Movies I Love

It’s no secret that we love movies. We can carry on entire conversations in movie quotes, and it made me extremely proud when Honor recently said, “I don’t know, Margot.” (From Christmas Vacation.)

There are some movies that I can’t resist. Movies I’ve seen over and over again, but I still have to watch every time I catch them on. And even though we own most of them, I’ll still watch them (commercials included) on TV.

The Sandlot. How can you not love The Sandlot? I can’t resist Squints and his quest for Wendy Peffercorn, and Hamilton Porter and his smart mouth. Caedmon recently watched it for the first time. And we say, “You’re killin’ me, Smalls” all the time around here. Now Caedmon knows why.

Best In Show. I know. It’s ridiculous. But it’s hilarious. When we had Jack Russell Terriers, we actually took them to some shows and earth dog trials. They aren’t the same as the fancy shows like you watch on Animal Planet (or see in that movie), but the type of people are very similar. The context makes it hysterical to me.

Indiana Jones…any of them. My favorite is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but I’ll pretty much watch any of them, any time.

The Hunt for Red October. I actually read this book by Tom Clancy when I was in high school. It was after I’d seen the movie, though. I had to go back and read the book again, even after having seen the movie. There are just so many details. And? I love them both. The other “Jack Ryan” movies though…meh. They’re ok. As much as I love Harrison Ford (duh…Indiana Jones), he is just not Jack Ryan to me. Neither is Ben Affleck.

Jurassic Park. Mostly the first one. This is another one that I read, but I read it before the movie came out. I loved the movie for what it was, but it was very different from the book. The other movies are good, but aren’t really my favorites. Oh, I’ll still watch them. But I just don’t know how they’re going to ‘splain the ending of the third movie if they ever make another one. Because y’all, that did not happen in the book.

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I don’t care if it’s July and a million degrees outside. If I find this one on TV, I’m watching it.

Bond…James Bond. Pretty much the Sean Connery and Daniel Craig films. I can do without Roger Moore, and don’t get me started on Timothy Dalton. Pierce Brosnan was ok, but I don’t really have to watch those. The newest Bond movies, I feel, got back to the roots of Bond, and I enjoy them.

John Wayne movies. I definitely have my favorites, most of which are westerns. My favorite is El Dorado, which is pretty much a copycat of Rio Bravo. Rio Bravo does have a young Ricky Nelson, though. I also love The Quiet Man, McLintock, and Chisum.

Ocean’s Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. “It’s not in my nature to be mysterious, but I can’t talk about it, and I can’t talk about why.” – Rusty

Return of the Jedi. Yes, we love all Star Wars movies around here. But Return of the Jedi has been my favorite one since I was a kid.

There are other movies that I love, like Steel Magnolias, but I can’t always watch them. It depends on where it is in the movie when I catch it and what kind of mood I’m in. And Disney movies…that’s a whole other category.

I know. It’s a lot. And I’ve probably left some off. In fact, I’m pretty sure I have.

What are your must-watch movies?

Commenting Challenge: TV Shows

I’m participating in Jenna’s 4th Annual Commenting Challenge this week!

Today’s theme is TV shows. I am probably about to embarrass myself. But here goes.

Y’all. I watch so many shows. So. many. I am an admitted TV addict. And no, I’m not interested in an intervention, thankyouverymuch. Believe it or not, there was a time in my childhood when we didn’t have a working TV. And my parents have never had cable. So maybe this is my rebellion. And I watch way more shows than Husband does. First up, the shows we watch together.

Our summer favorite is Big Brother. We’ve been watching since the beginning and absolutely love it. I can’t tell you how many friends we’ve gotten hooked on the show. And might’ve even told a friend who went into labor during the show one night, “Hang on…Big Brother’s over in 10 minutes.” (She wasn’t watching with us. But her sister was.)

The Apprentice/Celebrity Apprentice. We came into this one just a couple of years ago. It’s amazing to watch. Also? The poor girl who sits behind the desk with no computer, holding a shiny pen. I hope that’s just a TV setup and she actually gets to use a computer, and you know, Post-Its or something.

Duck Dynasty. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I adore this show. For so many reasons. I started watching it and coerced lovingly encouraged Husband to watch it with me. He enjoys it. But not nearly as much as I do. Maybe because my family might be a little bit like the Robertsons. If I close my eyes, I can picture my Dad saying half of the things that come out of Phil’s mouth. The other half, he’s already said.

Lately, we’ve been watching a few other things together, but they’re hit and miss – God, Guns, and Automobiles is one of those. It’s fun. We’ve also been watching Top Shot.

We try to watch some late night TV together. We usually watch some Conan, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and I always DVR my favorite, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. We also try to catch SNL when we can, though it’ll never be as good as it was in the 90’s.

Husband and I have also seen every episode of Seinfeld and Friends at least once, most of them multiple times. Everything in life relates back to one of those shows. We were also big fans of The Office and 30 Rock. And? LOST may be the best show that’s ever been on TV.

By myself, well, I watch a ton of other stuff, too. I love “cop” shows – namely Hawaii Five-O, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Blue Bloods, Elementary, and Rizzoli & Isles. I love Swamp People and don’t need the subtitles. (ETA: I also love Once Upon a Time and can't wait for it to come back. I absolutely love the twists on fairy tales. Those writers...they're pretty good. Oh yeah, I already knew that!) I also watch Royal Pains, White Collar, Perception, and Covert Affairs.  (Edited AGAIN to add: Downton Abbey. How in the world could I forget Downton? I'm less than thrilled with how the last season ended, but I have hope. I can't just quit on them. And, yes, I follow The Dowager Countess (@theLadyGrantham) on Twitter. Whoever manages that account is hilarious.)

And while I don’t get to watch them very much, I love shows like How the States Got their Shapes and Modern Marvels.

I used to watch a lot of cooking shows (pre-kids). Now, I don’t get to lay around on Saturday mornings and flip back and forth between the Food Network and HGTV. But when I do, I love The Pioneer Woman, and Good Eats was my very favorite (I wish they were still making it!). Alton Brown revolutionized the way I make chocolate chip cookies. For real.

I know you’re wondering how I fit all of these shows in my schedule. Well, the answer is the DVR. Almost every show we watch, we watch on the DVR. Our TV is not on all the time, either. And the shows I watch by myself, I don’t always watch all of them. The important ones, I do. The others, I have on during the afternoon when the kids are napping/resting and I’m doing chores or paperwork. And they’re not all on at the same time of the year. With the advent of mini-seasons and summer shows, it spreads things out a little.

Whew. I know. It’s a lot of TV. It’s my rebellion. Well, that, and eating chocolate in bed at night.

Thoughts of Randomness

1. Time change. It has come. I love this time. Regular, plain ol’ “time.” Not “Daylight Saving” or anything special. My children…are still adjusting. Caedmon will be fine in a week or so, but Honor…poor Honor.

In her short little life, she’s been through more time changes than any person should. She was born in CST during DST. Then she moved to EST. And then Fell Back. Then Sprung Forward. Then moved back to CST. And then Fell Back again. She’s teething. And it’s time to transition to one nap.

Can someone please just shoot me now and get it over with?

2. We are hosting “Mancation 2012: The Revenge” this weekend. I called it the Second Annual Mancation the other day, incorrectly. Please excuse me. It will be another glorious weekend of Husband and his friends hanging out and doing whatever it is they have planned to do. At our little townhouse. Thankfully, the kids and I have a fun place to hang out with friends during most of the weekend. And we’re sad Joel can’t join this year, but I suppose being a newlywed is a good enough excuse.

3. Due to the Mancation festivities this weekend, I have been and will be, baking. PW’s Cinnamon Rolls are done. Next comes Red Velvet Cake Balls and whatever else I can manage to get done before they arrive. My family might not eat actual cooked dinners this week, but we’ll have Cinnamon Rolls and Cake Balls to keep us warm. Or, if Caedmon has his way, corn dogs for every meal. He should get something out of Mancation, right?

4. Remember when I said I was giving up on boots and swore off trying to ever find a pair I liked? I lied. Twice, apparently. It happens every year. I see people in cute boots and I want to be cute in boots too. It just isn’t happening. Oh, I’ve found some that I like. In theory, anyway. But the $300 price tag does not like me.

So I ran away like a wild woman left the kids with Husband on Saturday and went shopping for some boots. How did it go? I bought two Hallmark ornaments (for a Christmas tree we don’t have). Zero boots. It’s a vicious cycle.

5. On said shopping trip, I saw a police dog sniffing a car for drugs in the Target parking lot. It was interesting, to say the least. And I don’t want to be all profile-y or anything, but if I’d had to pick one car out of the whole parking lot that I thought might have the possibility of having drugs in it, I’d have picked that one.

6. Speaking of Christmas (#4), I have a slight dilemma. We got rid of our giant Christmas tree before we moved. We’ve wanted a new tree for several years. Ours was so huge at the bottom that we’d have to push it up against the wall and only put the front half of the branches on. Anyway, I’m not sure if I want to go ahead and buy a new tree this year, or just manage without. Or get a real one this year. Or get a little one that we can later put in the hallway upstairs or something. I’ve always wanted a little white one. Maybe this year?

7. I purposely put all of our Christmas stuff in storage. I knew we wouldn’t have a place for it at the townhouse, and if we don’t have a tree, most of it isn’t useful. However, I forgot that we’ll still need our stockings. I can do without a tree. Not stockings. And I’m not entirely sure I can get to them without taking half the stuff out of the storage unit. I’ll have to go see if I can manage to squeeze through and/or climb over some things. If you don’t hear from me again and you’re watching Storage Wars Nashville in a few years and they find a dead body stuck in the middle of a bunch of boxes clinging to a tub of Christmas stockings in a storage unit, it’s me.

8. Who’s watching Duck Dynasty? Anyone? C’mon. If you’re not, you’re missing out. It’s quite possibly my favorite show on TV right now. There are so many quotable lines in each episode, I can’t keep up. I’ve decided I want to make myself a t-shirt with one of my favorite quotes from Si. I haven’t quite figured out how to make that happen yet, but I will. Sara and I end up texting each other every Wednesday night while we watch. And last night I texted her because something popped into my head when I heard Husband say a random phrase. It’s a sickness, really. A delightful sickness.

9. I need to do a whole “homeschool” update, but I just want to say that Caedmon is doing well. We did take some time off during the move, so getting back into the groove has been a little bit of a challenge for us both. And I have realized that we need to slow down on learning new sounds until he has a few of them a bit more solidified. So we sat together the other day and he read a lot of words in The Cat in The Hat. Today we’re taking on Red Fish, Blue Fish. I love Dr. Seuss.

10. Oh, and Honor? She’s doing great in “school” too. She loves to sit and play with puzzles (i.e. chew on the pieces and yell when they don’t fit immediately) and is starting to color a little bit too. Well, not actually “color”, but use a crayon to make random marks on a piece of paper. That she loves and adores. And demands it be put on the refrigerator.

I just wish she had an opinion about things, you know?

11. Bonus! I love this Cheetos commercial. It makes me laugh every single time.

“On your way.”

It’s All Part Of The Experience…

Thanks to my friend Jill, Husband and I are now proud owners of these.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about a t-shirt in my life.

Thanks for looking out for us, Jill!

P.S. Ultrasound tomorrow! Woot!

Thoughts of Randomness

1. My Walmart is rearranging the snack section again. Seriously, guys? This is ridiculous. Since our entire store was remodeled a few years ago, the snack section has undergone at least two makeovers. They’ve moved the peanut butter twice. When stuff is in a different place every 6 months, that’s not cool.

2. Also, when I went to Walmart, I had planned on getting a lemon for our baby-size pictures this week. And guess what? No lemons. Not one. But I did buy my first-ever pomegranate. I like pomegranates, but I’m a little weirded out by the thought of actually cutting one open and digging the seeds out. We’ll see how it goes.

3. I managed to get everything else on my list, but I didn’t get eggs. They weren’t on my list, but I needed them and didn’t know it. I hate it when that happens. I’ll make do.

4. Caedmon painted his pumpkin we brought home last week. He’s an artist in the making.

5. Caedmon’s also been begging to go to a Halloween party. I have no idea where he got the idea. I hope he actually wears his costume this year.

6. My child is starting to look like a shaggy little ragamuffin because his hair is so long. It’s past time for a haircut. But I don’t want to make a hair appointment just for him, when Husband or I are not planning on getting ours cut. Is that weird? Maybe Husband will get his cut soon and Caedmon can go too.

7. I also wanted to buy National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation at Walmart yesterday and they didn’t have it. The guy in electronics told me they only carry it “during the holiday season.” Well excuse me if I like to start watching it in October. Or June.

8. How can I not already own Christmas Vacation, you ask? I’m glad you did. Because I did own it. And I believe it was thieved by a relative, though they will never admit to it. And I’ve been so bitter over it that I haven’t purchased it (again) for the last six years or so. Actually, that’s not true - I just never got around to buying it. Since it’s on TV a million times every Christmas and my Mom has it, I haven’t had the need. But now I am pregnant and hormones cause you to do strange things, like buy pomegranates and want to watch Christmas movies in October. Or maybe that’s just because I like the movie. A lot.

9. I made pumpkin bread again yesterday, sans chocolate chips. I thought Husband didn’t like the chocolate chips I added to one of the loaves last time, but was informed last night that he ate that one first. Oops. Sorry, Babe. Maybe next time. ‘Cause you know I’m not done with this pumpkin kick just yet.

10. Caedmon is quite concerned about the leaves falling off the trees. It bothers him. At first, he was worried about them falling off, but then I explained that we call this season “fall” because the leaves all fall off, and it’s totally ok because they grow back in spring. He seemed to accept that until he discovered that not all of the leaves are falling off right now – only a few. Then he became concerned that the leaves aren’t doing what they’re supposed to and I had to explain that they don’t all fall off at once, but a little at a time. My detail-oriented child will get this whole crazy world figured out one of these days. Until then, I love trying to guess what he’ll notice next.

Another Day, Another Box Of Kleenex

So I was hoping the deluge of rain would help my allergies and sinus issues. Not so much. I know I’m being a whiner, but I seriously can’t remember when I felt this bad from this kind of crud. Maybe when we lived in Texas and the Cedar trees were wreaking havoc? Maybe.

Yesterday at our first MOPS meeting of the semester, Michelle Duggar was our speaker. She lives in our area and I’ve met their family before on several different occasions. We’re not like BFFs or anything, but I’ve been around them quite a few times over the past several years. (Grandma Duggar (Mary) actually taught my 7th grade Sunday School class. She was so kind to me and it meant the world to an insecure 7th grade girl who’d just moved and had no friends. My 7th grade self would’ve never told her that. But my 30-something self would love to have a chance to hug her neck and tell her just that. Maybe one day.)

The film crew from TLC was there with them, and we all had to sign waivers. On the waiver, they asked you to write a detailed description of yourself and what you were wearing. It would’ve helped to have known if a man or a woman would be reading these, because seriously, it would make a difference in how I would write it. Girls just know the difference between fuchsia and soft pink and coral and guys are all, “pink is pink.”

Anyway, I decided to write my description for a man and it went something like this: “Medium length brown hair, silver dangly earrings, pink patterned shirt, dark jeans.” I could’ve also written, “sounds like a man due to allergies” but I decided to leave that off. Hopefully if I make any of the show’s footage, it’ll just be my picture and not my voice. I know you always sound different to yourself on video, but I definitely do not want to hear what my allergy-man-voice sounds like. Maybe I’ll get lucky and it’ll just be the back of my head. I’d hate to think that I fixed the back of my hair for nothing.

Mrs. Duggar (I feel weird calling her Michelle for some reason) is always wonderful to listen to. She’s open and transparent about their family and how and why they’ve chosen to raise their children as they have. She never demeans others for not making the same choices they have, but encourages you to raise your family as the Lord has directed you. She’s very encouraging, mostly because you find out she’s a regular person who doesn’t have all the answers and makes mistakes. And she gets tired and frustrated and weary of the normal craziness that happens in life. But her perspective is different because she chooses to find joy in whatever situation she’s in. Pretty much the person you see on TV is really the person I’ve always known her to be in real life.

After MOPS, Caedmon and I had a healthy lunch of Taco Bell and he finally went down for a nap. Then it was up and to our church’s north campus in the rain to hear Husband speak to the Students. It’s been a while since he’s preached, but he stepped right back into it and never missed a beat. He did a great job.

Then it was home to watch the special Veto/Eviction episode of Big Brother. **SPOILER ALERT** I was sad for Britney. I was really hoping she could pull off the Veto and stay in the house. Now I’m rooting for Lane, although if he’s final two with Hayden, I think Hayden will win. I’m looking forward to finding out tonight who was the first part of the HOH competition and seeing part two. Next week is the finale. I’m planning on having some friends come over to watch it. It’s always better with friends…that you know aren’t going to kick you out of the house.

So now I’m off to use my Neti Pot again (although at this point a fire hose is still not out of the question) and exhaust another half box of Kleenex trying to clear this crud out of my head. Sounds fun, huh? I should’ve bought stock in Kleenex.

I Just Thought Friday Would Be Better

I had hope.

Caedmon and I were going to playgroup, so we took Husband to work since we only have one working car. When I went to get in the car, I realized the tire I had fixed on Monday was nearly flat. Not good. So since I was still in my pajamas (I’m just being honest here), I dropped Husband off at work, found a place to air up the tire where my old student ministry t-shirt and sweatpants wouldn’t be noticed, and went back home to get dressed.

I was not happy. My plan had been to have a relaxing morning, a leisurely trip to playgroup where Caedmon would play happily with other children (never once taking someone else’s toy or acting like a maniac), and I would get to have real conversations with multiple people who are the same height as me (or taller).

So, you know, a completely unattainable dream.

We got dressed and went back to the tire place. The guys pulled our car in and started working on the tire. And of course, Slowest Mechanic In The Universe was our guy again. I knew it was going to take him a half hour, so we would’ve had plenty of time for him to leisurely do his thing and be at playgroup on time.

And then they told me that there was a hole in the sidewall of the tire. And that my tires needed to be replaced anyway (which I already knew but wanted to wait a month or so, because, you know, we just dropped a lot of cash on Husband’s teeth).

So I called Husband. We agreed that since this is our only working vehicle, we really should just suck it up and buy the tires and be done with it. And then I found out it would take 45 minutes to mount the new tires. We were going to be late to playgroup, if we made it at all.

Because if average was 45 minutes, it would take Slowest Mechanic In The Universe at least an hour. I called Jennifer to let her know what was going on and asked her to give my apologies. Really it wasn’t that big of a deal, but I hated to be so late, especially since we’d invited a new friend to playgroup.

It was about that time that Caedmon announced his need to pee. Of course. We got the key and headed for the bathrooms – which were outside, down the side of the building. We could barely fit in the bathroom together and close the door. And that’s when I discovered that when Caedmon so willingly dressed himself that morning, he not only put his t-shirt on backwards (which I wasn’t in the mood to care about), he also neglected to put underwear on. My son was going commando.

At least he wasn’t doing lunges.

After the potty trip, I peeked out into the shop and discovered that someone else was helping Slowest Mechanic In The Universe mount our tires. I was relieved. We were out of there 40 minutes after the need for new tires was announced, several hundred dollars lighter.

And then? We headed to playgroup. I’d never been to Lisa’s house and had forgotten to get directions, so I was driving aimlessly around her area when I called Husband and asked him to map it on his phone. I found it just a few minutes later, and arrived in time to talk to our new friend for about 10 minutes before she had to leave. We were there a total of about 45 minutes before it was time to head home. 45 minutes of Caedmon playing with someone else’s toys and talking to people as tall (or taller) than me was better than none.

Then to top it off, the termite inspection guy came later that afternoon. Let’s spend another hundred bucks, shall we?

I think this was the single most expensive week of my life aside from purchasing a house. You know, real estate. To live in.

Oh, and it gets better.

I had borrowed Mom & Dad’s Shop Vac to work on the carpet stains in Caedmon’s bedroom. So Saturday after lunch I got everything all ready and went to work. And the stain? It was coming up. I was ecstatic.

And then I found out the vacuum cleaner was malfunctioning, spitting all the nasty water back out onto the carpet.

Deep breaths.

Thankfully, Mimi and Papa were at home and had a Shop Vac I could borrow. So Caedmon and I ran over to their house to get it. When we got home, I cleaned the new stain along with part of the old one. I didn’t have time to finish because Caedmon had to get down for a nap so we could go to a wedding.

Sunday was much better in the way that nothing fell apart or cost more than $10.

And today? We’re juggling the one car that works and I’m getting more soft foods for Husband/Marlon Brando at the grocery store and maybe cleaning the other carpet stain. So glamorous. But so good.

Our Week

To say our week has been weird and challenging wouldn’t even come close to describing it. So I’m going to put some words together into cohesive sentences and try.

Monday, I awoke to a house that was still a wreck from the weekend. But as we were in desperate need of groceries, I decided I didn’t care that the house was junky and loaded the boy into the car. We had to stop by the tire place before we went to the grocery store because one of our tires was low. As in fix-me-now-or-you’ll-be-sorry low.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s so much about this tire place that I appreciate. They are honest and have always been good to us. But I can promise you that every time I go there and have to wait on my car, the slowest mechanic on the face of the earth is the one who is assigned to us. And you know what? I think he knows he’s slow. And he likes it.

So after waiting 30 minutes for our tire to be repaired, and getting in my car to find man-sweat on my seat, we headed to the grocery store. Caedmon was a little upset because our regular greeter was on vacation. The nerve of some people. Anyway, we loaded up our cart and ended up back at home just in time for Caedmon to nearly wither away because it’d been a whole hour and a half since he’d eaten and he was in desperate need of a corn dog.

And before you get all huffy about what I feed my child, corn dogs are not a diet staple at our house, but more of a special he-saw-them-in-the-freezer-case-and-I’d-stupidly-asked-what-he-wanted kind of item.

There was some cleaning. And some laundry. Things that make you love Monday afternoons.

And then I thought we were going to have to go pick Husband up from work because he couldn’t get the Blue Bomb into gear. That tranny is sputtering and we are working it for everything its got. It’s almost like we can hear Mr. Scott in there giving her 110% and waiting for something else to blow up in the process. Because that’s probably what will end up happening. Especially if Husband is driving. You did read yesterday’s post, right?

Tuesday morning was Husband’s oral surgery. We were up bright and early and dropped Caedmon off at Mimi’s to play before taking Husband to have his gums operated on. Everything went well and by 10:20, he was all done. And a little loopy from the anesthesia. On the way home, he asked me for something to drink about 4 times, picked up in the middle of a conversation we’d had the night before, and somehow thought that when we were at a red light, we’d stopped at a drive-thru. Obviously he was hungry.

I got Husband home and settled, then went to drop off some (more!) prescriptions from the oral surgeon and pick Caedmon up. Apparently Husband didn’t remember where I’d gone, because I got a text and a phone call with the basic theme of, “Where are you? I’m in pain.”

Once we got some vanilla pudding and pain medication into him, Husband took a nice, long nap. And since he refused to use ice packs on his face, it continued to swell until he began to look like Marlon Brando (his comparison, not mine.) By evening he was feeling better and we watched a movie. I was exhausted from having to get up twice a night to take Caedmon to pee, the early morning, and the stress of trying to keep an almost three-year-old away from his most favorite person in the world all day.

Meanwhile, we have moved Caedmon’s bedtime to about 8pm, and the extra thirty minutes are killing me, I tell you. Killing me.

Wednesday, Caedmon went to childcare for a while and I ran some errands, getting ready for the upcoming birthday party and the room makeover. I also started on Caedmon’s three-year-old t-shirt and watched a few of the 11 shows I currently DVR while I worked. (Go ahead, make fun of me. Husband does.)

Also, our A/C started acting up again and by the time I started fixing dinner, it was 77 degrees in our house. Which isn’t terrible, except that it was supposed to be 72. And then I burned something on the stove and had to open the back door and get the oscillating fan out of the attic to blow the smoke out of the house. The temperature then went up to 78.

It has not been my week.

I tried to finish fixing dinner, but I had to use a pan I wasn’t accustomed to using, and the soup I was trying to make would either boil or do nothing. And when you need a happy  medium called “simmer”, that makes things difficult. So when I saw that we were not going to be eating any time soon, we opted to just give up and go to Tropical Smoothie Cafe.

In the same week, I’ve fed my child corn dogs (yes, plural, because he eats them two at a time) for lunch and a chocolate/banana smoothie for dinner. *Parenting award over here.*

And then? Then the Heavens opened up and Rachel and Brendon were knocked out of the Veto competition first thing. Even as exhausted as I was, I literally jumped up off the couch, I was so excited. It’s the small things in life, really.

Thursday, Husband went to work. Caedmon and I stayed home, catching up on some chores and playing in the water. The pool we’ve had for two summers sprung a leak, and it was a sad, sad thing. I might be able to repair it with some Duck Tape (the repair substance of the gods), but we’ll see.

We also worked on an art project or two for Caedmon’s Big Boy Room. He was pretty excited. I was worn out by the time it was done, but it turned out great and I can’t wait to hang it on his wall.

Husband came home at lunchtime and we hung around the house. The A/C was still having a hard time, so one of HLB’s friends came over to see if he could help. Because my brother is cool like that…bossing his buddies around to come take care of us. Props to heat & air guys who work outside in the crazy temps to keep everyone else comfortable.

Anyhoo, since this post is eternally long and I’m just making it longer by still typing, I’ll just say that Thursday ended well. Brandon & Jill came to watch BB12 with us, and we were all ecstatic to see Rachel go home. I just hate that she made it all the way to the Jury House.

Today, Friday, we get to go to playgroup, and I’m looking forward to 1) wearing Caedmon out without wearing myself out, and 2) talking to other adult females.

Hopefully the weekend will bring some rest and more healing for Husband. I just want a nap.

A Few Big Brother Thoughts

I have held my tongue as much as I can. But it’s time to say a few words about Big Brother 12.

* This is the first year that Husband and I haven’t had a favorite group or alliance. We really aren’t attached to anyone this season, and it’s a weird feeling. It’s also good because the more drama, the better.

* I think Lane may be my favorite person in the house right now. He cracks me up. Texas boy, woot!

* Enzo is hilarious. I couldn’t believe that he came up with his own nickname and it’s “The meow meow.” Seriously? The Jersey boy learning some Arkansas slang had me rolling.

* Rachel is this season’s Janelle. I didn’t care for Janelle and I feel the same way about Rachel. And if she uses the phrase, “Brendan and I” incorrectly during her little interviews one more time, I may pull my hair out.

* Brendon, Brendon, Brendon. For someone so smart, he’s pretty dumb. He’s got his Rachel-colored glasses on and can’t see past them. Such a shame to see a good player go to waste.

* I don’t understand why suddenly “playing both sides of the house” is not what you’re supposed to do in this game. Isn’t that the whole point?

* Self-declared super-genius Matt doesn’t have a lot of common sense. He is too smart for his own good. And I’m not sure it was such a hot idea telling the world his wife has some weird disease that she doesn’t have.

* Hayden’s mouth is too small for his face, and it bugs me.

* Kathy amazes me. I don’t know how she is a Deputy Sheriff and actually works in the field, yet she can’t hang with any of the physical challenges. Also, the mascara? Wow. She’s taken up the role of “House Mom” this year, which usually bodes well.

*Kristen…um, after last night’s display, I’m not sure she’s going to make it much longer. But I love that she’s actually butting heads with Rachel.

* Britney cries too much. Although, I can’t say I wouldn’t be a crier in the same situation. It just gets old.

* Ragan is totally flying under the radar right now. I don’t even know what to say about him other than he actually seems to be smart.

That’s all for now. I’d love to hear what you’re thinking!

Thoughts Of Randomness

1. I have learned that my child is not the only kid who is fascinated with public bathrooms. His thing is the trash can. He wants to know where they are as soon as we walk in. I don’t know why, I don’t make the rules.

2. As I mentioned before, Sunday and Monday were horrible on the potty training front. I had to wash clothes because Caedmon needed more underwear. And that’s saying something after buying him 2 more packages a couple of weeks ago. I might have (ok, so I totally did) threaten to spank Caedmon if he peed in his undies one time on Monday because he was doing the pee pee dance but said he didn’t have to go potty. He went. Believe me, he needed to go. Tuesday though, he woke up with a dry diaper (stayed dry all night for the first time ever) and stayed dry all day, going to the potty without coaxing. Wednesday was the same. Weird kid.

3. I bought something at the store this week that had this in it:

I am cracking up that the instructions not to eat this stuff are in quotation marks. Seriously? Am I supposed to “not eat” this stuff like I’m “all out” of candy after giving Caedmon one piece? Or when I say that my hot chocolate is “too hot” for Caedmon but just right for me? Clearly someone doesn’t understand the use of quotation marks. Maybe it was supposed to be an exclamation point but they aren’t familiar with English punctuation. Whatever the reason, it made me laugh. And I did not eat it.

4. “It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity.” I’ve heard this a million times and lived it a lot. But not here, not in the mountains. But the past month? In the mountains? It’s been the humidity and the heat. It does not make for good hair days.

5. I’ve come to the conclusion that #2 and #4 could be the reason I feel I have been teetering on insanity for the past few days. Maybe.

6. Caedmon got his first mosquito bite of the season on Tuesday. It started out as a dime-sized whelp, and just a few hours later had taken over his entire ankle. He was tough for a while, but after his nap, you’d have thought that his entire foot had been chopped off. He hobbled around and asked for a “be-ben” (band-aid) to make it feel better. And by last night, his whole foot and ankle was swollen, including his little toes. Poor guy.

7. The summer TV shows have started back up, and I am finding it difficult to keep up with the DVR. Maybe I’m trying to watch too much TV. Nah. Can’t be. Big Brother 12 hasn’t even been on a full week yet and I am loving it. I can’t wait to find out who the saboteur is. I actually think it might be a female, but we’ll see.

8. I spent some time this week cleaning out closets, gathering junk stuff for the garage sale I’m still telling myself I am going to have. I am still not looking forward to it, can you tell? Caedmon, however, seems to be very excited about it. He wants to help me sell stuff. Little does he know it will not be nearly as fun as he thinks it will be. But maybe his cuteness factor will dispel some of the haggling and people will just pay what I put on stuff. A girl can dream, right?

9. It has been over a week since Caedmon has been in the water (besides baths), and I think he may be starting to shrivel up. We will remedy that today.

That is all. Happy Eviction Day, ya’ll (See #7)!

Chocolate Festival

Need I say more?

I will anyway.

Last week, I jokingly told Ashleigh I wanted to judge at Saturday’s Chocolate Festival. I thought she’d put me on the list for next year. But to my delight, she said she’d love to have me as a judge and told me what time to show up. I don’t think I’ve been that excited about a Saturday afternoon in a long time.

Ya’ll know I watch tons of TV. Lots of cooking shows and shows where cooking is judged. There are some judges I like, some I don’t. Like the other night on Top Chef Masters, one of the judges actually said something like, “I thought the meat was mushy and without texture, but I think the general population will think it was tender.” What? It’s like they think normal people can’t taste things. And they take themselves way too seriously.

Anyway, I was determined that it was going to be fun and I was definitely going to take the chocolate seriously. Myself? Not so much. I think the other judges felt the same way. We were all about the chocolate.

The judges:  Tracey, Ashley, Me, Ashley C., and Mrs. Flint (Tracey’s Mom)

As we were tasting all the yummy goodness, we judges sat together and took the chocolate quiz along with the contestants (just for fun). We got 8 of 10 questions correct, and even got the bonus questions right. We felt we were imminently qualified to eat lots of chocolate.

The Moms and Daughters played several games. Here’s one, where the daughters had to feed chocolate candy to the moms, who had to identify it.

(Shout out to Jill at the right end of the table.)

When it came time to decide on winners, the judges convened and hashed out our decisions. I actually said things like, “It was the perfect bite” and “Did you taste cola in that?” We felt very Iron Chef/Top Chef/Chopped. Only less pompous and with much better senses of humor.

In the end, some great chocolate dishes won some fun prizes, and we all got to eat lots of yummy stuff. I think I’ll invite myself back to judge again next year.

The Candidates

Remember last week when my most favorite mug ever was broken? Yeah, I’m still a little sad about it.

I realize that to some, a mug is a mug. But not to me. A mug has character. It has a certain feel in your hand, and even on your lips. You must find the right mug for your personality and what you like to drink. So when the blue mug with green frogs (that I originally bought for Husband) bit the dust, I knew replacing it would be a challenge.

I knew the perfect mug was out there. It had to be. It’s almost as if there were a cave with names and numbers crudely written on the wall with the ones who just didn’t measure up already crossed off. The true favorite mug Candidates were out there. And I had to draw them in.

I surfed the web for a few days, looking at all kinds of mugs. I was really drawn to this one from Two And A Half Men, but I just couldn’t bring myself to 1) order a mug I couldn’t hold in my hand and test, and 2) get something off of a TV show. Actually, I would be inclined to buy a “World’s Best Boss” mug ala Michael Scott, but that’s an altogether separate issue.

To qualify for a favorite mug, there were a few criteria that must be met.

1) It must hold 14-16 ounces. None of those pansy little mugs that hold 2 drops of liquid.

2) I must be able to grab the handle and hold it with my entire hand, not just a few fingers. No pinky lifting here.

3) It must have heft. I hate mugs that I feel are flimsy and might break if I pour too much liquid in them.

4) The sidewalls must be thick enough to not burn my hands with the extremely hot liquid that will be going into it, yet let me feel the warmth.

5) It can’t be ugly. It doesn’t have to be exactly cute, but not being ugly is a definite requirement.

6) Must be dishwasher safe and bonus points for being microwave safe.

So during KDO yesterday, I went in search of a favorite mug. I found a great Candidate at Kohl’s. It’s the same brand of dinnerware we already have (although now with a different name). But I wanted my mug to be special and set apart from the regular dinnerware, so I chose a different color. I give you what I have affectionately named: 23 - The Grimace. It’s definitely hefty, and has nice thick sidewalls. And I love the rounded edges of the handle. It’s smooth and sleek, yet unique because it’s hand-painted. If I sound like I’m describing a piece of fine art, it’s because I very well could be.

And the best part? It was 50% off. Oh yes.

But I couldn’t leave it at that. I mean, what if The Grimace just wasn’t the one? What if there was something better out there and I was missing it? I had to check one more store. So I went to Bed Bath & Beyond. I quickly breezed through the tabletop area and was on my way out when I found 15 - The Paisley.

It’s taller than 23 - The Grimace. But it’s just as hefty. It holds the same amount of liquid, believe it or not. But the handle…I almost left it at the store because I didn’t know if I could handle the handle. It’s big enough, it’s smart enough, but doggone it, I don’t know if I like it. It’s a little on the thin side and definitely not rounded and comfy like The Grimace’s. I’ll be honest. the design sold me. If that mug had been a solid color I would’ve walked away. But I just couldn’t do it.

So there they are folks, the Candidates. They’re going to have to battle it out to see which one wins the right to be called the favorite mug. It could get complicated.

Wanna see who won? Check it out here.

Just For The Record

I wasn’t dissing Michael Buble the other day. Because his voice? Like buttah. (Said in my best Linda Richman voice. Don’t know who she is? Watch this.)

And I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed this sketch with Michael Buble and Jon Hamm.

And while I’m on the subject, this SNL sketch also makes me happy. I'm not really sure why, because I'm pretty sure it's creepy to have a guy who lives in a van down by the river try to forceably move into your house.

And this one, I think is hysterical. Husband thinks I’m nuts. I’m not a Peyton Manning fan per se (we are Cowboys fans to the bone, therefore we must loathe the Manning brothers), but this sketch is stinking hilarious. And? The music is the same music from one of the Despicable Me trailers that Caedmon loves so much. Husband wasn’t sure it was the same, but I knew it the instant I heard it, then proved it when the sketch came on the other night during the SNL sports special. Love it. Will Forte = comic genius. But I think we knew that already. (I couldn’t find it on the NBC site because they’re lame, so you’ll have to click over here to see it.)

And while we’re on the subject, this has to be one of the absolute best SNL sketches of all time. That’s right. All time. When it becomes a pop culture phenomena and they make t-shirts from it, it has to be good. It was not on the NBC site either, so here it is.

So there it is, more than you ever wanted to know about the SNL sketches I love. And there are more. Sad, I know.

But maybe you can have a smile this weekend as you think about these two words: more cowbell.

We Are Starting Him Out Young. Also Known As Video Day

Husband found this movie trailer online the other day and showed it to Caedmon and me. You must watch Trailer 2 and Trailer 3. The other is cute too, but those are the best.

In the words of Joey Tribbiani, Animation, gooood. Steve Carell, gooood. Villain vs. villain, goooood.

What surprised me is that Caedmon loved Trailer 3. I mean, the boy LOVED it. How much did he love it? I’m glad you asked. Keep in mind that by this time, he’d seen the trailer about 87 times and knew exactly what was coming next…and his favorite part.

Also, remember this?

We now have this:

Thoughts Of Randomness

Because I cannot yet begin to talk about the whole flea situation from the weekend, I’m going to distract myself by discussing some other stuff.

Some completely random stuff. (In list form, of course!)

1. I have watched White Christmas no less than 87 times in the past week. Ok, so maybe it wasn’t 87 times, but I believe that by now I may have literally burned a hole in my DVR’s hard drive.

2. Because I have watched White Christmas so many times, I have two, count ‘em, two songs stuck in my head: Sisters, and Count Your Blessings Instead Of Sheep. Both pretty cool songs, but alternating between the two is kind of weird.

3. I recorded Holiday Inn last night, and plan to do the same with it this week.

4. I recently learned that the cookies I sent to NLB while he was in Air Force training were not only enjoyed, but also used as currency. Only in military training and prison can something so mundane be so valuable.

It’s a shame that military training and prison aren’t all that different, but prisoners get to be lazy and watch cable TV.

5. I have finally decided what to put on Caedmon’s wall over his bed. It only took a sweet forever for me to figure out what to do. But now that I have, I think I am going to love it. At least that’s what I’m telling myself right now, because it’s going to be a lot of work. And I’m going to really try to take an actual “before” picture this time. I know. All the progress might just cause me to faint.

6. Speaking of the boy, he has been loving him some Grinch. We have an old VHS tape of the original How The Grinch Stole Christmas cartoon, and I think he might finish wearing it out. We have only one VCR now, on a tiny TV perched over the treadmill. So Caedmon has to sit in my desk chair and tilt his head at a funny angle to see it. But he doesn’t seem to mind.

And neither do I. I love the Grinch. (We have a first edition of the book.) And Husband is just happy to take a break from Toy Story.

7. I might, just maybe, have a new almost favorite TV show. I know. It still ranks below The Office, The Big Bang Theory, and LOST, but not much else can top it. Maybe V. Maybe not. It’s The Middle on ABC on Wednesday nights. (Do I sound like a paid advertisement yet? I’m not, but I wouldn’t say no to a little cash, ABC. It is Christmas time, you know.) All I can say is that it’s stinking funny. You should watch it.

8. Caedmon loves to sing at bedtime. But he’s choosy about his songs. Start singing one he doesn’t approve of, and he starts saying, “No, no, no!” His favorite of late is the Razorback Fight Song. Apparently, we have team spirit, yes we do.

9. I just found out that Windows 7 has virtual post-its you can put on your screen. Do you have any idea how happy that makes me?

10. Caedmon received a little pre-Christmas gift from Nana in the mail on Saturday. He. loves. it. We spent the better part of the day Saturday drinking “hot tea” and eating imaginary food from this awesome set. Husband tried to convince Caedmon that his stuffed animals made better tea party attendees than we did, but the boy wouldn’t fall for it. I drank so much imaginary tea I had an imaginary caffeine headache that wasn’t so imaginary.

And since that’s 10 things, I’ll end here. Maybe by tomorrow I can stand to tell the flea story. Maybe. I shudder just thinking about it.

They’re Like Potato Chips

In case you hadn’t noticed, my family has a slight obsession with movies. If you define slight obsession as carrying on entire conversations using lines from different movies and even giving each other gifts that were given in movies. And movies as gifts. On Christmas, it’s like Blockbuster threw up in the living room.

Yep. We’re weird like that. But we own it.

It all started when my siblings were younger, and inevitably, someone would have their favorite video that would get watched over and over. And over and over. Yeah, we watched VHS tapes back then – and even had to rewind them when we were done. Oh, the humanity!

(We eventually bought a rewinder. I thought that was one of the best inventions ever. No more taking up valuable VCR time rewinding a video. Thankfully, it wasn’t the best invention ever, and someone went ahead and came up with DVDs. My child’s generation will be all, “You mean you had tapes? That you had to rewind? What’s rewind?”)

You know you’ve watched a VHS tape too much when it’s literally worn out. That happened to a few along the way.

Some of the videos we watched a zillion times? The Brave Little Toaster. (Probably the most annoying movie ever made.) The Rescuers Down Under. (Coolest opening scene of a cartoon, ever.) Fantasia (I know. Strangely enough, this was one of HLB’s favorites.) The Little Mermaid. (Sing it with me, “Ah-ah-ah!”) And too many others to list.

My family members seem to have something like a photographic memory, but for movie quotes. It only takes seeing a movie once for its quotes to be added to the vocabulary. It’s like a constant quiz bowl, trying to identify the movie your conversation stemmed from.

Sometimes it gets to be a little bit much, I admit. But it’s part of our family culture.

So it was no surprise to me, when last Sunday as we sat at Mom & Dad’s playing cards after our belated Thanksgiving lunch, more than one of my siblings quoted lines along with Toy Story while Caedmon watched. Actually, I think we watched more of it than he did.

We sat around the table,fussing at each other over who had what card, all periodically twisting and contorting ourselves to see the television screen and laugh at not only what was going on during the movie, but the memories of watching it together as kids.

And it brought back a flood of memories. Memories of NLB watching Toy Story over and over, quoting Buzz Lightyear and having imaginary battles with Syd Phillips. Memories of the time Husband came over to my house and we watched our first movie together – Toy Story. And memories we created just a few weeks ago, as Caedmon watched Toy Story for the first time on mine and Husband’s 11th wedding anniversary. That’s definitely one move that has stood the test of time.

So I guess it’s not just the movies, it’s the memories that surround them that make them special to our family. And sometimes it’s because they are just an outward expression of what we’re all thinking. Because we all know we have a Cousin Eddie, we just don’t want to say out loud who it is.

So when I’m asked what my favorite movie is (like I get asked that all the time or something), I have a really hard time deciding my all-time favorite. I have so many different favorites, and I don’t think a girl (or a boy) should be required to choose just one.

Now that I’ve admitted I can’t choose a favorite and just given you an excuse not to, I’d love to hear some of your favorite movies, and why. Come on! Let’s hear them!

Monday Is Out To Get Me

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but….(in list form, of course)

1. Walmart was out of canned pumpkin. It’s pumpkin season last time I checked. I asked a grocery guy if I was missing it somewhere, and he even went to the back to check. Apparently the warehouse is out of pumpkin. Seriously? Get it together, guys. You’re only the largest retailer ever, and creating a false canned pumpkin shortage at the end of October is not good for anybody.

2. I left the house wearing an outfit that would definitely not have been approved by Clinton and Stacy, but it wasn’t altogether terrible. I thought it was great for a cold, rainy day. And then the cashier thought I was 37, which I am NOT.

3. I had to stop in the middle of the Halloween/candy aisle, blocking half the aisle to dig thru my purse to find a Kleenex. Why? Caedmon had sneezed and subsequently began blowing snot bubbles. I believe some of it got on my shoulder as he endeavored to give me a hug in the middle of his snot attack. I’m chalking that up to adding at least a year to my appearance.

4. I got home and checked the mail, only to find that I had received a Medicare packet from the AARP. Addressed to me. Clearly the Walmart cashier and the AARP know something I don’t.

5. The currently-being-refinished kitchen table has become my nemesis. I actually started singing the “nemesis song” from Phineas and Ferb in my head yesterday morning as I was thinking about my next step toward conquering the blasted thing.

I know I’ve discussed my possibly unhealthy love for backyard/playground cartoons before, so just stay with me.

(I recently discovered that Recess is on in the wee hours of the morning on Disney, and might or might not have set the DVR to record a few episodes.)

6. My laundry? It didn’t do itself. When I came home from my errands, it was just where I left it. How is that? Nothing is ever where you leave it. How come laundry is the exception to the rule? And because I had to conquer the nemesis last night, the laundry still sits, unfolded. At least it’s clean. Mostly.

7. My wonderful Husband doesn’t care about the messy house or the unfolded laundry. We even had cereal for dinner last night. He’s just as ready for that table to be finished as I am. And tonight will be the big reveal (as in, we’ll roll it into the kitchen and put it together). Thanks for being so patient through this process, Husband!

Here’s hoping Tuesday is better.

You Know It’s Bad…

…when your Husband reads a Curious George book to your 2 year-old as Brian Fellow, and he likes it.

I Will Never Again Buy A Red Sweater

As you can tell from yesterday’s post, flying isn’t the most fun thing for Husband. Or me, when I’m flying with him. So we always approach a flight with a teensy bit of fear and trepidation and lots of good drugs to make him sleep. And this trip was no different. Things went smoothly on our connecting flight to Dallas. After, that is, they pulled two guys off the plane for “reasons unknown” to the flight attendant. We arrived on time and hoofed it to our gate two terminals away.

We were on a big plane, a 737, with two rows of three seats. It was a full flight, and we were among the last to get on.

By the way, I thought they had separated the “boarding groups” by row, because it would only make sense to allow the people on the back of the plane to get on first. But no, apparently that’s not the way it’s done, and we wiggled our way down the aisle to row 18, trying not to step on anyone.

We had the middle and window seats, which was fine with us. Husband wanted to sleep, and I was planning to read or squish him against the bulkhead and sleep.

As we approached our row, I realized there was already someone in the aisle seat. She was wearing a red sweater, and she was going to have to get up to let us in. She figured out we were headed for her row, and slowly stood and moved so we could take our seats. And as I saw her figure looming in the aisle, I knew I was in trouble.

Let’s just say Red Sweater was not a small lady. I think describing her as “pear shaped” would be the kindest way I could put her dimensions into words. I didn’t think she was one of the people you hear about having to buy two seats. Until I sat down and found out she was taking up a third of my seat.

I somehow managed to put the armrest down between us, but her thigh rolls were still brushing against my leg, pushing me into the nether regions of what little seat I had left. I thought maybe she’d realize what was up and scoot herself over. Except that there was nowhere for her to scoot. And as soon as she got the chance, she put the armrest up. Great.

Honestly, my first thought was that I hoped I didn’t have to go to the bathroom during this flight, because the logistics would be a nightmare. A nightmare, I tell you. I replayed scenes from this Seinfeld in my head where Elaine gets stuck in a similar situation. So I immediately put down my delicious hot chocolate from a nice little bistro in DFW and decided it wouldn’t be worth it.

After takeoff, Red Sweater finally got herself situated…with her purse in her lap, the tray table down (I say it was down; it was at a strange angle due to her size and purse), Kindle propped so she and everyone around her could read some Poe, and headphones on. And all the while, her bottom half seemed to be spreading even farther into the realm of my seat, thigh bulge pushing against my leg.

Did I mention this was a four hour and fifteen minute flight?

I read for a while, watching Red Sweater bob her head to her music, talk to her small, mousey husband with glasses from circa 1983 who was seated across the aisle, read, and randomly fall asleep for a few micro naps. She’d wake up and go back a page on her Kindle, because you know, when you fall asleep while reading, you need to catch up again. I tried to nap for a while. But with what had slowly become half of my own seat, there wasn’t much I could do.

And then the singing started. I never could figure out who she was listening to, but she sure was enjoying it.

It was over. There was no more rest for me. I wrote a note to Husband that said, “This lady’s going on the blog.” And then he sneakily pulled out his iPhone and took this picture, also showing me making a list on a postcard from a magazine of things I wanted to remember about the experience. Just for ya’ll. Then I leaned over to get a magazine out of my purse and saw that Red Sweater had not only taken her shoes off, but her socks as well. Yes, really.

Finally, mercifully, she stowed the Kindle and headphones, put the tray table up, handed her knit rainbow-colored purse to her husband, wedged herself up out of the seat, stood unsteadily, and slowly made her way to the restroom. I wasted no time in reclaiming my entire seat, and put the armrest down. It’s amazing the freedom you feel when you get your whole seat.

Red Sweater returned all too soon and wiggled down into her seat and spilled over into mine again. But this time, I wasn’t scooting. She was going to have to deal with it. She dealt with it, alright. The millisecond I moved my elbow off the armrest, she raised it. Oh yes she did. And with her encroaching into my seat yet again, there was no way I could put it back down. Thankfully, the flight was almost over.

When we landed, she moved quicker than I thought possible. She was ready to get off that plane. And we let her go.

I was in no hurry to stand next to Red Sweater in the customs line.

Flying The Friendly Skies

We just got back from a trip. This would be Husband's nightmare flight. It's a good thing this aired after we got home. I already have to give him drugs ala B.A. Baracus for us to both survive the flight, so if he'd seen this before our trip, it likely would've been canceled.


There's more though, there's more. The lady I sat beside during one of our flights was totally blogworthy. She'll be making her appearance here soon.