i hab a cold id my dose

Somehow we just can't shake the sickness from this household. It's getting quite ridiculous actually. Generally speaking we are a healthy family, and it's not like any of us are dying or anything. But it just won't go away! I've been hanging onto some coughy, sneezy, runny, cold thing like it's a security blanket or something. I noticed DH more than a few times looking at me with that pitiful look this week. He keeps asking me things like "So what did the doctor say?" or "Wouldn't it be good if you could take something for that?" I think what he really means is "It sure would be nice to be able to kiss my wife without having to swim through a sea of tissues to get to her face," but he's too much of a gentleman to say it out loud.

Meanwhile, I'm just going to drink lots of liquids, keep taking my vitamins, and hug my box of Puffs Plus like it's my newborn baby. At least the kids have already had it, they shouldn't get it again, right? RIGHT???

clemency

How happy is the blameless Vestal's lot?
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind,
Each prayer accepted and each wish resigned.

new duds

Hey! I gave the place a new look. I also added some music in the sidebar to go along with my last post. Give it a listen. (Unfortunately, I didn't have the acoustic version in the right format - it's much better!)
:)

ordinary world

There are so many things in this world that can't be explained. And there are so many things that I wish I could change.

I heard a song the other day and it reminded me of Adam. He had this tape (not an 8-track, but it was definitely a tape!) in his car and we would listen to it over and over as we would drive aimlessly around town for hours. The tape was the Come Undone extended single by Duran Duran. For us, it was all about the "FGI Phumpin' 12inch" Remix. We loved it! It has a heavy bassline and a strong intro. The acoustic version of Ordinary World is on that tape too, and that is the one that I heard that brought these memories back to me. In my move I found the old tape - it was Adam's but he had given it to me at some point. I'm glad that I have it.

Our friendship was a lot like that tape - funky, fun, strong, confusing, heavy, quirky, thoughtful. Nobody ever understood us, but they didn't have to. It didn't matter. It still doesn't.

People fade in and out of your life, and I regret that he ever faded out of mine.

He was a great friend, and I miss him.

==================================
Ordinary World by Duran Duran

Came in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue,
Thought I heard you talking softly.
I turned on the lights, the TV and the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you.
What is happening to it all?
Crazy some say-
Where is the life that I recognize?

Gone away.

But I won't cry for yesterday.
There's an ordinary world
somehow I have to find.
And as I try to make my way
to the ordinary world
I will learn to survive.

Passion or coincidence once prompted you to say-
Pride will tear us both apart.
Well now pride's gone out the window, cross the rooftops, runaway.
Left me in the vacuum of my heart.
What is happening to me?
Crazy some say.
Where is my friend when I need you most?

Gone away.

But I won't cry for yesterday.
There's an ordinary world
somehow I have to find.
And as I try to make my way
to the ordinary world
I will learn to survive.

Papers in the roadside tell of suffering and greed,
Feared today; forgotten tomorrow.
Here beside the news of holy war and holy need,
Ours is just a little sorrowed talk.

Blown away. Just blowing away.

And I won't cry for yesterday.
There's an ordinary world
somehow I have to find.
And as I try to make my way
to the ordinary world
I will learn to survive.

Any world is my world.
Every world is my world.

i think i've been outed....

After some recent posts on SS, I think I have had an influx of new visitors. So welcome to you all! I'm so glad you've found me! Please feel free to snoop around and read the archives. Come back and visit again soon - it will make me feel the pressure to post more often! :)

If you are so inclined, drop me a comment and let me know you were here. Maybe share your favorite quirk, since that's what started it! ;)

(A blogger account is NOT required to comment. Just click 'other' and put in any name you want.)

Again, welcome!! And thanks for stopping by!

what do you wanna do?

Younger Sister to Older Sister: Let's play a game!

Older Sister: Yeah. I'm playing the "Do my homework before Mom has to remind me" game. It's my favorite.

Younger Sister: What about after that?

OS: Then I'm going to play the "Pack my backpack and get ready for school tomorrow" game. It's great.

YS: I don't want to play that.

OS: Why don't you play the "Find something to do by yourself so I can finish my homework" game?

YS: I'm going to do a puzzle.

five quirks

5 QUIRKS

1. The only Poptarts I like are the frosted brown sugar cinammon ones. I eat the edges off first, and then the middle. And I prefer to eat them with a tall glass of chocolate milk. This used to be a popular late night snack for me until I read the nutritional facts last year. Haven't really had them since.

2. I hate to talk on the telephone unless I'm really in the mood. Then I can talk for hours. But I mostly don't answer it, and don't even look to see who's calling. I will check the messages late in the evening sometime, and it is usually too late to call people back. By the time the next day rolls around, I've forgotten all about it. This pisses people off.

3. I am a huge procrastinator and I am perpetually late. These feed into one another. This also drives people nuts. I think if I could get these two things under control I would have an entirely different life. But I wouldn't count on it happening any time soon.

4. I hate extreme temperatures. My perfect climate would be someplace where it is spring or fall all the time. Not too hot, not too cold. I am this way about food, water, weather, and most other temperature related things. I don't put ice in my water because I don't like it too cold. Hot ovens make me nervous.

5. I don't sleep. I go through long periods where I just can't make myself go to bed at night. I start going to bed later and later. Then I drag the whole next day. It is this horrible vicious cycle. I am writing this at 2:18am. I should totally be in bed right now. It's likely I won't get to sleep for another hour or so. Tomorrow will probably be miserable.

deal or no deal

When I dropped DD off at preschool this morning, one of the other mothers had on a nice new coat. When she was complimented on it, she let us know that she had got it on clearance. "It was only $18!" she told us proudly.

I've been thinking about this all day. Why do women do that? Wouldn't it be better to just take the compliment and run without letting us know what kind of deal you got on it? One would think that the purpose of finding a great deal is so that you can look like you spent a fortune without having done so. Or perhaps the purpose is to get as much as you can while spending as little as you can. Or perhaps the purpose is to own the bragging rights to finding the best deal.

I personally never pay full price. I am on the mailing list for all my favorite stores, I know when the change of season clearance sales hit, and I march in armed with a 40% off coupon, free gift with purchase ticket, and stride proudly to the back where the clearance racks are located. I usually leave with an armload of stuff without having paid an arm and a leg for it. It feels amazing!

But when someone compliments me on how I look, should I smile and say "Thanks!" Or should I say "Thanks! I got it on sale!" ???

socialization

Our dear friend's cousin was starring in a play, so we went and saw it yesterday with them. We had so much fun! DD was absolutely cracking up - it was hysterical! She has reached the age where she can really enjoy these kinds of things and gets the jokes. Afterwards we grabbed a bite to eat, hung out, and talked forever. When we got to the restaurant there was a bit of a wait because there was a basketball game down the street that day and people were in a huge rush to eat and get to the game. We didn't mind waiting because it gave us a chance to talk, and when we were seated the service was better as the place had thinned out considerably. The food is always good there, and they brew their own beer which I like. It was a great time.

This weekend we are having dinner with my best friend and her family. Her husband is an amazing cook - everything he makes is absolutely delicious. It is always a pleasure to eat at their place. I am supposed to bring dessert and am at a complete loss as to what to make. Have any good ideas? We'll be packing pjs for the kids when we go. They always love it - like a pseudo-sleepover. Our kids don't see each other enough so it is always a treat for them. It sorta reminds me of when I was a kid when my parents would visit friends. We would get to play with our friends until late into the night, which was so special for us.

Usually every year I take some kind of vacation trip with friends. Sometimes in the winter we go on a big girls' weekend (think 40 women who've left the boyfriends and husbands and kids at home) to a ranch or resort and spend our days skiing, sledding, horseback riding, and playing winter sports - and at night we get our party on. We cram a lot of good times into these trips. I'd tell you about it, but what happens on Go Girl Weekend, stays on Go Girl Weekend, right girls? (Not really, ask me and I'll show you the pics!) We usually have to drag our exhausted selves home and face reality when it's done, but it's always worth it. In the summer we have taken a lot of camping trips that have just been wonderful. DH's friends are die hard hikers, so I gracefully bow out of the hikes if I can, but I still love to camp. I always camped with my family growing up, and love to continue the tradition with my kids. Last year was so complicated that I wasn't able to take any trips, but I am really hoping that this year we will be able to work something out.

It is so nice to be home and to spend time with my friends again. I had truly missed these little moments and cherish that I have them back. DD was on the phone with her BFF the other day, and was telling her that without her around that things just weren't the same. Yeah. I know what she means. And I agree. It's good to be back!!

a window into my world

We have a curtain dilemma. We have been trying to figure out what to put where and have it mostly figured out except for one room. I finally found some at Target (Tar-Jay) but they only had enough for one window (there are two in the room). A couple was in the aisle scooping up the rest before I could get my hands on them (I contemplated wrestling them to the ground and snatching them away from them, but decided otherwise at the last second..... ). I looked them up online and found them on their website, but for some reason the order was not processing properly. I searched the site for a phone number to give them a call - and it was nowhere to be found. I tried calling stores in the area. The first one was insisting that I give him some product number that did not exist on the website that I was looking at. Hey - maybe that is why the order was not going through properly. He wanted to know what brand I was looking at - it just said Tar-Jay Home. What else does it say? he asked. Nothing else. I am holding the package right in front of me and I am looking at the website at the same time. I am not a moron I wanted to tell the 16 year old clerk, but I'm sure it wouldn't have helped. I gave it up with him and decided he was never going to find them even if they had a pile of them at his feet, so I thanked him for his (non-existent) effort and hung up. As I called around from store to store I at least learned that they were on clearance and that their inventory system was not going to show if they are on the shelves or not, so unless I start driving store to store I will never know for sure whether or not they really have any. Eventually I decide to ask one of these stores for the number for the website people, since they are still showing in stock online, but my order is still not going through. After a transfer and a lovely wait on hold, they finally gave it to me. I call, and the first girl I get wants to know my order number so she can help me. I don't have one, that is why I'm calling I tried to explain to her. She actually told me that she would not be able to place my order over the phone, that she would need my password (I don't have one, but whatever). So you're telling me you can't take orders??? What exactly do you do then, since your phone number is more closely guarded than the Colonel's secret recipe and you DON'T. TAKE. ORDERS??? I just hung up on her in frustration, and called right back. This time I got a competent person who was more than happy to take my order, but she let me know that the curtain is on clearance, and out of stock, that the website was not properly updated. Thanks. Can you tell me which stores may have some in stock? Sure, and she transfers me. The next gentleman took my info and gave me a reference number, and transfers me. AGAIN. This person tells me which stores have them (starting at 30 miles away, and going out). 'Kay thanks. So I call the stores to verify, and they say they don't have them.

OKAY TARGET!! I GIVE UP!!!!!!!

So for now I am stuck with the one set for one window and that's it. I haven't been able to find anything else that matches yet. I know that I'm going to have to return the ones I have and find something else.... but ugh!! I'm sick of the whole thing and am about to just tack a sheet up there and call it a day.