Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays from the Man, the Boy, the Girl, the Dog and me.

Give Me a Break!

I've said it over and over again, but it still rings true.  Do you know what I like most about winter vacations and the like? 

Going to the restroom whenever I please.

That and sinfully having a beer at lunch. It's all about the beer at lunch, for that exemplifies the beauty of going to the restroom whenever I please.

It's the small things in life, my friends.

Vacations are usually a very bad thing in my life.  I don't react to inactivity very well.  I'm not saying that I've got down TIME during vacations because there isn't a minute to spare, what with running around and entertaining the kids and all, but when the day is done, my mind isn't tired.  My mind sits and spins and I can't sleep.  This leads to skeptical decision making like taking the entire yard over for the garden, putting red stripes in my hair and the like. 

Good thing, is that vacations do let me take care of things that need tending.  You may remember that within the last two years we lost both our dogs, a Malamute (Vladimir) and our Great Dane (Gibson).  I can't remember if we still had Gibson when EG visited or not, but he was an excellent dog.  Vladimir, on the other hand, was Vladimir.  More on that in a moment.

Fast forward to this summer.  The loss of Gibson was still fresh on my mind when the man came home and said, "How do you feel about getting another dog?"  I wasn't ready and didn't want another dog.  He responded, "Well....it's too late."

And it was.....

This was Duke, the Great Pyrenees when we brought him home in June.  He came home in that laundry basket and was quite comfortable in it for weeks.  Then, as dogs tend to do, he grew.

 He still loves to crawl under this table even though he fails to realize that at 8 months, it's getting rather difficult for him to fit.  See that look in his eyes?  I'm coming to that.

Back to Vladimir.  The dog was allergic to dog food.  What, you say?  I say, whatever.  You can't buy venison legally here so I had to cook rice, broccoli and rabbit for quite some time.  Ever smelled a house full of boiled rabbit?  I broke down sobbing on a regular basis.  So now it seems we're struggling with Duke.  He's got terrible sores under his arms and we're thinking it may be a food allergy as well.  The break has allowed me time to get him to the vet.  The dr. seems worried that it likely may be a drug resistant staph infection which isn't good either, but we're looking into if he qualifies for a study being done at UGA.

Two days ago the dog was having some trouble and the man had to express his anal glands.  Duke now assumes the seated position every time the man is in the general vicinity.  Today, I had the unmitigated pleasure of spraying the antibiotic/steroid onto Duke's very raw under arms.  This is his, "Et tu, Brute?" look.  Hence the cowering under the table. 

Looks like lunch is over and the kids are clamoring to go outside - in the freezing cold and rain.  You know...why not.  Hot showers and cocoa are in our future.  Well, their future.  I'll be having myself a hot tottie, oh yes I will.

The morning comes early.  Hold on to your butts.  Sweet gardening dreams.  (I really did work out in the garden a few weekends ago.  I promise to get back to gardening soon.)

What's With the Hair, Yo? (Growing up - our out. Whichever.)

Well, we may have lost, but we were not beat.  What an amazing game - and that was all I had wished for.  All four of us were yelling and screaming at the television until I tried to breathe while having a mouth full of wine.  I got a little taste of what it was like to drown and the girl freaked slap out.  While we were winning the game - and we were for a whole chunk of it - the kids went nuts with their "Georgia Style" dance.  I'll have to post it some time soon.

 

Got an email yesterday from a friend whom I haven't seen in a long time.  She saw yesterday's picture of me and my sister-in-law at the GA game and wrote, "What's with the hair, yo?"

 

Ah...the hair.  Reason number 3,048 that I shouldn't be allowed to have summer vacation.  I'll get to that in a minute. 

Suffice it to say that since this summer when I last posted we've all grown up quite a bit.  Well, the boy and girl have grown up.  I've grown out...semantics.

 

I couldn't resist this picture of the boy and girl.  Every kid loves jumping in a pile of leaves.  Jumping on your brother in a pile of leaves is priceless.  They're both runts, still, but they're good kids.  The boy's struggling with some silly behavior at school, but otherwise doing well.  We've started up drum lessons again. he loves Cub Scouts and he's got a student who comes to teach him French once a week before school.  The girl is attracted to shiny things.  You never know if she's picking up what you're putting down.  Her teacher says how quickly she learns, but God love her, she's a ding-bat.  The other day, she told me that I was doing a good job as a Mom, but that there was 'room for improvement.'  Of that, I am sure.

 

A couple of weeks ago we took a boyscout trip to "See Rock City" and then a side jaunt to Ruby Falls while we were there.  We all had a great time.  I love taking day trips like this.  But wait...there's the hair again...It wasn't just for the game?  Yeah....no.

 We have a new principal this year, and he's amazing.  We are able to do so much for the kids that we've never been able to.  One of these things translated into spirit days for homecoming.  We had character day...

 Nerd day - I borrowed the boy's Mercer math camp shirt.  He was a bit shocked to find this qualified him as a nerd.

 and then we had decade day.  My classroom neighbor sported what the kids said was the "50's goth" look, but was undoubtedly 80's and I relived my high school years with the 90's grunge.  Felt strange to be in high school wearing the same thing I wore day in and day out in....high school.  Surreal....even the hair is similar......

 So here it is - nice and shockingly close up - you can go vomit now.  I got bored this summer, and since there was no more room for more garden boxes, I bleached and then dyed a swath of hair on the underside of a side of my head red.  Bright blood red, actually.

I've kept it since August and I think I'll keep it a little longer.  It keeps people guessing if nothing else. 
The morning comes early...and I'm headed to clean out that garden.  If I don't come out, don't come searching for me.  Save yourself.  Sweet gardening dreams.

Glory, Glory to 'ole Georgia!

It's game day, sports fans!  Don't get me wrong, I'm not disillusioned enough to think that we'll actually pull off a win today, but the excitement is enough for me. 

 

The boy came up to me this morning and said:

Boy: Mom, we are watching the game this afternoon, right?

Me (screwing with him): It's a possibility.

Boy: What exactly do you mean by 'It's a possibility?'  You do understand that this is the most important game of my life, right?

 

Start 'em young.  Raise 'em right.  ;)  He's outside now in his old H. Walker 'uniform' running around like a nut case.  I threw the football with him for a while, but he doesn't so much care for playing with me because whereas he can catch everything I throw, I apparently do not put forth enough effort to catching his balls.  I, however, maintain that the ball must be thrown within a 50 foot radius of me in order to be considered worthy of shagging.

 

Even the girl got into the action.  She's so much fun to watch football with.  For some crazy reason she can pick up the whole field with those little eyes and catch penalties before the refs throw flags.  In a game earlier this year, we're all sitting on the couch and she yells, "Holding! You can't do that!"  The man and I look at each other like she's nuts, the flag is thrown, and....it's holding.  Crazy.

It's been since my freshman year in college since I've been to a Georgia game, but this year my sister-in-law's friend, who has season tickets, went into labor and couldn't use theirs.  Woot!  Game on!  It was just so awesome to be part of the crowd again, and the day was just beautiful.

 

 Here we are, living the life.  The kid behind us was hysterical.  I must say, we had an absolute blast.

That all being said, we're exactly an hour away from game time and I've got to go get a shower and into my gear.  I'm not saying we'll win, but if the Dawgs bring their game, this should be exciting to watch. 

The morning comes early.  Sweet gardening dreams....if you commit to the G. 
GO DAWGS!

UPDATE:  The girl's telling us to take our places and get ready and I just found the boy in all of his glory.

He's committed, for sure.    ;)

Spanked

Second post in one day after a six month hiatus.  Don't get too choked up, now. 

 

Hmmmm...may need to rethink this blog title before I publish or strangefettishgoogleman may make another appearance.  Then again, life is nothing unless lived dangerously, and that is why when I was transporting the boy to a pool party in August, we took the 'safe way.'

 

On the way to that particular end of town, you come to a crossroads.  You can go the way of twisty, dark, narrow, residential streets, or the more modern, 'safe' route with newly paved, wide streets and the same minimal traffic volume. 

 

We chose the 'safe' way. 

I should have just risked my life dodging the random escaped cow on the dangerous way.

 

So there I was, minding my own (fill-in-the-blank) business, driving my merry tuchus off.  The car in front of me wanted to turn left, signaled such, and stopped until traffic cleared.  I stopped behind and it was when I was at this dead stop and minding my own business that another car came flying around the corner (he was texting) and slammed into a Grand Cherokee that slammed into my merry little tuchus.

 Yes, folks.  That's third party damage.  The passenger in the first car came through the windshield and both passengers in the Cherokee were carted away by the ambulance as well.  The boy and I were the only two that walked away. 

I was so upset.  The Saturn was such a good car.  It was paid off!!! *commence sobbing* However, they said it could be repaired. 

And then they called to say the frame was bent in three places.  They totaled it out. 

I just notice that I tend to write in very short, very insignificant paragraphs.  Look, here's another.  ;)

Anyway, we were so set that it could be repaired that I never thought to look at/for another vehicle.  On my way home I thought, I rationalized, I compromised with my own self and I was remarkably agreeable to myself, but the line was going to be drawn on one point and that line was non negotiable.

Later that night, after the kids went to bed, I sat down next to the man as calm as I could be and said, "I honestly don't care what kind of car I drive, and I don't have much of a reputation, but what reputation I have will NOT be driving a minivan." (Apologies here to everyone who loves their mini van.  I know y'all are fiercely protective of them.)

Since I was in high school, I've been obsessed with Wranglers, pointing them out at every turn and going out of my way to park next to one so I could drool.  I've coveted a Wrangler like others want a Ferrari or a perfect round of golf.  It wasn't going to happen.  Ever.

I gave the man my pitiful, "Please Lord, don't make me drive a mini van" face and he said, "I thought you wanted a Wrangler."

Well, Yeah.
He apparently had one all picked out and had been putting money into another account to save for 'the day.'  It just came sooner than we expected. 

So, here you go

 

 



Here she is.  She's so dark, dark green that it looks black in the regular light, so I put her in the sun for this shot.  She's stock, but beautiful.  It wouldn't hurt my feelings to lift her and put on larger tires, but that day will come.

 

So after the shock of being spanked while at a God's honest dead stop twice in a matter of three months (the first left no damage), I'm thinkin' I wound up on the better end of the deal.  I'm a giddy girl.

"Recieve what cheer you may; / The night is long that never finds the day."

Hi.  It's been some time since I've updated the blog.  I hope you'll forgive me.  *bows head in humble supplication*

I could make a thousand and one excuses why I haven't blogged this century. The kids ran me ragged over the summer, I teach more students than I ever have in one semester and the essays are piling up, the curriculum has changed so I've had to start from scratch, both kids are now in school and completing homework, we've gotten a new puppy, my car was totaled, my camera is wonky, my shoulders hurt to sit and type, Blogger was giving me fits...the list can go on.

Fact of the matter is:  I quit.

I just stopped posting and then stopped for so long that it was difficult to go back to the pattern.  I wanted to.  I set aside time to. It never happened.  I wanted to read your blogs.  I missed your friendships.  Life got in the way and it was easier not to blog or read others for doing so made me even more guilty for not blogging. 

A vicious cycle, indeed.

I felt the blog was getting stale.  I wrote the same things over and over again.  Here's some zucchini.  Look, here's some more zucchini.  Guess what I harvested today.....zucchini!  You all understand, I'm sure.  The summer garden simply overwhelmed me.  I was bringing baskets and baskets up to the school over the summer and for the greater part of this school year.  Never have I had a better harvest....and now you won't believe me, for there are no pictures.  ;) 

I was burned out with the garden.  I didn't plant a fall one, and as a matter of fact, most of the summer garden is still out there, waiting for me to remove the frail grasp of soil it maintains.  I just haven't mustered the determination to clean it up.

Reading back over this, it sounds as if the waters have closed over me and I'm paddling with half a limb, but all is truly well.  Things have a pattern and there's a stable routine to our day.  I could truly live life as a dog and eat the same thing day in and day out.  Throw me a peanut butter laced treat every now and again and I'm a happy, happy girl.

If anyone happens by this, I'll catch everyone up directly and shove in pictures where I can.  The wood is coming toward Dunsinane.
The morning comes early.  Sweet gardening dreams.

Victory

It only took five years, but I've grown peppers.