How much Wood Would......A GiveAWAY!!! (Warning - rated PG13)

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AI 2/25/09

I know I know - I'm late. I was going to do this last night because I was tired... and I wanted to go to bed. So I realize this is late, but I still wanted to give you my thoughts!!!

Have I mentioned that Ryan annoys me... his little...."This............................. ISAMERICANIDOL" drives me nuts - and I'm worried about the condition on his elbow if he continues to do that little (understatement) arm snap to point to the American Idol sign.

So we start with Jasmine... she's singing I'm Not Gonna Write You a Love Song... she's... ok... she's got some pitch problems. I would hate to go first. ICk. She is ONE cute girl. If she doesn't go anywhere with Idol (and honestly I don't see that happening) she should do Next Top Model. The judges seem to agree with me in general.

Now it's Matt - the dueling piano player - singing Viva la Vida - He either has white keds on or he's got white socks on and no shoes? Oooo... he's a little flat... and either nervous or doesn't have much in a higher register. He's got good presence. But I'm gonna guess some other guys will surpass him. The judges - Kara's not blown away. Paula... blabbers... and makes no sense... well... if you really THINK about what she's saying and turn it into normal english, she makes sense. Simon said it was close to horrible. Randy... says stuff with words that I'm really not totally familiar with.

(Note to contestants - don't BE other people - Don't TRY to be another artist - be YOU - bring something NEW!!!)

Jeanine - Singing This Love by Maroon 5 - Oh this is a painful one. It's too low and she's both sharp and flat and just... um... is it cheating if I just skip ahead to the end of her song. I want this done. Um... the judges don't like her song choice either. I don't like the song choice either. Those particular words... um... really not appropriate. You know - I wish the judges would sit these people down and explain what they're looking for with song choice because I'm TIRED of that phrase this season...

Nick/Norman - I really expect to see Nick/Norman in the future - in some sort of sitcom or something. He IS funny. And he does actually have a good voice when he uses his real voice. This performance... white tails jacket, khaki shorts, (Oh - I'm not really sure what he's singing - something about living without you)... he's.... writhing... a lot. And ... he does make me laugh and I'm just not sure there are words to help you understand what I just saw. I think the judges agree with me on that. Oh my goodness - he called Simon Sassypants. Oh well... that was a priceless moment....

Next is Kelly CLarkson... oh no... Allison... and... she's being interviewed by Ryan about high school at Idol and I think she's trying to be cute but she's coming off as a Fudnogger. She's singing "Alone" by Heart. Which I believe Carrie Underwood rocked in a BIG way in her season. She's got a really weird pinky ring on - it's got stars dangling from it.. like... a lot of them... the minute I brushed my hair out of my face that would be caught in my hair... WOW... can you say power ballad? She is ROCKIN this... a LITTLE tiny bit flat if you ask me but that's just me. WOw.... WOw... the judges liked her too. She needs to work on interview skills. Paula says "I think you could sing the telephone book"... thank you for your originality Paula. HA -Simon thought she was boring too.

Kris - (he's a cutie) Singing Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson. Interesting choice. I like the sound of his voice - it's clear and NOT nasal and not gravely - And he's right on the notes. Hm... I'm liking this Kris boy/man. OOO _ nicely held note! No runs needed to cover up an inability to hold a note!!! I'm loving him. Now what do the judges. Kara says it's the wrong song. ARGH!!! WHAT IS THE RIGHT ONE??? These people are presented with a catalog of a bajillion songs... HELP THEM!!!!!!!!!!!! Paula disagrees and makes sense. Well done Paula. And Simon agrees with her... wow...

Megan - she is a beautiful girl... singing Put Your Records On - Um. Um. She has 2 different voices and it's making me feel a little like I have multiple personalties. And she keeps... shaking? Swooshing? I can't even explain but it's driving me nuts. SHIMMYING! That's it. She shimmies. Paula says she picked the right song. And did everything right. She's just... not my type...

Matt - my bald man - I love him - I can't say I really think he's going to go anywhere, but I do love him. He's singing "If You Could Only See"... I don't know that i know this song. Oh Matt... yes... I love you, but this ain't working for me. It's a power song but he doesn't have the power vocal.... hmm... I think the judges agree with me.

Jessie - from Minneapolis - a single mom. Apparently her name is "Jesse the Single Mom". Apparently she's Jonny Langs sister. Wow..... Oh - she's singing Bette Davis Eyes.... I used to love this song. Oh she's singing in the back of her nose - which make it hard to ennecuiate the words... and... she's well on most of the notes... and she's got some power and soul... but... that just wasn't doing it for me. The judges are mixed.... Paula... rambles a lot... and the more she rambles the dumber she sounds. Simon thinks she's forgettable. He said "too school for school"... um.. Simon?

Kai - is there a rule that one contestant every season must have crazy hair?? Hm. Singing What Becomes of the Brokenhearted. Another "good" performance. But kinda boring. Kinda... mellow. Kinda... eh. Kinda...the judges agree. See - it was so boring i have nothing to say.

Mishavonna - Singing Drops of Jupiter - interesting choice - I bet the judges don't like it because it's a "band" song. Hmm... I like her voice in it's lower register but when she goes high she gets airy... Hmm... that was... good but yet... still kinda boring. Simon says she's too serious. Yeah - I see where he's going with that... let it out.

Last of the night - Adam - the Wicked man - who is singing Satisfaction - Lordy he has a cute smile. Oh my - he just did the Elvis lip curl. Ok - here's my thing about Adam - AMAZING voice - but because he's done musical theater - I feel like he's always a character. Like he's never him. He's incredible, really... but I wanna hear Adam unplugged. I want emotion. Does that make sense? The judges liked him - well Simon's not sure about parts.

Well... all in all that was MUCH better than last week!!!!

Now since I'm doing this AFTER the results show - I won't predict :)

Regarding the results show - I HATE THE GROUP NUMBERS!!!!!!!!!! I HATE THE LIPSYCING!!!!!!!!

Ok - if you don't want to know who goes through don't keep reading.



You've been warned.....


Kris, Allison & Adam. Pretty much who I figured. I see Allison & Adam going FAR... provided Allison grows a personality.

They Say It's Your Blogiversary....

It's my Blogiversary!!!!!!

Wanna guess how many years?

One?

Nope.

Two?

Nah...

Three???

Getting a little warmer.

Four?

Closer

Five?

BINGO!!

Got that? 5 years of blogging!!!! This is my 910th post!!!

February 25th, 2004 - here's my first blog:

The Spring Break trip is a done deal!! 2 days, 2 nights in exotic, tropical Indianapolis! WOO HOO!!!!!!!! Why you ask. Because my best friend is in Ohio and I'm here in Minnesota so Indianapolis is half way. And we figured since our kids will be married someday, they should finally meet. (Cause how cool will that be... at their wedding we can show pictures of when they first met.. Z with his couple teeth, Gert with none... awwwwww).

The Passion of the Christ comes out today... I don't know when I'm going to get to see it. Babysitters are so dang expensive. I'm slightly bitter that there is a showing at 1:00 pm this afternoon for "clergy" but that "church office managers" can't go. Grump.

It's amazing how good your day can look when your 5-year-old wakes up in a good mood for the first time in... um... ever!

On one of the boards I frequent there is a big discussion about the whole homosexual marriage issue. I so can't figure out where I stand on this. What does it mean to the moral fiber of our country? What does it mean to change the entire definition of an institution that has been around a dang long time? What about civil unions? Should marriage become a strictly religious thing? How do you separate church and state in this issue? What does separation of church and state mean? Oy!

Wow. Essie was 5. Gert was 9 months.

I was married. Though a perusal of my blog back then tells me it was already getting bad.

There were BAD days... and GOOD days... and years of no commenter's.

Then I wandered over to Blogger and found SITS and now quite a few people read my blog. And I feel the need to be FUNNY, and entertaining... everyday. And that's HARD. Cause some days aren't funny. Some days they don't approve your foodstamps and some days you don't get the job and some days the scale went up and some days someone unexpectedly dies and some days it's just all BAD.

I keep reading blogs of women who feel the same way. The pressure to be deep or entertaining. The pressure to make people laugh. The fear of letting people see our insides... what goes on in our minds when we're alone in the dark....

So on this day - my Blogiversary - I want to issue a challenge to whoever reads this. The next time you blog, just write. Just put out there what's in your heart. What's on your mind. What you're thinking about in the shower. What your heart is just yelling to say. Please? If you want to be funny, do... but if it's not there... don't force it... and don't be silent. Use your blog as a place to let some crap out. Do it for me... okay?

Monday afternoon, provided I filled out 3000 pieces of paper correctly, I will truly be a single woman. Growing up I never wanted to be a single woman. I FEARED it... I married the wrong man because of that fear. That being with the wrong guy was better than being alone. And so I celebrate Monday - because YEAH! look what I'm doing? I'm MAKING it on my own. But I fear Monday... because... looking what I'm doing. I'm on my own. I'm SINGLE. I'm alone again.

No - Mr. B hasn't disappeared. And we have plans. But nothing is a sure thing til it's a sure thing, right? And that's scary. My mom has been alone for 33 years. My heart starts racing just thinking about that. Dear Jesus please do not let that be me.

Ok... there's what's sitting in my heart tonight. Not funny. Not witty. Just ME.

GO.... go back to you blog and be YOU.

And come back in the next couple days for my VERY first giveaway. Oh wait... technically, my 2nd one.... if you count this.

How Many Ways Can I Say It?

Remember my wonderful Valentines day message from Mr. B? Well he and I got to thinking about what kind of messages probably WOULDN'T be appropriate rose petal wishes... here's our list, please feel free to add your own!

5. Mom's Fried Chicken Is Better.
4. Sweetie, I have a Rash
3. The car has a new dent
2. Something's dead in the fridge.
1. There's someone else.

So hit me - what would be some inappropriate rose petal wishes?

Outsmart them whilst you can...

In my mind I am the worlds greatest mother. I calmly do laundry and dishes. I make cookies and wholesome meals. I never raise my voice and every chance I get I take my children out into the world for educational experiences.

BWAHHH HAAAA HAAAAA!!!!

Yeah- in reality- I fall short. And this weekend I fell REALLY short. I did something to my neck and have been in bed most of the weekend.

Essie REALLY REALLY wanted to go to the Biltmore this weekend to play with the chickies and such at the petting farm. I REALLY REALLY didn't want to go. It's chilly and my neck hurts and I just don't want to. Essie REALLY wanted to. I didn't. Are you getting the picture?

So I told her if the temperature got to 45, we would go. I thought that was a nice compromise. She agreed.

But... what would you think of me if I told you I gave her that number after seeing the forecast high for today was....

38.

Crimeny...

So we got a new computer system at work - and I can READ blogs, but I can't post one or comment on blogs. So I'm joining the ranks of you all who have to fit this all in at night. Bear with me as I try to get it going....

Did you see that I totally called the American Idol results? Yeah... I rock.

It's the weekend! Finally. No big plans here. The girls want to go to Biltmore tomorrow and play with the chickies... we'll see. I have to be in the right martyr mindset for that.

Everyone seems to be healthy around here....

My boss realized she'd run around half the day yesterday with her pants unzipped...

March 2nd I have a court date to finalize my divorce.

I think that's all i know at the moment... just wanted you all to know I'm okay and still here.

Here's some questions for you:
1. If you could take your kids (or someone's kids) anywhere for Spring Break where would you go?
2. What do you like on your pizza?
3. Tell me your ideal friday night!!!

American Idol

We're live.

Remember when shows used to say "This show was filmed before a live studio audience"... my dad always said "Better than a dead one."

We start with blab blab blab... Paula tried to put together a coherent sentence. It didn't work.

Jackie - um.... Olivia Newton John called... she doesn't want those pants anymore either. She seemed a little spastic and... gimmicky... I don't not like her, but I she's not a standout for me by any stretch.

Who is this dude? He's married?... He's got good pitch..good control... can even control a falsetto. Wow. Ricky you say? I like you Ricky. I shall put you in my stay column. Let's think about going with Rick though.. hmmm???

Commercial - Confessions of a Shopoholic... that does look cute... but probably a netflix. I saw "He's Not That Into You" yesterday... I like it a lot. Jennifer Aniston's character was named Beth. That's cool. Most people when they think Beth either think the dead girl from Little Women or Kiss. That's a REALLY big continuum to fit into.

Alexis Grace - pink hair wingers - Singing Aretha - oh dear... poor girl.. wandered onto the stage in her undergarments. (And her lips clash with her hair) Ok... I'm gonna say right now that I'm not real good with R&B ... it's just not my thing so much. So it's hard for me to get into a performance. A lot of yea yea and no no... Randy loves her. Kara loves her. Paula... stuttered and rambled. Shut up Paula. Simon - likes her. Oooooo kay....

And... BREAK

Brent - Ooops - tape trouble. A little country. A little... eh... that was... kinda local barish. The judges are calling him safe (Paula just said "Country Western"... WHO calls it that anymore) Simon says he was forgettable. I kinda have to agree with him.

They keep having the singer come and sit down in the middle of Ryan's interview with their family member. That's awkward.

Commercial.

Stevie Wright - JESSICA BEIL! THAT'S who she looks like... Oh my GOSH - this IS BAD!!! Bye bye Stevie. She's better than this. Bad song choice. Nerves. Flat. Bad breath control. The judges agree with me.

Anoop - Angel of Mine - Decent voice. Little sharp. Good. Eh. A little boring. Kind of... a brown paper bag.

BREAK

Miss Carlson - Miss Minnesota... the swimsuit calendar girl. Singing Police. Badly. Wow. I can't even tell you how that came across. I hope you watched cause I can't explain how bad it was. (Don't even get me started on her outfit... gold lame that needed to be ironed????)

BREAK

Michael - Me likey him. Me not so much likey the performance. But I agree with Simon that I'd like to see him have another chance to pick something different.

Ann Marie - Natural Woman - There's a BAJILLION songs in the world... do we have to beat this horse?? Ted Danson is in the audience. I just didn't really care for that. She's a nice singer but I just don't think that was her best song. It was just... mediocre.

Gosh..... tonight hasn't been real pretty.

Steven Fowler - the word forgetter - please oh please be good tonight - Rock with me - Oh.. he's not good... flat... and... bad... and.... is it 10 yet?

Oh My Word.

I still have to deal with Tatiana the Terrible...

Saving all my Love by Tatiana - Not bad. Not good. Who IS this girl??? She's way too chilled out. I really don't like people who sell themselves... She just gives me the heeby jeebies. I think her friends told her she was acting like an idiot. They were right.

Ok... one last guy. Danny Gokey. Wife died recently. DEAD ringer for Robert Downey Jr. Singing Hero... oh please don't suck. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't suck. OH - he didn't suck!!! Yes!!! Good voice - a little gravely but not in an annoying way. I'm say unless he jacks something BADLY he'll be going a good long way through this season.

Wow... what a night. And can I just add that it was NOT the best night for the band and back-up singers. Pretty much all these arrangements sounded like a muzak track....

Ok - here's my picks to go through - Danny - Alexis Grace and.... hmmm... no one? Is that a choice? Maybe Anoop? Maybe Michael. Not sure.

Valentine's 2009 or It's The Perfect Valentine's Charlie Brown

Friday evening I dropped the girls off with their dad. I found a new, shorter, route to Atlanta, and headed out, my diet mt. dew and my cell phone at my side.

Arriving in Atlanta around 11:30, I texted Mr. B to tell him I was in town, and to see if I could see him for just a second. The God's of Technology were NOT smiling on me and I didn't get his text telling me he couldn't, so I sat and waited about a half an hour or so.

I finally texted him saying I was just going to head to Kat's, and I'll admit, I had my feelings hurt a little bit. Of course I didn't KNOW he had texted me so I was feeling unimportant and sad that he didn't even reply.

I got to Kat's, and let myself in. (She had given me the code to get in so they could go to bed). I went downstairs to the guest room. Opening the door and turning on the light, I saw something on my bed. I couldn't quite tell what it was, I thought maybe the girls had put something on the bed.... then I got closer, and this is what I saw:

I cried. I cried because my whole life I have seen things like this on movies and thought they would be things ONLY in movies in my life, never something that would happen to me. I cried because I doubted him and his devotion to me. I cried because I just want to be with him... NOW... all the time.

It turns out Mr. B had gotten a hold of Kat and come over to her house and left this message on my bed, along with my favorite chocolates and a card. AND to add to his awesomeness? He brought Kat a dozen roses too, knowing that Michael wouldn't be able to do anything for her. And he also was sweet enough to call and ask if Kat needed anything from the grocery store since he was there, and so he brought her the milk she asked for too.

Saturday morning I took Kat's girls to Lowe's for the Build & Grow workshop. Mr. B was there with his kids. I didn't get to meet them yet, but it was SO special to get to watch him with them. I can't even begin to tell you how special, but I know that I feel even more deeply in love with him Saturday morning.

Saturday evening he and I went out for dessert. We sat on the same side of the booth and were sickeningly kissy smoochy... *sigh* it was LOVELY!!!!!

Mr. B does read my blog, so I'm going to say this right out loud here in public:

Thank you Mr. B. Thank you for the most special Valentine's Day of my life. Thank you for the flowers, the message, the smiles, the laughter, the kisses. Thank you for being my Valentine. I can't wait to spend all the rest of my Valentine's Day with you. I love you.

Alex, I'll take Potpourri for $800

Random.

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I love lots of people. And lots of things. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Happy Valentine's Day to my new bamboo sheets. I love you sheets!!!

Oh - and also Valentines loving to:

Essie & Gert
Mr. B
My WONDERFUL Bloggy Friends
My family
The people on my facebook whom I have no idea who they are
My mailperson
The pizza delivery man who is at this moment running with fleet foot to deliver my lunch
The IT person who figured out how to transfer all our contacts in Outlook to our new systems
The many many many many people I'm going to pass on the roads tonight as I tour 4 of the
south-eastern states. Let's all play nice, mkay?

You know my little friend Gert? The one who's been sick? The one who EVERY TIME I TAKE HER TO SEE HER DAD, SHE MANAGES TO DAMAGE HER BODY IN SOME WAY 24 HOURS BEFORE SHE SEE'S HIM? Well, she did it again. She was walking backwards last night on the way out of school, all happy and peppy and excited and telling me about their class valentines party... and before I could even do a thing, she turn around and walked SMACK into the side of an open door, then fell and landed on the metal box that holds the magnet that keeps the door open. Bless her heart... she's got a big ol purple line down her cheek. And a bruised butt.

I think I've hit upon an idea for our new President. Check out Lizzy for President to see what you think.

Can I just do a little public shout-out here to Kat. Despite the CRAZINESS that is her life right now, she's letting me hang out in her wonderful guest room this weekend, so I can spend Valentine's with Mr. B. She's a pretty rockin friend to do that. I hope I can be of some help to her!

And also, keep Kori & Richard in your prayers. He's in the hospital now, and even though that means she gets to have lunch with him every day, she'd rather have him home.

And......... um..........

OH - I know!!! QUESTIONS!!!!

1. What inanimate object would you like to express some love to today?
2. Are you a clutz? Were you a clutz? What's the clutziest thing you've ever done?
3. Do you have a guest room. If someone showed up today, could you use it as a guest room? (Like.. my guest room if I had one probably would always have clean laundry waiting to be folded on the bed)

Smooshie, lovey Valentines Loving to you ALL!!!!!!

It's Time

One of the first things that lead me to blogging (just wait til you find out what anniversary is coming up for me) was my love of American Idol and my need to recap it. I don't do much with the early shows because... well they're confusing and kinda dumb. And you get attached to people who get axed and people you've never seen before end up in the final 36 and really... they're kinda dumb.

But last night they pared us down to our 36. So it begins.

Now most of you are new to me and my AI recaps. Let me first say. 9 times out of 10, I fully agree with Simon. Sure, he can be a little cold, but when someone stinks, they need to know it. How can they know they have things they need to fix if someone just claps like a seal and says "You have such a great smile".... Or "Yo Dwag, you keepin it real"... yeah.. that's helpful. I'm interested to see how it goes with the new judge - Kara. So far I like her style, and she seems to be not as unhelpful as Paula (and not as stoned) but a little less crass than Simon. I like it.

This year Ryan seems to be channeling his inner Mr. Rogers in his wardrobe choices. I keep waiting for him to open the show by changing into his Keds tennies.

I'm not gonna do a full recap of all the contestants yet... other than to say that Tatiana makes me want to damage myself, Head-band-boy needs to take the drama down in an amount that would equal the number of our national debt, and Norman/Nick... um... where is THAT gonna go?

On the good side we have Bald Man & Oil Rig Man. Kori and I (who will be watching AI together all season) each love us one of those guys, and they both made it through... I predict they'll go far on the Mommy vote.

I promise to be more detailed in the future, so even if you don't see AI, you'll still be able to relive it in all it's glory.

And it's possible that we'll have a guest reviewer... I'm not promising anything, but we'll see.

OH HEY - please keep Kori in your prayers. Richard gets his scan results today and will be checking in for his 2-week CF tune up today... So actually pray for all of them, okay?

Oh YEAH - one more thing - 34 hours approx til I see Mr. B. But who's counting. :)

The Big Day - Finally

I woke up the morning of February 5th. The sun was shining brightly through my window. I thought and pondered about the day... being 37... getting older... how close I'm getting to 40. Where I was a year ago, where I am now... and suddenly, there was a knock on my door.

I went to the door, and there's a man in a LIMO driver's outfit, telling me to pack my bag, I'm headed for SEATTLE!!!!! OH my GOSH!!! I couldn't BELIEVE it!!! I've always wanted to go! And Mr. B knew... and surely must have arranged it!! I quickly threw some stuff together and headed to the airport!! Next thing I know - I'm in SEATTLE - home of the Space Needle, really snazzy houseboats and fish being thrown across a market!!!

We had a WONDERFUL day!!! WE took a sea-plane ride, and saw all the sights!!! Soon evening fell and I was told to go put on a pretty dress and meet in the lobby of the hotel. So I grabbed my fringey little number, got all dolled up and headed down. And there... were other women... and a rose.... and Jason just waiting to give it to me....

Whoa... wait.... that wasn't my birthday. That was last weeks Bachelor.

Woops.

Ok... no - really. I woke up and put on a nice suit for work, and headed off for my 9 am briefing with the White House Press Corp....
Um... no.... that's not right. That was The West Wing.

SO confused am I.

Ok... really, I woke up at my usual time and headed down to the gym to work out on the treadmill. I was running my usual pace when ALL of a sudden this guy is standing behind me YELLING at me to RUN FASTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Crap... that wasn't my birthday... that was The Biggest Loser.

It's highly possible I don't remember my birthday.

WAIT - yes I do!!! I was stuck on an Island! Yes, that's it. An Island... I was..... Lost.

Um.... no....

Would you maybe believe that I was commanding my own spaceship???

That possibly might have been Battlestar Galactica.

Um.... Let me think a minute.

I know the phone rang... and it was Mr. B... singing Happy Birthday to me.
And then Gert came in and sang to me... and then Essie... though her lyrics were a bit more.. 4th grade appropriate....

I went to work.... I sat and watch the comments on my blog grow and grow... I got so teary eyed at my special friends making my day so wonderful. I did, in the end, have to delete one comment.

After work the ladies and I headed out for Chinese food with a gift certificate from Restaurant.com that a friend gave me. The girls tried using chop sticks... with limited success....

We wrapped up the night with a trip to Target, where we bowed to the great target gods spent my $50 gift certificate on new sheets for my bed, but probably should have bought some new Sharpies - cause you can see that the old Sharpie is having trouble getting through a whole recap of the day.

So that, my lovelies, was my birthday. It was a nice day... Sorry - no diamond rings yet! Sorry if I had you going. He did get me the next best thing - the ENTIRE series of The West Wing!!!!!

I DO get to see Mr. B this weekend, which is a surprise, since I didn't think I would.

Thank you ALL for such a wonderful day!! You made it wonderful and I hope I can do the same for all of you someday!!!!!

Sorry for the Delay

I picked Gert up Friday afternoon and she obviously wasn't feeling well. She's been running a 102-103 fever all weekend. I took her to the dr. this morning and she tested positive for flu AND strep. She's a very sick girl. They did a breathing treatment, and since her pulse ox was high enough, we didn't have to go to the hospital.

I'll post my birthday story as soon as I can. I'm so sorry to leave you hanging....

In the meantime, here's a pic of Gert doing her best Michael Phelps impersonation.

Lordy Days!

Holy WOW did you guys seriously leave some comment lovin!!!!

First of all, mucho KISSES to Miss Kori for hi-jacking my blog and starting the birthday bash. I have to confess, on the day before my birthday i was having a little pity party... I didn't think anyone would hi-jack me and while I was fine with pimping my own birthday... well... you know... it's cooler when someone else does it. And she did... and a BUNCH of you said stuff on YOUR blogs... and a bazillion of you commented and WOW.... just totally the highlight of my day!! Thank you thank you thank you. Tonight I promise to come and thank you all individually!!!

And I also promise to have a recap of my whole birthday up later as well.... :)

Thank you again, all of you. Smoochie kisses!!!!!

(oh - and if anyone is interested, I've started blogging at Lizzy for President again... I don't want to clog my blog with my political ramblings, but I have to get them out... so if you want to read and discuss or whatever, just click that patriotic duck over there on the right :) )

They say it's your Birthday!

Hi all of Lizzie's Blog peeps. This is Kori.

I am here hijacking Lizzie's Blog so you all can help a girl out with a special surprise.

See I had to be sneaky and prove my self trustworthy to be allowed to have free reign over this here Journey to the Hot Tub.

I love me some Lizzie! Don't ya'll?

Today is her Birthday and I want it to be extra special.

Cause as we all know our Birthdays are not included in the Holidays with pay package which means our dear friend will be working today. And her beloved Mr. B can't be with her to celebrate but he's so wonderful I'm sure he's got his own sneaky plans going on. (Hi B-meister.)

So the special part. Yeah that's where ya'll come in.

We all love us some comments and I know Lizzie loves them just as much.

So let's RoCk her world with comment overload.

Let everyone know we're having a par-tay over here and they need to come and see and leave some love behind.

Happy Birthday pumpkin! Hope I did you justice and that I didn't run anybody off. Love ya!

The Heart of My Children

One of the bonuses (not) of being a single mom is that when your birthday comes, there isn't anyone to take your kids shopping for your birthday presents from them, so you get to. (PLEASE note - I'm not having them buy me presents for ME, but so that they learn about giving)

So tonight, we were in the car, and I said "Okay girls, if I gave you each $25 to spend on Mommy's birthday present, what would you get."

Essie - "Hmmm.. I would get you picture frames and plaid wrapping paper to wrap them in."

Awwwwwwww what a sweetie.

Gert - "A Honda"

LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

One Day a Princess... the Next a Felon

Remember that cute little goat petter from yesterday's blog?

She's turned to a life of crime.

Yesterday was the 100th day of school, and I think they consumed mass amounts of sugar. She was just squirrely and owly and.... well any other animal that denotes someones had too much sugar.

We went to the grocery store on the way home, grabbed a couple things, and headed to the check out. There we had our usual exchange:

TL (The Ladies) - MOOOOOOM can we have CAAAAAAAANDY????

MM (Mean Mom) - No.

TL - MOOOOOOOOM, PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!

MM - No. You don't need candy.

TL - PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAASE

MM - I said no and I meant no.

At this point Essie gave up, but Gert brought some candy over to me.

MM - NO! Gert I SAID no.

She turns and walks away, and I finish paying for our items. Just as I turn around to walk away, I see Gert trying to put a box of Nerds in her coat pocket.

OH NO SHE DI'NT

I gave her the full name thing, and she put the box back. I grabbed her little felon arm and marched her out to the car. She KNEW she was so busted and was crying and wailing. I plopped her little thief butt in the car seat and got all in her little pre-penitentiary face and told her she would be sitting at the table, writing, while I made supper; she would be eating by herself; and she would be sitting on her bed all evening until bath time.

We got home and I parked her at the table with 4 pieces of paper. On the top of the first one I wrote "I will not steal candy" and she got to write it as many times as she could while I was making super. She sniffled and sobbed her way through it. She ate her supper by herself, and then sat on her bed. Pretty much crying the whole evening.

Finally right before bed I went in and she and I had a little chat. I asked her what she was thinking when she took that candy, expecting her to say "I don't know", but instead I got "I wanted some candy and you said no so I decided to take it and put it in my pocket." Her honesty made me laugh inside. She was SO miserable. We talked about how stealing is wrong, and it hurts people, and is a sin. Bless her little heart she was so penitent. I HIGHLY doubt that she will ever even entertain the thought of taking anything ever again.

Now, the really funny part was that as I was thinking about her pending life of crime, one of my thoughts was "Well, at least she'll have an answer when she does a meme on her blog someday and someone asks if you've ever stolen anything."

So did you ever steal anything? Have you ever stolen from an employer? Is it okay to take company pens home? Has your kid ever lifted anything? Do you like Nerds?

It's Not Often...

That I post twice in one day, but it's not often that I get QUITE this hot under the collar.

Surely, unless you are under a rock, you have heard about this lady in California who had the Octuplets. And how she already has 6 kids. And they're ALL from infertility treatments. And she's not married. And... and... well... if you don't know - read here.

I'll wait while you catch up.

Now - let me put the legal stuff out there. I KNOW we don't know the whole story. And well.. that's about it.

SUPPOSEDLY all 14 of these children have been the result of invitro fertilization. Now, if you aren't able to conceive, and you want 14 kids, and you can AFFORD that kind of capital outlay, then go for it. But I'm completely beyond ticked off in this case because where in the SKEE-DEEDLE is she getting the money for this stuff?

There are women out there - bloggy friends even - who would walk through FIRE to have a baby, but they can't afford the treatments that would hopefully give them one. And this woman can do it... well... at least 5 times maybe??? WHAT THE FRICKADILLER?????????

I realize we live in a country where we can do pretty much anything (well... except drive without a seat belt and not use a hands-free device) and I like that about our country. But when Child Protective Services can invade a home because a pissy MIL says it's "messy" then how the schmeck can a doctor implant 8 embryos into the single mother of 6 kids???

I'M NOT SAYING A SINGLE MOM CAN'T HANDLE 14 KIDS. Please don't read that. But she's (again - supposedly) already on public assistance... why should she be allowed to suck more money from the system??

I see that she's asking 2 million for her story, and wants commercial deals and stuff. And what bugs me more than her asking is that some stupid company that just asked congress for a bailout is gonna PAY her for it.

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know that she pretty much has the right to do what she wants, but I have the right to be flugged off that she did it.

Ok.... so tell me what you think. Do you think she should have been allowed to do IF again? Should the children be punished for the actions of the mother? Any other thoughts/vents/rants?

Gert.....

I took Essie & Gert to the Biltmore today - it was beautiful out and they spent the whole time at the farm, playing with the animals. Of course Gert, being Gert (or as Mr. B likes to refer to her - HRH Gert *Her Royal Highness*) she went to the farm in a skirt, tights and clippy clops (fancy shoes - mary janes - you pick what you want to call them)... I was looking at the horses with Essie and turned around to find Gert... like this:

Laying on a table to pet a goat.