to think it will be a memorable night. Dare I hope that Adam will sing "My Way" his way? It's probably too much to ask. I think there's definite trainwreck potential (Matt, Danny, maybe Allison) as well as the opportunity for someone (please let it be You Know Who) to have what they call a "moment". I also hope that all five decide to dress from that era - Allison would look beautiful in a classy cocktail dress and the guys would look spiffy in suits or even tuxes.
Here's a Tortured Tuesday Silver Lining: One of my students provided me with the most lame excuse for not working that I have ever heard: "The writing surface of this desk is too hard and it makes it too difficult for me to work on this math paper." I'm not joking - he looked me right in the eye and actually said those words. So now I have the standard by which to judge all future lame excuses for not working. If that's not a Silver Lining, I don't know what is.
Until tomorrow....
Monday, April 27, 2009
Monday Marches On
Yes, it's Monday again and the weather is not warm and sunny like it was last week - it's somewhat cloudy and on the cooler side. After today, there are only three more Mondays until summer break. See - Mondays can be good for something, even if it is just helping us countdown to summer vacation at which time we'll stop paying any attention to Mondays until school starts again the end of August. I think Mondays have become used to being hated and avoided and now are happy to get attention any way they can - kind of like dentists.
I am now following the LA Times' Idol Tracker blogs. As if I didn't already spend enough time reading about AI. (Sigh) But I couldn't help it - these bloggers spend a lot of time talking about Adam. I might miss something important.
My time away was good. Some parts of the conference were very good and others not so much - at one point we seemed trapped in a bunch of blahblahblah whatever until I thought my head would explode. But that, like everything eventually does, passed and my head is intact. I managed to visit three yarn shops that just happened to be (sort of) on my way home.There is now an official embargo on yarn purchases. This is a self-inflicted embargo, and will only last as long as I can keep away from these dangerous places. Or until I find a Mexican yarn shop while I'm on vacation. Or until I hear about a really good sale. It's probably a pretty useless embargo, but I'll try to be good. I did get home in time to see Jordan in his tux before he went to the prom. He looked very handsome and grown-up. It's bittersweet seeing him like that - I enjoy his progress through life, but don't enjoy the fact that as he grows up I'm getting older. Plus sometimes I miss my babies. On a certain level they will always be my babies (I can see their eyes rolling as I write that), but I do miss some of the things from when they were younger - like snuggles and hugs and bedtime stories. Stuff like that.
I read that Fox will not broadcast the President's 100 days in office press conference since it might interfere with American Idol. Yessss! Priorities. Seriously, if a person really wants to watch the President there are many other channels to choose from all showing the same thing plus there will be recaps, comments, highlights, etc. for days afterwards. I've thought for years that the broadcast companies should show things like that on a rotating roster system. Why have the exact same thing on 92 different channels? But that's just me.
Hubby spent part of the weekend doing yard stuff. Since the grass is now green it's also growing and the lawnmower needed some work. Said lawnmower is now in working order and ready for Jordan to use it. This is Colorado, home of the late spring storms, so I'm waiting a few more weeks before I get my hanging flower baskets and tubs ready for the porch and patio. This allows me to be lazy but seem prudent.
I guess that's all I have for today. I still have some laundry that needs my attention, and we all know that if you leave laundry sitting around it somehow breeds and you wind up with even more laundry.
I am now following the LA Times' Idol Tracker blogs. As if I didn't already spend enough time reading about AI. (Sigh) But I couldn't help it - these bloggers spend a lot of time talking about Adam. I might miss something important.
My time away was good. Some parts of the conference were very good and others not so much - at one point we seemed trapped in a bunch of blahblahblah whatever until I thought my head would explode. But that, like everything eventually does, passed and my head is intact. I managed to visit three yarn shops that just happened to be (sort of) on my way home.There is now an official embargo on yarn purchases. This is a self-inflicted embargo, and will only last as long as I can keep away from these dangerous places. Or until I find a Mexican yarn shop while I'm on vacation. Or until I hear about a really good sale. It's probably a pretty useless embargo, but I'll try to be good. I did get home in time to see Jordan in his tux before he went to the prom. He looked very handsome and grown-up. It's bittersweet seeing him like that - I enjoy his progress through life, but don't enjoy the fact that as he grows up I'm getting older. Plus sometimes I miss my babies. On a certain level they will always be my babies (I can see their eyes rolling as I write that), but I do miss some of the things from when they were younger - like snuggles and hugs and bedtime stories. Stuff like that.
I read that Fox will not broadcast the President's 100 days in office press conference since it might interfere with American Idol. Yessss! Priorities. Seriously, if a person really wants to watch the President there are many other channels to choose from all showing the same thing plus there will be recaps, comments, highlights, etc. for days afterwards. I've thought for years that the broadcast companies should show things like that on a rotating roster system. Why have the exact same thing on 92 different channels? But that's just me.
Hubby spent part of the weekend doing yard stuff. Since the grass is now green it's also growing and the lawnmower needed some work. Said lawnmower is now in working order and ready for Jordan to use it. This is Colorado, home of the late spring storms, so I'm waiting a few more weeks before I get my hanging flower baskets and tubs ready for the porch and patio. This allows me to be lazy but seem prudent.
I guess that's all I have for today. I still have some laundry that needs my attention, and we all know that if you leave laundry sitting around it somehow breeds and you wind up with even more laundry.
A Little Extra Something
A friend of mine turned me on to "Friday Fill-Ins" - each Friday you can get different fill-in-the-blanks stuff, but I wasn't here on Friday so I'm doing it now. We can call it Monday Medley!
And...here we go!
My answers are in the bold type. Put your own answers in place of mine and send them back - I'd like to see different mind-sets. :o)
1. Apparently there's some sort of swine flu going around.
2. Today is not a sunny day.
3. 2009 has been pretty good so far.
4. For too long I've been sweating the small stuff.
5. I am not obsessed with Adam Lambert; I am not!
Just a little something extra to have some fun with.
And...here we go!
My answers are in the bold type. Put your own answers in place of mine and send them back - I'd like to see different mind-sets. :o)
1. Apparently there's some sort of swine flu going around.
2. Today is not a sunny day.
3. 2009 has been pretty good so far.
4. For too long I've been sweating the small stuff.
5. I am not obsessed with Adam Lambert; I am not!
Just a little something extra to have some fun with.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
That's What I'm Talkin' About!
Today is the first time I actually felt like Spring has arrived. It was a beautiful day: sunshine, blue sky with a few fluffy white clouds, temps around 75, and the grass in my yard turned from brown to green overnight. Well, it probably wasn't overnight, but it seems like it. Plus the trees in my yard and all up and down the block are starting to leaf out/blossom, depending on the type of tree of course. So Spring is here and Summer can't be far behind. That's what I'm talkin' about!
Tomorrow I'll work for half a day and then take off for Denver. Shortened work week - that's what I'm talkin' about! Of course, I'll be away from the blog for a couple of days but I'll catch everything up Saturday night. Or Sunday, depends on what time I get home. But I will be back. Pretend I just said that in my Arnie-in-the-Terminator voice and it's much more entertaining.
You know I watched last night's American Idol and will tell you my thoughts. I will, however, try to keep my comments to one word for each contestant. There's no particular reason for this, I just want to see if I can do it. So here goes:
Lil - Loser
Kris - Surprising (but in a good way; and nothing in parentheses counts against my one word deal)
Danny - Danny
Allison - Awesome
Adam - Absolutelyamazing (it's one word, and besides, it's Adam)
Matt - Average
Anoop - Nope
I did it!!! That's what I'm talkin' about!
Seriously, Lil and her backtalk need to just leave. And get her mother out of there before she hurts somebody. I don't know/don't really care who else will go with her. As long as it's not Adam. Since it took me 57 minutes to cast my Adam-vote, I'll go out on a limb and say he's safe.
I decided to go back and re-watch all of Adam's videos from the show, starting with "I Can't Get No Satisfaction". All in the name of research of course. Not because I'm obsessed or anything like that, I just wanted to make sure he's worthy of all that cell battery time I use every week for my votes. (I also have some really nice land in Florida to sell - call me). Anyway, after review, yes he is totally awesome. Watching his performances one after another, while gratifying on so many levels, also made me realize that I didn't hear one wrong note. Ever. Here's an idea: Just call it Adam Idol or have Ryan start tonight's show with Adam standing next to him and announce, "THIS is the American Idol". And for the rest of the season (four weeks) it can be all Adam, all the time. That's what I'm talkin' about. I so need to find someone to take a road trip with me to an American Idol Tour city.
Last night, Hubby played in a Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament. It was one of those free ones that if you win and then go play some more tournaments and rack up points, you can get a free entry to that big tournament in Vegas. He came in second and won ten bucks. That's what I'm talkin' about! Not! He did say he can still play in some more tournaments and get points, so I say: "Go for it! Everyone should have a dream." A trip to Vegas would be fun.
I got my hair trimmed over the weekend. The stylist that does my hair for me comes to my house. No, I'm not rich, it's just one of the benefits of living in a small town. People make house calls. Anyway, we were talking and I somehow got her talking about something that really upset her and by the time she was done venting and cutting, my hair was somewhat shorter than I had planned. It's so short that Hubby noticed within five minutes after he got home. To give perspective on this, last time I had my hair done he didn't notice for three weeks. Got the picture? Plus, I think my hair got mad that so many of its follicle-friends were gone and decided it wasn't going to do anything I wanted it to. So for four days I've been walking around with cowlicks I never had before and rebellious strands sticking out at annoying angles. Finally today it actually looked like it was supposed to. Hair obviously doesn't hold a grudge or has no long term memory. For which I'm grateful. I think next time she comes to do my hair I'll just give her a note that says I have laryngitis. Better hair through deception. That's what I'm talkin' about!
Today I wore a light-colored top and within five minutes after I got to work I had a black smear from the newspaper I was carrying and a pencil line drawn across the front. This always happens to me when I wear white, cream, ivory, or any shade of beige. You'd think I'd learn. What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Yep, that's what I'm talkin' about.
On the knitting front, I didn't have much time last night (I was busy voting for Adam, remember?) so I just knit a few rows of a sock-yarn strip. The guy blanket's edge is coming along, but it feels like it's going to take forever. It's a big blanket and it takes a long time to go all around the edge. I've done 2 1/2 rows of edging and need about 4 more. I will finish it. Soon. I promise.
Gotta go. Stuff to do before Adam Idol comes on. Yes, that's what I'm still talkin' about! :o)
Tomorrow I'll work for half a day and then take off for Denver. Shortened work week - that's what I'm talkin' about! Of course, I'll be away from the blog for a couple of days but I'll catch everything up Saturday night. Or Sunday, depends on what time I get home. But I will be back. Pretend I just said that in my Arnie-in-the-Terminator voice and it's much more entertaining.
You know I watched last night's American Idol and will tell you my thoughts. I will, however, try to keep my comments to one word for each contestant. There's no particular reason for this, I just want to see if I can do it. So here goes:
Lil - Loser
Kris - Surprising (but in a good way; and nothing in parentheses counts against my one word deal)
Danny - Danny
Allison - Awesome
Adam - Absolutelyamazing (it's one word, and besides, it's Adam)
Matt - Average
Anoop - Nope
I did it!!! That's what I'm talkin' about!
Seriously, Lil and her backtalk need to just leave. And get her mother out of there before she hurts somebody. I don't know/don't really care who else will go with her. As long as it's not Adam. Since it took me 57 minutes to cast my Adam-vote, I'll go out on a limb and say he's safe.
I decided to go back and re-watch all of Adam's videos from the show, starting with "I Can't Get No Satisfaction". All in the name of research of course. Not because I'm obsessed or anything like that, I just wanted to make sure he's worthy of all that cell battery time I use every week for my votes. (I also have some really nice land in Florida to sell - call me). Anyway, after review, yes he is totally awesome. Watching his performances one after another, while gratifying on so many levels, also made me realize that I didn't hear one wrong note. Ever. Here's an idea: Just call it Adam Idol or have Ryan start tonight's show with Adam standing next to him and announce, "THIS is the American Idol". And for the rest of the season (four weeks) it can be all Adam, all the time. That's what I'm talkin' about. I so need to find someone to take a road trip with me to an American Idol Tour city.
Last night, Hubby played in a Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament. It was one of those free ones that if you win and then go play some more tournaments and rack up points, you can get a free entry to that big tournament in Vegas. He came in second and won ten bucks. That's what I'm talkin' about! Not! He did say he can still play in some more tournaments and get points, so I say: "Go for it! Everyone should have a dream." A trip to Vegas would be fun.
I got my hair trimmed over the weekend. The stylist that does my hair for me comes to my house. No, I'm not rich, it's just one of the benefits of living in a small town. People make house calls. Anyway, we were talking and I somehow got her talking about something that really upset her and by the time she was done venting and cutting, my hair was somewhat shorter than I had planned. It's so short that Hubby noticed within five minutes after he got home. To give perspective on this, last time I had my hair done he didn't notice for three weeks. Got the picture? Plus, I think my hair got mad that so many of its follicle-friends were gone and decided it wasn't going to do anything I wanted it to. So for four days I've been walking around with cowlicks I never had before and rebellious strands sticking out at annoying angles. Finally today it actually looked like it was supposed to. Hair obviously doesn't hold a grudge or has no long term memory. For which I'm grateful. I think next time she comes to do my hair I'll just give her a note that says I have laryngitis. Better hair through deception. That's what I'm talkin' about!
Today I wore a light-colored top and within five minutes after I got to work I had a black smear from the newspaper I was carrying and a pencil line drawn across the front. This always happens to me when I wear white, cream, ivory, or any shade of beige. You'd think I'd learn. What's the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Yep, that's what I'm talkin' about.
On the knitting front, I didn't have much time last night (I was busy voting for Adam, remember?) so I just knit a few rows of a sock-yarn strip. The guy blanket's edge is coming along, but it feels like it's going to take forever. It's a big blanket and it takes a long time to go all around the edge. I've done 2 1/2 rows of edging and need about 4 more. I will finish it. Soon. I promise.
Gotta go. Stuff to do before Adam Idol comes on. Yes, that's what I'm still talkin' about! :o)
Monday, April 20, 2009
Monday, Monday
Does anyone else remember this song???
It was an average day at work - not too crazy, not too slow. Steady enough to make the day go by reasonably fast. Now we only have four more Mondays until summer break.
I finally have to face something that I've been avoiding. My oldest son, Austin, will be deploying to Iraq shortly with his Colorado Air National Guard unit. I've known this was coming for a few weeks, but kept pushing it to the back of my mind because if I thought about it for more than a few minutes I got all freaked out. Well, I can't keep doing that because he now has a deployment date (sort of): sometime between May 9th and May 11th his unit will be leaving. This time frame encompasses Mother's Day - the irony overwhelms me but is probably lost on the military powers-that-be. Austin keeps telling me he'll be fine: not in Afghanistan, not doing security patrols, just working on F-16 jets at Balad AFB. I understand that it's probably relatively safe there and I realize that he's probably in more danger when he goes to college parties each weekend but....it's Iraq.
On to other things - I'm starting to freak out about it again.
Later this week I'll be in Denver for a conference. I'll work Thursday morning and then take off since it all gets started Thursday afternoon. I'll be back Saturday, probably early evening. This means I will miss seeing Jordan get ready for Prom. He's only a sophomore, but he's going with a junior girl. He's always been somewhat of an overachiever. I'll just have to give him some extra $ and make him promise to get pictures done at the dance. During my lunch break, just out of curiosity, I Googled "yarn shops" in the vicinity of my hotel and found three. They're all within about 10 minutes of where I'm staying, so I may just have to visit them. I used to be like this with book stores - now it's yarn stores. Hey, at least it's not liquor stores, right?
On the knitting front: the guy blanket is done!!! Well, except for the edge that I'm crocheting around it. But the knitting part is done, done, done!!! And get this, Hubby looked at it and wants me to give it to him so he can use it when he's watching TV or taking a nap or whatever. Bless his heart. Once I get it completely finished, I should probably start on the baby blanket for my pregnant co-worker. With my knitting project ADD it may take awhile.
Silver Lining: without Mondays, Fridays wouldn't feel so good. :o)
It was an average day at work - not too crazy, not too slow. Steady enough to make the day go by reasonably fast. Now we only have four more Mondays until summer break.
I finally have to face something that I've been avoiding. My oldest son, Austin, will be deploying to Iraq shortly with his Colorado Air National Guard unit. I've known this was coming for a few weeks, but kept pushing it to the back of my mind because if I thought about it for more than a few minutes I got all freaked out. Well, I can't keep doing that because he now has a deployment date (sort of): sometime between May 9th and May 11th his unit will be leaving. This time frame encompasses Mother's Day - the irony overwhelms me but is probably lost on the military powers-that-be. Austin keeps telling me he'll be fine: not in Afghanistan, not doing security patrols, just working on F-16 jets at Balad AFB. I understand that it's probably relatively safe there and I realize that he's probably in more danger when he goes to college parties each weekend but....it's Iraq.
On to other things - I'm starting to freak out about it again.
Later this week I'll be in Denver for a conference. I'll work Thursday morning and then take off since it all gets started Thursday afternoon. I'll be back Saturday, probably early evening. This means I will miss seeing Jordan get ready for Prom. He's only a sophomore, but he's going with a junior girl. He's always been somewhat of an overachiever. I'll just have to give him some extra $ and make him promise to get pictures done at the dance. During my lunch break, just out of curiosity, I Googled "yarn shops" in the vicinity of my hotel and found three. They're all within about 10 minutes of where I'm staying, so I may just have to visit them. I used to be like this with book stores - now it's yarn stores. Hey, at least it's not liquor stores, right?
On the knitting front: the guy blanket is done!!! Well, except for the edge that I'm crocheting around it. But the knitting part is done, done, done!!! And get this, Hubby looked at it and wants me to give it to him so he can use it when he's watching TV or taking a nap or whatever. Bless his heart. Once I get it completely finished, I should probably start on the baby blanket for my pregnant co-worker. With my knitting project ADD it may take awhile.
Silver Lining: without Mondays, Fridays wouldn't feel so good. :o)
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Housework is Harmful to My Health
or my back.
I spent a couple of hours cleaning, dusting, moving stuff to clean behind/under it - you get the picture. BTW - It should be a dusty, dirty, grumpy picture. Somewhere in all that I managed to do something to my lower back and now I'm having painful spasms. I knew there was a good reason to avoid housework. A hot shower helped a little (and it for sure helped with the dusty and dirty part of your picture), but not enough. Pain killers - here I come!! I did spend time clearing off my desk: sorting through a bunch of stuff that had piled up and then throwing away a lot of that same stuff. It's amazing - I hang on to stuff and then I don't need it and can throw it away. Too bad I can't get in the habit of just throwing the stuff out in the first place. But the minute I start that, I'll probably need the stuff!! Anyway, now my desk looks clean and neat. Which will last maybe a few days until I start piling stuff up again. (Sigh) There was a Silver Lining, though: I found a pair of earrings under the bed that I hadn't seen in ages.
I have a few friends who follow "Dancing With The Stars" and even though I've never watched it regularly, I have checked it out a few times. I like seeing those gorgeous outfits. Hubby and I took a Beginner's Ballroom Dancing Class years ago and I absolutely loved it. I wanted to move on to Intermediate, hopefully followed by Advanced, but couldn't convince him to do it. As much as I enjoyed it, I think he hated it that same amount. My two favorites were the waltz and the tango; the waltz because it's easy and classy, and the tango because it was fun. Too bad there isn't a show called "Dancing With The Nobodies". I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Not much going on today. The winter storm missed us for the most part and now it's just cloudy and cold. Monday is supposed to be sunny and mid-70s. Colorado weather - gotta love it. Jordan did my grocery shopping for me, so I don't even have to go out today. I'm debating on whether to curl up and read or find a movie to watch. Maybe I'll just take a nap.
No big knitting news: I'm still working on the guy blanket and my sock-yarn strips.
I spent a couple of hours cleaning, dusting, moving stuff to clean behind/under it - you get the picture. BTW - It should be a dusty, dirty, grumpy picture. Somewhere in all that I managed to do something to my lower back and now I'm having painful spasms. I knew there was a good reason to avoid housework. A hot shower helped a little (and it for sure helped with the dusty and dirty part of your picture), but not enough. Pain killers - here I come!! I did spend time clearing off my desk: sorting through a bunch of stuff that had piled up and then throwing away a lot of that same stuff. It's amazing - I hang on to stuff and then I don't need it and can throw it away. Too bad I can't get in the habit of just throwing the stuff out in the first place. But the minute I start that, I'll probably need the stuff!! Anyway, now my desk looks clean and neat. Which will last maybe a few days until I start piling stuff up again. (Sigh) There was a Silver Lining, though: I found a pair of earrings under the bed that I hadn't seen in ages.
I have a few friends who follow "Dancing With The Stars" and even though I've never watched it regularly, I have checked it out a few times. I like seeing those gorgeous outfits. Hubby and I took a Beginner's Ballroom Dancing Class years ago and I absolutely loved it. I wanted to move on to Intermediate, hopefully followed by Advanced, but couldn't convince him to do it. As much as I enjoyed it, I think he hated it that same amount. My two favorites were the waltz and the tango; the waltz because it's easy and classy, and the tango because it was fun. Too bad there isn't a show called "Dancing With The Nobodies". I'd do it in a heartbeat.
Not much going on today. The winter storm missed us for the most part and now it's just cloudy and cold. Monday is supposed to be sunny and mid-70s. Colorado weather - gotta love it. Jordan did my grocery shopping for me, so I don't even have to go out today. I'm debating on whether to curl up and read or find a movie to watch. Maybe I'll just take a nap.
No big knitting news: I'm still working on the guy blanket and my sock-yarn strips.
Friday, April 17, 2009
No Snow.....
yet.
I went to my meeting last night and got rained/hailed on just as I arrived. Three hours later made the drive home in fog, but no snow. This morning it was cloudy, raining, windy, and cold and about noon or so there was some major snow action but nothing stuck to the ground and now it's just cloudy, windy, and cold. Supposedly the storm is swirling around slowly and we could still get snow. Other parts of the state are getting a whole bunch right now and there's a winter storm advisory until noon tomorrow. Summer----where's my summer?????
Michelle told me this morning she got her ticket to go to Mexico, so there's four of us now. She can only stay six days instead of the whole two weeks. Janie and I will miss her when she's gone and we're still goofing off. My other friend can only stay part of the time, too, but Janie and I have fourteen full days of total relaxation time. Lucky us, right?
I was driving down a street a couple of blocks from my house yesterday and saw a sign in someone's yard that said: "Drive carefully, we (heart) children." And the rest of us don't???? It irritated me, but I was really cranky yesterday so most things irritated me. I guess I should drive by it again to see if I have the same reaction.
I watched a video on YouTube of a woman named Susan Boyle auditioning for the show "Britain's Got Talent" and she was amazing. If you haven't seen it, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
Simon Cowell is involved with that show, too, and he should have her come and sing on American Idol.
And speaking of American Idol... I was kind of surprised they used the Judge's Save on Matt since it's obvious to everyone (including Matt himself, I'm sure) that he has no chance of winning, but maybe they figured "use it or lose it". Whatever. Next week two people will get kicked off (goodby Anoop and Lil). Plus it's Disco Week - my absolute favorite. Not only because I myself am a former Disco Queen and remember the words to most of those songs, but because it has such trainwreck potential. And you know I love a good old AI trainwreck! Am I being mean? Yes. (You should be used to it by now.) Will it be fun? Absolutely. I rest my case.
I checked the Idols Tour schedule and for the second year in a row - no stops in Colorado. What's up with that??? I really want to see them in person, but I'll have to go to Utah or Texas to do it. I'll have to think about that and see if I can convince someone to go with me.
Jennifer Hudson and Miley Cyrus were the guest performers on AI this week. Jennifer was good, Miley not so much. In my opinion, Miley wouldn't have made it through Hollywood week with that performance. But I've never been a big fan of the whole Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus deal anyway.
I missed my new show "Southland" last night because I got home after it started and I couldn't record it because I was already recording "Harper's Island". Last week's "Southland" was shown about three more times, but I searched and no such luck for this week. Bummer. Maybe I should take this as a sign to get a life and quit watching so much TV. Or not. If I quit watching TV, when would I knit?? I think that's all for today - I need to check out tonight's TV schedule. :o)
Silver Lining: If I'm home watching TV, I'm not out causing trouble.
I went to my meeting last night and got rained/hailed on just as I arrived. Three hours later made the drive home in fog, but no snow. This morning it was cloudy, raining, windy, and cold and about noon or so there was some major snow action but nothing stuck to the ground and now it's just cloudy, windy, and cold. Supposedly the storm is swirling around slowly and we could still get snow. Other parts of the state are getting a whole bunch right now and there's a winter storm advisory until noon tomorrow. Summer----where's my summer?????
Michelle told me this morning she got her ticket to go to Mexico, so there's four of us now. She can only stay six days instead of the whole two weeks. Janie and I will miss her when she's gone and we're still goofing off. My other friend can only stay part of the time, too, but Janie and I have fourteen full days of total relaxation time. Lucky us, right?
I was driving down a street a couple of blocks from my house yesterday and saw a sign in someone's yard that said: "Drive carefully, we (heart) children." And the rest of us don't???? It irritated me, but I was really cranky yesterday so most things irritated me. I guess I should drive by it again to see if I have the same reaction.
I watched a video on YouTube of a woman named Susan Boyle auditioning for the show "Britain's Got Talent" and she was amazing. If you haven't seen it, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY
Simon Cowell is involved with that show, too, and he should have her come and sing on American Idol.
And speaking of American Idol... I was kind of surprised they used the Judge's Save on Matt since it's obvious to everyone (including Matt himself, I'm sure) that he has no chance of winning, but maybe they figured "use it or lose it". Whatever. Next week two people will get kicked off (goodby Anoop and Lil). Plus it's Disco Week - my absolute favorite. Not only because I myself am a former Disco Queen and remember the words to most of those songs, but because it has such trainwreck potential. And you know I love a good old AI trainwreck! Am I being mean? Yes. (You should be used to it by now.) Will it be fun? Absolutely. I rest my case.
I checked the Idols Tour schedule and for the second year in a row - no stops in Colorado. What's up with that??? I really want to see them in person, but I'll have to go to Utah or Texas to do it. I'll have to think about that and see if I can convince someone to go with me.
Jennifer Hudson and Miley Cyrus were the guest performers on AI this week. Jennifer was good, Miley not so much. In my opinion, Miley wouldn't have made it through Hollywood week with that performance. But I've never been a big fan of the whole Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus deal anyway.
I missed my new show "Southland" last night because I got home after it started and I couldn't record it because I was already recording "Harper's Island". Last week's "Southland" was shown about three more times, but I searched and no such luck for this week. Bummer. Maybe I should take this as a sign to get a life and quit watching so much TV. Or not. If I quit watching TV, when would I knit?? I think that's all for today - I need to check out tonight's TV schedule. :o)
Silver Lining: If I'm home watching TV, I'm not out causing trouble.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Hump Day
And now we're on the downhill side on our way to the weekend. Today I actually felt closer to my normal self than I have in a week or so, so maybe this bug or virus or whatever is on its way out the damn door. I had a busy, busy day at work which always makes the time go by faster, but I always get caught just before the bell rings with about four things left to do. (Sigh) Oh, well - there's always tomorrow.
Last night's American Idol could have been subtitled A Cure for Insomnia. The theme was songs from movies, which means seven people could choose from about a bazillion songs and what do we get - mostly slow snoozefest stuff. Seriously, I'm hard pressed to remember most of the performances. I could look at my notes but I quit taking notes because: 1. With only 7 left, it should be easy to keep track, 2. Hubby made me an omelet and I couldn't eat and write at the same time (well, I could have but it would have been messy) and 3. after I re-read the post where I talked about taking notes it sounded sort of pretentious and stupid. After all, it's not like I'm getting paid to do this (wouldn't that be great if I could???!!!). So I skipped the notes. So here goes:
Allison - that Aerosmith song from "Armageddon" - I thought she did a good job but I was hoping for something else. I don't know what, just something else.
Anoop - some Bryan Adams song from some movie - the judges liked it, but it thought it was Boring with a capital B.
Adam - "Born to be Wild" - not his best performance, but so what. He's awesome, and he was energetic. I need to get eyeliner lessons from him. I'm pretty good with my make-up (years, and I mean years, of practice), but his eyeliner (or guyliner, whatever) was great. It took me 48 minutes to get through to vote for him, and I completely ran my battery down, so I think he's probably safe.
Danny - "Endless Love" - yes, we know he was singing it to his dead wife. Sweet. And where were his glasses? Did he get contacts? Do I really care?
Matt - some other Bryan Adams song from some other movie. Mediocre at best and a big disappointment. He can do better.
Kris - a song I never heard of from a movie I never heard of. I can't remember much, but I think I liked it.
Lil - "The Rose" from Bette Midler's "The Rose" - Finally, a trainwreck to make the night interesting. I thought it was a disaster from start to finish and if there's any justice she'll be the one to go. Plus she got all snippy with Simon and I hate it when they do that. Not just to Simon but any of the judges. They should keep their comments to themselves, not stand up there and talk back to the people that got them there in the first place.
I can see Matt, Lil, and either Anoop or Kris being in the bottom three. We'll find out soon.
On to other things. It looks like Janie and I talked our co-worker Michelle into coming to Mexico with us. She can only stay for one week, but it's better than not going at all. The more the merrier. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she can get on the same flight with us, too.
Yet another spring snowstorm is supposed to be on its way. I'm so done with snow. I want spring. Well, actually I want summer but I realize I'll have to wait for that. Anyway, this storm is supposed to come in tomorrow evening. I have a dinner meeting in Colorado Springs tomorrow night. I'm not liking my prospects: I can go to the meeting and possibly have a bad drive home or not go to the meeting and miss important stuff I need for a conference I'm attending in Denver next week. Of course, this is Colorado which means: a. the storm might not actually get here, b. the storm might not be much more than a few flakes, or c., the storm might turn into a screaming blizzard and roads will get closed. No way to tell until it's actually time to go, and even then things could change drastically while I'm at the meeting. So...I don't know what I'm going to do.
I'm going to stop writing now. I'm stressing about the storm I can't control so I should do something relaxing. Hey, I think I'll knit!!! Maybe I'll actually finish something someday soon. :o)
Last night's American Idol could have been subtitled A Cure for Insomnia. The theme was songs from movies, which means seven people could choose from about a bazillion songs and what do we get - mostly slow snoozefest stuff. Seriously, I'm hard pressed to remember most of the performances. I could look at my notes but I quit taking notes because: 1. With only 7 left, it should be easy to keep track, 2. Hubby made me an omelet and I couldn't eat and write at the same time (well, I could have but it would have been messy) and 3. after I re-read the post where I talked about taking notes it sounded sort of pretentious and stupid. After all, it's not like I'm getting paid to do this (wouldn't that be great if I could???!!!). So I skipped the notes. So here goes:
Allison - that Aerosmith song from "Armageddon" - I thought she did a good job but I was hoping for something else. I don't know what, just something else.
Anoop - some Bryan Adams song from some movie - the judges liked it, but it thought it was Boring with a capital B.
Adam - "Born to be Wild" - not his best performance, but so what. He's awesome, and he was energetic. I need to get eyeliner lessons from him. I'm pretty good with my make-up (years, and I mean years, of practice), but his eyeliner (or guyliner, whatever) was great. It took me 48 minutes to get through to vote for him, and I completely ran my battery down, so I think he's probably safe.
Danny - "Endless Love" - yes, we know he was singing it to his dead wife. Sweet. And where were his glasses? Did he get contacts? Do I really care?
Matt - some other Bryan Adams song from some other movie. Mediocre at best and a big disappointment. He can do better.
Kris - a song I never heard of from a movie I never heard of. I can't remember much, but I think I liked it.
Lil - "The Rose" from Bette Midler's "The Rose" - Finally, a trainwreck to make the night interesting. I thought it was a disaster from start to finish and if there's any justice she'll be the one to go. Plus she got all snippy with Simon and I hate it when they do that. Not just to Simon but any of the judges. They should keep their comments to themselves, not stand up there and talk back to the people that got them there in the first place.
I can see Matt, Lil, and either Anoop or Kris being in the bottom three. We'll find out soon.
On to other things. It looks like Janie and I talked our co-worker Michelle into coming to Mexico with us. She can only stay for one week, but it's better than not going at all. The more the merrier. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she can get on the same flight with us, too.
Yet another spring snowstorm is supposed to be on its way. I'm so done with snow. I want spring. Well, actually I want summer but I realize I'll have to wait for that. Anyway, this storm is supposed to come in tomorrow evening. I have a dinner meeting in Colorado Springs tomorrow night. I'm not liking my prospects: I can go to the meeting and possibly have a bad drive home or not go to the meeting and miss important stuff I need for a conference I'm attending in Denver next week. Of course, this is Colorado which means: a. the storm might not actually get here, b. the storm might not be much more than a few flakes, or c., the storm might turn into a screaming blizzard and roads will get closed. No way to tell until it's actually time to go, and even then things could change drastically while I'm at the meeting. So...I don't know what I'm going to do.
I'm going to stop writing now. I'm stressing about the storm I can't control so I should do something relaxing. Hey, I think I'll knit!!! Maybe I'll actually finish something someday soon. :o)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Tuesday
Gosh, here it is - American Idol performance night with songs from movies. That's such a broad category I can't even begin to guess what I'll hear. I'm almost certain that Adam will be awesome. Because he just is. I'm a little worried about my Adam obsession. I spent 45 minutes last night searching for and watching his videos on the internet. That man can sing! The quality on some was less than ideal - they looked like they were recorded on cell phones - but his voice came through OK. I suppose there are more harmful obsessions, so I should probably quit worrying. I certainly have better things to worry about.
After extensive research (various articles, internet blogs, and a survey of my fellow Idol-obsessed coworkers) I think Lil or Anoop will be the next to go. Neither one are that great nor have they found a big following. It's kind of like nobody really cares about them, so let's just move on to the ones that really count. Sad but true. I'm secretly hoping for a train wreck or two tonight to add some excitement. It's the best I'm going to get now that Blind Scott is gone and the whole "will he fall off the stage tonight?!" question is no longer relevant.
Last night I finally got back into my normal knitting routine. I'm making progress on something, that's all I can say. I've given up promising to finish anything - this week all I want is some no-pressure knitting.
Janie and I (I think) have convinced another friend to go with us to Mexico. The more the merrier! I've already started building my stack of trashy, don't have to really think about the plot too much books to take for beach reading. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy books that actually make me think - but not while I'm on the beach. The sun interferes with my thought processes so I need those less cerebral ones while I'm working on my tan.
Tomorrow is Wednesday - halfway to the weekend. Yay!!!
After extensive research (various articles, internet blogs, and a survey of my fellow Idol-obsessed coworkers) I think Lil or Anoop will be the next to go. Neither one are that great nor have they found a big following. It's kind of like nobody really cares about them, so let's just move on to the ones that really count. Sad but true. I'm secretly hoping for a train wreck or two tonight to add some excitement. It's the best I'm going to get now that Blind Scott is gone and the whole "will he fall off the stage tonight?!" question is no longer relevant.
Last night I finally got back into my normal knitting routine. I'm making progress on something, that's all I can say. I've given up promising to finish anything - this week all I want is some no-pressure knitting.
Janie and I (I think) have convinced another friend to go with us to Mexico. The more the merrier! I've already started building my stack of trashy, don't have to really think about the plot too much books to take for beach reading. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy books that actually make me think - but not while I'm on the beach. The sun interferes with my thought processes so I need those less cerebral ones while I'm working on my tan.
Tomorrow is Wednesday - halfway to the weekend. Yay!!!
Monday, April 13, 2009
I'm Here....
sort of.
Friday I went to work and had to turn right around and come home due to, putting it as nicely as I can, nausea issues. After what seemed like neverending dry heaves, I crawled into bed and proceeded to have awful dreams so I must have had a fever, too. I finally got back out of bed sometime Saturday afternoon. Yesterday and today have been OK, but I still don't feel normal. I made my excuses for two meetings I had scheduled after work and dragged my sorry butt home.
And here I am.
I read in the gossip news today that Mel Gibson's wife has filed for divorce after something like 28 years and 7 kids. Infidelity is reported to be the cause. I bet his drunken rantings and ravings didn't help. I used to love Mel, but the past few years he's been getting kind of strange - that whole anti-Semitic thing, building a "traditional" Catholic church in his neighborhood, etc. They got married before he ever thought about being famous plus they live in community-property California, so she'll do OK.
It's a beautiful Colorado day - sunshine, blue sky, about 70 degrees. Yesterday it was snowing when I got up, and my car was covered with ice this morning because it was below freezing. I've lived here a long time now, but this bi-polar weather still amazes me. You really can wear snow boots and sandals in the same day.
Nothing new on the knitting front, since I didn't do much knitting over the weekend. So the guy blanket still isn't finished. Maybe this week. Think positive thoughts!
Friday I went to work and had to turn right around and come home due to, putting it as nicely as I can, nausea issues. After what seemed like neverending dry heaves, I crawled into bed and proceeded to have awful dreams so I must have had a fever, too. I finally got back out of bed sometime Saturday afternoon. Yesterday and today have been OK, but I still don't feel normal. I made my excuses for two meetings I had scheduled after work and dragged my sorry butt home.
And here I am.
I read in the gossip news today that Mel Gibson's wife has filed for divorce after something like 28 years and 7 kids. Infidelity is reported to be the cause. I bet his drunken rantings and ravings didn't help. I used to love Mel, but the past few years he's been getting kind of strange - that whole anti-Semitic thing, building a "traditional" Catholic church in his neighborhood, etc. They got married before he ever thought about being famous plus they live in community-property California, so she'll do OK.
It's a beautiful Colorado day - sunshine, blue sky, about 70 degrees. Yesterday it was snowing when I got up, and my car was covered with ice this morning because it was below freezing. I've lived here a long time now, but this bi-polar weather still amazes me. You really can wear snow boots and sandals in the same day.
Nothing new on the knitting front, since I didn't do much knitting over the weekend. So the guy blanket still isn't finished. Maybe this week. Think positive thoughts!
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Better
Today was a blah-less day and that makes me feel a whole lot better. I had visions of becoming mired in a sucking hole of blah and never being able to escape.
I got my nails done after work - maybe that helped. Yes, I'm probably that shallow.
Last night I watched Scott get kicked off AI and actually felt sort of bad for him. But it was time for him to go, and Lil or Anoop should follow him out the door over the next two weeks. Neither one of them are doing much for me lately. During the group sing, Scott got close to the edge of the stage a few times and each time I thought "Uh-oh, there he goes" but someone always managed to pull him back in time. From now on I'll have to anticipate someone falling off figuratively instead of literally. My brain is still reeling from watching performances by Frankie Avalon, Flo Rida, and Kellie Pickler within a 60 minute span. If that's not a mind-boggler, I don't know what is.
Tonight two brand new shows are starting that I want to watch - Southland, a cop show from (I think) the ER guy; and Harper's Island, some murder mystery thing about people getting killed ("One by one" - I can't get the commercial out of my head!) when they come to the island for a wedding. And they're both on at the same time. Why is it that something I want to watch is always on at the same time as something else I want to watch??? To make me use the DVR, I guess. My kids just roll their eyes when I tell them that when I was growing up we only had three channels to choose from. OK, four, but I'm not counting PBS because nobody every really watched it. I think this must be my generation's version of "I walked two miles to school in blizzards and on the way home I stopped at the store and bought a loaf of bread for a nickel." I rolled my eyes back in the day, too. The other thing that blows my mind is now I have like 345 channels to surf plus On Demand, and there are times when I can't find a single thing I want to see. How jaded is that? Probably a lot, but I refuse to dwell on it. More evidence of my shallowness, I'm sure.
So, one more day and the work-week will be over and I'll be that much closer to that Mexican beach. I've done this Mexican beach trip right after school lets out for a few years now and I have to tell you that it's my renewal/recharging time. I don't do a whole lot and I love every minute of it. It's not everybody's dream vacation, but it sure works for me.
I bought a pair of size 3 knitting needles this afternoon. I've decided to see how my sock-yarn strips that will eventually be a blanket look when knitted on the proper size needles. So I'm skipping the guy blanket for tonight and doing something with sock-yarn. We'll see how it goes.
Silver Lining: After a day of total blah, even mediocrity looks pretty good.
I got my nails done after work - maybe that helped. Yes, I'm probably that shallow.
Last night I watched Scott get kicked off AI and actually felt sort of bad for him. But it was time for him to go, and Lil or Anoop should follow him out the door over the next two weeks. Neither one of them are doing much for me lately. During the group sing, Scott got close to the edge of the stage a few times and each time I thought "Uh-oh, there he goes" but someone always managed to pull him back in time. From now on I'll have to anticipate someone falling off figuratively instead of literally. My brain is still reeling from watching performances by Frankie Avalon, Flo Rida, and Kellie Pickler within a 60 minute span. If that's not a mind-boggler, I don't know what is.
Tonight two brand new shows are starting that I want to watch - Southland, a cop show from (I think) the ER guy; and Harper's Island, some murder mystery thing about people getting killed ("One by one" - I can't get the commercial out of my head!) when they come to the island for a wedding. And they're both on at the same time. Why is it that something I want to watch is always on at the same time as something else I want to watch??? To make me use the DVR, I guess. My kids just roll their eyes when I tell them that when I was growing up we only had three channels to choose from. OK, four, but I'm not counting PBS because nobody every really watched it. I think this must be my generation's version of "I walked two miles to school in blizzards and on the way home I stopped at the store and bought a loaf of bread for a nickel." I rolled my eyes back in the day, too. The other thing that blows my mind is now I have like 345 channels to surf plus On Demand, and there are times when I can't find a single thing I want to see. How jaded is that? Probably a lot, but I refuse to dwell on it. More evidence of my shallowness, I'm sure.
So, one more day and the work-week will be over and I'll be that much closer to that Mexican beach. I've done this Mexican beach trip right after school lets out for a few years now and I have to tell you that it's my renewal/recharging time. I don't do a whole lot and I love every minute of it. It's not everybody's dream vacation, but it sure works for me.
I bought a pair of size 3 knitting needles this afternoon. I've decided to see how my sock-yarn strips that will eventually be a blanket look when knitted on the proper size needles. So I'm skipping the guy blanket for tonight and doing something with sock-yarn. We'll see how it goes.
Silver Lining: After a day of total blah, even mediocrity looks pretty good.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Blah
is the word of the day.
I feel blah, I probably look blah, and most of what I heard today was just blah, blah, blah. I admit it - I'm in a mood. Not sure what mood exactly, but I'm in one. Unless blah is a mood. I'm still tired, which doesn't help. I woke up this morning and just wanted to go right back to bed. I'd go to bed now, but then I'd be wide awake at two in the morning. Plus I'd miss American Idol. I have my priorities.
I did re-watch Adam's performance from last night and it still blows me away. This blahness that seems to be everywhere definitely isn't anywhere near him. Scott should be the one leaving (he was blah) , but all the internet buzz is about how Kris is in big trouble (people think he was blah). Lil could get the heave-ho and I wouldn't miss her (because she's been so blah). See, the results show tonight is going to be blah, too, because I doubt there will be any big suspense or drama.
I can't think of a Silver Lining - all my linings are just....blah.
Maybe if I work on my knitting, I can get to a better place. Or at least closer to finishing that darn blanket.
So, in order to spare you any more of my blah, blah, blah - I'm going to stop right here. Tomorrow is a new day. I just hope it's not full of more blah.
I feel blah, I probably look blah, and most of what I heard today was just blah, blah, blah. I admit it - I'm in a mood. Not sure what mood exactly, but I'm in one. Unless blah is a mood. I'm still tired, which doesn't help. I woke up this morning and just wanted to go right back to bed. I'd go to bed now, but then I'd be wide awake at two in the morning. Plus I'd miss American Idol. I have my priorities.
I did re-watch Adam's performance from last night and it still blows me away. This blahness that seems to be everywhere definitely isn't anywhere near him. Scott should be the one leaving (he was blah) , but all the internet buzz is about how Kris is in big trouble (people think he was blah). Lil could get the heave-ho and I wouldn't miss her (because she's been so blah). See, the results show tonight is going to be blah, too, because I doubt there will be any big suspense or drama.
I can't think of a Silver Lining - all my linings are just....blah.
Maybe if I work on my knitting, I can get to a better place. Or at least closer to finishing that darn blanket.
So, in order to spare you any more of my blah, blah, blah - I'm going to stop right here. Tomorrow is a new day. I just hope it's not full of more blah.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
OK - I'll Blog Tonight
I had planned on skipping the blog tonight for a number of reasons: I had a meeting after work, stopped to pick up something for dinner, got home and had to feed the animals, load the dishwasher (those dishes still don't hop in there on their own) and start it running, jump in the shower, put on jammies, and be in front of the TV in time for American Idol. (It comes on at 7 here.) So there I was, stuffing my face with one hand and taking notes with the other. Yes, I've resorted to taking notes otherwise I can't remember all the brilliantly witty/stupid/just plain mean comments I want to make. But the show ran over, which meant I missed the start of the next show I usually watch, so I have blog time. Silver Lining. :o)
Anyway, in keeping with the birth year theme we had baby pictures. I'll be brief - everybody was cute.
So here goes with this week's opinions:
Danny was born in 1980 and sang a country version of "Stand By Me". This song in its original form is a favorite of mine, but this arrangement didn't do much for me. The judges all loved it, so I'm wondering if they heard the same thing I did.
Next was Kris, 1985, singing "All She Wants to Do is Dance". I thought he put kind of a funky vibe on it and it was OK but the judges all hated it. Maybe it's because I still think he's just so cute that picking on him is like picking on a puppy and I just can't do it. I can't face big, sad puppy eyes.
Lil, 1984, sang Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It" and I was flat-out disappointed. The past few weeks it's like she's just been going through the motions. I'm pretty much over her. The judges didn't like it much, either, so I guess we did see the same show after all. We all know when Paula starts by talking about your outfit, you're in big trouble. This was Trainwreck #1 for me.
Anoop, 1986, "True Colors". I looked at him when it was over and went "Huh?". I just didn't get it. Once again, the judges loved it so I must be back to watching a different show. Since this is not a song I ever really liked, maybe I should give him (and the judges) the benefit of the doubt. Whatever. He's probably safe, because others were a lot worse. Yes, Lil, I'm talking about you!
And Scott, 1985, was Trainwreck #2. He sang something I don't even remember the name of and I could go look it up on one of those 52 AI sites I cruise around in, but I don't want to because I just don't care. He did show some personality and I liked that, but I didn't like the song much at all. The judges and I are back with the same show because they all gave him bad comments. Scott is very gracious when dealing with criticism and I appreciate that. It's much better than when someone gets all snotty about it. Remember Megan? Oh, let's not. Forget I even mentioned her name.
Allison, 1992 (the same year as my youngest - thanks for making me feel old) did "I Can't Make You Love Me", one of my all-time favorite songs and she was awesome. I got goosebumps, I swear. Simon gave her a hard time about talking more and being more "likable", whatever that means. She doesn't need to talk - her singing says all we need to know about Allison.
Next was Matt, 1985, singing "Part Time Lover" and I loved it. I heard a couple of sort of screechy notes, but it didn't really matter. I thought it was better than anything else he's done lately.
Finally, Adam, 1982. He sang "Mad World" and words fail me. It was another OMG performance. Simon gave him a standing ovation and I can't remember if that's ever happened before.
Back to my real life vs. reality show life: Today was another crazy (but not really in a good way) day. Every year about this time it gets like this. Plus it's a full moon. Say what you will about that having no effect on us down here on Earth, I'd have to disagree. I have a friend who is an ER nurse and she says it's always busier and crazier during the full moon. Maybe I was too excited about buying that ticket to Mexico - it put beach fantasies in my head. Plus I'm just kind of cranky and impatient. Not sure what's up with that, other than I've been having these really bizarre dreams so I haven't been sleeping that well. Other than that, not much else is going on. I guess I'll just take my cranky self to bed.
Anyway, in keeping with the birth year theme we had baby pictures. I'll be brief - everybody was cute.
So here goes with this week's opinions:
Danny was born in 1980 and sang a country version of "Stand By Me". This song in its original form is a favorite of mine, but this arrangement didn't do much for me. The judges all loved it, so I'm wondering if they heard the same thing I did.
Next was Kris, 1985, singing "All She Wants to Do is Dance". I thought he put kind of a funky vibe on it and it was OK but the judges all hated it. Maybe it's because I still think he's just so cute that picking on him is like picking on a puppy and I just can't do it. I can't face big, sad puppy eyes.
Lil, 1984, sang Tina Turner's "What's Love Got to Do With It" and I was flat-out disappointed. The past few weeks it's like she's just been going through the motions. I'm pretty much over her. The judges didn't like it much, either, so I guess we did see the same show after all. We all know when Paula starts by talking about your outfit, you're in big trouble. This was Trainwreck #1 for me.
Anoop, 1986, "True Colors". I looked at him when it was over and went "Huh?". I just didn't get it. Once again, the judges loved it so I must be back to watching a different show. Since this is not a song I ever really liked, maybe I should give him (and the judges) the benefit of the doubt. Whatever. He's probably safe, because others were a lot worse. Yes, Lil, I'm talking about you!
And Scott, 1985, was Trainwreck #2. He sang something I don't even remember the name of and I could go look it up on one of those 52 AI sites I cruise around in, but I don't want to because I just don't care. He did show some personality and I liked that, but I didn't like the song much at all. The judges and I are back with the same show because they all gave him bad comments. Scott is very gracious when dealing with criticism and I appreciate that. It's much better than when someone gets all snotty about it. Remember Megan? Oh, let's not. Forget I even mentioned her name.
Allison, 1992 (the same year as my youngest - thanks for making me feel old) did "I Can't Make You Love Me", one of my all-time favorite songs and she was awesome. I got goosebumps, I swear. Simon gave her a hard time about talking more and being more "likable", whatever that means. She doesn't need to talk - her singing says all we need to know about Allison.
Next was Matt, 1985, singing "Part Time Lover" and I loved it. I heard a couple of sort of screechy notes, but it didn't really matter. I thought it was better than anything else he's done lately.
Finally, Adam, 1982. He sang "Mad World" and words fail me. It was another OMG performance. Simon gave him a standing ovation and I can't remember if that's ever happened before.
Back to my real life vs. reality show life: Today was another crazy (but not really in a good way) day. Every year about this time it gets like this. Plus it's a full moon. Say what you will about that having no effect on us down here on Earth, I'd have to disagree. I have a friend who is an ER nurse and she says it's always busier and crazier during the full moon. Maybe I was too excited about buying that ticket to Mexico - it put beach fantasies in my head. Plus I'm just kind of cranky and impatient. Not sure what's up with that, other than I've been having these really bizarre dreams so I haven't been sleeping that well. Other than that, not much else is going on. I guess I'll just take my cranky self to bed.
Monday, April 6, 2009
I Can Almost Smell the Ocean
I bought my plane ticket to Mexico today!!!!! I'm getting closer to the beach by the minute. A friend from school is going with me and we've been checking ticket for months now. And for those same months we've been moaning and complaining about the high cost of the tickets. The lowest we found prior to today was about $460. We checked airline websites, travel websites, cheap ticket websites. You name it, we checked it. We even checked into out of our way flights through LA and Mexico City. We were getting discouraged, and a little stressed, since we're leaving in eight weeks. I don't know about you, but I have this fear that if I wait too long to book a flight no seats will be available. I don't know if this is a valid fear because I've never waited longer than six weeks prior to a trip to book a flight. Anyway, she and I were talking on the phone about something else entirely and Janie (my travel buddy) said she was going to call some travel agents to see if they could find us a deal. BTW - Have you tried to find an actual travel agent lately? They're practically extinct. So we got off the phone and out of curiosity I went to the US Airways website and plugged our info in. Lo and behold - round trip from Denver to Mazatlan (via Phoenix) $340. I called her back and she went to their website and then we spent about 45 minutes booking our flights at the same time. Her computer kept freezing and telling her weird things, but eventually we got it done. So now we're the proud owners of e-tickets with our seats already picked out and everything! I know that I could have booked both of us and had her just pay me back, but that wouldn't have been near as much fun. Of course, now we've both promised to not check anywhere again - we don't want to know that if we'd waited another ________ (insert time period here) we could have paid less. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss, you know.
Then we decided that since we have to be at DIA at the ungodly hour of 4 am, we should go up the night before and stay in a motel out near the airport. I took care of that. I booked us a room at the Sleep Inn - we can park the car there for the two weeks we'll be gone, spend the night, and use the shuttle service for just a few dollars more than what parking alone would cost if we were to drive up the morning of the flight. Plus I may actually get a few hours of sleep this way. Last year, I had hubby drive me up and drop me off. Since we had to leave at 2 in the morning to get there by 4 I was afraid I'd oversleep so I just stayed up all night. It was OK, but I was pretty much a zombie by the time I actually arrived at the resort and it took me a couple of days to recover. So this idea sounds much better. Plus, since I consider that my vacation actually starts when I leave home, then my vacation will actually start sooner!
Crazy day at work and tomorrow promises to be even more so. I keep telling myself, "You can get through these last few weeks - the end is in sight." Kind of like the Little Engine That Could. I wonder if the LETC had to resort to Xanax before he finally made it up that hill?
On the knitting front: I'm determined to actually finish something before I start anything else. The "guy" blanket is the closest to completion, so it got elected. If I can get in some decent knitting time, I should be able to have it done by the end of the week. That's my plan, anyway.
Of course, there's that whole "best laid plans" thing, but I'm hoping for the best.
Today's Silver Lining: Crazy days at work can possibly be viewed as job security.
Then we decided that since we have to be at DIA at the ungodly hour of 4 am, we should go up the night before and stay in a motel out near the airport. I took care of that. I booked us a room at the Sleep Inn - we can park the car there for the two weeks we'll be gone, spend the night, and use the shuttle service for just a few dollars more than what parking alone would cost if we were to drive up the morning of the flight. Plus I may actually get a few hours of sleep this way. Last year, I had hubby drive me up and drop me off. Since we had to leave at 2 in the morning to get there by 4 I was afraid I'd oversleep so I just stayed up all night. It was OK, but I was pretty much a zombie by the time I actually arrived at the resort and it took me a couple of days to recover. So this idea sounds much better. Plus, since I consider that my vacation actually starts when I leave home, then my vacation will actually start sooner!
Crazy day at work and tomorrow promises to be even more so. I keep telling myself, "You can get through these last few weeks - the end is in sight." Kind of like the Little Engine That Could. I wonder if the LETC had to resort to Xanax before he finally made it up that hill?
On the knitting front: I'm determined to actually finish something before I start anything else. The "guy" blanket is the closest to completion, so it got elected. If I can get in some decent knitting time, I should be able to have it done by the end of the week. That's my plan, anyway.
Of course, there's that whole "best laid plans" thing, but I'm hoping for the best.
Today's Silver Lining: Crazy days at work can possibly be viewed as job security.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Back Home
We made it back from our visit to the kids. I love them all dearly, worry about them daily, but have to come to terms with the fact that they're grown up (pretty much) and have their own lives. Friday night we arrived at Shea's to find them all there, hanging out together cooking dinner for us. (Steak fajitas - yum!). Our niece didn't make it - too much studying to do. We ate, we talked, we laughed - typical family get-together. It was wonderful.
I suppose I have to take a moment and admit that Friday afternoon hubby was waiting for me when I got home from work - packed and ready to go. I'd have bet money that he was going to get tied up in some work thing and be late. Good thing I didn't actually bet any money because I would have lost. So, we hit the road and kept hearing dire weather prediction for a well organized winter storm. I'm curious - does a well organized winter storm suck any more than a disorganized one? They're both winter storms, which means snow. And we all know how much I hate snow. Anyway, no storm on the drive north although it did start to rain just as we arrived.
After a not-great night's sleep (I just don't sleep well away from my own bed, and without Buffy the Wonder Dog sleeping by my feet), we got up to a bunch of snow on the ground and more falling. Our drive from Greeley to Fort Collins took longer than normal due to the icy roads, blowing snow, and frequent white-out conditions (which basically means: "OMG, I can't see three feet in front of the car!!!") I'm glad I wasn't doing the actually driving; it was scary enough from the passenger seat. Shea went with us and we met up with everyone else (except Shea's boyfriend, aka might-as-well-be-son-in-law, Nathan - he had to work) at Ian's apartment and went out for lunch. We hung out at Ian's for awhile afterwards, then went and checked out Austin's apartment. Didn't bother going by Chance's place - he's moving somewhere else on Thursday. Slipped each of them a little grocery money. It's a Mom thing.
We started home in clear weather but all that ended just south of Denver. Then it turned into a screaming, windy snowstorm all the way to the middle of Colorado Springs. After that, the storm disappeared and we had dry roads the rest of the way home.
Jordan found time while we were gone to clean the house, so that was nice to come home to.
I visited three yarn shops: one in Greeley (Shea and I went to that one), one in Loveland, and one in Fort Collins. The first one we visited, Wild-n-Woolly in Greely, was a combined yarn and quilting store. The weather was so bad and the owner looked so lonely that I bought some yarn to make her feel better. The Loveland store - Woolen Treasures - had a Maine coon cat named Patrick in residence. He made me buy yarn. He acted like he owned the place and followed me around while I shopped. The Fort Collins store was called My Sister Knits and was in a residential neighborhood. The shop itself was in a small house behind a big house and we had to walk down a pathway through a garden to get to it. The garden had tables and chairs, flowerbeds, and a gazebo. I imagine it's very pretty in nice weather. I had to imagine because it was all covered with a foot of snow. The shop was neat - two stories, a sock class going on upstairs (I obviously did not ask to join) and some kind of party with cake going on downstairs. We were offered some, but had just eaten lunch so we passed. If I had been by myself I probably would have taken a piece. I love cake. Everyone was so friendly, I just had to buy something. So that's why my yarn stash is even bigger now. I have to give credit to hubby - he took me to the stores in Loveland and Fort Collins, went in with me and looked around, and didn't mention a word about the yarn purchases. He's stocking up brownie points for something, I swear. Plus I don't think he really knows how big my yarn stash is. I did a lot of knitting in the car on the way up, but not so much on the way back. I quit knitting about the time visibility was reduced to a couple of car lengths. By the time we drove out of the storm it was dark. So in addition to getting all the laundry done today I need to put in some knitting time. Oh, darn. :o)
Today's Silver Lining: I only have to do the laundry in this house, not the piles I saw in my children's homes.
I suppose I have to take a moment and admit that Friday afternoon hubby was waiting for me when I got home from work - packed and ready to go. I'd have bet money that he was going to get tied up in some work thing and be late. Good thing I didn't actually bet any money because I would have lost. So, we hit the road and kept hearing dire weather prediction for a well organized winter storm. I'm curious - does a well organized winter storm suck any more than a disorganized one? They're both winter storms, which means snow. And we all know how much I hate snow. Anyway, no storm on the drive north although it did start to rain just as we arrived.
After a not-great night's sleep (I just don't sleep well away from my own bed, and without Buffy the Wonder Dog sleeping by my feet), we got up to a bunch of snow on the ground and more falling. Our drive from Greeley to Fort Collins took longer than normal due to the icy roads, blowing snow, and frequent white-out conditions (which basically means: "OMG, I can't see three feet in front of the car!!!") I'm glad I wasn't doing the actually driving; it was scary enough from the passenger seat. Shea went with us and we met up with everyone else (except Shea's boyfriend, aka might-as-well-be-son-in-law, Nathan - he had to work) at Ian's apartment and went out for lunch. We hung out at Ian's for awhile afterwards, then went and checked out Austin's apartment. Didn't bother going by Chance's place - he's moving somewhere else on Thursday. Slipped each of them a little grocery money. It's a Mom thing.
We started home in clear weather but all that ended just south of Denver. Then it turned into a screaming, windy snowstorm all the way to the middle of Colorado Springs. After that, the storm disappeared and we had dry roads the rest of the way home.
Jordan found time while we were gone to clean the house, so that was nice to come home to.
I visited three yarn shops: one in Greeley (Shea and I went to that one), one in Loveland, and one in Fort Collins. The first one we visited, Wild-n-Woolly in Greely, was a combined yarn and quilting store. The weather was so bad and the owner looked so lonely that I bought some yarn to make her feel better. The Loveland store - Woolen Treasures - had a Maine coon cat named Patrick in residence. He made me buy yarn. He acted like he owned the place and followed me around while I shopped. The Fort Collins store was called My Sister Knits and was in a residential neighborhood. The shop itself was in a small house behind a big house and we had to walk down a pathway through a garden to get to it. The garden had tables and chairs, flowerbeds, and a gazebo. I imagine it's very pretty in nice weather. I had to imagine because it was all covered with a foot of snow. The shop was neat - two stories, a sock class going on upstairs (I obviously did not ask to join) and some kind of party with cake going on downstairs. We were offered some, but had just eaten lunch so we passed. If I had been by myself I probably would have taken a piece. I love cake. Everyone was so friendly, I just had to buy something. So that's why my yarn stash is even bigger now. I have to give credit to hubby - he took me to the stores in Loveland and Fort Collins, went in with me and looked around, and didn't mention a word about the yarn purchases. He's stocking up brownie points for something, I swear. Plus I don't think he really knows how big my yarn stash is. I did a lot of knitting in the car on the way up, but not so much on the way back. I quit knitting about the time visibility was reduced to a couple of car lengths. By the time we drove out of the storm it was dark. So in addition to getting all the laundry done today I need to put in some knitting time. Oh, darn. :o)
Today's Silver Lining: I only have to do the laundry in this house, not the piles I saw in my children's homes.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Heading for the Weekend
Tomorrow is Friday!!! It's almost sad the way I look forward to the end of the week nowadays. Maybe I should worry about this, but I won't. It's just the way I am. Some things are just a part of my universe: My goofy dog Buffy (and my other pets), the kids (who will still be "the kids" even after they become grandparents, my total disinterest in housework, and the fact that about this time of year I get obsessed with Fridays and counting the days until school is out (36 work days - in case you're counting with me). This "my universe" list could go on forever, just like the actual universe, but I'll leave it there for now.
We're still planning to leave tomorrow afternoon to visit all the kids that don't live here anymore. It's convenient that they're all in the same area, plus a niece from Arizona who's also in Fort Collins. Shea decided it would be easier for her to cook dinner tomorrow night instead of trying to go out to eat once we got up there. Bless her - she's such a sweetie. I called middle son Ian this afternoon and he was cleaning his apartment so I wouldn't see it looking like a pigsty. Chance and Austin, I think, want us to get up there at a reasonable hour so family dinner doesn't cut into Friday night fun time. Just suck it up boys - Mamma's comin' to town! Hubby assures me that he will be at home ready to go when I get home from work around 3:30. I'll believe that when I see the Tahoe in the driveway as I pull in. I already packed the few things I'll need for overnight (minus what I need to use in the morning - will thrown that stuff in before we go) and picked out which knitting project is making the trip with me ("guy" blanket). I also looked up and wrote down the addresses of three yarn shops in that area. Not that I need more yarn (definitely NOT), but it's fun to visit new stores. So I'm ready to go. Jordan's staying home since he has a soccer game Saturday afternoon. Hopefully he won't have some big, crazy party while we're gone. The neighbors will keep an eye on things, and he knows I'll get a phone call if more than two cars are parked in front. Plus, to be honest, he's pretty responsible. And he knows from his brothers' past "party while the folks are away" experiences what will happen. So I'm OK leaving him. I'll call at least 10 times, but I'm a Mom - it's what we do.
Jordan is having dinner with his Dad and Glen is at a Lions meeting, so once again the Silver Lining is not having to cook. I think I'm liking that one a little too much. Next week I'll try and get in a cooking mood and find some different Silver Linings.
Today's good news: Megan is finally gone from American Idol. She got in the judges faces about it, too. Like that's going to help her post-Idol prospects. I'm still amazed that she gets to go on tour and make like a hundred grand. I can't sing either - can I go, too? I'm off during the summer. Next week's songs have to be from the year the singer was born. I don't know what year Adam was born in, but I already know he'll be awesome. Because he just is. They had Blind Scott behind the keyboard again for the group singing. He was kind of near the edge, though - one too many backwards or sideways steps and he would have fallen right off.
My headache completely disappeared early this afternoon (finally!) and I feel a lot better than I did yesterday. Got my nails done after work.
I won't have time to post tomorrow. Unless hubby is running late, in which case I'll write something before we head up north. If we get out of town on time, I'll be back to the blog Saturday night or Sunday.
We're still planning to leave tomorrow afternoon to visit all the kids that don't live here anymore. It's convenient that they're all in the same area, plus a niece from Arizona who's also in Fort Collins. Shea decided it would be easier for her to cook dinner tomorrow night instead of trying to go out to eat once we got up there. Bless her - she's such a sweetie. I called middle son Ian this afternoon and he was cleaning his apartment so I wouldn't see it looking like a pigsty. Chance and Austin, I think, want us to get up there at a reasonable hour so family dinner doesn't cut into Friday night fun time. Just suck it up boys - Mamma's comin' to town! Hubby assures me that he will be at home ready to go when I get home from work around 3:30. I'll believe that when I see the Tahoe in the driveway as I pull in. I already packed the few things I'll need for overnight (minus what I need to use in the morning - will thrown that stuff in before we go) and picked out which knitting project is making the trip with me ("guy" blanket). I also looked up and wrote down the addresses of three yarn shops in that area. Not that I need more yarn (definitely NOT), but it's fun to visit new stores. So I'm ready to go. Jordan's staying home since he has a soccer game Saturday afternoon. Hopefully he won't have some big, crazy party while we're gone. The neighbors will keep an eye on things, and he knows I'll get a phone call if more than two cars are parked in front. Plus, to be honest, he's pretty responsible. And he knows from his brothers' past "party while the folks are away" experiences what will happen. So I'm OK leaving him. I'll call at least 10 times, but I'm a Mom - it's what we do.
Jordan is having dinner with his Dad and Glen is at a Lions meeting, so once again the Silver Lining is not having to cook. I think I'm liking that one a little too much. Next week I'll try and get in a cooking mood and find some different Silver Linings.
Today's good news: Megan is finally gone from American Idol. She got in the judges faces about it, too. Like that's going to help her post-Idol prospects. I'm still amazed that she gets to go on tour and make like a hundred grand. I can't sing either - can I go, too? I'm off during the summer. Next week's songs have to be from the year the singer was born. I don't know what year Adam was born in, but I already know he'll be awesome. Because he just is. They had Blind Scott behind the keyboard again for the group singing. He was kind of near the edge, though - one too many backwards or sideways steps and he would have fallen right off.
My headache completely disappeared early this afternoon (finally!) and I feel a lot better than I did yesterday. Got my nails done after work.
I won't have time to post tomorrow. Unless hubby is running late, in which case I'll write something before we head up north. If we get out of town on time, I'll be back to the blog Saturday night or Sunday.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
I Need a Decent Night's Sleep
Today was not a good day. Woke up in the middle of the night with a screaming headache that just would not go away and couldn't get back to sleep. About the time my alarm clock began beeping I started feeling nauseous. I took a sick day from work and crawled back into bed and stayed there for a few more hours. The good news is that the headache is finally gone. I'm still really tired, though.
Tonight we find out who's leaving Idol-land. It better be Megan. Here are my thoughts about last night's show:
Anoop sang Usher and was just boring. Megan did a Bob Marley song that must have made Bob want to come back from the dead and put a voodoo curse on her. Yes, it was that bad. I wanted to put a voodoo curse on her. It was just so....grating. That's probably what caused my headache. And what was all that crap hanging around her neck? And to top it all off, she got snotty with the judges when they told her she sucked. Well, they didn't actually say "You sucked" but we all know that's what they meant. Because she sucked. Then Danny sang something by Rascal Flatts and the judges loved it, but I thought it was out of tune. How many pairs of glasses does Danny have anyway? He seems to have different ones every week. Allison picked "Don't Speak" by No Doubt and I thought it was pretty good - she "made it her own" to use a phrase the judges love to toss around. They didn't have much to say about her singing, just picked on her outfit a lot. Well, it was a crazy outfit and even crazier hair, but I think it worked for her. She's sixteen so she can get away with it. Scott had new hair and wasn't wearing pink pants so that was a big improvement over last week before he even opened his mouth. He sang Billy Joel and sounded better than he has in weeks. He's not going to win, but he'll find a job somewhere and be successful. The guy's blind but he's not sitting around whining about it, feeling sorry for himself, and collecting welfare. No - he's out doing something with his life and if he never sings another note in tune on the show I have to admire him for that. He's probably safe this week because some of the others (especially Megan) were way worse. Matt sang something but it was pretty bad and I don't want to remember it. I don't know what happened, but he didn't sing like I know he can. Then came Lil singing Celine. It had some nice big notes and I liked her retro look, but other than that I was bored. She can do so much better. I'm disappointed in her and I think she's falling behind the pack. Next was Adam. I still love Adam. "Play That Funky Music" hasn't sounded that good in years. It was energetic and it was fun! And it was Adam. Need I say more? Wait, I will say more: I agree with Randy and his "Star Zone" comment and I thought it was classy of Adam to thank the band. Now I'm done with Adam. Kris had the final spot and he sang "Ain't No Sunshine" which is a favorite of mine. Trivia note - the original version has "I know" repeated 26 times in a row. I know this because I counted them years ago. It was awesome and his best performance so far. Plus he's just so darn cute. Picking on him would be like being mean to a Labrador puppy and who can do that? I did my voting thing. It took 11 minutes to vote for Adam and then I decided to give Kris a vote, too, so I spent another 9 minutes punching the redial button until I got through for him.
Overall, most of the performances last night didn't do much for me. Looking back, maybe the headache-waiting-to-happen was making me cranky ahead of time. I still want to blame Megan for that, though - she was just so awful. She should definitely be the one to go, but I think Matt and Anoop could be in trouble, too. We'll know in a couple of hours if I'm right.
Knitting note: My knitter-friend emailed me a pattern for that wool yarn I wasn't sure what to do with. I told her it might be awhile before I tried it since I currently have four projects going in various stages of completion. So she said if I only have four in progress I'm slacking and need to let my project ADD come out again. That made me LOL because it's just so true. I was looking at the piece I was knitting last night and thinking about starting a baby blanket for a co-worker who's expecting. I even got up and picked out the yarn for it. This baby isn't due until the fall, which is a good thing since I know I'll never be able to start and finish it without doing some other stuff in between. Hey, at least I'm aware of my problem.
I've been trying to think of a Silver Lining for today and finally found one: I didn't have to put on makeup today since I didn't go to work. Kind of lame, but still...better than nothing. It's all about the positives, right? :o) Plus it's all I've got for now.
Tonight we find out who's leaving Idol-land. It better be Megan. Here are my thoughts about last night's show:
Anoop sang Usher and was just boring. Megan did a Bob Marley song that must have made Bob want to come back from the dead and put a voodoo curse on her. Yes, it was that bad. I wanted to put a voodoo curse on her. It was just so....grating. That's probably what caused my headache. And what was all that crap hanging around her neck? And to top it all off, she got snotty with the judges when they told her she sucked. Well, they didn't actually say "You sucked" but we all know that's what they meant. Because she sucked. Then Danny sang something by Rascal Flatts and the judges loved it, but I thought it was out of tune. How many pairs of glasses does Danny have anyway? He seems to have different ones every week. Allison picked "Don't Speak" by No Doubt and I thought it was pretty good - she "made it her own" to use a phrase the judges love to toss around. They didn't have much to say about her singing, just picked on her outfit a lot. Well, it was a crazy outfit and even crazier hair, but I think it worked for her. She's sixteen so she can get away with it. Scott had new hair and wasn't wearing pink pants so that was a big improvement over last week before he even opened his mouth. He sang Billy Joel and sounded better than he has in weeks. He's not going to win, but he'll find a job somewhere and be successful. The guy's blind but he's not sitting around whining about it, feeling sorry for himself, and collecting welfare. No - he's out doing something with his life and if he never sings another note in tune on the show I have to admire him for that. He's probably safe this week because some of the others (especially Megan) were way worse. Matt sang something but it was pretty bad and I don't want to remember it. I don't know what happened, but he didn't sing like I know he can. Then came Lil singing Celine. It had some nice big notes and I liked her retro look, but other than that I was bored. She can do so much better. I'm disappointed in her and I think she's falling behind the pack. Next was Adam. I still love Adam. "Play That Funky Music" hasn't sounded that good in years. It was energetic and it was fun! And it was Adam. Need I say more? Wait, I will say more: I agree with Randy and his "Star Zone" comment and I thought it was classy of Adam to thank the band. Now I'm done with Adam. Kris had the final spot and he sang "Ain't No Sunshine" which is a favorite of mine. Trivia note - the original version has "I know" repeated 26 times in a row. I know this because I counted them years ago. It was awesome and his best performance so far. Plus he's just so darn cute. Picking on him would be like being mean to a Labrador puppy and who can do that? I did my voting thing. It took 11 minutes to vote for Adam and then I decided to give Kris a vote, too, so I spent another 9 minutes punching the redial button until I got through for him.
Overall, most of the performances last night didn't do much for me. Looking back, maybe the headache-waiting-to-happen was making me cranky ahead of time. I still want to blame Megan for that, though - she was just so awful. She should definitely be the one to go, but I think Matt and Anoop could be in trouble, too. We'll know in a couple of hours if I'm right.
Knitting note: My knitter-friend emailed me a pattern for that wool yarn I wasn't sure what to do with. I told her it might be awhile before I tried it since I currently have four projects going in various stages of completion. So she said if I only have four in progress I'm slacking and need to let my project ADD come out again. That made me LOL because it's just so true. I was looking at the piece I was knitting last night and thinking about starting a baby blanket for a co-worker who's expecting. I even got up and picked out the yarn for it. This baby isn't due until the fall, which is a good thing since I know I'll never be able to start and finish it without doing some other stuff in between. Hey, at least I'm aware of my problem.
I've been trying to think of a Silver Lining for today and finally found one: I didn't have to put on makeup today since I didn't go to work. Kind of lame, but still...better than nothing. It's all about the positives, right? :o) Plus it's all I've got for now.
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