Yucky Cavities

Athena had to have three cavities filled today. Yeah, yeah... bad parents... blah blah blah. For the record, the dentist said that it was clear the cavities were caused in part by weak enamel, which is not bad parenting, but bad genetics. Related, but not the same.

We had to be there at 7am, which in and of itself, sucked. But she was excited to be headed out on an adventure, mainly because she had no idea what was in store. (Muahahahahahaaaaaaa)

They gave her a cocktail that helped her relax (made her drunk as a skunk) and then they kicked us out of the operating area. We heard the screams from the novacaine shots (mommy isn't cool with those either, so I was on her side), and then she was fairly quiet for the rest.

She was pretty doped up and was seeing double on our way home. It was, I am a little ashamed to admit, quite amusing. She also had a couple of freakouts... mainly caused by the drugs. My favorite was as she was leaving the office, when she became hysterical because the "goody bag" they gave her was not COMPLETELY full of toys and crap. That was awesome. Warmed the cockles of my heart with her selflessness, that did.

Within a couple of hours, she was back to her normal self. Chris spent the whole day with her, and she apparently ate constantly. Mostly crap too, which should be great for further cavity development. Fortunately, the ordeal is over for now. Let's hope she's willing to go back for her normal cleaning in September. They say she won't remember much of the morning. Here's hoping!

I Have a Place Where Dreams Are Born...

I have a place where dreams are born
Where time is never planned
It's not on any chart
You must find it with your heart
Never, Never Land

When I was 7, my father basically forced me to watch My Fair Lady on television with him. I say forced, because he basically said, "Just try it for a bit, honey. See if you like it." Within two minutes, I was glued to the screen. I then proceeded to listen to the soundtrack over and over for a year.

Did I get sick of it? No. But what happened a year later that made me stop listening? I saw Sandy Duncan play Peter Pan on Broadway. My first Broadway show. She flew right over my head. And at that point, the Peter Pan soundtrack never left my turntable. It became my standard homework background music for most of elementary school. Even in fifth grade, when one of my babysitters introduced me to pop music (mom and dad weren't hip like that), I still had those show tunes in rotation. It began a whole lifestyle for me... one that I pretty much put aside when I got married.

Today, I took Athena (and Chris) to see this show that started it all for me. Athena has been to the theater once before, when we were fortunate enough to be given tickets for the touring company of The Lion King. She did really well, which was an extra shock because it was an 8pm show. However, the pageantry of that show alone is enough to engage her, and when you add the African beat and harmony, you really can't fall asleep or complain.

Before we left for the theater, I prepped her with all the theater etiquette I could. She wanted to bring her "Jingle Bear" toy, which I refused to allow since he ... well... jingles. She wore a new dress (not as dressy as I would have liked, but it's my fault for timing the distribution of the new stuff so badly). Grandma came at 11:30 to look after Marcus and we piled in the car to head downtown.

We picked up Aiden and Kathryn on the way and had lunch downtown. We ended up getting to the theater way too early, but it was fine. Both kids were enthralled, although Athena, the skeptic herself, noted right away that 1) Peter Pan was a girl and 2) she was "flying on a string." *sigh* I guess she didn't get her mother's ability to suspend disbelief.

Anyway, the kids were well behaved AND Athena didn't even have an accident. All day. I am about 80 times more excited about that than her sitting through the show. Which was very well done and enjoyable. It was good to get back to the theater. Chris even enjoyed it.

Although I'm guessing that had as much to do with Tiger Lily's smokin' hot body than with the rest of the show...

Quest For the Hotness: Mile Marker Two

I forgot to weigh in on Monday, Amy's birthday, so I did it on Tuesday. Didn't really matter, since the holiday weekend was filled with Bratwurst, tortilla chips, and stress-eating. My goal for this day was 200. I weighed in at 208, which is three pounds heavier than my LAST goal weight. So... time to rededicate.

Starting Saturday, I've been to the gym faithfully every other day. I should have no trouble going again Friday, but Sunday will be a bit of a challenge, as we have a pretty full day planned. Still, if I miss Sunday and have to put it off until Monday, that won't be so bad. Once every third day is still better than never. But, I'm really trying to force myself into the every-other-day habit... no slacking. Otherwise, I'll just slack completely.

My next mile marker is July 31, Harry Potter's birthday. My goal for that day is 190. I sincerely doubt I'll be able to knock off 18 pounds by the end of the month... I'm not sure that would be super healthy, but if I can get down below 200 I'd sure be happy.

Rain Can't Stop the Wrock

First, for all of you out-of-touch people out there who have not heard, there is a music craze sweeping the nation. Fans mostly consist of 11-15 year-old girls, but as the New Kids on the Block can tell you, that is an excellent fan base to have.

It's called "Wizard Rock" or "Wrock" for short, and it basically started with a couple of brothers writing Harry Potter-inspired music and playing it for their friends. They are now known as Harry and the Potters, and they are quite popular indeed, recently playing a show at the famous Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill as part of their national tour.

Down the road from Harry and the Potters, two other brothers (okay, half-brothers technically) started up a kind of parody band as the arch-nemesis to their buddies' band, calling themselves, naturally, Draco and the Malfoys. And thus began the huge explosion of Wrock bands all over the country.

My library was fortunate enough to host four of the top Wrock bands in the country this weekend as a stop on their summer tour, including the aforementioned Draco and the Malfoys. Lindsey Dunn, a mighty fine Young Adult Librarian I am fortunate enough to have on my staff, contacted the band more than two years ago and asked them to make a stop here on their next tour. They emailed back and said they would love to play here, and they would be in touch.

Long story short, they emailed about four months ago and said, "Hey! We can be there on July 6th between a show in Virginia and a show in Atlanta." Despite the fact that the date was on a holiday weekend and smack in the middle of Lindsey's vacation, she said, in essence, "Bring it." And bring it they did.

Their tour includes themselves, plus Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills, The Whomping Willows, and The Remus Lupins. So Lindsey kicked into high gear to ensure this was the best program in our library's history. She got a sponsor to pay for them to be here. She got on the phone to find out how if we could get special permits to allow more people in our building for a special event. We couldn't. So she found out how we could get a stage set up outside and somehow convinced the musicians that early July in North Carolina "really isn't so bad."

After lots more coordination with other county departments, the plan was set and the big day arrived. Due to her careful planning and the assistance of several other staff members, every detail was thought out and accounted for. And that was a really good thing when, at 6:15 pm, about an hour and a quarter into the show, one of North Carolina's world famous lightning storms descended upon us.

For safety reasons, the band could not simply play through the storm. Electrocuting people in our parking lot is generally frowned upon by upper management, and no one wanted to clean it up, besides. So we started letting people into the building while the band tried to figure out what they would do. Getting their equipment inside was out of the question. We had given out rain tickets for the first people who arrived... up to the number we are allowed in the main part of the building. As I expected, many people simply chose to pack up and go. At our highest count outside, we had about 250 people watching the bands. We only had room for 130 inside, once you also factored in our staff and sponsor's staff. But we do have a few side rooms that gave us a little more space, so we put people in those two rooms, explaining that they were there as shelter, and they may not be able to see the rest of the show from there.

As it turned out, once everyone was out of the parking lot, only a little more than half of the people with tickets were in the main room, which gave us enough leeway to empty out our side rooms. Our sponsors seemed to be less than happy that we had to constantly be counting bodies and were possibly going to turn people away, but laws is laws, folks, and the two sheriffs deputies there were not about to cut me any slack on this one.

In what I feel was remarkable time, we were back up and running again by 7pm. The sponsor has his own little Wrock band, and they entertained the crowd while our headliners moved in what they called a "Violent Femmes" array of equipment... a bass and amp, two acoustics, and a snare drum. No mics. The Whomping Willows finished out their set, which Mother Nature had so rudely (and dramatically) interrupted, and we proceeded with a very "unplugged" session. In fact, Draco and the Malfoys really got into it by tossing out their playlist and taking requests only.

One of my biggest concerns was that the crowd would simply trash the library, having been granted practically free reign to do so. But instead, as the picture below attests, they actually sat down in a more orderly fashion than any storytime group we've ever had in the library.



They sang along, danced when prompted, but only in a very polite, orderly fashion, and when the concert was over (and MAN it was surprisingly good!), they hung out for only 15 or 20 minutes to buy merch and have the band sign stuff. In fact, the hardest folks to push out the door were the musicians. They are a totally awesome, friendly group of guys, and they were acting like they were going to hang out all night. Fortunately, this gave us a chance to get this picture:



Eventually, they did head out to the pavillion to break down their stuff. As they were doing so, they told us, with what I feel was sincere honesty, that this was the most fun concert they had yet to play. The chaos, the unpredictability, and the REALLY fantastic audience made it work for them. And me. Don't tell, but I've been listening to some of their stuff now. shhhhhhhhhh

Wall-E Meets My Kids

So I went to see Wall-E on my birthday with about eight of North Carolina's biggest Disney Geeks. I loved the movie and enjoyed the conversation afterward that verged on geeky, but was really more along the lines of pure appreciation. My only disappointment was the realization that my kids would most likely NOT like Wall-E, so I wouldn't be getting to enjoy it with them.

The themes in Wall-E are a bit too grown-up for a four- and two-year-old to really get. And although the lack of dialogue makes the movie more accessible and VERY beautiful, I was sure it simply would not capture the attention of my frenetic offspring.

As this past week went by, my friends began sharing their experiences with taking their children to see it... some my kids' ages, some a bit older. All advised me against taking the terrible twosome. I mean, they barely sat through Kung-Fu Panda, and that was full of action and silliness. Wall-E is far more subdued and ... I'll say it again ... beautiful, and the soundtrack is mostly that of Hello, Dolly! This is a great thing for ME... bringing together my Disney Geek and my Musical Theater Geek... but not necessarily a great thing for the kiddos.

So today, while I was in the shower, Chris asked Athena if she'd like to see Wall-E. Why yes, she declared. She would love that. So I shrugged. I mean... best case... I'd get to see the movie again. Worst case, I could run the kids around the lobby while Chris enjoyed the movie. So, I looked up movie times and off we went.

We armed ourselves with a large popcorn and cups for sharing. Both kids got lemonade. We figured that would hold them until at least half-way through the movie. But guess what!

They. Loved. It.

Both kids were engaged with the movie almost all the way through. Marcus wasn't as engaged, but he sat relatively still through about 90% of it... maybe 95%. Athena asked questions as the story progressed and was clearly VERY concerned for Wall-E's health and well-being.

This is terribly exciting to me. Perhaps it won't be true for every movie, but they have progressively gotten better and better about sitting still and watching the flick in question. The more we take them, the better it is. And with all the movies that are made for kids now, we are never really short on choices.

Well, except the trailer they showed the most interest in was that freaking Chihuahua movie. *sigh*

Ai, Chihuahua indeed.

Quiet Evening

Chris has decided to take Athena camping tonight. By camping, I mean he took the tent and a sleeping bag and headed to the park with a couple of buddies and their kids. He says he took an air mattress, but I see the air mattress is still here, so I think what he actually took is a thin mat that does accept a little air, intended for campers who rough it far more regularly that we do and who actually carry their gear on their back.

He also refused my offer to take the van instead of the ION, so I sure hope it doesn't rain. But Athena is stoked for S'Mores, and right now the forecast looks agreeable.

This means Young MC and I are home. He tottered off to bed at 8pm, so I've had a very peaceful, easy-going evening. I have a good book to read for my book club and I'm thinking of lighting a few candles and meditating in the tub for a bit. Chris has only been home from Origins for a few days, and already he's out all night again. It's a little odd after years of him never going anywhere... he's had two business trips, one long solo vacation, and now this camping trip away. I thought it would be hard to get used to, but actually, it's kind of nice. Since I have taken so many trips without him, which my Introverted self needs so badly, it's nice that he gets to enjoy a bit of that as well.

Tomorrow, we clean up the house to where our friends won't balk too badly, and then have a little cookout. I have to plan a menu. Probably Brats and burgers. Maybe some baked beans. Some sort of dessert... maybe cheesecake if I can get up early enough to get it done. Good times. Happy Birthday, America.

The Quest for Hotness: Mile Marker One

Well, here we are at Mile Marker One... my birthday. My goal here was 205. Yesterday, I was at 206. Last night, I had two Margaritas and Fish and Chips to celebrate my birthday. Today, I weigh in at 207.

BUT

I am not discouraged. Honestly, I've made only a half-hearted effort this past month or so. Little to no exercise, and more desserts than I really should have indulged in. So... I have lost nine pounds, and that makes me happy.

Today won't be a good day for the diet, since I'm eating out for lunch AND dinner AND having buttered popcorn at the theater when I see Wall-E. I have never bought into the "plain popcorn is better" mentality. I do understand it may be true, but that fake buttery substance movie theaters use? The stuff that must be made of plastic and wax? Yeah... that stuff is awesome. I'm not giving that up no way, no how.

Then tomorrow, I need to kick it up a notch. Especially if I want to meet my next goal... Amy's birthday, which is only about a week away. ACK!

Single and Lovin' It

Chris is at Origins. This is the fourth year he's gone, and once again, he is not here on my birthday. Scum.

The first challenge will be keeping the kids entertained, and that's all set. Tonight, we had pizza and watched Dora, Diego, and Backyardigans. They are in bed now, and with any luck, will be snoozing soon. Tomorrow night, we're hitting Monkey Joe's with the Gundlachs (Today is John/Geoff's birthday! WOOT!) Then Friday is a Parents' Night Out at the daycare, which Athena has requested I take her to. I may call some friends to see if they want to go out. (Jen and Brandy... if you're reading this... I'll call ya!)

Saturday is my birthday. My wonderful mother-in-law has agreed to watch the kids overnight! So, I'm headed first to Greensboro to see my mom for lunch, then to High Point to visit friends and watch Wall-E with a bunch of Disney Geeks, including my friend George. (What does one WEAR to a Disney Geekfest, I wonder?) Another friend Jack (a former bartender) has sent me a birthday drink recommendation, which I shall try either Friday, Saturday, or both... depending on the circumstances.

I'll be back here Sunday, and may try to take the kids to the pool. We'll see. Then Monday is back at work and Chris comes home Monday night.

The second challenge is to keep the kids healthy. For two years (see here and here), one or more of the kids was sick or cheating death whenever he went to this conference. So far, everyone seems to be very healthy. Keeping my fingers crossed!

And there is some reward to getting it all done alone. Chris does it all the time. Now I get to prove I can do it too! Yay me!

A House Divided

The Universities in North Carolina have a really long history, and along with that, an incredibly strong fan base. This is particularly true with our ACC schools here in the Triangle Area. UNC, Duke and NC State are all within thirty miles of each other, and this leads to strong rivalries, and, oddly enough, marriages.

Chris and I have such a marriage. He went to NC State (boooooooooo) and I went to UNC (yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay). We are a House Divided.

Just to give you some idea of how big a deal this can be... I'll tell you a story of when Chris and I first started dating. He had made it quite clear that he was very interested in me. We were on our first date after we had been chatting at game nights and online for a few weeks. He was at my house, sitting on the couch, and we were watching Return of the Jedi. We were chatting... and our schools came up.

I am a little bit older than he is. I already knew he was at NC State in grad school, and I had just finished grad school in Greensboro. So I had already adjusted to the idea that he was the enemy, academically speaking. He, however, did not know where I had done my undergrad. When I told him, his eyes widened and his expression was easier to read than a large print copy of Good Night Moon. He was making a decision... can I actually date a UNC grad? Can we have a future together? Can she be half as awesome as I think she is if she bleeds Carolina Blue?

Obviously he came to his senses and our relationship moved forward. But, there are still issues. One of the major ones is the kids.

We had to make a pact when I learned I was pregnant with Athena. Neither of us were allowed to buy any of our own school's merchadise for the kids. Others could buy for us, but we could not. Soon, the NC State stuff started coming in from Brant, but Jason followed up with a healthy dose of UNC. We both have good friends, apparently.

Which brings us to today. Recently Marcus picked up one of Chris' NC State ball caps. He wore it around, which was terribly cute as it's way too big for him. But he loves it, so Chris adjusted it to as small a size as he can, and Marcus wears it all the time.

Naturally, this has been bothering me. So Mom and I were in dear old Chapel Hill on Friday, and she learned that Marcus was in need of a Carolina ball cap. She purchased a very cute one that is actually in his size.

I gave it to him yesterday.

He wore it for ten minutes.

He tossed it aside and last night, he slept with the NC State hat.

I have failed.









But there is still hope for Athena.

The Screwing: The Final Frontier

So my loyal readers (all six of them) will remember back in January, we discovered some major negligence on the part of our builders and arranged to have it fixed. Well, for those of you who are wondering "What ever happened with that whole deal?" here is your answer.

They fixed it. Yesterday. Finally.

For the past six months, we've been going back and forth with the warranty guy. He's been very nice and very helpful, but he kept having to bring someone else to look at it. An engineer, a contractor, another engineer, an HVAC guy... the list was endless. Finally, when I was at Disney in May, he called and said he only had ONE MORE GUY to come see it. I felt like my crawl space was being featured in "Homebuilding Freaks" magazine.

So Chris stayed home yesterday morning to be here when they came to fix it. This was because they thought they'd need to come into the house to fiddle with the HVAC return or some such nonsense. As it turns out, they did not. In fact, they didn't even tell Chris when they left. The warranty guy came by later and left a sticky that the work was done. Now all that is left is that he needs to come repair the garage floor, and we're done with this. Only cost to us: $150 to have the walls professionally dried and treated for mold.

Rock on.

Hermione Strikes Again

Thank all that is good and holy that Chris does the laundry (up until the folding part). Look what he found in the dirty clothes this morning. Good thing he found it too... as it was tiny. It would not have survived the spin cycle, methinks.

Clearly, Athena thinks it's the coolest thing ever. I believe she used the word "cute."

Meanwhile, the poor cat is looking all around the floor of our room trying to figure out where the thing got to. Athena threw it into the bushes, so Hermione will probably be confused the rest of the day.

The Quest for Hotness: Return to the Gym

So I'm a few weeks into the Quest, which means it's officially time to get off all that ass I'm trying to rid myself of and start exercising. I don't suppose I HAVE to exercise, but I prefer to eat more liberally than most diets would allow, and therefore exercise is key. Of course, pair that with the fact that we have been paying for a gym membership that has gone largely unused these last few months and, well... it's time to get hoppin'.

So I had a half day at work today, and some plans I had fell through, so instead of moping about, I made the most of it. I came home, had lunch, ran a few errands, then, dutifully checked in at the gym. I then realized I had not brought water, and had to buy a bottle for $2 in their little shop. *sigh* I really had to though... I cannot work out without water.

I walked into the swanky locker room and stopped short... there was a MAN in the locker room, doing something with the towel bin. Fixing it, I suppose. I looked around... yep... women's locker room. Looked at him again... looked around... no naked women apparent. Hmmmmmmmmm. Finally, in what seemed like hours but was probably about ten seconds, all was explained when another attendant (female) shouted, "Okay, ladies... all clear... the man is leaving the locker room." Whew! For a moment, I thought we had gone all coed.

I changed, bopped upstairs, and jumped on a treadmill. BNL blaring from my iPod, I set the timer to 30 minutes on the "random" incline program and took off. Now, almost always, I sort of cheat my 30 minutes. When the timer hits 25, I hit "cool down"and do a five minute cool down... which on the treadmill is really just standing still with finesse. But today, I took it all the way to 30, and THEN I did my cooldown. YAY ME!

After that, I did some time on the machines... legs, abs, butt. Good times. I did quite well, I think, and the only real demoralizing part of the whole thing was the fact that I was there when school let out, and so most of the people working out with me were young, nubile, teen girls and their pimply, gangly counterparts. In fact, while on the treadmill, a young girl jumped on the treadmill in front of me. She had "CHEER!" eblazoned across her ass on the orange short-shorts she was wearing.

"Great!" I thought. "I don't have to Quest for the Hotness... I can just follow it!" *sigh*

Some Photos From the Trip

The view from our balcony.... no zoom used...

Me in the Winner's Circle at Saratoga Springs...

Enjoying my (now) traditional Glowtini...

Captain Hook Topiary, Flower and Garden Festival

Le Scooter Ne Marche Plus

For the first time ever at Walt Disney World, we rented an ECV. These are those little scooters that you see advertised for older folks who can't get around much on their own anymore. Designed for locomotion and not so much for long term care like wheelchairs, scooters are really nice for people like my mother... over sixty, chronic pain, long-time smoker, poor walker. At first, Mom was just going to try to walk the parks, but before we even started our first full day at Epcot, she admitted she wanted to go ahead and get the scooter.

I'd love to show you a picture of her on it. I have a great one. But mom is not a fan of having her picture taken and asked me not to post it, so there you go. We used the scooter each day, and by our third day, Mom was a pro. Well, except she seemed to think she could use her feet to brake, which really doesn't work so well, and I fussed at her the whole time to keep her feet up so she wouldn't break her ankle. It was a nice role-reversal.

So anyway, back to the third day... the only rain we saw during the daytime on our trip fell on Monday. Fortunately, due to my awesome Disney planning skillz, all three downpours fell in rapid succession during the ninety minutes we were enjoying Croque Monsieurs at Chefs de France in Epcot on Monday. Unfortunately, they didn't have a covered area for mom to stash the scooter, so although we didn't get wet, the scooter did.

We lifted a stack of paper towels from the restaurant, dried it off the best we could, then mom decided to sort of wheel it out of the spot where she had expertly parallel parked. It didn't start. At all. Nothing. nada. *sigh*

Unfortunately, the number printed on the key to call for help is merely an extension. In this day of cell phones, I wonder why they don't just give you a full number, but anyway... we were right there at the restaurant, so we went in and spoke to the manager. Apparently, their phone is not on the WDW system, so the extension meant nothing to her either. However, in true Disney customer service fashion, she began making phone calls to try to figure out who she needed to call.

Fifteen minutes later, she got someone from the International Gateway to come. Ten minutes after that, he actually arrived in a way-cool "tow-scooter" to take the dead carcass away and trade us the shiney new one on the back.

Mom tried to start it with the tow-scooter guy still there. Nothing. Then he said, "Ma'am... it won't start unless you are sitting on it."

We looked at each other. "Oh," we said. "Well, um... then the other one may work after all." No one told us this little rule when we got the scooter. Sure, it makes perfect sense, but, duh... we aren't thinking or anything... we're on vacation.

He was very nice... waved, and let us go on our way with the new scooter... probably returning to the International Gateway to laugh at us with his coworkers.

Can We Fix It? No, It's F**ked!

So the first step is admitting you have a problem. I do recognize that my obsession with Disney is a problem. And yet, unlike the original twelve-step program, I believe that the best way to deal with my problem is to continue to take as many trips to the Mouse as possible. If nothing else, you... my fair readers... benefit from hearing my people-watching stories.

I learn a lot about people at WDW. It's the sort of place that brings out the best and the worst in you. I usually come back with one totally gossipy-sort of story that I just accidentally stumble across. Want to hear the one I picked up this time? You know you do...

So mom and I are in line for Kilamanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom first thing in the morning. She is pumped to be doing this, which is awesome, because Mom wasn't really there to ride the rides or see the attractions. She was there to eat. So anything she was willing to do was okay by me. And I love the safari ride. (A note to those of you who have done this attraction that has no relevance to the story... We saw NO giraffes. Have to wonder what's up with that, since that's the primary animal you normally get to see. Illness? Regular down-time. Dunno.)

Anyway, as we were waiting in line, an argument erupted behind us. And I mean ERUPTED. Here's what I picked up on while trying to pretend not to notice the hubub...

MAN: Well, I am TIRED of everyone complaining! If they don't want to be here with me, they shouldn't BE here with me.

WOMAN: Well, I don't want to be here with you. I never wanted to be here with you. I'm only doing this to be with my kids. I don't even LIKE you.

MAN: Well, your KIDS want to be HERE!

WOMAN: I didn't want to be in the parks with you YESTERDAY, and I don't want to be here TODAY, but you are forcing me.

MAN: I'm not forcing anyone!

(By now the teen boy is crying and the pre-teen girl is wringing her hands... not that I noticed of course, because I'm not one of those people who rubberneck or anything).

WOMAN: FINE! I'M LEAVING! (exit, stage right)

So a few minutes later, when it was clear that it was okay to look, I checked out the scene closer. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh, I thought. There was the teen boy, the pre-teen girl, the dad, and his NEW WIFE with a NEW BABY, small enough to be in an infant seat! His new YOUNGER, SEXIER wife, I may add.

Now I'm guessing that this was the most awkward trip-planning ever.

"Hey, ex-wife. Wifey and I are taking the kids to Disney. Wanna come?"
"Well, I hate your guts, you bastard, but sure! I'm sure that even though our marriage is a total shambles and you have already remarried and had another kid, I'll be just fine hanging out in line after line with you and your new love. Should be a blast."

Fascinating weirdness, that. At first I thought the guy was a total jerk, but upon observing his behavior after the ex left, he chatted with me a bit and he was quite nice and polite. He was wearing an Edmonton/Canes Stanley Cup Finals shirt, so I didn't point out that I was present when the Canes beat his team in round seven and took the cup. Just didn't seem to come up in the conversation.

Perhaps I'm a bad person for peeking into the lives of others... but really... it was like a buffet... all laid out for me. Wonder how the rest of their trip went... think they made it work?

Something Cool

My brother-in-law (specifically, Chris' sister's husband) writes an occasional storyline for Walt Disney's Comics. One of his stories appears in the March book (No. 690) - ISBN 978-1-60360-025-5. I don't have any permission to scan the panel or the cover art for you, but it's cool enough to tell you about it. He put in a little tribute to Chris' dad, who spent his career managing restaurants... If you happen upon the book (or you own it), check out The Winter of Their Dissed Kismet." One panel about midway through the story features a restaurant called "Caran's Costly Cafe." Nifty!

The Quest for Hotness

I am joining Jessey and Amy in their quest for hotness. Chris is on the quest too, I think, but perhaps not as formally. I'll let him out himself if he wants to make it official. I was going to start next week after returning from Disney, but since I have had strep these last few days, I haven't been able to eat well. So... I figure that's as good a kick start as I can get.

I will probably find a counter to put on my sidebar, but for now, here is the lowdown.

Starting Sunday, May 11 - Weight 216lbs. (Don't freak... I'm 5'10". Yes, I'm overweight, but I'm not a pumpkin. I can carry a lot of weight without showing it too badly.)

Goals:
June 28 (My birthday) - Weight 205
July 7 (Amy's Birthday) - Weight 200
July 31 (Harry Potter's Birthday) - Weight 190
October 31 (Chris' birthday and post Disney trip two) - Weight 170
January 1 (The year's birthday) - Weight 160

If I reach that goal, I will still be about 8 lbs heavier than when I was in college. Rumor has it that any woman can attain her college weight at any age post-college. I tried it once before, and I only got to 168. That was ten years ago. So really, I'll be happy at 170, I think.

So I Know What I'm Doing This Weekend...

I stole this from Allears.net. (Deb, please forgive me... I wasn't sure how to make the link permanent.)

May 2008: Journey into Narnia is currently closed and undergoing a major renovation, and will reopen as The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian on June 26, 2008. Guests can experience an exclusive opportunity to see behind-the-scenes footage, original concept art, storyboards, props and costumes from the latest installment of "The Chronicles of Narnia." They can explore Aslan’s stone table chamber set recreated directly from the original molds, see blueprints used for the motion picture, and meet Prince Caspian.

The "Prince Caspian" theme park character -- seen at right in a promotional photo shoot at Walt Disney World Resort -- is scheduled to begin regular meet-and-greet appearances on May 16, 2008. That same day, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" is scheduled to debut in U.S. theaters. The film, presented by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media, is the second motion picture based on C.S. Lewis' series of classic books.

A Tribute to All Moms, But Mostly My Own*

*The title of this post is an obscure reference for most people indeed. First one to post the correct answer to what it references will get a prize (probably an adult beverage... and I probably know who will guess it.)

So here we are... Mother's Day. I actually don't encourage my family to celebrate Mother's Day, and I would have been at work today if not for the strep (it's official! Woot!) It's another Hallmark Holiday like Valentine's Day, that is set aside for something we should really do all the time. So I say "Bah, Humbug... I love my mom and don't need anyone to force me to say it."

Still, since we're here and having this little chat, I'll go ahead and say it. I think my mom is the shizzle.

Having kids of my own was, like it is for so many people, the turning point for me. I had always appreciated my mother, no doubt. She makes a fabulous grilled cheese sandwich that the neighborhood kids would clambor to our house for. She put up with my A-TI-TUDE when I was pubescent, and she is still very loving and caring and looks out for my best interests... sometimes without me even knowing.

Although we have certainly had our issues, and we still do not agree on politics at all, we have always gotten along. I always respected her opinions, even when she didn't respect mine. But now that I have kids of my own, I have learned a whole new world of information about what her life has been and what she has really done for my sister and me.

I have been blessed with amazing opportunities for travel. Many of those doors were opened by my father and his international company, but they were facilitated by my mother. She made sure I was well-rounded and sought out all sorts of opportunities for me. I'm even glad she forced me to take piano when I was five, even though I thought I had no interest. (I do wish, however, that she had chosen a better teacher).

She is pretty good with a computer, which I KNOW is rare for her generation. She taught herself a lot and has taken a couple of courses. Her biggest strength is probably Maj Jongg, but it's not her only strength. I'll be teaching her a little more about blogging this weekend, as I make my first attempt to post pictures live from Disney World. So, Mom... here is my blog entry about how awesome you are. Thanks for the trip! And thanks for everything. Really. I mean... everything. I love you.

Dear God, What Happened?

Three months ago, we had the SWEETEST little boy. He loved everyone. He loved anything. He did as he was told. He was a joy. Then he turned two. And now... NOW... Well, see for yourself, if you can stand it. Here is what happens when you offer him a delicious (although drier than normal... I'm trying to figure that out...) helping of Chicken Tettrazini and refuse to let him have yogurt instead:



Impressive, eh? And to think, I didn't start shooting this until he had already been going for about five minutes. And he CONTINUED for another five. Nothing wrong with his lungs now, as you can see.

An Open Letter Robert Downey, Jr.

Your new movie? Kicks. Ass.

And I just wanted to let you know that as long as you are sober, you are officially on my "exceptions" list. Call me the next time you are in the neighborhood.

Oh, and could you bring Gwyneth Paltrow with you so my husband will go along with this? Much thanks...

I Got the Fever

100.3 to be exact. I started feeling like crap at the end of the day yesterday, and by about 5am this morning, every time I swallowed it felt like a knife was jabbing me in the ear. Lovely. Then the chills started.

I laid out of work today, barely moving and shivering almost constantly. Chris went and got me some lozenges and he is making dinner downstairs now. I haven't eaten since this morning and I am ravenous. I'm also expecting that the hot food will sooth my throat. I'm off tomorrow anyway because I work Saturday, so that's a small blessing... except I have a million errands to run tomorrow. bleh. Hopefully the fever will break tonight and I'll feel better tomorrow.

My Fifteen Minutes...

My new best friend George generously offered me an opportunity to guest blog over at his popular (among the Disney Community) website, ImagiNERDing. He gets about 500 hits a day and has about half as many subscribers. George inspired me to write a little piece on my stay at the wonderful, but short-lived Disney Institute and he published it last night. Feel free to go check it out. You non-Disney people may even be interested. If nothing else, you get to see a picture of me at age 25, and (to borrow Jessey's latest catchphrase) superfly!

...And I Lived to Tell The Tale

Athena turned four last week. Her party was yesterday. This was the first, honest-to-God birthday party I've hosted for either of the kids. I actually allowed Athena to invite her friends (normally we just invite OUR friends, and if they happen to bring her friends... fabulous bonus). She invited 12. Daddy invited 2 more. Five of the original 12 came and they brought a total of three siblings. Well, technically one sibling was actually invited, but whatever. Neither of the two Chris invited on his own came. However, they both SAID they would. Hrmph.

We rented the shelter at our local park. Between 11am and 3:15 pm, I managed to take the family out to eat, go to Party City to get final supplies and balloons, go to BJs to get candy for goody bags and other normal grocery items, take the kids and Chris home so he could create the goodie bags, went to the grocery store to pick up the cake and ice as well as a few normal grocery items, then go back to the house, pick up the birthday girl and the goodie bags, plus various party needs like tablecloths, etc., then go to the park and set it all up. I am awesome.

She had a Hello Kitty theme, which she loved. We had cake, the kids ran themselves silly, Athena tore through her gifts (seriously), distributed the goodie bags, then everyone departed. We went to Friday's with the Gundlachs, and the wait staff sang to her... which surprised her more than pleased her. We then went home to show off the new tv, which Mr. Gundlach was kind enough to help Chris fix up.

I drank.

It was an excellent end to a really great day.

Conversation Over an iPod

ME: *flipping forward through random shuffle on the iPod (hooked up to speakers) to bypass all of Chris' music with objectionable lyrics, themes*

ATHENA: Wait, Mommy! I like that music.

ME: *flipping back a song* What? This?

ATHENA: *dancing* Yes! That.

The song? Gangsta's Paradise. We are such good parents.

Eye Eye Cap'n

Chris got the eye gout last week. It wasn't pink eye, exactly, but it behaved like pink eye... except for the pink part. Runny, swollen... almost looked like he'd... um... walked into a door. You know. Really hard. One of those doors with five fingers tightly crunched up in a ball-like shape.

And two of his co-workers had it as well. At almost exactly the same time. I said "Don't touch me, you infested-with-gout icky boy." But, you know... I didn't resort to sleeping on the couch or anything.

He's all better now... but since yesterday, my eye has been twitching. This morning, driving to work, I swear it started to swell shut. As I left my library to go to another library to cover their staff meeting, I felt it again... swelling.

So I did what any card-carrying real woman does. I called my husband to bitch at him.

His response?

"It was allergies, hun."

uh huh... well... then your allergies are catching, my man.

ALTHOUGH, it does always seem to get worse when I go outside. Stupid pollen. Stupid eye gout. Stupid twitchy eye.

Practical Cats (and Ungrateful People)

My kitty is so proud. She wrote you the following and asked me to post it for you to read and enjoy.

Hello. My name is Hermione, and I am the lovely kitty of Elizabeth and Chris. In theory, I suppose I should admit that there are two little creatures living here too, but they are loud and they tend to pull my fur, so I generally don't talk to them. The girl one has nice pillows on her bed, though. So I like to sleep on them when she is away. Maybe it makes her sneeze. I don't care.

Anyway, I am writing today to tell you of how ungrateful my people are. Today, my woman person came home early from work! I was very excited! I came down right away to say hello, and she petted me and told me I was beautiful (which I am, of course).

So after she gave me so much love and such good scratchies, I felt I should do something nice for her. I know I didn't have to, but that's just what makes me so nice.

So I went outside and found the cutest little fun toy I could. I brought it in to her while she was cleaning the closet out. (She does this so often, I wonder how it keeps getting all messed up... I bet she wonders that too). I put it right at her feet. She stepped back a little, and barely stepped on my little gift. She said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Hermione! Was that your tail?" Then she looked to her left and saw me there. I said *blink.* Then she said *blink.* Then she said, "Oh, what was that I stepped... a SNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKE!"

And then she screamed a scream that would call forth the very devil. Fortunately, I know the devil quite well, and he knows me... so he knew he wasn't needed here.

Then that silly lady FREAKED out. She called my man person and shrieked into the phone. Since he is so far away and couldn't help her, he called the neighbor. The neighbor came over (after my woman person had trapped the gift under a toy bucket that belongs to one of the moist little creatures of the house) and put something heavy on top of it. The neighbor is a real meany! She took my gift right outside and put it in the bushes. hrmph.

These people just don't value a true gift of the heart.

It's All In the Numbers

3 - Number of days Athena has been totally accident-free

7 - Previous record for number of accident-free days

42 - Number of times I will bang my head against a wall if this doesn't last

2 - Number of meetings I had today

82 - Number of emails I read today

14 - Number of emails I was required to respond to

14 - Number of responses I sent and mailed

1 - Number of dead baby snakes discovered in my house after I returned home

4 - Number of times I cursed the cat for said gift

53 - Number of friends I have on facebook

21 - Number of known readers of this blog

30 - Number of days until my next Disney trip

4 - Number of days I'll be gone

184 - Number of days until the Disney trip after that

I can't think of any more numbers... I want my vacation

Oh, Yeah. We're Having Fun Now.

So the nebulizer got an extended engagement through Sunday night. We were a little concerned that it still wouldn't be enough, but he was off it all day yesterday and today, and he seems okay. I returned the evil machine this morning and I'm damn glad to be rid of it. I really hope it was nothing. The doctor gave us some antibiotics on Marcus' follow up appointment last Thursday for a possible sinus infection and he loves to take that medicine.

While he's on the mend, we had some horrible times with Athena over the past week. Daycare called me late Thursday morning and suggested I get her to a doctor. She was basically in the bathroom non-stop, screaming her head off, yet had still managed to have four accidents. Long story short, she was constipated... in a major way. On Miralax since then, she is no longer backed up, but it took three full days for that to happen. Fortunately, her misery seemed to lessen after 24 hours... and now it's completely gone. She is once again our happy, tempestuous, giggly, goofy little girl. Actually, she even seems to have an improvement. Two days accident-free now. And there shall be much rejoicing... yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.

Speaking of Monty Python, we are going to see Spamalot! on Friday. Chris and I are going, that is. Grandma is watching the wee ones. I'm in the process of choosing a nice restaurant downtown for us to enjoy a little grown-up time. Raleigh's downtown is rejuvinating, but the area down near the theater still has a way to go. Most of the best restaurants are on the other side of downtown, and a bit far to stroll. I'll let you know where we end up. (And suggestions from folks in the area are welcome).

Stop the Madness!

Well, normally when I am away for a week or so, it's because I'm busy, or apathetic, or generally out of touch. Alas, this time, it is because I found the modern-day equivalent of opium... Facebook.

Now that I seem to be fully ensconced in that arena, I can return to life as normal, assuming normal means only checking Facebook every twenty minutes rather than every minute of every day. At least the addiction didn't last quite as long as my Sims Online addiction, which actually verged on rehab-worthy. I'm pleased to say that I have over 40 friends and feel pretty good about that number. I even found some old skool friends from way back in the day. Made me feel pretty old, actually.

Anyhoo... I'm laying out of work today with Chester McWheezy. I took him to the doctor thinking they'd tell me I was a good mom for worrying about him so, but really... it's just a cold... he'll be fine.

Instead, what I got was my favorite doctor in the practice studying him with a VERY concerned expression, listening to his labored breaths, and finally announcing that he feels we need to try Albuterol. Not that he's asthmatic, necessarily (it's too early to know that for sure), but we really need to get him, you know, breathing again.

They did this even though his blood oxygen level was still at around 98 percent, so I was a bit puzzled. Marcus trooped through it, a little bothered by the mask, but adjusting quickly and sitting still for the whole thing. He's breathing better, napping now, and the doctor wants to see him again in two days to see if the albuterol is still working and whether or not he may need something more long term. He sent me home with a loaner nebulizer and the medicine required. Bleh.

Regardless, they said I could take him back to daycare tomorrow, as he really does only seem to have a cold at this point, and that is probably (not definitely) what is causing his chest to tighten. So fortunately, I'm not missing tons of work. I am actually going in for my evening shift tonight, so I'm only out four sick hours for today. I got the bills paid as well, which is always a joy.

Come visit me on Facebook and friend me. I promise to only send you a few pieces of flair and I'll probably turn you into a vampire, but other than that, I'll leave you alone. Maybe.

Minneapolis - Day Four

Today was a pretty standard conference day. Sessions until 2pm (including lunch with Nancy Pearl), then I hit the exhibit hall. Kim Harrison (a very popular paranormal romance author) was giving away/signing books, so I got one for myself, and as a bonus, Laura Lippman was also signing at the same booth and I got her book (free again) signed as well. I also picked up an ARC (Advance Reading Copy for those not in the biz) for Chris and his coworkers... a biographical account of some nastiness in the current war. I also happened upon the Romance Writers of America booth, where ANOTHER paranormal romance writer was signing books... AND I'd never read her... so I got her first (in a series of three so far) and she signed it for me. It looks really good.

The highlight of the day was heading over to St. Paul to see a Wild/Canucks game at the Xcel Energy Center. Here's me with the legendary Herb Brooks (he's the guy who coached the Miracle on Ice team in 1980... you know... Kurt Russell):

Tomorrow is the final day of the conference, with several sessions in the morning and the closing speaker in the afternoon (Paula Poundstone). We haven't decided for sure what we'll do with our evening, but I know I will need to get gifts for the kids as I haven't quite found the right thing yet. Sarah (my roomie) also knows of a piano/polka bar which we are dying to experience, so that's on the list as well.

Sunday will allow us to sleep in, as our plane doesn't depart until 2pm. I didn't fly American or Delta, so here's hoping everything will go smoothly.

Minneapolis - Days Two and Three

Yesterday was fabulous here. My morning session was a "Book Buzz" session where I learned about lots of new stuff coming out direct from publishers. Apparently, there are opportunities to get lots of free stuff including Advanced Reading Copies in the exhibit hall, but I don't do well in crowds and I hate begging for free stuff, so I chose to hit the exhibits late enough that crowds thinned and I could actually talk to any vendors there that I actually might want to speak with. I only hit about one sixth of the room... I'll get to the rest over the remainder of the conference.

By far the unexpected highlight of the day was the keynote speech from John Wood, an ex-Microsoft executive turned philanthropist. His organization is Room to Read. Go give them all your money. Seriously. At least see what they do. It's nothing short of saintly. And I am not easily impressed.

We ended the day at The News Room... a good restaurant/bar downtown, where almost the whole contingent from my library system met up with almost the whole Durham County contingent. Unfortunately, we mostly sat with our own folk, which didn't lend to much idea sharing, but it was a nice meal, regardless. At the very least, I was able to talk to the person who approves all conference attendance for our system about going to DragonCon this year, and she reacted very favorably. YAY!

Today was when the real intense sessions began. My first session was about recommending books to teens, the second was about modern library design, and then I had lunch with Pauline and Arthur Frommer (of the famous travel guides). Well, me and about 500 of my closest friends...

By now, it was 2pm, and I tried to make it through a session on dealing with Law Enforcement requests (Patriot Act, Intellectual Freedom, and what to do when someone waves a subpeona in your face). It is stuff I really need to know, but the legal-ese and the repetition of phrases and of course the post-lunch slump did me in. I spent the rest of the day knocking out a killer headache, trolling another quarter of the exhibit hall, and coming back to the room. Once I post this, I'm off to check email.

I miss Chris and the kids terribly, and I haven't been able to talk to them much. The signal in the conference center has been touchy, and when I do call, Athena doesn't want to chat. Hopefully she misses me and will welcome me back into the house... but I imagine she's pretty much taken over for me in my absense.

Minneapolis - Day One

We arrived around 10:30am, grabbed our bags, and headed toward hotels. There were nine of us on the plane, and Leadership team rented a seven-passenger van. Despite all that room, only the five that were actually members of our "executive management" chose to take the van. Two others took a cab, and my roomie and I (a colleague from my old branch in Garner) chose the very inexpensive train option. $1.50 later we were downtown, and three blocks from there, we were in the warmth of a building (right after passing the famous statues of Mary Tyler Moore tossing up her hat).

It's actually not as cold as I imagined it would feel, and Minneapolis has been kind enough and ingenious enough to develop a skyway system (which my roomie and I affectionately call the habitrail). Our walk to the conference center equals about six blocks, but we pass through various office buildings AND Macy's mens' department on the way. It's not a bad little journey, and there is no need to go outside at all. In fact, when we head in for the day, we'll probably not even take jackets.

Today is a fairly light schedule. At 10:30, Nancy Pearl (the only celebrity librarian I know of) is speaking along with several publishers about new books coming out. That lets out at noon, and the formal opening session is at 2:30. The vendors don't even open their doors until 4pm. So we've had time to peruse the schedule of events (set to be far more hectic after today) and plan our attack, plus we've been able to relax and enjoy the city a bit.

We hit the Mall of America last night, but spent most of our time at a restaurant. The amusement park inside has recently been redone (although I have never seen it before... so it was all new to me anyway). The theme has changed from Snoopy/Peanuts to Nickelodeon. Athena would love it. We didn't have a chance to explore it, but the train goes there, so we may go back on Saturday once the sessions are finished. We'll see.

I'm going to dial into work and get through some emails now before Nancy hits the stage.

Leaving On a Jet Plane

I'm off to the frozen north tomorrow. Minneapolis. Cold. Speaking of which, I have one. A cold that is. It kicked it around Friday night, and despite my best efforts to hold it off, it has managed to creep down from my sinuses (where it is still happily dwelling) into my throat. Sort of a Manifest Destiny situation. This would be fine except... well, did I mention I'm getting on a plane tomorrow? I did. Yes, well... it bears repeating...

I'm getting on a plane WITH a freaking head cold. (I have the cold, mind you... not the plane... which would be just silly, right? Although planes do have noses...)

Hmmmm... how many Benadryl did I take?

Easter Joy

We got to sleep in until 9:30! This was enough to make the day go well. However, Chris and I both have some sort of head cold/allergy combination that is pretty much kicking our butts.

Despite that, my morning shower energized me, and I went downstairs to make strawberry waffles. This was met by unanimous approval, including my husband saying that we should have these more often... We'll see, I say.

To make said waffles, I had to clean two nights worth of dishes first AND start the dishwasher (after emptying and refilling). One of the side effects of our budget-minded resolution to eat more meals at home results in a lot more dishes. Now I remember why I ate out all the time.

After breakfast (MORE dishes), I got to relax for about thirty minutes while we watched Barbie as Rapunzel (a movie the Easter Bunny was gracious enough to get for us... I'm guessing because it was on sale at Target for $5. Just guessing, of course. Athena played with her new Barbie horse, and Marcus played with his new Pooh phone. The books they got were largely ignored, although Athena did ask me to read hers to her once. Marcus also got a movie... 101 Dalmations (I'm guessing because the Easter Bunny had a gift certificate to Best Buy), and we haven't watched that yet.

After my 30 minutes on the couch, I started Easter dinner. Fortunately, my mother-in-law offered to make everything and bring it over... my only responsibility was the meat. So I rubbed down a big hunk of lamb (sorry to the gentler folks out there... I am a carnivore) with garlic and rosemary and popped it into the oven. Then I did some more dishes.

We were expecting company around 1pm, so I made an appetizer (Hitipi with pita chips) and set it out. Company arrived (Mom, Mom-in-law, Grandpa, Great Grandma, and Brant). Marcus was napping, but the rest of us ate around 2pm. Except Athena, who has suddenly decided she doesn't like potatoes (or peas, or lamb, or... as it turns out... dessert). I had a glass of wine, which was probably a mistake with my head cold, so after the meal, I wanted nothing but a nap.

Mom and Mom-in-law did most (but not all) of the dishes allowing Chris and me to rest and Brant kept the kids entertained (Marcus was awake by now).

The rest of the evening has been fairly low-key. Athena and Marcus are watching Dora and then Diego and then they are off to bed. I have to finish putting laundry away, do some MORE dishes, then I plan to be in bed by 9pm. I also will pack for my trip tonight. I don't leave until Tuesday, but I might as well get it done so I can enjoy my evening with the kids tomorrow.

And that was my Easter.

The Glamorous Life

As a librarian, travel opportunities are rare. And when they come along, they are often as anti-glamorous as you would expect. And here's proof.

Tuesday, I leave for the PLA (Public Library Association) Conference in BEE-Utiful Minneapolis. I return the following Sunday. Over those six days, the average temp is expected to be 30 degrees F.

The F stands for F**king Cold.

Today, it was 70 degrees F here.

The F stands for Fabulous.

My F's are all "F"ed up.

I've Been Served?

Apparently, Jessey served anyone who would rise to the challenge. And here I am.

Unfortunately, the kids were in bed by the time I saw her challenge, so I am forced to either wake them and bid them to dance for me, or (so I don't get a visit from social services), I have to give you old stuff.

Enjoy. (Taken July, 2005, when Athena was one, and Marcus was brand-spanking new--all signs point to me getting pregnant sometime the week before this was taken).

It's Alive! It's Alive!

Today is a glorious day. For today, a friend came over and looked at my father-in-law's car. Not only did he look at it, but he got it running. This is step one in what I hope will be a short process to rid ourselves of said car.

Don't get me wrong... it's a great little car. But it moved into our garage almost four years ago when Chris' dad passed away, and it's been tied up in The Suck (the estate) since then. We haven't touched it, except to pile crap on it and to kick it whenever I realized that I could have lots more usable storage space if a car that isn't mine wasn't rotting away in my garage.

Fortunately, it did not rot. And I believe I have two possible homes for it once it is fixed up. It needs a good deal of general maintenance, as you can imagine, but said friend was able to drive it to the gas station and back, and fill the tires without serious ramifications.

It's now up to Chris to finalize the paperwork and get it to the mechanic in town. I will be in Minnesota next week for a conference, but I have faith that when I return, I will once again have a garage.

Let the Spring Cleaning begin! Woot!

Sibling Rivalry

I'm way past my jealousy of my sister. Way past it. I mean, it doesn't bother me in the least that she once chatted with Bill Murray for about fifteen minutes before a Broadway show once, just because she actually had the nerve to approach him when she spotted him down the row from her.

And I don't even care that she talked to Elizabeth Taylor for quite some time at a Macy's event she was working.

And certainly, it doesn't faze me in the least that she just traveled to Japan on business. I mean, she did send us all some way cool kimonos.

So I am CERTAINLY not jealous that she is turning Times Square into a Buddhist Garden on Thursday as a publicity event for a Japanese Buddhist organization. A stunt that will be on all the major networks' morning shows (tune into your favorite and marvel at her skillz). And besides, who really wants to escort Mira Sorvino to an awards ceremony so she can get some recognition for her peace efforts? Really. I mean, besides my husband, who would have ulterior motives anyway. Who cares?

*uh... am I looking a bit green to you?*

Freakin' Finally!

I've been wrestling with Windows Movie Maker for months now... ever since I got my new laptop with Vista. Bleh.

Anyway, I have all this footage I want movies of, so I decided to try a little piece of software that came with the Vaio. It doesn't give me a lot of freedom, but the end result isn't bad. Here's some stuff from our November trip to Disney. Hopefully I'll post Thanksgiving soon.

Thanks, Grandma!

The hit gift of the afternoon was from grandma, and was brought all the way from Jolly Old England. Fortunately, as cute as it is, I think grandma and grandpa are willing to let it live at their house to be enjoyed during visits with them. Here's why:

No Messin' Around

That's my boy...

He's Two! (Well, in Two Days)

Pay no attention to the frosting on this cake. Let's just say Non-Stick Aluminum Foil may be a bit of false advertising. Do pay attention to the blue drink, so colored due to the hella-cool ice cube I got in a drink at Disney. Let no one say my drinking does not benefit my kids in some way...

Playdate

This was taken after a particularly vigorous session of dress up with her buddy downtown. The blackened teeth are not poor oral hygiene, but are rather the result of eating sugar cookies with black sprinkles.

Heartbreaker

From The Answering Machine of...

Please note that the following message is based on an actual call. Some items have been embellished or paraphrased to offer the gentle reader some context and to enhance the humor, but all-in-all, it was a pretty damn funny message on its own.

Sunday, March 9, 5:30pm
Hi, uh... Elizabeth. This is Kathryn. First, thanks for having us over on Friday evening. As always, we had a great time, and it was fun to laugh over Megan's imaginary illness. Bummer that kept us from seeing The Other Boleyn Girl together, but what can you do?
So, um... about that imaginary illness... you know... those dots that daycare thought was a rash but the doctor said were just dots? Well, as it turns out, Megan does have Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease. It's pretty contagious. So, uh... sorry. *click*

And I Thought We Loved Penguins

Apparently, Louden, VA doesn't love penguins. Or at least one jerk of a superintendent doesn't.

I am apathetic about many things. This is not one of them. I apologize for being late in sharing this. I'm catching up on my professional reading.

I may buy this book this weekend for Marcus' birthday.

Potty Training Hell

We are currently in Potty Training Hell. Apparently, my worst fear is coming to fruition. I have this terrible concern that I will be unable to ever completely potty train my children. And Athena apparently believes it too.

But why do I even have this terrible paranoia? Oddly, it's my dog.

When I got Murphy, I asked the nice, pimply-faced pet store employee (yes, I bought her at a pet store, and yes, I feel guilty about that) how easy it was to housebreak a dog. I asked this because I had never had a dog and didn't have a clue about the best way to do it. He assured me, in no uncertain terms, that it was very easy. He explained crate training to me, I listened, and I obeyed.

Murphy, unfortunately, did not.

So I took her to a K-9 trainer in a sort of desperation. Murphy learned to sit, stay, lie down, and heel. She was brilliant! They recommended she enter advanced training for things like obstacle courses and frisbee catching. I said I'd enroll her as soon as she was housebroken.

What? Not housebroken? They seemed puzzled. So they offered something really special. They knew I was going to Europe for a couple of weeks that summer. So they offered to board her and housebreak her while I was gone. The cost was reasonable, and their work was guaranteed.

I went to Italy, Greece, and France, and dreamed of returning home to a really well-trained dog. And once again, Murphy crushed my dreams in her cute little paws.

I was told that despite their best efforts, they could not housebreak my dog. These were professionals. They train police dogs to sniff out drugs and take out bad guys. Yet my little princess would look them in the eyes and pee squarely in the middle of their kitchen floor.

They returned my dog to me, tore up my bill, and made me promise to never return.

I will say, this story does have more of a happy ending than you might think. When Murphy grew ill a few years ago, they began to medicate her for her liver issues. Suddenly, and without warning, Murphy ceased to have accidents in the house. She was 13. That's 91 in dog years.

Athena had three accidents at school today. She was doing beautifully last week. This week has simply fallen apart. I am at a loss. I don't have a K-9 school equivalent. And with my track record, it wouldn't matter if I did.

Let's just hope that it doesn't take medication and/or 87 more years for this to stick.

The Extra Long Dry Spell

Yes, we do have a lack of rain here in good old NC, but I'm actually talking about my own dry spell. No posts for weeks? What up, yo?

Well, I certainly have a few things to post about, but my energy has been pushed completely into work lately. And if I'm emotionally drained when I get home, I don't really need to unload through writing. Consequentially, you get nothing to read. I am sorry, and I hope you all haven't given up on me. Here's a little for those of you who have been gracious enough to stick it out.

Small children lead to a constant flow of stuff changing in your house. We are constantly cycling through clothing, shoes, toys, etc. A few weeks ago, I packed up EIGHT BOXES of crap the kids can't wear anymore. I gave one box of girl things to Kathryn because it's stuff that's too small for Sophie's little girl. The other SEVEN boxes will be mailed to Sophie soon for the future Brian Jr. (Did you hear that, Sophie? Seven! Mostly boy clothes! So glad you did things in the right order!)

Then we're also cutting way back on our expenses, which hasn't really curbed the flow of crap into our house. Instead, we cut out the bulk of our eating out, as we discovered that we were spending an absurd amount of money in restaurants each week. So I still go to Target and end up with MORE clothing for the kids... namely Hello Kitty shirts for Athena, who has become obsessed. She calls it Hallo Kitty, which is so darn cute you have to buy the damn stuff. That, and we're using it to bribe her to use the potty, with surprising success. Her gift yesterday for getting 11 potty stickers was the Annie movie on DVD, which she was upset about because she was expecting Barbie. However, ten bars of "Maybe" and she was hooked.

Mom is taking me to Disney in May. We wanted to do a girl's weekend, and she knew I'd like it. Next year, she is promising to take me AND Chris to Europe... Scotland maybe. I'm stoked. She will not take the kids, however, because they are too young to go to Europe, in her opinion. I think she should tell that to all those European babies...

Athena's favorite phrase now is "butt-butt." I TRY to get her to say bum-bum as it isn't quite as crass, but that doesn't have the same ring to her. She says it all the time. Yesterday in the car on the way home from daycare, I got the butt-butt rendition of Rudolph:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Butt-Butt
Had a very shiny butt-butt
And if you ever butt-butt
You would even say it butt-butts

Amy, you SURE you don't want to have kids? They are only two for a little while.

By the way, Marcus has a full vocabulary now. He's growing up so fast. Good thing we're broke or I'd totally have another.

Broken Hearts and Dead Flowers

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely hate Valentine's Day. Yes, I know I used the "h" word, but it's true. I won't go into why, because I've done that before, but I can tell you that tonight, I celebrate my hate for the day.

One of my Young Adult Librarians (she is an adult... she WORKS with our teens... just to clarify) came up with the idea for an Anti-Valentine's Day Masquerade Ball. Which is why I sit here, at 9:30 on a Friday, at work, monitoring the library for any of the 40 teens who showed up to ensure they don't partake in any ... well... typical Valentine's Day behavior in the library. The party goes until 10. The cleanup will extend well past 10:30, I believe.

The ladies and some of the teens decorated our activity room with Christmas lights, gauzy stuff, and dead flowers (courtesy of the local supermarket, who was pleased to find somewhere to dump a particularly bad shipment of V-Day flowers). We even baked broken heart cookies and decorated them with all sorts of Anti-V-Day messages. Awesome.

Within a half hour, the teens had trashed the place. They are still having a great time, but there are rose petals all over the (new) carpet and lots of feet stepping upon them. There are pages from weeded romance novels all over the floor. It's like a scene from Animal House without the beer and with nicer duds.

But the teens are awesome. They are having a great time, they are all dressed up with masks and everything, and I'm pretty happy. Granted, I suspect some of the boys showed up in order to meet girls... which isn't very anti-Valentine's-Day, but it's pretty pro-teenage-boy... so it's forgivable.

Possession is Nine-Tenths

Last night we had a little dinner party. The family that came over includes Mommy, Daddy, Son Age 7, and Twins Age 4. Ellie is one half of the fraternal twins and the poor thing lives with two brothers, so when she and Athena get together, it's girl-stuff galore.

Several things happened that made us laugh. One was that the girls got into Athena's closet (on which I have a child-proof door-knob thingy on to keep her out) and they romped through all her clothes that don't fit, her dress-up clothes, and her flip flops. Ever since then, she has been wanting to wear her sandles (despite the cold weather) and can't understand why I had them locked up.

Later, big brother reported back to us that Athena was painting Ellie's fingernails. AACK!, says I. Chris went up to check it out and found that Athena was A) almost done, B) had insisted on laying a washcloth under Ellie's hands, and C) had done a REALLY good job. She's going to do mine next week. Heckuva lot cheaper than going to the Nail Cafe down the street.

Finally, the best moment, which had little to do with Ellie, actually, was a dinner conversation we overheard. Here is is recreated for you:

Ellie: Athena, what does your name start with?
Athena: A
Ellie: Oh
Athena: And MY Aiden starts with an A too!
Ellie: *blink*
Athena: Not Callie's Aiden, right, Mom? MY Aiden. Aiden is not Callie's.
Me: Meow.

Library Secret #4 - Weeding

Books are a funny thing. No really. Maybe not books, as much as people who HAVE books in their hands. There is something about books that is sacred to most humans. Here's a little game for you:

I'm going to make a statement. Then I'm going to tell you the first thing most people think when they hear that statement. Then I'll tell you what most librarians think. Mind you, we don't always ACT on these thoughts, but just to give you some insight... Let's see if you are more librarian, or more "People."

"I need a book on dog training"
People: Good idea! My dog is acting up and I can find the answer in a book.
Librarian: Your puppy will eat this book. Trust me. Really.

"I have a set of Encyclopedias from 1975."
People: A collector's item! Wow! I bet the library would want these.
Librarian: Oh, how I wish we had a conveyor belt from our gift book receiving area to the shredder dumpster.

"I have all the National Geographics ever published."
People: These must be saved!
Librarian: Look! Kitty litter!

When asked how my day was by People (not my husband, who knows way more about librarianship than he ever expected to), I will sometimes say, "Well, it was good. I got a lot of weeding done. I sorted through about 500 gift books and added about three to the collection, and I cleared shelf space in the stacks by culling out books that haven't been going out and books that look like someone ran over them with a car, then peed on them."

I smile triumphantly and wait for the well-deserved pat on the back. Instead, I get a puzzled expression and then I get a simple, one word question: "Weeded?" Suddenly, I am faced with a trembling lower lip and big round doe eyes, and I remember that I am talking to "People."

"Oh," I say. Well, er... I umm... well, you know... we don't, you know... throw books away, of course. No... of course not. We ... um... send them to the book sale!" I exhale forcefully as I revel in my skills to not really LIE so much as bend the truth. "You know... even the smelly moldy ones... because, you know... you can't throw books away!" *cough*

And then the People in front of me look relieved and we all chuckle and I realize I need to make a hasty exit before someone catches my lie.

The fact is, we throw books away. Well, we shred them... so they don't end up accumulating in the land fill, but we do get rid of them. That book you snuck back into the book drop after you dropped it in the toilet? Yeah, well... we don't have a miracle cure for that. And guess what! By not fessing up and bringing the thing to us (or even better, throwing it out and just telling us you left it in a hotel in Borneo), you just ruined ten other books in the book drop... and that's on a SLOW day.

We also weed old books that aren't getting read any more. We are no longer the Library at Alexandria. We have computers for that. And we don't have unlimited shelf space. Surely this has happened to you at home... you buy a book, get home, and realize there is no room for it on the shelf in your bookcase. So you go through your books and pull a few out to throw...

Oh, wait... no... you just take them to the library, don't you?

The good news is, we make about a quarter of a million dollars at our booksale every year. People don't want to see those books get thrown out!

Update on the Screwing

Turns out we're not so screwed... at least for now. Our builder is paying for everything except the work that the water damage folks did to dry out the crawlspace and treat for mold. They aren't paying that because they "would have done it themselves if we had just waited." So I'm out $150, but it could be a LOT worse.

The builder informed us that our washer was not, in fact, leaking. Rather... the plumbers simply neglected to finish their work back in 2002 when the house was built, and therefore, our washing machine has been draining directly into our crawlspace for 5.5 years now. Lawsy.

So they've installed the necessary pipes and they have promised to fix the support beam, then the garage floor. So we don't have to file with insurance or anything. Huzzah.

We Are So Screwed

Well, fate has pointed its fickle finger to us, apparently, and I say "PSHAW" to your broken windshields, crummy phone/cable service, and bad column on the front porch. When we get screwed, we go all the way.

Let me explain.

No, it's too much. Let me sum up.

Termite inspector came two weeks ago for annual inspection. Found high moisture levels and standing water, but no termites, in our crawl space.

Chris poked around down there and couldn't find the problem.

Chris went down two days later and after crawling around a bit more, found the problem. Rotted floor joist, ruined insulation, and two pipes terminating just above that. He contacted the builder.

Builder emailed him back to say they would be in touch.

Termite people called to schedule another inspection since they have a $25,000 guarantee that we won't have termites, and wet wood is really not on their side when it comes to keeping their money in the bank.

Builder has not been in touch.

We did laundry this weekend. Lots of laundry.

Termite guy comes today and confirms that the exposed pipes are the problem, the damage extends into our garage and could cause our staircase to collapse, and the culprit is most likely our washing machine (even though we haven't noticed a leak at all). He also confirms that the idea of terminating pipes into our crawl space is negligent and stupid AND even if they were only for emergencies, they terminate too high, therefore splashing water on our dry wall and other important bits that keep the house standing upright. We prefer that our house stand upright. Call us sentimental, if you will, but we do.

He also pointed out some problems with our water heater "leak prevention" pan provided by our builder. Basically, if the water heater has to "blow off," the water would spray everywhere before it even thought about going down the "emergency drain" which also terminates in the crawl space. This would ruin walls and carpet upstairs. Not all of them, mind you, but some. I was thrilled.

Called Sears to have someone repair the washer. They can't come until Monday (one week from today) between 8 and 12. (They apparently learned scheduling from Time Warner Cable and glass repair dudes).

Called Nationwide to file a claim. If it's covered, we're looking at a $500 deductible and I am hoping THEY will wrestle with the builders to get the money back. If it's NOT covered, we will have to pay for repairs out of pocket while we wrestle with the builder. (I'm assuming that the builder isn't going to just fork over the dough). We're talking substantial money. I'm guessing in the 10K range. Yes, that's 10 G's. 10 grand. TEN FREAKING THOUSAND dollars.

We looked at our budget last night and realized that we have zero money on hand regularly. Negative really. Not that we needed a budget to tell us this... it just confirmed what we already suspected. I will have to sell stock that my grandfather gave me to pay for this. And pay Capital Gains taxes on it. And I will then have nothing in savings save my random 401K accounts that are dotted all over the US of A.

We are so screwed.

Worst Party Ever Turns Out to be Not So Bad

The weather was not my friend this weekend, but overall, I suppose it worked out okay. Cathy (from Maryland) was already there, and then our neighbors across the street were invited, so we knew we'd have three people at our post-holiday holiday party. Half-way through the day, we thought the Charlotte folks were on their way, so we thought we might possibly be breaking out the air mattresses and we'd heard from our sitter (who is originally from New England) that she was still coming. The weather forecast was calling for it to not drop below freezing until 10pm, so with a 7pm start, we figured we could still have people over, get them to eat the $300+ in groceries I had in the house, then get them back out the door before it got slippery.

Assuming it got slippery.

Which it didn't.

But I get ahead of myself. So around mid-day Cathy and I decided to dive in and just keep making the food in anticipation of a turn for the better in the weather. We'd been cooking all morning, plus I had been doing a lot the night before, but there were still some things to make, and we thought we'd go ahead and do it. At 3pm, the Charlotte crew called to say they had not, in fact, left at 1pm, and were not coming, and then the Greensboro and High Point crews called. I knew the areas west of us were getting hit worse than us, so I was disappointed, but I also prefer my friends to be alive, so I was completely happy with them not coming. I notified folks in the area that the party was still on, and since the weather forecast was starting to say that we would NOT get as much as we thought, and possibly not even really have bad road conditions, they should come if they felt comfortable.

We ended up not making everything on the plan, but most of it, and we had a core group of 15 people, who were kind enough to eat quite a bit. The last stragglers left at about 11pm and reported that the roads were dry as a bone. No chance of black ice, and even if there WERE ice, you would be able to see it because the roads were otherwise dry.

We did throw away quite a bit of food, but still have the cake and brownies and cookies. We also have some cheddar crackers and some pita chips. And lots of beer and wine. Although that, too, was well-loved and at least took a good solid hit. The best part is that since we didn't have a big turnout... I just kept my recipes together for next year. No menu planning for me next year... it's all done!

So You Had a Bad Day...

I called Chris on my way to pick up the kids and magnanimously granted his wish to stay late at work to play XBox 360 and Wii with his coworkers. But only if he promised to do everything I tell him tomorrow. He actually agreed. Of course, I didn't quite put it that way... I only said that he had to get "everything done" as far as errands and cleaning. Which is essentially the same thing. So I'm pleased. (Not smug though, because I know he will just argue semantics with me... for instance, the definition of "need to do.")

I did this without knowing, however, that Athena had a terrible day at school. She was at the end of her rope when I got there, and had been put in time out for giving another girl a raspberry. Her teacher told me that she had spit on another child, but that is not really my definition of spit. Still, it wasn't nice.

Athena was melting down, and as I took her around the school to collect her things (including her little brother), she would stop and collapse to the floor in tears every six steps or so. These were not temper tantrum tears either. Believe me, I've seen enough of those to recognize them. These were tears of abject sorrow. The kid was just depressed. Really sad.

I had her call Daddy, because he can always cheer her up. Didn't work. She just told him she wanted him at home. It broke my heart. It must have destroyed Chris'. Although he is still at work playing games, so it must not have cut too deep.

We ran into Aiden and his family on the way out of the building, and Athena started crying again. When I asked her why, she said "I don't want John to see my accident." (She had an accident while in time out on the playground, and had no more pants to wear). I thought this was very sad and also very exciting, as it means that she is FINALLY embarrassed about her accidents and therefore they may actually CEASE TO EXIST soon. I'm terribly stoked about this, as this whole potty training saga is killing me.

We came home, and she was cheered a bit by changing into clean clothes (go figure) and taking her cough medicine. We had pasta and garlic bread for dinner (yum) and I let them watch Wonder Pets while we ate (normally the tv is off during meals). All this seems to have cheered her. Chris is on his way home now to put them to bed, as I need to start cooking in anticipation of the big par-TAY tomorrow night.

My friend Cathy is on her way here from Maryland to stay for the weekend. She is going to help us prepare for the party and we'll generally talk each others' ears off. It's sort of a big thing for me to have her here because this party originated with the New Year's Party she and I used to throw jointly MANY years ago. She hasn't come to one of these since 2000, which was the last Christmas she lived within 75 miles of me. Before I moved to Raleigh, she and I were inseparable. So I'm really excited.

Oh, but back to the theme of BAD days... it's supposed to snow here tomorrow afternoon. Snow. If no one can get to this party, I'm going to be eating pita chips, hummus, cream cheese and olive finger sandwiches, and chocolate cake for the next three weeks. Bleh.