Last Sunday I was once again headed out to bring KT to work at the aquarium at the Crack O’ Dawn.   On a whim, I gritted my teeth, tossed her the keys and told her that she could drive us into Seattle.  Despite my qualms, I figured it was a pretty safe bet.  Traffic would be light and the sky was clear, but not so sunny that the sun would blind her.  It seemed as though this was as good a time as any  to let her do her thing. 

Once she finally stopped jumping around with delight our KT very skillfully backed out of the driveway and stopped sideways in the middle of the road.  She had somehow forgotten how to get to the aquarium despite the fact that we have been going to for three days a week all summer long.  I gently prodded her memory and we were on our way. 

We made it to the freeway without incident.  KT was feeling confident and  in control.  Then it started to rain.  I merely shrugged and told her that this was a perfect time for her to learn to drive on the wet freeway .  After all, Seattle is known for it’s rain.  Just as she got comfortable again, it started to pour down in a very un-Seattle like manner.

KT’s reaction was to do what she always seems to do when she’s unsure while driving.  She slowed down.  Normally slowing down on the freeway when it is raining would be considered a good thing.  But going twenty miles an hour on a limited visibility freeway isn’t always such a good idea. 

(good thing there weren’t many cars!)

Apparently, there’s a very good reason that I’m not a famous actress.  KT was very aware of the terror that I had tried to hard to conceal.  As soon as the short torrent dried up and the sun peeked out again, my Shaun’s child started cackling gleefully.  “Mom” she crowed, “did you forget about the hills?”

A cold blast of dread struck my heart.  The steep hills of downtown…how on earth could I have forgotten those? For reasons unknown to me, I have always had a problem with driving up or down a steep hill.  (Shaun seeks them out just to mess with me)  I suddenly remembered the main reason I hadn’t let KT drive us to the aquarium.  I wasn’t sure I would make it home to see my good child…the one still sweetly sleeping back home. 

I made KT put our automatic transmission in low gear and keep her foot on the break at all times.  I cringed as car doors opened and red lights loomed ahead.  My wicked child complied while she rolled her eyes and laughed at me.  (That would be her father’s influence.)

Somehow we made it to our destination safe and (mostly) sound.  I couldn’t get my keys back from KT fast enough though. 

Shaun can take her on the next Sunday drive….

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Bit O Life

Miss KT in action

(Can you believe they let 15 year olds behind the wheel? Do you know how squirrelly they are???)

I have been tagged by both the Arkansas Songbird and Lynn to do the RANT meme.  (Now what exactly does that mean??) So here we go…

Five people who will be annoyed you tagged them

1. All                                                                                                                                            2. The                                                                                                                                      3. Gals                                                                                                                                     4. at                                                                                                                                         5. SheWhoBlogs

4 things that should go into room 101 and be removed from the face of the earth. (Three cheers for Google!) I’m going to skip the obvious so I don’t sound like a beauty queen hoping to create World Peace.  I’ll settle for being petty.

1. Line cutters. Just hold on for a minute and wait your turn.  
2. Hang nails.  Especially when I pull them off without thinking and make it hurt more. 
3. Canker sores can go in there too.  
4.Poorly written books.

That’s it? I was just getting warmed up!

3 things that people do that make you want to shake them violently.

1. Not closing cupboard doors.                                                                        2. Sales people that can’t be bothered to say a word to you because they are busy having their own conversations.  
3. LOUD music or anything else LOUD (Like the chainsaw outside right now!)

2 things you find yourself moaning about.

1. I’m melting…it’s waaaay too hot!
2. It’s freezing outside…when is it going to warm up????

1 thing the above answers tell you about yourself.

Ummm…that I’d be happiest in a temperature controlled area with minimal noise and happy smiling  people?

Rules

*  Link to the original meme at freelancecynic.

*  Be as honest as possible so people will get to know the real you.

*  Try not to insult anyone unless they really deserve it or are very, very ugly.

*  Post these rules at the end of every meme

AND big huge thanks to Swampy for presenting me with a very thoughtful award.

Once upon a time the royal family a normal refrigerator.  It was filled with typical American cuisine ingredients.  Lots of milk, chicken, hamburger, bacon, eggs, cheese and lunch meat…and maybe a few veggies thrown in for looks. 

Then one day the princesses of the castle decided that they would become vegetarians.  The Queen nodded sagely.  She understood the urge to become a better person and not eat other creatures.  Why, she herself had gone through such a phase in her younger days.  It had lasted almost two weeks! Naturally, she would indulge this new interest of her beloved daughters. 

After a year, one of the princesses had finally grown out of her girlhood phase.  The other princess was still strong in her resolve to not eat any meat.  Another year passed and the Vegetarian princess started to work on her Freshman Project.  A huge research assignment on the topic of her choice.  She had chosen slaughter house abuse as her topic.   She was horrified at all the information she discovered in her research.  The kind-hearted princess was horrified at all that she discovered.  In fact,  the entire royal family was appalled at how the neat little packages of meat arrived to our fridge.  The princess vowed to never eat or use an animal again.  She would become the Vegan Princess. The rest of the family vowed to…use less. 

So, now the Royal Fridge contains such delights as soy milk, tofu, vegan burgers,cucumbers, lettuce  and tomatoes.  And tucked in the very back, there is a package of bacon. 

Don’t tell the princess….

For more Fun Monday entries go visit  Amy this week’s hostess.  They might actually post photos of their refrigerator!

As Mike and M have both tagged me for this meme, I guess I should actually do it.  (Haven’t I told you enough weird things about me yet?)

So, with no further ado, and in no particular order…

1. I don’t like change.  Of any sort.  I dig my heels in and resist it with everything I have.  Sometimes, I have to accept changes though, and are generally happy with them.  (Mimi seems to have gotten this trait from me…poor thing)

2. On the other hand, I get bored easily.  I need a certain amount of stimulation and change of scenery.  Go figure.

3. I crave color.  I didn’t always.  In fact for a while my favorite colors were beige (is that even a color???) and forest green.  I’ve slowly evolved and now the brighter the better.  My ‘juicy fruit gum package’ colored walls make me happy.

4. It took me eight years before I finally started painting the walls and adding color to our home.  (refer to #1)

5. I have certain things I eat at certain restaurants.  I try really hard to order something different, but I don’t seem capable of that.  It drives Shaun nuts.  (Could that possibly be of the allure?)

6. I can’t tell a joke for the life of me.  It’s pretty pathetic, I can see the eyes of my victim listener glaze over.  They start to doze off, snoring away and drool dripping.  I can usually get a sympathy laugh when I wake them up from their impromptu nap…

7. We like to travel/vacation by car.  There’s so much that you can see and explore in that mode of travel.  I’ve yet to see anything more exciting than clouds in a plane.  I take that back…I did see the Northern Lights…that was pretty cool.

8. Um…I just opened a Facebook thing.  Now I have no idea what to do with it.  I just didn’t want to  be the only one in my family without one.  Anyone want to be my friend? Or tell me what I should be doing with this???  (Yeah,,,I was running out of things!)

So….I get to tag some folks.  I’m going to see who I haven’t tagged before.  Oh, and those tagged get to take their choice of banners from below.  Unless, of course you already have one.  In that case you just get to answer the question. (No, I don’t really follow rules very well.)

1. Cheryl

2. Jeff

3. Tylor

4. Pavel

5. My Mudder

Is that enough??? Go ahead and add yourself if you wanted to be tagged.  I’ll vouch for you!

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Bit O Life

This is the start of my craft room studio makeover.  (It’s mostly to show my mom) Mimi and I love the bright splotchy color.  Shaun and KT think it needs another coat or two…  And the formerly puke colored shag carpet is so fun now!!! 

This morning  I stumbled bleary eyed to my computer with coffee cup in hand and checked my e-mail.  (Don’t even tell me that you don’t head to the computer first thing in the morning) I found to my great dismay that despite all of your best efforts to help me win the Special Award, it went to somebody else.  (Although I kept hearing rumors that she would post some…uh…interesting photos if she won…) Then I realized that I would probably not win any of Tink’s contests today (she’s having at least four) because the times don’t work for me.   Poor, poor me…

It was somewhere in the middle of my second cup of coffee that I remembered that I had just won two wonderful awards.  Yay Me!   Jeff awarded me with the  Schomooze Award.  (which sounds kinda like a sleazy used car salesman until you read the explanation on Jeff’s blog)

And Mike awarded me with the prestigious Creative Blogger Award.   

Thank you both so very much!   

Only that sneaky Mike attached that 8 things about me meme to to his award so I have to do that too before I get to actually take the award.  (Do they have to be creative?)  I’ll do that later….maybe tomorrow.  (Is there a procrastinator award out there? I think I deserve it!)

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Bit O Life

Our Mimi loves her watermelon!

(The title must be spoken in a stilted and pompous manner)

When I was a little girl we would sometimes, as a special treat, be served one of our favorite entrees.  My mom had several ways to serve this yummy treat.  Sometimes she would chop it up and serve chunks of it in beans.  Other times she would combine it with pineapple chunks and homemade sweet and sour sauce and serve it over rice.  My  favorite way to eat this delicacy was to simply fry it up in a pan.   This delectable  delight was called Spam. 

As kids, our taste buds still weren’t sophisticated enough to know that Spam was really kinda icky.    (Hey, we were also big fans of Cheez-Wiz and Vienna Sausage!) I know why we liked it, I’m just not sure why my mom bought it.  Although I suspect it may have had something to do with stretching out that military paycheck. 

Eventually we stopped seeing the appearance of Spam at our dinner table.  Instead we had normal meals, like Saturday Night Special, Goulash  and Tuna Casserole. For those really special nights (when Dad had Duty) we got to sit in front of the TV and dine on pancakes.  Ahhh, those were the days…

Anyways…Spam was gone from our lives until those wacky guys from Monty Python decided to immortalize it in a skit.  This skit (in case you haven’t seen it) is basically about a couple in a restaurant that serves Spam with everything whether it is wanted or not.  (Of course, I didn’t see this skit until I met up with Shaun.  I was very sheltered in that way.) 

A few years later, the Internet was invented.  It was a wonderful tool used primarily the government and for educational purposes.  In fact, it was so wonderful that the masses felt left out.  They demanded access and to be given a voice in this brave new world.   (And that’s where bloggers came from).  And where the masses are…the vultures come. 

Everyday I get my daily serving of unwanted Spam.  It ranges from stock tips and  cheap pharmaceuticals to learning to please my woman. (Oh yeah, they even tell me where I can get myself a woman if I was so inclined). 

Today…my blog received it’s 6000th piece of Spam.  I wonder how that would taste if I fried it up? 

Happy Spam Day!

Did you remember to VOTE FOR ME today??? (we can vote once a day!)

Edit to add: I just found out I’m behind in the contest! Ack! Help! (am I too silly?)

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Bit O Life

Of COURSE the geek that I married just happens to have an empty Spam can in the computer room!

I got a message from Swampy this morning telling me that I was in the running for a Special Award.  (Well…her words were closer to “A Barnes and Nobles gift card, but Special Award sounds better!) I couldn’t imagine what I had done to be in the running for a prize so I scurried over to her site to see what was going on. 

It turns out that she was ready to award the prize from her birthday party that was held exactly a month ago.  She had listed a set of questions for us to answer.  She carefully selected the best answers posted all the answers and wants people to vote on the best one. 

Obviously, mine is the best answer.  (Hey, a girl can dream!)  but I need people to vote for me! (Swampy said we could solicit votes!) So, PLEASE, go vote for me!!!

If I win, I promise to give go halfies share post a photo of my Special Award for you!

What are you still doing here? Go vote HERE right now!!! Simply put that you want me to win in the comments.  And the best part is you get to vote once a day  for four days…don’t worry, I’ll remind you. 

This week’s host, Willowtree, says, ” “Tell us about your best friend. Particularly things like: where you first met, how long you’ve been friends and why you think you are best friends” Then he adds the stipulation that we can’t wimp out and say our spouse is our best friend.  (WHY can’t I use him as my best friend? He is my hero and bestest friend ever!  How’s that for sucking up???)

I’m having a hard time deciding just who my best friend is.  I have a lot of superficial friends…acquaintances if you will.  But I  tend not to let  anyone  get too close to me.  When someone does manage to break through my wall,to know and accept the real me, we truly are best friends forever. 

I think the person that I feel closest to in my life right now, would have to be Jeanne. She’s someone that really “gets” me.  (Although she may be silently laughing at me) She accepts the person that I really am.  And I do the same for her. 

We first met with a phone call…a very long phone call. (It seems that in order to get to bff status with me, you have to be a long-winded talker).  She wanted to know if I wanted to start a Girl Scout Troop with her.  Then she talked and asked a zillion questions about everything under the sun.  Basically, I think she was checking me out to see if she really wanted to do this with me.  I must have passed because we ended up starting a troop together for the sake of our daughters. 

Now, you have to understand that Jeanne and I are pretty much complete opposites.  (Much in the way that Shaun and I are) I can say with almost complete confidence that I drove her nuts in that first year.   (Hmmm, much in the same way I do with Shaun…) She  has a Type A personality.  Everything needs to be ready and done “just so”.  I, on the other hand, am very laid back and just like to see how things play out.  (Always an interesting combination!)

We ended learning to deal with each other’s quirks and becoming a pretty great team.  We  spent a lot of time together as we took those little girls to plant trees,  on nature hikes, canoeing and camp outs.  We came up with some pretty interesting field trips and “out there” craft projects. (Yeah, those would be my idea). 

After a few years, we were all getting too busy to keep the troop going.  Yet, Jeanne and I weren’t ready to let go of each other.  So we haven’t.  We don’t see each other nearly as often as we would like to, yet we always know that we are only a phone call away. 

                                    Here’s to you Jeanne!

How on earth did I get so emotionaly attached to the characters in the book?  They aren’t real, yet there I was bawling like a baby.  (although not nearly as bad as KT was!)

That’s all I’m saying.  I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. 

 Just in the off-chance you’ve been abducted by aliens or something similar, I thought I’d take a moment and remind you that today is The Day.   The Day that the  last Harry Potter book is finally  released.

I hadn’t realized it, but of course Shaun has had it ordered from Amazon for time now.  I may have mentioned my doubts as to that being the quickest way to get the book.  It seemed that the last Harry Potter book didn’t arrive until quite late in the day.  In fact I had picked up a copy at Safeway that morning before I even knew that he had ordered it as a surprise for our girl.  

The thought of waiting a single second longer than she possibly had to was very distressing to our KT.  She started pestering her father with questions about when the book would arrive.  Then she started asking him if he would just go buy her one at the grocery store if the ordered book didn’t arrive by certain times.  He responded with a vague “We’ll see”.

At about 11:30 last night, Shaun crept into KT’s room.  She woke up with a start when he asked her if she was dressed.  She looked at him like he was crazy as he continued on, telling her that if she was dressed they could go for a ride…to the bookstore!  I’m not sure you can imagine what a jubilant girl we had as she scurried to get ready and head out to the jeep. 

Shaun and KT arrived to join a horde of a couple hundred people all eagerly waiting to clasp the newest book in their hands.  (Mimi and I were just too pooped from a week of camp to join them!)

They were nearly to the head of the line when Shaun panicked and told KT that he had just realized that in the rush to leave the house he had forgotten to grab his wallet and wouldn’t be able to purchase the book after all.  KT, of course, had known this man her entire life and didn’t fall for it. 

She was ecstatic to finally have it!  KT read one paragraph in the car before she decided that she would wait until she got home to start reading it.  When she came home she brewed herself a strong cup of tea and started reading.  When I got up this morning, she was still  wide awake and reading!

About ten minutes ago, KT came out of her room with a tear-streaked  face.  She handed me the book and told me she was “all-dried up”.  I asked her what that meant, and she told me that she had been bawling for the last three hours and didn’t have any tears left!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a book to read…

NOTE:Just as I was finishing this up and getting ready to crack the cover of the book, the UPS man arrived!  KT has decided that she is going to keep it forever in pristine condition.