I'M NOT IN THE MOOD!



i'm not in the mood to be out of bed this morning

i'm not in the mood to pay $400 to go to utah to visit my family in august

i'm not in the mood to drive on the same road as women who have their seat too close to the steering wheel and have BOTH hands at 12 o'clock

i'm not in the mood to check my email and see an empty inbox

i'm not in the mood to have my good friend be mad at me because he misunderstood something i said

i'm not in the mood to clean my messy room

i'm not in the mood to see that i rely too heavily on spell checker

i'm not in the mood to answer my boss' phone

i'm not in the mood to look at my bank account balance

i'm not in the mood to look in the mirror today... ignorance is bliss

i'm not in the mood to eat cherries that i paid almost $6 for and find out they are all sour

i'm not in the mood to blog today

i'm not in the mood to be out of bed this morning... oh wait i already said that one... looks like i figured out my problem today!

THE PERFECT WEEKEND!!!



i just had a fantastic weekend, and i wanted to share it with y'all. thanks for indulging!


FRIDAY- i didn't have to be to work until 2:30 pm and so i slept in and then went to lunch with mary and our new friend colleen. lots of girl talk and yummy food. good times.

then after work i rushed through the city and across the river to go on a date. we went to the planetarium and watched a show on the stars as a very monotone australian man showed us constellations and planets set to very cheesy smooth jazz. what a trip. afterwards our group went to dinner and then back to their apartment for a bit of goofing off. i didn't get home until 2 am!

great people... lots of laughs... good memories!

SATURDAY- slept in a little (meaning 7:30... that's the best i can do) then mary and i hopped over to our church so we could help in the "spring clean our church building" project. it was so much more fun than it sounded and it felt good to start off our day like that.

after getting all sweaty and working hard, we decided a little BURGER KING was in order... the #4, no tomato with the biggest diet coke you can find... please! as we were munching on our lunch we watched the documentary NEW YORK DOLL (side note: if you haven't seen this movie... you have to... i can't get enough of it. it was compelling and powerful and shows us how much our Father in Heaven really does love us and wants to gives us that which will bring us happiness).

at this point we would typically adjourn to our separate rooms and take a nap, but conversation led us to jumping in the car with swimsuits on to go for a swim at WALDEN POND. the day was overcast and screamed of rain at any second... but that didn't stop us. on any other summer day the pond is filled with people (i know, i know... mr. thoreau would turn over in his grave if he knew that his peaceful hide-away has turned into a huge tourist attraction... complete with a gift shop) but today it was virtually empty... and the water was incredible! it was a good hour-long swim and totally justified the 800,000 calorie lunch i just had! and can i just say that there is nothing better in this world than to be all alone in the middle of a lake, surrounded by trees and fish looking up into the sky and feeling peace... complete and unadulterated peace. i so needed that!

because walden pond is a 5 minute drive from downtown CONCORD, we decided that we couldn't resist. a quaint walk around town, a quick stop in THE CHEESE SHOP so mary could buy a ymmuy block of very fancy cheese and then, of course, ice cream from GIFFORD's.

then it was off to our bishop's house. mary and i were asked to sing at the fireside on sunday and this BEAUTIFUL song, STILL, was written by his wife and we needed to go over it. so after about 30 minutes of watching each of the 4 children take their turn playing the piano or violin (even the 3 year old plays!!!) we got to hear this incredible piece that sister haight had composed. she actually writes music to scriptural passages. there's no way my words will do it justice. then we spent our remaining time dancing in the kitchen with everyone. what a beautiful home... what a beautiful, loving family.

after a quick jaunt to the grocery store and $50.00 later, we headed home to make pizza and watch yet another incredible, yet simple film called, CHILDREN OF HEAVEN. it's a touching iranian film about a brother who loses his sister's shoes and because of their poverty and the fear of saying anything to their parents, they share his pair of shoes. the filmmaking isn't anything to ooohhh and ahhhh over, but it's intent and value shine through and these beautiful children do a fantastic job of portraying the love they share.

at this point it's 11:30 and i am way over due for my bedtime. nite-nite!

SUNDAY- always a good day- church is always good. we have an incredible ward and so many people that i love and adore. after church my friend michael grabbed me, mary and a few of his roomies and we watched a few old church movies in the preisthood room. then we sat around and talked and laughed for about an hour... those are the moments you wish you could box up and take with you when life stinks.

then it was off to get dinner ready because we were having our good friend DICKSON and his girlfriend over for dinner. dickson is a special part of our lives. he took the discussions with the missionaries, in our home and so we had the most amazing opportunity to watch his testimony of the gospel and the Book of Mormon grow and eventually lead to baptism (in AUG it will have been a year!!!). he is moving to utah very soon and so we wanted to walk down memory lane with him one last time.

then on to the fireside. our bishop and his wife were asked to speak at this fireside and can anyone guess what topic might be the center of this fireside??? anyone? oh... how did you guess... it's not like we don't ever talk about marriage and/or relationships... so we needed a good reminder! actually, i am making light of a very powerful fireside. yes, the topic was relationships but they went deeper than... "date more... stop hanging out and for heaven's sakes... GET MARRIED ALREADY!" they shared very personal stories about learning to love one another and the reality of after the wedding. they talked about love and what pure love looks like.

then they humbly shared a very personal and powerful story about one of the biggest struggles in their lives. about the loss of both baby twins at birth and how it molded and shaped their love and dependence on the Lord. it was because this very tragic event that sister haight began writing songs with scripture. little did we know that this already beautiful piece of music had even more beautiful depth and powerful meaning behind it. we were asked to sing sister haight's healing. i immediately felt inadequate and blessed all at the same time.

as we sang the words "Be still and know that I am God, let your hearts be comforted," a feeling of peace and power came over me and i knew that it was no longer me singing. what a most incredible experience to have. i feel so blessed.

at home, mary and i capped it all off with cheese and crackers and then straight into bed, where i don't even remember turning out the light... head hits pillow... sleepy for me.

okay so if you have made it to this point, congratulations. thanks for taking the time to go with me on the adventures of my weekend. i really feel so complete after a great weekend like that. i feel like being julie andrews in the sound of music and finding a grass covered hill and singing out at the top of my lungs. but maybe i will save that for another weekend!

I SUDOKU... DO YOU???


okay, raise your hand if you don't know what a SUDOKU puzzle is? ALRIGHT... you... you and you- sit down, the rest of you... follow me.

i am now going to let you in on the biggest, mind-numbing secret out there.

i love suodku.

i think i've become an addict.

for those of you who do not know what a sudoku is (how tragic), i will attempt to explain. so you see, you got this box with 9 boxes within the bigger box and then each of those boxes have 9 smaller boxes in them. then numbers are placed strategically around the board with most of the boxes remaining empty. your job is to place numbers in each box so that not only does each box contain the numbers 1 - 9 but each row and column contain the sequence as well... and you aren't allowed to duplicate numbers on any of the columns or rows and in each box. confused yet? believe me it sounds more complicated than it really is... well maybe.

how in the world one little game has caused so much frustration and triumph, i'll never know... but let me tell you, i can't stop. right after the "big break up" i was in desperate need of keeping my mind occupied so that i wouldn't be a mess of tears for all 24 hours in the day... only 18. and earlier that year i was introduced to this little puzzle and my interest was piqued. so i went out and bought my very first SUDOKU book. a small, travel-sized, pocket-book friend. he went with me everywhere! he was there to greet me in the morning and was good to stay up with me late at night, when i just couldn't sleep. i started with the easy ones, because... well...they're easy and i needed to expand my knowledge of good sudoku logic. as i progressed, i stepped out into the scarier territory of medium puzzles. i was shaky at first but then soon learned that i could do those too... not with ease, mind you... but at least i could finish them. i still don't have the logic needed to do the advanced puzzles. and i'm okay with that. i feel like i'm smart just because i can do them. is it strange to tell you that i even feel like i'm being healthy by doing them? i guess it's because i look at assisted living centers where some people are suffering from alzheimers or dementia and i've heard that those who keep their minds active run less risk of having those kinds of complications.

anyhoo, i digress. i wanted to announce that i just recently purchased my second, pocket-book boyfriend and he and i are getting along fine. he's so cute and yet he has mystery and he's a little challenging. he keeps me on my toes, and i like that. he's never afraid to tell me that i've made a mistake... because he recognizes that i can only grow from seeing weakness. he's supportive and gives me all sorts of praise when i finish what i've started. i look forward to seeing him every day. but the best part about him is that he has got a lot of depth... all 200 pages of him and he's totally an open book... which is so important these days.

so i hope you are happy for me. i couldn't ask for anything more.

for more info on SUDOKU go to the following website... but beware... you may start a relationship that you might not be ready for!!!

http://www.sudoku.com/

random things i like
thanks to my older siblings
FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW ME: THE THREE OLDEST IN MY FAMILY WERE TEENAGERS IN THE EARLY to MID 80'S

1- EARTH, WIND AND FIRE-- i LOVE them and could listen all day long and sometimes do. nothing compares to 9 psychedelically clad men dancing around on stage armed with their instruments and falsetto singing classic hits like: SEPTEMBER, REASONS and SUPERSTAR. no joke, i have very vivid memories of being 4 or 5 with my freshly primed side-pony tail (thanks SUE) jogging in place to the album GRATITUDE and watching my reflection in the glass door of our sound system.

2- movies that most people have never heard of.

here's my top 6

* AMERICAN DREAMER (look mom, i caught it!)
* YOUNG SHERLOCK HOLMES (mr. bobsta' you alright sir?)
* XANADU (you... me)
* WINDS OF CHANGE (where are you going, going persius)
* MAME (how old do you think i am? oh, somewhere between 40 and death)
* THE WIZ (ease on down the road)

3- SOBA... not noodles... not raman... SOBA (that ones for you JOHN)

4- GET IN SHAPE GIRL! thanks to my older sisters that actually gave this to me as a joke, i grew up sporting the head and wrist bands that told all who saw me that i LOVED to GET IN SHAPE at the age of 8!

5- HEART. no not the organ... the music group. thanks to CHELLY, who knew how to play the guitar and had a song book of HEART's hits, i grew up singing along to the likes of BARRACUDA, NEVER and THESE DREAMS. i have fond memories of sitting at her feet as she strums away and us singing along.

6- going right along with CHELLY and her guitar skills, i LOVED when she would play the HOT DOG SONG. sing along, everyone!

i know a wiener man
he owns a wiener stand
he sells most anything from hot dogs on down
some day i'll join his life
i'll be his weenie wife
hot dog i love that wiener man
weenie, weenie, weenie... hot dog on a bun
weenie, weenie, weenie... hot dog for TWO!!!

7- THE BANANA CLIP. yes, i said it... the banana clip. you have no idea how many times i would stare at SUSAN with her perfectly permed hair as she flipped her head over, placed the clip at the nape of her neck and as she flipped right side up, would shimmy the clip up to capture all of her perfectly coiled locks and snap the clip in place at the top. then after a bit of teasing and some aquanet... she would have the perfect BANANA CLIP HAIR. oh how i longed for that ability. but the dream was never to be mine... even though i tried and tried. it never quite looked like that!

8- DISNEYLAND. okay, so i realize that it's not random to like disneyland and that everyone and their grandma likes the place. but i have to say that the way i viewed disneyland... and all of their cartoons, was shaped by my brother JOHN. john lived in california, orange county to be exact, for several years and so when he would come to visit he would always bring with him something disney. he talked a lot about disneyland and i would drool at the thought of one day going myself. so when i was, i think 10, i got to go for the very first time. nothing ever prepares a child for their first disneyland experience. i still get that same feeling when i go.

9- MOTORCYCLE RIDES. this is because chelly owned one for a while and on those hot summer nights, just as the sun was setting, she would plop one of us on the back of the honda and we would wiz off up to the copperton park or down to the great salt lake on the old bingham highway. i can still feel the adrenaline as the wind whips at my hair and scrawny legs as i squeeze around chelly. what a rush!

10- SWAN LAKE. john may or may not remember this, but he gave me my very first cassette tape of the swan lake ballet. i was in love. i used to dance around my room for hours, twirling and dipping to each movement. i also choreographed an entire ballet, using my tape and all of the neighbor kids and we actually performed it in front of our parents.

THOU SHALL NOT COVET!


JEALOUSY. i hate that i am actually capable of such an emotion. it's one of the most destructive things to feel. it can ruin friendships, potential relationships and pretty much eat you up inside, if you aren't careful.

so i was reading this letter that i had written to my recent ex-BF, when we were still dating, and i started thinking about the time when we were "getting together."

those are the best times, aren't they?

everything seems right. the world, other people, colors. they are all beautiful, happy and good. i pictured our first date. then i pictured our first kiss. then i pictured the way he looked at me the first time he told me he loved me. and immediately i was jealous of myself... back then. it's also a killer not to hate all of the girls that talk to him now. trying not to wish chronic bad breath or a scorching case of acne on each of them as they laugh at his jokes.

i remember in high school being jealous of mindy, because she was getting the kind of attention that i had worked my whole high school career for, mr jolley's approval of her as an actress. mr. jolley was our theater teacher and he was a bear. we all respected him though and worked hard for his attention and laughter... because both were hard to come by. mindy didn't even start doing plays until late in our junior year and was immediately taken under his fatherly wing. NO FAIR... i had spent all my sophomore year and a good chunk of my junior kissing up to him so that he would do the same for me... but my efforts were never good enough. mr. jolley always seemed to be disappointed in me, was always pushing me, always telling me to do it better. and there was mindy getting the praise, attention and support that i craved. jerk! and it's because of this jealousy that i never really befriended her. well, we were friends, but not the kind of friends you could depend on. and it's sad because she was probably great and i would never know.

then, there are those girls that you struggle from hating because EVERYTHING looks perfect. not only do they have the perfect hair and skin and bust size and waist size and shoe size and clothes and... okay i'll move on... but they seem to have the perfect temperament and they are talented AND they have memorized every last scripture in the Book of Mormon. it takes everything i have to look at them as someone that could actually possess weakness.

this very carnal, barbaric sensation has all the potential of ruining my life, if i don't keep it in check. there is a reason that God made it a commandment. can't you see, because if we are only ever focused on what others have and not on the blessings we've been given, why would Heavenly Father bless us with more? and if how we are judged at the last day has anything to do with the way that we not only treat others, but how we view them, then i better get on it and begin praying that this ugly sin will not be a permanent part of the way that i live my life.

ALWAYS... WITH WINGS


so there i am, sitting in the waiting room of the honda dealership, waiting for my boss' van's oil to be changed

switching gears for a second (pun duly noted)

the people at this car place have it all figured out. listen to this. first, you drive through the entrance and you are greeted by a valet guy who writes down your car's information and sends you inside with a pink slip as he takes away your "patient." you are then directed to the receptionist who checks that you had an appointment and then tells you that your name will be called in a few moments. and true to her word, your name is called. you then meet with one of several people behind computers that looks up your cars' info and sees that you are in need of an oil change and sends the order into the guys in the shop. you are given your order ticket and told an approximate time of completion and then ushered into the waiting room. not only is this room set up with wireless computer access (and believe me there is more than one business professional in there with their "bluetooth" in place and their laptops all rearing to go) but they have computers for those of us that didn't think to bring theirs AND don't forget the TWO 50" flat-screened televisions decorating each wall, happily playing "regis and kelly." if none of these bells and whistles impress you, then there is the array of magazines and best-sellers to occupy you. oh and one more thing... if you have the munchies, there's a basket of yummy apples for you to take pleasure in. is that impressive or what? even my doctor's office (where i'm guaranteed at least an hour wait) doesn't have even a smidgen of that. this is a car place for crying out loud!

so back to my original story... can you tell why my blog's name is:

TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT

are you feeling the irony yet?

okay, so there i am, vacillating between the entertainment of day-time brilliance and the logic of my sudoku book and i'm doing fine. this will be the best hour and a half wait for an oil change that i have ever had. i look around the room and take note that i am the only female in the room. i look a little more, just to see if there are any cute guys worth making "eyes" at and when i realize there aren't, i lower my head and nestle back into my puzzle.

then all of a sudden i hear them. words that make my ears perk. i guess given any other time or place i wouldn't have even noticed the mesh of words set to lively music that make up the commercial that is being played, but given my circumstance i think my radar was a bit more sensitive.

"NOW TAMPAX HAS A TAMPON THAT OPENS UP LIKE AN UMBRELLA"

i know... i didn't know that either... can you believe it??? it's amazing!

"FOR BETTER COVERAGE."

at this point i can't help but look up at the screen, just in time to see three skinny models dancing around and smiling like they've just been told there's a new way to throw up your food and hide all signs of anorexia. oh yeah man, these girls are REALLY happy to be "protected" with the new "umbrella action."

it's at this point that i glance around the room. there are a few men who are yapping away with "joe from the office" and are too involved in their stock reports to notice that the television is even on. but then i see them, the few with books in hand, who apparently were doing their best to ignore said commercial. i see a few look at the t.v. and see our lovely models dancing, then as the image of the actual tampon flies across the screen and opens up like a cute little umbrella that even gene kelly would be pleased to sing in the rain with, their eyes immediately shoot downward and they proceed to do the hands/pants/shift shuffle.

~ you know what i'm talking about, you place your hands on or around your knee, lift your buttocks slightly from the chair and as you are gently tugging your pants toward your ankle, you shift sitting position and settle back down into the new, more comfortable angle.~

yeah, so these poor guys... who have probably been subjected to way too much "feminine commercialism" for their own good, once again have to make cool and continue on with their manly existence. and i feel bad for them, really i do.

nothing really ever embarrasses me, but today for some reason i was a little embarrassed. so i began to giggle (it's my natural reflex to embarrassment), but then i was embarrassed that i was giggling and probably looked like a 3rd grader and can't handle that kind of "adult talk." and just as i was about to hide my juvinileness in my sudoku book, i spotted him.

there he was, in the corner near the other tv on the other side of the room. he must have been in his mid-thirties to early forties, tall, brown hair, twinkling eyes... he too was fixated on the commercial and was giggling to himself. AH.. HAH! so i'm not the only childish adult in the world. there is someone else that feels the need to giggle at these ridiculous feminine product commercials that make being hygienic look like a pre-teen slumber party. or maybe he was giggling out of embarrassment too. i mean after all, these energetic women are talking about a very personal "woman thing," one that most of us would like to forget altogether AND furthermore, one that most men shudder at the slightest mention of. so i don't blame the dude.

as for me, i should be better at this by now. but i'm just not. i'm still immature.

IT'S A HARD-KNOCK LIFE!!!



so this saturday i was invited by a friend to see ANNIE, the musical. it is currently playing at THE OPERA HOUSE and these were great seats my friends... 6th row from the orchestra, right on the aisle.

now if it were just me, i would never have purchased these tickets. nothing against ANNIE really, but i think i overdosed as a kid and so i have been taking "a break." plus, as an adult, i always get scared watching "over-actor" kids get up there and "ACT." but, the ticket was free and i always enjoy going to the theater... so ANNIE here i come!

there i was, sitting in my cushy seat with my package of starburts thumbing through the who's who in my program and reading about where these actors came from and what shows they did and i immediately start comparing myself to them... you know: "oh, i've done that show too." or "oh, she once played Lady Macbeth... she must be brilliant." then the lights dim and the orchestra begins playing the overture; they start slow with "maybe far away or maybe real near by..." and i settle in. at this point my emotions were still ambiguous. then all of a sudden a strong down beat and the tempo pushes us into an intensified "it's a hard-knock life...bum bum...da da dum da de... da.. dum." all of a sudden, i was 10 again, sitting next to my parents in the "promised valley playhouse" in salt lake city, utah, watching my very first production of ANNIE.

i sit up. i begin watching everything, from the top of the conductors arm as she passionately takes us from one hit song to another, to the little heads of my co-audience (most of who's ages didn't exceed 12), to the way the lighting hits the curtain. and i imagine myself backstage... like i always do when i see a play, the stage manager has just called places and i calmly walk to my place on the stage. i can hear the music from behind the heavy curtain and can feel the energy from the audience. the way the costume smells or the paint on the set will always stay with me and i begin to focus... because in 30 more seconds i will no longer be me... i will morph into this other person who thinks and acts in their own way. she can say things i wouldn't ever dare to say and somehow it's okay for her to sing her way through life and have everyone join in. the applause will let me know that i am still a part of the "real world" and it will fill my soul with something very powerful that has often been described as addictive.

gosh, sometimes i forget why i love doing theater... how is that even possible??? but to see it through the eyes of my inner-child a few days ago has compelled me to take a different look. i was itching to get up there and join rooster and the gang sing "easy street" or to dance along with the cast to "you're never fully dressed without a smile."

the cast was great and the kids weren't so obnoxious that i had to look away... so that was good. "MS HANNAGAN" was brilliant... actually the entire cast shined. not a single casting mis-step... which is hard to do!!! i loved the choreography and only wished that they had done more of it. what a great show. i would love to see it again!

so now i'm back to singing the tunes in my head and wishing i were that little red-haired orphan.

IF YOU DON'T READ THIS BLOG WITHIN 10 SECONDS...


okay so we've all gotten them. the forwards that everyone is so eager to pass along. some are witty, some have funny jokes and other have deep, philosophical and/or beautiful messages that can change the life of you, me and hey why stop there... how about the entire world.

i usually get sent one or two of these every few days. mostly by my loved ones and close friends and most of the time i trust that they will be filtered for content and message and that most of the cheesy ones will not be sent my way. i do have some friends that forward everything under the sun and i give them a break because i know they work behind a desk and have to stare at their computer all day long and that one can become addicted to internet fluff. i've been there... that's why i know.

but most of the time, i get messages that have meaning or are sometimes funny and they typically bring a ray of sunshine to my otherwise monotonous life. but i need help people, because there is one thing that i just don't get... and really don't care to understand.

WHY OH WHY do these simple little "shots of goodness" ALWAYS seem to end with something so stupid and melodramatic, such as:

"FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO AT LEAST 80 PEOPLE IN THE NEXT 60 SECONDS OR ELSE THE BOY/GIRL YOU LOVE WILL NEVER LOVE YOU BACK, YOU WILL CONTRACT THE BUBONIC PLAGUE AND YOUR TEETH WILL FOREVER BE A SHADE OF PURPLE."

or

"IF YOU FORWARD THIS EMAIL TO 6,000 PEOPLE THEN TURN 5 TIMES WHILE WEARING PINK THEN SOMETHING AMAZING WILL POP UP ON YOUR SCREEN."

and have you noticed that there always seems to be "someone" that "ACTUALLY TRIED THIS AND IT REALLY WORKS!!!" who are these people anyway and what were they smoking when they did it... because how in the world is your cute little iBook supposed to know that you completed your task and are now worthy to receive your "AMAZING PRIZE."

it makes me feel like i'm in the sixth grade again and someone just passed me a note that told me to "copy this letter 8 billion times and send it to all of my friends" then i was to take a separate piece of paper and write the names of all of the boys that i liked and list them from most like to least and put it under my pillow. the next day they were all supposed to be madly in love with me. but if i failed to do all necessary steps... i was never EVER getting married.

wait a minute... there was that one chain letter that i got from amber burton in the 7th grade that i never completed!!! NO WONDER! i've never been able to make the connection to why i am almost 30 and still single. CURSES YOU CHAIN LETTER... YOU'VE RUINED MY LIFE!!!

I WANT A NEW CAR!


okay so I never should have started looking... I really should have just fought the urge and continued on in my dream-land that all is well with my 1996 Toyota corolla with bad shocks and oxidation paint... oh and don't forget the letters on the front of my hood that magically started appearing about two years ago (when the oxidation really started in) that spell out "LISTEN AND WIN ME." no I didn't win my car... some schmuck was probably given the assignment to drive my car around for a while with a radio station's logo on it and the enticements that you too could be a proud owner of a light teal 4 door sedan of your very own!!! yipeee!

yeah my car has personality. I call him my dirty old man and I love him. he has seen me through some of my best and worst times. he's taken me back and forth across this great nation of ours... twice. he has endured the frigid winters of new england, the endless days of being parked in the street, with no shelter. and he has winced his way through about a million boston potholes... and he's done it with grace. I couldn't ask for a better car. in the 7 years that I have owned him I have put a total of about $1,000 in him and that includes brake pads and new tires. how can I possibly THINK of breaking up with him... after all of that.

to be honest with you, I haven't thought much about getting a new car. I guess I still live in college student mind-set where I will only pay the very minimum for housing, furniture and food. and so how could I possibly think of moving on to a more adult car? I always assumed that I would run my little buddy into the ground... you know, drive him until the hood is only being held on by masking tape and you can see the road under your feet while your driving. monetarily it makes sense... right? so I guess when the tow-truck dude that took my car away a week ago (long story... don't ask) told me that I could junk it for only $100, it woke me up to a reality that I haven't wanted to face in a while. the time is coming to say goodbye to my DOM!

so I did it. I decided to look... just look, that's all. just see what's out there. just so I could get an idea of what my options are and what prices I could expect to pay. I mean technically, I won't really be getting a car until next year... but... ummm... oh dear... I went looking and now i'm in trouble because I really want this car. take a look:

(because of technical difficulties, I cannot show you what it looks like but go to this site and see for yourself)

http://www.toyota.com/highlander/index.html?s_van=GM_TN_HIGHLANDER_INDEX

TOYOTA HIGHLANDER... white exterior, charcoal gray interior
it's got everything I want in a car.

4 door
am/fm/cassette/6 cd changer
moon roof
keyless entry
cute color
room for kids... (if I ever have any)

couldn't you see me in this car??? anyway... now I have a major problem. I found a used one of these that's for sale, RIGHT NOW. it's a 2001 and it's got all the things I want and it's a great price! WHAT AM I TO DO???

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY!!!

for real dude... enough already... i can't take it anymore. i'm ornery all the time and it's all because of you!

did you know that whenever you come, there is a small drip that goes from the second story awning to the rain gutter just below it and it makes the loudest drip that only rivals a cannon going off, making it hard to sleep at night?

you make it miserable to drive
you make it impossible to stay dry
you make my otherwise do-anything hair, frizzy and flat
you make me stay in doors with three very active children... eek!

you make the flowers grow and the green come alive and that's great but you also make the horrible shrubbery that grows in front of my window climb out of control. what shrubbery, you say? you know, the one that my landlord refuses to trim... to get rid of, because it does a fairly good job at hiding just how ugly our house really is, yeah that one.

you have no right to steal away our spring. true we did have a fairly mild winter, but did you realize that we suffered through one of the hottest summers to date, last year? that the winter before that was nasty-cold? come on, give us a break... all we are asking for are a few beautiful days of warm sunshine, without 100% humidity, and a light cool breeze that brings in the wafting fragrance of the ocean. is that too much to ask?

come on dude... i need me some VITAMIN D!!!

you runied my day off yesterday! i was planning on going to the ocean with a good book and a blanket and have some great ME time. nope... forget it. you, peggy, must be forced to stay within the confines of four walls and a few windows to look out and see me literally "raining on your parade." that's just not cool... NOT COOL!

yes, i do love you... don't get me wrong. in fact in the middle of august when i am lying in bed in a puddle because it's 87 degrees and still 80% humidity at 10pm... i will be calling out your name. i will be praying for you to come and save me. i promise i appreciate you, that i love you... but i need to be honest with you, because i care about you... you're like a distant relative that has come to visit and just won't go away and just when we think that you are packing your bags to leave... you decide to stay just a few more days. and it' s heartbreaking.

PLEASE, all i'm asking is for a few weeks... no correction... a few months of missing you. i know our relationship will be a lot better if you were to go away for a while. no offense.

R...U...S...S...E...L...L

THAT SPELLS RUSSELL HE'S SO SWELL!

so i'm a nanny right? and with that comes much fodder for the likes of my BLOG! no wonder why so many of the best bloggers out there, are moms or dads. when kids are around, life is chalk-full of crazy antics and humorous anecdotes. as long as you are keeping an eye out for them, they will hit you daily... or just about.

so RUSSELL... he's 4, or he will be in just a few short weeks. (up until a few weeks ago he was saying that he was 3 and three quarters, thank you very much!) he's the youngest of 3 very bright children. he's preceded by JAMIE (10) and ANNA (almost 8). anyway, RUSS... he's my boyfriend. i've known him now since he was 18 months old and he had me at "caaahhhurrr"-- one of his first words: translated means Car (he's your typical boy).

like i was saying, this little hoodlum and i are the best of buds. yes, sometimes we fight, but we always seem to make up over a cup of chocolate milk and then we're off to our next ADVENTURE. (ahhh...cute... i just remembered how when he was about 2 or maybe a little older, he used to call them BADGERS. "peggy... we go on a BADGER?"... CUTE) okay so back to the point. RUSS and i play a lot together, we understand each other and this very bright almost 4 year old is the sunshine in my day.

RUSS, because of his age and his place in this world, always seems to be saying things that catch me by surprise. for instance, i came over one saturday to babysit the kids and i was wearing a necklace the he had never seen before and before he said anything else to me he said "peggy, that's a beautiful necklace." freaking cute! most kids his age, no... correction, most adults don't say stuff like that, but RUSS does!

so this post is dedicated to my two most favorite things that RUSSELL has ever said, to date!

story 1:
it was late in the day and i was busy about getting the dinner ready, when a blood-curdling scream fills the house, followed by shrieks and sobs as ANNA runs into the kitchen with tears in her eyes and a story about RUSSELL giving her a good whacking. which of course puts him in time out... which is the bottom step of the staircase just outside the kitchen.

so there he is, in time-out land and he's doing his very best to grab my attention by asking me all sorts of questions and singing songs, etc. so i finally go to him, crouch down and tell him that he needs to be quiet while he is in time out because he is being punished and then i ask him if he knows why he is in time out and he responds like most children, with a shrug. so i tell him it's because he hit ANNA, i get up and start for the kitchen and decide to throw in one last little ditty... "and that's not okay in my book." just as i turn to go to the sink he throws back

"You have a book, peggy?"
(pause... because i am straining to keep from laughing)
"Where's your book, peggy?"

i had nothing to say. nothing to respond with. how does one respond to that question, when one isn't even sure they know what they truly meant? yeah, he's right... i have no book... foiled again!






story 2:
this story takes place just about a year ago, exactly, when RUSS was just a little tyke, turning 3. i've since learned that developmentally, children his age are really into dressing up and making believe that they are BATMAN, SPIDERMAN or in this particular case... A RED SOX PLAYER. for RUSSELL's third birthday he was given a plethora of red sox gear. hat, jersey, baseball and bat and even batting gloves, to top it all off. this only deepened his reality that he played baseball for history's favorite underdog, THE BOSTON RED SOX.

the day was hot and the two older children had friends over to play and we were all headed out front (where there is a large patch of grass that we call "the triangle," it being shaped like a triangle and all... it's not technically their yard... but it is our domain) to play a game of baseball. RUSS was super excited for two reasons: 1) the older kids were there and he was going to get to play with them and 2) he was going to don on his new threads and BE a real red sox player. so there we were, in the mud room trying to get him all shined up and ready to go; he's getting his batting gloves on and i am tying his shoes. as i am hunched over, hard at work, RUSSELL starts in

"peggy, i don't want you to come out and play with us."
"oh really, that's too bad, i have to go out with you."
"but, peggy, i don't want you to come out."
"sorry dude, but if i don't go out, you can't go out."

are you ready for this response???

"yeah, but peggy... RED SOX PLAYERS DON'T HAVE ANY PEGGY's"

and he's right... they don't! poor RUSS... he has to be the only red sox player in the history of red sox players to have to have a peggy. what is he to do?

ahhh RUSS. i can't get enough of him. from his blonde shaggy hair, to his dimpled cheek all the way to his chipped front tooth (thanks to his older brother jamie). i can't wait to see the person he is in about 15 years. maybe if he's still single... ew... just kidding... i am not demi moore!!!

RUSS YOU ARE THE BEST!

REDISCOVERING AN ICON


maybe i am just slow, maybe i've been in a small bubble somewhere... who knows... but i am just beginning to discover one of the finest musicians around and i know that i am, quite possibly, one of the last people in the world to appreciate all that STEVIE WONDER is. does that make me retarded???

okay, so i'm not that behind, i was familiar with some of his bigger hits like SUPERSTITIOUS and SIGNED, SEALED, DELIVERED but maybe it was all of his stuff in the late 80's early 90's that threw him in to the category of FM 100 (via UT) favorites, like "I JUST CALLED TO SAY I LOVE YOU." good song... don't get me wrong. but when you are 11 years old and forced into the back of the wood-paneled station wagon with 4 other siblings as we head off to another boring adventure at the fabric store and your crazy mother who calls said wagon her "convertible" because we are saving on gas and have to roll all the windows down, instead of the nice AC starts blaring FM 100 and out comes "I JUST CALLED TO SAY HOW MUCH I CARE"... you see where i'm going with this, don't you?

anyway, like i was saying, i think because i discarded poor STEVIE as someone who could only rival "greats" like LINDA RONSTADT and AARON NEVIL, i never gave him the chance he deserved. never truly appreciated his groove, his funk... his soul!

now i come to you a new woman. i have discovered what so many have discovered before me. songs like:

POSITIVITY (which has become my new favorite song EVER)
SIR DUKE
I WISH

they are fantastic. they make me wanna dance. sing. jive. and in my opinion that is reason enough to like him.



http://www.steviewonder.net/

I AM TRYING TOO HARD!

i have writers block! why? cause i am trying to hard. i have a few posts that i have started and haven't finished, because i am putting so much pressure on myself to write something that is funny or witty or amusing... and that's just dumb because we all know i can't do any of the above!!!

so today's post is just that... i am trying too hard. end of story