Here I am!

I bet you guys thought I'd abandoned you, huh.  Been almost a week since I posted.  Sorry about that. Just way too many things going on.

The Hubs has been sick all week, and you know what a pain in the butt men are when they're sick soooo....

I can't use that as an excuse tho.  I've really been struggling with what to write about.  Lots of ideas, but none that are really forming into a full-on post.

I'm thinking about the hurricane hitting the northeast right now, and what all those poor folks are going to have to face in the next few months.  We had flooding here a couple of years ago, to the point where there was only one way to get to my house.  But luckily I live on a hill, and we didn't have any damage.  Just a little inconvenience for awhile.

So, on the heels of that, I'm thinking of the holidays coming up, and how thankful I am for all that I've been blessed with.  I think that might be a post all by itself, but I want to save it for closer to Thanksgiving.

I haven't (yet) done any "how-to" or recipe posts, but I'm thinking I might do some on my holiday meal.  I do the big Thanksgiving meal at my house, and I always get compliments on the whole meal.  If you're not from the South, you may not eat Giblet Gravy with your Thanksgiving meal....which is a real shame, because OMG!  When it's made right, it's to die for.  I have to say, tho, that I wouldn't touch the stuff when I was a kid.  (Not that I was picky or anything...Ahem....)  But after I got married, my Father-In-Law made the BEST gravy ever.  And we were lucky in that he taught me how to make it the Thanksgiving before he passed away.  He wasn't even sick, but somehow, he knew it was time to pass on the recipe.  So......I think it may be time to let others enjoy that recipe.

And I'm also one of those people that are addicted to Pinterest, and I have great and wonderful plans to duplicate all the wonderful crafty things I see on there. (Insert choir music here....)  BUT, I'm also one of those people that are what's known as procrastinators.  I'd love to decorate my house with all manner of homemade pumpkins etc.  But here it is, the day before Halloween, and NADA.  If it weren't for my daughter, we probably wouldn't have even decorated with all the cheesy stuff we've had in a box since LAST year.

And every Christmas, I plan to HAND make my Christmas cards.  I am really good about SENDING Christmas cards, but MAKING them?  Not so much.  I usually end up buying the $2 box of 30 cards and mailing those out.    And since I haven't yet started making any.....I'm thinking it's not looking so good for this year either.  (Sorry, family.  Deal with it.)

So......bear with my while I try to get my jumbled thoughts together and come up with some posts that will have some semblance of order to them. (Unlike this one.)

Oh, and in case I don't get back to you tomorrow.....Happy Halloween!!

So you had a bad day....

Well, not lately...this happened about a year ago, but I wasn't blogging then, so I'm telling you about it now...

October is by definition a busy month around my house.  My daughter is in band (I might've mentioned that...) and we have lots of ballgames and competitions during the month.  Needless to say, by the time October is over, I'm exhausted.  This particular day happened at the end of marching season last year.

First.....I had been battling a poison ivy breakout on my arms for about a week and a half, and it wasn't getting any better.  I decided it was time to see the doctor about it.  So I went, and ended up getting 3 different shots for it.

Next....my husband called, and had locked himself out of his truck, the house, everything.  We live about 10 min out of town, so I had to go home, and unlock the house for him.

Luckily (I guess??) we hadn't left for the band competition yet, which was 3 hours away.  He would've just been out of luck until we got back.

So, not wanting to tempt fate, I decided to ride to the competition with one of the other band moms.  The trip there was uneventful.  But after a trip like that, the first thing I want to do, is use the bathroom and get something to eat.  Then we usually settle in for several hours of marching band performances.  This day was no different, except that AFTER using the bathroom and getting my food, I stepped wrong going back to the bleachers, and twisted my ankle.  But I held onto my food! (Hey, I have my priorities straight!)

So I limped back up the bleachers and got settled back in my spot.  Watched several bands, ate my food, etc.  Later, when I was thirsty, I limped back to the concession stand for a bottle of water, which I promptly dropped UNDER the bleachers the minute I sat down.  Hadn't even opened it yet! (These bleachers were enclosed around the bottom, so there was no hope of getting it back.  I ended up sending a band kid to buy me another one!)

So I'm thinking this day cannot possibly get worse, right? By the way, don't EVER say that...'cause it will!  For most of the competition, we had been observing this group of birds that were circling on the other side of the field. (I bet you can see where this is going.....don't spoil it......just let me tell you.....)

Well, for the past couple of bands, they had been moving closer and closer to OUR side of the field.  So at one point, I heard this unmistakable sound.  Sort of a "SPLAT" kind of sound.  So I took off my visor, and yep, you guessed it.  One of those birds had CRAPPED on my cap.  I guess an optimist would say, "At least it wasn't your head."  I probably would've too, if the universe hadn't been crapping on my head all day!!!

So there you have it, my really bad, sucky, need a do-over day.

And the friend I rode down there with?  We got pulled over on the way back....15 min from home....


Happy Humpday....

Melissa

Kids say the darndest things.....

I think in my last post I told you about my now 17 year old kid, and homecoming, and spending money on dresses and blah blah blah...

Well, I thought today I'd tell you a (semi) short story about when she was oh, 2 years old.

I should start by saying that her daddy is a bit mischievous. (Understatement... ahem.)

So she comes by a bit of that mischief naturally.  One day when she was a wee tyke, we were sitting around not doing much, but she did something that was playful and cute (and I don't remember what it was.)

But her daddy got tickled, and said, "Heh. You little shit...."

Well, talk about indignation!  She straightened her self up to her full height of about 2 feet, and said, (and I quote...)

"I not a little shit!  You a great big daddy shit!"

I still giggle when I think about it.


Happy Thursday!

Melissa

Dresses and jewelry and shoes...oh my!

Sorry I've not posted in a few days....it's been a little crazy in my corner of the world for a few days.

On Thursday, my daughter called right after school and said, "Mom!  We have to go shopping!  I got Junior Homecoming maid!"

Now, I'm not sure how Football Homecoming works where you live, so I'll give you the 411 on ours.....

Our "high school" consists of grades 7-12.  Each class votes for their member of the Homecoming Court.  7th and 8th grade each get one maid, while 9-11 get two, and the Senior Class gets 2, plus the Queen. They vote about a week beforehand, giving the moms ONE weekend to find the perfect dresses.  Yes, I said dresses.  Plural.  They have to have one, for the presentation of the court at school, where the football players escort them out.  Then, that night, they have another presentation, at the game.  In that one, the father's escort them out.  Much ado and fanfare you see.  I'm telling you, it's bigger than prom.  (At prom you only need one dress.)

But you see, I didn't HAVE an entire weekend to find the dresses, because we spent all day Saturday an hour from home at a band competition. (The band did VERY well, BTW.  We came home with 8 trophies!)

So, Munchkin and I, my BFF, and her two nieces set out yesterday on the dress search. Oh, and did I mention that the nearest mall is an hour away?

The first place we went had a TON of dresses.  She tried on and tried on and tried on.  We found a couple of contenders but nothing that screamed, "the one."  She had looked online at several also, but none of them seemed to be in the store.

Then, after we had sent the nieces to go look at Sunday dresses for themselves.....one of them comes tearing back across the store with a dress that Munchkin had seen online.  (She was very proud of herself, not that I can blame her.)

I tell you, my child was MEANT to have this dress....not only was it in her size, and looked fabuloso on her, but when we checked out, we found out that store doesn't even CARRY that dress.  It had been returned one hour earlier by someone who bought it in another city 4 hours away!!!  Tell me fate doesn't exist!

So that took care of one dress.  Now, she's had homecoming maid before.  Once for basketball in 8th grade, and football in 9th.  (Yes, this kid is way prettier and far more popular than I ever thought about being.)  Anyway.  My "go to" place for these kinds of dresses has always been....well, a national chain, who recently changed its "business model."  I won't mention their name, but their initials are JCP.  Ahem.

Well, changing their business model is an understatement.  That store had FIVE dresses.  All floor length, which simply isn't done.  (Those are reserved for pageants, dontchaknow.)  And this skinny kid of mine wears a ONE.  These were well, let's just say, several sizes bigger than that.  And no, I wasn't in the wrong section.  This was ALL they had.  Very disappointing.

So we ended up back at another store where she had found a dress she "might" want, and got that one.  Black and sequins, and she's dressing it up with a (hot) pink belt, matching shoes, necklace, all that jazz.  It looks really cute on.

And it only took us 5 hours!!

I hate to admit it, but I'm gonna miss this stuff after she graduates...

Happy Monday!

Melissa

Frustration.....Thy Name is Algebra!

COLLEGE Algebra to be specific.

Munchkin has always excelled in math.  She loves it.  She was even accelerated in the math program.  A year early on everything.  Algebra in 8th grade, Geometry as a Freshman, Algebra II as a Sophomore, and now College Algebra as a Junior.  She was even going to get college credit for it. Notice I said "was."

She's having to drop the class.  I hate this like I hate an ingrown toenail.  This all started last year in Algebra II.  I knew that she struggled initially with that class, but she ended up the year with a B minus, so I really thought she'd be ok.  I don't admit to being wrong often, but I was wrong about this.  It seems that the only reason that she did as well as she did last year, is because the tests were EXACTLY the same as the study guides for the tests.  She was MEMORIZING it!

Now I don't think there was ever any intent to do anything wrong on her part.   She really thought she was learning it.  I'm not normally the type to blame my child's shortcomings on the teacher, BUT......

First, he took very few grades.  So if you did get a bad one, it was very difficult to recover.

Second, the ones he did take were worth very few points.  So if you missed one question, you got a low grade. (See item one.)

Third, (according to my child), he wasn't very helpful when asked questions.  He was a former college professor and I feel he treated them like it was college.  True, this is only one side of the story, and I do like to give people the benefit of the doubt.  (But seriously, if he had been teaching college, what is he doing teaching high school in this Podunk town?)

However.....when she was struggling last year, I sent a very lengthy email to this teacher, expressing my concerns about the low number of grades he was taking, and asking what I could to do help ensure my child's success, and what suggestions did he have....(blah blah blah).

The answer I received from him?  "More grades are on the way."

REALLY???  Livid doesn't even describe it.  I called the school and talked to the counselor.  Didn't get very far there either.  I was told that they'd had several complaints about this teacher and they were looking into it (blah blah blah.....am I repeating myself?)

And Munchkin's grade DID start improving, so I sort of dropped it. My bad.  I know she's at the age where she has to start taking responsibility for her own stuff, but I should've been more diligent.

So, needless to say she doesn't have the "prerequisite knowledge" to pass college algebra.  YET.  We have a tutor that is going to be working with her between now and her Senior year.  She's going to give it another shot then.  The tutor is actually the one who advised us it would be better if she dropped the class.  After working with her a couple of times to try to get her grade up, she realized that the hole is just too deep for her to dig out of it.  And the pressure would just be too much with all her other coursework.

Did I mention that she has LAST year's teacher again this year for another class?  Pre-Cal/Trigonometry.
SO looking forward to the parent/teacher conference in a couple of weeks......


Happy Hump Day!

Melissa

"Mad" just doesn't cover it....

I've been HACKED!!!  And I'm really PO'd about it.  I have an email address that I've been using for some 20-odd years, and I have never (repeat NEVER) had a problem with it, until today.  I started getting weird text messages about it when I was gone to lunch today.  So when I got back and checked it, sure enough.

Apparently I'm in London and have been robbed and am penniless and need EVERY SINGLE PERSON in my contact list to send me enough money to get a new passport and get home.

Have I ever mentioned the fact that I've never been outside the US?  yeah......

So while I was able to get back into my account and change the password and beef up the security, everything is gone.  Every email I've kept, every contact. EVERYTHING.  I've contacted the company, but I'm betting I'm out of luck.

Let's just say my Monday isn't going as planned..........

So much for leisure time...

When exactly did our lives get so hectic? I mean, weren't computers supposed to make our lives easier?  We have more technology than ever before in history, but less and less time to enjoy it.

I grew up WITHOUT a computer or a cell phone, heck, even without a microwave!!  (How the crap did we warm things up??)  I don't remember feeling overwhelmed all the time like I do now. True, I didn't have the responsibility of raising a family or making ends meet, but that's not even the kind of "overwhelmed" I'm talking about.  There are simply too many things to do these days.  

We have access to SO much information anymore, but we don't take the time to enjoy that access.  When I was around 23, I lost my grandfather, and at 28, my grandmother (who raised me by the way, so it was like losing my parents.)  In going thru their papers, I came across some genealogy information that my great-uncle   had compiled over around 20 years.  It was around 13 pages of information going back to 1894.  He got all that information by writing letters and calling people and actually going to courthouses to get information.  And he did a wonderful job.  Well, this got me interested in it too.  A few years later I discovered the magical internet.  And talk about available information!  In no time I had expanded greatly on that little bit of information I had, all from the comfort of my living room. (The 13 page report is now nearly 200.)  I really enjoyed all the digging too.  I still would, IF I HAD TIME.  

Oh occasionally I'll get an email or come across an obit that has info I need, and I'll dive back into it for a few days, but for the most part I don't even mess with it anymore.  Between Facebook and Pinterest and blogging, and scrapbooking, Farmville, and band contests and football games with Munchkin, I can't keep everything straight.  I'm a listmaker from WAY back, but even my lists are disorganized right now.Oh, and did I mention I have a 40 hour a week job too?  

I LOVE to read (Stephen King especially). I used to be in the middle of a book at all times.  Not so much anymore.  I have a book on my Kindle right now that I'm loving, I just can't find time to sit down and read it as much as I'd like.  And reading is something that used to really relax me and take me away from the pressures of daily life.  

I hate to say it, because I'm a bit of a computer geek, and I love all the things they can do.  But weren't our lives easier, or maybe just simpler, before they came along?  I think there's so much to do, we can't possibly do it all.  

So.  Maybe it's time to sit down (and make a list!) and decide just WHICH activities are the most important to me.  I know that number one will be anything to do with Munchkin, considering she’s the most important thing in my life.  I guess if I gauge everything else off that, I can’t go wrong, huh.

Here’s hoping you have a great Friday, and a great weekend, too.  (And if you don’t hear from me until Monday, I promise, I’ll be back {just TRY to read that without hearing Arnold Schwarzenegger in your head.})

 Melissa

Need a little help

People, I need prayers!  Specifically this Saturday when I'll be spending some time in hell chaperoning a bus full of band geeks kids.  Now don't get me wrong, I love every single one of these kids.  Heck, I was a band geek myself once upon a time. (Saxophones ROCK!) Ahem.

The part I'm dreading is the actual riding of a bus for a solid hour one way.  I do realize it could be worse.  We're making a trip in a couple of weeks that will be THREE hours one way.  However, I didn't volunteer to ride the bus on that little trip. (Yes, I volunteered for this Saturday, mainly because I didn't want to drive down there by myself and none of my "band mom" buddies are going this time, AND they needed a chaperone.)

Now, one thing I'd really like to know is this:  why do we get tickets for not putting our kids in all manner of safety seats/seat belts in our cars? Apparently, it's ok for them not to be belted in if there are 50 of them on a  death trap school bus?  I'd really like someone to explain to me why, when the government has their nose in EVERY OTHER aspect of our lives, they haven't thought it was a good idea to mandate seat belts on school buses?

Where was I?  oh yes, the riding of the dreaded bus for an hour.  My tailfeathers may be a lot bit more padded than they were when I was bus-riding age, but somehow, I don't think that will help.  Most of those things ride like a log-wagon.  Then after the ride, I will be sitting on bleachers for around oh, 8-10 hours, followed by another bus ride home.

This doesn't even include the pain responsibility of keeping my eye on all those kids.  Now, as a general rule, band kids are better behaved than say, football boys.  (Don't get your britches in a bunch, football moms, you know it's true.)  But there is the occasional couple who are a bit too touchy feely. I remember being a kid on the band bus, and while I never did ANYthing wrong (ahem), I know it's a good makeout place for young couples.

Have I mentioned that my daughter's boyfriend is ALSO in band?  And they like to sit together on the bus?  Yeah.  Luckily, I'm friends with SEVERAL other band moms whose children have "significant others" in the band.  We are all pretty good at keeping an eye on each other's children. My spy network is vast.  So even tho I'm the mom doing the spying this week, I have no doubt that my kid always has someone's eye on her.

Please don't get me wrong, I LOVE LOVE LOVE being involved in my daughter's life. (Much to her chagrin.)  But this bus riding thing?  Not so much.


Happy Tuesday!
Melissa