Lost in Space

Last week was spent with the computer down and out in Beverly Hills. Therefore I could not blog, and all of you were miserable with out me, I just know it.

I have still not missed a workout since my bout with the stomach flu, but have still not lost one pound (except for the weight I lost when I HAD the stomach flu, go figure). I worry my bet with LP may not be fulfilled, I will keep trucking though. I know muscle weighs more than fat, and this is what keeps me going on the treadmill.

I'm so excited...and it is not because the weather has been especially awful lately. Within one hour last week I cemented my summer concert plans and spent mega bucks...on FOO FIGHTERS tickets AND Tom Petty & the Heartbreaker tickets w/ Steve Winwood!!! So LP and I have guaranteed us at the least two date nights for this summer. I love Steve Winwood. Tom Petty, he's OK, but it is at the outdoor venue in St. Louis and just about any concert there is fun. Plus I'll be with LP and his new car, if he lets me ride in it still after scratching it.

Next we have my big purchase. Yes, I've been saving my pennies, nickels and dimes to get it. I did an 'outside' job to make the money to afford myself an iPhone. It is so much fun, I love it and the main reason I got it was the iTunes capability. It is very fun to work out with. It was between that and the Tilt, which is the much less advertised equivilant to the iPhone. I got the latter because the Tilt is for nerdy techno geeks like my husband, and I'm just a soccer mom tryin' to get through the week without forgetting to make it to a practice.

No, this blog has not become a cell phone review site, but I have to tell you that everyone in America should have access to YouTube the way I do. Okay, maybe not. For posterity, the first video I watched was, naturally, the Foo Fighters "Pretender" video, and then, Men At Work's "Down Under". Because I am an incredibly diverse individual. And my instant access to You Tube has taught me watching walruses dance to Michael Jackson may just be more important than any presidential race going on.

OK, so last but certainly not least it was Rug's First Communion this weekend, and we had the family over. This is what I wanted to post last week, about how my in-laws are just the most fun-loving gang of people you'd ever want to be around. I kid, of course. They're direct from Satan's Helpers, and could use a little Tequila dancing to cheer them up (and if you know that vague Pee Wee Herman reference, you are forever endeared to me).

Anyway, my mother-in-law from Hell...(which could be shortened to MILFH but that looks far too close to MILF which, in case you didn't know, is an acronym for something far nicer than she ever will be) has in the last 12 years of my wedded bliss to LP, destroyed my esteem and beaten my self-assuredness to a pulp. I have chosen not to speak of these people often on this blog, with exception for the one sentence mention of their insanity, because I do not like to give them air time. Plus I never wanted to be the person who smack talks behind their backs.

Okay, I'm just rambling. The point is, my MILFH has made it quite clear that she believes I am a blundering idiot. Which I am not. (Contrary to what I may have told you) She has taken it upon herself to declare HER daughter (my sister-in-law, my husband's step-sister) the Official Cake Maker of Any and All Family Get Togethers. So when I told her I would be making the cake for Rug's Communion, she scoffed and said, "Well, I think SIL should do it. You need to ask her first before you do it." Uh, no, I don't. It's MY kid's Communion, I should be able to make the cake, right?

So, for 2 weeks I spent researching cake decorating, and planning and buying and more or less making the kitchen a den for cursing and pan throwing. LP steered clear. Finally, I achieved a final product, and while everyone raved about how good the cake was, all my MILFH said was, "I couldn't help but notice you don't have any ROSES on your cake."
Ogre.

Okay, getting that off of my chest, there were many, many other things said and done yesterday that makes me come to the conclusion I can no longer allow such negative behavior be viewed by my children. I'm terrible at confrontations, but something must be done. Any in law advice would be of great help. I really prefer positive attitudes and general respect of others to what I've been dished out here.
But, once again being a Tigger and not an Eeyore, the day was beautiful, Rug was gorgeous, and I am so blessed with an amazing family.

And Mo has finally learned how to say "Mommy"!!! She still says "Spongebob" a lot more, but I'll take anything I can get at this point!! So she confuses me with a square sponge, so what?

Here is a picture of MY cake, and of course it is not from Ace of Cakes but it was made with a helluva lot of love:

take the 80s quiz

I was Righteous!
I scored 90% on the

Take the 80s quizby SheGoddess: Quick Weight Loss

I believe the night LP fell in love with me was at a party and I was the only one who knew who sang "Love My Way". My 80s music knowledge seriously cuts into my brain's ability to remember where I left my purse.

It's back Baby...Stuff Portrait Friday!

So funny, but I was just thinking the other day how Stuff Portrait Fridays always made me motivated to post. It has returned, and Kristine has given us an easy (but is it?) assignment this week:

Your favorite Picture

So I am going to cheat, as I usually do, and give you my favorite pictures of each of my family members instead.



I've shown this one before, it's me in New York on my 30th birthday. That was such an awesome trip.



Mmmm. LP. 2005.



Al winning 1st place in a soccer tournament. That smile is genuine! I wish I could sell that!



I know, this also has Al in it, but if this picture does not represent all that is my Rug, I don't know what is. Her shirt says it all. She is a funny, funny girl.


here is a better one. Striking a pose, as usual.

of course, my little Mo.

So, did you play???

5 Things Making Me Laugh

1. My daughter telling me, "When my teacher was handing out the math tests, my stomach took a lurch!"

Uh...what?

2. My dad telling me that when they met with the lawyer for my aunt's estate, my mother left the room and the lawyer said to my dad, "Sir, do you drink?" My dad said, "No, why?" The lawyer gestured towards my mom and replied, "You probably should."

3. Mo has some new dance moves, including the "Right Leg Stomp", and the "Shoulder Shrug". I need to find how to get video on this blog, you would laugh too! **As a bonus, LP laughs when you ask her, "Where's Mommy?" And she she says, "Da-da?"

4. Lewis Black. Granted, he always makes me laugh, but recently on Comedy Central, he voted Oprah the Root of All Evil. I couldn't agree more. If my mother read that last sentence, HER stomach would take a lurch.

5. The weather. Rain all week, rain this weekend...but today, today the sun is shining. What more could anyone ask?

Last Day of Disney

I have to finish this before I go back to Disney next time. This is the last day, so we didn't do too much so it won't be a long post. Hopefully.

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On our last day we got up pretty early and checked out of our hotel. I was finally able to return a sweatshirt that I had purchased where the guy at the store had accidentally left the big ink thingee on it, and the women at the gift store were insisting I find the receipt first before they took it off. Luckily I found it, on the last day, as we were packing up to leave!

We took a vote and our last day was to be spent at MGM/Hollywood Studios. That Tower of Terror is just our very favorite ride. It was looking to be an incredibly nice day. We were all wearing shorts.

We got there at the rope drop, and headed straight for Tower of terror. I kept Mo and we went shopping for some souvenirs. I was hoping to find some stuff with Malevicent on it, she is my favorite villain. No such luck. It is amazing what you can buy at Disney...from $1.00 to $25,000.00 (which is how much this crystal castle will set you back)



Al had saved up all of her souvenir money to buy one thing...a Precious Moment. (Gag) She loves the things, and at one of the Art of Disney stores they had a Precious Moment made exclusively for the Parks. She got one of Cinderella's castle, and as Precious Moments go, it's a pretty neat one. She was thrilled.

While we were there, we waited around to see the Incredibles. My favorite picture from our Disney trip in 2005 of us with them, and we just love that movie. While I was asking the cast member how long it would be, this Brazilian woman bursts in, speaking frantically, "Where are the Incrrrrrediblllles? I must see them!" She was supposed to be meeting her kids in 15 minutes but the only characters she wanted to see in all of Disney World were the Incredibles.

She stood in front of me in line, and behind me was a newlywed couple from Iowa. This Brazilian women proceeded to talk about her trip and how different Americans are from Brazilians. She was telling us how she tried to give Ariel (the Little Mermaid) a hug and everyone freaked out. "No touching!" she said, "In my country, we are ahhh..." and she gave me a great big hug. I told her not all Americans are like that, but yeah, most of us like our personal space personal! She was so exuberant and bright and friendly, I just adored her. Finally Mr and Mrs. Incredible came out, and this woman went CRAZY. "Mrs. Incredible! I love you! I love you! I love you because you have CURVES! ooooh, you are so CURVY!!" I took her camera and got her picture and she was just in heaven. We stepped up to get our picture with them, and she was still telling Mrs. Incredible how much she loved her. I'm sure the person in the costume was ecstatic...I do not think Mrs. Incredible usually gets that much attention! I'm obviously still cracking up at that lady when they took this shot:


Next we rode "Star Tours" several times...and although my favorite movie is Star Wars, this ride is super cheezeball. I do love the At-At in the front though. We went to see "Muppets in 3-D" which was entertaining and I think the only 3-D Mo actually enjoyed. She didn't put the glasses on, but she liked getting squirted with water, etc.

Al and Rug were FINALLY getting into pin trading, of course, it was the last day. They saw Kim Possible (from Disney channel) and I made them get a picture.



LP took the girls to ride Rock N roller Coaster one more time, and I stood out by the guitar with Mo. Now, Mo, she likes to dance. And I mean SHAKE it kind of dancing.(learned from her father no doubt) There was Aerosmith music blasting out everywhere, she could not be contained. A very young PhotoPass photographer spotted her and just kept taking several pictures of her. I think it was love at first sight!





I think it made his day, honestly. Her dancing can cheer just about anyone up.

The last thing we did was took Mo to play at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. She loved it.


I made reservations for the 50's Prime Time Cafe for lunch. The premise is, well, your grandmother's/mother's kitchen in the 50s. It was dead on. And let me tell you, the entertainment value of a 'mom' yelling at your husband for not having a napkin on his lap is PRICELESS to children. My kids still talk about it. I was behaved, because it was so eerily similar to my grandma's kitchen, (plus I had their meatloaf...) I thought for sure she was going to come around the corner and make sure I'd eaten everything on my plate.



As we left, the High School Musical parade was just finishing up, and as we headed towards the exit, Mo reallllllllly wanted to walk. On her own. No grown-up hands to hold. LP was not having it, and Mo was NOT very pleased. And I snapped the best shot of the trip:



Fabulous, no? We call this "Meltdown with Mickey". Pure bliss that is.

We stopped off at the greatest outlet mall EVER (Adidas! I can't get enough of ye!) and as we left Orlando, it began to rain. Hard. I was already planning our next trip.

I know February was harder because I had Disney Depression, which is a clinically recognized malady. I'm hoping I can get back there soon.

You know what is even more depressing? We are thinking about taking the girls somewhere in a few weeks on their spring break, and do you know where the closest place is from us? That's right....Branson, Missouri. Well it ain't Disney but I know I'll be able to get some real nice corn cob pipes to bring home as souvenirs.

I'm all over the place.

This weekend consisted of Mo throwing up, Al hurling and me being near comatose from it all. I haven't been able to eat since Thursday, and from what I remember, I don't think it was all that great of a meal. If I'm going to be sick for 4 days I'd like to at least have a fond memory of food. Not so much. Even a Cadbury egg right now would make me run to the bathroom.

But hey, I've lost 6 pounds! Look, I've been trying to lose FIVE pounds for a month, and in one weekend I've already lost more than that. I can guarantee that this is NOT the way anyone should ever lose weight. Bulimics, I shall NEVER understand.

My mother just called to tell me that when my dad went to donate all of my aunt's clothes to Goodwill, he 'accidentally' donated some of MY MOM'S clothes too!!! I fell off my chair laughing. That is so something they would do. Cracking me up.

I wish I could wax poetic about my weekend. I don't even have the energy to write a haiku about the new mattress we bought. Maybe someone else can inspire me.

"Try it out" he says
Salesman at the mattress store
LP winks at me!

Okay, that wasn't so good. I'll just go back to drinking my ginger ale and popping my Peptos.

Do I always have to have a title?

Got back Monday night from Dixon. Now there is a rocking town. Hardly. I was very happy to see it in my rearview mirror as we left. I did get a picture of Ronald reagan's boyhood home, which was apparently a block away from my aunt's apartment. Uh, that's not too hard as this was a pretty small town.

Everyone in the town showed up at her funeral. I was not surprised at all, my aunt was larger than life. She was a Ya-Ya for sure, driving all her friends around town. She didn't even own a toaster, because why bother when she had people to see at all the local restaurants!

We spent much of Sunday night going through old pictures she had in boxes, and I found this one of my mom with her family circa 1955. They were living in Hawaii at the time. I love my grandpa's pink bow! I'm sure my grandmother picked it out, pink was her favorite color. I never met my uncle, he died before I was born. It's just so funny to think of my mother as a teenager. She was a good one I'm sure, to this day angst is one of her best traits.

We got dumped with about 7 inches of snow yesterday and the girls had a blast playing in it. Atlanta is looking better and better all the time.....

Parenting Chapter 4

I believe someone took the chapter "How to Teach your Child About the Unfairness of Life" out of my handbook and burned it.

I'm at a loss. My daughter's heart broke yesterday and I can't fix it. I can only dilude her with bad aphorisms and terrible cliches. My biggest hope is she can pick herself up by those gorgeous ears and move forward. Oh, this parenting this is such a roller coaster.

I will be headed to Dixon, Illinois today for my great aunt's funeral. Dixon is the Birthplace or Home place or whatever of Ronald Reagan. My grandmother grew up there and was once rescued by Ronnie himself as she was a bad swimmer and he was a lifeguard.

And for the record, yes, it was me who put the first scratch on LP's new car. I'm like the anti-King Midas. I touch something and it turns to mold!