Biggest Pet Peeve

I have many pet peeves in my life, that is something that many people know. And usually, the rating of these peeves is variable, depending on the day and what is going on.

Today, the top spot goes to people who say they are going to call at a certain time and they never do.

When you say you're going to call, especially when the person waiting on the phone call wants important information, YOU SHOULD CALL!

This is annoying.

Rant is over. You may resume your perfect lives.

Testing...Do Not Disturb

I don't mind taking tests. Especially tests with a lot of mathematical calculations. I can handle those. But don't ask me to think about why I am doing what I am doing. I mean, I can tell you why, in a round about way, but not in the same words that you told me at the beginning of when we started doing this. Oh well.

So, my blogging is being put behind my studying, for my final today. Then I have to get ready for a baby-the-momma shower that I am really looking forward to doing. So, please don't feel neglected, know that I am planning a stellar comeback, but give me a few days to collect my thoughts and I will be back to normal! :)

Somebody tagged meme

What I was doing 10 years ago:

Ten years ago, I was working at Discovery Zone as a party hostess, making little kids’ birthday wishes come true. I was also dreading that the summer would be over before I was ready for it, because it would be my senior year, and I wasn’t ready to leave all my friends.

What I was doing 5 years ago:

Five years ago, I was still in college, with almost a year to graduate. I wasn’t one of those in and out in four years type people. Jonathan and I were engaged, with five months until our wedding day. We had also just hit our dating anniversary of one year. Life was getting started.

What I was doing 1 year ago:

One year ago, I was still trying to get the hang of nursing my 2 month old son. I was also working on my Master’s, which I am proud to say I am finishing my last summer of, and will done with classes in December.

What I was doing yesterday:

Yesterday was Friday, and I had my Master’s class again. We got out early so that those people that have to drive could be home at a decent hour. I worked on a new page of my scrapbook and got to bed before 10!

5 snacks I enjoy:

1) ANY ice cream by Blue Bell (almost)
2) Heath bars
3) strawberries sprinkled with sugar
4) apples with peanut butter
5) Doritos

5 songs I know all the words to:

1) I Love my Lips by Veggie Tales
2) Most songs by George Strait
3) The Yeti Song by the Backyardigans
4) Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (every night with Micheal)
5)Fathers and Daughters by John Mayer

5 Things I would do with $100 million:

1) Pay off my house and any other major credit cards.
2) Pay off my car, and maybe buy a new one, no car note.
3) Pay someone to clean my house once a week.
4) Buy Jonathan the things he wants.
5) Pay off my student loans, and set aside enough for Micheal (or any other future children) to go to school.

5 locations I would like to run away to:

1) any Caribbean island
2) the safety of my bed when the world seems too much.
3) a massage parlor that would uphold the Calgon the commercial, and “take me away”.
4) New York, to see a Broadway show
5) Las Vegas, to spend someone else’s money.

5 bad habits I have:

1) sometimes saying the things that I think without first censoring my thoughts.
2) letting too much stress build up and then letting it all out on my husband or sister.
3) nagging my husband
4) not cleaning my house enough
5) whining about things I cannot change, or even those that I can.

5 things I like doing:

1) swimming in my pool when it’s hot
2) playing around on the Internet when I get a chance.
3) taking a nap with my child sleeping on my chest
4) reading the newest book that my friends recommend.
5) making my child laugh.

5 things I would never wear:

1) a skirt when I didn’t have to
2) a shirt that clung so close to me that it showed my left over baby belly rolls.
3) earrings in any place other than my earlobes, and only one per ear.
4) any shirt that has offensive language on it.
5) a see-through shirt with no bra.

5 TV shows I like:

1) Big Brother
2) Desperate Housewives
3) Survivor
4) Grey’s Anatomy
5) Friends

5 Biggest joys of the moment:

1) seeing Micheal trying out new things, and learning something new everyday.
2) making my child laugh
3) seeing Micheal’s face light up when Daddy comes in the door.
4) watching Daddy and Micheal play on the floor before bedtime.
5) a brand new container of ice cream in the freezer that my husband doesn’t know about… yet.

5 Favorite toys:

1) my new laptop
2) all my mom’s scrapbooking accessories
3) my DVR for the TV
4) our pool
5) Micheal’s new basketball goal (not that I play, but watching him play is more fun.)

I’m not tagging anyone because I don’t know anyone else with a blog that hasn’t been tagged already.

Things Learned this Week... by Micheal

Without trying to step on anyone's toes about information that I should have called about, I wanted to update everyone on what Micheal did this week.

This week I (Micheal) learned:

- how to say "banana".
- how to stand up by myself without anything to hold onto.
- why Mommy didn't want me to get into the containers on the bottom shelf that Grandmama left, because they had ink in them. (He found the blue ink stamp pad and got his hands, his knees, his clothes, and my floor all blue. :) )
- how fast Mommy can strip me and put me in the tub when I get too dirty.
- how to make Grandma laugh. When she asks me where my nose is, I scrunch up my nose and breath in and out.
- to show off my belly, my nose ('ose'), my teeth ('eef'), my tongue, my ears, and my eyes.
- (almost) how to say Melinda ('ma-ninna').
- to give a hug and kiss to anyone around me when I am leaving or going to bed.

All in all, it's been a pretty eventful week! Too bad that summer is getting closer and closer to being over! :P

Moving Trucks

My husband and I were minding our own business, driving down the road one sunny Tuesday afternoon (last week in fact), when out in front of us turns a moving truck. Now, you would assume that it was the professional kind, but these people didn't know they could call someone to pack and move all their stuff for them. So, they just put everything they had in the back of the pickup truck. I couldn't resist getting a picture on my phone, just for the sole purpose of having pictoral evidence for the story I knew I was going to be telling you.

Then my sister asked if I had checked my e-mail. Apparently, someone else thought that they needed pictoral evidence as well, and they used a better camera than I did. So, now for your viewing pleasure, you can play the same game that we played... I SPY!

I spy a fan, can you find it?

I wonder how many ropes they used?

And for those that are wondering, yes, it was legal, because they flagged the back of it.

Free Learning... Ask Me How!

Some people think that just if you're a teacher, especially even a math teacher, that if they know you and they don't know the answer to their problem, that you'll stop what you're doing and answer their question. This tends to happen to me when I am especially busy.

I used to help former students, or even children of fellow teachers for a small fee. I figure that is what my extra time is worth when I could be doing something else. But lately, I've only been helping those people that are of the sort that don't feel they need to compensate me for the hours that I spend imparting wisdom on them that they didn't feel the need to listen to in class the first time. It drives me crazy!

Tonight, I had the brother of a former student come over, and he stayed for about two hours. This time, though, when he left, he asked me if I wanted anything for my time. I almost cried! Instead, I told him not to worry about it this time. He then told me that he would probably need more help, and I told him that we would deal with money later. I'm thinking that maybe I finally found a student that understands that a teacher is supposed to be paid for the wisdom they impart.

I'm officially off the soap box now. Anyone else?

Childcare Tips

When leaving your child with someone else so that you can try to get some of the overdue errands done, there are a few things you should look out for beore trusting your beloved child with them.

They should:
- know your child's name.
- have changed a diaper before
- have some experience with kids.

They should NOT:
- gag when changing dirty diapers.
- allow your child to chew on broken glass.
- leave the diaper bag at home in the driveway when going to dinner (and almost run it over).
- close the child's fingers in the bedroom door.
- watch while child pulls four foot tall photo tower over on himself.
- put child in bed and shut the door when child is screaming and they don't know what to do.
- fall asleep on the floor while child is playing in other room.

Of course, all of this advice is null and void if the "someone else" that you leave your child with is your husband.

Things...

There are things that I know about my sister (lots of things) and things that I don't know about my sister (probably even more things).

There are things that I would like to know about my sister (what her heart desires), and there are things that I would not like to know about my sister (what she looks like naked).

Anyone who has a sister will understand these feelings, including my sister.

However, sometimes I think she forgets which topics should be part of the conversation and which parts should not! For instance...

Recently, we were discussing the fact that a certain lingerie store was having their semi-annual sale and that she had found pretty good deals on some over-the-shoulder-boulder-holders. I also decided that I needed to update my undergarment wardrobe and should go there as well. This kind of conversation is not irregular with the two of us, and we have learned to keep it pretty low-key, because my husband doesn't really like hearing about her undergarments. Let alone seeing them. Yes. she. did.

I stupidly asked my sister what her new undergarments looked like, and she proceeded to lift her shirt and show me! Now, this wouldn't have been a problem with me usually, because she has seen plenty of my undergarments and such with her being around so much when Micheal was little and still nursing. But, this was no such instance! There was only a small part of the support system made of opaque fabric. That is to say, I saw way more parts of my sister than I was ready for! If she had given me a little more preparation for what I was about to see instead of just flashing me all of a sudden, it might not have made such a stir, but OH. MY. GOSH!

My sister is definitely more endowed than I am, which I knew about way before she ever thought it appropriate to raise her shirt at me.

So, the next time my sister brings up certain topics of conversation, I guess I will have learned my lesson and I will either talk with my eyes closed, or not get on this topic before it ever gets to that point again. :)

When I grow up, I want to be a...

When I was younger, there were many things that I wanted to do with my life when I was done with school and out on my own.

None of them, though, involved being poorer than dirt and living in the sticks.

Well, not that I'm starving or living beyond my means, we live comfortably and we get the things we want, eventually.

A few of my options, though, were jobs in the city, making lots of money, married to a man with even more money. Being able to go shopping when I didn't feel like wearing any of the clothes in my closet, things like that.

Sometimes I feel envious of those people that do live that way. And then I look at my life and the situation I'm in now, and I realize that God put me on the path that was exactly what I wanted, even if it didn't look the way I thought it might look. I have the means to live the way I like, I have a husband that loves me unconditionally, and I have been blessed with a child that God chose especially for me.

So, even when I am doing things in this little country home of mine that I would have never in a million years imagined myself doing, then I try to remind myself that it's nowhere near where I thought it would be, but there's nowhere else I'd rather be.

Happy 4th!

Call for help... or so I thought!

It was a hot sunny day one day this week when I was doing nothing hanging out with my child and my phone rang. Thanks to the miracle of caller ID, I recognized the number and excitedly answered the phone. However, when I said, "Hello?" there was no response. So, I tried again, "Hello?" still with no reply.

Now, here is where I now realize that I watch too many detective shows on television. Instead of hanging up, I know that she must have called me for a reason, so I start listening. I can't hear her, but I can hear movement, and a little bit later, I hear a man's voice, but I can't tell what he's saying.

I am thinking that she must have called my number for a reason, maybe because she was going somewhere she wanted me to hear, or that something was happening to her and she wanted someone to be able to find her and help her, or... my imagination was running away...

I knew that it was none of these, but it still peaked my interest just the same.

I continued listening, and then I thought I heard her voice, so I started calling out her name, hoping that she would hear me and realize that her phone was on. Now, knowing this person, I figured that her phone was in her purse, which stays open, and that she would be able to hear me if I yelled enough. So, I kept trying. Then my little Micheal decided he wanted in on the fun, too, so he "yelled" into the phone, too. All, however, to no avail. So, figuring that she would eventually figure it out, I turned off my phone, knowing that would close the line.

However, the higher powers that be decided that this was not to be the end of our encounter. I turned my phone back on to make sure that it had ended the call, only to hear the man's voice again, with more movement.

Now, I'm thinking that this is the perfect opportunity to get some dirt on this person that called me, but my conscience got the best of me and I decided instead to keep yelling. This time, I just plain yelled, and the top of my lungs, in the highest note I could reach, until my breath ran out. Still, she never came to the phone. So, I turned it off again.

You'd think that the dang line would be cut off, but it wasn't. She was still connected. So, she was still subjected to my rantings. Now, though, I decided that if she was going to be wasting her minutes and not even talking to me, I was going to have some fun with this...

"This is your purse talking to you.... your purse is possessed!!!"

"Is there anyone out there? I'm trapped in here!"

"Somebody, anybody, tell her that her phone is talking to her!"

"Hello, can you hear me? I've fallen and I can't get up!

You get the picture. Finally, after about five minutes of continued attempts to disconnect the line, she finally figured out that her purse was making noises, and she picked up the phone to find me laughing at her.

Who was this bright person that I speak of? Who forgot to lock her keypad before putting her phone back into her purse?

I don't think it would be fair of me to divulge the identity without the person having a chance to defend herself, and since she's not writing this, I guess you'll have to wait and see if she 'fesses up!