Oh, yeah. Happy Halloween

Is Self Awareness a Good Thing?

I knew it, i knew it, i knew it.

So, last friday...a day after I order the replacement...I'm running out the door to volunteer for the pumpkin project at the boy's school when, on a whim, I reach into the entertainment center cabinet - where the dvd player and such reside - i put my hand way back, behind the netflix rentals into the dark abyss. Presto. The mf charger.

Hey, at least the new one is a car charger too.

murphy's law

Battery charger - ordered

Spare Battery - ordered


Now I will go downstairs and they will be sitting in the middle of the kitchen counter. Where, I swear to god, they have not been for the past five days.

Isn't that they way it works?

Daisy Scouts.

You will be the death of me.

P.S. Has anyone seen my camera battery charger? Yeah, me neither.

In Review

Dearest Interviewers:

I am submitting a brief synopsis of yesterday's employment interview for your reading pleasure.

Currently, I am performing the exact same job I interviewed for yesterday, and then some. A job I plan on keeping, by the way. I am well qualified and would make an excellent asset to your town. However,

1. There were THREE people there to interview me. I transcribe town board meetings - I am not a neurosurgeon. The three person tag-team interview style for a 12 hour/month position was a little excessive.

2. The woman I'd be replacing? The main interviewer? Congratulations on your 21 years of gainful employment with the town. And thank you for continually reminding me of that fact in your not so subtle way. I'm sure your meetings run like a well oiled machine. Actually, I know they do. You told me. You seem to be curt and efficient but certainly not as intimidating as you wished. You were almost pleasant, even. ALMOST.

3. After leaving the hour long interview (hell-low, it's transcription not rocket science) I drove out of the absolutely beautiful tree lined driveway and thought to myself....Please, please, please don't offer me the job.

4. The man on the phone said that this might become a full time position in the future as the current gal from item #2 will be retiring. How come no mention of that yesterday? It would've been the nail in your coffin anyway...my husband and I agree...full time employment for me will be avoided at all costs. And by costs I mean I'd rather give up cable TV then work for you.

5. Don't take it personally, I just wasn't getting the "Wow, I really want to work here" vibe. Not from the office, the job description or you guys. And maybe I shouldn't be so picky but...I am that picky. And now I know how much I really LOVE where I'm working now. As in lu-uuuuve.

Am anxiously awaiting your 'Sorry, but we've found a more qualified candidate' letter.

Yours truly, or not,

jenny

Nerves

Job interview this morning.

I haven't been on an official job interview in thirteen years.

It's sounding very casual - but still.

In typical fashion I lost the paper with the interviewer's name on it.

Will report back later.

A meme for youyou

ARE YOU:
A Cuddler? well, with the kiddos.
A morning person? I'm not grouchy or anything...but I like nights better.
Are you a perfectionist? Mostly, no.
An only child? Is it wrong to say yes when you have a stepsister? It is? Too bad. Yes.
Catholic? : Raised catholic but when they refused to confirm me our family officially dropped out.
In your pajamas? Sadly, no
Currently suffering from a broken heart? No
Okay styling other people's hair? No, no and no.
Left handed? Righty.
Addicted to MySpace? I think myspace is the worst the internet has to offer.
Shy around the opposite gender? mostly not.
Loud? I think so.

DO YOU:
Bite your nails? No
Get paranoid at times? Why? Who's asking?
Currently regret something that you have said/done? Currently? No.
Curse frequently when you get mad? You'd better believe it.
Enjoy country music? Meh, not really.
Enjoy jazz music? Sometimes
Enjoy smoothies? I love an Orange Julius.
Enjoy talking on the phone? Sometimes, Vonage keeps me in check.
Have a lot to learn? For sure
Have a pet? One dog, three fish and soon to be the mother of a guinea pig owner
Have a tendency to fall for the "wrong" person? Eeep. yes.
Have all your grandparents died? yes.
Have at least one sibling? Step.
Have been told that you are smart? Yes. The gifted and talented program sucked tho.
Have had a broken bone? No
Have Caller I.D. on your phone? Yes...see 19. Love the Vonage.

HAVE YOU:
Changed a diaper? Um, did I have a choice?
Changed a lot over the past year? Not a one.
Had friends who have never seen your natural hair color? Hmmm, maybe.
Had surgery? No - just wisdom teeth - which, they knocked me out - does that count?
Killed anyone? No. At least not that I know of.
Had your haircut within the last week? Nope, two weeks ago.

LAST PERSON WHO:
Slept in the bed beside you? My daughter
Saw you cry? My kids.
Went to the movies with you? SP, I think. It might have been the boy.
You went to the mall with? My daughter - Build a Bear and then we split a milkshake.
You went to dinner with? The kids, the girlie wanted Friendly's for her birthday dinner.
You talked to on the phone? My friend Jean
Said 'I love you' to you and meant it? My boy- when he got on the bus this morning.
Broke your heart? Adam. Hahahaha. I left this in from Jen's. But I'd have to say my husband.
Made you laugh? The girlie.

WOULD YOU RATHER?
Pierce your nose or tongue? Neither really. But I guess tongue, more discreet. Except for the lisp.
Be serious or be funny? Funny
Drink whole or skim milk? Skim
Die in a fire or drown? Drown
Spend time with your parents or enemies? Parents.

ABOUT YOU!
What time is it? 8:02 a.m.
Name? Jennifer
Nickname(s)? Jenn(y)
Where were you born? Anchorage, AK
What is your birthdate? May 21 st
What do you want? Nice kids. And some money for christmas & the hockey tournament would be nice too.
Where do you want to live? Right where I am.
How many kids do you want? Just two.

Two Outta Three Ain't Bad

well, we're 66.6% done with the birthday celebrations.

1. Birthday Trip to Build a Bear - check. Last year, it might have even been the night of her 5th birthday, she said that she wanted to go back to build another bear - just her and I. She's loved Nellie more than I would've ever even prayed a girl could love a much too expensive stuffed dog and she's waited so patiently for her return trip - and now we have Butterscotch.
And yes, perfectly safe to take pictures while your driving. Didn't you learn that in your Driver's Ed class?

Family + a bonus best friend party - check. And there were babies...two babies...which gave the rest of us plenty of reason to oooh and ahhhh. The favorite present was a my little pony notebook set that - because it is the favorite - has been used non-stop for the past 36 hours. Thanks SP! Plus I scalded everyone's mouth with my soup...oops.

And now we're moving on to the High School Musical Birthday Party. We're converting her room to the dressing room, complete with full length mirror and a big gold star on the door, a karaoke machine with Troy & Gabriella singing their little high school hearts out, T-Shirt decorating, and some sort of basketball game (Go Wildcats!). I think I'm up to eight girls - which is like, six to many (hah!) - and the husband is working so he misses the whole thing. And him missing it totally bums me out - we're totally a party team...he's a better hostess to the moms than I ever could be. He's the drink server and let me get you a chair type of guy. I'm more of a "oh, you're thirsty AGAIN?!?! the drinks are in the cooler..." type of girl.

Today the girlie is off to her first kindergarten friend playdate (ACK - I hate that word!). And I don't have any plans from 9:00 a.m. until 2:40 p.m. - the mind reels.

She needs two hands to show how old she is

Six years ago yesterday.














A kiss from an older brother.

Arriving home.
















so absolutely kissable at four weeks old.












again, with the smoochable.













three hours ago.

six years have gone by in what feels like minutes.

Happy Birthday Girlie.

Happy Friday Mornin'

Peyton Manning, after living a full life, died. When he got to heaven, God was showing him around. They came to a modest little house with a faded Colts flag in the window. “This house is yours for eternity, Peyton,” said God. “This is very special; not everyone gets a house up here.”

Peyton felt special, indeed, and walked up to his house. On his way up the sidewalk, he noticed another house just around the corner. It was a 3-story mansion with a blue and red sidewalk, a 50 foot tall flagpole with an enormous Patriots logo flag, and in every window hung a red Patriots towel.

Peyton looked at God and said “God, I’m not trying to be ungrateful, but I have a question. I was an all-pro QB, I hold many NFL records, and I even went to the Hall of Fame.”

“So what’s your point Peyton?", God asked.

“Well, why does Tom Brady get a better house than me?”

God chuckled, and replied “Peyton, that’s not Tom’s house, it’s mine.”

Okay, I'm not what you would call organized. I don't wear a watch. My calendar starts off promisingly in January and then I forget about it until hockey starts again in September...you get the idea.

But I just made an AGENDA for tonight's daisy girl scout meeting.

Go aheah...put the L on your forehead...I know it already...Looosaaaah.

Mostly because I'm scared of looking like an bumbling idiot in front of the other moms and the other leader mom was all..."I don't know, um, we should be fine, I'll bring some construction paper." That type of thing throws me headfirst into panic mode.

I volunteered to help with the troop and when I met the other volunteer mom...I didn't really like her. She was okay, I guess, but there was no good vibe feeling. Which kind of stinks. Plus her emails are ALWAYS in different style fonts and colors and sizes. And yes - This is an issue. Green italics garamond, blue bold size 24 jester, teeny purple times new roman. Oy. She's pleasant enough and all, just was hoping we'd click a little better since she plans on holding meetings until June.

Well, I'm off to cook dinner, make copies, get the snack together, wrap some books, go to the post office, meet the son at the bus stop, take a shower, watch last week's Survivor, set up the VCR to tape tonight's Survivor, head to Daisy's and then to work. Chow.

Last Saturday

not this past Saturday...but a week and a half ago...we were the recipients (or rather, the boy's league was) of some free Bruins tickets. Generally these are upper balcony, obstructed view type of tickets but this time, because it was still pre-season, they so weren't. Some of us got luxury box tickets and some of us got seats right in front of the boxes. We opted to sit with friends in front of the boxes because this is how my nine year old watches the game:
And he doesn't think you'd get a good enough view from inside the room. He's probably right.

Oh NO I didn't

Wah. Oh yes I did.

I got sucked in by all this blogger beta nonsense.

And now look at me.

No Coach, No Blogroll, No Nuthin.

On the other hand...it's all mine to mess with.

Off to template land.


*Update- Template land was a bust. Oh sure, it's easier to add links in beta. But with all of those fucking widgets it's ten times as confusing changing the rest of the codes. For me, anyway. Super.

** Update - They say they save your old template. They never tell you where.

Today

I am waiting not so patiently for the principal to get back to me about the girlie's bus transportation. Or lack thereof.

My boy went to school with nervous jitters because he had his first real argument turned thrown punch with one of his best friends and I know he's anxious to see how it all plays out. As am I.

We're getting ready for the last of the open houses. I must remember to not plan A THING for the first week in October next year.

I bought the kids their matching christmas pajamas. Corny, I know and every year I wonder how long I can get away with this. Thank god the girlie is a bit of a tomboy - the son would've stopped this long ago had I brought home two sets of Barbie jammies.

I am looking forward to Survivor.

I'm hoping that, if there is some higher power, it's watching over my husband's cousin. He landed in Baghdad this morning to begin his tour of duty.

Rainy fridays are ususally my favorite...

No work, last day of school, not usually any hockey, no homework - not alot going on in general.

Today is, to borrow from my friend, Mr. Squarepants, Opposite Day.

I have twenty seven loads of laundry to fold, I'm meeting with the Daisy Scout Leader so we can plan for the month, pick the girlie up from school, go to BJ's for dog food and such, go to bank to get money for gas to actually get to BJ's, pick up my 4runner from the garage, take my boy for a haircut, vacuum, make dinner and then a snack for bookclub.

And then smooch on my best friend's new baby and go to book club. The last two don't really belong up there with all the others because these last two are enjoyable, especially the baby smooching.

The husband is working tomorrow so I've got early morning hockey duty, which is fine...because it's not really early morning. 8:20 a.m. ice time is practically lunch in hockeyland. Sunday he's got to be dressed and ready to skate at 5:40 a.m. and THAT is early.

Our T.V. remote is missing. Since last Sunday. You would think, the way my husband is complaining, that one of our children had been lost. I've never seen him actually LOOK for something so diligently. Every night he devotes actual time to searching a new place. HAH. I would rather D.I.E. die before I admit to him just what a pain in the ass it is, this clickerless existence.

But. Last night? My girlie woke up around midnight and I was watching Broken Flowers. I shut the movie off and notice that the VCR is still taping (Survivor is what I was taping, four hours earlier). I go and press the Power button on the VCR remote...and it shuts the TV off. I nearly jumped for joy. It's like, 15 years old and it works on the TV. Hooray! But my husband is thinking that he'll clean out under the couch and vacuum under the furniture in his quest for the clicker...so I may not tell him right away...do you blame me?

How can you not smile when you drive by a tree like this?

Walking around with your head up your.....

Last night, I'm watching Nightline and this political ad comes on:




A. I sat, mouth open for just a second.

B. I laughed. Out loud.

I may or may not vote for him but at least he knows what most people are thinking.

Wednesday

A question for you all:

How much homework do your kids get?

My boy is in fourth grade and wow, they've started piling it on. Last night he had a science project/presentation to finish preparing for (due today), a book to start reading for a book report, a few pages in his math book to read, two math worksheets, spelling words to write and then write them again in detailed sentences.

I'm wondering if this is the norm or is he just unlucky, in the way that the student in a school that didn't meet accredidation (sp?) standards would be unlucky. How in god's green acres this school DID NOT meet the standards I have yet to find out...if it has to do with standardized tests I just might vomit.

In other news:
I'm supposed to be at Target right now. Buying tights. And yet, here I sit.

In other, more interesting news:
I shampooed the kid's bedroom carpets yesterday...and they came out so good I didn't want to put their furniture back in.
Wha? Not interesting enough?

Okay then, I leave you with pictures from this summer's camping trip from h.e. double hockey sticks:



Sounds from the first night. My husband called me to tell me to batten down the hatches, downpours were headed our way. So I battened and everything stayed nice and dry. With the exception of the tent. And the puddles inside I spent all night checking on an soaking up before they could hit our pillows. The glowy thing is one of those fifty cent glow sticks hooked on a zipper pull inside the tent. Best nightlite ever.



Jumping waves at Sandy Neck. It was windy and borderline cold. And naturally, this being the Cape...the water was f-f-f-f-freeezing.

It was here that another parent said to me, as we were leaving "Your kids really play well together, don't they?"

I made a comment about being lucky but really I was thinking that just maybe we could stay for another hour or ten because it was the first time they had STOPPED bickering.



Sunset, the same beach - the same day. We didn't actually stay for ten hours, we had to go back to pick up their sweatshirts they left hanging on the dune fence. This time is was the much preferred low tide and they took off running. Next year we're planning a sunset campfire on this beach...










I didn't get any good shots of the campsite, but this is the view from the site...trees, wild blueberries and huge boulders. And the site was like, the cadillac of campsites, totally huge with neighbors on one small portion. The driveway portion.







We went letterboxing for Smurfs.













And ate entirely too much ice cream.












See? Now would you look at that...I've made it so that, when I stop and try to remember how 'all done' I was with camping alone with the kids...I can't. I have wiped the memory slate clean, somehow. And next summer, no matter how many times I go back and read that archive and you all are typing comments like "Remember last year???" I will just shrug my shoulders and pack up my car.

Blogger, you tempermental little bitch

Okay so this post? Has taken me all day to write because blogger was just NOT cooperating.

And this post? Is nothing spectacular.

Just a note:

If you can, watch the show Heroes tonight, on NBC. They're repeating the pilot that was on last night and it was pretty good.

One more thing: Steven Weber (the guy from Wings) on that Studio 60 show? Whoa with the plastic surgery there, big fella.

Off to work.

So, I guess sitting Indian Style is still in style...or is it pretzel legs?

And I'm back.

I've sat down to post a few times, but meh. I kept deleting everything I'd write (all ten words!) but I think I'm over that now.

My car is back. For now. It still needs some canister filter to be replaced and four new tires but that's gravy compared to the work that's been done so far. I think we'll be hitting the five thousand dollar mark soon...hey it's a telethon...phone in your pledges now! Time's running out!

On the fiscally irresponsible side you all will have to deal with less of my writing and more of my photos. The camera was purchased. And I love her. 12x zoom, people. How can you not love a 12x zoom? Wanna see? And no, I cannot line them up. Sorry. I'm technically retarded. or computerally challenged. And just so you know...i will sometimes swear in front of the kids but they won't hear me saying retard. Is that backwards logic?



View from the Transmission Shop.










In the past few days I've read a post or two about Fantasy Football. I've gotta tell ya...I'm so glad I'm not alone in this obsession. I am crazy for checking the stats and injury reports. For updating my roster and worrying over 'probable' starts. I've always watched football, the Patriots and the Cowboys. Now I find myself watching highlite reels and score tickers, rooting for teams I could honestly give a crap about. Not even my husband can quite grasp this new found obsession interest. Plus I can knit and watch. Mostly. Except where the Pats are concerned. Last night I was bemoaning my Tom Brady choice, the year he seems to have lost some of his fire. My other option is Mark Brunell and mostly, that's not really an option. Except yesterday when he was, like 24 of 26. Gah!

For those of you who read that last paragraph and thought...blah, blah, blah. Well, sorry. It's that time of year.

And then there's Survivor. Which I just watched yesterday and I have to say all the worry about splitting the tribes based on races, I find it interesting that the teams are not appearing to be insulted by this but seem to be embracing it. The representing and such. It's nice, the embracing of their differences and their backgrounds. I was glad to see Billy go...not so glad to see Yul find the immunity ALREADY. Lesson to next season's survivors: Do not send another team's strongest players to Exile Island...it gives them another HUGE advantage in that they can search for the idol, duh!

That's it for now, I don't want to spoil you all...

Maybe I'm just not nice

I was clicking around some blogrolls or links or something the other day and I came across a link to a story...

there's this group of moms, from I don't know where, sounds like a city - but anyway - one of them found a hat. And they posted that they found a hat on their message board (like it had been left behind at one of their outings or something...i'm hazy on the details).

She specified that it was a boy's hat and posted a photo.

An uproar. It caused an uproar. God forbid but she assigned a gender to this hat and insulted the possible little girl owner. I guess the message boards went all flooey with people typing on both sides of this "argument". One group was indignant: How dare she assume that the hat belongs to a boy and then the other side of the camp (the side of the camp I'd be squarely in) with a great big 'give me a break'.

I'm all for not hurting people's feelings on purpose. But come the hell on. Has this pc/senstivity crap sucked out people's common sense? Are we always on the verge of offending someone with innocuous small talk?

I don't go around calling someone with down's syndrome a retard. But if you do something so stupid that you should've known better...then I'll bust out the retard. Of course it's more like retahhd, but that's something else entirely. And my boy, who is short for his age...I call him a smidge. My abbreviated form of *gasp* midget.

So if we're in line together in the grocery store don't go too crazy if I try to make a comment about the weather. How'm I supposed to know that you're horribly offended by snow? And if you are...that's why they invented peapod.

Note: I found the link.