Weekly Winners: November 23-29

We're all about the 'Bucks:



... Even her:


... Because it keeps us from looking like this:


Thanksgiving morning fog:


Sibling love:

Because, since there is no audio, you DON'T hear them
crabbing about having to be close to each other!

Thanksgiving dinner:

The traditional "stairs" photo at my parents' ... minus J-bear, sadly.

The whole fam damily, minus one:

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Haiku Friday: the what-the-?? edition

Thanksgiving was not
the day I was expecting.
My brain is quite full.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I'm processing. I'll let you know when I have it figured out.

In the meantime, I hope all my American friends had all the turkey and pumpkin pie they could handle and that everyone has a great weekend.

xoxox

Thanksgiving green bean casserole

If you are reading this on Thanksgiving morning (and why aren't you busy cooking or something??), we are not here.

We are actually out among 'em, delivering Thanksgiving meals to homebound seniors.

Yes, we are that family. The selfless ones. The ones who make our children to be grateful for what they have by forcing them to see those less fortunate, up close and personal.

I kid, of course, because this actually is a very important project for me and my family.

Anyway.

In one of the most perfect non-sequitors ever, what we WON'T be delivering today is green beans.

At least not the Tranny Head definition of green beans.

If I have to explain green beans to you, then it loses all its charm.

Anyway, Tranny has challenged us to recount our best green bean story for Thanksgiving.

To do that, however, I needed to dig into my archives. Not that far, but I had to dig anyway, because really? I've already posted my best green bean story:

Here.

Trust me, I can't make up stuff that would be better.

Tranny? This one's for you.

At the movies with the Roo-girl

It was inevitable, of course, that the Roo-girl would go to the movie that everyone is talking about.

After all, it was based on the book from the series that she adores.

And so it came to pass Tuesday night that she purchased the coveted movie ticket and entered the land of her obsession.

She went with her girlfriend, but before she left, she promised that the two of us will go together this weekend. She's so cute. Leave it to my daughter to manipulate her world so she gets to see the movie twice.

And what did my little "Twilighter" think of the movie?

"Here's the thing, Mom," she explained in the car on the way home. "It was a good movie ... IF ..."

If what?

"If you forget that it was supposed to be based on a book. If you watch it like a movie and disconnect it from the original story, then you can think of it as a cool vampire story."

Ah, says the smart mom. So it was a good movie, but it was a disappointing adaptation of the book?

"Exactly. There was so much wrong with it. So much they left out."

Yes, thinks the smart mom. Because it's hard to cram almost 500 pages of book into two hours of movie.

"And Bella? She was ALL wrong."

Oh, asks the smart mom, she didn't feel like the real Bella to you? (Excuse me, but did we just call a character in a book the "real" anything? Sigh.)

"No. She was too loud. Too outgoing. And she had curly hair. Bella blow dries her hair every day. It's straight."

Um, says the smart mom, trying very very hard not to burst out laughing, so Bella blow dries her hair every day??

"Yes, and that girl was a lousy actress."

I see, says the smart mom, and what about ...

"Edward? He was terrible ... he was the worst actor in the whole thing. But they got his skin right."

Er, puzzled the smart mom, but did he sparkle (which is what vampires do in the sunlight)? Did he DAZZLE you?

"Oh, yeah, but it was more like shimmering. It was good."

And, asked the smart mom, are you going to finish book 4 now?

"Funny you should say that, cuz now that I've seen the movie, I told my friend that I had to go straight home and reread the books now. After seeing the movie, I feel so dirty ..."

God, I love that kid.

The mistress of the understatement

"For a 14-year-old, I sure have a lot of problems."

— The Roo-girl
November 23, 2008

Giving, so as to receive

We have a Thanksgiving tradition in our house.

It started 10 years ago when I decided my children took their good fortune for granted.

Visit me at Mid-Century Modern Moms, where I complete this tale ...

Weekly Winners: November 16-22

The Drama King has a birthday party:

Please note the empty chair in the front of the photo. That would be where I was sitting ... and NOT being in the photo. Hmmmm ...

Some people just don't like having their pictures taken:


And some people do:


The gayest spoon ever, according to the birthday boy:

One ... Two ... Three ...

... Blow!

Blame this weirdness on the lame but adorable waitress who neglected
to put a candle in DK's birthday ice cream and substituted her Bic lighter instead!

And then we eat it:


What's your fortune?


From the top down:

So yeah, I always come back to one of my favorite subjects ... the fountain!

Shadowing my favorite fountain:

Go --->here<--- for more weekly winners.

Grrrrrrr. Just ... grrrrrrrrrr

I'm in a mood.

And boy oh boy howdy, when I'm in a mood, everyone in my house DUCKS or, better yet, runs for cover.

Things didn't go my way this week at work or at play. Work is same-old-same-old in the sucky department, but play? Well, that audition I messed up led to NOT getting the part.

Which I expected, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it.

Moving on...

In the good news department, my boy is home, and a certain peace always reigns for me when he and I are in the same zip code.

But otherwise? Things are hackin' me off:

1) Automatic flushing toilets at my office: Oh come on, people. Don't you think we are capable of doing the deed ourselves? Ok, well, I understand that it's all automatic and cool.

But ... here's the thing. When I pull out the paper seat and rip the little hole thing out of it and settle it on the potty seat, then turn around and unzip and prepare to settle myself on the seat ... why-oh-why-oh-why-oh does it have to flush, thereby prematurely whisking away the paper seat cover before my delicate backside has had a chance to sit down?

Premature e-flush-ulation is the pits.

2) Eggnog lattes: Dude. You're tormenting me. I'm trying REALLY hard not to succumb to the excess fatness of you this year. Skinny vanilla lattes are not my drink of choice, but my drink of determination. Stop tempting me with your caloric goodness.

3) Screaming teens: Girls, please. I want to see "Twilight," too. But I want to be able to hear the dialogue, not just faint over Robert Pattinson.

Eh, that's enough for one day. Three's a charm anyway, and I don't want to wear out my welcome.

Come back again tomorrow for Weekly Winners, which will include photos from the ever-popular Drama King birthday dinner!

Haiku Friday: the mommy heart edition

Eleven weeks have
passed since I have felt complete.
The college boy's home.

Followup is a bitch, ya know?

So ... after hilarity, then what?

The deepest pits of despair?

Maybe, but really my reasons for that are so immature and lame that I'm embarrassed to speak (write?) them aloud.

I messed up an audition for something I want pretty badly. Ever since returning from vacation, I have been sick -- with the accompanying vocal issues that I know well from years of "everytime I get sick, it turns into laryngitis."

I had postponed the audition once and didn't think a second postponement would go over well.

So I sang with, for lack of a better word, vocal crap.

And it showed.

And it made me feel like crap to sound like crap.

Oh well. Better luck next time.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled hilarity.

Birthday dinner: more fun than a barrel of monkeys

Drama King turned 25 last week. Mind-boggling that I could be the mother of ANOTHER 25-year-old.

And yet, it's undeniably true.

Also undeniably true? That where there is a birthday in our family, there is a birthday dinner (all the others are buried in this category, if you need a little memory boost -- or a brain explosion).

So I present to you, with all my faculties about me, the craziness that was DK's party:

Drama King: So, Roo-girl, do you have a boyfriend?

The Roo-girl: *eyeroll*

Drama King: A girlfriend?

The Roo-girl: *glare*

Rocky: Hey, we don't judge here.

*pause*

Rocky: A hermaphrodite?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Drama King: We need to get Drummer Man to play World of Warcraft with us.

Rocky: Ooooh, yeah, we totally do. We can rope him into our obsession.

Drummer Man: Uh, no. I LIKE my relationship.

Fabulous Girlfriend: *giggle*

Drummer Man: You know, there was a whole Dr. Phil show about this ...

Ok, I'll admit, you really had to be there to think this is funny. DK and Rocky were laughing riotously, and Drummer was just so EARNEST.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Drama King: So, Fabulous Girlfriend, when are you going to make an honest man out of my brother?

Wonderhubby: Yeah, so he can stop all that stealing ...

Evil Mother: *smacking Wonderhubby HARD on the arm*

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Waitress: *with dessert tray* So we have a banana spring roll, and this is our flourless chocolate dome.

The Roo-girl: Ooooh. How do you do that? I didn't think that chocolate ...

Evil Mother: It's a flourless cake, Roo. A chocolate cake made in a dome, without flour.

The Roo-girl: *blushes a furious shade of red* Oh, I thought ...

Evil Mother: Oh. My. GAWD. You thought we were talking about FLOWERS.

*turning to waitress*

Evil Mother: Have you met my daughter? She's the BLONDE over there.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Really, there was so much more:

A precious, precious moment when the words "poke the piggy" were followed by "Who has the conch?" -- a reference to "Lord of the Flies" from the most unlikely source of all, J-bear, whose learning issues and reading problems are legendary.

Some kind of conversation that ended with me clapping my hand over my mouth as I uttered the words "When? At your wedding?" to Drummer Man and Fabulous Girlfriend.

A discussion of vagina dentata, a subject that Drama King is apparently obsessed with. Leading to the interesting inquiry by Rocky -- showing bad breeding that he OBVIOUSLY learned at Enemy University -- as to whether I personally was afflicted with such. ("I guess only Wonderhubby would care, huh," Rocky ultimately conceded.)

And there were photos, too, which I will add to this post later.

When I recover from the idea of vagina dentata.

XX marks the spot

I knew I was in trouble when the results of my amnio came back with X chromosomes and no trace of Y.

I had three boys (and two stepsons at the time). I knew boys.

What is this pink, frilly thing of which you speak?

Please come visit me at Mid-Century Modern Moms.

Weekly Winners: November 9-15

What I did on my winter vacation, part 2 ...

We got on a helicopter -- without doors ...

... and flew over waterfalls ...

... and felt the heat from red-hot lava flows ...

... and flew over lava-created coastlines ...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

'Ello, poppet!

This one was for her

Spikey Hawaiian flower:

Oahu blowhole:

And of course, the week would not be complete without a trip to the football field ...

Go --->here<--- for more weekly winners.

Haiku Friday: the airborne again edition

Are you sick of my
girl in the air? Well, too bad ...
Because I am not!

Final JV game of the season

Fail and fail again (until I don't)

Ok, this is me in the confession mode again.

Perhaps it is that post-vacation thing. Or the fact that I brought some kind of creeping crud home with me from Hawaii. *cough sniffle hork cough*

Or perhaps my muse took a hike.

Whatever it is, it's SOMETHING. Back here, I announced fairly publicly that I had signed up for NaNoWriMo because it was time to tell my story.

Ask me how many words I have written of the 50,000 that I am supposed to have by Nov. 30.

Go ahead. Ask me.

Answer: zero.

It didn't help that we left for Hawaii in the early early morning hours of Nov. 2 and writing a novel about THAT subject while vacationing in paradise seemed a little ... ahem ... off-topic.

And yes, I could start now and muddle forward, but right now, I'm not really in the mood. Why? Dunno. Just not as ready as I thought, I guess.

I have the first line in my head, but that is as far as I could take it. I think it needs to percolate for a bit.

So I've put it aside.

Maybe next year.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On a more pleasant topic, the ladies at Three Bay B Chicks bestowed on me this lovely award:

Those three chicks are pretty hip themselves. Check 'em out!


And ... my bbff (best bloggy friend forever) Holly is having a click fest at her place. All her ad revenue for the month of November is going to Food For the Poor.

So if you don't already read Anglophile Football Fanatic, go there immediately and click through her archives. Those who are hungry will thank you for it. (And I hear a rumor that on Monday, she will have a giveaway. Just sayin'.)

Can you hear me now?

My family is totally a product of the cellular age.

Truth be told, we use cell phones as our primary means of communication -- from one part of the house to another.

Just last night, in fact, Wonderhubby called my phone to tell me that dinner was ready (I'm suffering from post-vacation creeping crud, and, yes, he is the best).

Let me explain again: He was downstairs. I was upstairs. He called me on the phone to tell me I should come down to eat.

And I didn't find this odd at all.

I frequently text the Roo-girl down the hall.

Or instant message, if she's logged onto the computer.

Of course I am the quintessential IM'er and texter with my flown-from-the-nest boys. You've seen those long, involved conversations before.

I love technology. It's so ... so ... technical. And gadgety. And useful.

And mushy.

Mushy? Yes, technology can be totally heart-warming:

*riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing riiiiiiiiiiing*

Evil Mother: Hello?

The Roo-girl: Will you come tuck me in?

Evil Mother: Of course!

The Roo-girl: YAY!!!!

And so it was that I sat on my baby girl's bed last night, rubbing her back, while she smiled sleepily at me and told me about her plans for the following day. I smiled back at her, hugged her tight, and we whispered "I love you" to each other.

Summoned by cell phone ... held together by love.

Absence makes the heart grow stronger

I have a dirty little secret.

I confess all at Mid-Century Modern Moms.

A quarter-century of change

Today is the Drama King's 25th birthday.

I must admit that for 24 of those years, I never knew what was coming at me.

And a few of those years, I wasn't sure he was going to live to see the next one.

This has been a banner year for him, one in which he grew up in ways I hoped for but never believed possible.

This was the year he figured it out.

This was the year he got his own car and health insurance.

This was the year he baked cookies and brought them to my office -- just because.

This was the year he called me -- just to say hi.

This was the year he decided that life was indeed worth living.

This was the year he found love.

So for his birthday this year, I have reasons to be grateful.

Actually I have one major reason.

So, Rocky, I offer you my thanks. Whether your relationship waxes or wanes, you have shown my boy that the light at the end of the tunnel is NOT the oncoming train.

Happy birthday, my no-longer-quite-so-dark child.

Welcome to the world. It's a beautiful place, isn't it?

Weekly Winners: November 2-8

What I did on my winter vacation ...

The happy couple:



Fishies:



Under the sea:

View through the submarine window at a sea turtle lounging on an underwater structure

Feeding time for the manta ray:

SeaLife Park

Feeding the turtle too:

SeaLife Park

Swimmer dude:

Wonderhubby hits the beach

Sunset in paradise:



Conch you just hear it?



Ocean toesies:


The lighthouse:


Sailing by Diamondhead:

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