Muffins and Markets and Medicine, Oh My!

It's been a nice day, beautiful weather, although I've got a snotting-sick kid. We went to the farmers market, but the churro guy wasn't there. Luckily we'd already eaten blueberry muffins, so C-man's belly was full. That could've been precarious. He played on the playground a bit, and then needed to come home. He's so miserable, poor thing. I need to get him in for a haircut. We'll see if that happens. Pop quiz! Where was the trench dug in my yard? Awesome, my yard has racing stripes.

Half Day

I had a half-day today. I tried to go to Dinner by Design to make up some meals, but apparently you can't go there without an appointment, despite the fact that there was absolutely NO ONE in the store when I was there. I guess it'd be too much for the woman to let me put some crap together, since they were so busy. The great part of my day was getting a fabulous massage. My back feels soooo much better now. I so love getting a massage. The poopy part of my day was getting called just as I was getting done with my massage to tell me C-man was sick. He's just got a cold (God, please don't let him have my mono), but his eyes are little slits, his nose is snotty, and he's coughing a lot. Poor thing looks so miserable. Enjoy your weekend!

Count the Ways...

...That my day sucked. 1. The cashier at CVS congratulated me on my pregnancy. Note to self: Empire waist shirts are super cute, but old ladies see them and think they are maternity shirts. No longer wear empire waist shirts. 2. 4 giant vials of blood being drawn out of me does not feel good, no matter how many times I've done it in the past 2 months. 3. Having your doctor poke and prod you for the thousandth time while you try not to howl out in pain is not a good way to spend my time. Note to self: Stop going to the damn doctor 4. My VP sent a disparaging e-mail in error to our interns instead of their managers about said interns, and relied on my team to fix her errors. 5. When I got home, I let the dogs outside. When they weren't busting down the door in 30 seconds to get back in, I realized they had popped the gate open and were now purusing the neighborhood at breakneck speed. I then had to go get them. The good things about my day? 1. Beerman brought calzones home for dinner 2. It's almost done

Arks and Appointments

I've decided if I want to quit my job, I could always make some cash being an ark builder. What is it with this rain? This is not a tropical country. Mother Nature is seeming to disagree with me right now, however. I made my next doctor's appointment for Thursday. It's sort of one of those take-a-deep-breath-and-do-it moments. This sucks. I can't say much about it because everyone, my husband at the front of the line, acts like this is such a minor thing... kind of like the flu or something. Um... no. This is why life sucks every morning for the first 2 hours for me. Okay, nuff whinin'.

Drowned Rat

I am a drowned rat. I went outside to go to lunch just as the heavens parted and dumped their wiley ways on my head. So scratch that. I am now dry. And therefore, I am a Chia Pet. Awesome. I also took it upon myself to eat 2 brownies and a Rice Krispie bar. So much for the "My body is my temple" mantra. If this is a temple, I'm treating it like Chuck E Cheese! My teeth hurt I have taken in so much sugar. Ugh. Enjoy your Monday!

Spontaneous Combustion

97 degrees? Um, this is lakeside in Milwaukee. It's not supposed to get this hot. Help me, Al Gore! Since it's been so hot, we've been watching movies. It's my esteemed opinion that an animated film that isn't Pixar is worthless. Nemo and Cars, excellent. Madagascar, Open Season and Everybody's Hero are a waste of time. I can't remember the last time I watched so many bad movies. This is ridiculous. To add to the fun of this heat, my back is completely frozen. Doans, ice, laying down, sitting up, Advil, a trip to Ihop (hey, nothing else was working)... none of it helps. I'm such an old lady. I hope my new orthotics come in this week! Well, off to get C-man new swim trunks since he's just gone through a major growth spurt again. Be cool, Stay cool!

HOTweekend

Wow, it's hot. And my child only wants to play outside. So far, we've gone to the farmers market, played at the playground, gone to Menards, washed both cars, and ridden our bike to the neighbors. Wow. I'm pooped! And now I can add Worst Mother Award to the day -- I just bribed my kid to come inside with a McDonalds apple pie andthe chance to watch Madagascar. I hate people who parent by TV, and here I've gone and done it. We were supposed to go camping on the beach last night to tonight, but Beerman had to work late last night, and yes, it's really steamy hot, so we backed out. Too bad, because that would have been SO much fun. I got my hair cut this morning. It's always a good day when I get my hair cut. The bad part is that she chopped almost 2 inches off... Note to self: don't ask a strict Catholic Mexican woman about her brand new illegitimate bi-racial grandson when she'd only found out last night that her other son is expecting an illegitimate son in 6 months. Tomorrow's supposed to be 97 degrees. I sure am glad we pulled the pool out in exchange for my insanely expensive lumpy backyard. Awesome.

Yippee! The Weekend!

Here's C-man from last weekend's backhoe extravaganza. It seems every 4th of July weekend I'm emptying my bank account for this backhoe. At least C-man loves it.

Wow, am I glad it's the weekend. It's supposed to be hotter than snot this weekend, so that's cool. Enjoy your weekend!

Independence Day

Land of the Free...

2 Thursdays

So I started work today sad that I was stuck with 2 Mondays and this weird day in the middle off. Then I realized... it's not 2 Mondays, it's 2 Thursdays! And then the rest of the day was brilliant. Big diggers came this weekend to do the drainage in the back yard. C-man was thrilled. He keeps asking for the excavator to come back. I told him that maybe next year, when we sock more cash into this horrible project we call our back yard. Our neighbor kid turned 3 this weekend. The fence in our backyard clearly separates the brains and braun of the 'hood. They hired a woman to play guitar while they all sang along in perfect harmony, right after the rented preschool teacher ran the craft table... um, yeah. My kid was the one racing around on his tricycle and jumping off the slide. Other than that, it was a typical weekend at the playgrounds, book store, and farmers market. We were planning on heading to fireworks for the 4th, but axed that when neighbors let them off and C-man started shaking he was so scared. Guess we'll walk in the parade and call it done.

Summer Showers

It's been on and off today like a tropical country. I love it. Since it's Hump Day, I'm looking toward the weekend. It should be a good one. Summerfest is starting, but I hate it so much that I probably won't even go near it. There's only so many drunk, thuggy, fighting, trashy people one person can stand. And now that I don't work near it, I don't have to swear at all the cars taking all the parking either. So that's good! We have a neighbor kid's birthday party to go to, which should be nice. I've got some errands to run. But really overall, nothing major. I'm so excited. Other than that, have a great Hump Day!

He's Trying to Kill Us

Last night Beerman gave C-man some rice pudding he'd purchased because C-man doesn't eat much for variety with food. C-man took one bite and spit it out like it was caustic. So he got yogurt, and I took the rice pudding. And then I spit it out like it was caustic. Yeah, it was supposed to be refrigerated and he had put it on top of the fridge. Sour milk. Yikes! We joked all night he was trying to poison us. So much for getting C-man to try new things! My liver values are near normal. Yeah! No liver medication. And now I can have a beer again! Hello, summer.

Pity Party Take 2

You know, there are people with it worse than me. WAY, WAY worse. To the point I feel guilty about the pity party I'm throwing myself. And yet, I continue to wallow. Something's got to get me out of this funk, but I just can't help but look at all the research and statistics on rheumatoid arthritis and get incredibly saddened. Being run-down with mono isn't helping. Since it's Saturday, we biked to the farmers market this morning. That was fun. It was beautiful out this morning. Then I had lunch and took a nap. Which was awesome. Beerman is trying to re-do the fence around my lettuce garden. The bastard bunnies ate THROUGH the fence. Nevermind being able to run under it, they ate THROUGH it! Bastards. Our dishwasher is here. Let me rephrase that. Our dishwasher is in the middle of our kitchen. Now Beerman has to install it. I have a feeling that's a night project. Yea dishwasher! And can I just say - 8 1/2 games in first... Go Brewers Go!

Pity Party

This being sick thing has gone from being annoying to being completely depressing. I'm feeling sorry for myself. Who can't pick their kid up because they're too tired? Who can't stand because it hurts too much for that matter? I'm ornery, I'm sad, I hurt, I'm exhausted, and I hate everything. This sucks.

Toledo, Toledo

Yeah, baby! I'm in Toledo. If there is a better strip mall town in the world, I've yet to see it. Plus, I got to see the Detroit airport again. I'm living the dream!!! Traveling sucks. I'm still feeling like total crap. I taught a class for the majority of yesterday. I haven't been on my feet for an hour at a time, let alone 6. Whew. That was rough. Well, off to eat a Chinese buffet dinner in a strip mall and go to Kohl's to buy some clothes to wear for my meeting tomorrow. (I was just informed it's not even business casual - but casual!)

Just when I thought I was getting better...

I feel like a pile of poo. I couldn't sleep last night, aching so bad that I broke down and took an Advil. Just don't tell my doctor. I only took 1, and I'm not dead, so I guess it was okay. Fathers Day ended up pretty good. We lit a fire (up to the sky in true Beerman fashion) and had the neighbors over for s'mores. Tasty little suckers. The s'mores, not the neighbors. The neighbor kid freaked out when Riley licked him, so Riley spent the time indoors. Poor dog. Everyone is freaked out by him, and all he's trying to do is give you a smooch. Enjoy your week!

Happy Fathers Day!

Overall a decent one, but nothing tremendous. I feel like such crap, and C-man wasn't cooperative, having a late nap. So Beerman is assembling his fire pit, and I'm making dinner. Could be worse. Probably should've been better though...

Dishwashing Fool No More

After 6 weeks of our dishwasher going out (5 year old Whirpool Gold be damned!), we purchased a new one today. A nice little black Amana number. It'll be in on Wednesday. I.Can't.Wait. I hate doing dishes more than the laundry. We put the air on for the first time today. Being stuck in the house in the middle of the day forced me to clean the house a bit. I'm completely exhausted now. Happy Fathers Day tomorrow. We're planning on a picnic if it's not too freaking hot out. Beerman is getting an outdoor fireplace. Hopefully he likes it. My own dad is fishing in Canada. God bless him for that.

Is it the weekend yet?

For the love of God, I feel like crap. To make it all better, I just got a call from my dentist who has an opening at 4:40 today. When you're feeling like crap, there's nothing like a trip to the dentist to make it all better. Ugh!

Beautiful Days

It was gorgeous outside today. I got a couple of short naps in. For some reason, Beerman needed me after I got to sleep for about 10 minutes. Oh well. It's back to work tomorrow. I don't know how I'm going to make it without an afternoon nap.

Good vs. Evil

There are so many things I could say to this, but the picture is just so ironic on its own... Beerman was running some beer festival today. It figures. I'm completely exhausted, and on my own to take care of C-man... sigh... At least he took a good nap, and I did too.

Living Life in Mono

It's confirmed. An acute case of mono. Fabulous. My liver values keep going up, so I am going to have to submit to bloodwork weekly until it starts to go down. The rheumatoid arthritis remains high. Hopefully it's an artificially high number due to the mono, but probably not all that much... which sucks. I've got to say, I've never been so glad to have been diagnosed with an acute case of anything before. I'm off to go get my little man from school and take him to the playground. Enjoy your amazing day!

Let Me Tell You A Ting or Tree

I haven't watched the Sopranos all season, because I have rabbit ears. I know dark ages. Anyhow, I've been in a hotel room with HBO, which is showing the Sopranos every night. So I watched this week's show. And I've got to say, I hate how this is going. Poo! The Georgia Aquarium was AMAZING! Just when I thought I'd seen the coolest thing, we'd go to the next exhibit and see something more incredible. I could spend days in that place. If you ever get the chance, spend some time there. It was really well done. I'm scared. The tests that turned up really abnormal just weren't good ones. And tomorrow they're taking more blood for more tests to confirm the first ones and find out the causes. What are THOSE going to show? I guess I should be glad that they're showing something because I knew things were seriously wrong, which is why I went in the first place. But I'm really scared. Why couldn't it just have been a thyroid problem that a little pill would fix? Sigh... I never do anything less than dramatic, I'm told. Why would this be any different? I'm heading home today. It'll be good to be home.

H-O-T Day 3

The conference is just the vendor expo crap this morning, so we ate breakfast and went through Coke. Maybe if I were a Coke collector it would have been cool, but it was just kind of cheesy. Tasting all the products from around the world was kind of cool, but gave me a belly ache. I talked with my doctor. Apparently my body's a mess with lots of weird things coming up abnormal. So I'm going back for more tests Thursday morning and can't take any Advil or play any sports in the meantime. Doesn't that sound awesome? Oh, and did I mention she's pretty sure I have mono? Double awesome. Tonight we're going to the Georgia Aquarium, which I really wanted to do. The conference I'm at booked it all night long with food and drinks. I'm super excited to go see it. It's supposed to be amazing.

HOT-lanta

So I'm in Atlanta. It's frickin' hot here. Like crotch-pot-cooking hot here. My head is an afro. The conference has been so-so. Half amazing, while the other half my dogs could do a better job at. Yesterday we walked around a bit, went to the Underground, toured CNN, touristy kinds of stuff. It was good. My doctor left a message for me at the end of the day saying she had my blood test results and that I need to talk to her first thing in the morning. That's never good. So now I've made myself sick to my stomach, convinced I've got cancer. Awesome. Off to go drink myself to a stupor. I want to be home.

JPR...Out!

Off to Atlanta until Thursday for a conference. Later.

Giving away stuff

Does everyone know about Freecycle? It's a web group that exists for you to give away your crap. For example, we purchased a new gazebo, and were going to chuck the old one. So we posted our gazebo on this site, and the next day I had about 10 takers. It's gone, and being used in someone's yard. And we get to feel better that we didn't just chuck it in a landfill.

Gross

What's gross? Having your dog eat a sock and then poop it out on the backyard grass. What's grosser than gross? Discovering that your dog ate and passed a sock while the lawn mower runs over it and spits it out. What's grossest of all? Watching your dog pounce on top of the sock and reingest it. I am living the dream. _________________________________________ Memorial Day weekend was nice. It was beautiful weather. We bought a new outdoor living furniture set and gazebo, which is nice. Beerman declared he never needed to assemble another item again in his life. We had dinner wiht our neighbors one night. We discovered that they want their kid to be our kid's playmate. They didn't say as much, but I'm pretty sure they want their kid to have a non-Jewish friend. How funny is that? We're the TOKEN! No geocaches this weekend, though. Just no time. I had to be to work by 6:30 this morning to set up for 80 interns starting today. Guess I need to get back to them.

Happy Memorial Day!

Fix It

Will someone come and fix it? My gazebo needs rebuilding. My dishwasher needs replacing. My master bathroom has been out of commission over 2 years. When it rains, my backyard becomes a pool that I drained my savings account last summer to get rid of. And the house is a disaster. Ughh... help.

Summer Daze

I love half-days at work! I was going to immediately get C-man, and then I realized - by the time I got out of work, he'd be napping. So Mama went shoppin'. Sweet! So I went to Bayshore, got a couple of trendy-trend outfits. And the topper? I purchased a pair of white jelly shoes from a man who was wearing white eye shadow. Does it get any better than that? C-man should be waking up about now, so I'm off to go get him and go to the park near the construction site. It should be fun. Here's a photo we took at the Brewers game on my birthday. Classic...

Disturbia

So I take Beerman's car this morning, and it's on E. I remember there is cheaper gas on the way to work. (And since you have to take out a mortgage to fill up these days, 12 cents/gallon is significant!) So I stop. The problem? It's in the middle of the 'hood. I tried to pre-pay with my debit card, and I couldn't. I had to go in and show the attendant my ID was the same name as my debit card. As if that wasn't disturbing enough, I realized I wasn't just paying next to the row of candy bars, but in front of the large rack of nudie magazines when the guy behind me ordered USA red 100's. I think I'll pay the 12 cents in the future. Another disturbing item of my day... I bought a Snickers bar, and it's green inside. Apparently it's some Shrek promotion. But disturbing, nonetheless. My sciatic nerve is acting up really bad again. I can barely sit down, and I've been popping Advil like it's Starburst. So what's a girl to do but go out and drink with co-workers tonight? The plan is to go to a local wine bar. I need different friends in my life, so this should be good.

I Want A Baby Sister!

If this kid shouts it one more time, I'm moving out. I.Am.Not.Giving.Him.A.Baby.Sister...yet. Someday, maybe. For sure, not now. I am dreaming about the long weekend. Friday is a half-day at work (summer hours). I can't wait. I've got 40 things I want to do with it. Any thoughts helping me decide?

H-O-T HOT!

Today is beautiful, and I'm at work until 8 p.m. Life isn't fair. Last night I was awoken by my child sobbing. And not just any sobbing. It was inconsolable sobbing. All with the same message. "I want a baby sister!" I think Beerman has been conspiring. I'm exhausted. For our anniversary, we decided to get outdoor furniture to create an outdoor living space. I picked it up today, with my snazzy discount plus an additional 20% that I get. I can't wait to see it up under our gazebo. I love summer. For those who watched 24 last night, I'm sorry. This season blew. Jack needed to die when he dropped off that ladder. It would have been a fitting ending. For those lucky enough to watch the Idol final singing night, I don't want to hear about it. Life just isn't fair.

Talk Dirt To Me

Happy Monday. I actually don't hate them when I've had some sleep. Not being hungover like I was yesterday assists in my brighter mood too. What doesn't brighten my mood is that I have an interview from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. tomorrow night. WTF?!? It's the American Idol finale!!! This weekend I was enlightened to one of the greatest sports of all... LaCrosse. Now, after the whole Duke fiasco, it doesn't have the greatest reputation. But I'd always thought it was a pansy-ass East Coast sport like tennis. Wow, was I wrong! Do you know that while you have the ball, the entire other team is beating you up with their sticks? And not just in the "bread-box"... all over! It's fast-paced, vicious, and wicked-cool. I also did some fabulous gardening this weekend. I love putting my hands in the dirt and pulling up the big night crawlers. Good earth, fat worms. And Beerman put a fence around my perennial bunny feeders: arugula, dill and parsley. Take that you little greedy bastards! It's the season finale of 24 tonight. Will Jack save the world? Will they finally kill him in a way that is only befitting to Jack Bauer? Who will run the presidency next year? Oh, I can't wait.

Anniversaries, Hangovers, and Singing Debuts

We ended up getting a babysitter for our anniversary and going out to eat. Thankfully we walked, because the wine was pretty tasty! But I just don't recover like I used to. Whew! C-man had his singing debut in his daycare's church today. I don't know what's worse - that he stood there and didn't sing a single note, that I filmed it all, or that the pastor rambled on for well over an hour with a church full of 2 - 3 year olds! Can't win 'em all, I guess.

Woo hoo!

It's the weekend, and the weather is supposed to be fabulous. It's also our 6th wedding anniversary tomorrow. We have no plans, because we have no babysitter. I have to get my herbs and flowers in the ground. Beerman and I are going to buy some outdoor furniture for our anniversary. So I guess we have to actually go and get it. We might go see some friends Sunday night, too. And I'm sure we'll find a geocache or three. So I've got that going for me. Enjoy your weekend.

It's another day

"I love my Mommy because she sings songs, plays Bob the Builder in the den, climbs trees, and gives me treats." It's a good thing he's so sweet, because he broke my glasses for the 2nd time in 3 months this morning. UGH!! Another fine Tuesday. The warm weather has me feeling better about things. Man, I hate winter. I'm realizing this more and more each year. I need to move somewhere warm. The good thing about the warm weather is I can start geocaching on my lunch or on the way to work. Woo-hoo!

Happy Mothers Day!

I got to geocache for my present this morning. Pretty funny. I scored a pearl ring. Apparently Caleb picked it out himself. It's gold, and I don't have anything gold, so I now have an excuse. We did a couple of geocaches this morning after a breakfast of eggs. Then everyone took a nap and watched NASCAR. Sweet, redneck heaven. Then we went and got a couple of caches this evening. I planted my own travel bug. http://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?guid=e5eb8fff-8e30-4f18-b12c-67b68f2a7aba Now Beerman is at Outback picking up some greasy, fried goodness for dinner. Happy Mothers Day!

TGIF

And that's all I've got to say about that.

Summer Hours

We got an e-mail today announcing summer work hours. One day a month we get out at noon on a Friday. Sweet Jesus, that sounds marvelous. May 25th is the first one, so I'll have an extra-long Memorial Day weekend. I forgot to post that we got our photo taken at the Brewers game the other night. Would you expect anything less of me than this photo... http://www.printroom.com/ViewGalleryPhoto.asp?userid=BrewersFanFoto&gallery_id=675930&image_id=29 Yeah, we won't be ordering that one. Did the man not have a digital camera?!? At least the Brewers are on a tear, with my man JJ at the helm.

Give A Homeless Man A Pizza, Please!

Philip Workman was executed in Tennessee this morning. His last meal request? A pizza to be given to a homeless man. He was refused, because "Taxpayers don't allow us to donate to charity." How many things can we find wrong with this situation? If you don't agree, then maybe it's because I haven't mentioned that the ONLY witness to the "crime" was convicted of perjury and never truly saw the "crime" occur. At least justice has been served, right?

80 degrees out today and rainy. I got my drivers license renewed and a new picture taken. I have curly hair, and it's hot and humid. Perfect. I ended up looking like a deer in the headlights with an afro. But whatever. It's not like I get carded anymore anyway, so what am I worried about?

Mothers Day is this weekend. Half of me thinks I should spend it with my mother, and the other half thinks I should spend it completely and utterly alone reading a book. All of me is most likely going to spend it with my own family geocaching after a nice breakfast of eggs. Which is pretty darned good too. I should probably scope a few caches out in advance to get my gameplan down. We've been going for some harder ones lately, and I've been enjoying it immensely.

Speaking of Mothers Day, I need to send my mother-in-law her gift so it gets there on time. I hate the post office, though, so I'm sure I'll procrastinate, and then spend too much on going to the UPS store, having them packign it, and then shipping it overnight. I meant to do it today, but after the DMV (do I have to explain the time it takes at a ghetto DMV?) and the bank, I needed to get back to work. Maybe tomorrow.

Unsubscribe hell

I've decided to start unsubscribing to my spam to see if it helps. Man, it's a pain to do that. Every page that I get to by clicking unsubscribe puts me into the "register" page. I don't want to register! I want to get out of this spam hell! Didn't Congress pass laws about this?

Sunny Monday

Busy day. Glad I'm home. 24 is on tonight. Only 3 episodes left. Next weekend is Mothers Day. I love May.

To Rapids and Back

Whew, 6 hours in a car can be a drag. But, we went to my nephew's first communion. I'd be lying if I said going back into my childhood church didn't give me the cold sweats. I can't help it. That place still creeps me out. It was good to see the family though. I'd also be lying if I didn't say talk radio didn't give me a screaming headache. To try to drown it out, I attempted sleeping. That was foiled by Beerman not watching road signs and blowing past where we needed to go, and me trying to navigate our way back on course with an ancient road map. Then I tried to read the paper. However, that plan was foiled by Beerman commenting on the talk radio I was trying to drown out, at least every 5 minutes. I've taken 3 Advil, and it's just not getting any better. Can someone explain the point of talk radio anyhow? A bunch of yahoos blabbering on about absolutely NOTHING in an AM frequency, so it's complete with scratchy background noise. ARRRRGGGGHHHH! Anyhow, it's Sunday night. C-man's had a bath, spring is here, I got some pretty good birthday loot, and my family is pretty darned satisfying today. Enjoy your week.

It's my 31st birthday!

Happy birthday do me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birth-day to me-ee, Happy birthday to meeeee! After sleeping in, opening presents, and eating scrumptious cinnamon rolls, we went geocaching in Port Washington. While out, C-man picked some dandelions for me: We found all 3 geocache finds we were going for. Tonight we're heading to see the Brewers clobber the Pirates. Suppan is pitching - he's my favorite pitcher, so I'm very excited.

Tomorrow's My Birthday

I don't know what's more thrilling, that Bo Duke sold his car for almost $10 million, that Nebraska stayed the execution of its latest prisoner, or that tomorrow's my birthday. Okay, simple one, tomorrow's my birthday. My staff got me some great costume jewelry. Tomorrow we're heading to the Brewers game. Go Brewers Go! Enjoy your weekend, and if you haven't already done so, be sure to send your packages overnight so they get to me on time.

1 More Shopping Day...

...Until my birthday! Last chance to get your presents. There are still many beautiful items left to get.

Happy Birthday!

The polls are closed

I ordered C-man's pictures. I ordered #5, if you look on our website page. I've got 3 votes for #3, but when it's bigger, I can't see anything but his curled tongue. Plus, #5 is just darned cute. So thanks for those who voted. If you are immediate family, your copy will be in the mail shortly after I get them. If you're not immediate family, too bad. This cat's not made of money. :-) I went to a workshop this morning. I know I shouldn't, but I couldn't get over the fact that he was a poor speaker to listen to much of his message. The pitfall of being a trainer, I guess. Today is fabulously sunny out. I've got to stop on my way home and pick up some Mothers Day gifts. If anyone has any bright ideas for my mother-in-law, please tell me now! I also have to pick up my latest audiobook I've had sent to me from the library. I've been on a tear through this series. I highly recommend it. But anyhow, I need to get otu and enjoy the sunshine at some point, and it's not going to just be parking lot to car. The best news is this weekend is fabulous, so I'll be able to do some more geocaching. Yeah, baby!

May Day

Happy May Day! I'm not sure why we celebrated it as kids since it's a communist holiday. We usually marked the occassion by dropping flowers and candy at the neighbor's house. Fidel Castro didn't make it to his ceremony. Only his 3rd time ever. Interesting enough. In other news, W vetoed something. If there's a bigger idiot out there, I've yet to find him. Maybe my old boss, Cindy. It rightfully could be a tie. Beerman is working late tonight, so it's just C-man, the newly groomed dogs, and me. Fine by me. American Idol, pizza, a little laundry and to bed. Simple enough.

Misty Monday

Rain, rain, rain. Poo. It wasn't supposed to rain until tonight. So much for Mark and his "saying it would be like this." I've turned into producive Jen today. I'm not sure where that's come from, which is why I had to stop and take a moment to blog. Can't be too productive, after all. My birthday is Saturday. If you haven't gotten me a present, you still have time. I've updated my amazon.com wishlist. If you want to go with something really thoughtful, a housecleaner is at the top of my list - right after big bottle of booze and the peace and quiet to drink it. Beerman wants to go to a Brewers game. Sounds pretty entertaining, as long as C-man cooperates and Sheets doesn't pitch. 24 is on tonight. Only 4 more episodes of Jack. I haven't been enjoying this season nearly as much, but it's still Kiefer, so how can you go wrong?

Geocaching Fun

It was a gorgeous day for geocaching in Lion's Den Gorge. We spent almost 4 hours outside running around a beautiful preserve, finding some pretty tricky caches. C-man dropping the Rose Geocoin into the new cache: Showing the Rose Compass geocoin on the beach before placing it:

Walking along the beach after geocaching fun:

Sometimes getting the caches takes a bit of (dirty) work and some long arms:

Quick, easy find with lots of fun stuff in an ammo box:

The journey was harder than the find, once we arrived:

Gorgeous Day

Went to Appleton last night for our nephew's first communion. I ate way too many Scotch-a-roo bars and am paying for it today. Now we're off to geocache. My absolute favorite blue Marquette mug. Did I mention my birthday is next Saturday? 7 days to 31!

TGIF

Wahoo! It's supposed to be beautiful, and it's Associate Shop Days (additional 15% on top of my usual 15%), so I'm going shoe shopping. Fun stuff. Official voting for C-man at http://www.therysewyks.com/CalebPhotos.html. Vote now!

Time to Build and Ark

Holy crap, it's raining sideways! We had a team lunch today, and I got soaked in just a couple of minutes outside. If it hadn't been for crappy Mexican food, I don't know if I would have done it. Another inmate is going to be executed again tonight in Texas (big shock, right?). Thoughts and prayers for the families, because he won't get a stay. Governor Perry will have executed more people in Texas already in his term than George W did in his 5 years in office. It's his #14 this year. On a lighter not, American Idol and it's charity night suck. Kick off the lowest vote getter. Don't make me wait another week! The warm, sunny (how is that going to happen?) weekend is almost here. Wahoo!

Wainy Wednesday

It's still raining. Big drag. The rain has caused everything to bloom, which causes my allergies to go CRAZY. Bigger drag. I have a couple of interviews this afternoon - not even for my team. Biggest drag. This weekend is supposed to be phenomonal though. So I've got that going for me. And my favorite day of the year - the day it rains and brings leaves out of the trees is my worst day for allergies, but one of my most hopeful days. That happened yesterday. I love seeing leaves. It's getting close to my birthday. If you haven't already done so, there's still time to purchase your present. I want a bike helmet, watch, housecleaner, jewelry sets, and new furniture. Hell, I want a new house, but that's a bit much to ask for. The cake should be golden - cupcakes are even fine. And while it's Cinco de Mayo, hold the Mexican food, please. It's overdone. Medium is on tonight, and it's a new one. Woo-hoo!

Look at my kid!

C-man got his 2-year old photos taken. Check them out and let me know which ones you think I should order:

http://www.siegmanportraits.com/Order-Page.htm

Click on "view online proofs" and then my name.

And by the way, I've got a good lookin' kid. :-)

:-(

We executed the 14th person this year this morning in our country in Ohio. (2nd outside of Texas). I don't condone what the man was convicted of doing (chasing and then executing his fiance at point-blank range). Neither, can I condone the creation of 2 new victims of violence, his 16 and 14 year old daughters. Another execution is scheduled for Thursday in Texas. Is God vengeful, demanding a death for a death? Or is God compassionate, luring souls into love so great that no one can be considered 'enemy'? -Sister Helen Prejean

Good Morning!

Nigeria held a failed election. Half of the country didn't get ballots. A truck was driven into the national headquarters responsible for elections in an attempt to blow it to bits. Chances of having the first democratically handed over government is impossible. Somalia is going on day 5 of riots and killing in the streets. A lot of it stems from our days of failed involvement. France held an election yesterday. The dollar is getting more worthless everyday, Corn ethanol will not save our world. It actually takes at minimum, 7% more fossil fuels to produce the stuff (think fertilizer, tractors to plant it, refineries to distill it). All using corn will do is to use up our food supply, thereby increasing inflation and reducing the price of our dollar. All of this happening, yet I bet you know more about Anna Nicole Smith's baby daddy. Not that this is entirely our fault, mind you, since one of today's top headlines is "J. Lo available for parties". I shit you not. No wonder our kids are so stupid.

Happy Earth Day!

What a fantastic day it is outside. 75 degrees and beautiful sunshine. After breakfast at our favorite place, we went to the Audubon Center to take part in their big Earth Day celebration. C-man danced and danced and danced to some folk singers, scooped with a net for tadpoles, touched some turtles and snakes, and got to run around and be silly. "That was fun!" was his response at the end. After nap we have to get the tire changed on our car. Damned thing is flat! I don't know how many flats I've changed on that car in the past 8 years, but it's pretty ridiculous. Tomorrow I get C-man's 2 year old pictures taken. I hope he's cooperative.

Sunny Saturday

We went to the Brewers game last night. Sheets pitched a decent game in 8 innings. Aquino blew it, giving a grand slam in the top of the 9th. We left. But it was fun anyhow, considering I got my shirt and Cecil Cooper bobblehead. It's looking like it's going to be a beautiful day for geocaching!

It can't come soon enough...

Heaven

For some reason, I just can't keep track of my week. I can't tell you the date, day of the week, or even time of the day without looking at a calendar or my computer screen. I think it's because C-man and I BOTH slept all night last night. It was beautiful! I woke up in disbelief that it happened. I can't remember the last time that happened. Heaven. We're headed to a Brewers game with some of my co-workers Friday night. It should be fun. Maybe Hall will hit another grand slam. Or maybe Weeks will hit another double-play. Who cares. It's either Suppan or Shets on the mound, it's Cecil Cooper bobblehead night, and there are hot dogs with special sauce... Heaven. Now if only Sanjaya would get his bad singing self kicked off tonight, and my sciatic nerve would stop shooting like a Chinese firing squad, things in my life would be great.

Monday, Monday - dah-dah, dah-dah-dah

Mom and Dad left this morning. It was a good weekend overall. My house is in one piece, the nasty neighbor next door hasn't complained since (he was convinced our tree coming down on our driveway was somehow going to destroy his yard), and I got more sleep last night than normal. So I've got that going for me. On the topic of sleep, I think C-man must have trained me to be a horrible sleeper now. Every night, I wake up several times. Drat. Somehow I've got to break out of that nasty habit. It's having an effect on my wrinkles... big time. And no amount of Tri-Aktiline is going to fill those in. By the way, I highly recommend the stuff if you can get your hands on some. On the topic of nasty neighbors, I've decided I like most of our neighbors. We've got Phil across the street. He's about 5' 9" and 275 lbs of sveltness that he likes to show without his shirt in the summer while mowing the lawn. I try not to throw up. But they're good people. Then we've got the next door neighbors to the south. He's Taiwanese, she's Jewish. I don't think they've ever done a home improvement project by themselves. I don't know if I'm horrified or jealous of that. But they're good people, and have a 2 1/2 year old son who is sweet. Across the street we have a couple who never speak to us. Although, Beerman plowed out their driveway this winter, so I think we've made some neighborly headway. At least we know their names and occupations. Down the street is Darryl and his wife. They're always good to stop by on their walks and complain about what the village hasn't been doing right. I enjoy it immensely. And then there's the neighbor to the north. She picks weeds out of her grass by hand, married a Texan who complains about the eco-liberals and their coal plant bashing selves (um, did he not see my yard signs during the election?), and put up a Bush-Cheney sign during the last election. I guess one bad apple isn't a nightmare, but sheesh... In good news, Gonzales goes in front of the firing squad tomorrow. I'm half considering staying home to watch the spectacle.

Tim-berrrrr!

And the trees came down. I'd be lying if I didn't say I wasn't crossing my fingers and saying every prayer I knew when it was being cut because I was sure it was going to crash on my house. The maple made such a whu-ump! on the ground that all the neighbors came out to see it. But, it's down. We took my parents geoaching this morning. It was fun. Now I'm going to take a nap.

TGIF

It's been a busy week, but I've been kickin' ass and takin' names. Yeah, baby! My parents are coming to visit and chop down a couple of trees tomorrow. It's all going to happen after I get my hair cut and highlighted. I have to get a new drivers license, so I need to look fabulous for the next 10 years! Enjoy your weekend.

Are you kidding me?

Where the Heck is Spring?

It's so cold and dark outside, the parking lot lights just went on. Come on! This is ridiculous.

Great Day

Harry-bones ate Benny. I'm not sure which one of them ate Lofty the other day. So C-man and I set out to replace them at the giraffe store. (My child can locate about 45 countries on a map, but when you ask him where giraffes live, he says "at the toy store!") Well, despite the giraffe store voicemail saying they were open, they weren't. But Baskin Robbins was. And since Easter Day was synonomous with ice cream as a child, I figured I'd continue the tradition. It was so darned sweet sitting across from my baby, who was happily swinging his legs, eating his rainbow sherbet. It's moments like this that make you almost forget all the months of post-op agony and sleepless nights. Almost. And I've just found this website: www.africam.com. You can go to the live view of the watering hole and check out some animals. It's pretty amazing. We saw some elephants today. I'm back on the diet again tomorrow. There were just too many chocolate bunnies hopping around this weekend to be concerned with eating right.

Hoppy Easter!

After seeing this, I'm pleased we decided against going to see the Easter bunny. After filling C-man's belly with chocolate treats, we went to church and then out to a great greasy breakfast. Have a happy one!

Holy Saturday

As a kid, today was second only to my birthday. I loved Easter Vigil mass with the candles. Afterward we'd go home and eat ice cream. Now, with a 2 year old, things aren't quite the same. So instead, we went in search of the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt. But being frigid cold out, we decided to go to the mall to see the Easter Bunny. That was a bust, and there was no Easter Bunny. So we went to the theater, ate pizza and watched Meet the Robinsons. It was C-man's first real movie theater experience. He did really well and made it about 3/4 of the way, then got tired and wanted to go home. I can't say I was sad... the movie pretty much blew. So all in all, not really a spiritual day for Holy Saturday, but a nice family one anyhow. What does suck is that my sciatic nerve has been bothering me. It's shooting down my left butt cheek and into my left calf. I can hardly sit, and C-man wants me to hold him all the time. It's killing me. Tomorrow's Easter. The Easter Bunny is bringing C-man lots of outdoor stuff (sidewalk chalk, sand toys), which sucks because it's colder than snot out there. Oh well. The Easter Bunny can't get them all right. At least he's got chocolate.

TGIF

I'm at work today. Bummer. I should be getting out early. So I've got that going for me. Easter is this weekend. I'm hoping I can get C-man to the zoo tomorrow for the egg hunt and other fun stuff. It is supposed to be cold, though, so we'll see. Have a Hoppy one!

3 Brownie Day

My parents left this morning. It was good to see them. I'm still sick, though. It's moved to my chest. Then I got caught in a budget meeting for my boss. The thing is, I totally wasn't prepared (not my fault, since I didn't know I'd be in the meeting having to explain line items for which I have no clue about) and hacking the whole time. Nice impression for my SVP. Since I feel like crap, I ate a brownie. Since I didn't feel any better, I had another... and then another. Now I really don't feel well. Time to go back on the wagon. I'm supposed to start yoga tonight. I don't think that's happening... I need some sleep!

Hump Day

C-man slept all night, thankfully. Somehow, I feel more tired today than I have in days. Why does that happen? We have parent-teacher conferences tonight. Okay, a bit overly dramatic. We get to sit with his new teacher and talk about his class, how he's doing, etc. I'm looking forward to it. My parents are coming to stay tonight. Beerman did some cleaning up last night because I was so dog-tired. I'm glad someone had some energy. I've got a special discount at my favorite retailer starting tomorrow... an extra 15% off my usual 15%. I feel some new shoes in my future. Enjoy your week!

Is it Friday yet?

Okay, I know, this sounds like a repeat of last week. I'm still sick and C-man was up all night due to the storm. The bags under my eyes need to go in check-in they're so heavy! Yikes. AND I have to train all damn day tomorrow. Ugh... The good news is it's a short week, right? HA! Not for me, of course. Corporate life sucks. But the good news is I get to go home at night and relax, right? HA! Our basement is flooded from the tsunami that hit last night, my house a mess, and my mother still doesn't know if she's staying tomorrow night. "We'll see where we're at," she says. Oh, come on! Do I have to sweep up the extra sheepdog on my floor and change the sheets tonight, or can I dry out my moldy basement? Please, somebody give me a break this week!

Hunka hunka burning yuk

I'm at work today, but I'm not making it until 5. I still feel like crap. I'm burning up, and work just isn't that important to me. We let C-man watch Happy Feet last night. Okay, we were dog-sick and went into his Easter basket for trinkets of fun to amuse him. He danced whenever they danced, sobbed when it was over, and talked about it in his sleep: "I watch Mumble. I need Happy Feet." Very cute. I'm sure I'll be seeing that movie another 45 billion times in the next week. It's almost my birthday month. (Since my birthday is the beginning of May, once April 5th hits, it's my birthday month). For those of you unaware, my birthday is the most important day of the year. Stay tuned.

Sick Bay

Wow, whatever this bug is, it's kicking our asses. C-man is on the rebound, of course, and going 100 mph while we stagger behind him. I'm sweating like a pig and not hungry for much. I'm sure I'll be just fine in time to go to work tomorrow, though. Perfect. So much for Easter egg hunting and Easter bunny picture taking. And note to self: do NOT go grocery shopping the day before Passover. All I wanted was some ginger ale, and I had to fight women with 2 grocery carts each. Wow! 2nd note to self: next year, figure out who will invite me over for Passover meal!

Sicker than Dawgs

Wow, whatever bug came to 8920 has put us down. All we've done is sleep all day. Last night I was tremoring for about 2 hours and couldn't get warm. So stay clear of us!

It's Friday! It's Friday! It's Friday!

I never thought this day would come... And of course, I'm sick. Sore throat, coughing, general yuk that C-man has. Perfect. Last night I was asking C-man about his day in the 2 year-old room. First he says, "Jesus Time!" When I asked him about it, he enthusiastically said, "Easter. They rolled it away!" So apparently he is getting something out of Jesus time. But next he said, "Hold on to rope and see crocodiles." Beerman and I were confused how this fit in the picture until this morning we were informed that the class was pretending to hold on to a rope and be on the lookout for crocodiles when my child freaked out. I guess "pretend" isn't something he understands yet, and was looking for real crocodiles. Apparently it wasn't too traumatic, because he went right on talking about seeing a fireman and a big yellow firetruck. I love that he can tell us about his day now. It makes me feel so much better. Tomorrow we're going to an Easter Egg Hunt. It should be fun. I've got to get him to see the Easter Bunny yet, though. Time's running out. Enjoy your weekend!

One more day...

...until Friday. What a long-ass week. I was so tired last night, I didn't even notice Medium was on until Beerman woke me up at 10 to tell me to go to bed.

Is tomorrow Friday?

Man, all day in stand-up training wears out my brain. At least Medium is on tonight. I love that show. Come on, Friday!!

Is it really only Tuesday?

Come on, it's got to be at least Thursday, right? Ugh. So my pride over losing a couple of pounds shrunk quickly when Beerman announced he's lost over 10. How do you lose over 10 pounds in a week? Beats me. But good for him. C-man is officially in the 2's room now. Apparently he hasn't wanted to go, saying he wants to stay with current teacher. But I just got an e-mail from his principal telling me he's been doing fabulously. So officially in the 2's he is. I'm starting yoga next week Thursday. I'm also going to get one of the 3 bikes in our garage (Beerman's old roomate just left hers when she moved out - I think I'll take that one) tuned up so I can start getting out more. So that's 2 more hobbies to add to the list. Sure, I know how to ride a bike and have done yoga in the past, but it's been so long that this counts as new hobbies. Again, my list, my count. I'm thinking rock climbing might be the fifth one. I haven't checked into it, though, so don't hold me to it.

Monday Funday

My kid is finally online from his weatherkid debut. Pretty darned adorable, if I do say so myself. And since it's my blog, I can say these things. Sunday I went to Bayshore and got a new outfit from Talbots on a screaming sale, and got new underwear from Victoria's Secret. Nothing like a good fitting bra and cute little undies to put a smile on your face.

Since Kansas lost, I'm done with my basketball pool. There's $10 down the shitter. It's time for baseball to start. We've got tickets to the April 20th Brewers vs. Astros game. It should be fun.

C-man's getting better, but still not completely over the hump. Hence, I got little sleep last night. I'm dying today.

The good news is I've lost a few pounds on this miserable diet. Maybe by summer I'll be presentable.

24 is on tonight. Have I mentioned that I'm in love with Jack Bauer? Enjoy!

Spring has Sprung

Oh, being outside is so wonderful. C-man loves his new sandbox, courtesy of Grandpa Howard and Grandma Peggy. And I'm loving the sunshine. Love. It. I got to dig in my own dirt (herb garden) and the gnomes went out for the season. What a good day. C-man's feeling better, which is helpful. I'm hoping the night goes well so he can go to school tomorrow. The new postsecret.blogspot.com is up. I'm not loving this week's. And now that my own birthday is only a month away, I'm starting my list:

• Housekeeper
• Babysitter for a long weekend in August so Beerman and I can go to Napa Valley
• Herb gardening tools (wagon, herbs, cute cutters, cute gloves, etc.)
• Dumpster to throw half of the crap in my house out
• Spa appointment to get fabulous new hair, makeup, tips and toes
• Talbots or Loft clothes (I know, it's a sort-of competitor, but I can't help it)
• New mattress
• New sheets for my king bed
• New couch

As I think of more, I'll add them, of course. Feel free to start buying now.

Happy Birthday Riley!

My baby dog is 5 today. He's got raw salmon on the docket for dinner. As you can see, he's thrilled.

C-man is doing better, playing, laughing and eating a little, but still not 100%. We went to Lowe's to get sand for his new sandbox. It was a huge hit. He told everyone in the store we were getting sand for his sandbox. It was cute. The fever seems to have broke, at least.

Still no weatherkid update since 3/20. I'll post it as soon as it updates.

Get out there and enjoy the sun. It's spring!

Home with a sick kid

Enjoy your weekend!

Sick Kid

My kid was a weather kid last night and this morning. Last night they commented on his smile. This morning, they couldn't pronounce our last name and laughed a bit about it. Beerman's comment was, "Buddy, you're going to get that your whole life." They still haven't updated the website, but when they do, I'll post the picture. So after he was a weather kid, he became a sick kid. I got the call this morning. Beerman took him to the doctor and got barfed on twice. I'll spare you the details, but it seems like things are staying in at the moment. Let's hope it stays this way - lots of kids at school have been out. Because he barfed at school, and there's a 24 hour stay-at-home rule, I'm home with him tomorrow. I hope he feels better. The poor thing is so sad, watching Big Bird.

Happy Birthday C-man!

My baby is 2 today. I made him chocolate cupcakes to take to school and a cake with sprinkled frosting for tonight. He didn't want breakfast, because he just wanted the chocolate cupcakes. He is my child, after all. Remember to watch the 10 p.m. news on Channel 4 tonight. C-man's a weather kid. If you miss it tonight, he's also on as the 6:30 a.m. weather kid tomorrow morning. Happy Birthday! Happy Hump Day! Happy Spring!

Vernal Equinox

Happy Spring at 7:08 p.m. tonight! I walked into work today with 2 bags of newspapers for a training I'm going to be doing. The bag broke as I was crossing traffic, sprawling newspapers everywhere on a cold, windy day. I'm a frickin' genius. Tomorrow is C-man's birthday AND he's going to be a weather kid on the 10:00 p.m. news. So touch your TMJ4! If you miss it, he'll be on the 6:40 a.m. news on Thursday the 22nd. It's an old picture, from last summer, but whatever. It took this long to get him on. I still have the second half of the Departed to watch. I couldn't last night because 24 was on. Another brilliant episode about Jack, by the way.

There is no PH in that Fat.

I've put the house on Weight Watchers Core Plan. And when I could have had a beautiful deep fried cutlet of chicken with pasta and a chocolate brownie, I hate a chef salad with crappy fat free dressing. Ugh. I am fat, and need to not be fat anymore. But this sucks. This weekend I got to clean up my herb garden. It was so hopeful to be in my already green and growing oregano, sage, thyme, lemon balm and mint. Yippee!! My daffodils are up about a half-inch too. Ahhh, I love spring. This weekend I finally watched the latest 007 - Casino Royale. Pretty good, although way too much killing for James. I was quite pleased they brought back the Aston Martin though. James just isn't James in a BMW. I watched half of the Departed. Pretty good, but typical Scorcese. I'm not convinced it's Oscar-worthy, but then again, I haven't seen it to the end. 24 is on tonight. Whoopee! I've missed the past 2 weeks while on vacation, so I hope I can catch up. C-man turns 2 this week. How am I the mother of a 2 year old? What idiot felt I was responsible enough to be a parent?!?

Sunday Errands

Alberto Gonzales has gotten into trouble for firing eight U.S. attorneys for what appears to be political reasons. President Bush said today he still has confidence in Gonzales -- the same confidence he had in Rumsfeld, Scooter Libby, and Michael Brown of FEMA." --Jay Leno And that's all I've got to say about that... I'm off to find a birthday gift for C-man, eat lunch with my former boss, clean the house, walk the dogs, and find some time for a nap.

And because this makes me laugh hard...

Happy Hermit

We're invited to a party tonight and tomorrow. And I've happily made the decision to attend neither. I can't bear the thought of doing anything. I got roped into babysitting for a co-workers 4 kids tomorrow for an hour while he and his wife run, and I'm dreading it. I can't wait to get some high quality sleep and watch a movie or two if C-man lets me.

Vacation Photos

What Day is It?

After being on vacation, coming home at midnight Monday night, and having a jam-packed workweek after C-man doesn't sleep at nights, and I'm truly asking - what day is it? Whew - I need some sleep and a weekend! I'll post some vacation photos as soon as I can get my act together for a few minutes to do it.

Things I learned on vacation

1. When on vacation with Beerman, expect to meet the local authorities at least once.
2. When renting a vehicle in Florida, get the insurance. They're crazy and rear-end happy. If you don't believe me, see #1.
3. Spring break just isn't cool when you're not in college anymore. Woo-hoooo!
4. When away from your child, you miss him terribly. When reunited with him, he wears you out so much you wonder why you didn't spend 3 more days at the beach. But then you remember being a #3 and deal with it.
5. I now know why all the episodes of Cops are filmed in Florida. Let's just leave it at that.
6. When you leave your child with Grandma and Grandpa, expect him to leave them addicted to chocolate milk and apple juice.
7. Chocolate milk stains clothes.
8. For a 2 year old, traveling 40 minutes to an oceanside beach is not better than just digging in the dirt under Grandpa's stairs at the cabin.
9. People in the south decorate with some pretty racist decor. I never did learn why it's acceptable decor, but it is pretty weird.
10. People who win the lottery and go back to work should be forced to give their money back. When I'm away from work, I don't miss it one bit.
11. Leaving items in your shorts pocket while on the beach is a bad idea. The people who comb the beach with their metal detectors are sure to get your watch before you.
12. The Dixie flag just never seems to go out of style in some places.

Toes in the Sand, Beer in the Hand!

Dedicated to my Canadian Californian...

Enjoy your week!

Vacation -1

Happy Sunday. We were out of coffee. Beerman rectified the situation after I explained the importance of coffee to the success of my Sunday. He understood. Now we're all happier. There's a new postsecret.blogspot.com up. Some pretty darned great ones, if you ask me. I love that site. I have loads that I'd love to send in, but I have to figure out the very best one before I do it. It's got to be good. C-man's loving arena football right now. The kid's an addict. Yesterday my mother-in-law and C-man were watching his big truck video and Beerman and I were peeing our pants. The conversation went like this, "Look, C-man, a big scoopy scoop!" C-man said, "It's an excavator!" At another point she said, "Look, C-man, that man has fire!" C-man replied, "A welder!" I realize all kids progress at their own pace, but I can confidently say he's learning at a pretty good clip right now. Now if he'd just grow... The wives tale says you're half your adult height at 2. He's got 3 weeks to grow 2 inches if he's going to hit 6 feet. Well, I've got to pack our stuff up and get some lunch together.

To-tal E-clipse of the Moon

Okay, for those who aren't Little Shop of Horrors addicts, that's a rip-off of an absolutely fabulous song. Anyhow, pretty cool eclipse. Too bad I'm on the wrong side of the earth to see it. The photos were cool. My mother-in-law was here last night until today. We went out to a great breakfast and then to Toys R Us to get C-man his basketball hoop birthday gift. He was so excited, I don't think he's stopped playing all day. This afternoon I got a massage and haircut. Both were fabulous. Then we went to Kohl's and spent an extravagant amount of money on clothes for vacation. C-man got basketball sandals that light up. He loves them. I got some summer clothes that fit and look like the current style. So all in all, things are looking up. 'Cause I'm on vacation, baby! On an unrelated note, my sister often tells the story about the "one time" my other sister pooped in the tub. Everyone seems to have that one story. The thing is, my kid has pooped in the tub 3 times in the last 2 weeks. I'm starting to think this trend is not a positive one. On a parental brag note, C-man now can count to 8. Last week he wasn't interested in counting, and this week he's up to 8. He can also find the following countries on his wall map in his room: South Africa, Congo, Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, India, China, Russia, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Brazil, Cuba, United States and Canada. Most of the time he can find Mexico and Turkey, but it's a crap shoot. I figure he's better than the majority of this country in that respect.