Linky Love Extravaganza

Sounds exciting, doesn't it?

I sure hope so!

Today, since I still haven't done anything with all my pictures, and they're at home on my laptop (slacker), I will be linking to some of the terrific stuff I've seen in the Blogdom lately.

First, Happy Meals & Happy Hour had a terrific take on a familiar children's story.

Busy Dad had the funniest picture posted recently.

Nap Warden is wondering about her status...

Fussypants has big plans for the weekend.

Connie has been finding a little bit of peace.

Heather attended a writing workshop recently.

Janet has discovered that her baby is growing up quickly.

BurgBaby thinks maybe her Navigational system is out to get her.

Anglophile Football Fanatic (aka AFF) has posted a blast from the past.

Catwoman will be welcoming a new addition to the family soon!

My BBFWJDKI (Best Bloggy Friend Who Just Doesn't Know It), FADKOG, had an anniversary this week.

Rachel had a cute mess to deal with lately. AND, she's still donating October revenue to Breast Cancer Research.


Ok, so that's it for today. I hope you enjoy these posts as much as I have.

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Don't forget my Blogoversary is coming. I will have a giveaway. Check back soon!!!
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Please don't forget that I'm ON THE MOVE to find a cure for Alzheimer's. (Read this post for more details.) I'm donating all revenue from October to the Alzheimer's Association. Please stay and click a while!!! And if you wish to donate to a terrific cause, I would be honored if you would consider supporting me in my Walk on October 18th!!

Click Here to Donate

Wekend Update: Random, random, everywhere...

Hello, remember me?? I know I'm a huge slacker. I still can't seem to turn all those "Drafts" into "Posts". I'm working on it.

Coming up later this week, the Cub Scout post I have been promising. I've decided to wait until after his Bobcat ceremony (is that what it's called?) to finish that one up.

Also, I have a circus recap. I took LOTS of photos (& video), and I would have had that one finished already, but life keeps getting in the way of my blogging (RUDE!) Plus, there's that whole camera slacker thing I've got going on...

So, instead I will share a bit O' the random...

Yesterday's Left-handed compliment of the day: "You're VERY intelligent in your own way." I won't share with you the response that came to mind...

I never did make it into work on Saturday. I fully intended to, but Budman had to go to his parents' house to work on their cars, and with Mater having run a fever the day before, we did not want to bring him around Budman's Dad, Pop, for fear that he would get very sick. So, the kids and I stayed home, I did laundry and cleaned house, and felt very productive instead.

Saturday was the Circus, thanks to Possum, who said "I don't have to be there until 7:20, I thought we would leave around 7:00", (Gee, thanks for making our plans for us, we MIGHT have had something else in mind, though - So sorry we didn't consult you first!!) we were very nearly late. My parents DID meet us there, and as I'm getting out of the car, I get my SECOND phone call from my mother (She's not so good with the concept of 'go with the flow'), who says "The man here says the show starts at 7:00. That's in five minutes!" So, we hurried over to meet them at the door, rushed in and found our seats. Possum, turns out, was NOT supposed to be there at 7:20, since the silly thing STARTED at 7:00 and he couldn't find the other boys in the group, because they were already out in the CENTER RING!!! Grr, the boy makes us crazy sometimes! Oh well, he made it to where he was supposed to be, and we had a lovely time. I have lots of pictures, and will share soon.

Sunday, the little boys went to Church with Grandma, and the big one went to the shooting range with Grandpa, SO Budman and I snuck off together!! We went and had breakfast at Whataburger, then swung by the auto parts store to buy a radiator for his mother's car. (Boy, does he know how to show a girl a good time!!) Sigh... Where was I? Ah, we headed to the In-laws, and replaced the radiator - OK, so Budman replaced it, but I totally helped him, AND if I had a Chevy S-10 whatever, I could SO change out the radiator on it. I could SO!! Budman said next time he was letting me doing it all. SO there!

Surprisingly, the radiator only took about an hour and a half, and we headed back home, where I prepared a little Seven Layer dip to snack on while Budman and Possum watched the Football game, which was a tremendous disappointment, and I Plurked.

The kids had Monday off school, so they were tasked with getting the Halloween decorations up outside. They also got to carve Jack-o-Lanterns!! The decorations aren't quite finished yet, but don't worry BurghBaby, I will share the pictures, as promised.

I guess that's it for now. I really have lots more ideas, but somehow, I'm lacking the words to back it all up!

Oh, and remember, my blogaversary is coming up, and I will be having a giveaway!! Stay tuned for more details!!! (Dang, I'm not sure how to spell that!!!)

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Please don't forget that I'm On the MOVE for a cure to Alzheimer's. (Read yesterday's post for more details.) I'm donating all revenue from October to the Alzheimer's Association. Please stay and click a while!!! And if you wish to donate to a terrific cause, I would be honored if you would support me in my Walk on October 18th!!

Click Here to Donate

Something occurred to me...

Lately, I've been so busy trying to have "something to write about", that I've been neglecting my favorite part of my blog. Telling you about my family. Granted, it's not always funny, although we have our moments, but it's real...

We have made it through the first 6 weeks of the new school year. It's been largely uneventful (in our world, uneventful is a good thing).

Possum, has been struggling with organization again this year. He is certainly smart enough to complete his work, but he often forgets to turn it in, or leaves the book he needs at school, etc. This is frustrating, and THANK GOODNESS for the online grade check, because he would NOT tell us any of this on his own. I'm not sure whether this is because of his forgetfulness, or if he's just being sneaky, but I am so glad that I can check all of his assignments online, because that way I can stay on top of things... I'm pretty sure this is all part of the teenage boy's brain. I can only assume that he's so busy thinking about girls, that there's not room in there for "unimportant" stuff like schoolwork! So, I've become a nag, and I hate it.

Monkey is still having trouble staying on task, minding his own business, etc and he's still a terrific liar. (No, I'm not calling my son a liar, I just mean that he's rather good at it...) Currently, he's grounded until further notice. He's not grounded for the minor infractions at school, he's grounded for lying, which in our house, is a MUCH more heinous offense than not following directions or whatever.

He's also still doing his Cub Scouts, although after Wednesday, he almost lost that privilege, too. However, we have decided that instead of taking away Cub Scouts, perhaps we can use it to help remind him that he needs to live up to the Motto of the Cub Scouts - Do your best. Every chance we get, in all the things he is learning, about respect, duty, goodwill etc, we try to turn those things into a life lesson, to show him how he can use those ideals in his daily life at school, to follow his leaders, to do his best, to give goodwill. I really do hope, as I have from the beginning, that those things won't become just words to him, but goals and practices for his daily life. He will receive his Bobcat badge next week, and I'm almost as excited as he is! We've worked really hard.

Mater, bless his heart, hardly ever gets talked about, because he doesn't get into trouble. Monkey was my angel baby, but Mater is my Angel child. Don't get me wrong, he's not perfect, and he does occasionally get into trouble at home, but he does not get into trouble at school. Last year, in Pre-K there was ONE day out of all the (180??) school days, that he did not get a sticker. (Their chosen measurement of conduct). This year, so far, he is doing just as well. He's learning quickly, starting to read, and sounding out words. He gets easily frustrated, but he's doing great. He's in Speech therapy twice a week at school, and already I've noticed a big improvement with his "r" sounds.

Yesterday, after school, he began feel sick, and ran a fever all night. Poor thing - he felt SO hot. By this morning, his temp was down to 101.4, but of course, he still stayed home from school. He was VERY disappointed, he loves school. (Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, if you don't have one of THESE thermometers, get one - it's the ONE thing I don't know how I ever lived without!!!!)

Budman and I are tired. LOL!

Possum, who I've mentioned before is in DeMolay, will be working at the Shrine Circus on Saturday, so we will be taking the little ones to enjoy while Possum is there. We went last year, and really enjoyed it a lot. I'm looking forward to taking them to do something fun. Mandatory fun - we all need to try it (on a completely unrelated note, the link for the Shrine Circushad a Kid fun page, where you can print off coloring pages for the kiddos!!)

I've had several requests from my family for visitswith us and the kids, but they will have to wait a little longer. Budman will be taking the kids to his parents house (yes, I realize they are family as well, but they don't request, they guilt) on Saturday, to work on their cars, while I take my happy butt into work to catch up a little. So, I'm going to have to tell my folks that we are available Saturday night at the Circus, if they would like to join us, otherwise, it will be two more weeks. Ugh.

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Please don't forget that I'm On the MOVE for a cure to Alzheimer's. (Read yesterday's post for more details.) I'm donating all revenue from October to the Alzheimer's Association. Please stay and click a while!!! And if you wish to donate to a terrific cause, I would be honored if you would support me in my Walk on October 18th!!

Click Here to Donate

I'm on the Move...

I've already mentioned here that my Grandpa Jack had Alzheimer's. I've had other relatives that had this disease as well, but Grandpa Jack is who I'm talking about today.

Once upon a time, he was a big man, strong, larger than life. And when I needed him, he was there for me. He gave me a home, taking nothing in return, asking only that I take care of myself and my son. In exchange, I looked out for him, cooked for him, and kept him company (I think maybe that was the most important to him - just having us around). In truth, we needed each other.

Eventually, I went out on my own again, living close by, and still stopping by to visit with him when I could. He was a sentimental man, and decided to buy back the house that he had lived in when my Grandmother was alive, the house my father, aunt and uncle grew up in. The house I visited weekly until my 20s. Still close by, but I didn't visit as much.

A few years went by, and his Dr. told him that he had Alzheimer's disease. They called meetings for the family to attend, plans were made, arguments were waged. He resented the interference, but they had to do something. He lived alone as long as he could.

My father bought a new house, so that there would be room for Grandpa, and he agreed, but when it came time to move, he refused. So, my dad would drive everyday to drop Grandpa off at his own house, where he would stay while Daddy was at work. I drove by each day at noon to make sure that he had lunch, and to keep him company for a little while. Then Dad would come by every afternoon after work, and take him home to "spend the night". They drove him to church every Sunday, and each week, the routine would start all over. He didn't want to move in with them, so we created this arrangement to keep him happy.

Eventually, we even had to take his truck. A "Grandpa Day Care" was arranged so that he wouldn't be alone all day.

I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been for a man like him to give up power and control of his life. He wouldn't have to for long, turns out.

At some point, during one of his hospital visits, he was diagnosed with lung cancer. To this day, we don't know whether he was told about the cancer and forgot, or if he chose to keep it from us.

A year later, another hospital visit, and the cancer was mentioned again, this time to my father. We were all stunned. After all this time, the cancer did not take much longer to take him from us. Afterward, in a conversation with his primary Doctor, it was apparent that even she was unaware of the cancer.

Things deteriorated very quickly after that, the cancer had been at work in his body for at least a year, and by the time we found out, it was too late.

He died on March 09, 2005, Shortly after arriving at the hospice that was arranged for him.

I'm not going to bore you with statistics. I've already posted those here, and you can also find as much as you need here.

Every year since he passed, my sister and I have walked in the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk. It's a good time for us to get together, which we don't get to do often, but more than that, I always take that time to think about Grandpa Jack, and what a good man he was. We talk, and tell stories about him and our family, try to laugh and remember.

This year, my walk is on October 18th. We've moved to the walk in Fort Worth, so that the rest of the family might be inclined to join in.

I hope these lovely ladies don't mind, but I am borrowing an idea from BurghBaby and Rachel @ From the Land of Monkeys and Princesses, and donating all the proceeds from October page views to the Alzheimer Association Memory Walk. Please, help me out and click, click, click!! I don't know if it will amount to much, but whatever it is, I will donate it.

While you're in a clicking mood, my dear friend Rachel @ From the Land of Monkeys and Princesses is raising awareness for Breast Cancer, and donating her October revenue to that cause. Go over and give her lots of page views, please!

Clicking doesn't cost you any money, only time, so I appreciate if you would spend a little time looking at a few pages here. However, if you do wish to donate to the Alzheimer's Association, I hope that you will consider supporting me while I walk on October 18th.

Ok, so I fibbed a little - I will leave you with these facts...
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This year, more than 200,000 people across the nation will be on the MOVE.
Our destination is a world without Alzheimer's. ===================================
Every 71 seconds, someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
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Alzheimer's is the 6th leading cause of death in the U.S.
We need your help to MOVE our cause forward.
Facts taken from the alzheimer's association

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Oh, and stay tuned - this month also marks my one year blogoversary!!
There will be a contest, so check back soon!!

Famous Potato Salad

Ok, in the interest of keep things new and interesting around here, I'm going to share my Famous Potato Salad recipe with you. I'm pretty sure Budman didn't decide to propose to me until AFTER I fed him this potato salad. This recipe is one I've developed over years, adapted from several family recipes.

I'm a little disappointed with the way my pictures turned out, but we'll just make the best with what we have. Heck, it's my first attempt at a recipe post anyway.

Let's begin:

You will need mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, olives, salt, pepper and of course, potatoes (not shown)

Optionally, you may also add 3-4 strips of bacon, chopped. That's what I did today, because I had some left over from Breakfast.

Now, I normally add chopped red onion to my Potato Salad. It adds a good flavor, and it looks so pretty against the yellow... Unfortunately, Budman does not like raw onions, so I generally end up leaving them out, or else he won't eat any. Sometimes, if I'm feeling particularly ambitious, I will set aside some without onions for him, before adding onions to the rest.

But anyway, back to the preparation.

First, naturally, you will need to wash and peel the potatoes. Ignore the blurry photos. I had the camera settings all wrong. Grr...

Generally, I use one potato per person, not counting the children, this will give you plenty, and you will have leftovers (YAY!!) We had nine grown-type persons today, so nine potatoes... (I know you just counted - I did!!)

Now, I cut the potatoes in 1 inch slices, then quarter them. You don't have to be exact, but you want them to be close in size so that all the pieces cook at about the same rate.

Then place them in the (salted) water on the stovetop. You can heat the water before you put in the potatoes, or you can wait until they are added to heat the water. I do it differently every time, depending on my mood. If you place the potatoes in the heated water, just be careful of splashes!!

Cook the potatoes until they are fork-tender. You don't want them too done, but you want to be able to mash them fairly easily.

When they are done, you can use a potato masher to mash them up. Or, if you like, you can throw them in the KitchenAid Mixer (or use a hand mixer) if you like them completely smooth. I usually like to use the Stand mixer, but mine has gotten a little dusty, and I didn't feel like getting it out and cleaning it off so that I could use/take pictures of it. Either way, this recipe is super easy like that.

Add Salt & Pepper

Still looking like Mashed Potatoes at this point, but now... We add the Mayonnaise.

And a little more. Start off slow, you can always add more, but you can't take it out.

I put in three big spoonfuls to begin with for 9 potatoes, but I did end up adding more later.

Mix it in well, you want it smooth and creamy, then add the Mustard.

Again, add a little, mix it up, and taste until you've got enough. If you accidentally put in a little too much, just add a little more Mayo.

Now, it's time to get the pickles... It doesn't matter what kind you use, this is just what we had in the fridge.

Chop them up - I like to leave them a little large, but again, this recipe is all about what makes you happy.

And some olives...

Chop them up a little.

Dump it all in, and mix it up. (At this point,the color is not quite yellow enough, so I added more mustard.) Also, if you're using red onions in your potato salad, now's the time to add them in. And here's my secret ingredient, I always add a teaspoon or two of olive or pickle juice and mix it in.

Now, at this point you can be done...

Or, you can throw in the bacon pieces...

Once it's all mixed in, smooth it out, all pretty like (I'm OCD like that)

Now, once I've finished, I like to put some foil on top, and put it in the fridge. I LOVE my 'tater salad cold.

Of course, you can totally serve it hot, and it still tastes delish!!

So, give it a try, and let me know how it turns out!!

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Oh - and head on over to see http://halftimelessons.blogspot.com/.

He's having a triple giveaway. Check it out!!!

It's Not You, It's Me

Holly at June Cleaver Nirvana has a great new idea. She's asking "What post would you want your readers to read if they could only read one? She's set up a Mr. Linky at her blog, so go check it out...

Here's mine: Oh, The Google searches I'm going to get...

Take a peek, but don't forget to head over to Holly's to read more great posts.

Can I take care of business?

Well, Budman has been sent on another business trip. UGH.

The kids already miss him.

So do I.

He will be back soon enough, but we're not quite used to being apart from each other, which sucks, but we'll survive. I'll try to keep my whining and self-pity to a minimum...

You might ask if I worry about announcing to the Internet that my hubs is away?

NOPE.

Just when I thought...

Thank Goodness for Budman. Just when I thought I was permanently out of ideas to blog about, he brought this home.

It's a shoe-box. (I'm sure you could have guessed that, but work with me here...)

INSIDE the shoe-box, were these.

6 baby rabbits. (I was holding one of them)

He went to his mom & dad's house today, to help them with some auto repairs, yard work etc, and his mother asked him to take care of the nest of rats that were out in the yard. Only they weren't rats. And Budman couldn't "take care of" them. So, he loaded them up in the shoe-box, and brought them to me. I did some Google research, figured out what we needed and my stepmother and I ran out and bought some milk replacer, and some tiny bottles, and tried to feed them. So far, they are a little slow in getting the hang of it, but we made some progress. At this point, though, we're starting to think that they may be a little older than originally thought, so they may actually be weaned.

We don't have any intention of keeping them, so no lectures, please. :)

Normally, he would have left them alone, and not disturbed them, but they would not have survived had he left them. The In-laws dog was already nosing around, and between her and the lawnmower, they would have been goners for sure.

The original plan was to keep them until they were old enough to be released, which we could do here on our property, since we already have plenty of rabbits here. However, I may make a few calls tomorrow to see if there is a local wildlife rehabber who would be interested in taking them.

Either way, we are handling them as little as possible, and have already explained to the kids that they will not be staying. The boys understand about wild animals, and how you can't keep a wild thing locked up, no matter how much you want it, because wild things are meant to be free and wouldn't be happy if they weren't free.

But aren't they just the CUTEST things?????

I got nothin'

I'm sorry - I have no idea what to put in this space!!! I've had a crazy bit of a weekend/start of the work week, and my mind is filled only with compliance and contracts, instead interesting bloggy thoughts.

I have one small - not terribly funny - story from the weekend...

The kids spent all day playing Nerf wars in the back yard Saturday (Yes, I let them play with toy guns, if I didn't they would just make them out of their fingers or breakfast toast or whatever), this involves Monkey and Mater on a team against Possum. They will run around and shoot until one of them gets hit. If they manage to get Possum, the little ones jump up and down and yell, and scream "We won". If one of them is the one who has been shot, the other immediately puts down his weapon, and says, "I give up". Wussies.

They spend lots of time planning, and strategizing, and at one point, they started a new game. Monkey walked slowly straight toward Possum, lowed his gun to the ground and backed away slowly, hands in the air. Possum looked at me, as if to ask "What are they up to?", but I only shook my head, to let him know that I had nothing to do with this plan. Mater then lay down his gun as well, and backed away. I stepped in at that point, telling them that playing that way wasn't much fun for anyone, and if they had 'bullets" left in their guns, they had better be shooting!

Wait, what??

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And...

Also, as usual, my children offered up LOTS of cutsie things that were said, but I can only remember one of them now - I always tell myself to write them down, but I never do...

Mater: Mom, Monkey won't play with me...
Me: Well, why not?
Mater: I don't know, because he's a lazy bum!

ok

I'll give my brain time to recharge, and perhaps I'll have more later this week...

Sorry!

Avast, me hearties!

Ahoy, ye land lubbers!

Today is International Talk like a Pirate day!

By now, I figure everyone knows what this is about, but if not, check here.

I was reminded this morning when our local traffic reporter, Monty Cook from WBAP, did his entire traffic report in pirate talk. Budman and I were cracking up and it was pretty impressive. I wish I had a recording of it...

So, blah blah blah, talk like a pirate (which obviously, I'm not any good at). If you need help, here's a pirate talk how-to.

My pirate name is:
Bloody Jenny Bonney

Every pirate lives for something different. For some, it's the open sea. For others (the masochists), it's the food. For you, it's definitely the fighting. You can be a little bit unpredictable, but a pirate's life is far from full of certainties, so that fits in pretty well. Arr!

part of the fidius.org network

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.

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In related news, I heard a story on the radio this morning about the Grandbury (TX) High School Pirates. Some woman has complained to the county commissioners, because the Booster Club wanted to put up flags around town before a football game.

Since Grandbury is home to the Pirates, these flags have the Jolly Roger on them. Sounds reasonable, right?

Not to this lady. She claims they are "Satanic", and the city will be risking "the wrath of God" by displaying these flags. Never mind that this isn't a county issue.

I am sick to death of people getting offended over stupid stuff!

Pirate flags? Really?

Is there not enough wrong with the world that you can't find anything else to be offended about? Fight racism, sexism, crime, vandalism, poverty, child abuse, injustice and genocide, but leave the poor high school mascot alone!!

Besides the fact that she claims that this flag is "satanic", my quick research attempts this morning turned up no evidence other than the fact that the flags were used by pirates to intimidate their victims. This claim is laughable.

*******

Whew, got on a little rant there, didn't I?

Sorry, but this kind of crap just really chaps me.
Besides, it's my blog, so I can rant if I want to.
(Don't worry, I won't sing the song - even though it's stuck in my head now)

*******

Now this is my kind of pirate... ;)

Yummy!

Awesome...

If you Google "I'm Mediocre", My site is number one. - Oh yeah!!

Here are a list of search terms used to find my blog. And a lazy excuse for me to direct you to old posts, so you can catch up on the wonder that is me, and I won't actually have to come up with new content. Sorry guys, my brain is just still too sleepy... Bring on the weekend!!!

why is it called beauty sleep - Just a guess, hon, but I'd have to say - 'cause it's supposed to make you beautiful.

hot mamas have long hair - I beg to differ my friend... I get a lot of searches for swing bob hair cut pictures and pictures swing bob hair. Not terribly interesting, but my posts are here and here. **(Wait, not to say that mamas with long hair aren't hot, I just meant that they aren't the only ones...)**

homemade mums for homecoming - This one didn't take long. And yes, this one came from a Texas searcher.

choking the chicken - I TOLD YOU I was gonna get searches for that!!!

one-legged man breakfast - I'm assuming that you can eat the same breakfast as the two-legged men do. We didn't have any one-legged men at our breakfast

shots for school - we didn't need them after all. And my little weirdos were actually dissapointed about it!!

alzheimer's memory walk in bogspot - I don't know where Bogspot is, (probably Alabama), but I'm doing the Alzheimer's Walk in FW.

an empty mind - I gots one!!

sarah sunshine porn - This is a terrific porn name!! I'm assuming that it's already taken, since someone went looking for it. Not that I'm looking for a porn name. What are you trying to say??

My all time favorites: These are so old, they don't even show up on my stats anymore.

Empty mind of a child - we have some of those!!

Monkey fart hamburger - I'm actually speechless. For once.


I hope these were entertaining, and that you have a wonderful day.

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It's a sad day for the California Raisins. Motown songwriter, Norman Whitfield, 67, died Tuesday from complications of diabetes. He co-wrote some well known songs, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Papa Was a Rolling Stone" and "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me). According to the Washington Post article I linked, his list of song credits is extensive.

Is it just me??

Budman and I were walking to our car this evening, and we saw a sign for this place, advertising mums and garters.

Budman asked what that meant, and I just said "It's Homecoming season, dear."

He didn't know what I meant by that, and asked for more clarification. As I'm explaining Homecoming Mums/garters, I realize that he has ABSOLUTELY no idea what I am talking about.

Me: "Wait, what did y'all do for Homecoming in Arizona?"

Budman gave me a blank look, and I said "Let me guess, you never went to Homecoming, did you?"

Nope, he never went. He didn't spend much time doing "school activities" back then, he was on his own by the time he was 15, and was usually too busy working to pay bills to mess with that kind of stuff.

But that's not what bothered me about the whole conversation, it was the fact that he had NO CLUE what a Homecoming mum was.

So, I began to wonder - is this a Southern thing? a Texas thing? Budman's argument that they don't have a lot of fresh flowers in Arizona doesn't fly with me - we rarely used real mums anyway.

I clearly remember going to Michael's to pick out supplies to make a garter for whichever boy had asked me out for Homecoming that year.

mums, ribbons, lettering, bells, trinkets....

There's a tradition - you wear your Mum to school the day of Homecoming, and your friends choose a ribbon, and tie a one-handed knot in it. I can't find a reference to this online ANYWHERE, and I had almost forgotten about it.

I did some quick Googling, and most of the links that pulled up were for places in Texas. Hmmm... Even Wikipedia has only the smallest mention of Mums:

"At many high schools, especially in the southern United States, homecoming dates exchange "mums" on Homecoming Friday, to wear to the game and the dance. These are very elaborate corsages (for the girls) or garters (for the boys, worn on the arm) that consist of a large flower (usually a chrysanthemum) surrounded by a ribbon ruffle. Long ribbons, decorations and trinkets are hung from the mum which indicate the students' date of birth, name, class, interests, and messages towards other people."

So, I'm wondering:

Doesn't everyone do Homecoming Mums?

Is it just something we do here in Texas?

Is it really that big a deal that Budman hasn't heard of this? Since he's a guy, it's probably not as big a deal.

Did you have mums when you were in High school?

Were they made with real flowers or were they homemade?

I must know all about it.

----Wishing I had a scanner, because I KNOW I have a picture of at least ONE of the four mums I was given back then.----

**This year, Possum is not participating in Homecoming - at least he hasn't asked a girl to go with him or anything... Good thing I discovered Budman was clueless about this - I can pick up the slack whenever the time comes.

The return of the weekend update.

Alternate Title: "Gosh, we sure are boring..."

Ah, the Weekend Update. I'm sure you've been missing it with all your heart.

Considering that I have the most boring life ever, you're probably thinking what's the point?

Anywho...

Friday was fraught with Ike anticipation. It was the only topic of conversation that anyone could manage, and I was starting to get a little annoyed with my co-worker, who gave me up to the minute updates, every.freaking.second. of the day. Flipping out that we might actually get 30 mph winds once Ike made it inland and up to our neck of the woods. Thirty mph?? Oh no! Whatever will we do???!!!

Sarcasm is my weapon of choice.

She was all day sending me pictures of random flooded roads and traffic on the I45. (oh god, I just said THE I45 - I hate when people do that!!!) It's not that I don't care, because I do - friends and family in the area and all that - she is just one of those people that grab onto something and CANNOT let it go. And freaking out is what she does best (i.e. Already this morning, I have been subjected to constant updates on the state of our economy, the stock market and, as usual, gas prices.) Good times...

Friday evening, we watched the news and played with the kids. I woke at 2 AM to discover that ALL FOUR of our local networks had preempted all programming for Hurricane talk. Some of them were even boasting commercial-free coverage. I watched that for a little while, until I could fall back asleep.

Saturday morning, we stayed in (TOLD YOU I have the Most Boring Life Evah!!) the kids played in the rain, we watched The Sword in the Stone, and countless hours of Spongebob, in an effort to keep the children from driving me going insane . The weather never got bad at our place, we had less than an inch of rain, and mildly gusty winds. Ike decided to head east to see the sights. I am rather glad of this, although I was really hoping for a good rainstorm...

Saturday night, as I was putting the boys to bed, I was teasing them about... GIRLS!!! As I climbed to the top bunk to tuck Monkey in, I asked him about his GIRLFRIENDS, and was relentless in insisting that he must have a GIRLFRIEND. (Use your imagination, sing song voice, tickling and general teasing ensued)

His reply?? "Snap out of it!"

I swear, I don't know where they come up with this stuff.

When I got to Mater (who apparently DOES have a girlfriend), I asked her name (He doesn't know), if she was in his class (She's not), what grade she was in (Kindergarten - at least he doesn't have the older women chasing him...), and what her name was (He doesn't know). Awesome! Amid all the giggling and teasing, his response?

"Snap out of it!"

Sunday was spent doing a little grocery shopping. I HATE when we go shopping hungry - We bought mostly food for lunches for Budman and I for this week and next, and I'm embarrassed at how much we spent! ON LUNCHES! Oh well, we likely won't be needing to buy anything for a while...

Other than that short excursion, we spent the weekend at home, on the computer, reading books, watching TV, eating ridiculous amounts of food, and just being the boring folks that we are...

I did laundry, but only because I think my work frowns on nudity...

The boys did get to spend some time outside yesterday, which kept me from going crazy and killing them.

Of course, after a while, I heard screaming, and as I ran to see what was the matter, Mater came towards me claiming he had been stung by a bee. I never saw the bee, but it had gotten in his sock, he said, and whatever it was, it got him right on the ankle bone. I couldn't find a stinger, but he had a small red spot on his ankle, and it began to swell almost immediately. We made a paste to put on it, which he thought was pretty cool, and he snuggled with me for a while, until he wanted to move to a pillow in the floor.

He's fine - apparently, he's not allergic, and I'm not certain that it was a bee, since we never found a stinger. I believe that some wasps don't leave a stinger behind, and we have plenty of those around our place. Budman did a check of the area, and couldn't find a nest there, so I don't really know what happened.

But at least he's got a good story to tell at school today.

Sure beats "We sat around and did nothing the whole time..."

Don'tcha hate my random posts!?!?!

First, It's September 11th. Not to get all preachy on you, but please make some time today to pray for those people, or just take a moment to think of them and their families. Here is a list (just one, so far) of people who have 9/11 posts today.

BurghBaby

A Mom Two Boys

Happy Meals & Happy Hour

A Mama's Blog

Amy in Ohio

Autobiography of My Feet

Twice as Nice

Draco's Rose

Cake Wrecks

Decisionally Challenged

I will update as I find more. I'm still on my first cup of coffee.

Second, Ike is a pain n the @ss. I have one friend who has already evacuated, and another whose family is doing the same. My uncle and his family live in Magnolia, and he has a Veterinary practice in Houston, and I know Know KNOW that they will not evacuate and leave the animals. I don't even have to ask, I KNOW. Please, please keep all of those people in your thoughts, keep your fingers crossed, think good thoughts, pray - whatever you want.

Third, Tonight is the Boy Scout Rally. Monkey has been waiting for six months to be old enough to be a Cub Scout, and tonight is his big night. He's a bit nervous, I could tell, but Budman, who was also a Cub/Boy Scout (he still has all his stuff - AND his dad's - so cool) will be going with him, while I take Possum to DeMolay. Whew, let the fun begin. I think knowing that Daddy will be going with him took a little worry off his mind.

Fourth, I think I may have forgotton in the last 'Hmmhmm' years how busy High schoolers are. Possum is in ROTC, which has after school "practice?" on Tuesdays, and he also wants to be in the... Crud, I forgot what he called it... the rifles and such... not color guard, but dang it... I'll think of it, which practices on Wednesdays, and then DeMolay on Thursdays. He has been warned, if his grades are not to our satisfaction, we will yank him, so here's hoping. So far, he's been very diligent with his school work.

Fifth, Why the HELL did my step-mother feel the need to buy my SIX year old Axe Body Spray? I know she's a Grandma and must spoil him and all but really, WTF?? He's all spraying himself every morning before school, and decided that he would be wearing the spray this evening to the Boy Scouts rally - QUOTE "Even though there won't be any girls there." Huh??

Sixth, Who in the Hell said that my baby was allowed to have a **Gasp** Girlfriend??? He's FIVE, and some hussy* is on the bus blowing him kisses??? Oh Lord, no. I cannot deal with this.

Seventh, I don't really have a seventh, but I'm trying... Oh yeah. I'm really interested in this site. Unfortunately, my work computer hates all things fun, so I will have to see if I can figure it out this weekend. I just wanted to say - if you do this and post your pictures, PLEASE let me know, because I cannot get enough of these photos...

Eighth, I am obsessed with well, actually a LOT of things but this week, it's Chuck Norris Facts. I giggled for hours yesterday, drove both my co-workers and my husband crazy and convinced at least four people that I'm certifiable. Actually, only three - I'm pretty sure Budman already knew that about me.

• My favorite? (today) "Chuck Norris once shot down a German fighter plane with his finger, by yelling, "Bang!"

Lastly, Have a terrific day and since I probably won't finish tomorrow's post until Monday, a great weekend, too.

*If that hussy is your daughter - I'm sorry - I didn't really mean it. Just keep her blown kisses off of my baby, please??

Brace yourself - My post on politics.

Or not.

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have seriously considered going ahead and putting it out there. Giving you my opinions, etc...

But I just this morning read another post that made my blood boil. Not so much the blogger, but the way that people - commentors - began attacking each other (and the candidates) with venom - it didn't matter that what the person said was true - it only mattered that they didn't agree, and I got angrier and angrier as I read.

I have read so many political posts lately, and it seems like everyone is doing it. All the more reason not to jump into the fray. The commenters (both conservative and liberal) are vicious, and I've seen all out "wars" on someone break out for daring to express their opinion. I have commented on a few, always politely, but I will not do it anymore. I feel SO very strongly about my views, just as they do about theirs, but I'm not going to get sucked into a name-calling match.

My opinions are just that - MINE. and OPINIONS. You don't have to share them, you don't have to agree with them, and as a special favor to those of you I hold near and dear to my heart (this means you, readers) you don't have to listen to them.

Also, this website has been up to this point a troll-free zone. I understand that trolls are not something that you can prevent, if they truly want to target you, (do they still say flame??) they will do it. However, I'm not going to invite or encourage the kind of backbiting and hatred that I have seen on so many blogs lately. Not that I'm saying that those bloggers invited it, but it just seems to happen, and so I'm deciding to stay out of it.

If you are truly interested in how I feel about the election, email me - I will be happy to discuss it with you. But, since I value my frends, (Yes, I consider you all friends) I will spare you my diatribe on who I'm not voting for, etc...

This election has been by far the most vitriolic, malicious display I think I have ever witnessed. (and I went through a divorce!!) So, to that end, I am borrowing this button from my friend, AnglophileFootballFanatic, who a few days ago, had a much better post than this one about the political brouhaha that's out there right now...

There it is - my "political" post. Sorry to disappoint.