Am sorta kinda getting ready to go out and about for the day. Errands, banking, (I'm forever at the bank, I think) etc. However, I feel groggy and useless and it's taking me forever to put on a bra and makeup. (note to self - don't mix those two up)

I have something askew with my neck. Two days ago I woke up with it feeling a little stiff. Yesterday it was just a tad worse, and by bedtime, I couldn't move my neck at all. Mark rubbed it for a long time last night and it's better, but still pretty bad. It feels like something is being pinched right where my neck meets my shoulder. It hurts to touch it, and when I move a certain way it sends a lightening bolt of pain through me. Bah. I don't have time for this!

The wind has picked up, and I hear things blowing over and banging around. Better go tie down the sheep.

I added dooce to my blogroll, you should check it out. I used to read her a long time ago, and then I started not liking it for some reason. But I've been reading her lately, and tonight went back and read a bunch of archives and decided I was probably just being a grouch when I stopped reading it in the first place. She's funny, funny. Make sure you read her "how to annoy me" section.

I am so sunburned. It was so cloudy today, I skipped the Bullfrog and now am paying the price. I'm not like blistered or anything, just a nice lobster red. My face has suffered the worst, as that is the one thing I always put sunscreen on, so it was pretty white still. The rest of my body was already nicely brown. Now it's red-brown. Sienna, if you will.

Tomorrow is the last free day for some time. The upcoming appointments and "appearances" are daunting. I found out I not only have to have a Hepatitis shot, but an MMR and a TB test as well. The county health department already wants to charge me $40 for the HepB shot, I can't imagine what these others are going to add up to. Insurance, insurance, why have thout forsaken me so? Aye, and yet I am without. (ok, that was weird). Let's just say "Daayyumm I wish I had me some cov'rage!"

I received the fee schedule for my two lovely high school-aged children. $8 Time Tracker fee? What the hell is that?
$10 Technology Fee. Ok, gotta keep the Macs up and running I suppose. (Why schools use Macs is beyond comprehension, but they all do).
Senior Yearbook Mailing Fee $4 per semester. Huh?
PLAN Test Fee $15.
Yearbook $50 (optional - why thank you).
Suggested donation for After-prom party $25. No offense but I got your suggested donation right here. I have an idea, charge the kids who go to the party. Whee! A Revelation.

Then there are various fees for certain courses of study. These are just a few.
Art class $30.
Honors Chemistry $20.
Creative Cooking $30.
English Workbook (all grades) $9.
Foreign Language $15.
Wood Tech $40.
WOW class $12.

Yea, WOW is right.

Also enclosed in the packet are their current emergency cards. Make adjustments as necessary... Dan thought he was being sneaky last year by changing the kids parental contact number to his number. After repeated attempts to contact him various times, they finally had the super-intelligent notion to contact me. You know. Me. The custodial parent.

Most interesting about the emergency card is that the section of "who to contact if parent cannot be reached" is the woman that Dan was engaged to after the first woman he was engaged to, but not the woman he's married to now.

Ya Hoo, life is fun.

Flo has a very thoughtful post today. It's something a lot of us are dealing with, have dealt with...or hope to never have to deal with.

His son left us today, and my son left last Tuesday...the lives of our children are spent primarily with the ones we could no longer make enough concessions for in order to have the luxury to being present in (our childrens) lives...I am one of the few Moms the system needed to make an example of, and that is the story.

A divorce with kids is heartbreaking. Some people stay together, just to avoid it. But there are those among us, friends and family alike that decide that rather than play games with our children's hearts and minds, that it is best to unselfishly put our own feelings aside for the happiness, health and well-being of their children. It's rare, but it happens.

I'm so glad and extremely thankful that Dy and Mark's situation has shown that they have only Emma's interests at heart. At least that's how it appears, and it's how they operate. Maybe they're both screaming their heads off inside, wishing for selfish outcomes that only hurt the other person. But I don't think so.

And how damn nice it is.

A pretty productive day, overall.

We went to Emma's school and left a copy of her shot record. We mosied around a bit, but most of the school was locked up tight. When anyone asks her if she's excited to start school, she goes into quite a rant about how she's embarassed that she "struggles" to get on the potty and that she can't wipe herself. We've started a concentrated program of getting her confident in these things, and hopefully that won't be a worry soon. Unfortunately there's no easy way to "help" her do it, except to just bug off and let her struggle a few times on her own, and hopefully it will catch on fast.

We got her school supply list and a number of other documents, school calendar, etc. I like that the kindergarten there goes 2 whole days and one half day. I think that gives them a better sense of a regular school day, tho some would argue a half day eases them into public school a little more mercifully. 6 of one...

We also got all our other errands ran, I had to stop by Front Range and fill out one form that you can't get online. (bah!...archaic!) and Mark had some other business to attend to. But we managed to make it to the post office just in time, with just a few minutes to spare. Came home and made ribs, and then collapsed on the couch for a while while Emma forced us to watch American Juniors. Man, she loves that show.

Im waiting for Katie to get home from work so I can go run errands some more. Whee, love going out at 11pm to do banking and such. Good think I'm a night person.

We woke up this morning to the sound of two little girls in the backyard...trying to steal Emma's slide. I wish I'd have been more awake and had something more biting to say than "HEY!! - Put that back!"

We're off to errand-land. Have you ever been there? The lines are long, and the rides aren't all that fun.

Tomorrow is run-around-like-a-chicken-with-its-head-cut-off day. Then Wednesday is Water World if it's nice. It was soo mild today, it was lovely! We could use a few more days like that, we get a lot more done.

However, at the moment, I feel fat and lazy. So off to bed I go.

We went out to eat, nothing fancy, just Country Buffet. Which apparently is spanish for "kids are free to run around, yell loudly and spill things." Gah.

Then, there was a gentleman there, that was...severely developmentally challenged. Not only physically, but I believe he may have had Tourette's also. He was loudly declaring "HEY!!" (among other things) periodically. They were at the table very near us, and we finally had to speak to Emma about not staring so intently at people that are undoubtedly very interesting to look at. A very hard lesson in tact for a 5 year old. I said "Emma, his family is probably embarassed, and it would probably be polite for us not to stare at him". To which she replied "Well, he shouldn't be acting so crazy then." Touche.

Now, Emma and Mark are both napping. Emma on the recliner here in the basement, and Mark on the couch. Obviously, they can't handle their buffets. Amateurs.

And..the best news of all. My EMS program is completely paid for, and I am signed and ready to go. eek! But Im so excited! I decided to go to Front Range instead of wait for the classes at the hospital. I can be done at FR by the time the hospital classes even begin. Plus, I am more likely to get financial aid going through the college. Classes start Aug 25. Code Blue!

No book buying today, even though it's Monday. We're trying to take care of lots of little niggly personal business that's been sitting around staring us in the face. Fill out forms, call here, schedule this, go there.

So far so good. I've scheduled my Advanced CPR class (aug 9-all day) and arranged for a HepB shot, (aug 4) - both are things I need before I can register for classes. The voicemail only says that registration is in August, so I don't know if that means starting August 1, or some other scheduled day. Let's hope its a few days into the month. The next couple of weeks are so hectic.

Also trying to schedule Katie's $enior pictures, I need to take Emma's shot record over to her school, Mark has his parenting class this Saturday, High School registration is next Tues and Wed, then my class and immunization appt, then orientations, then school starts....agh!

I'm going back to bed, wake me in October.

Yea, yea. I did get up a bit late today..but was just busy.

We met gramma Maxine for lunch, which Emma was really excited about. She "totally loves Gramma Maxine" she says. She told her all about everything that's gone on in her life in the past couple of weeks, and then some. Then we went over to her house and did a bit of yardwork (GAH) and Mark tweaked her computer a bit. She uses AO-hell, and we finally got her to upgrade from her current system of AOL 4.0!!! Yes, she was still on 4.0. What are they on now, 9 or something? Sheesh.

Amanda called after they got home from the airport. We talked for a good while about the Bahamas and how much fun they had. They did some snorkeling and had a lot of fun doing that.

Now they have to get all of Justin's things moved in tomorrow, he's moving in with Amanda from his parent's house so he doesn't have a lot of big furniture type items. Katie and Cindi went over there yesterday and stock them up with groceries, since they probably wouldn't have had anything after being on vacation all week. She was pleased to note that they had gotten quite a bit of money in the mail while they were gone.

She said she loved the wedding and was really pleased at how it turned out, but was surprised at how fast it seemed to fly by. She also wished she could have talked to more people, and especially said goodbye to certain people, but time just ran short. Im just glad she's back.

Katie is working, Mark is making coffee and Emma is going to bed. We've decided not to do book buying tomorrow because we just have so many other things to attend to. I've decided to take the EMT course (if I can get in, it's limited space) and I have to hustle and get a Hepatitis B shot and a First Aid card..pronto. Like..yesterday.

Hey, is anyone watching "The Restaurant"? Oh my gosh, could more things be going wrong? I am loving this show.

I got up so late today. I went to bed really late tho, so I guess it's all relative. I didn't make it to tumbling, tho the Coles managed to get their butts up and go. I think there are two classes left, then school starts and Emma will be at mommy's on Saturdays. We might try to find her a weekday class, she's doing so well at it, and really seems to love it.

I have no plans, except to run Daniel up to Conifer. Dan's being merciful and letting me meet him halfway, at the park-n-ride on Hwy 285 instead of going all the way to Conifer. I have to take Katie's car..and I don't want to put too many miles or wear and tear on it, who knows how long it will last as it is.

After that, no plans. Love it.

Tomorrow I think we are going to my moms for a while, for no reason, just to visit.

This is all just so engaging isn't it?

Amanda and Justin come home from the Bahamas tomorrow. Mr and Mrs Welch. Grape juice for all!

Cindi is right. This is actually WaterWorld.



HAHA! Just kidding. I found that picture online and couldnt resist. I have no idea what water park this actually is, but it doesn't look all that fun, eh?

**********

I'm so tired..and being a slug. What have I done today. Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

Ok, I went to the grocery store..and with Katie to get her emissions (passed-yay!). We also went to ARC but wasted most of our time waiting for Animal Control - who we called because some nimrod had locked his dog in his car with not even a CRACK of a window open. Asswipe. Animal Control never came but I did put a nasty note on his windshield.

I'm going to bed.

Two people have written me in the past couple of days and asked "what is water world?" So I am compelled to provide a link so you can check it out. Water World.

I was reading the FAQ's on their site, something I'd never done because we've gone there about a billion times, and I know all the "bring this, don't bring that" protocol. But I found interesting that it said "Thong bikinis are allowed, but not encouraged. If a guest finds someone wearing a thong bikini offensive, we will ask them to put something else on." That's funny, cause Katie and I were just commenting the other day about how you never see anyone there with a thong on.

Check out some of their attractions at that link, it's hella fun..and if you live or vacation anywhere near here, you really need to check it out. It's 40 rides/attractions on 64 acres. It's clean, safe and you can bring a picnic. (unlike Six Flags). Here's a picture of the smaller wave pool.



It makes me want to go today!

My Favorite Vegetarian Recipe

First, catch one vegetarian.
Gut, drain and skin in a standard manner for large game.

Remove head, hands and feet, reserve with skin on for final presentation.

Given the lean quality of most vegetarian flesh, stewing is an excellent cooking method. Poaching or braising will also work well. Roasting, frying, or broiling will require basting, tenderizing or added fat for best results.

This or That Thursday

1) DVD or VHS?
VHS, I don't have a DVD. (Shut up, you're still on dial up! haha!)

2) Best Literary/Movie Villan:
Salieri (Amadeus)

3) Meat: rare or well-done?
Medium well

4) High Speed Internet-Cable or DSL?
Cable

5) Women: 1-piece bathing suit or Bikini?
One piece. No skirt tho...blech

6) To be fair--Men: Boxers or briefs?
He wears boxers.

7) Beer or Liquor/Wine?
Wine-blech. I like good beer. No domestic.

8) Coke or Mountain Dew?
Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi or Diet Dr. Pepper

9) In honor of my 10/18/03 nuptials: Morning or Afternoon/Night Wedding?
I got married at night. Now? Neither. I don't think I will get married again. Not that anyone's asking.

10) Carpet or Hardwood Floors?
I hate hardwood floors. Sorry, I just think they look tacky. Even nice ones.
(Some of you are thinking - "honey, I've seen your carpets..tacky be thy name.). But that's ok, I still hate hardwood.

11) American cars or foreign?
Preferrably foreign, although I would take a fast tricycle at this point.

12) Cutest TV Twin: Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen?
You're trying to make me puke huh.

13) Coffee: Caffeinated or Decaf?
We drink caffeinated in the daytime, and 50/50 at night.

14) Thought-Provoking Question of the Week: Computers: Do they make life better or worse? Why?
Much much better.

I just got a spam email whose subject line reads:

"Watch your friend's hot mom get naked"

Ok, so who would that be. Dy? I have no desire to see Dy's mom naked. She's cute and seems fun and all, but I don't think seeing her naked would make me tingle or anything. Michele? Michele's mom is old. Really old. No thanks. Mark's mom is deceased. While I'm sure she probably is naked at this point, seeing her is not high on my list of erotic thrills.

You know if you're going to send spam email, at least make it sound plausible.

Nope, not Hercules, Derbs. Maybe I will give you a hint. "Some folks call it hell, I call it hades..mm hmm"

What a hot gross hot really really hot day. I would give my left tit to have a/c in this house. Ok maybe not, but I would consider it.

We got the parenting class paid for, but they had to change him to an August class. Helloo? I thought August was soo busy? They cancelled the July 30 class. They only have 2 classes per month, and then they're sooo booked up, but then they cancel one. Okkkie doke. So now anyway he's all set for one of the August classes. Strange how because you are getting divorced they feel you need a parenting class, but yokels pop out babies left and right and get no instruction whatsoever.

We made a big dinner of steak and fried potatoes with onions and pasta salad. Actually Katie made most of it for us, cause she was bored. Then she left for her friend Jessica's house, to swim in her backyard pool. Wah. We watched The Amazing Race which was...well, Amazing. heh. I'm so glad the mole is gone. Millie mole, you're philiminated.

I'm rambling, aren't I. I have nothing to say.

It's hotter than hades. Some people call it hell, I call it hades. (movie reference..what is it..do you know?)

Daniel went to Water World on his own today. I think he's getting the "summer's almost over" blues. I don't blame him. I hate that they start school so dog early. 20 mores days.

Katie took him up there and then went to the gym (where she lives, mostly). Mark and I have to go down south a bit and pay for a parenting class he has to take. It's a condition of divorce in Colorado, to take a $50 4-hour parenting class. He has to file proof that he's completed the class to the court by September 4 or face a fine and a delay of hearing. We had a hard time getting an open spot, the lady on the phone was really cranky and said "tsk, August is our busiest month, there are few if any openings". Well fine, I didn't know that. Why would I know that? Turns out this coming Wednesdays class is light, so we squeezed him in there. You have to pay in advance of the class though, so that's why we're going down there today.

We've got beacoup ebay auctions going, I've already sold two dresses, and I listed another one today. Book business is pretty fair...not great, but fair. It will pick up in August, textbook season. All I know is I'm ready for cooler weather.

I was editing some of the wedding pictures, and thought this one was so funny. I captured Amanda throwing her bouquet at the most perfect moment. It looks like she's gonna topple over backwards! You can even see the bouquet flying through the air.

Here's something weird.

I type about 70-80 wpm, by touch. Completely by touch. I never look at the keys while I'm typing. Sooo why the heck do I make so many typos when I don't have my contacts in?

We had such a fun day at Water World. We stayed ALL day! We rented tubes, which we don't normally do because it's $4 apiece. But it makes it so much funner, cause you can get right on many of the rides without waiting in line for a tube. Normally you have to wait at the bottom of the ride, and receive a tube from someone who just rode it. Some rides, like our favorite, Tortuga Run..has a wait time of 30 minutes or more just to get a tube. Bleh! So today was super fun.

We had a bit of a scare when we came out of Thunder Bay and Mark realized he had left his keys in his pocket during the wave, and now they weren't there. We searched around the pool (ha! it's enormous) and asked a few lifeguards. We also enlisted Daniel's help, as he is the king of finding things people have lost in the pool. Mark went out to the car to see if maybe he had left them dangling in the trunk. We were soo bummed, we'd only been there a few minutes and this was putting a dark pallor over the whole day. To make matters worse, it wasn't even a large keyring we were looking for. It was two keys on a hair tie. Gah!

I waited for Mark to come back, and stepped over to one of the smoking areas near another lifeguard. I asked her if anyone had turned in any keys (knowing full well they hadn't) and she said that she thought someone had turned in keys and to check at first aid. I went over there and damn all get-out they were there! I was so jazzed. Mark was a very happy guy when he came back. Then someone stole Daniel's favorite shirt (why would you wear your favorite shirt to Water World and then leave it on your chair?) and $2 that he had under the chair. (again..why would you...)

We came home around 5:30 and slacked around all evening, grazing instead of eating dinner and basically being sloths. It was wonderful. Daniel and I watched "Signs", which neither of us had seen yet. It was overall just so-so, but I found myself yelling at the screen frequently. "get out!" "oh no!" "oh shit!" Love those kinds of movies.

So now it's bedtime and I'm hoping Amanda and Justin are having a good time in the Bahamas. (doh.) I'm looking forward to them coming back on Sunday.

Night All.

Last night at my dads, I took a few pictures of this and that. There was a gorgeous sunset going on, so of course I captured that. Queen of the sunset pictures, I am.





My dad had a nest of baby birds in one of his hanging flower baskets. It was so funny, you barely tapped the pot and these little heads popped up just squealing like the daylights for their momma. We couldn't even really see them, just their beaks. I pointed my camera above my head into the nest to get this shot.





And last but certainly not least, my bobby. Ok, his name is Murphy, but I always call him my bobby, I have no idea why. He's got an underbite, so it always looks like he's snarling. Next to him is his hedgehog, that he never lets out of his sight. Im serious. Never.



And me and Murphy..

It appears the interfold did not take down my webpage after all. Gah. So if you want to read something funny, Spencer reminded me about my page about me and Katie's trip to New Mexico. Don't bother if you don't have time to read it all, it's a lot of journaling, but the journaling is the funniest thing about it. It was a crazy trip. Really crazy.

Soo...we went to two thrift stores, and found some stuff. I can't even remember what right now.

Tonight we spent the evening at my dads, and it was really fun. Even though he tells the same stories every time you see him, he's still entertaining to be around. He and his wife both work in a funeral home, she does mostly office stuff but my dad does prep work, picks up bodies and works the services. They always have the most interesting work stories to tell.

Tonight he told us about this one woman that came in a few days ago and wanted to have her amputated finger cremated. She wanted to make sure that when she eventually died, that all her parts were together. So she had this finger cremated, and will put it with the rest of her ashes when she dies. Nutty! Some stories they tell are funny, most are really sad. My dad is such a gregarious, people-person friendly guy..it's unfortunate that everyone he meets on the job is going through probably the worst time in their lives.

Today at work he was doing prep for an 80 year old man. He said he and his wife were extraordinarily healthy, and living it up in their retirement. A few years ago they bought a house with a 3rd story deck that they would sit out on and watch the sun set every night...no matter what. If they were home, they went out to watch the sun set together. Well last night, they were on the deck and he went into the house to get his wife some more ice tea, tripped on the landing of the doorway, fell and hit his head and died on the spot. --wow - It's cliche to say..but 'you just never know'.

BONUS is that I got to spend the entire evening holding my puppy, so that was even better. He's getting pretty old, he'll be 10 years old this year. Pekingnese dogs (he is) tend to not live as long as some other dogs, usually 9-12 is their life expectancy. He's almost completely deaf, but he still has almost all of the personality he had when he was little. I'm not sure if he knew who I was, but he stayed with me almost the whole night.

We had dinner, and dessert and coffee and dinked on his computer a bit. I made him a CDRom of all the wedding pictures - showers, rehearsal, wedding, etc - and he wanted to look at all of those. That was fun, but my dad is really not a computer guy. "double click? what do you mean?"

I wanted to leave there a little bit early, because I still had to go to the grocery store for water world tomorrow, plus they get up at 4:30 in the morning. But they kept wanting us to stay, offering to make coffee, etc..so we didn't leave till around 10:30. Katie and I went to the grocery store after that, and lollygagged around in there for about an hour, for just $40 worth of stuff. The King Soopers around here is so weird at night. First of all they turn almost all the lights off. Then every aisle is completely blocked and crammed with stuff they are restocking.

Then when it is time to check out, we're always afraid we're going to get this one really grouchy night time guy. He always acts so damn irritated when he sees you pull your buggy up to the checkout. I swear I can hear him exhale as he rolls his eyes. But tonight it was the young fun night time guy. Tonight I had already gotten in line while Katie went and got one more thing. She came back and said "oh no, is it grouchy check-out guy?" But thank goodness, it wasn't.

Seems like everyone in the store at this time, workers and customers alike are really friendly and even flirtatious. heh.

Ok, that's enough. Later gators.

Umm...errr...

I, Danelle, do solemnly swear that after Katie and I go to the thrift store, I will get done what I can.

I am going to my dad's tonight for dinner and just to hang out. It's a long drive, but I love hanging out with my dad. Plus, I get to see my doggie. =)

I, Danelle, do solemnly swear, to accomplish the following tasks today:

Put away 3 loads of already clean laundry
Do 2 new loads of laundry and put away
Tidy the living room
Make a phone call I've been putting off

Tomorrow is Water World, so I have to accomplish something today or I will sit there and not be able to relax, thinking of all there is to get done.

Derbs...take Friday off. Monday too if you want. Don't let folks bully you. Paste this phrase on your desk:

You Deserve What You Accept.

From VodkaPundit.

50 Words and Phrases Not to Use on a First Date

Conjecture
Restraining order
Piglet
How-do
Time served
Hair remover
Offal
Splendiferous
Dahmer-esque
Blogosphere
Dangling chads
Pittance
Fanny
Hernia
Pants-worthy
Tits
De-Nazification
Government cheese
Posthaste
Pre-moistened
Hat
Franco-German
Babs (Does not apply to first dates with women named "Babs")
Redi-Wip (Does not apply to first dates with women named "Redi-Wip")
Walking pneumonia
Barnaby Jones
Clean needles
Futon
Sixpence
Tomfoolery
Paul Krugman
Third base
Dutch
Simulacrum
Fanfare
Oozing
Pustule
Oozing pustule
Nighty-night
Détente
Credit rating
Boy-Ar-Dee
Ineffectual
Three-way
Na-na-na-na-nineteen-nineteen
Bifurcated
Eggzactly
Schlitz
Mendacity
I'll call you tomorrow

I had to take the link to my webpage down, because finally interfold (old ISP) must have realized I quit paying them about oh....14 months ago. heh. They left the site up for so long! It will be back up soon, I just gotta get it all moved over.

Bleh. Just spent a ridiculous amount of time fixing Katie's blog. FYI, she had the same template as spencer, and that was the problem. A note was sent to blogger control, and they confirmed that there is a problem with that template. We ditched it and picked another.

We did book buying this morning in Northglenn, only 9 bags. Now it's hot and we don't feel like doing anything. Water World later this week, for sure. Probably Wednesday or Thursday, so we can actually ride rides, since Emma won't be with us. Anyone? Water World? All Aboard?

Katie made asparagus soup today. It was actually pretty good, but it was just too hot for soup. Maybe I will have some more around 1 am when it finally gets down to a reasonable temperature (the weather, not the soup). I'll let you know later if the rumors are true about asparagus. hee.

Ok, I gotta get out of this bedroom now. Hot..

By the way, Katie has a blog that she's agreed to let folks in on. We have to go there and give her lots of tags and stuff. She thinks its boring, but Cindi and I both think it's funny as heck. She's having the same problem Spencer was having, with the scrolling. How did you fix that? In the meantime, just hit the archives to see it all. Go look.

Not doing much today.

Trying to get some stuff tidied up and get some more auctions ready to upload tomorrow. I also have several things to ship tomorrow, so Mark is helping me get those boxed.

I've managed to make it through today without feeling constantly depressed. I talked to Katie for a long time last night and that helped a lot. She's wise beyond her years, that's for sure. Then I woke up this morning realizing that Amanda and Justin are in the Bahamas by themselves, and neither of them have ever been on a trip without a "seasoned" adult traveler. I hope if there are any glitches or if anything goes wrong they can handle it. I hope they would know to call if they needed anything in an emergency.

I did crop all the wedding pictures, and will try to get those up on a page or something soon. It was all I could do just to look at them for just a little bit.

I realized too that some of what I was/am feeling is from being back in that church. That church changed a lot of things in my life in the past, most of them good. I miss the people, I miss the music, and I miss Bernie's preaching. He's just so damn good. Katie and I are going to keep looking for a church we like.

I just feel sad, and lonely, and unnecessary.

It was beautiful, it was lovely, and everything went (almost) perfectly.

I'm depressed however, and feeling sad and emotional. I have so many regrets, and I wish I could go back 10 years and do it one more time.

I really am going to bed after this...

Among the regular items in my backpack are the following items...because you know at least once tomorrow someone will say "does anyone have any _______?!"

Lotion
Hairspray
Bobby pins
safety pins
rubber bands
a sewing kit
hair ties
makeup
lip gloss
batteries
a roll of film (I dont even own an SLR, I'm all digital - but I know someone might ask!)
Advil
wipes
extra jewelry
perfume
bandaids
a magic marker
and a spyderco (duh).

I will not be caught unprepared.

My archives are not publishing. wtf.

Taking a few minutes to chill before packing a bag for tomorrow...

The rehearsal went great, Amanda and Justin have incorporated some amazing and precious things into their ceremony. It will certainly be a wedding people will remember, I think.

The dinner was catered by Johnny Corrino's, and it was really nice to just sit and chat to my dad and Marla, and some other people from church that I haven't seen in a long time.

It will be fun to see some people tomorrow that I haven't seen in ages, I'm looking forward to that.

We ran through the whole wedding, and then..the dreaded slide show. It starts with them both as infants, and goes through their lives, pictures side by side of each of them doing nearly the same thing...halloween, sitting in their highchairs, goofing around with cowboy hats on..it's really cool. I lost it at the picture of Amanda standing in the doorway of their new house that's just being built.

Cindi and I both cried...heartily. I'm glad I saw it tonight though, maybe it won't make me so weepy tomorrow. Ah, who am I kiddin'...

At the rehearsal dinner Amanda and Justin each read a short note of acknowledgement to each attendant. It was really sincere and touching, and neither one of them could stop from crying through the whole thing. One of Amanda's bridesmaids is a friend she's had since early elementary school. Another is Justin's sister, and Katie is her maid of honor. Justin's dad is his best man, which I think speaks volumes about their relationship, and the kind of guy Justin is.

Katie and I had to make one more trip to Hobby Lobby today, cause we forgot to get stuff to decorate the car! Did you know they have little dobbers of paint specifically for writing on cars? I love it!

Off to finish all the last minute business. The wedding is at 2pm MDT, look at the clock and wish them good luck from wherever you are..


Here's a couple of pictures from tonight, so you don't feel too left out.

Amanda and Katie waiting for direction..





Amanda and Daniel





Amanda's friend Deanna, after hearing Amanda's message to her at the rehearsal dinner.





Amanda and Justin heading down the aisle, after the rehearsal.

We're home for a quick shower before the rehearsal. The food prep went well today, there were lots of hands which made for light work. Lots of food, though. We dipped about a million strawberries in chocolate, and about 1000 ended up on the trays..cause we couldn't resist!

The gym looks absolutely fabulous. They have white lights coming down from the center to the corners and a faux chandelier made of of lights in the middle. The sanctuary looks really good too,, They rented roman colums that are arranged in a semi circle, and on top is the most gorgeous 8' spray of roses. While we were in there checking things out, they were starting to run through the slide show and I could barely stand to watch, it gets me so teary eyed.

Ok, time to quit dallying and go rehearse whatever Im supposed to do.

Later gators.

I just called Amanda's answering machine while she's out at her bachelorette party and left 2 minutes of "Going To The Chapel" on it. heh.

Courtesy of the presurfer, I bring you Ben's Old Apartment. I don't think he's getting his deposit back.

Sorry! The site's been taken down because his bandwidth for the month has been exceeded. Boo!

We were all supposed to go to the movies today, but through this that and the other..it ended up just being me, Dy and Emma. Then partway through the movie it was clear Emma was not enjoying herself..so her and dy left and I stayed by myself and got a ride home after by calling Mark. We saw Pirates of the Carribean, and it was pretty good. Most of the fun was drooling over Johnny Depp. What a tasty morsel he is in that movie. Orlando Bloom was forgettable, though I'm not a fan to begin with.

The next couple of days will be crazy, I won't be posting till at least late Saturday night, unless I post again later tonight. Wish us luck that the wedding goes smoothly and everyone has a good time, and Amanda doesn't get too frazzled. I think it will be great fun. I need to go start putting some things together, as I won't be home much in the next two days.

And I don't know if you all enjoyed that Elton John song..or hated it to death because no one ever leaves any comments around here.

Ahem.

In any regard, here's another also ran song.

"I Will Be Here" ~Steven Curtis Chapman

Tomorrow morning if you wake up and the sun does not appear
I will be here
If in the dark, we lose sight of love
Hold my hand, and have no fear
'Cause I will be here

I will be here
When you feel like being quiet
When you need to speak your mind
I will listen
And I will be here
When the laughter turns to cryin'
Through the winning, losing and trying
We'll be together
I will be here

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the future is unclear
I will be here
Just as sure as seasons were made for change
Our lifetimes were made for these years
So I will be here

I will be here
And you can cry on my shoulder
When the mirror tells us we're older
I will hold you
And I will be here
To watch you grow in beauty
And tell you all the things you are to me
I will be here

I will be true to the promise I have made
To you and to the One who gave you to me

Tomorrow morning, if you wake up
And the sun does not appear
I will be here
Oh, I will be here..

I know some folks who will love this:

Bush speaking out against...Bush.

Is it mommy day yet?

This week has been a bit trying. We're trying to get a million things done and Emma is charmingly-but-nonetheless constantly underfoot and chattering incessantly. We could use to go out for a beer, for sure. Soon..soon. And then we'll be wishing it was daddy day again.

Mark and Dy's divorce hearing is set for October 2. A long time coming if you ask me. It'll be nice to not have that looming - everyone knowing it needs to get done, but no one wanting to actually do it. They both have to take a parenting class and fill out their financial affidavits asap, but other than that it should be pretty smooth sailing. They've already agreed to everything a long time ago, so there's no pissing contest on the horizon.

Dan and I agreed on basically everything before we went to court, but there's was still a few glitches. The courts (here in Colorado anyway) verify random bits of information you give them on your financials, and a couple of our things came up a little hokey on ours. Mine was an accident, Dan's was on purpose. He purposely reported that he paid more rent than he actually did, and they caught him. He got an embarassing lecture in court, and ended up paying more child support than he though he would. My error was only because I'd had a increase in pay since I filled out the forms. All in all, it wasn't the worst experience of my life, but it wasn't pleasant. I cried a bit during the hearing and the judge kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to do this. It wasn't that I wanted to stay married, I was just so sad that so much of my life was wasted on him, and here I was starting over. Bleh...bad memory! Bad! away!

Anyway -
We did a bit of book buying today, I think 10 bags all together. We're having ARC come and do a pickup tomorrow, of all the books we have had set aside for months that we couldnt list, or that were damaged..or whatever. I can't believe the pile in the driveway. I will take a picture tomorrow and show you. We decided when we hear the truck coming, we are going to hide.

We also picked up Emma's glasses today, she lost a lens at her moms house, and we had to take them in for repair. Emma was so happy! Of course she immediately put them on ..and then fell down on the sidewalk. lol

It's been a productive day, but now I need to go tackle the kitchen before I go to bed. Dy gets back from Louisianna tomorrow, and the kitchen and living room are tres unacceptable. She'll be here Thursday and Friday, and then come to the wedding before heading down for all parts southward.

And then it will be glorious mommy day.

I don't think I have ever needed a shower more than I do right now.

Picking the music out for Amanda's wedding was so fun..but there were too many good songs to choose from. I wanted to share some of the best ones with you guys. Over the next few days I'll post some of the "also rans"... (because of bandwidth restrictions, I will post one a day, and delete the one from the previous day).

This one, "Blessed" by Elton John rings true for every parent. Before the child is even born, you promise them the best...


Hey you, you're a child in my head
You haven't walked yet
Your first words have yet to be said
But I swear you'll be blessed

I know you're still just a dream
your eyes might be green
Or the bluest that I've ever seen
Anyway you'll be blessed

And you, you'll be blessed
You'll have the best
I promise you that
I'll pick a star from the sky
Pull your name from a hat
I promise you that, promise you that, promise you that
You'll be blessed

I need you before I'm too old
To have and to hold
To walk with you and watch you grow
And know that you're blessed

I don't think I've mentioned...

It's hot!!

It's 10:30 in the morning and it is 94 degrees. I woke up at 8:15 sweating and have been up ever since.

I finished a book, "Fatal Error" (true crime) and have picked up "Good in Bed" again. I'm having trouble getting through that one for some reason. It's not that I don't like it..it's just...well, fiction. I just don't do fiction much. But I am gonna finish it.

Oh, we came across a copy of "Ghost" (Gregory Maguire, of "Wicked") that is signed by the author. Love when that happens.

Auctions are going well, booksales are good. It's just too damn hot tho.

You know, speaking of those self-check things. Ugh. (We were, trust me.)

I love the convenience, I really do. The problem is it rarely ever turns out to be faster..or even reasonably fast. Something is always always always wrong. And the voice on there, really isn't very nice, do you think?

"Please put the item in the bag".
(She almost sounds like she's gritting her teeth)

"Remove the last item FROM the bag and scan it again."
(I don't want to do that, then I've paid for it twice, you see..)

At this point you look over at the guy monitoring all four self-check lanes and he's not looking at you. He finally does and waves you on to continue. Already you could have had an entire cart of groceries checked from a regular person.

One time Mark and I were at Home Depot and they have really sensitive self-checkers. He picked something up out of the bag after bagging it. EEek! I made him hurry and throw it back in and the voice said "Stop moving the bag around!" Oh my god we laughed so hard...

And then..the cigarettes. If you need cigarettes, you..are..screwed.! The guy is counting money or someshit and there's already another self-check lane with a light flashing. You're a good 2, 3 minutes away from getting any attention from this yahoo.

Finally you're done and it takes your card, and it's all over and you've missed half of The Amazing Race already.

Runnin' around..runnin' around

It's been that kinda day. Went to Wal-Mart with Katie for *more* bachelorette party things. Shee whiz. I also got a new strapless bra for my dress for the wedding. The strapless one I have is so bleh. It doesn't even go all the way around you, it has these sticky things that stick on your skin to hold it in place. Or are supposed to stick on your skin anyway. They never worked all that well. Plus I had to get a white bra for the dress Im wearing to the rehearsal dinner. You all are on the edge of your seats aren't you!!? All this bra talk..so damn exciting.

Then I had to take Daniel to go get his "ushering" pants. Found some nice ones for not too much. I even paid retail. Gah! But only $9. Heh.

We made a huge dinner tonight of bbq pork ribs, krab salad, cornbread and mac & cheese. It was deelicious! It was finally cool enough today to cook something! It's beyond fathomable to heat up the oven lately. there was talk of going to Water World tomorrow, but I think we might go book buying instead. I wanted to go get a little more "sun" before Saturday, but..there's just too many other things to do. Emma's glasses were broke and they are done being repaired so we have to go get those too. Runnin' around...

Ugh. Im just too sticky and tired to post. No fun, no fun. The hot sun is no fun.

Thanks for picking Katie up, Cindi. You rock.

My new kittie Marla is just roaming around the house meow-ing randomly. I have no idea what she wants. She was playing with a plastic ring off of the milk bottle, but I took it away. Maybe she's mad about it. She got locked in the laundry room today too. Maybe she's bitching about that. The cats go in there and lay during the day, the floor is concrete and it's probably nice and cool. Maybe I'll try it myself tomorrow.

Does anyone have any Valium?

The Worst Cars Of The Millenium have been announced.
*I'm proud to announce, I've owned two of them.


10. VW Bus
09. Renault Dauphine
08. Cadillac Cimarron
07. Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare
06. Renault LeCar
05. Chevy Chevette*
04. AMC Gremlin
03. Ford Pinto*
02. Chevy Vega
01. Yugo

"A few months ago we asked Car Talk visitors to vote for the top five guy cars and chick cars. We got thousands of nominations and, ultimately, two top five lists. But we also got lots of e-mails from gay and lesbian readers saying, "What about us?"
Well, how would we know (being boring heterosexuals)?
So, you tell us . . . We'll take your nominations for the ultimate gay car and the ultimate lesbian car."

And those results...
Lesbians:
10. Chevy S10
09. Volvo Wagon
08. Ford Ranger
07. Nissan X-Terra
06. Geo Tracker
05. Honda CRV
04. Ford F150
03. Jeep Wrangler
02. Subaru Forester
01. Subaru Outback

Gay Men:
10. Chrysler Sebring (heh - Mark had one of those)
09. VW Cabrio
08. VW Golf
07. Saturn SC1
06. Saab 900
05. Mazda Miata
04. Jeep Wrangler
03. BMW 3 Series
02. VW Beetle
01. VW Jetta

The mannequin's name is Tyrese Quinn the mannequin. Emma is deathly afraid of it by the way. Katie just told her she was going to put it in Emma's bed with her while she sleeps and Emma freaked. heh. We dance it around in front of her and she squeals like crazy.

Mark is under the weather so I have to take Katie to work then do the post office, bank and grocery store. I just went outside and filled the evaporative cooler, and in the process completely drenched myself with the hose. If was an accident at first, but then it was so nice and cold I just kept the water on myself for a bit. Felt grreat!

My thermostat here in the bedroom says it 96 degrees in here.

School starts in 30 days. I can't believe it. We need more Water World before they schlep off to sit in a classroom all day.

It's hot today. But, you already knew that. We begged off book buying today..even though normally Monday is our big buying day. It's just too hot to put clothes on and go anywhere. Im sitting inside watching my auctions and watching dumb movies. (Princess Diaries, etc.)

Ooh, I watched "Frailty" last night. Great movie. Creeeeepy.

I can't even think of what to write. Hot.....

Oh I just saw an extended forecast. So far... Saturday (wedding!) is a high of 85. Wouldn't that be grand?!

Ellen Degeneres has a special on HBO this month and it is fuunnn-neee. I've always really liked her, I watched her show, stand-up, read her book, etc. I was watching her before it was fashionable to be gay.

If you watch her for any length of time (especially on this current special) you really get a sense of how regular and genuinely nice she is, and how funny the everyday situations we are in truly are.

Katie and I were laughing our asses off and just kept saying "oh my god, that's so true". If you get a chance to see it, you should. Guaranteed guffaws.

It's been a slow day, and not much fun. It's just too damn hot..today was really really miserable. Folks around here were just steering clear of each other because the heat was making everyone grouchy. And the forecast holds more of the same. 92-101 all week long. Gahhh...

We have 7 fans going in the house at all times when it's that hot. We have them coinfigured so the fans on the fourth floor are blowing outside, taking the hottest part of the house air and getting rid of it. We have an evaporative cooler in the living room window, but it's really only designed for one small room, so it feels nice only if you're sitting in front of it. It's like a mortal sin to open the front door or peek out the living room window and let any sun in.

Daniel has a friend spending the night, Craig. It's kinda weird when Daniel has a friend over..he's not a very good host, and they seem too old to be sleeping over. Nearly 16 for goodness sakes. Boys that age act suspicious and are vague about their activities anyway. Put two of them together and suddenly you're convinced they are smoking crack at the baseball field. Craig seems really nice though. He's polite and courteous, and seems to be a pretty upstanding guy.

Daniels got more friends now than he's ever had at any other period in his life. He has about 4 regular guy friends that call and that he hangs out with, and right now just one girl. (Just friends, I think). I'm so glad. He's been virtually friendless for years it seems like. His teachers would say he was a loner, and he would tell me he was lonely. He's a good guy though, and he's slowly coming around.

Im pooped. Later gators.

Katie and I went to church this morning, at the church near here that I used to belong to, got baptised at and married at. We decided it had w-a-y too many old people. Plus, they don't have a pastor right now. The guest speaker was good tho. We're gonna try somewhere else next week probably.

We then went to Wal-Mart and COlorado Mills mall to get some last minute bachelorette party gifts and novelties. Oops, I just wrote something else we got for Amanda but forgot, she reads here. Doh. I'll tell you later. It was so nice and cool in the mall and it is so damn hot in the house. As Katie and I were driving home she made the astute observation: "It's too damn hot to even talk." yup.

I'm holed up in my room with a fan in the window and a floor fan pointed right at my face...not ocsillating. I have the door shut and am escaping the 5 year old constant commentary for a while. (You can do that when you're not-the-mom..it's great)

Katie just left to go to Char's and then Amanda's for a while. Daniel is in and out, and I'm not moving from this dual fan location until the sun sets.

Oh and yes, the kitchen was clean last night but now it is a mess again. Pfftt.

Someone please tell me where the connection is -

I don't feel like taking pictures of the dresses and listing them because my kitchen is dirty.

Go figure.

Ramon Stoppelenburg is traveling the world without any money. Can he stay at your house for the day?

I got my mannequin...gonna sell some dresses. la la la la la.

We were up at the ungodly hour of 8:30 am this morning for tumbling...Seems like it's been a while. There was no class on July 4, and then one week the teacher didn't have a key for the gym and they had changed the locks, and then we were in Atlanta, and blah blah blah. They did a lot of different things today, backward somersaults, and some playing around on uneven bars. We need to see if there is a weekday class for tumbling once school starts, since she'll be here during the week during the school year, and at her mom's on the weekend. I hope it's the same coach, she's really good with Emma.

Anyway, today will be spent loading up auctions. I want to get most of the dresses photographed, now that the mannequin is here. Hmm, she needs a name, don't you think. Let's have a ponder and see what we come up with.

I also need to get my gown to the cleaners for pressing for the wedding, which is one-count-it-one week from today. This week is likely to be pretty nutty. Rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, decorating the church, making food for 300 people...anyone want to come and help? I'll give ya a book or sumthin.

Friday Five

1. Do you remember your first best friend? Who was it?
Of course, it was Vali. She lived 3 houses down from us while I was growing up. She had an adopted brother named Troy. She did ballet. She always wanted to be an actress, and was in one movie, in about 1990. It was horrible..I own it.

2. Are you still in touch with this person?
I have seen her at all my high school reunions, and my friend Tom still talks to her frequently, so I still get the scoop.

3. Do you have a current close friend?
Yes, Michele.

4. How did you become friends with this person?
We met in PTA, about 10 years ago.

5. Is there a friend from your past that you wish you were still in contact with? Why?
Yes, Lorri. We met when we both worked at Mtn Bell in 1980 and were very close. As a matter of fact, we just sold a book to someone that lives in the small small town she moved to in Missouri. I put a note in with the book, asking if she knew the family to have her get in touch. I hope she does.

I like to go back and read people's 100 things etc after I've known them for a while, even if I read it in the beginning. It's insightful.

I just re-read Laura's and laughed at how many things we have in common, and yet how many things we are poles apart on. I hate Grace from Will and Grace too. And Poodles! GOD I hate poodles. Answering the phone, Mac Davis..the list goes on and on. But to the other degree, some things she hates I am quite fond of. Cosmopolitan magazine (how else would I learn "How to touch him tonight!"?) lol. I like Christina Aguilera (music, I have no opinion of her as a person) - and while she hates people that don't like live plants, I loathe live plants. heh. I guess that's what Laura and I get along pretty well, and seem to be able to talk up a good clip. It's all in the variety, folks. Plus, she's the type (I hope I'm the type too) that can appreciate the difference and not try to turn someone's thinking into theirs. Things are nice, that way.

_________

Water World was a blast and half. Only Mark and Emma and I went, so we parked our stuff down by one of the kids areas, so Emma could play to her hearts content while we sat close by. We did the Laaaazzeeeeee River again, and Emma didn't get scraped this time. I showed her how to push off from the wall if we drifted too close. We also did one of the big tube rides, and played in the big waves of Thunder Bay. Looove Water World.

Came home and had a shower a deux and now am trying to get some work done.

The wedding is just over a week away. I'm getting a little nervous. I'm really unsure how emotional Im going to be..though I think probably a lot. I don't want to be a blithering mess, but I know I will feel melancholy. I want to enjoy it, and just revel in Amanda's celebration.

I hope I can let go enough to do that. It's not like she's moving away, or I'm losing her in any sense at all. It's more of a sadness at the passing of time. I don't know where the last 22 years went. I remember so little of her childhood, and I have more regrets than I care to think about. I coulda, I shoulda...I didn't. Lots of those.

But I also take a little bit of pride in the woman that she's become. She's self-sufficient, she's independant, and she has a nice set of big hairy balls when she needs em, yanno? She's a good employee, she's a good friend, she's a good sister, and she's a great daughter. She's thoughtful and kind, and she's definately cute as a button. I always worry about her, she's got a soft heart and gets hurt so easily. I just hope she has a good life, and that her marriage is happy, and that they never try to do anything to hurt each other. I hope she keeps her strong faith all through her life, and that sadness and heartbreak will pass her by most of the time.

While my faith isn't as publically pronounced as it once was, I feel my life has certainly been touched and blessed, certainly by my kids. I feel that I've gotten what I've deserved, both good and bad. I don't pray as much as I used to, but when I do..I always ask that they remain safe and healthy, and that any earthly rewards or blessings that are in the pipe for me, be passed on to them. They deserve it..parts of their lives have been really shitty.

Well....now that I am a blithering idiot at my pc, I will go and get a tissue.

Have you ever been too tired/lazy to even get in the tub? That's how I feel.

I neglected to mention that yesterday while Katie and I were at the thrift store I found a Louis Vuitton bag for $3.89. I've done a fair amount of research online, knowing there are a buttload of fakes out there. There are very distinguising marks for almost every other kind of bag - Fendi, Coach, etc..they all have certain things that aren't duplicated in fakes - but I haven't found anything glaringly pointing one way or another about this bag. The good news is even the replicas go for 80-100 on ebay. Score.

Still no mannequin today. Someone is playing with my mannequin somewhere.

Well, Dy came and went, and is now on her way to muggy N'Awlins. Emma will be here until the day before the wedding, when Dy comes back..then she'll stay for the wedding and head back. Next week is going to probably be ultra nutso. Tomorrow I have to go to Amanda's work, pick up her dress and take it down to the Bridal shop to have it pressed. I still need to take my dress in for pressing too. Gah.

We also got our new kitty. She's so sweet and tiny, barely a whisper of a cat. Schatze just roams around the house randomly hissing, whether Marla is in the vicinity or not. As if to say "I am really pissed off about this"... Marla's already found the food and the litter box, I might let her come outside with me for a bit, so she can get the smell of the area. I would hate to let her outside and then have her start walking 250 miles back to Monte Vista. "here kitty kitty!"

Mark's been up since around 6:45am, he took Dy to the airport and didn't go back to bed. Just thinking about that makes me tired. When he got out of bed this morning, I was thinking "I could not get out of bed right now for a thousand dollars." But then thought I probably would..for a thousand dollars. But Dy doesn't pay anywhere near that for a ride to the airport.

Hanging around the house today, Water World tomorrow. Have fun sitting at your desks. muwahaha.

My 100 things list is up to 126 things. I'm way too into myself.

Just sitting around not doing much at all. Eating breadsticks from Fazoli's (where Katie works) and drinking soda like there's no tomorrow. (There is a tomorrow, right?)

Dy has yet to arrive. They must have left pretty late cause it's already after 10. I hope she has my new kitty. I fell in love with one of her kitties (Marla) when we were down there, and after Marla just had a litter she offered her up to me. She's been fixed and the kittens are weaned, so I hope she brought her this time. She's so snuggly and lovey, totally opposite from Schatze. Schatze is interesting and funny in his own way..but not a snugly cat, that's for sure.

My ebay auctions are going awesome, and I have a lot more stuff lined up behind them to list. I don't like to have too many auctions up at once, cause then when they all end it's a scramble to keep track of who has paid, and what needs shipped where.

I think our bookstore at half.com has most of our 7500+ items in it. I will put up a link on the side over there, so Laura can check out the artsy-fartsy section.

I guess that's it for now. Dull, dull. I think I want coffee.

It's hot, it's hot..it's really freaking hot.

Katie and I are headed out to a thrft store, one Mark doesn't care for much because it's mostly clothes. Whee.

Other than that we are hunting lost books (5 right now..not good) and monitoring and uploading ebay auctions. Still no mannequin yet, dammit. Where is my mannequin? Have you seen my mannequin? Maybe the dingo ate my mannequin. (Trent and Cindi are laughing).

I did manage to clean my desk off a little bit. Got rid of the trash and piled all the papers into a pile that looks somewhat organized but really isn't. At least I can see wood again.

Ok, we're off. Have a wonderful day, and I hope you are somewhere air conditioned. Asshole.

Found while surfing..

Table of Condiments that Periodically Go Bad

There ain't much to say, I'll tell ya that much.

We hung around this oven of a house most of the day, then had to trek out to take Daniel to weightlifting and then for a haircut. Katie went to a movie (Spellbound) with Char this evening, and was so thoughtful to leave her car here for me. Normally she would take her car up to Charlie's and then he would drive wherever,

I went to Kmart and the grocery store, and I think I was gone about 2 hours. Just meandering around...alone. Heaven... I broke my beloved sunglasses at Amanda's shower the other day, so I got some more at Kmart, plus a tank top. Summer stuff is cheap now folks! Go! Go now!

My desk is an absolute cluster fuck. A bigger desk space just means more places to pile shit, it seems. Dy is coming tomorrow to spend the night before she jets to Louisianna (can you say stifling humidity?) for a week or so. I really need to get off my cotton candy eating ass and tidy this place up. It's just too hot, tho.

We didn't do anything about the why-did-we-buy-this-car-you-said-you-wanted-it-no-you-said-you-did car today. Too depressing.

All I can say is where is the shibby.

ugh.





But this is better than most of you:



Water World on Friday. Oh yea. I'm there. Who's with me.

jab - jab...

If your blog doesn't have any way for people to respond to what you've said....especially when you ask for it, i.e. "what do you guys think?" then it's no fun to read.

Just my .02 on this hot, boring, Im in a shitty mood day.

Jane was talking about sad songs, and I remembered this one. Give it a listen.




Go Rest High on That Mountain
~Vince Gill

I know your life
On earth was troubled
And only you could know the pain
You weren’t afraid to face the devil
You were no stranger to the rain

Go rest high on that mountain
Son, your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a-shoutin’
Love for the Father and the Son

Oh, how we cried the day you left us
We gathered round your grave to grieve
I wish I could see the angels faces
When they hear your sweet voice sing

Go rest high on that mountain
Son, your work on earth is done
Go to heaven a-shoutin’
Love for the Father and the Son

----------
You are excused to go get a tissue.

Yay, Patrick and Kimberly signed the new and improved guestmap. Now Im not sitting in the world alone. Still feels that way sometimes tho, you know how it is.

Today was massive book buying day. 3 Sally's and 18 bags later..we're pooped. We were lazy about pulling and packing books over the holiday weekend, and it's been a formidable job today getting all that taken care of too.

I just watched Sling Blade for about the 20th time. It's one of those favorite movies that anytime you are spanning the channels, you stop and watch for a bit..and then end up watching the whole thing. I'm like that with a couple of others too, Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction to name a couple. I just really love Sling Blade. It makes me bawl. Not to mention the cinematography and acting. Stellar.

I don't have much else to report. I have a lot to do, and not much time to do it. There's so much that needs to be done around the house here, but there's too much other things to be done too. I need to get my dress for the wedding in to be dry cleaned, for one. I've got to get on that.

I ordered a plastic "torso" to hang my ebay dresses on, I can't wait till it gets here to get those listed. I think it will make them look a lot better, rather than just putting them on a hanger. It's a black one...I hope it works out, cause the torso is a size 8 i think, which is standard, and some of these dresses are big.

I have two auctions up now that are going really well. One is another dollhouse that I got for $5 and I just listed it today, and it's already at $9.50. The other is the second Spyderco (knives) shirt that I found at a thrift store, 2 for $1.89. I auctioned one already, and it went for $25. Fun!

I have one non-payer from an auction that ended last week, tho. I hate that. I email them every day (sometimes more) and typically make their life very uncomfortable until they pay. It's so damn rude to win an auction and then just drop off the face of the earth. Bleh on you people! This is my job, my only income here. Do the right thing.

I picked up two more dollhouses today at Salvation Army. Those seem to go so well. I hate it when people ask me what I'm doing with all these books, or all these dollhouses or whatever. I don't feel obligated to tell them that I sell them, but I usually do tell them anyway. I just don't want them to start doing it too, and then they'll weed out stuff before it ever gets put up for sale. I guess I'm just stingy.

Tomorrow is a massive post office run, we'll probably be there an hour, no kidding. Then we've got to take care of some why-did-we-buy-this-shit-car business. There's a big ball of dread hanging over us about that one. I don't think we have any recourse, but maybe. But probably not. Bleh.

Time for bed I think.

I put up a new guest map, it's kinda fun. The other one was full. Don't sign that one. But please do sign the new one. Even you old timers can sign if you want.

I made a faux pas at Amanda's shower that I'm still thinking about, and feeling shitty about. Akin to saying "Man, that woman is ugly.." and the person next to you saying "That's my wife"..

Sorry, Cyndi.

I used to read this one blog, by a woman named Allison, who lives in Georgia. She was always entertaining, but didn't post enough for my liking..so I only read her intermittantly. She got married last Christmas, and I really enjoyed reading her "getting readiness". But then in January she just stopped writing altogether. Period, that's it..no more, bye bye. I found her blog in my internet favorites tonight, and she had made an entry. Only one, but it was a good one. She's had good reason to be gone so long.

I like her because I think a lot of our attitudes and outlooks on life are the same. Bad things happen to good people. Are you gonna wallow in it? Blame your past for things happening in the present? Or dust yourself off and get busy with the rest of your life?

People get cheated on, kids grow up and move away, jobs are lost, cars burn down, and so do apartments.

Wipe your face and give one more good heavy sigh and then make the best of what's left. It's really quite a lot if you think about it.

I can't believe it. Barry White is dead. He was on my list too. This is insane. Is it possible that all my 2002 picks will actually kick the bucket this year? Is it possible that I am so profoundly psychic that I am not only able to see into the future, but into the extreme future as well?

Or maybe I'm just a really bad guesser.

Well we're home and I think it was a grand success. We got tons of compliments on the food, and had some but not tons left over. That's the key is making just enough. We brought ziplock bags too so everyone could take a little bit of something home. We had a whole tray of bean dip left over, that's one thing I made entirely too much of..but it was yummmy and will get eaten!

We decorated the pavilion all up with streamers and helium balloons and a sign, it looked really cute. Cindi had great games and everyone blended together and got along great. Now Im pooped.

Now I'm home again, home again, jiggity jig (does anyone else say that?) and it's time to get back to work.

Katie and I are up to our necks in 7 layer bean dip, tortilla rollups, fruit trays, veggie trays...doing all the food yourself is cheaper but BLEH!

We're excited for the shower tomorrow. I think it'll be lots of fun. The only thing I'm worried about is someone being in our "pavilion" that we've paid to rent. I did manage to find my paperwork tho, so we'll just have to say "See this..? This means you're leaving. Buh bye."

Back to the layers of dip. How many was that again?

Bleh.

We went to the auction, and we got a car. Unfortunately, we believe now it may have major major problems. It was initially fine, but..well now it isn't. It's parked at my mom's until Monday when we can see a) if it's completely dead and b)if we have any hope of recourse or repair. I really don't want to talk about it, and Mark is sick to death about it...so please don't bring it up, and don't ask us about it...in any shape or form. I'll keep you posted.

I'm up! I'm up!

We're off...Mark is packing our necessaries (sodas, water, etc) and we are off to the auto auction. Cross your fingers that we'll be pulling a CHEAP 1997 Mitsu into the driveway when we get home. Woohoo!

Go check out Trent's fireworks show.

Light fuse. Get Away.

We planned on beating the heat and getting to the auction preview by 10am...but we all know that didn't happen. We did get there by 11 tho, but by then it was already blistering hot. We drove a fair few cars, and have several on a list that we're planning on bidding on tomorrow. We traipsed around the auction lot until after 2pm, and by then I was starting to get foul (in mood and odor) because it was just too hot, and I needed some lunch. We went and got some fast food and went over the list we'd made, marking off what we would considering bidding on. I really fell for a Mitsubishi Mirage they had there, but there are a couple of others we're thinking will go for cheap. You just never know. We're hoping the crowd will be thin considering the holiday.

Well, for the second year in a row. We braved the crowds, traffic, red lights, congestion and headache..and drug our lawn chairs out into the middle of our street for the fireworks show. lol.

Our street started filling up with cars early this afternoon, and all the neighborhood folks had set up camp on the wide median in the middle of our street. The best fireworks show around is about 200 yards down the street at the city baseball fields. Our entire neighborhood sets up volleyball nets, barbeques, tents, gazebos..and tons and tons of chairs in preparation for the show. Katie took our chairs out there this morning to reserve us a spot. Hard work, dragging your chairs 30 feet out of the driveway. not! Mark and I were remembering all the other times we would drive all over town trying to find a decent place to watch good fireworks shows. One year we fought incredibly ridiculous traffic to see the show at Fiddler's Green, finally found a spot we could live with and then discovered along with everyone else that the show had been cancelled. We had Emma with us too, that sucked!

Also this year, we had some fireworks I bought in Arkansas when Mark and I were driving the car-b-que back from Washington DC. They have the good stuff! Daniel was in heaven setting off fireworks outside waiting for the real show to begin. Some of them were really dumb tho. One was called "Whistle ZigZag BangBang." Im not kidding. I think it must have lost something in the translation however, because it was in actuality more of a "Whistle, WhooshWhoosh, Fart."

Craziness. We saved a few sparklers and things to share with Emma sometime later. I wish I would have bought more in Arkansas. But when you're looking at fireworks in September, they just don't have the same appeal as when you're buying them July 3rd, you know?

Tomorrow is gonna be ultra crazy. After the auto auction at 10am, Katie and I have to do some major running around for shower items. We've decided to do all the food ourselves. Initially we were going to get party trays, until we inquired as to the cost. $45 for a fruit tray? I.dont.think.so.

We also have to get decorations and other foo-foo-ness that goes along with a bridal shower. Whee, Dundee.

I need a bath.

Blogger is being a slow poke, and Im too tired to wait.

Lotsa sun today. It was so hot..and Water World felt so good.

Busy tomorrow with car auctions and things. I need sleep.

Oh, I went back and bought 8 more of those dresses. hee.

Water World again tomorrrrrrow. Wee hee hee. I think just me, Katie, Daniel and maybe Charlie are going. We just wanna lay out and get some more wedding tan and maybe sail along the laaaazy river a bit. Mark doesn't wanna go cause it's Emma drop day, and being in the heat makes you so tired. Too tired to drive for 4 hours afterwards, for sure. We're not gonna take Emma this time cause we just plan to lay out most of the time and for her that would be tres boring.

Im going to bed early. Yes this is early. Or "oily" if you speak in Emma-isms.

Nighty night night. Don't let the bed bugs bite. Especially if they're the weird bug like we found in our Special K this morning.

By the way, if you are a Latina looking for a date, the auto auction is the place to be. You will not find more potential suitors anywhere on earth.

"I got 14, gimme 15, do I hear 15, 1450, c'mon it's a 1998...14, 14, 14, 1450 in the orange..gimme 15, 15, why not 15."

Auto auctions ROCK.

We are still a little awkward about the whole bidding thing. Mark is such a reserved guy when it comes to stuff like that. He's very knowledgeable, and ready to pay a decent amount, but jumping up and down, whistling, screaming, and generally acting like a crazy person just isn't the British way. I really wanted an Isuzu Trooper they had, but we were nervous. Damn if it didn't go for $950. a *steal*. It was very cute.

This was a different auction than the one we went to on Sat, this one had much nicer cars, some 02's and 03's. Very decent prices. We're still going to go back to the Saturday one this week, hoping it will be a light crowd with the 4th of July weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, I have plans for the next 5 days. How do my days get so completely filled up when I don't have a job?

Ooh, the mall was so nice and cool. We totally did not want to leave, but we had to because Mark couldnt go to the post office because Katie had the car seat in her car. We languished around as much as we could and I even found some bargains for ebay. I found a whole rack of evening gowns that had been marked down about 10 times on the tag. They were originally $60-70 and I got e of them for $5.25 apiece, so I bought 3 of them, just to sell. They're glittery, halter style and really pretty. I tried one on, but they're really too big. 2X's and 3X's. I figure they'll go pretty good on ebay, with tags and all. I just sold a Spyderco TShirt that I got for .90 for $25 and a dollhouse (another one) that I got for $3 for $21. Love doin the ebay thing, really.

Off to another auto auction in about 10 minutes. Whee wowee.

Whee, we are going to the mall.

It's 92 degrees already. I'm not going anywhere today, unless it's somewhere air conditioned that will just let me sit there all day.

New blog over there, cranky's corner. Go see Jay. He'll make your day.

Well, not really. But he's cool. And a couple are gone. One non poster, and "blogasm", which just turned out to be really dumb.

And PN needs to put her comments back up. Ahem.

Oh, sweet. Blogger made a post for me when it was testing. I'll tell you what, they answer problems fast. No blogger talkin' smack around here.

Water World today. Oh my goodness fun. We stayed allll freakin day. Came home just in time for Katie and I to get ready to go to Amanda's shower at church. We rode a buncha rides (at Water World, not at church) and had a great time. Emma scraped her foot while sitting on Mark's lap on the Laaaaaazy River (Emma-ism) and had to get a couple of bandaids from first aid. Nothing major, she didn't even cry.

Amanda's shower was really nice. There were a lot of ladies there, probably around 25 or 30. The ladies at church really do take care of the girls that are getting married. She got a lot of really nice gifts, some kinda too nice for a shower. The weirdest part was being around all these ladies I used to hang around with all the time, but now barely talked to me. I was surprised at some of the ones that did talk to me, and really surprised at some that didn't. It kinda bothered me, but there's nothing I can do about it, really. What happened was not my fault, but for some reason I feel like a have a big red A on my chest.

Here's a picture of Amanda wearing this really cute Bridal Baseball hat that my stepmom made for her to wear during the shower.





Dunno what's on tap for tomorrow. Maybe another auto auction...but I am beat, so maybe I'll sleep till noon and call it a day before i even get out of bed.

A Water World observance:
Ladies...look at yourself from all angles before buying that swimming suit.

Well, Katie is home! We were over at the thrift store when she got home, so she walked over to hang out with us. Emma was squealing like a stuck pig when she saw her. After Arc we went to Target (for Amanda's shower gift) and then to the grocery store to get stuff for Water World tomorrow. Whee, fun in a hot dog bun.

Even tho the kitchen was basically clean, Katie came home and cleaned it thoroughly. Hee, Cindi was right.

SHe had a really boring time in Whee, Dundee and was really glad to be home. She said she feels like she gained 10 pounds but she still looks like a rail to me. I had picked her up several items (mostly shirts) at thrift stores while we were gone, and she loved them all. Some were really expensive brands (I didn't know) and we're next to new. She said I buy the best stuff! Yay!

Time ta go. Where? I dunno.