Well, my husband came home and trumped me on the hotness of Saturday. He spent the day stripping the roof off his parent's garage and re-roofing it. Hewinshewinshewins.

I'm tempted not to blog on something near and dear to me, in a worry that I might jinx it.

But here goes anyway....

ACLS


5-0


3-0-1.

The Sox. How can you NOT love them? I guess there are a few people out there who don't love them or even worse, especially if you live in New England, don't care. And those people probably have a lot more spare time than I do, starting Friday. Whatevah, it is so sweet to be a loyal follower of this team. I didn't know it was possible but I think I love Jonathan Papelbon even more now.


(I know this is a week or so old but I love the man hug at the end)

And if you're a yankee fan? Hahahhahahahahaha.


Moving on.

There's another team over here in my neck of the woods that's not doing so badly either...
Tom Brady's quarterback rating is wicked high right now and Randy Moss? Randy Moss is the answer to my prayers. And probably Tom Brady's prayers too but this isn't his blog. And in fantasy football - apparently when you take Donte Stallworth and Ben Watson off your active roster that will virtually guarantee that they will have stellar performances. S'okay with me. Next week is the matchup of my two all time favorite teams....Patriots vs. Cowboys. My girlie's birthday is Sunday too. We're supposed to host some family for cake and ice cream....ergh.

And last but certainly not least - some youth hockey news. The husband's/son's team is undefeated. It's fairly early in a long season but wins = happy parents. So, for now, things are good. But the kids are skating well and seem to be enjoying themselves. Well, as much as you can enjoy mountain drills and such.. but wins = happy kids too. The coach is STILL not sleeping the night before a game, which makes for a long day when the game is at 5:00 p.m. Oh well, wins = happy coach.

Dudes.

It is 4000 degrees on the soccer field today.

The end.

There is some major DeLurk mojo going around the internet today

So, for all one of you lurking on this here site...it's time to De. As in DE-Lurk.


Last night was the daughter's open house. Our sixth consecutive year at this elementary school. The only thing we haven't seen, or rather, my husband hasn't seen is her classroom. It's even the same gym teacher that my husband had in Middle School. My son just likes going in hopes that he'll see his friends and then he gets to check out his mural and his plaque. Which is all good until you go to look for the plaque and find out that they've taken it down so that they can bring it to a meeting tomorrow night. Did I mention that because there is virtually no parking at the school that we have to be bussed in? Great fun, that.

And Thursday we do it all again for the boy. Different school though, this one is my husband's old middle school and I'm betting there's at least one teacher there from his formative years.

Tonight I get to sit at a school committee meeting where, if I speak up, I will be in an otherwise silent minority. They're looking to get an override so they can move the kindergarten up to full-day and move the third graders over to an intermediate school. And then they tack on the 'we don't have enough money for copy paper and books' line. So, basically, if you approve one you approve both...the 'in for a dime in for a dollar mentality'. I don't buy in to all of this foolishness, the school department has been less than forthcoming with their accounting and since they've already taken a half million dollars from town to cover this year's operating costs...well, I'm not giving them (willingly anyway) another dime.

Boring enough for you? You poor de-lurkers, I'm sorry. You come here and all I give you is town politics and stuff about open houses. No wonder you lurk.

Annie get your gun

Ever throw a tomahawk?

We have. Or rather, the kids have.

I took the kids to the Massachusetts Outdoor Expo yesterday so they could try their hand at shooting, archery, fly fishing and such. I shot a gun for the first time, a .22 rifle. I hit the bullseye five out of five shots and am officially in the market for a gun. Seriously. Not anytime soon because I've got to get an FID card and really, disposable income for a gun? Not likely. Could I borrow one after I get my card? Hopefully.

But it was so totally relaxing...finding the target in the scope, aiming, shooting and then the almost instantaneous PING of the bullet hitting the target. I have no urge to hunt, none. But I could easily spend an hour a week at a rifle range pinging bullets off metal turkeys.

And the kids loved it too:




We shied away from the shotguns because they were WAY loud and the line was wicked long, but the kids did get to shoot some arrows...


And the girlie climbed a big fake rock


It was quite a drive and we arrived home exhausted. The first thing my son did? Grab his Cabela's catalog to try and find his momma a gun.

Wii wish you a merry christmas

In our quest to get a big jump on our christmas shopping SP and I decided wii needed an evening out.

Basically, our evenings out consist of her giving me a hard time because I put 9/10 of everything back before I check out and me giving her a hard time because she forgot all of her money and she made me go to the ATM.

That last part was a lie. It was me, I forgot my money and she very generously went to the ATM so wii could get some dinner. My head was all scrambly last night. First the money and then later when I spilled half my bags onto the sidewalk at her house and didn't know how to unlock my car. How, after more than two full years can I NOT know how to unlock my car? Seriously, I'm asking you.

The one thing I was really looking for isn't all that available but wii got lucky...there seem to be a few hanging around here and there. So I got it. And I actually hugged it once wii got in the car.



Can you guess what it is? Huh? Huh? Canya?



And yes, I did too hug it. How could I not?




I mean, look at her.

And now, I'm wanting this. And this. And this too! I mean the kids, yeah, the KIDS are wanting these. Or they will be. Because they don't know they're getting one. And it has nothing to do with what I want. Nothing at all.

Now, how to tell my husband....

Over the past year or so, on occasion, I will sometimes tease the boy about girls. Not in a mean spirited way, more like a 'she's kicking you for a reason' type of tease.

Now, don't get me wrong - I'm firmly in the no way do you need to be having a girlfriend at this age camp. But he always laughed and made gagging faces when I would say something about A. pulling his hair or K. begging him for math answers.

This year, he says (with no prompt from me) that there are girls. Girls with crushes. On him, my boy. He's giggling the entire time he's telling me that he's heard from his friends that there are some girls crushing on him. So I ask him if there's some one who might be the object of HIS affection and he just laughs. NO DENIAL, NO GAGGING SOUND.

I call him out on the lack of gagging and he says that there is a girl. He refused to dole out any more information except more giggling and that, my friends, was that.

The next day he mentions a girl, M., who sits between him and his friend and I raise my eyebrows and say "M??" - He catches on in a blink and laughs and says "No, not M." and starts with the giggling. I tell him I'm going to keep throwing a name out there every once in awhile, until I get it right. And so for the next few days, I do. And every time it's a denial and some laughter.

I worried that he'd get sick of the name throwing out thing so I asked him if it bothered him. He says to me that he doesn't mind if I tease him, that's it's fun. And then he snuggled up next to me to watch Survivorman.

I feel like it's not long now, until I lose him bit by bit...to friends, sports and even girls. What two, maybe three or four years? And I just want to hang on so tight to every minute I've got.

And yes, this IS important

So, all three of you know one show I'll be watching this fall. I probably shouldn't mention that by last week, the second week of its new season, I had already forgotten to watch. Ergh.



What else?

Okay, well Dancing with the Stars because, well, alright there's no good reason. Before the first season I thought, No Way would I evah watch, no way. I think I caught the season finale that time. And then, I figured, maybe I would try to watch Season Two. It was a slippery slope people...Hi my name is Jenny and I am a DancingWithTheStars-aholic. I could do with less guest performers and dramatically placed commercials though.

And then there's Survivor. Between the casting and the editing...never mind the challenges and drama...It's my Thursday night, only talk during commericals, place to be.

I started off strong with Heroes last year. Watched it religiously. And then something happened, I missed one. And forgot to catch up online. So then I missed two and then three and the season finale would make four. So, while I know that they saved the cheerleader and the world, I've no idea HOW. Season Two started last night and I didn't watch, because of the same stupid reason...like if I don't watch them sequentially my head will explode or something. What's the matter with me?

I don't watch any of those CSI or Law and Order shows. Nor do I watch Grey's Anatomy (I did watch one or two episodes and during one the main whiny girl rolled off a pier and into a lake (ocean?) and I thought...'thank god, I HATE that girl'. I said to a friend that I hoped that they wrote her off she totally laughed and said that she doubted it because it was the GREY from Grey's Anatomy that I was talking about. And that was the last I saw of that.

I rarely watch comedies, since my tendencies go toward shows like It's Always Sunny and Arrested Development (still mourning the loss, thankyouverymuch) and there aren't alot of shows on that are twisted enough for me to enjoy.


I always mean to watch Rescue Me, Friday Night Lights and The Shield but forget when they're on.

Last night I watched Journeyman with Lucius Vorenus. It was pretty good. Watchable. I'll stick with it, especially if I remember when it's on.

And Kid Nation? Did anyone see Kid Nation? I was totally anti when I was seeing the previews, then a few reviewers sort of sucked me in. Plus, the husband was at some hockey thing so I curled up on the couch with the kids and we watched. I have to say...I. Loved. It. Where did they find some of these kids? They're more mature than I am, some of them. The whole idea of it, fending for yourselves and relying on each other...it's all taken to the extreme, of course, but it's pretty cool. And the first season, where no one has preconceived notions about the show, is usually the best. *repeats to self*Wednesdayat8, Wednesdayat8, Wednesdayat8.

Which is the same time as Pushing Daisies, a show I wanted to try to watch. Oh well.

And then there's Cavemen. Um, hello. Who ever thought this was a good idea should lose their job. Immediately.

So...what shows do are you watching?

The Name Game

Swiped from Lisa, who generally tags me with the more difficult questiony type memes and but apparently NOT the nice easy fill in the blank styles. Hmmph. Plus, she got to test drive a Mini Cooper and I'm still a bit jealous.

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car)Jangles 4runner

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)Praline Caramel Chocolate Chip

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last or maiden name) JLan

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)Blue Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born)Anne Anchorage

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last or maiden name, first 2 letters of your first)Lanje

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink)The Purple Pina Colada

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)Claude Vincent

9.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names )Joy Wayne

10. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter)Buckley Birmingham

11. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower)Summer Hydrangea

12. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + "ie" or "y")Blueberry Caprie

13. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree)English Muffin Beech

14. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”)The Reading Blizzard Tour.

And tomorrow there's a sale at OUR town library

Not only is it the time of year for freshly picked apples, cozy fleece blankets and Sunday dinners cooked in that forgotten appliance...the oven, but it's also the time for thelocal semi-annual library book sales.

A dollar for hardcovers and fifty cents for paperbacks.

Who could resist?

Here's the goods:

A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr - Nonfiction, Takes Place in Boston, plus it won a prestigious award....-
Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter - Older book, sounded good - I picked it up as I was walking out, at that point what was one more?
Gap Creek by Robert Morgan - I bought this in spite of the Oprah stamp on the front.
Crooked Little Heart by Anne Lamott - Don't think I've read anything by her, now's as good a time as any.
The Alibi Man by Tami Hoag - gratuitous junk read
The Hornet's Nest by Jimmy Carter - I love listening to Jimmy Carter talk, maybe this'll be half as nice.
Blow by Bruce Porter - I think this might have been a movie (Johnny Depp?). Regardless, I didn't see the movie but it looks fairly interesting and again with the local ties - this time Cape Cod.
Greenwitch & Silver on the Tree both by Susan Cooper - I started reading The Dark is Rising and was totally liking it but I was sidetracked by something else. It was a library book so I figured it'd be safer if I just bought my own copies of the series.
Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie - I don't think I've ever read this, thought it might be good to read aloud to the kids. Although the boy would rather not I might try to sucker him in.
Night by Elie Wiesel-This got a lot of press from the Oprah thing and again, I'm reading it in spite of her recommendation. I saw him being interviewed and this book has been hanging around in the back of my mind ever since.
Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz - Hey, winter in New England is long...don't judge.
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All by Allan Gurganus - I've never heard of this book or this author but for fifty cents the worst that can happen is that it ends up on the book table at the transfer station.

Plus seven easy readers and a very cool nursery rhyme book (with pictures I remember from MY old nursery rhyme book) for the girl and three owl books, a book about Unexplained Mysteries and one about Abraham Lincoln for the boy.

$14.25.

Not a bad deal at all.

Is that a warm summer breeze ?

Or the MFY breathing down the necks of my beloved Sox?

At 1.5 games back, definitely the latter.



I could watch this commercial a thousand times and it would still make me smile. I think.



The Patriots had a big win on Sunday and as hoped they beat the crapola out of the crying LaDanien and the Chargers. And remember how I said if they lost the rest of the games that'd be okay, y'know, cause they cheated. Well, I'm sort of regreting that now because I kind of want them to win. Every game. So, oops. And Belichick is a fool but he's MY our fool and I still kind of like the old grouch.

Cowboys are 2-0 in case you're keeping track. Which I know you're not (unless you're me. or Dawn. or maybe Amy, now that she's got internet) so whatever.

Survivor tomorrow night. Finally. Am looking forward to Blackbird's recaps almost as much.

My new boss, at my most awesome (if a bit dull) new job...he gave me a company credit card to buy fruit and soda for the office. I was hoping he'd say this and this too but no dice.

I'm feeling one step behind these days. I just read somewhere that someone was moving at 'kid speed' and I thought...exactly.

My concerns about school this year couldn't have been further from the mark. My boy complained for a solid hour on the first day, so much so that I gave him the 'find two positive things' challenge...and since then? Mostly good. Like 90 percent mostly, which is huge for us. He's been a member of the I Hate School Club since first grade (even though his grades and conduct have always been great) so to hear him say that his day was - and I quote - Okay. Well, let's just say it's awesome. What's helping too, is the end of grades that read like MCAS (some idiotic state standardized testing that has overtaken the school system) scores...."meets grade level standards"and other such nonsense. Which, I'm glad he meets the standards and all but isn't that just average, what the average kid should be doing? Or a C? Nope, don't be foolish. This year it's A's and actual Number grades. And what a difference it's made to him. Thank god.

The girl on the other hand, who I was sure would excel, I mean, EXCEL. Well, she's having trouble. Not with the school work, exactly but she's having a lot of trouble just telling the kids in her group to leave her alone while she finishes her work. They ask her for answers and call her name over and over and she gets "too distracted to finish on time" was how she put it. And her teacher is a first year lady and we're getting weekly progress reports with those 'meets grade level standards' type of things in like ten different categories. And she's not meeting them all. Ugh.

In other, more fascinating news, the boy's hockey team won their first game on Sunday. Which is a good thing....my husband has been waking up at FOUR a.m. reviewing drills and running through different plays in his head. He's exhausted. But he's exhausted and victorious, which is fine.

And I've been doing a bit of this and a bit of that and not enough of any one thing. Not enough time to blog, watch baseball, embroider, read, watch football, edit photos for the hockey website, work and perform all the various house related tasks. Of course there's enough time but I am a procrastinator and a general time waster so life's a bit of a scramble right now.

Hey there.

If it's between ten and eleven p.m. on Thursday click the red X and go watch my favorite show.

Disenchanted

So This. This has shaken my faith to the core of my being. Would it have been so difficult to just play football?

Apparently, matching up the defensive calls to the plays takes very little time. Polaroids are taken before and during/after the snap (this is a legal and general course of business) and then they can match them up to the calls on the video and by half time it's a done deal. And when the Patriots come out in the first quarter looking mediocre and then again in the third quarter looking like superstars, well, one has to wonder.

Let me just say, that the whole third quarter turnaround is pretty much the Pats style of play. And as fans, we came to rely on it. To be proud of the way they could turn a game around in the second half.

Not that they came out, in this past game, looking mediocre...oh no, Tom Brady had so much time to throw that ball, from the very first passing play, that I called my husband in to watch him stand there and visibly pause. Can they match the calls to the polaroids that quickly? And with the questionable radio frequency issues maybe they got the calls into Tom in time for the snap.

Supposedly you can get the same info by recording from the stands...why take a chance on the sideline? The whole thing makes complete sense and no sense all at the same time. Do I think they're guilty? Sadly, sounds like it. Do I think they're the only team that does it? Not likely.

And do I still hope they kick the hell out of the Chargers and that bitch Tomlinson this weekend? You bet.

Then, if they lose every single game after that...that's fine. There's more pride in losing honestly than cheating. They would do well to remember that.


I suppose I'll have to put a little more stock in my second favorite team. A team I'm picking to go to the NFC Championship game. The Cowboys.

Two Hours

Until we see a little of this:

Some of this:

And a whole lotta this:

I love the Sox. Really I do. But football is my thing. Patriots football, more specifically.

I love the hard hitting intensity of those guys, the team spirit, the beauty of a perfectly executed play, the spiral of the ball as it lands in a receiver's hands thirty yards downfield and he never misses a step, a great 'knock him to the ground out of midair' tackle, the coach's sweatshirt with creative scissor action on the sleeves, being introduced not as indiviuals but as a team, watching a running back break a tackle or drag the defenseman those extra two yards as they cling to his legs and quarterback/wide receiver hugs.

One hour and forty five minutes.

Edited to Add

The man in the background is the bee sting victim.

Front of the girlie's shirt.

I added some wee birdies to the back of the shirt up near the collar.


And just so you know, I looked into those recipes...and they involved making some sort of butter. Butter? Yeah, well whatever...ain't happenin'.

I just heard about a fair that I so would like to go to. It's a bit of a ride AND opening day for the Patriots so it's looking like that won't be happening either.

Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma'am

And just like that summer vacation is over, school has started and I report to the new job tomorrow.

Labor day weekend was a blur of driving and hockey and fireworks and children. I can barely remember what I was doing and when so here are some highlights in absolutely NO particular order:

Went to our friends house for a last minute gathering and he and his neighbor had a fireworks battle royale which our party totally kicked his lame-o fireworks lighting ass, so that was fun. Our friend, M had purchased hundreds of dollars of fireworks up in New Hampshire, stuff that is probably best handled by professionals and not partially drunk hockey coach attorney types, but whatevah.

We went to cookout at my parent's cabin in Maine (we share 31 acres). While we were there one of the guys took a swig of beer and swallowed a bee. Which promptly caused his throat to start swelling shut. To say we are out in the sticks is kind of putting it mildly, the nearest neighbor is a mile away and if you go in the other direction? No one for many miles as the road turns impassable). His wife and a few others loaded him into a truck and high tailed it to the fire station where he was whisked away by ambulance. He had swallowed some benadryl before he left and by the time he actually got to the hosptial? He was fine. Still, we referred to the incident as a buzzkill. Har-har-har.

Red Sox are playing some good ball.

Hockey has finally started. There was so much drama surrounding the past few weeks (goalies, they pay half price...can they pay full price and skate out? If you could see how many emails this generated....oh my word) I was anxious to just watch the kids skate. Until I went to the rink and started meeting people as "the coach's wife". ugh. But then I watch my boy, who looks so at ease out there and I find myself rethinking my 'ugh' and will probably just sit by myself (or with a select crowd of those I already know). Christ, is that snobbish or what? Oh well, I just want to watch...and enjoy.

Am wanting to try out the recipes *wink wink* that they show on Weeds. Dudes, really, it could be fun.

Am still hooked on embroidery. Just finished a shirt for my girl...pictures to follow.

Okay, apparently it was only "permanent" until my husband fixed it by shutting the t.v. off and turning it on again.

Phew.

My Daughter. A gift that just keeps on giving.

Tonight, while we were out of the room she took a really strong magnet and touched it to the television screen in, like, a smiley face pattern.

How did we know?

Because now there is a big greenish or multi colored PERMANENT smiley face as part of our viewing pleasure. Only you can't really see the smiley face until the screen goes all one color so mostly it looks like patches of green and dark.

Sweet.

• With fingers crossed for a breakdownless day we are heaing to the beach. You're right bb...optimism is key.
  

• When the post office fellow found out my package had been 'en route' from Springfield, Massachusetts for about a week he told me that it was because it was being schlepped across the state in the slowest possible way.

My response: By foot???

His response? Unamused look over the top of his reading glasses.

• I heard from that interviewer from a few posts back. The job is mine. Which means I'll be working four days a week, total. I am ill-equipped for everything this will entail. Except spending the paychecks.

• Must remember to make it over to the boy's school to check the bus schedule. Must remember. Must remember. Also, must stop procrastinating.

A Silver Lining

Well. Let's see.

When it rains it pours. Literally.

The camping trip started off strong...even though on the ride up I had an eerie premonition about car trouble and when I went to get the change out of my cup holder at the toll booth and it was scary hot...I relayed the info to my husband and shrugged it off.

Setting up the tent in ninety degree heat with two kids? Not too bad. Ice cold pool with two wicked awesome waterslides? Perfect. Laughing so hard around the campfire that you fear you may never breath again? All good too. Leaving the tent, foam mattress in tow, to sleep in the back of the 4runner in the middle of the night because you saw a mini-tarantula that escaped from under the flipflop of death? Totally do-able. Especially with a fan. Tubing down a river with great friends, THE BEST TUBE and a few icy mixed drinks? Perfection.

Hearing a distant rumble of thunder and rolling up the windows of the car on a whim on the way to the bathroom? Smart. Staying in the bathroom during what seemed to be just a passing thunderstorm? Not such a bad decision. Seeing your friend, soaking wet and a bit stressed come walking through the door? Kinda funny. Driving up to the camp store with her to find out that the passing twenty minute thunderstorm was actually a mini-monsoon/cyclone that ripped our tarp from its grommets, collapsed our tent with rainwater, blew a tree down next to our site, blew numerous trees down all over the campground (crushing some trailers in the process) and knocked out power to that entire side of town? Not so great.

And so, with that we packed up our wet things and we all came home. I was planning on staying until Tuesday so it was doubly depressing but y'know...whatever.

The nagging feeling about the car revisited me on the ride home. I sort of knew I couldn't ignore it but figured I'd be able to wait until the kids were back in school before I had to deal with it. I made some tentative plans to go to the beach today. The same beach I was planning to go to this very same week last year. If you can't remember, check the link...this can wait. And why can it wait? Because it IS THE SAME FUCKING STORY.

Well, not exactly the same. There were no bike accidents, no refusal to toast and no loud clunk and I didn't even get as far this time as I did last year. Plus, y'know my car stays in gear (unlike last year when it wouldn't stay in park and they had to ratchet it down to the tow truck). But still. The week before school starts, car trouble, on the way to the beach for a last day of sun and sea glass.

Again.

Cripes.

So, I'm trying to figure the bright side of all of this...more down time at home with the kids? The chance to drive up to Maine with the kids crammed into the back of my husband's extra cab? An excuse not to go shopping for school shoes? The light headed feeling I get knowing that a big car repair bill and the last hockey payment will fall in the same week?