Stuff

Remember this fun gig? Well, this is what happened. What a fabulous response from all 50 states of funny people. ************************ And here's your joke of the day, courtesy of "I want to punch them in the face" Beerman: The rancher was asked his opinion of Palin. He said she was a post turtle. When queried about what a post turtle was, the rancher replied, "A post turtle is a turtle on a fence post. It doesn’t belong up there, had nothing to do up there, could not have gotten there by itself. I wonder what idiot put it there?" ************************ Don't forget to sign up or donate to the Jingle Bell Run/Walk!

Go Brewers Go!

The last time the Brewers won the opportunity to go into October, I was 6. Back then, air conditioning in a house was considered a luxury we didn’t need. And that summer was hot. So we trooped to the backyard under the elm tree to watch Brewers games on the 13” TV, powered from “the barn” with a thick yellow paper mill electrical cord. Sometimes I’d watch, sitting on the grass next to my dad, who was in one of those striped lawn chairs with the webbing that was always breaking apart, and holding a Coors (since for some odd reason that was his summer of drinking Coors). Other times I’d play on the tire swing or hang upside down from the rings while still listening to the game. And then they won. I remember the players jumping up and down and the craziness that ensued. Specifically what I remember seeing on that little black and white television is now so melded with the images I’ve seen millions of times since, I'm not sure what is memory and what is replay. But I do remember my Dad whooping really loud. And I remember my mom looking at me and excitedly telling me they won. And I remember thinking, “Yea – more nights in the backyard with the TV.” And this week... we're planning on watching all the games outside on our big screen in the gazebo. Go Brewers Go!

Hand in Hand

Weekend in Pictures

Dancing the night away while waiting for our food:

Happy Birthday Grandpa Bill!

Playing with cousins:

Geocaching in Chippewa Falls: One left-handed mitten knitted in the car thanks to some new numbing drugs:

Hanging with the Orange Moose somewhere in the middle of that boring-ass trip.

Waterin' Man

Where has the day gone?

After a working breakfast, chiropractor appointment, lunch at Chilis, trip to Pier 1... It must be Friday. I'll be packing tonight to head to C Falls tomorrow. Beerman is there today for the funeral, and driving back today just so he can turn around and go back tomorrow. Craziness. I can't wear my rings today, so 4 hours in a car tomorrow morning should be an absolute blast. At least I'm coming down with a cold, so that should distract me for a bit. Even better yet, C-man is going through a growth spurt (as exhibited by his having eaten a half of a pizza plus apple slices, raisins, cheese stick and crackers last night; riding a crazy emotional roller coaster all week long; and actually biting a child at school yesterday because "he was in my way") So messing with his schedule should be awesome. I have 2 travel bugs to dump, so hopefully we can get out of the car long enough to do that along the way. At least I got most of my tomatoes frozen for the winter last night, and they won't rot on the counter over the weekend. And since we don't have cable, I don't have to worry about whether I'll watch the Brewers or the debate. I guess we'll keep tabs of the Brewers online while Obama Ba-racks McCain. And PS - I'm really frickin' ornery.

Gasp!

Clay Aiken is... GAY?!? Wow. Earth shattering. ***************** Courtesy of Hooked on Memes 1. Would you rather join the Ghostbusters to hunt ghosts or join the Sesame Street bunch? Why? Sesame Street, hands down. Because Snuffaluffagus is real, damnit! That, and because I have a secret obsession with relating every new person I meet to a Muppet or Sesame Street character - it helps me remember who they are. 2. What is the most you are willing to do to get out of a police officer giving you a ticket? Um, Ask if I can have a warning. 3. What popular movies do you find to be overrated? Pulp Fiction, all Woody Allen films, all Jim Carrey films 4. What is in (and/or on) your bedside table? Loads of Books, Tylenol, Water, Clock, chapstick 5. Have you ever had or fantasized about having sex with a boss before? Since most of my bosses have been women, that would be a definite "no" 6. If you had a personal assistant, what would you have them do? Get me coffee, return my phone calls, make my doctor appointments, and pick out and purchase my clothes for me 7. Have you ever faked static, loss of cell phone reception or anything else on the telephone line to get out of a conversation? Um... doesn't everyone?

Bedtime Routine

Our bedtime routine gets more extravagant each night. Beerman commented that C-man's going to have to sleep on the floor at this rate. It goes something like this: Where are my sausages? Right here, all in order. Okay, Brat, Polish, Italian, Hot Dog, and Chorizo. Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco. Mom, did you get my hot pack? It's right here, all warmed up. Okay. And my water? It's right here. That's last night's water. No, I just filled it up. No, it's old water. No, I just filled it up, it's new. Oh, and Care Bear and Care Bear Monkey? Tucked in right next to the sausages. Okay. Fred (stuffed turtle he takes everywhere) wants his blanky. Can you wrap him up in it? Swaddling Fred in a cloud blanket Are you good now, C-man? No, Fred needs one of the special pillows from your room. Go get gold accent pillows off our bed for Fred's sleeping pleasure Okay, now read me Just A Mess Read story Goodnight, Mommy. Can you send Daddy in to tell me a story? I'm on it. Goodnight. ********************** Thought for the day: Jesus was a community organizer. Pontious Pilate was a governor.

I don't care who you are, this is funny...

Want to overcome the new epidemic, Palinitis? Donate $5 to Planned Parenthood in her name. Use the address below so that she is properly thanked. McCain for President

Attn: Sarah Palin

1235 S. Clark Street

1st Floor

Arlington, VA 22202

Four Favorite Things

It's Monday. So instead of complaining about that, I'll blabber on about some of my favorites. Gypsy Cold Care tea Even if I don't have a cold, I love this stuff. 30 minutes of silence, a book, and some warm elder tea... heaven.

This book

I absolutely LOVE the quality of Jose Saramago's (and you pronounce the J, he's Portuguese) writing. When I read it, I feel transported to the moment, which is really a really rare thing for me. Blindness is an incredible book, which he actually won the Nobel for writing. (And if you haven't read THAT, you really should.) But this one was great, because I just found it so intriguing, that I had a hard time putting it down. Especially with a cup of the aforementioned tea in my hand. Note: it is Biblical fiction, so if you're one of those "literalists", which I am not, I mean - Adam made from mud, really? - this isn't a good one for you.

Osea facial mud

Beerman's cousin is an esthetician, and turned me on to this stuff. It makes my face tingle, which I am now addicted to. I use it at least twice a day. And while I know all the steroids aren't hurting my complexion, this stuff seems to be doing the job too. I love it.

MicroBrewers

My collection is almost complete. I have 18/19. If only they'd release Ned Yost, I'd have them all...

http://www.themorningblend.com/NewsArticle/tabid/1474/xmid/25192/Default.aspx

Wedding Vows

So I went to a wedding on Saturday. I love weddings. I really do. In fact, I will quietly put myself in the huge-sucker-for-weddings camp long as I think they're not one of those where the wedding speeches last longer than the marriage itself. And this one was a good one. It was beautiful. They're in love. They'll stick forever. For better or for worse. And this time, it was the better or worse, sickness and health business that was almost a bit too much for me to handle. Because who doesn't reflect on their own lives and marriages when the vows are said by the smiling, teary-eyed, completely in-love couple? And while I smiled and thought, "These kids have really got no idea what they've just said..." it was also the precise moment that it hit me how much Beerman and I have lived up to our own vows with each other lately. And I realized truly, just how thankful I am for it.

You Know the Day's Going to Get Weird...

...when it starts off by seeing a DOT worker SKIPPING down the road. No lie, I saw a man, approximately 6' 2", about 35 years of age, with an orange and yellow vest on, skipping down the road with fairy hands toward his coworkers. I've got to believe it was some sort of joke, but I had to look away to make sure all these drugs I've been taken haven't been affecting me. What's weirder is while I looked away, I turned only to see a woman singing wildly while heating up her eyelash curler against her car's heater vent. Whoa... That was some weird ride into work. ****************** I'm officially on the planning committe for the upcoming November 9th Jingle Bell Run/Walk at the zoo. I have $5000 to raise in sponsorships between now and then. Anyone got any leads? Beyond that, it means I need to have a big ass team. So go to the top-right of my blog and sign up you and your family members and friends to walk with me and Team Arthur Itis at the zoo. It's for a good cause. And I'll even buy breakfast afterward.

In Honor of My 401(k) 201(k)

Knuckles, Neighbors and in the News

So I went off the junk because I was convinced I was "all better". Yeah. All better. Back on the drugs I go, and off go the rings. I'm losing my knuckles by the minute. Argh! ************ We have a wedding to go to this weekend. After a mad-frantic search for a babysitter, I decided to go ask our neighbors to give me the number of theirs. I hate to gank a babysitter out from under someone, but I was getting desperate. And lo and behold, they volunteered! I still feel incredibly guilty, but they live next door and have a 4 year old that C-man plays with regularly. We'll keep it an early night just in case, but happy day - we found someone. ************ http://www.news.wisc.edu/15598

Behold... Knuckles!

After 6 days of drugs, creams, and complaining, I once again have knuckles. Amazing. Now I just need to heal my innards from the toll the drugs have taken. Sigh... Beat one devil back only to be chased by another. ************ Riley has fully embraced football season: And C-man has now worn his AJ Hawk jersey to school 2 days in a row. Despite this, he still only wants to be a baseball player for Halloween. And he feels Ned Yost's firing was unjust. He is the only one in the house to believe this.

Harvesting What's Left

The end of the summer harvest is always so bittersweet. Here are a few of the absolutely mouthwatering, eye tantalizing things we've been getting this week: Fresh, citrusy tomatillos: Heirloom tomatoes (purple cherokee, green zebra, and amish paste): Chamomile drying for a great cup of tea

Cardamon (cilantro seeds) for future tasty stews (and my favorite beer, hint hint):

Ike, You're Killing Me

This rain is killing me. Steroids, steroid creams, drugs... none of it seems to help make my hands not resemble the Michelin man's. Plus, C-man is begging to go outside and play baseball. I am going to go take him out to get our Ryan Braun mini magnet of the all-important daily mini-Brewers magnets that come out each day. ********************** Taking time out of our baseball game to smell the roses:

The healthy and the not so healthy

Last night C-man wanted pancakes for dinner. Then I remembered that you can put 3/4 C of sweet potato puree in pancake mix, and figured, what the hell. I used our little bear form, put blueberries on for eyes and a mouth, and he gobbled them up like a champ. Check that off as one item he'll eat that's a bit healthier. Before bed, I took out some chocolate croissants I got from Trader Joe's to proof overnight in the oven I had set to go on at 7 a.m. After a night of C-man's night terrors (yikes), what a welcome bit of heaven to wake up to. Warm, buttery, chocolatey croissants. C-man declared, "I love these!" Me, too. ************************** Yesterday, on my way BACK to the rheumatologist for MORE drugs to try to get my finger swelling down a bit, I stopped at Starbucks. While waiting for my grande latte, I got to chatting with a guy... who actually asked me out! HA! Guess that's what not wearing my rings will do. Anyhow, I've been bragging to Beerman that he'd better watch out, because I'm one puffy babe who men want. :-) Good thing he's not the jealous type, because I've been kind of obnoxious about it. ************************** In case you haven't noticed, you can sign up to be in or donate to the November 9th Jingle Bell Run/Walk for Arthritis by clicking on the links to the right.

Day Off

I took a day off work so I could take a day off pretending to be feeling okay. I can't sleep. My rings don't fit on my hands. I can't bend over. I have zero appetite. After a week of this, I am a zombie.

One of those...

There are days, and then there are weeks. It's been one of those again.

Wordless Wednesday - Yo

Funny stories about my kid from last night

Why you might not want to pick up our Koosh ball if you’re at the house Scene: “Naked time” Otherwise known as the 1 - 2 hour time-period between bath and bed where my child refuses to wear clothes. “Na-na-na-boo-boo. You can’t find the “*prickly ball” *Koosh ball “Where’d it go?” “I’m squinching it in my butt!” After 4 days of not pooping... C-man races to the bathroom, shouting "You guys stay right here!" Wait 4 minutes. "Mom and Dad, I have something to show you!" As we parade into the bathroom to see his glory, he proclaims, "Look! It's a giant mustache!" Nightly bedtime ritual C-man comes into bed to give me "hugs and kisses". As he returns to his bed, he closes my door. Wait 5 seconds. Door opens. "And don't make a peep!" Slam.

At least the hot dog won...

Add this one to my summer favorites list...

While at Virmond Park on a gorgeous day, after a wonderful picnic with some of our earlier farmers market finds, laying on a blanket in the sun while Beerman pushes C-man on the swing, this is what I hear: "Daddy, I see a cat cloud ' Meow!'" "Well I see a dragon over there" "I see him too. He goes way back over the lake. But look at that rhino. Whoa, he's big!"

Last days of Summer

It's everywhere - with the boots/skirt combo, wildcard talk, football has begun, air turned a bit crisper, school starting, and Indian Summer festival this weekend - summer is winding down. So to give it its due, here were my favorite things about this summer, in no particular order:

• Smell of fresh garden cucumbers, still warm from the sun
• Watching the tomatoes grow, ripen, and get eaten up by the deer/squirrels/varmints just minutes before I was to pick them
• Farmers markets
• Lavender, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, sage, dill, chamomile, mint... sigh...
• Geocaching
• I got a promotion and Beerman kept his job
• Winning Brewers baseball
• Gorgeous basil that grew almost as high as my shoulders
• A potty trained kid
• Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn
• Democratic Convention and Barack Obama
• Outdoor movies on the "gazebo screen"
• Building a butterfly garden and watching it grow to host so many beautiful things
• Cooking with C-man (making ice cream and muffins, usually)
• Eating ice cream at "our table" at the local Baskin-Robbins with C-man, and then him squealing on me to Beerman after
• State Fair and the Big Slide
• Teaching C-man about the glory that is s'mores and pudgy pies
• Watching C-man run the bases at Miller Park (hopefully we'll do it again Sunday if it doesn't go another 12 innings like last time!)
• Breakfast on the farm
• Zoo trips
• Watching C-man fall in love with fireworks (even if they are still too loud)
• So You Think You Can Dance!, and the Mole
• Arthritis Walk to Irish Fest

It was a summer that definitely had its downs, but overall, it's been worthwhile. Thanks, Summer.

Beerman on the Radio

Listen to Beerman live at 3:25 today: www.xxsportsradio.com

Whooopeeeeeee!

Beerman has a job. The changes include: new title, managing both facilities and teams here and in Colorado, and now reporting up to the Director of International something or other. In other words, same pay - more responsibility, but in an elevated position. So after he turns in his paperwork this morning, he officially has a job located here. Thank God I put 2008 on notice. Things have really been looking up for us lately.

As the sayings go...

"But you are wrong." ~ C-man to Beerman about the name of the monkey on his new favourite show (I'm using a "u" because it HAS to be Canadian. Who else would create a kids show about a moose?) Elliot Moose. His name is "Socks" in case you cared. "I really want to punch them all in the face." ~ Beerman about all Republicans

Political Humor

Because these are too good to pass up:

"Five kids? Does anyone in that party understand the concept of pulling out?" –Bill Maher

Happy Labor Day!