Friday, August 31, 2007
Home Library
Books We Own That Catherine Can Read For School
Runny Babbit by Shel Silverstein
It’s Raining Pigs and Noodles by Jack Prelutsky- This one is listed as a 6.0 book, but she read it before I knew the level and she has no trouble.
Walter The Farting Dog by William Katzwinkle and Glenn Murray
Dooby Dooby Moo- by Doreen Cronin and Betsy Lewin
The Puppy Place- Snowball by Ellen Miles
The Puppy Place- Goldie by Ellen Miles
Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
Pick Of The Litter by Bill Wallace
Freedom School, Yes! by Amy Littlesugar
Junie B., First Grader- Cheater Pants by Barbara Park
Books That We Have That Are Below Catherine’s Reading Level
Click, Clack, Moo Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
Curious George at the Baseball Game by Margret and H.A. Rey
Walter The Farting Dog- Trouble At The Yard Sale by William Katzwinkle and Glenn Murray
Books That We Have That Are Still Too Hard For Catherine
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
Are You There God? It’s Me Margret. by Judy Blume
Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman
Harriet The Spy by Louise Fitzhugh
Ghosts Beneath Our Feet by Betty Ren White
The Tale Of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
Little House In The Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
The Cricket In Times Square by George Selden
Ralph S. Mouse by Beverly Cleary
The Witch Of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Patterson
Deltora Quest by Emily Rodda
The Olympians- Books One and Two by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter- All Seven Books by J.K Rowling
Charlie Bone Books 1-3 by Jenny Nimmo
Books That We Have That Are Not On The Website
Where The Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein
A Pizza The Size Of The Sun by Jack Prelutsky
Books That We Have At Catherine’s Level That She Won’t Read
Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark by Alvin Schwartz
Goosebumps
Arthur, For The Very First Time by Patricia MacLachlan
Books That Are Wanted
Catherine-
Bunnicula by Deborah Howe
Carolynn-
Starring Sally J. Freedman As Herself by Judy Blume or any Jude Blume books
The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren White
Christina’s Ghost by Betty Ren White
The Olympians
Back To School
Carolynn’s Back to School night is next week. However, today she has decided to stay after school to try out for the cross-country team. She won an award in 5th grade for running. I told her if she makes it, tonight I would take her shopping for running shoes. She loves shoes, so any excuse to get new ones is a good thing.
In related school news, with the girls back in school and my own school, I will not be able to be as diligent with my updating. I will try though. (My classes are too boring to talk about.)
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
So Cute
My friend Heather sent me this picture of our little Catherine. She must have been about three or four at the most. Isn’t she cute? A far cry from the little beast who, just this morning, tried to sneak out the door to school wearing a jumper with missing buttons, two socks that didn’t match at all, and looking like she hadn’t had her hair brushed in a month. When I asked her what she was thinking when she got dressed, she said she had no other clothes and she could not find any hairbrush. She has plenty of clothes! I walked into her room (which was no small feat in that toy landmine) and quickly and easily came up with a clean shirt, shorts and matching socks. I also found the hairbrush she could not find (it was on the bathroom counter) and brushed her hair.
I am coming up with some good pictures for my couples video. Keep them coming. I made a video of my Saturday and it is just missing the music. My sister is supposed to be supplying me with that soon. I was gone all day on Saturday and when I got home, the place was clean. I almost died from the shock. The kids were pretty good too. I only got one phone call about a flying basket of keys and cell phone chargers. Yesterday we did not do much. It was cloudy and rained in the morning. We had a Mexican fiesta for dinner with some homemade guacamole. It was delicious.
Stay tuned for that video from Saturday.
Tonight we are having chicken fried steak for dinner.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
A Lazy Week
Two Things
2. There will be a video today about my adventure of yesterday, as soon as I get more pictures from my mom.
Friday, August 24, 2007
An Educated Opinion
She has a masters in children's lit. and a Doctorate in English literature of the twentieth century, so she had read her share of romantic novels. She also has a husband that doesn't know the difference between Oxford and Oxnard, so she knows men, and their listening habits.
Here is her take on is romance dead... No, but we women confuse romance with love all the time. Romance almost always leads to sex. The Champagne, the roses, the jewelry, "the honeymoon" all end with sex. Now a man that will go out on a rainy night to buy his wife a box of tampons, and a quart of chunky monkey, now that is love. Love doesn't always lead to sex, but acts of love always come from the heart. If my husband came home with a dozen roses and a bottle of Champagne, either he bought himself a very expensive but cool electronic device, that can track a track a hurricane or tell you exactly where you are at any given moment, or he wants to get lucky.
This from a woman who wanted and got, a real cool food processor for her birthday.
The Last Romantic Interlude
A Short Romantic Comedy
Married Life-
A couple had only been married for two weeks and the husband, although very much in love, couldn't wait to go out on the town and party with his old buddies. So, he said to his new wife, "Honey, I'll be right back."
"Where are you going, Coochy Coo?" asked the wife.
"I'm going to the bar, Pretty Face," he answered. "I'm going to have a beer."
The wife said, "You want a beer, my love?" She opened the door to the refrigerator and showed him 25 different kinds of beer, brands from 12 different countries: Germany, Holland, Japan, India, etc.
The husband didn't know what to do, and the only thing that he could think of saying was, "Yes, Lollipop... but at the bar... You know... they have frozen glasses."
He didn't get to finish the sentence, because the wife interrupted him by saying, "You want a frozen glass, Puppy Face?" She took a huge beer mug out of the freezer, so frozen that she was getting chills just holding it.
The husband, looking a bit pale, said, "Yes, Tootsie Roll, but at the bar they have those hors d'oeuvres that are really delicious... I won't be long. I'll be right back. I promise. OK?"
"You want hors d'oeuvres, Poochie Pooh?" She opened the oven and took out 5 dishes of different hors d'oeuvres: chicken wings, pigs in blankets, mushroom caps, and little quiches.
"But my sweet honey... at the bar, you know, there's swearing, dirty words and all that."
"You want dirty words, Cutie Pie? LISTEN UP, CHICKEN SHIT! SIT YOUR ASS DOWN, SHUT THE HELL UP, DRINK YOUR DAMN BEER IN YOUR FROZEN MUG AND EAT YOUR HORS D'OEUVRES BECAUSE YOUR MARRIED ASS ISN'T GOING TO ANY FUCKIN' BAR! THAT SHIT IS OVER, GOT IT, JACKASS?"
And they lived happily ever after. Isn't that a sweet story?
Debate
In the end, I have decided that romance is not dead; however, romance is where you find it. (Also, I am quite lucky I don’t actually own an Easter bonnet.) It is not the flowers and candy exactly. Those are the traditional gifts and for some traditionalists out there that is the romantic thing to do. Heathers husband Ken, for instance, very much a traditionalist. He sends flowers, plans romantic weekends and does not forget birthdays. (I believe he got Heather tattooed for her last birthday, which is not very traditional, but to each his own.) My uncle claims to give my aunt lots of candy and flowers and they have been married for over 25 years, so I imagine that must be working out for him. Traditional romance is very cool and I will admit it would be nice to find some guy who brings the flowers and candy (especially candy) and plans romantic weekends to some lace covered inn.
However, I think I am going to have to go with my mom and Trish on this one. I would much rather have a man who brings me gifts I actually want, like Casey and his IPod for no reason. Or my Dad who, though is not the flowers and candy type, always keeps the house clean so my mom doesn’t have to worry about it. Besides, I have seen him go out just because my mom wanted to watch Dirty Dancing, they did not have a copy, and he went and got it. I have also seen him go out and do a million fun things with my mom that maybe would not be his cup of tea other wise. My mom even has a bit of romance in her, always buying my dad sports stuff and picking up tickets to various sporting events. Flowers and candy are nice. but, I think a man who cleans house, surprises you with stuff you like (Simpson’s paraphernalia for instance), plans trips to good places (like the beach or Seaworld or Disneyland), does things with you, even when they aren’t his thing, and in return makes you want to do stuff that isn’t exactly your thing with him, and is generally a great guy like that…. That would be one pretty hot guy. (Now if I could just get him to look like Brad Pitt, have Adam Sandlers sense of humor, and be a millionaire…)
On another topic, David felt that yesterday’s topic was far too girly and decided to man it up around here. He does that whenever he feels things are going to girly. We have spent all week watching girly movies and now all he wants to do is go watch some movie called War. That is about as manly as it gets. Other manly movies include 300, Sin City, movies that start with the words “Monty Python”, and incredibly stupid movies such as Team America and The South Park Movie.
Last night we ended up watching Happy Feet. Even penguins have romantic happy endings.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
like totally OMG
the best poop ever
Happy Easter
After dinner, we went to the pool. Yes, the thrill of the pool; kids jumping, splashing and yelling. Carolynn was running while wet and on wet cement and fell hard on her butt. I told her a million times not to run. No one listens to me. Once I told her not to try to jump in the pool backwards and she did it anyway. She must have been four or five at the time. She jumped backward and came down with her chin on the edge of the pool. She still has a scar there.
After the pool and the kids went to bed, I was flipping the channels. The movie Easter Parade was on AMC so I watched it. I have seen it before and it is a very nice movie. You cannot go wrong with Fred Astaire dancing and Judy Garland singing. It is so sweet and romantic and they fall in love and live happily ever after. Awwww. What a wonderful movie.
Then back to reality. It was just a movie. I have concluded that romance is dead. I do not know when it died or who killed it, but it is gone. If there are people out there, sending flowers and buying candy or planning romantic get-aways and buying bottles of champagne, then I will eat an Easter bonnet… with all the frills upon it.
I can recall getting flowers three times ever. The first time was after I purchased my car, the Chrysler dealership sent me flowers. The second time, David’s mom sent me some for Christmas in 2005. Finally, a guy who owns a flower shop and buys baskets from me, gave me (and everyone else in the office) flowers for Easter. That was it. I will admit to being given boxes of candy; however, they were not given in any sort of romantic content. I like See’s candy and demand people buy it for me for Christmas. I think that I only received it because those purchasing it feared that if I did not get enough chocolate I might sprout horns and devour them instead. They are probably right. I have never been on any sort or get-away. Oh sure, I have been places. However, always with my kids in tow and never anywhere that might be considered romantic. I have never had champagne ever; not that I drink, but it is the principle of the thing.
It is okay though. I can deal with the death of romance. I doubt I would like champagne anyway. I am too practical to spend money on a vacation to some snooty, lace covered inn when I could use the same money and spend the day with the kids at Legoland. I do buy my own chocolates and cut flowers just die anyway and are a waste of money. I have potted herbs on my porch and a couple of flowering plants too. Romance would probably just disrupt my currently peaceful existence.
Maybe when I get home I will watch a few more movies… Pretty Woman might be good.
Today I am calling my boss Evil Bob Barker… because apparently all the prices are wrong.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Hunt Begins
The kids have gotten off to a nice start at school. I will try to bully them into updating their pages soon. Carolynn is not getting home until almost 4:00 now and she already has homework. I told her it would not get any easier either so she better suck it up.
I would like to thank the well-wishers who were so quick to point out that people my age should stick to cars rather than bikes. Well DUH! I would love to. Just tell me what car it is that magically allows you to lose weight while driving. If I had my mothers figure instead of Henrietta Hippo’s figure, that would not be a problem. Oh, well. I guess I will suffer out the bike riding and hope that it helps.
For those of you keeping track, today I was calling my boss Cranky- The Eighth Dwarf.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Pokemon Anyone?
E-Bay Auction- Pokemon Cards
Tagged Yet Again
I do not know Sherry, but I do look at her blog occasionally. (It is a link on Trisha’s blog.) Anyway, twice now she did these little question/answers things, and then “tagged” Trish to do them too. Trish seems to have no will power to resist such questions and must answer every one that she comes in contact with. She sends them around and I usually fill mine out with a bunch of terrible answers and send them back. This weekend, Sherri “tagged” Trish with another list of questions, and Trish has now “tagged” me. So here you have it.
Four jobs I have had or currently have in my life:
1. I currently work at a basket importation operation for a boss who I am now calling Big Chief No Sense of Humor. (Better than last week when I was calling him Captain No Joy. Or how about Señor Cranky Pants. He does not know I call him these things. He also does not know what a blog is.)
2. I used to work for Hickory Farms. (Try some of our original cheese ball. It is a tasty blend of mild white cheddar and blue cheese rolled in almonds and hazelnuts.)
3. Once I worked at Wienerschntizel. I was 16. Chilidogs as far as the eye could see.
4. I once held a job folding sweaters at a department store in Illinois. It was very exciting.
Four countries I have been to:
1. The United States…. DUH!
2. I went to Tijuana, Mexico before.
3. I am pretty sure Texas is its own country.
4. Um…. I guess I do not get out much.
Four places I would rather be right now:
1. At home… work is no fun. That is why it is called work.
2. The beach would be nice. I could work on my tan… I mean my burn.
3. On vacation… Any vacation.
4. Disneyland. It is the happiest place on earth you know.
Four foods I like to eat:
1. Cookies… all kinds
2. Pasta
3. Mexican Food
4. Pizza
Four personal heroes, past or present:
1. I dunno.
2. Maybe my friends. They are pretty cool.
3. Cool people I do not know yet.
4. Teachers.
Four books you've just read or are currently reading:
1. Harry Potter… All seven
2. The Woods
3. Walter The Farting Dog (Actually Catherine read this one to me.)
4. Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret? (Carolynn is reading this one, so I read it too. I read it when I was little as well.)
*New Question* Riddle me this:
Four Of Your Stupidest Fears:
1. Bugs
2. Heights
3. Bouncing Checks (I do not even write checks anymore. I only use bank checks to counter my fear. Even though I know no one else is out there spending money without telling me and I know there is money in there, I still have the fear.)
4. Car Accidents. Every time I get in the car, I worry I will not make it back alive.
Due to rule changing somewhere along the line, here is where you are suppose to add your own new question.
Tag, you're it!
I do not know any other bloggers, but I do know some My Spacers and this could work for them too.
1. Sarah
2. Alyssa
3. Angela
4. Nikki
Anyone else I did not say, well hey, go for it.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
What Was I Thinking?
Today we did some cleaning. I am working on the laundry. We had some errands to run: take the cans to the recycling center, go to the shoe store, and get a burger at Burger King. You know important stuff like that. We went to the World Market because someone said they were a fan of ooh-long tea and I wanted to give it a go. They did not have it in the Albertson’s. Anyway, the World Market did not have it either. I did get some nice Japanese tea. We looked around in the Bed, Bath and Beyond after that. (It is next door to World Market.) Then we went to the Best Buy. (It is next to the Bed, Bath and Beyond.) There was some band signing autographs in there. I had no idea who they were. They looked like something my cousin Alyssa would like. They were called Blaqk Audio. I have no idea what kind of music it is, but I saw them. I also bought Forrest Gump on DVD. I had not seen that one in awhile.
After we returned from the stores, I decided to go on a little bike ride with Carolynn. We only rode a few blocks, but I seriously thought I was going to die. My legs hurt and I was just defeated. Carolynn laughed and laughed. Oh, well I tried. Now that I have the bike, I will try again and again and it will get easier and easier. At least I hope it will.
I am cooking beef stroganoff for dinner. Tomorrow we are going to Seaworld.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Fine China
We liked it so much I ordered the matching cream and sugar set. It will be here on Monday I think. This is an English tea set. We had some Earl Gray and English breakfast tea in here.
We love it, but we ordered a new set too.
This new one came yesterday. It's an Asian tea set. We used it last night to make Jasmine tea to go with the Chinese food we picked up at the Panda Express. It is pretty.
Now we have two beautiful tea sets. We don't own a coffee pot though. I don't like coffee. But I like a million kinds of tea.
All that and my favorite teapot is still Mrs. Potts.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Stupid Flanders! You're A Genius!
The DVD Collection
I have all ten seasons available on DVD. If there were more, I would have them.
Collector’s Cups
I have all five The Simpson’s Movie collectors cups from 7-11.
I got these for Christmas one year.
Games
I have The Simpson’s version of Operation and Uno. I have a trivia game. I have a puzzle. I used to have The Simpson’s Jeopardy game and another puzzle with the whole family on it.
The Toys
These are all the toys I have from the current collection being offered by Burger King. I have some from a long time ago out with the Halloween stuff too.
The Décor
All of these are currently on my wall.
I also have Halloween decorations and Christmas decorations.
You think that is bad… you should see my mom and “I Love Lucy” stuff. Or my dad and The Beatles or sports memorabilia. Their collections make mine look tiny. Of course they are older than me and have had more time.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Family Jewels
1. My Coffee Table
I got this table from my Grandma. It is said I once carved my name into it and my Grandpa had to refinish it. Anyway, it is old and it could probably use another refinish, but I love it.
2. Earrings
I got these earrings from one of my Grandpa’s sisters (not sure which). They once belonged to my Great-Grandmother (my Grandpa’s mother, on my mother’s side). They pinch a bit, but after a few moments, your earlobes go numb and it is fine. I only wear them on special occasions or for luck.
3. One Ceramic Rooster
This rooster I got from my mom. She got it from her mom. When I was little, I remember it sitting in the sunroom at my grandparent’s house when I would eat my dinner out there. When I was a teenager, I remember it in our house. Now it is in my house.
4. Mrs. Potts
My mom bought this teapot when I was a teenager. I just loved it. I loved the movie. My mom got it at the grocery store one night after work. When she brought it home, we made tea, my mom, my sister and me. It was probably just days later when my grandparents came to visit. My Grandma also loved the teapot. My mom told her to go ahead and take that one and she would just stop and get a new one again. Unfortunately, when she went back they had no more teapots. She got a cookie jar that looked like Mrs. Potts. It is nice, and she still has it, but it did not pour tea. Sunday, my mom and my Grandpa gave it to me. I love it.
These things are priceless to me and I love them.
Learning
Sarah
However, I will say there is some good to it. I may not like it, but if I did not have the stupid thing, I would not chat with my sister Sarah much. We were never close, even though we lived in the same house and the same parents raised us. Nevertheless, I suppose chatting via My Space is a start. Sarah is a huge My Space Queen. I think I’m going to buy her a tee shirt that says, “My Space Celebrity”.
Alyssa and some band I am not cool enough to know
Without My Space, I would not know a damn thing about my cousin Alyssa. She is a pretty cool 14 year old. She likes some really loud music too. I saw this shirt; I think I should buy for her. It says, “This Is A Band Shirt, But You’re Not Cool Enough To Know Them”.
Nikki
Last, but not least, if not for My Space, I would not know Nikki. She has a very nice My Space, and she shares the unfortunate experience of having the same biological father as me. I have very little to say about that guy, since I don’t really know him, but I won’t hold that against her. I have not seen or heard anything about her since she was two or three years old. Not her fault at all and it is nice to hear from her.
I did not think I would get much use out of that stupid website, but I end up logging on about once a day or so because it emails me when someone leaves me messages on there. (Mostly Sarah.)
There you have it, my My Space experience. Do not worry; I will not be going from here anytime soon. I have another post I will put up later.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Sugar, Sugar
Then we went up to the hotel room. It was so nice. I could so just stay there for the bathtub. Look at this tub!
After that, I went and played some slots with my Grandpa. He sure does enjoy that. I am so glad for him. He has had a rough past year. I had a fun time. I hope I get to do it again soon. My mom watched the girls at the pool while we were doing that. After the pool closed, we had some dinner. It was a fun day.
Yesterday, Carolynn had her 6th grade orientation. She is going into Middle School. It is a big deal. My mom bought her (and her sister) some fashionable back to school clothes and shoes. We went to the orientation and she got her gym clothes and books. They keep one set of books at home and use the classroom books at school so they do not have to carry them around. She got her first ID card. She is so proud. Anyway, I went to the orientation with one soon to be sixth grader, and returned with two. Jessica slept over last night. Carolynn and Jessica helped me try a new Emeril recipe. It was like a chicken potpie with no crust and mashed potatoes and cheese on top. It was tasty. They chopped and peeled and were a big help. With those two and Catherine, we are going to have a whole house full of Iron Chefs.
Today, after work, we went to the Toys R Us and Carolynn got a new bike. She needs it to ride to school. It is just too far to walk. We worked out with some of her friends’ moms and dads so they will always ride together. Both Carolynn and Catherine got new backpacks and new lunch boxes. Then we went to Mimi’s Café. We never went there before and we loved it. They were so friendly. The food was so good. The price was very reasonable. When our waiter found out it was our first visit, he gave us muffins to take home and a coupon for free appetizers next time. I was very impressed. We will definitely be returning. The girls loved the dessert. It was dirt and worms.
After dinner, we went to the Best Buy so I could get my copy of The Simpson’s Season 10 on DVD. I already watched one DVD. You knew I would.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
A Saturday Evening Post
Today was Carolynn’s tea party. We had quite a spread. I made and egg, ham and potato casserole. Catherine helped. Catherine made BLT’s and some cherry cobbler. Carolynn made some muffins. We had fruit and, of course, tea. We had iced black tea and hot Earl Grey tea. It was quite fancy. We listened to classical music. We had music by Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, and Rachmaninov. We played some cards. Carolynn loved it. I like cheap activities. My mom got the fancy tea set. I got a cheap tablecloth and a sugar bowl. All we needed after that was the food. I printed all the pictures off the internet and taped them around. The girls got all dressed up. It was fun. I made a video of it on Carolynn’s page.
Tomorrow we are going to Pala Indian casino. My Grandpa seems to think it is the happiest place on earth. We shall see.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
My Space Still Sucks
A Month In Review
In the month of July, this website was visited 337 times by people in 62 different cities. Here is how it stcked up in the end.
48% of my visits come from AOL. Mostly my Aunt and Uncle, and some from my mom, dad, sister and Grandma. There are probably some peopel I don't know in there too.
13% of my visits come from my mom's house.
12% of my visits come from people that I don't know in the United States.
10% of my visits come from Trish.
8% of my visits come from Heather.
7% of my visits come from people that I don't know in other countries.
1% of my visits come from my friend Cari.
1% of my visits come from my Grandma's work.
Month in Review
In the month of July, this website got 83 visits. Most of the visits came from AOL users. Maybe if Carolynn wrote more, she'd get more visits.
Did anyone watch the video she made of her and her friend Jessica? Did it give you a head ache too?