I’ve been sitting here, trying very hard to tell you about my alien encounter.  But it seems that I’m all worked up about something else, so I’m going to give you my first ever vent.

As a mom, I feel it is important to be in contact with what’s going on with my girls.  For that reason, I have been an active member of the PTA ever since they started school.  I loved doing things such as Classic Books (leading an age-appropriate  book club) and Art Docent (teaching about the great artists and providing a project to reinforce what they learned.)  Basically anything that had me in there with the kids was the way to go. 

When the girls moved up to Junior High, I figured that I didn’t really need to be as involved.  There really wasn’t as much to do with the kids (other than supervise a dance…UGH!) and I wasn’t interested in dealing with the adult side of the PTA.   Then someone that I admired and respected asked me to be a part of the board.   I hesitated a long time.  I didn’t really want to have anything to do with it.   Finally, I accepted the position of “Volunteer Coordinator” .  Mostly because I didn’t want to be pestered anymore and the only options were that or to be president.  (and I really, really didn’t want to be president!)

 I don’t care for the position, although it isn’t that hard.   Mostly it involves a lot of tedious computer work.  And even more tedious meetings.  It astounds me how some of these woman can go on and on about…oh…nothing.  They always go longer than they are scheduled.  I’m not sure what it is about the woman that are attracted to the PTA…but we don’t seem to click. 

I’m not sure why I am still here for a second year, but I am having a major conflict with one of the other board members.   Because of  I want to throttle her resign my post, but it seems wrong to do so.  Shaun, who is used to the office politics game, thinks I should confront this woman, but I don’t like conflict and really don’t even want anything to do with her.   I guess I will be calling her soon, although it’s quite possible that she is oblivious  to how my stomach gets all tied  up in knots whenever I think about the situation. 

Maybe I will be having another alien encounter soon…  (and maybe now, after my lame first ever venting session I can tell you about the first one.)

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Bit O Life

Speaking of irritations, this is the main reason I don’t usually like going to the fair!

We have two major fairs in our area.  The big slick one is The Puyallup.  The smaller (probably more authentic one) is the Evergreen State Fair. We just call it the Redneck Fair.   Shaun, being the fun loving guy that he is, fully believes that we have to go to both fairs. Every. Single. Year.    

Against my wishes, we made plans to go to the  Redneck Fair last weekend.  I wasn’t too concerned about it as because of major night owl hours we’ve been keeping this summer.  A late morning, coupled with rainy skies virtually guaranteed that we would just blow it off.  Much to my amazement the sun came out and entire family was out of bed and ready to go before noon.  (That’s pretty good for us!)

So off we went to the fair. 

We went through the rinky dink gate and handed over most of our cash to get in.  We’d planned on paying with debit, but we found out that it’s cash only.  (See the sign up there?)

The first thing we saw upon entering was a display of old, rusty tractors.  Shaun was quite excited and didn’t understand our lack of enthusiasm.  It wasn’t until he pouted that “Grandpa would look at them with me” that we agreed to oogle the tractors.  (Dad, you owe me for that!)

Oooo, a rusty old tractor!

Then we headed towards the pig races to meet up with some friends.  I have to admit that I have a secret love for pig races.  They are just so stinkin’ cute. 

You’ve heard the phrase “when pigs fly”? Well, that little guy in the upper left corner looks like he’s flying to me!

We got to visit farm animals in their stalls

This particular stallion could only whinney if he used his hands hoofs.

We got to ride the rides

Notice how gray the skies were getting again.  It didn’t rain too much.

And meet new friends.

Quack!

Then we hit the food row.  I searched in vain for some of the um…delicacies I keep hearing about.  Things like deep-fried Twinkies and Snickers.  Not that I wanted one, I just needed to see how awful they looked.  Instead we found the usual corn dogs and polish sausage.  Walla Walla onion burger, yakisoba  and teriyaki.  There was even a veggie stir-fry and grilled ears of corn for our little vegan.

For the sweet tooth, we could fill up on cotton candy, candy apples, smoothies, and/or lattes.  But what everyone really seems to crave here are scones. 

I personally don’t get it.  A Fair Scone tastes like a biscuit with strawberry jam to me.  I’d much rather have the ooey gooey cinnamon rolls that we lined up for at the fair in Southern California.  Oh well…

I was quite happy with my freshly made kettle corn.  YUM!

Isn’t this a great trash can? 

All in all it was a wonderful day at the fair.  I hate to admit when Shaun is right about something (Not really, but it would be nice if he were wrong sometimes.) but he was right that we would all have a great time at the fair. 

I can’t help but plot how I’m going to get out of going to the Puyallup though…

Lisa has us answering the question, “Why do you blog?” for this Fun Monday assignment.

“So how many hits a day are you getting on your blog now” my beloved asked me last night.  I told him and he merely sighed and shook his head.  Then he looked me in the eyes and told me that I was going to have to do better as that simply wasn’t enough.  He went on to inform me that I had to attract thousands of visitors each day if he was going to be able to quit his job and live comfortably off of my blog ad earnings.  I just gave him the look that he is so familiar with.  The one that says he’s such a goofball. 

I don’t ever expect to make any money off of this little blog of mine.  (Heck I don’t even have an ad…I even find them mildly offensive).  That’s not why I started it in the first place.  I started it because, well…Shaun pestered me into it. 

A few years ago, I got a wild hair and decided to write a Christmas letter to send out with all my cards.  I was prepared to hear moans and groans because that was the standard reaction to those seasonal letters.  Instead, to my amazement, everyone raved about how wonderful they were.   (I still hear  a lot of whining is I don’t send one out nowadays)  Encouraged by this positive reaction from family and friends, I started writing little stories about what was going on in our lives.  Then I would send them out via email. 

Shaun had heard about this new thing called a “blog”.  He wanted me to start one so that everyone could just go there and see my tales.  Of course I, being the one who hates change and anything technical, claimed that  I didn’t want one of those new-fangled things.  Why mess with a good thing? Ignoring my words, my sweet husband set up a blog for me. He even posted several of my past stories on it.  Instead of falling to my knees in gratitude, I foolishly refused to  acknowledge it’s existence.

It took a while, but I finally came around and started up my own blog.  (Yes, I was still too stubborn to use the one he set up for me!) It amazes me that something that started out as a way of allowing loved ones keep tabs on our family has become such a big part of our lives.  The entire family gives me suggestions on what to write.  People that I don’t even realize are reading know everything that is going on with us.  (sometimes it’s kinda creepy!)

Blogging has opened up a wonderful door for me.  I get to practice my writing skills (such as they are), I have an online journal and as a very special bonus, I have “met “so many amazing people. 

It’s highly doubtful that I will ever be able to support my beloved with this little blog, but I think the rewards I do get from it are pretty amazing…

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Bit O Life

The Pig Races at the Fair!  (More about that tomorrow)

Yesterday I opened my email to find that Shaun had sent me a link to an article on MSNBC.  It was titled ”Saying Goodbye to your College-Bound Kids”.  Basically it was all about the melancholy so many parents feel when their children go off to school.  I just laughed and then replied to my beloved that KT was moving up to high school not college and that he was a dork.

Shaun has been fretting about our kids leaving us since they started walking.  Of course I scoff at his anxiousness.  (There’s a clause in our marriage vows that gives me that right. Unfortunately, I allowed him the same scoffing privileges.) I view our primary goals as parents as raising confident, independent adults that can fly freely on their own.  Shaun, on the other hand, has been steadily trying to convince the girls that when they get married they will bring their husbands home to live with us.  (See why I scoff?)

This morning, KT dragged me out of bed at the crack of dawn so I could take her to the information day at the high school.  Her excitement was contagious.  Despite my lack of caffeine, I was all set for what I viewed as a slightly older version of kindergarten orientation.  

We arrived at the high school and immediately ran into KT’s best friend in the parking lot .  They seemed content to walk along with me,  but I, in my infinite Mom Wisdom, could tell that the two of them would much rather be giggling  with each other instead.  I told them to go ahead and with barely a backward glance they were off to catch up with other friends they hadn’t seen all summer.  Occasionally, they would circle back to find me when KT needed yet another check for some activity or important purchase. 

I watched my little girl with a poignant mingling of pride and dismay.  Three short years ago, at the junior high orientation, I couldn’t pry my hand loose from KT’s clinging  grasp.   Just a few moments before that, my baby was wailing because I was leaving her all alone in a kindergarten classroom. 

As much as I hate to admit it, Shaun is right, the next three years are going to fly right by us.  Before we know it, our little girl will be settling into dorm life far away from us.  Of course she will come home on holidays and in the summer.  But she won’t need us any more.  I am finally getting a glimmer of the angst Shaun has been feeling for so long now.  Our baby is leaving us. 

I’m such a dork.

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Bit O Life

Mimi’s embroidery results.  I nearly bawled when I saw that she had added on the “Mom” and the little heart.  (Yeah, I might be just a little emotional lately!)

As chauffeur of the family, I seem to find myself doing a lot of waiting.  Currently it’s only Martial Arts but the girls are trying to go nearly every day.   It’s only about an hour so it really doesn’t make sense to go back home after dropping them off.   I usually use that time to sit in the car and read a book or more frequently run any errands that need to be taken car of in town.  (Not that there are very many errands I can do in our little bitty town.) 

For entertainment grocery shopping, I frequently find myself headed to our new Costco.  (Technically it’s not really new as it has been there for about a year, but that’s just what I call it)  It’s a perfect time to go as there usually isn’t much of a crowd at that time of day.  There’s all sorts of stuff to spend our money on gaze at in wonderment.  You can get anything at Costco.  (As long as you don’t mind that it comes in jumbo size). 

One thing I don’t ever do it join the feeding frenzy that surrounds the “Sample Ladies”.   While I don’t see anything wrong with it, (it’s their job to give away free food so it’s perfectly fine to accept it.) it still offends me to be a part of it.  I think this dates back to when my girls were tiny.  I just couldn’t get past the feeling that people must have thought they were starving little orphans begging for crumbs for passing strangers. 

So imagine my surprise when one of the Sample Ladies singled me out and beckoned me over to her the other night.   As I approached her, she glanced around as if to make sure nobody was around. Then she asked me if I was looking for a part-time job.   A zillion questions went zipping through my head.  Why did she select me  to ask?  Were my capris not fancy enough for Costco? Did I look destitute or starving? Of course, I didn’t ask her any of these burning questions…I mere thanked her and declined the offer. 

After all, I already have a full time job.  I’m the family Chauffeur…

When I was a kid, I loved watching TV.  I spent as much time as I possibly could with Gilligan, Speed Racer, Gopher, and Gage.  I dreamed of living on the ranch with Little Joe or hanging out with Laura on the Prairie.  Life was good. 

Then one day, the TV died yet again.  My cruel and uncaring  wise  and concerned parents decided that we didn’t need it and simply wouldn’t get it fixed.  It was really hard at first.  I had no idea what I could possibly do to fill up my endless days.  (You can only beat up on your baby brother for so long before it gets boring).  We took to playing in the canyons across the street from our house and then discovered the joys of reading.  I realized that watching TV wasn’t nearly as entertaining to me.

After I had my own children, I quickly realized that simply placing a book in their hands would only result in torn  and drool filled pages .  Even reading the books to them could only keep their attention for so long.  So I did what the other responsible parents I knew were doing.  I plopped them in front of the TV and  turned on PBS. (We all know how educational that is.)

This summer, much to my amazement, the girls haven’t really been begging to watch TV as much as they have in previous years.  I’ve been astounded at how content they have been to have their noses buried in a book.  (Or on the computer, but we won’t go there) I was so proud of them for finally giving up what seems to be one of the major pastimes of our culture. 

My pride was short-lived when the reason behind this sudden lack of interest in TV was revealed.  Apparently, something had happened and we were only getting about ten (very boring) channels.  After a month or so of whining about this to their dad (They know better than to ask me to do anything technical!) Shaun finally took a look at it.  In about three minutes our electronic genius had diagnosed and resolved the problem. 

The girls were thrilled beyond belief and eagerly started flipping channels to verify that it really, truly was fixed.  I was drawn in by the giggles of my little (ish) girls and joined them on the couch.  We stayed up waaaayyy too late feasting our eyes on the likes of High School Musical 2 (It wasn’t nearly as bad as I  thought…well…OK, it was but still…) and Hannah Montana.   

It may not be the same as hanging out with Gilligan and the gang, but it is hanging out with my girls.  Life is good.

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Bit O Life

Mimi (who is not watching TV, but is learning to embroidery.  Buddy is there for technical assistance. 

This week’s Fun Monday hosts at The UncaringBear has asked us to Share with us a little white lie that you may, or may not, have gotten away with. Perhaps it’s something more sinister than a little white lie – maybe even a deep dark secret that you’ve kept buried for years! All the better! Now’s your chance to get it off your chest and confess: “Yes, I did eat that last slice of cheese cake”, “No, I wasn’t washing my hair that Saturday”, “Those pants do make you look fat”!

Well, to be perfectly honest, I had to think long and hard about this subject.  I finally ended up asking  Shaun if he could think of anything I ever fibbed about.  He immediately  pondered for nearly five minutes before he asked me if I remembered the sausages.  Ah yes…the sausages, how could I ever forget them?

Years ago, when we were first married and I was still a naive starry-eyed bride, I used to lovingly make us all a big breakfast.  (This was before I learned the joys of cold cereal)  One morning I slaved away at the stove creating a wonderful feast for us.  (By wonderful, I mean that I managed to not burn a single thing) I called my little family to the table as I proudly placed the heaping serving platters of scrambled eggs, (Shaun quickly learned to accept the one and only way I can manage prepare eggs) crisp hash browns and perfectly browned sausages on the table.  

As I took the two steps back to our tiny kitchen to butter the toast, Shaun looked at me with a funny expression on his face and asked if that’ was all the sausage there was.  I responded that I thought the one package would be fine for us.  Then he asked me if I had dropped any on the floor or something.  I looked at him like he was nut and told him that I didn’t think so.  They were all there.  He just shook his head and muttered about something about how strange it was that there were only seven sausage links in a package.  I just shrugged and sat down to eat our meal. 

The moment passed and the topic moved on to other things. In the middle of discussing what we would do that day, I nearly broke into tears.  I couldn’t take the pressure and had to confess to my beloved that I had eaten one of the sausages before I called everyone to the table. 

Nowadays, whenever I happen to see a package of sausage links, I have to grin…I mean, WHO in their right mind counts sausage links?? 

I still can’t tell a fib worth beans…but I may have learned to be sneakier about sampling the sausages.  The trick is to always eat two just to keep it even…

A while back, I was tagged by Jennieboo for the Google meme.

1) Go to http://www.google.com/

2) Click on Google images

3) Type in your name and search

4) Repost (w/ a link) the picture of the oddest, craziest, strangest, coolest, oldest, etc. person that shares your name. Post multiples if you find a few you like.

5) Pass it on to at least 5 other people.

So…I typed in my full name and got…oh pretty much nothing.   Well, I wouldn’t say nothing, just nothing that would fit the meme.  For reasons unknown to me, I got images of everything from cakes, flowers, musical instruments and elephants.  Go figure. 

I decided to try just my first name.  My research goes to show that while we Susans are a diverse lot, most of us are freakishly bookish or are exhibitionists.  So I decided to show the image of a Susan (that really isn’t a Susan)

About the time I switched back over to Susan from being called Sue, the movie “Desperately Seeking Susan” came out.  It nearly made me want to go back to being called (A Boy Named) Sue again.  I just couldn’t win!

Anyways….on to my award.  Pretty in the City has awarded me with the “Nice Matters Award”.  (Isn’t that nice of her?)
 ”This award is for those 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.  Once you’ve been awarded please pass it on to 7 others who you feel are deserving of this award.”

I really don’t like giving out these awards because the thought of leaving someone out is so distressing to me.  (See how nice I am???)  I’m trying to think of who I haven’t awarded and tagged before.  (You know the award come with a catch, right?)

1. Frances~who started She Who Blogs and goes out of her way to encourage and support everyone.  Plus she has some amazing shots of NYC.

2. Tink~ Because she is just so wonderful to everyone.  Besides she cracks me up every time I go to visit her.

3. My Mom~Because, despite the fact that she is an inconsistent  blogger, the award reminds me of a fancy Mother’s day card.  And…well…she is my mother.

4. KT~Because she has never given me a fancy frou-frou card for Mother’s Day

5. Dorky Dad~ Because he’s a really nice guy whose blog could use a touch of pink.  )

6. Betty~Because she’s the mother of two really awesome bloggers.  (and she has a pretty great blog herself.)

7. Michelle~Because I like her and her photography.  (And I don’t think the pink will clash too much with her template!)

What do you mean I can’t give out awards based on who I think will like the pink the most? All is says in the rules is that they have to be nice and inspire good feelings!

Thanks Mel!

Lately there has been a battle over who gets to drive whenever we go somewhere.  Shaun wants to drive everywhere with the top down on the Jeep because of the glorious weather.  KT wants to drive everywhere because it is a new skill and such a novelty for her. 

So when Mimi needed to be brought over to a friend’s house, a task that usually falls to me, we all ended up going.  Shaun had won this particular battle of “who gets to drive” (He is the dad  after all, which gets him all sorts of extra clout). 

We followed the curve around the fairly major arterial we were driving down and were stunned to find a car stopped in the middle of the road in front of us.  It looked like the elderly driver had crept out too far into the busy road and just stopped there and stared wide eyed at the huge Jeep bearing down on him.  

In a burst of adrenaline, Shaun laid on  his horn and, not having enough time to stop, drove around behind the driver, hollering at the poor man the entire time.   KT just looked at her father and calmly asked him if  that was an instance of road rage.  (I think he may have growled at her.)

On the way home we got to talking about the  driver of the car we had seen earlier.  Shaun thought he was old enough to know better than to be messing around that way and just thought he was a fool.  I gently suggested that he may have simply been confused and then panicked at the sight of the Jeep swiftly approaching.  KT, on the other hand,  had a different theory.  She suggested that maybe, just maybe he was stopped because he was so astonished at the man driving down the road wearing a huge shark hat…and the woman helpfully holding it on his head for him. 

You didn’t really think I could get him to pose with it did you?

 I’m still working on the abc encyclopedia of me.  I double checked the rules, and lucky for me, it didn’t say anything about doing the alphabet in order!  On to the letter “F”!

Everybody knows that anybody who wants to be considered somebody has a Facebook page (or is planning on it!) by now.  Now, I don’t have any particular desire to upgrade from my nobody status, but…well…I hate to be left out. 

If it had just stayed in the academic world where it started I would be fine.  In fact if it was just the rest of the world, or just the girls or even just Shaun I would be fine.  But it’s the new “thang” and I was feeling lonely while I basked in my nonconformity.  (Who wants to be a non-conformist  alone?) We even have a family friend that left the beautiful Pacific Northwest to go work for Facebook.  (Talk about being a somebody…Oh hi James!) Somehow, I managed to resist that whole MySpace thing (it really wasn’t that hard for me) but this Facebook thing seemed a little different.

So, after much deliberation, I finally became the proud owner of my very own Facebook page a few weeks ago.  I confidently started filling out my profile.  Then I got to the friends page…hmmmm…..if everyone was doing this, then how come I didn’t know anyone outside my own family?  Of course, I was thrilled when my neighbor blogger Carol (who I haven’t managed to formally meet yet!) offered to be my Facebook friend.  But…um…how can I feel like a somebody with only four friends? (Three of whom don’t really count)

Apparently…I’m a just a poser.  Not only do I have no friends, I don’t really “get” the whole phenomenon.   Why would I want to poke someone or throw a sheep at them? (Although turning someone into a zombie could be fun!)  I’m sure once I figure this out, it will be great fun (you should know by now how resistant I am to changing technology) Maybe someday…somehow…I’ll end up lucky and manage to become a somebody after all.

Until then, wanna be my friend?

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Bit O Life

Sheee muh teeff???