Homecoming!! Rah, Rah, Rah!!

Today is Homecoming for one of our district high schools. The kids are all excited, because it means they get to sit outside and enjoy a football game while eating all manner of junkfood and sodas for dinner. I’m excited because I don’t have to cook. As The Queen dictated, everyone should go enjoy a high school football game! The most wonderful part about a high school football game is the support for the teams, even when they are losing.

That, and the fact that we don’t have to worry about a Lockout, or some such silly thing.

One thing that is traditional here in Texas, is the Homecoming Mum. When I went to school, back in the Iron Age, your date bought you the mum, which consisted of actual chrysanthemums. He went to the flower shop, ordered however many mums he wanted, with whatever amount of ribbons, along with sundry embellishments like little cowbells, whistles, footballs, chains, etc. The tackier, the better! But as time progressed, and brought us into the Internet Age, things changed.

Ok, the tackiness survived. But nowadays, the wearer of the mum is responsible for making her own. Some young men still go out and purchase a mum for their dates, but overwhelmingly, the gals make their own. I miss the gallantry, if it can be called that, of a young man going out of his way to order a fresh mum for his girl, but on the other hand, I do like the way young women let their creativity flow when they make these ornate decorations. The flowers have since been replaced with silk ones, but that just means they can last forever 🙂

Cheap Therapy

A friend of mine was telling me a few weeks ago about her time in therapy. Now, my idea of “therapy” is not the same as hers. She had explained that she had attended therapy with a psychiatrist three times a week for a few years. At first I felt awful, not knowing what to say to her, thinking the trauma in her life must have been catastrophic. When I asked her what had happened, as gently as I could, she told me she went to a therapist in order to learn to relax.

Now, I will say that therapists do tend to help people with problems, but going to one for three times a week for years to learn to relax??

When doing this is cheaper and more satisfying??

Or this??

Or even this??

Consider this your free relaxation therapy.

Following sessions will cost extra, if needed 🙂

Lessons Learned

I’m not the best housewife, or cook, or parent. As most of us do, I learn as I go, and in 17 and a half years of marriage and parenthood, I have learned a few things:

1. There is a difference between baking powder and baking soda. This can mean the difference between muffins, and paperweights.
2. Never put dishwashing liquid in a dishwasher. Unless you also need to shampoo the carpet in the living room.
3. Bedroom doors are not made of solid wood. Any holes made by errant feet can be covered with a pretty kickplate.
4. The only good thing about Berber carpeting is its ability to keep dogs entertained as it unravels.
5. Spouses should never have similar looking razors. It can mean the difference between “baby smooth”, and “Leatherface”.
6. Buttermilk is not made by adding butter to milk.
7. Checking pockets prior to washing will not only save you from having to wipe down lipgloss in the dryer with cleaner, but can also net you a nice $20 tip.
8. Water resistant does not mean waterproof, especially when it comes to watches, and mp3 players holding hours of music that you paid for.
9. A child using a rake to clean up leaves outside is a Good Thing™. The same child using a rake to clean a room inside is not.
10. Ceiling fans are NOT propellers. Nor are they for swinging toys like superheroes.

I’m sure y’all have your own list. Mine seems to be unending 😉

Lazy Bones

I love Sundays. Hm….no, it’s not that it’s Sunday, per se, but that it’s a quiet day. After running errands all week, the cooking, the laundry, the cleaning, the homework (some of which does escape me), it’s nice to enjoy the peace and quiet with a cup of coffee. The coffee is mandatory, as are PJs. After all, you want to be comfortable when the kids wake up, rooting around the refrigerator for breakfast. And that’s another thing: the kitchen is closed.

They will be waiting a loooooooooong time for me to call, too 😀

A Study in Contrasts

I was so lucky! I had the chance to speak to Hubby while he was on a tour of Egypt. Skype is not very dependable in *ahem* certain Middle Eastern countries. But he was very excited to have toured Karnak and Luxor and cruised the Nile River. This is where he is today:

And this is what I’ll be doing:

Sometimes, life can be so funny….

Does anyone know if napalm is good for mold??? 😉

Grungy Wisdom

Yesterday, I posted about getting back in my artistic groove. In case you aren’t familiar with my style, I like to do distressed works, such as this. I like the whole vintage look, and finding new ways to take junk and make it into a work of art.

And this is what I made from the junk I had:

Now, question is, what do I do with it??

A– Gift it to someone.

B– Donate it.

C– Keep it and let it collect dust somewhere.

D– Make it an award!!

I don’t have an account to do a poll, but please leave your choice(s) in the comments. Oh, and try to NOT vote for “C”. Hubby thinks there are enough dust catchers in the house already 😉

Time Doesn’t Flow Like a River

Holy canoli… I was sooo excited to get the kids back in school so I could have time to myself and be able to think again. Yesterday I finally had a chance to ZOMG!! watch whatever I wanted on the big TV. I have hundreds of channels to choose from, and On Demand as well as DVDs.

So what did I do? I put it on the news. After so long without the remote control, I found that I couldn’t even decide on some stupid show to watch. Before long, it was time to pick up the kids after school, and my chance to sing off key in Spanish while wearing a tiara had gone. Fortunately, I am starting to get back in the groove, and found a new project to do.

One man's junk...

Stay tuned tomorrow when I unveil my masterpiece!!

General Sod

Most of you will miss the reference in that title. I love being obscure. Anyway, yesterday, our lawn guy came by and did some major work outside. He trimmed the tree out front, cutting down the heavy lower branches. I can finally walk under that tree, when before I had to practically crawl. The kids were not happy to have the tree’s limbs cut, since they liked to climb up and hide in it. And to that I said, tough cookie. He also put down some rich soil and some new sod in the back yard.

My back yard looked awful. It was all covered in hay, with some stray spots of dirt peeking through it. Hubby had transplanted some grass, and it had taken very well, but with the drought the yard looked like it was waiting for either a cow to or a pyromaniac to come strolling by. And the pyromaniac would have been an improvement, y’all. But behold the beauty that is sod!

Ignore the garden hose. I have to water the yard every evening from now on for the next three weeks. The water company is going to just adore me.  Oh well, all in the name of beauty, right?

The funny thing is, the dogs will only “go” on the new sod. Ok, it’s not very funny, but at least it’s easier to go clean up 😉

Canada Luv!

This morning I received a message from a friend, telling me of a young man from Canada who is coming to visit his family while he launches his American country music career. His name is Ryan Laird, which is just awesome in and of itself, he’s very talented, and hope y’all enjoy this song!

And his single, which is to die for:

Not bad, eh?

And back off, Taylor. I saw him first 😉

It’s Hot

It’s quite hot. Very hot. Africa hot.

The humidity doesn’t help either. Here in my corner of Hades, it’s a cool 86* degrees overcast, with 84% relative humidity. It’s also 8:30 AM.By noon, it will be about 97*, and the heat index will make it feel like 105*. And then in the afternoon, it will get hot…

I have a feeling I will be jumping the sprinklers today as I get the patio ready for Eldest’s party tomorrow.

Why couldn’t she have been born in springtime??