5.31.2006
Please pardon the light posting this week, Matt Henry graduates from high school Friday night. That means:
1-My ex husband and his girlfriend are in town.
2-My mother is planning the party of all parties and I'm anticipating the bill.
3-I'm cramming 6 days worth of work into 3 actual working days.
4-I'm frantically ironing, spray tanning, cleaning and dodging phone calls from family.
Pray for us.
posted by Keriann at 5/31/2006 09:35:00 PM comment(s) made:
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5.26.2006
What kind of grandmother do you think you'll be? That question has been niggling at me for the last few days. We have had some not so great news about my grandfather and that has me musing about the roles my grandparents played in my life and the relationship my children have with their grandparents.
Myself, I totally see me as a Paula Deen type grandma. Very southern, on the chubby side with gorgeous white hair and a smile on my face all the time. I'll be happy to have grandchildren when the time is right, I will be the snuggly spoiling grandma always making cookies (ok, buying Oreos) and playing patty cake and tea parties. I don't want to be called Grandma or Granny or MeeMaw. I want to be either Nan or Nana. I'll always smell faintly of Laila perfume and won't go out until "I have my face on."
My mother couldn't be further from me in style. She's stern and not much on hugs. She makes some mean beef and noodles for Shelby and strawberry bread for Patrick in return for them working in the yard with her. She sometimes acts more like a mom than a grandmother, but now with 8 grandchildren, I think she's mellowing.
My father's mother lives in California with my grandpa. She's never lived near me so time with her was always a treat. She paints and does lots of mixed media art. For years she hand painted china ornaments for each grandchild every Christmas. She was the first person to ever teach me how to make spinach dip (back when nobody on the east coast had even heard of it) and that tree bark is made up of hundreds of different colors and hues.
My mom's mom. Oh how I miss her. She crocheted, knit, made homemade fudge and divinity for my dad, giblet gravy and amazing stuffing every holiday. I have a quilt she hand stitched out of scraps of clothing that my parents, sister and I wore way way back in the early 70's. She loved crossword puzzles and reading and Days of our Lives. My grandma Dorothy-that's the grandma I want to be.
posted by Keriann at 5/26/2006 06:12:00 PM comment(s) made:
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5.25.2006
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1…. Rent Soundtrack 2.. Chicago Soundtrack 3.. Laurie Berkner-Buzz Buzz Buzz 4.. They Might Be Giants-NO! 5.. They Might Be Giants-Here Come the ABC's 6.. Silly Songs with Larry 7.. Booty Songs 8.. More Booty Songs 9.. Jack Jones-The Curious George Soundtrack 10. A mixed CD that John made me of songs that make him think of me. 11. Torch Songs 12. The Cure-Best of 13. Sting-Brand New Day Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!) |
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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posted by Keriann at 5/25/2006 09:39:00 AM comment(s) made:
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5.24.2006
I'm sick, so sick that I left work early today to fall in my bed and cry until a Nyquil induced coma carried me away.
Now I'm typing away in a medicinal hangover since my throat suddenly seizing up and feeling like hot daggers were hacking away at my ears woke me up.
Random tv and hallucinogenic musings:
Ellen DeGeneres is truly silly and funny. Love her.
Kristen Chenoweth might be my first girl crush ever.
Jack Blackalways needs a shower. Even when he just got out of the shower.
Dr Phil is weirdly attractive when I'm medicated.
It's impossible to see Tom Cruise from the good ol days (Days of Thunder) and not feel sad that he's such a freak now.
"Breathe from your hoo-hoo" is my new theme song. If you have no idea what that means, either you didn't see Ellen today or I need to be hospitalized.
posted by Keriann at 5/24/2006 04:50:00 PM comment(s) made:
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If you couldn't tell by my picture over there, I'm not deluged with offers to pose for any bikini mags. Now, while I'm overweight, I'm also cute as a button. I have some wicked curves and there's not a lot of flab on me, I'm pretty solid in the right places and soft in the perfect areas. In other words, my weight isn't holding me back in any areas-social, professional or medical.
Now I've just found out that I am eligible for either gastric bypass or lap band surgery. My insurance will cover it and well, I'm afraid that I'm caving in to the peer pressure. My good friends Vee and Kelly are both seriously considering going under the knife and they want me to round out the 3some.
Pros: Cute clothes at a much less expensive price.
I can ride the Hulk at Islands of Adventure without my breasts pressed into my spine.
Cons: A basic low carb diet for life.
1 ounce of food 3 times a day for months afterward.
Major surgery with general anesthesia (one of my phobias)
Gross loose skin after weight loss (it even happens when you lose weight the "right" way)
The possibility that it won't be the permanent solution and I'll regain all the weight.
I guess basically I'm not "desperate" enough to really want to lose the weight. I like the way I look (well, aside from PMS days), and I love to eat. It's not so much an emotional crutch as it is that the taste of a pound of butter friend in shortening with sour cream sauce on top. I wonder if I'll just be a cranky thin girl that wants to eat an entire taco at one time.
Feel free to post an opinion, just realize that any "get off your fat a** and go to the gym" comments will be deleted and your karma will be seriously dinged by the cosmos if you're that mean a person.
posted by Keriann at 5/24/2006 04:33:00 PM comment(s) made:
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5.21.2006
You may now call me "New Car Girl". Kissing my ring is not necessary.
So, here's where we were at. A 99 Grand Caravan with 150k miles on it that we bought new in 1998. A 95 Mitsubishi with unknown gazillions of miles on it with no air and 4 windows that don't roll down (that's John's car, he likes saunas). I just put 700 plus dollars into new brakes on the van and the starter began to act up.
Soo, maybe it's time to bite the bullet and get a new car. We cleaned out the van but didn't pretty it up too much, if they took it great, if not we'd get the starter fixed and go another year without car payments. I really did want something smaller though, we bought the van when PMS (Patrick Matthew and Shelby) were much smaller and we needed the room. Now most of the time Jason is the only one in the car with us and I wanted better gas mileage when our gas is now $2.67 a gallon.
I wanted a Vibe. My mil bought a Toyota Matrix a couple weeks ago and I felt that was the perfect car for me-the Vibe is the exact same car, just made in California instead of Ontario (not that it mattered to me, Pontiac just had better rebates). We cranked the van 3 times before it turned over and headed to the dealership to spend 4 hours there. I have no idea why it took so long, we were preapproved for the financing, they knew what we wanted and where we wanted to be with payments, but I dunno, I think they thought if we waited long enough we'd figure out we really wanted that Hummer to tow the Vibe for us.
We handed the keys over and began moving carseat, Toy Story 2 book, Laurie Berkner CD's and my Disney World antenna topper over to the new car when the salesman starts the van FOR THE FIRST TIME. Who determines what the trade value is without even driving the car? Of course it wouldn't even turn over. John began cracking up (the first time he'd smiled all day) and said "It's theirs now. Sucka's!!" and drove off the lot in my new car.
Wonder where I can get some New Car Smell essential oil to keep my high going.
posted by Keriann at 5/21/2006 08:42:00 AM comment(s) made:
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5.18.2006
I realized that most of the people reading here probably have no clue who I'm talking about when I refer to CB1, PB or THG. Last year I had a blog that I dearly loved, but chaos reigned and I took it down. The one carryover to this blog was the fact that I referred to my family by cute nom de plumes which make absolutely no sense whatsoever to the new readers. So, from this point on you get the intimate knowledge of my family's first names.
CB1-Cave Boy 1 is Patrick, my oldest son. He's 19, has 2 lip rings and 1 tattoo which I believe he got purely for the joy of seeing raw horror on his mother's face when I saw them. Now I'm used to them and just laugh when he tries to eat a taco and not swallow a piece of metal. He lives across town in a cute 1 bedroom apartment that surprisingly looks fairly clean and even decorated.
CB2-Cave Boy 2 is Matthew, sometimes referred to as Matt Henry. He's 18, graduating from high school in 2 weeks and moving into his own apartment. Not to worry, he's living in the same student housing community I work at, so basically he hasn't gotten away from his mom yet. He's been living with my parents for the past 3 years and going to high school in a small town simply because the high schools here are abysmal.
PB-Punk Barbie is Shelby. My one and only daughter is 15 and the light of my heart. She's actually moving to a small town (see above) to attend high school. I'm saddened to let her go but I know it's the best thing for her. She'll only be an hour away so I still get to see all the stuff I would anyway, only this time there will actually BE a school play or concert to see rather than what passes for extra curriculars here.
Cave Baby-Jason is 3 and my miracle boy. He's recently potty trained (we are the family with the blonde crew cutted boy shrieking "mummy, I went poo poo in da potty!" in the middle of your quiet dinner in a fancy restaurant), still sleeps with his mommy and daddy and says he will until he grows up and gets married. He attends a Christian Montessori preschool and is generally a wild man learning some desperately needed social skills.
THG-that's John, my husband of 8 years. He's the yin to my yang, the cold to my hot, the butter and sour cream on my potato. I'm loud, he's quiet. I'm emotional, he's reserved. I yell, he plays dead. THG originally stood for "the hot guy, harassed guy, insert an H adjective here" but basically, he's just John.
Sara-Patrick's girlfriend. I never knew I could love a girl with stars tattooed behind her ears and fingernails 3 inches long painted with green and gold glitter paint, but God help me, I do. She's responsible, funny, caring and loves my Shelby beyond all reason. She's also in no real hurry to make me a grandmother which just proves how intelligent she is. She loves that nitwit Patrick and I crack up every time she calls him "Pattylicious".
posted by Keriann at 5/18/2006 07:59:00 PM comment(s) made:
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5.17.2006
I received this in my inbox today, any other babies born in the 60s might get a nostalgic tear in their eye as well:
IF YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL IN THE 70'S ...You had that Fisher Price Doctor 's Kit with a stethoscope that actually worked
You owned a bicycle with a banana seat and a plastic basket with flowers on it.
You learned to skate with actual skates (not roller blades) that had metal wheels.
You thought Gopher from Love Boat was cute (admit it!)
You had nightmares after watching Fantasy Island.
You had rubber boots for rainy days and Moon boots for snowy days.
You owned a "Slip-n-Slide",on which you injured yourself on a sprinkler head more than once.
You owned "Klick-Klacks" and smacked yourself in the face more than once.
You had either a "bowl cut" or "pixie," not to mention the "Dorothy Hamill".People sometimes thought you were a boy.
Your Holly Hobbie sleeping bag was your most prized possession.
You wore a poncho, gauchos, and knickers.
You begged Santa for the electronic game, Simon.
You had the Donnie and Marie dolls with those pink and purple satiny shredded outfits.
You spent hours in your backyard on your metal swing set with the trapeze.The swing set tipped over at least once.
You had homemade ribbon barrettes in every imaginable color.
You had a pair of Doctor Scholl's sandals (the ones with hard sole & the buckle).
You wanted to be Laura Ingalls Wilder really bad; you wore that Little House on the Prairie-inspired plaid, ruffle shirt with the high neck in at least one school picture; and you despised Nellie Olson!
You wanted your first kiss to be at a roller rink.!
Your hairstyle was described as having "wings" or "feathers" and you kept it "pretty" with the comb you kept in your back pocket. When you walked, the "wings" flapped up and down, looked like you were gonna "take off". (Remember Aqua Net hairspray?)
You know who Strawberry Shortcake is, as well as her friends, Blueberry Muffin and Huckleberry Pie.
You carried a Muppets lunch box to school and it was metal, not plastic. With the thermos inside!
You and your girlfriends would fight over which of the Dukes of Hazzard was your boyfriend. (Uh, Bo of course!)
YOU had Star Wars action figures, too!
It was a big event in your household each year when the "Wizard of Oz" would come on TV. Your mom would break out the popcorn and sleeping bags!
You often asked your Magic-8 ball the question: "Who will I marry. Shaun Cassidy, Leif Garrett, or David Cassidy..?" (Shaun Cassidy was totally my future husband!)
You completely wore out your Grease, Saturday Night Fever, and Fame soundtrack record album.
You tried to do lots of arts and crafts, like yarn and Popsicle-stick God's eyes, decoupage, or those weird potholders made on a plastic loom.
You made Shrinky-Dinks and put iron-on kittens on your t-shirts!
You used to tape record songs off the radio by holding your portable tape player up to the speaker.
You had subscriptions to Dynamite and Tiger Beat.
You learned everything you needed to know about girl issues from Judy Blume books (Are you there God, It's me, Margaret.)
You wore friendship pins on your tennis shoes, or shoelaces with heart or rainbow designs.
You wanted to be a Solid Gold dancer.
You drowned yourself in Love's Baby Soft - which was the first "real"perfume you ever owned .. .
posted by Keriann at 5/17/2006 12:36:00 PM comment(s) made:
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5.16.2006
Tonight I had the first hot bath I've had in 2 weeks. 2 weeks ago yesterday we lost all our hot water. The water in our house is so cold it takes your breath away. Taking a shower burns more calories than a Precor, with the dancing around trying to evade the errant frigid droplet that surprises you in a very personal area. I'm a water freak, every day I (back when we actually had hot water) shower in the morning and take a long hot bubble bath every night. Now I'm hopping around in my shower with tears in my eyes and cursing the plumbing gods.
I miss my steamy bathroom mirror. I miss my makeup melting off before I leave for work because the warm humidity from THG's shower hasn't evaporated early enough. I miss the scent of my cinnamon and fig bubble bath or my ginger lily shower gel wafting through my bedroom. Now it's a quick sudsing with Dial and get the hell out of there.
There's been lots of back and forth on this plumbing issue, very long boring story ending in the words "slab leak", "500 dollars for 4 hours" and "we can't get there til Thursday at the earliest". After I broke down last night and shrieked at THG that SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE was going to get me some hot water if I had to sell my soul for it, he has figured a complicated system of shutting off this valve and opening that blowhole to get me about 3/4 of a tub of scalding water.
I'm so loving my burnt pink skin and fig smelling toes right now.
posted by Keriann at 5/16/2006 06:33:00 PM comment(s) made:
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5.15.2006
So, today I have a nice surprise. CB1 calls and asks if I'm off today, which I am. The plumbers have just left my house after telling me to wait an hour and see if I have hot water yet (we haven't had any for 2 weeks) so I'm just puttering around, catching up on laundry and making a menu for the week.
CB1 comes over and asks me to lunch. He couldn't spend yesterday with me since he works in a restaurant and was obligated to serve everyone else's mother but his own. I wasn't upset by that, it's to be expected. However today was such a nice day-we laughed all the way to Castillo de Mexico, mostly at the choices that PB has on her Ipod ( Hootie and the Blowfish?) and then stuffed ourselves with chips and salsa, enchiladas and rice and beans. Mmm mmm mm. Then CB1 takes me to Walmart to buy me a Confederate Jasmine and I'm gobsmacked. When did my goofy goth boy turn into a responsible young man flipping his debit card out to treat his mom to a Mother's Day surprise?
posted by Keriann at 5/15/2006 02:36:00 PM comment(s) made:
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5.14.2006
So, it's Mother's Day today. Generally moms in my age group don't get a whole lot for Mother's Day-our children are too young to really do things for us and we spend our energy doing for our own moms. Today was fabulous though-
I'm reliving my youth by driving my father's Suzuki Sidekick sans the roof. We (CB2 and Cave Baby as well as myself) drove down to St Augustine to Barnacle Bills for an early lunch with my mom and PB. My dad is in Cali spending Mother's Day with his mother and THG has a cold, so we were just a couple of old women with our kids for the day. After lunch we walked St George St. and poked around in a couple of shops-couple being the key word since Cave Baby isn't the best shopper yet.
When we got back home (PB, Cave Baby and I) I went upstairs and caught up with Alison May at Brocante Home which took a few hours since I've sorely neglected my favorite blogs for a while. THG took Cave Baby to the store for "mommy stuff" while I was lazy. PB made my favorite comfort food, Hamburger Helper Potato Stroganoff while Cave Baby was well, Cave Baby.
Here's where the cuteness comes in. He's so grown now that I catch myself with a lump in my throat sometimes, wondering where in the world my lovely snuggly baby boy went. He wanted to write his name, so he brought me a pencil and an old Target receipt (where does he find this stuff?) and said "J-down and then a fish hook!" while making a squiggly J. Then he said "I'm a draw you a muvvers day cake mommy." When he presented me with the lines and circles on the page I told him how beautiful it was. He said (get ready for the welling up)
"it's because you is on it mommy"
buy the boy a car!
Later he paraded around on the bed, whistling through his toy trumpet and singing "happy muvvers day to you, happy muvvers day to you, happy muvvers day to mommy, happy muvvers day to you"
He sat down next to me with his Blues Clues button book, asking me what I thought Blue was making with her buttons. Every time I answered correctly he lit up and said "good job! Gimme a five!" holding his little hand up for me to slap.
How am I going to ever last when he actually does go off to big boy school??
posted by Keriann at 5/14/2006 10:03:00 PM comment(s) made:
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