No Children Allowed

Last weekend we attended a Halloween Party. It was a nice escape from my own issues so I was looking forward to it. BUT it was costume require. I have of late NOT been in a creative mood. So I relied on my sister this year for my costume.

She wore this last year. And of course everyone loved it and teased MD about what a great way to keep me quiet. Yea thanks guys love you all also! (Yes I do know they were teasing).

No I really don't know anybody, though there were two other neighbors there that I did know. But as always MD had a great time (this was one of his construction clients)

These are our hosts. Last year they were Bill and Sooky from True Blood. I think it is cute how they always do couple costumes.

Then this past Friday (yes the night that seemed hell broke loose here) we attended another Halloween party. Some ex neighbors (miss them a lot) had us to their new house for a party.

Laure has the bubbliest personality and you can not help but love her.

And Jim makes the best beer and port around.

Karen (another neighbor) was there and we all played catchup. And yes we are silly together, but because we can it makes good fun.

This couple smuggled in Kentucky moonshine. Never had moonshine before..............it was surprisingly good. But Goddess you DO NOT want to drink much of it or you will be on your butt quick.

I could not put myself through another night of full face paint. So I found the "static cling" idea and went with it. Walked around all night with underwear, socks, and dryer sheets pinned to me. Not overly fancy, but hey my face did not feel like it was peeling off.

Of course after Devin & Mikayla pulled their stunts. And after I gave myself some Blogging therapy (yes I have found that if I spill my guts here and divulge all our personal laundry for the world to see I feel microscopically better), and Devin was not home yet, MD went to work on someones deck. I decided yesterday that I needed to get out and escape being a mom, wife, maid, chauffeur, cook,.....etc.

Some girlfriends and I took off for wine country. It was may I say AMAZING.

We (me) polished off two bottles of wine and had a beautiful family/responsibility free afternoon. We seem to have all needed it at least that was the consensus.

Isn't Augusta just amazing in October???

Then again I am a nature freak and am more level amongst the trees.

For those inquiring minds..........MD got home around 5pm, Devin was home. They had some sort of discussion but just now my brain is nonfictional and I cannot remember it. MD asked Devin wehn he got home, Devin replied an hour ago. MD asked Devin why he bothered and that Devin could go back to where ever he was last night. Devin's response "I can't I am not 17 yet so I will get in trouble".

Dude really! You were not 17 Friday night either, so would that not equal to you getting into trouble anyway???

Oh, and for those that are interested and live in the state of Missouri (not sure if it is the same in other states). If your child is 17 years of age, he/she can come and go at will and want. No matter what your rules are or if there is a home enforced curfew. If said child decides they do not want to come home they do not have too (nope not a damn thing you can do). But you cannot keep them from re-entering the house either.

It seems that (and i have verified this with law officials) the age of 17 is a "gray" area. 17 year old are NOT considered run aways if they do not come home, but you are also not allowed to throw them out either until they are 18. SOOOOOO what that means is that your child can tell you to go to hell and leave as long as they like and come home when they like. BUT YOU ARE STILL RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS WHILE THEY ARE GONE.

I am just saying...................

We Are Falling Apart At The Seems

What can you do with/to a teen who disregards everything you say. Has no care for your authority. Pushes you to your breaking point every minute of every day?

This is where MD and I are at. We have tried rewarding as well as punishments. We try to be fair. But in the end we are basically told they will do what they want when they want and we have no right to be upset, angry, or disapproving.

REALLY!

At this very moment I can not think of the word I want to use (probably because I can only see/think red) but I believe it is entitled. They think they are entitled to have everything just given to them and to do as they see fit..........................oh how wrong they will see they are.

It became painfully clear last night. MD and I had been planning on attending a Halloween party at a old neighbor's (they just moved two weeks ago). Both kids knew we were going as they were first told that they were going to go with us, then it was decided to not be "kid friendly" so I told them they didn't have to go.

I get home from work right behind MD. We get into the house, no kids, no notes on their whereabouts. We leave for the party. Still no calls or text messages (though Devin's phone has not been returned to him due to poor grades). Sometime around 9 pm I get a text from Mikayla ............. when are you picking me up? Picking her up? I don't even know where she is. With some text bickering back and forth MD and I decide to leave the party go get her (oh and play taxi to others again without knowledge of this till we show up) and go home to an empty house. Mind you it is now after 11pm.

No Devin. His COURT APPOINTED curfew is 9pm. I sit reading/playing on the computer till midnight, still no Devin. MD stands looking at me asking what we have done wrong as parents? All I can do is shrug my shoulders and say too him..........."we gave them too much". That is the only thing I can see we have done WRONG.

At this point MD is fuming and all I can think is that Devin is bringing this on himself. MD goes around and verifies that all windows and doors are lock. Locks the garage door. This way he HAS to ring the front door bell if he wants in (and it is like 30 something degrees outside). No Devin all night, even as I write this, no Devin.

So this morning I have removed ALL electronics from his room and will be "cleaning it out" shortly. I informed MD that Mikayla will be receiving the same removal from her room.

With things bouncing around in my head I have decided that a formal listing of "HOUSE RULES" need to be inforced. Following is list of rules that I have come up with and enforced (how I just have not figured out yet) at the MD House:

1. No electronics what so ever in bedrooms (this means laptops, TVs, I-touches (Internet access) etc.

2. No more eating in bedrooms

3. Curfews WILL BE OBEYED

4. No F's allowed on any assignment (we currently take the cell phone away a day for every F that is why Devin still does not have his back)

5. Chores will be posted and completed before I get home from work.

6. Devin will apply and obtain a job within a month. All funds will be stopped in 30 days. No more money for lunches he can make a lunch a bring it from home. He is after all 16 and since he has no desire to do homework or sports he can go to work.

7. No longer will disrespectful talking be allowed. If your mad, fine but go to your room and work it out there.

8. Absolutely no one is allowed in the house while MD and I are not home.

9. The Internet will be allowed only on one computer in the house and you will have to ask permission to get on it. Oh yea there will be a password on it.

I am sure I will think of more as the day goes on but this is what I have come up with so far. So now I am trying to think of "punishments" for breaking these rules. With Mikayla that is not too hard. Grounding and taking the cell phone away still works for the most part. It is Devin who is going to be the challenge. I mean if he is not afraid of breaking probation rules (which he know will get him sent back to court) what could I possibly do to him?

Like I said falling apart at the seams

Check it Out St. Louis Made the Top 10!!!

Someone actually put St. Louis in the top 10 list, and NOT for its crime rate!

Best Online Colleges Online.net had an article

10 Best Haunted House Attractions. You can click the link or if you are lazy (like me) I have put most of the story here. Well the St. Louis Part.

Today’s haunted house attractions are more terrifying and believable than ever before, thanks to state-of-the-art animatronics, visual effects and talented actors that have the power to scare just about anyone and everyone. Expert ratings and reviews say these haunted houses are the best of the bunch and the best boo! for your buck.

1.The Darkness Haunted House
Missouri is the Show-Me State, and St. Louis will show you a frightening time at its renowned haunted house, The Darkness. The Darkness features two floors of your worst nightmares, as monsters, ghouls and 3D clowns and killer circus animals chase and taunt you till the very end. Expect new additions to The Darkness this Halloween, such as a turn-of-the-century funeral home with mirror mazes, ancient graveyards and an animated falling barrel wall.

Going to have to ask Devin his opinion on this particular topic. He has been to several this year alread. And I know this was one of them. So if you happen to be in the St. Louis area this Halloween weekend maybe you should stop by and get a frightful!

I crack myself up sometimes.

Never want to do that again

Collin's funeral was harder than I expected. Facing Debbie & Steve was the hardest thing I think I have done to date. MD gave Felicia and I trouble (teasing trouble) later in the evening. Saying that they (Deb & Steve) seem to be holding up great considering the situation. That was until they took one look at us (Felicia and I) and lost it.

Yea, I have to admit it was a cry fest when we greeted them. Steve hugged me so tight I couldn't breath then he just looked at Felicia and started sobbing. I mean not just tears, the man was sobbing. It broke my heart. Then as I turned to Debbie, I tried to smiled a little, she let out a squeak and that was all it took we both started crying. MD looked lost and very uncomfortable, he absolutly hates seeing me upset or crying. and he knew there was absolutly nothing he could do to help any of us at that moment. We have never had to deal with this type of situation before, I mean we have had family members / fridnes pass. Of course they were either old, sick or both. So dealing with this type of death was difficult. None of us said a thing to each other, all we could do was hug.

As we approached Collin's casket it was very difficult to keep our composure. Felicia was crying so hard and turning side to side. Looking at her, it made you think that she was trying to figure out which way she run to get out of the church. In the end she just leaned into my arms and cried. I have never felt so helpless in my life. Nothing I could do could fix anything. MD just put his arms around us and led us to the side of the church and walked us out.

Collin's entire Fraternity came and did some sort of service gathered around his casket. It was moving to say the least.

What was heart wrenching was watching grown men talk about things they remember about Collin and having to stop because the would start crying. Seeing grown men cry always tears at my heart.

One of Collin's and Felicia's friends (he was one of Collin's best & longest friends) found Felicia and I. Grabbed us and hugged us. He looked horrible, not doing very well with the situation at all. Poor boy could only nod, couldn't say a word. Sadness engraved so deep on his face, again I could say nothing to ease his pain. Chris had told Felicia the day before he had come to terms with Collin being gone but from what I saw, he apparently had not.

After the services they had a dinner provided for everyone. We couldn't handle staying any longer. We found Steve and Debbie said (cried) our goodbyes. They threatened kidnapping if Felicia didn't make it by when she came back in town. I told Deb if she wished, the next trip I made to Chicago she could come. She said she would look forward to that, thinking it actually would be a nice get away. They have always told Felicia she was the daughter they never had, they had only boys.

A Trip to Chi Town

Now for a happy story. Earlier this month Mikyla, Nipa, and I took a road trip to Chi town to visit Felicia and check out her new spot she calls home.

She lives in a lovely tree lined community. All the streets look like this. I wish that our neighborhoods here would do this, it is gorgeous!

She lives in a northern suburb of Chicago, and with traffic and parking in the city the way it is we opted to take the train into the city. Besides Mikayla has never been on a train. So mark one off the new experience to do list.

It didn't make the trip any shorter, but at least I didn't have to pay attention to where I was going or who was in my way. Besides Chicago seems to have road construction EVERYWHERE.

We went to Navy Pier (not first but close). We saw pirates fighting and scurrying about.

Then they saw the girls...........and grabbed them.............

.....and you know I always have my camera on the ready.

But I think the girls liked the attention too. They were not shy at all about getting dragged to the side of the pier to pose with some older boys.

Mikayla even attracted some shrimp LOL.

We traveled around the city on the hop on and off Bus. Which at first I was a bit sticker shocked at the ticket prices ($30 a person) but then we were jumping on and off all day at different places around the city. So we figured what we would have to pay for taxi fare to do what we did.........I saved a bundle!

(me taking a picture of Nipa taking a picture of me)

Mikayla fussed at me for taking this picture. But the way I look at it is if you going to "dress" to stand out like this you deserve to have your picture taken and then plastered all over the Internet (or at least my blog and FaceBook pages). Besides they really didn't seem to mind that I was standing there just clicking away.

I was totally NOT listening to our tour guide on the bus and missed what they called this blob of Mercury looking stuff. But it was pretty cool. Felicia had Mikayla and I lay on the ground underneath it to get this odd looking picture. She explains that everyone wants this picture (though I saw no one else laying on the ground)

It was an amazingly beautiful weekend. Thought for sure it was going to be cold (news channels stated also that it would be) but we could have not asked for a more beautiful day. Defiantly wore ourselves out. I am looking forward to another visit. But this time instead of an "all over city tour" we will pinpoint a street or location and concentrate on those. With enough visits I'll get to see absolutely everything in the city.

Collin Camren Davis

I write today with great sorrow. A young man close to our family (especially Felicia) has passed away this morning. Collin Camren Davis was only 21 years old, attended Rolla University (now known as Missouri Tech).

He like to tell me he was getting a degree to legally blow things up. Yep that was Collin.

He and Felicia dated for a while. They split as friends and have been close ever since. MD and I often thought that they would end up back together as did his parents. Those two were inseparable.

I can only imagine how his parent's are feeling just now. I send them my deepest sympathies and all my love.

Collin

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again,

may the Goddess hold you in the palm of her hand.

Hi

I know I have been gone, sorry.

I will be back soon. I am trying to put things together. It has been hard but we are mucking thru it.

Monica

MUMs the word

It is just wrong to be at work today. The weather is absolutely beautiful, there is a slight breeze, and the sky is clear blue. Just makes working indoors very hard.

Upside after today I am on vacation again for a week!

Going to plant some mums, they are most beautiful to look at this time of year. And I want to capture some of that beauty in my back yard.

The red and orange ones are my favorites. My sister keeps telling me I am a fall color person. Likes to tease that is what I have decorated my house in also. I fear she is correct. But how could one not just LOVE the warm feeling fall colors give off? I mean really.

Guess I should get some work done so I can scoot out of here this afternoon with a clear conscious.

Holy cow that is a lot of food!!!

Sooooo Hi.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have subjected myself to a Boot Camp. Which is doing exactly as promised......................kicking my jiggly butt into shape. But what I am not sure if I have ever mentioned is that I have a weirdly high metabolism. So when every I am doing any activity I have to increase my caloric intake. Now I am not complaining (well actually I am) but I think 3,000 calories is a bit much.

Have you EVER tried eating 3,000 calories of nutritious food? Oh, and NOT feel like you are going to explode. The closest I got to that was 2,278. And that was only because we went to Olive Garden for Dinner and I had the Smoked Mozzarella Fonduta. That WAS SOOO GOOD.

My average day is usually 1,600 to 2,000 calories. My instructors are not very happy but going to the gym 3 times a week, 1 night a week of volley ball, mowing the yard and doing other yard work, and cleaning the entire house every weekend tends to get in the way of eating. Winter time will be different. That is when we eat a lot of our favorite "heavy" foods.


BOO it is time to go get some more food for the trough!

Our Home Is Back To Four

Our house of five is going back to a house of four.

Felicia has found a "big girl" job. This poor kid had no idea that LOOKING for a full-time job was in fact a full-time job in itself. The St. Louis area of late has not been the best place for someone looking for a position of employment. Felicia has found that out the hard way. It seems that ole bachelors degree doesn't open the doors it use too. NOW for the same jobs I looked at 3 years ago (the ones that wouldn't look at you unless you had that bachelors degree no matter how many years experience you had) are now wanting experienced applicants. Ones with 5 plus years of it AND a bachelors degree. She has been complaining that she is having exact opposite problem I was having when I went looking for a job. I had all the experience no degree, she has the degree no experience. (Viscous circle it is)

So with fire under her feet she expanded her job market search. She has friends in Boston, New York, and Kansas City. They were all selling her on why she should move to their city to look for a job. Of course all these cities have a better job market then St Louis just now. In the end she opted for Chicago. She has friends there, and "home" is only a short distance. So she can be here or us there is relatively a short amount to time.

Honestly though I think the deciding factor was this guy:

Let me introduce you to Jon.

They met in college, of course not until the December before she graduated. They were "party" friends. Or at least that is how it sounded to me. And he lives near Chicago. They started "dating" after graduation and have been doing the distance thing since. Both of them seem to have a good head on their shoulders about this relationship.

With what little MD and I know of Jon we like him. He pushes and challenges Felicia in ways the fiance never did. When she asks what we think of Jon my response is always:

"We don't know him well enough to like or dislike him, but what we DO LIKE is the way you are now with him"

That answer is the most honest answer I can give. My feelings behind it all: 1. He graduated college, 2. He has a good work ethic, 3. We never hear him talk down to her, 4. They don't fight over everything, 6. He does not seem to be the jealous type, and 7. Treats her with respect.

This we like.

After only a few short days she landed a job and now has been looking for a place to live. I have mixed feelings about this great adventure she is about to embark. I am excited for her as she is taking life by the horns and being brave enough to go the distance to achieve what she wants. Sad that I am 5 hours away and will not be right there to catch her when she stumbles and my support has to be from a distance.

But in the end MD and I are very proud of our little adventurer and we are confident that she will claim all the spoils that she goes after.

Monday workout

Bootcamp Day 3 - Sorry I forgot to update Friday.

Run a mile

Stretch......lots of stretching

Then every freaking kind of lung you can think of 2 minutes each. mountain climber lunge, standing lunges, etc. we did enough lunges to last 15 minutes!

Jump rope for 2 minutes

Then relay sprints for 10 minutes.

Now time for sit ups, not crunches, full on sit ups for another 2 minutes. Now another 5 minutes of stretching and scoot on home.

Now for Monday

Warm up 5 minutes of stretching.

Go run a mile.

NOW PREPARE TO PAY TO PIPER

All the following excersizes are done for a minute each. After each group (2 minutes) sprint for a minute.

1. Barbell deadlift

2. 20 foot hop scotch

3. trampoline jumps

4. mini hurdles

5. Jump rope

6. Reverse push ups (using a chair)

7. bar bell lifts

8. leg shuffles (yea that one is hard to explain)

then stretch and scoot home.

Tomorrow will fill ya in on Tuesday's Boot camp!

Wednesday in a nut shell

Wednesday was a “day of rest” or at least according to my instructors it was supposed to be. I on the other hand seem to like torturing myself. Wednesday nights are my sand volley ball nights. And last night was a double header, instead of playing just three games we played six and for some reason over half our team didn’t show. The 6:30 game we had 5 players but we fared well. Won 2 lost 1. Our 8:30 game we had two more show up and we had a volunteer (we really needed another guy) join us. The 8:30 set was an amazing game. We only won one game but it was oh so close in points on all three. We seemed well matched with the other team as we had volleys that seem to last forever. It was great and very enjoyable.

Except for this morning I am very much feeling my age. Chest, arms, thighs all ache. And tonight is Boot Camp again. I have no idea what they have in store for me to do but I can pretty much guarantee that I will NOT be doing pushups!

Devin and Mikayla’s first day of school was yesterday. They both came home in good moods and never complained once about being back. Devin actually told Felicia he was glad to be back at West and is going to “try hard to pass all his classes on time so he will graduate when he was supposed to”. I WAS SHOCKED! We will see how long THAT outlook lasts. Don’t get me wrong, I am not expecting him to fail. But you gotta know Devin and his mental status changes are changing frequently. I am just taking one day at a time with him. It is a good day when we don’t have police at our door, or screaming going on.

Felicia is on her way to Chicago as I type this. She has a job interview as soon as she gets into town. Then she will be heading to her new boy friend’s house for the rest of the weekend. She has two other interviews back here next week. But I think she is really hoping to get the one in Chicago. We shall see.

Boot Camp Day Two

Last night was an experience........that is all I have to say.

First off we casually walked around for 10 minutes "warming up" our legs and such. Then the rest of the assessments commenced.



We did as many sit ups (NOT crunches) as we could in 2 minutes. I did 42



Next we did as many push ups as we could in 2 minutes. Here I only did 22.
I have tendinitis in both elbows and shoulders (this I will talk about in a bit) so it got very painful after about 17.



Then they gave us (well everyone but me) a sheet showing how many calories, fat, carbs, & proteins we are to be consuming a day. They also had on the sheet our body fat percentage. Again I did not get a sheet because my weird little body stumped them. I was promised that I would have one emailed to me today (so far have not gotten it). The reason they are stumped with me is that many years ago I started getting the shakes and dizzy spells (passing out most of the time). I went to the doctor was run through a bunch of tests and the answer I received was that I have an extremely high metabolism. Perfectly healthy otherwise. Also found out that my blood pressure is freakishly low. (last check 86/62) Now before you go off cursing me like most people do, take a breath and imagine:



You HAVE to eat something every two hours, you HAVE to have like 6 meals a day, and you HAVE to eat as close to 3,000 calories a day as possible. AND if you work out or are active increase that number. I have to carry food with me everywhere.



Now while most of you may think .... awww poor her, she HAS to eat. I have passed out at county fairs, on the job, and friends houses and pretty much scaring the crap out of everyone. My sister once said she watched come out of a room fall against the wall and kind of shimmied down to the floor. She said she didn't know what to do so she shook me (we were teens at the time). I usually am not out for long and am usually pale, sweaty and vomiting afterwords. Not a pretty site by any means.



OOPS Sorry got carried away there, back to the boot camp.



So now I am sitting there listening to the discussions regarding tracking food portions, calorie counting, protein counting and such and I must have had a dazed lost look on my face because the instructor giggled and asked if I understood. I could only answer ........ NO. I have never had to do such a thing and I would have no idea how or where to start. They gave me this cool web site



http://www.sparkpeople.com/



I just put in what and how much I eat and it does the rest for me. This "journaling" is something we have to do everyday without exceptions. And we need to either email it to them daily or bring it to class so they can see where we are at and how we are doing. After the little dietary pep talk we went and ran 1/2 mile.



Plus side!!!!! One of the trainers is a massage therapist for athletes. She said that she will work with me on getting my elbows and shoulders back. She said (and I have heard this before) that I have A LOT of scar tissue especially in the shoulders. Damn tendinitis. And she will be giving me exercises to help strengthen the muscles there.



So far here are my stats that I know:



Height 5' 4"

Weight 129 pounds

Bust 37.5 inches (I have Never been this big without being pregnant! YEA BOOBS)

waist 28 inches

Hips 37 inches

Upper Arm 9 inches (why they measured this and what it means I have no idea)

Body fat percentage 16 %



Mile run 10 minutes flat

Site Ups 42

Push Ups 22



They measured more but that was all I could remember. At the end of six weeks I was GUARANTEED shrinkage in my measurements and increases in mile, sit ups, and push ups.

Now we get a day off. Thursday in the actual first day of abuse (that quoted directly from my instructor). So can I get a big Hu-Ahh (Hu-Rah is marines and we are Army so I have been told)

HU-AHH

Hoo-Ahhh

Yesterday I had my first night at Boot Camp Challenge. It was the first assessment night. They pinched all my jiggly parts and wrote down measurements (Yes I will post them as soon as I get them from my trainer). None of which made me feel very good, ugh I dislike my jiggly parts!

I have a class of 7, so it is nice and small. BUT that also means I get a lot of personal attention from the trainers. So if I am slacking at all they will be all over me.

I was asked by friends to keep a log of everything we do and what the nutritionist have us eat. This second part may be a bit hard for others to follow as the nutritionist set up diets or eating habits for each individual. My doctor years ago said that I am supposed to eat upwards of 3000 calories a day, especially when I am exercising. So my friends you may not want to follow my food intake list.

So for you CRAZY people who want to do boot camp along with me (just a day behind) go do your mile run/jog/walk. My time was 10 minutes for a mile.

My daughter was very proud of me for this time seeing how I am over 40 years old, a smoker, and haven't run THAT far in years. (her words exactly).

Check back tomorrow for what was dished out this evening!

The Amazing Things That Come Out of Their Mouths.

Yes I know it has been quit a while since I have been here. Sorry. My mind has been blown and I am trying to piece it back together. But I had to just share this story if for no other reason then when I look back years from now at this blog journal of things I will see this story and laugh.

School is getting ready to begin on the 18th. Part of me can't wait for it to start. The other part is dreading the morning arguments that come with getting my son to get up and ready for school. Ahhh but that tid bit is for another post.

So with the anticipation of school starting comes getting schedules, school pictures, etc. Devin's day to pick up schedules was last Tuesday. We decide to do this task in the afternoon due to the before mentioned not getting up in the morning problem. I leave work at noon and call him on my way home to (warn) let him know I am on my way. When I get home I head straight to my room to change into something more comfortable (St. Louis temps have been hovering in the high 90s with heat indexes going into the 100s) because my jeans were sticking to my legs.

I come downstairs and my LOVELY son looks at me and we continue with this conversation:

Devin: Is that what you are wearing?

Me: (For just a second I am stunned into silence.) Did you really just ask me that?

Devin: Yea, it looks like you just got out of bed.

Me: (stunned again) Seriously, you just asked me that? This from you who just picked up something off the floor, smelled it to make sure it was from the "clean" area in your room?

Devin: Well if your going to wear that, are you going in the building with me?

Mind you, what I am wearing is a pair of shorts (I wear the gym type) and a T-Shirt.

Me: Umm, yes I am going in. I AM the one who has to pay for everything. ($30 for school pictures, $50 for yearbook, $60 lunch account, etc)

Devin: Really you look like you just rolled out of bed. I don't want to be seen with you.

Me: (super stunned) Dude (yes I say that word) you are wrinkled, wild hat hair, and barely match and you are embarrassed to go with me? Who do you think we are going to see. Your friends look like they haven't showered for days and dress about the same as you. So who else am I having to impress?

He has NEVER made a comment about what I wear, style of my clothes. Never. This was just out of the blue weird for him. Though he did go upstairs and change his shirt, and comb his hair. Really who was he trying to impress?

At this point I just shook my head, went upstairs and put a tank top on. THIS he approved of! Strange kid.

Beeping

A couple month ago our faithful washer crapped out. So MD and I went on a search for a new washer & Dryer (MD likes MATCHING sets.

This is what HE picked. He went on and on about Bosch, how reliable they are, what a great company they were, and on and on. I sort of tuned him out after I saw the price (yes I am the penny pincher of the house). I have been so nervous about purchasing this type of machines. I have several friends who went all "high efficiency" and have nothing but bad luck with any brand of these machines.

Well I have to report that we have not had one teeny tiny problem. As a matter of fact they are supper quiet AND laundry time has been cut dramatically! Which of course in turns saves me money on the utility front also. BONUS!

MD was in a spending mode that day..... so he also talked me into a new dishwasher.

I will have to admit our dishwasher was a bit noisy, but it worked fine. You just had to turn the TV up a bit. But in the end, AGAIN, he was right. Life is a little quieter and utilities a little lower with the new appliances.

This week is not starting out well at all.

At work a bird flew into our transformer and it blew. A blown transformer means no power, and no power means no computer, microwave, or AIR CONDITIONING. I have never seen AmrenUE respond so quickly to a call though. I will have to give that cudos to them. Luckily I had a bit of work to do that did not need a computer, and we have plenty of windows which provided enough light to work by. But it did start to get a bit warm.

AmrenUE got the transformer fixed within three hours. That time count started as soon as we lost power to the minute it was back on. Like I said, never seen them respond so fast before. Makes one think.

Then I get home and Devin, Mikayla, and David are in the living room. No I did not inherit or have another child. They had a friend in the house when I got home. (and that breaks one of the rules of the House). As the kids and I chatted, I wandered around the house putting things away that were not where they belonged. As I approached the living room I noticed "things" were missing and/or out of place. The missing item I started asking about. Everybody responded like I was an idiot and didn't know what I was talking about. Finally after roaming through the entire first floor without finding it. Going up stairs to change (ranting the whole time) and coming back down stairs with it not produced in front of me. I proclaimed that everyone was grounded until my missing item was returned.

I knew something was up because I could hear Mikayla telling Devin, "If you don't I am" which is a sure sign they both know what is going on and that Devin had something to do with it. Mikayla does not like "snitching" on her brother, but likes being grounded even less. So finally with enough prodding THEY came down and told me.

Devin now has to clean all the baseboards in the house. All three floors totally 4500 square feet of house which all rooms have baseboards. And yes that is including the finished basement. He is none too happy about it, but I explained that I am none too happy about my broken stuff.

Tit for Tat.

Wondering what tomorrow holds in store for me........in addition to the 100 degree temps everyone is talking about.

No Words can explain

I am playing catch up today. Don't get too excited. I am playing catch up on reading every one's blogs. It is hot outside and my "TOM" showed up this morning so I really feel like doing nothing.

What is TOM. Well the ladies will know TOM and know TOM well. It is my youngest daughters way of telling me her "time of month"has come. I thought it was cute and it stuck. So that is TOM.

Anyway, I was catching up reading, boy I have been gone a while. You all have written so much and done so much. I feel sometimes that I have been standing still, not accomplishing much, just getting up, going through the motions, going to bed, and doing all over the next day. Nothing really to write home (or to you) about.

Sure I could rant for ever on the progress OR there lack of with Devin and his whatever they are calling it now. Me I call it a royal pain in the ass. Different doctors diagnose him with different things and let me tell you nothing they do help for any length of time. It all starts out promising, but within a few months the demon seed comes back.

Or I could go on forever on how excited and proud I was that Felicia broke off her 5 year relationship-engagement. I could tell you that she is trying desperately to not get serious with a boy she is seeing and failing miserably. How she is enjoying/hating a long distance relationship (they live 5 hours apart). How she is rushing on trying to figure out what to do with her life. Though I keep telling her not to rush, there is no need. She sis graduate from college a year early. So enjoy the year then worry about life. I keep telling her the grind of life will all still be there next year.

Or I could go on about Mikayla and her quick sarcasms make me smile most days. Though I am NOT ready for her to be in High School, be interested in BOYS, or grow up as fast as she is. I guess being the youngest of three will do that.

But really they are the same stories over and over. And I really do not want to make you think my life is so horrible that all I can do is complain all the time.

Actually I do have a saying about complaining in my house. You are allowed to complain about a topic once and only once. Then you have to make a choice on what to do or not do about what ever it is you are complaining about. You either do something to fix said problem or you deal with it but if you are choosing to just do nothing about it then you loose the rights to complain any more about it.

Oops I totally got off track of what I originally was wanting to write about. TOM has my brain on off today also I believe. Sorry about that. As I started out saying in the beginning of this babbling brook of words. I was catching up on your lives and doings. I happended across this Blog post Its My Pink. She moved me to tears. I mean serious tears. Her feelings were so powerful in her writing they came right out of the page. Made me kind of put my problems right into perspective that is for sure.

IDIOTS

I'm just saying.........

Some people are just so......................

They just make you wanna drop kick them across the room!

Can you tell it was a bad day?

Paybacks

Did you ever notice that when you are going to go on any kind of vacation you have to work like twice as much at work the week before you to make sure you have everything done before you leave?

Then when you come back you have three times as much work to do than you normally would have. Like no one else could do your job while your gone.

Does that mean if you left the company your job would never get done?

Makes going on a vacation somewhat depressing. What is with that!