It does nothing for my spirit to look out one of my little windows and see garbage and recycling cans. 'What if ', I thought, 'there was a fence of some kind that would block their view and in turn create a new space for flower baskets to hang, or a trellis for climbing rose bushes. Something, anything other than looking at garbage cans.'
Then I thought, 'Hey, Rob loves to build things. How about I do him a favor and give him a project.' I'm just so thoughtful in that way.
Meet the crew of the new Receptacle Viewing Improvement Project:
Get 100% value of Virtual Girls Night Out for $0 ! The best deal on the net!
Happy Memorial Day Weekend blog pals. Do you have anything planned? Parades? Bar-B-Ques? I'm sure we'll all have special ways of honoring the reason for the holiday. If you take pictures, or stories, of your events please let us know by sharing your link below. My weekend plans are pretty laid back; cook outs, eating (probably too much) of my macaroni salad, hanging out with family. I say we get this blog hopping Virtual Girls Night Out going!
*The VGNO blog-hop is for those who want to party "virtually" with other bloggers. Add your blog link to the link-up below, get on your fuzzy slippers, make yourself a cocktail, visit those that have left their blog link and have fun! Happy VGNO!*
Time For Some Tunes!
Foster The People "Pumped Up Kicks"
Great sunny day, and/or Bar-B-Que tune. (Don't blame me if you keep whistling this song through out the day ;-> ).
Time For A Cocktail!
Strawberry Basil Mojito Ingredients:
3 Fresh Strawberries
3-5 Fresh Basil Leaves
2 oz. Simple Syrup
2 oz. White Rum
Crushed Ice
Club Soda Directions:
Slice the strawberries and place in the bottom of a tall glass, along with the basil leaves. Pour in the simple syrup and muddle the mixture. Stir in the rum and top with crushed ice. Top off with club soda and garnish with strawberry slices.
Sounds good to me! Cheers!
Time For A Giveaway!
I have two giveaways going on my review site Ann Again... and again Reviews. If you would like a chance to win a Kung Fu Panda DVD prize pack and/or a Secret Bear World on-line game 12-month subscription click on the above highlighted links and enter win. Good luck.
Alright blog pals, have fun at our Virtual Girls Night Out! Leave your blog link if you like and we'll visit your blog and say "Hey! Happy VGNO!"
Had some one-on-one time with my 13 yrs. old and did my best to "check-in". We spend time together as a family, have family dinners, encourage conversation but the dialogue changes when it's just you and your child.
As we walked I told her my honest feelings about not doing enough, I feel I'm not doing enough for my girls. She said, "Mom, you're doing a lot. Maybe we just want too much."
Awe... that was nice to hear. But I wasn't referring to not buying them tons of Bakugan or Zoobles. I was talking about motivation. I see that my kids don't have that drive to join the soccer team, or the chess club or get that Lemonade Stand going when the sun decides to shine. If one of my kids participated in anything it was because I bribed them with the promise of chocolate after every practice.
I know my children are smart, talented and all that good stuff. I know that they would be great, or at least make some friends and have fun, if they participated. But I don't push them, I don't bribe them any more. And I feel like a lousy mom. I see so many kids in our school, in our neighborhood, who are on sports teams or after-school groups and I wonder, what's missing in my guidance? What am I doing wrong?
My husband was in a play that just ended its run yesterday. In this play my husband kisses another woman. Now, I've been with Rob for about 19 years and in those years he's been in many shows. I've seen him play many parts with many different people and more often than not, he is the "romantic lead". I don't know how many times I've seen him be physically entangled with someone else - it's a lot! - and it just so... soooo... odd. That's my husband, up there, with some other person, doing that. And in the end I'm applauding!?!
My mind goes all over the place, mostly into a state of numbness. That's a happy place. I don't know how spouse's of actors that get majorly hot & heavy in plays and movies deal. I think of the infamous tale we hear of Jennifer Aniston telling Angelina Jolie regarding the film Mr & Mrs. Smith, "Brad is really looking forward to working with you!" My oh my, yes he was.
I've found it's best not to dwell. I'm happy that he was able to get back on stage and happy that he had a positive experience. This play is over, on to the next. Hopefully the next play will be a one-man show ;->
My oh my. I haven't "partied" in over a month. And since Mr. Harold Camping's "Rapture" seemed to pass us by, we have some catching up to do!
Let's see, my kids are getting ready for the end of the school year and become 8th and 5th graders. *gulp* My husband (a.k.a. Guitar Guy) is back on stage, warming up with a little one act play called "P.S. I Love Your Daughter". And yes, he is the one lovin' the daughter, kissing and all that kind of stuff. Me bothered? Um... no, of course not. *gulp again*. And as for me, I'm still pluggin' along, doing what I do to keep the Harrison train moving in a positive direction. Fill me in on what you've been up to. Add your link below and the VGNO party goers will pay you a visit. Cheers!
*The VGNO blog-hop is for those who want to party "virtually" with other bloggers. Add your blog link to the link-up below, get on your fuzzy slippers, make yourself a cocktail, visit those that have left their blog link and have fun! Happy VGNO!*
Time For Some Tunes!
The Head and The Heart "Lost In My Mind"
Time For A Cocktail!
Apocalypse Now Ingredients
1/2 oz. Tequila
1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz. of Irish cream Directions
Pour Tequila and Vermouth into shot glass and shake. Pour Irish Cream on top, stir well.
If it's the end of the world, after a couple of these, I'll feel fine. (Argh! I was really trying NOT to reference R.E.M. Really I was.)
Time For A Giveaway!
I have a sweet Kung Fu Panda prize pack giveaway happening on my review site Ann Again... and again Reviews. Click here to enter to win a Kung Fu Panda DVD, a box of General Mills cereal and a Kung Fu Panda spinning toy.
Thanks for hanging out at the Virtual GNO! Add your blog link if you like!
"I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become." - Oprah Winfrey
Oh Oprah. You've done it again.
I have been thinking so much about my 13 year old and her increasing want of freedom with her friends that I fret over every little action, every request of "Can we walk to the store?". I imagine possible lead stories on the news of a missing child. In my head I play out all of the (highly regrettable) Lifetime movies of mothers and daughters fighting and becoming distant which culminates in the daughter running away from home and becoming a hooker or a drug addict... or both.
(*random thought: Why is it that nothing good happens from running away from home? Why can't it be that the runner finds a lost wallet, let's say, and returns it to the owner. The owner happens to be a millionaire and is so overjoyed to receive their lost wallet that they take in the runaway, pay for her private schooling and the child grows up to be a fantastic bonus to the World. Why can't that happen? )
Anyway...
Every day is a journey in faith and trust. I can't focus on the negative or that is the path we'll follow. I'm trying to be aware, but not hovering. I'm doing my best to create conversations, but not talk so much that she drowns me out.
My youngest packed her sleeping bag, tooth brush and rain coat, climbed onto the school bus and waved good-bye as she and her fellow 4th graders head for an over-night trip on the Oregon Trail. Her class has been learning about the history of the pioneers for weeks and now they get a chance to pan for gold, churn butter and cook hamburgers on "hobo stoves".
My husband loves this kind of stuff so he's going as a Chaperone. I'll be a trouper and stay behind in my cozy, warm house while they trudge around in the rain and cold. Ah to be a pioneer! I'm sure they're going to love it.
I don't know how I missed it, but I just don't have the "camping" gene. Or the, "I-don't-mind-that-there's-no-running-water" gene. While growing up my family went camping. My actual memories of it are blocked out, but I do have proof that it happened, there are pictures of me pouting in the campground. No joke. Me in my poufy orange coat with the fake white fur collar holding my large bouncy ball, looking at the ground and pouting. "If you keep pouting I'm going to take your picture!" my mom would say. *click* My ridiculous behavior captured for future reference.
I can't wait to hear the stories of my families experience. I will be thinking of them while I'm wearing my fuzzy slippers tonight.
Living in the Pacific Northwest is fantastic. Yes, it can be a bit soggy, chilly and grey but it has moments of absolute beauty that are beyond measure - the mountains, the forests, the Pacific Ocean. I think we do a very good job at keeping ourselves occupied while we wait for the sun to shine (I wonder what the Wii-to-Household ratio is compared to the rest of the U.S.?) However, when that big, bright, ball in the sky beams on us we practicly stumble over ourselves to get outside and feel it.
I don't want to deny my neighbors their Vitamin D charge. I encourage getting out of the house and enjoying the World around you but - and I really mean this - but please, please, please ladies do NOT wear your string bikini's while lounging on your front lawn - especially when you are across the street from an elementary school or on a busy street. Just don't. Please???
Or, while running down said busy street could you please wear more than the skimpiest jogging bra and boyfriend cut running shorts you own? ESPECIALLY not in the light pink shade??? (And for those that "just have to see these things for themselves" no - I am not going to give you directions to my neighborhood ;-> ).
I go to pick-up my kids from school and there are 2 cute, little college girls on their blankets in white string bikinis. I drive home from school and there are 2 women jogging down our busy street in tiny - I mean tiny - jogging outfits. It's only friggin' 72 degrees ladies!!! I can't wait to see what you come up with when we hit the mighty 80.
I'm not jealous of their bodies or their youth or the fact that they seem to actually enjoy jogging while I absolutely hate it. Jealousy isn't the issue. My issue is proper place/proper attire. Wait... is that my issue? Yeah, I guess that's what I'm questioning here.
Well, let me look at the bright side of this, maybe more dads will start picking up the kids from school and perhaps take up jogging. *sigh*
I want to 'Thank' Vera Wang and Alberta Ferretti for making me feel good about myself. It doesn't have anything to do with a flattering bias cut or a color palette that brings out the sparkle in my eyes, it's due to the fact that they sent their models down the runway looking like this:
By comparison we are Glamour Queens if we run a comb through our hair and slap on some chap stick!
Thank you dear, sweet Vera and Alberta.
Now if only you would change the sizes of your clothes to "Wishful Thinking" numbers, like a 12 would now be a 6, a 14 would become an 8, etc., I would be most grateful.
For those that receive an appliance on their birthday when they really wanted something soft and sweet, blame me.
For those that get a large box with the words "Some Assembly Required" instead of a basket full of lavender scented bath beads for Mother's Day, it's my fault.
You see, if a man asks my advice for gift giving I say, 'Heck ya! She'd love a new vacuum cleaner!' or 'Why wouldn't she want a lovely book shelf from you? I think it shows commitment!' And I do, I really do.
When it comes to receiving gifts I guess I'm a bit odd. I know what scents I like and what lotions and potions I desire but I'll go get those for myself. If I'm going to get a gift I want it to be something that I really need, something that will make my life better, easier. Who wouldn't want that?!
I'm the girl who jumped for joy when I received a Dyson Ball Vaccuum cleaner for Christmas. My husband didn't understand how happy he made me, but I get excited every-single-time I use that thing. Love it.
And for Mother's Day? What did I want for Mother's Day? Well, besides the lovely cards and breakfast in bed (as long as you don't have to clean up) I wanted ... get ready...
I received the sweetest cards with the sweetest words from my husband and daughters today. I am so grateful for my family. But on the silly side of things, these words could easily have come from my girls;
There is a point when being carded for purchasing an alcohol beverage is no longer fun, or charming, it's just ridiculous.
I am so way past 21 that to think that I'm not old enough to buy this wine is a joke. And I see that some stores post, "If you appear 26 or younger we will ask to see i.d." That's just fine. However, I'm pretty darn sure that all of my lotions and potions, no matter how expensive they are or how vigilantly I apply them, are having me look younger by twice my age.
There was a time when I would respond to the request of "Can I see your i.d.?" with a big smile. 'Well, of COURSE you can!' I would say, waiting to see the shocked expression on their face and hope they would respond with a "Wow!". Not to say that that would happen, I just wanted it to.
Now if they ask for i.d. I get annoyed. They're just messin' with me. Look cashier person, I'm onto you. You were probably trained to spot the tired looking mom in line, with her bottle(s) ;-> of wine on the conveyor belt and were told to 'ask for proof of appropriate age', thinking that would just make our day. Well, let me tell you, when/if you ask, I'm not charmed. I'm getting a bit insulted. Did you even really look at me? I've earned my lines and wrinkles from years of livin', so the best way to acknowledge my "experience" is NOT to card me.
(This kind of attitude comes with age, People. But those of you in my age group know that already, don't you? :-> )
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