Friday, September 28, 2007

I wish I knew....

how to link to a static page......because this one will change

Boy Scout Expo Camp Out Weather

and I really want everyone to see that is says 54 degrees and heavy rain.

7,000 muddy stinky wet Scouts!!!

who has time to blog????

with all the new tv shows on I barely have time to sleep!

Monday, September 24, 2007

reason #37 that I am the world's coolest mom:

Thursday as dh was walking in the door from work, R and I were walking out. why? because I drove my 11 year old son 2 hours to go see a concert. a concert in the Wal-Mart parking lot! really!!

The Plain White Ts and Boys Like Girls were playing. neither of us had heard anything by BLG but PWT sing one of my current favorite songs: Hey There Delilah. wednesday I had purchased their most recent deluxe album and R and I had listened to it a few times and by the time we had gotten to the l-o-v-e-l-y Reno Wal-Mart we had found a few other songs that we liked maybe even more than Delilah!

on the way up we stopped at In & Out for dinner. Auntie Arlyn will tell you that this is like striking gold for R. I don't know why! but having already had it earlier in the week when Arlyn visited and then getting it again Thursday made it a banner week even before the concert. we chatted and sang throughout the drive up. I really enjoyed the time we had to ourselves. I was even able to get in a plug for continued communication through the teenage years! lol!!

when we got to Wal-Mart we were a little lost because our lovely directions didn't actually tell us WHERE the store was. luckily we found some people who don't speak English very well and got horrible directions. despite that, we managed to find the right place. really, how can you miss a big ol' tent? well....the tent was for a tire sale or something. but it was located near enough the concert venue (::cough cough::) that we found where we were going.

they had an actual stage set up. so much for me thinking it was going to be a 3 song set on the back of a flatbed truck! lol!! I really would have been sad if that had been the case. at the most crowded I think there were probably 1,000 people loitering in the parking lot with us ranging from infancy to maybe 45ish. there were several parent-types like me that stayed on the outs of the crowd and let their kids go join the fray. R never went to far. he isn't embarrassed by me yet! lol!

anyway....before I put you to sleep......Boys Like Girls played for 45 minutes. they were really good and I think I need to check out a cd or 2. while they were playing we noticed some movement in and out of the tour bus. I suggested R might want to go see if he could get some autographs. well....the security guard was doing her job and wouldn't let him through. but I did notice two guys walk out from the backstage/tour bus area. I hesitated a moment and then approached them. I apologized for bugging them. I mentioned our 2 hour drive, that we wouldn't be able to stay afterwards due to the drive home, and if they wouldn't mind, could they get my son's cd signed by the band???? OH YEAH BABY!! sure thing they said.... they just wanted to listen to BLG for a few songs and then they would take care of it! and sure enough they did. in fact, while they were back there, a woman started talking to R. after the guys came back with the cd she came over to R and me and confirmed that they had gotten it autographed. we chatted about the band and tour a bit and she asked if we were going to be there the next night. no because I don't think I could handle that drive 2 days in a row. I told her that was why we couldn't stay for the autograph session afterwards and that I was so thankful the guys had signed the cd for us. I told her I was kinda bummed because I would have loved a picture of R with the band. she told me they wouldn't be doing photos so we wouldn't be missing anything! (SOOOO nice to know huh?!?!? and I don't mean that sarcastically.....that woman potentially saved me 2 hours! lol!) anyway..... she handed R her backstage pass as a souvenir! he was BEAMING!!! (and mom got serious brownie points for getting his cd signed!)

then Plain White Ts played. THEY ROCKED!!! there was only one song we didn't recognize and when they did play Hey There Delilah the audience sang louder than the lead singer. R and I totally rocked out and had SUCH a blast! they played for just about an hour. we were excited because they played the songs that we REALLY loved off the cd we had bought. and if Delilah is the only song of theirs that you have heard, I seriously recommend that you check out their other songs. they can rock it.....but at the same time all their music has a joyful, youthful optimism in it........ even when they are talking about being dumped or something! lol!! the guys obviously work well together as the show gave off a very personal feel. I know that being in such an odd venue (do you call a parking lot a venue??) had something to do with it. but it had a small club feel to it. on the way home, before falling asleep, R mentioned several times that he really likes PWTs. he is already scheming being able to go to their next show near us in November.

btw.......my excuse for not blogging about this earlier is that LM is having their 5th Anniversary celebration! it is SO BIG (how big is it???) that the weekend crop is lasting a week! come check it out!!!

Thursday, September 20, 2007

the many adventures of Sunflower Seed Boy.....

so with the change in R's school, we now drive about 20 minutes to school every morning. I guess it is good to have this quality bonding time, even though there is another kid in the car (no, I am not referring to D as "another kid"..... he is dropped off when we pick up B - the other kid).

as we settle in to our morning driving routine, we have noticed things:

Sunflower Seed Boy - duly named because he wears a David's Sunflower Seed backpack. he was our first *find* and the boys have fun making up little stories about him and how he got his backpack and what special powers he has. and, just so you know, this guy is in high school.

Handlebar Helmet Man - if we do make up a big ol' story, this guy is going to be a bad guy. he was previously mentioned on my 9-11 blog entry because he has his bicycle helmet with him every day..... hanging from his handlebar! we figure when he gets hit the handlebar will be just fine!

Hall Monitor Boy - he goes to the boys' school and we pass him just as we are reaching school. sadly, he got this name because he has a whistle that he has around his neck and the boys were making fun of it and him. we have determined that he is in 7th or 8th grade, but he is a small child for his age. after some gentle chiding, the boys have started to become his friends. they still don't know his name and he is still referred to as Hall Monitor Boy. his saga includes the special powers that he gets from the whistle.

and lastly to enter the scene is Super Dude! we were shocked to find yesterday that Sunflower Seed Boy has a brother...... who wears a Superman backpack. since Super Boy had already been taken, he was named Super Dude. he looks younger that SSB and we don't know why we haven't seen the two of them together before. in fact, we had seen SD before and had temporarily mistaken him for SSB! interesting, isn't it?!?! anyway......Super Dude is Sunflower Seed Boy's sidekick and we haven't figured out any powers or a story line for him.

this morning it rained and we didn't see any of our super heroes. funny to hear the boys comment that someone wasn't in *their* spot where we normally see them.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

September 19th is Talk Like a Pirate Day!!!

This is my 3rd year celebratin' this day, mateys......and in honor of the specialness of this day, we be havin' a special pirate-like dinner of all special pirate-like foods.

A silly day, to be sure. but when have ye noticed me to be serious, matey?

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

better than singing "I want candy"?!?!?!?

today was produce day. if you don't know already, we get organic fruits and veggies every Tuesday for 20 weeks a year. sadly this was our 18th week. I can't believe it has gone by so quickly!

anyway....today's shipment had some gorgeous looking oranges and peaches in it. R tells us that he used to not like peaches but these are always so good that he now loves them. then he starts singing "millions of peaches.....peaches for me." lol!!

so....yes.....you guessed it! now I have that song running through my head! of course I do, right?!?!?



Movin to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
Im movin to the country Im gonna eat me a lot of peaches
Im movin to the country Im gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin to the country Im gonna eat a lot of peaches
Peaches come from a can they were put there by a man
In a factory downtown
If I had my little way Id eat peaches everyday
Sun soakin bulges in the shade

Movin to the country Im gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin to the country Im gonna eat a lot of peaches
Im movin to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches
Movin to the country gonna eat a lot of peaches

I took a little nap where the roots all twist
Squished a rotten peach in my fist
And dreamed about you woman
I poked my finger down inside makin a little room for a ant to hide
Natures candy in my hand or can or a pie

Millions of peaches peaches for me
Millions of peaches peaches for free
Millions of peaches peaches for me
Millions of peaches peaches for free

Monday, September 17, 2007

so then the police detective called me....

nice lead in, huh?!?!?

so this morning after dropping the boys off at school I kinda witnessed an accident on the freeway. sadly (or atleast for the detective calling me) I didn't actually SEE the accident. I saw everything fly into the air and then the smashed up car on the side of the road and all the stuff from the car thrown all over the freeway. so like a good citizen I called 911. traffic was already going reasonably slow because we had just watched a police officer s-l-o-w-l-y pull over a truck that had been driving in the car pool lane and couldn't catch a clue that he was the one that the cop was flashing his lights and blaring his sirens for! lol!! anyway, I called it in as a single car accident because I couldn't see a second car. but since then it has really bugged me. I consider myself an observant person. and while I am a little sleep deprived today I still know that there was something wrong with the scene this morning.....

the car looked like it had been rear-ended.....but there was no second car anywhere. there was no car fleeing the scene....and from the extent of the damages on the first car I seriously doubt it COULD have fled the scene. that first car started as a 4 door and was a 2 door when I drove past. so this missing car has been haunting me....making me question what I saw or didn't see. and I don't like that feeling.

so then the police detective called me......see where this is leading to?!?!? he had my phone number because I called in the accident. he asked if I had seen the accident and I told him what I had told the 911 operator. he asked me a couple other questions and I told him about my quandry. well.....they can't figure it out either which is why he called! lol!! currently they believe it was a single car accident and the driver somehow spun her car around and that the damage to the rear of the car was from the guard rail!!! INSANE!! based on where she was, she HAD to have been entering the freeway.....and that entrance (I use often) is pretty straight so I really can't figure out what happened that would make her spin. it isn't like there is anywhere to gain speed and then have to make a turn or something. seems the police are having the same problem.

but atleast it means that I didn't *miss* a car. and it explains why there were personal items strewn so far out across the freeway. and thankfully no innocent people were hurt!

(btw......had a nice weekend. the concert on Friday night was great......Def Leppard, Styx, and Foreigner.......I knew all the songs except 2 by DF. impressive considering they weren't/aren't my type of music! oh and the River Cats won Friday night so no game for us to see Saturday night. got to spend some quality time with A and the boys at the bowling alley Sunday afternoon. gonna miss her while she is under internet silence in China for the next 3 weeks!!)

Thursday, September 13, 2007

12of12 - the September 2007 edition!

welcome to my 12of12 FIRST ANNIVERSARY!!!! if you have no clue what I am talking about, please check out Chad Darnell's blog (he is one of my links in that column on the right) I first started participating in this last September (obviously) on my old blog. it was great since I had just purchased a new car and have been able to keep track of my mileage visually! lol!!

so.....as you can see, in 12 months and 2 weeks I have put 7,478 miles on my car! not bad, huh?!?! that is about half of what Hyundai thinks I should have put on my car! they keep sending me notices that I need my 15,000 mileage check up! lol! I am sure I am putting on more now as I have to drive R to school in the morning.

also notice the temperature. it seems that summer is over as it hasn't broken 80 the past 2 days and has gotten rather COLD overnight!

R and I had a SUPER DUPER EXCITING picture we were hoping to take for 12of 12. except he missed the shot. hopefully we will have it for you next month.....but in replacement, we offer you the *dog roof* shot. when the car moved the dog stuck his head out the sun roof. when the car stopped, he ducked back down inside! lol!!

like I said, I have to drive R to school now. I also take another boy (obviously not pictured). this is them being dropped off a block from school so they can be cool kids and not be dropped off by Mommie! lol! btw.....the other kid is just outside of the picture frame making the funniest face he is capable of making! gotta love boys!

this month's bonus word was "enlighten".........well.......while this isn't what I had intended as my bonus shot, I only took 12 this month (courtesy of the missing shot previously mentioned....and a few missed shots I will refer to later). I "enlightened" my bangs with a pair of scissors. it isn't as bad as it looks in this horribly framed photo.....but atleast I can see! (cuz before I couldn't!)

breakfast was a Noah's sesame bagel (warm but not toasted) with lox schmear. YUM!!!!

gas......not good......but not the worst I have seen.

the book I am currently reading. I really like Marcia Muller and was willing to fork over $$ for the hardback. I will donate it to the library when I am done and get some of that $$ back as a charitable donation. sweet!

when R gets home from school every day, he calls me. then he calls when he leaves to go pick up D......or meet D at school to get picked up for bowling. his ringtone is "Sk8ter Boi" from Avril Lavigne. I think my office is tired of hearing it 3x a day!

bowling boys. Weds league now because we missed so many Saturdays. a friend from high school.....yes high school.....has a son on R's team so he picks up the boys and takes them for us. SOOO wonderful! SOOO thankful for him! (the boys are too!)

weirdo that I am......I took a picture of the EMPTY day on the calendar! they are so darn rare around here! in fact, see the 13th......J forgot to write down a meeting so the 12th was the ONLY day without something all week!

for dinner we had some minestrone soup (minus the pasta.....long story). I had my FAVORITE crackers (well......Cheez Its are my favorite too but they are completely different KINDS of crackers, right?!?!?) anyway, I only like the Thin Crisps and for some reason they are really hard to find. they are supposedly lighter (you know....enlightened crackers! lol!!) but I just like them better!

I should have taken a photo of dinner. the soup was marvelous and a healthy dinner. afterwards, R and I watched the season finale of Fat March. that was really a great show! I cried!! it was SOOO amazing to see those people walk all the way from Boston to Washington DC. they were definitely *enlightened* by the end! lol!

feeling all enthused from the show, R and I went for a walk....you know....to enlighten ourselves! lol! should have taken a picture of something for that......like our shoes, right?!?!? we also saw some miniature ponies in the park. I DID take a picture of them.....with my cell phone. I tried to e-mail it to myself at home twice and it didn't work. so I gave up! just pretend I posted a photo of a horse that stands to about my waist, okay??

last but not least......here is an out of focus photo of Stubbs......R's leopard gecko. he is cool!! I love his bold coloring. I wish he would come out and play more......but he is too cool for that! lol!

so there was my 12of12. I should have made myself a little 12of12 cake to celebrate my anniversary.......but yesterday was kinda a dud day for me.

ETA: so I guess the bonus word was UNEXPECTED.....don't know where I got enlightened from. anyway....that mistake fits in perfectly with the kind of day yesterday was!

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

to some.....today is the same ol' same ol'

September 11th........the "where were you" moment of our generation.......is today. last year my blog was dedicated to the memory of Brandon Buchannan. I had intended to bring that post forward to this blog this morning. but somehow the rest of my life didn't realize I would need some time to do that. I still needed to hurry two slowpoke boys out the door to school.

once out the door and on our way it was obvious that there were several people who thought of today as the same ol' same ol'

.........the butt head in the white truck who just about took out the car in front of me because he HAD to be 2 cars farther ahead and GUNNED it the minute he saw the merge sign. he was lucky he hadn't just pushed me INTO the car in front of me
............. the creep who went through 3 cigarettes in the time I was stuck behind him in traffic this morning. how do I know 3? well.....because I saw him toss all 3 butts out his window. heavens.....certainly didn't want his car to stink like old cigarette butts, did he?!?!?
..........the woman who was putting on her eye makeup while driving. no.....not at red lights......WHILE she was doing 45 down a street with kids walking on the sidewalks and kids riding bikes. oh yes.
......... and then last but not least would be the bike rider who was obeying traffic laws and riding his bike IN the traffic lane to make the turn at a busy and scary intersection.......while his bicycle helmet hung from his handlebars. yep! definately going to provide ooodles of protection there! wouldn't want his handlebars to get cracked open if he were to get hit......by say........ some butthead in a white truck who couldn't be all of 10 seconds of patient, huh?!?!?

today of all days you would think people might take a second to value their own lives and the lives of those around them.

Monday, September 10, 2007

and 2 PSAs for the post of 1!!!!

LM's anniversary crop is coming up! buy your kits now!!!

Sacramento River Cats made the PCL Championships! GO CATS!!!! (though true to his nature, R will probably cheer for New Orleans Zephyrs when we go to the game! lol!!)

nice matters award!

seriously! can you believe it? someone said that me and my little ol' blog here help make the internet a nicer place!! huh......she must be ignoring all those "complaining" posts! lol!!



so.......if you wanna backtrack, Becca nominated me after being nominated by Angie. so to be fair, I wanted to nominate people who weren't included on either of their lists. some of these people DON'T read my blog......but I love reading their blogs and think that they definately meet the criteria: "bloggers who are nice people; good blog friends and those who inspire good feelings and inspiration. Also for those who are a positive influence on our blogging world. "

1. Moriah - who shares the good times and bad times
2. Jeff J - who thankfully found a home on the web after he left radio
3. Chad - if only for turning me on to 12of12 (2 days away......btw)
4. Cathy Z - if she only blogged and never scrapped again I would STILL love her!
5. Wendy - in so many ways she is an inspiration
6. Sharon - because it means I can keep up with her life without daily phone calls.
7. Dianne - reading a post from her is liking sitting down for cookies and cocoa and a little chat.

I would have had to include an 8th but since a certain State freaked the beegeezers out of a potential teacher about things like being human, his blog is gone. however, if it had been up I would have said that it he provided me humor, companionship, and the inspiration to step outside the box!

anyway.......according to the rules these people are supposed to now nominate 7 others. but hey, that means they need to READ my blog first! HA!!!!

Thursday, September 6, 2007

and today you will be GLAD there aren't pictures!!

because today I am talking about insect bites.

annually our dog Tessa gets a flea. yes, a single flea. don't know why or whatever.....but you can tell when she gets it because she is a scratchfest......and because that night in bed my leg becomes a roasted turkey leg at a Ren faire! I wake up with dozens of bites because my leg is tastier than our poor dog. then we give Tessa a bath and the flea, scratchfest, and turkey leg eating contest are over. the end! lol!!

but it isn't this that I am talking about. there is some other bug out there and I think it is a State Fair bug because I was like this the week after the Tesla concert also. I have HUGE bumps on my feet and legs. they look more like water blisters than welts. oh, yes, and they ITCH like crazy! like wakeyouupinthemiddleofthenighttoscratch kind of itch! no one else in my family has had this problem. I just think there is something about me (blood type, vitamin B deficiency, or whatever) that makes me look like a chocolate cake to insects! needless to say......I am using hydrocortisone cream like it is regular body lotion and walking like I have a groin injury (oh yes, because my pants rub against the ones on the inside of my thighs and it HURTS).

lovely imagery isn't it? now aren't you thankful I don't have pictures?

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

I have my reasons.....or excuses.....

for not blogging. first, I wanted to tell you about the All American Rejects concert but figured I should post one of my pictures from it. so I didn't do it. then I wanted to talk about farm camp and the new baby piglets that were born. but figured it would be a much nicer post with a photo. then there was Weird Al on Monday night.....again, some GREAT photos......

so now it is Wednesday and I don't think I have blogged in a week! lol! I'll get better. really I will!