Sunday, November 18, 2007

Trans Siberian Orchestra...

OK...There was this guy on Craigslist yesterday giving a ticket to TSO away for the concert last night. He said he wasn't looking for a date, but proceeded to explain that he was a "DWM, 43 and down to earth." So I don't know if a date was what he had in mind or what, but I was more interested in finding out what "TSO" was. Well...as mentioned in the title it is the "Trans Siberian Orchestra"...have you ever heard of them? I am sure you have...somehow I can be oblivious to some things... They are like this heavy metal orchestra rock band...and I think they are soooo cool. And wish with all my heart I had purchased tickets last night for me and the kids to see them...at $75 a pop for nose bleed seats mind you. Anyway...the kids and I have been listening to them this morning and having a great time. We are preparing our Thanksgiving Day feast today...(the kids are with their Dad for the actual Thanksgiving this year). So it is making us feel excited for the holidays. I have a couple for you to look at...we especially like this one and were singing it together...we're almost as good....

Christmas Canon

And this guy did quite a wonderful light show with the Wizards in Winter


Now tell me that they are not cool. I have instantly purchased 3 CDs on Ebay...I can hardly wait to get them. Oops, I am typing to the music...better go.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Girlfriends....

Sarah, my wonderful daughter just turned 12. She is in the 6th grade, and (ugh!) this is the age in which some girls begin to show their true...nasty...colors. Whether it is getting upset because one girl played with someone else today, or the sulking and and game playing and saying things like "I'll forgive you, when you figure out why I am mad and apologize" (Yes, Sarah actually had a friend say that yesterday.) Do you remember Adolescence? I don't know about the rest of you, but I remember it vividly...as a horror movie. I hated my early teen years. I guess the good thing is I can coach her on how to handle it better than I did. What I really love is Sarah trusts me and actually listens and takes my advice. I hope that continues for many years to come. If I could only do those years over...ACKKKK! What am I saying...?

Anyway...that isn't exactly why I am writing today. As I had a long conversation yesterday about how awful girls can be and how Sarah can avoid the pitfalls of it all...from avoiding gossip... understanding that if one friend is talking bad about their other friend to Sarah, she probably talks badly about Sarah to the other friends, and if one girl is nicer, smarter than the other girls, they will likely not like her because she is nicer and smarter...Go figure...And how to be nice and friendly to all people yet set boundaries and not be a doormat... Ah, so much to tell and so little time.

Well as I was telling her all this stuff, I began to use some of my friends as examples...of how there are some friends who just don't do that. And I realized that I am truly blessed to have, instead of lots and lots of friends, a handful of girlfriends who are truly my friends. Who NEVER make me feel like a doormat, who don't mind if I play with my other friends, who don't play passive/aggressive head games with me, and who don't mind if I AM cuter than them (Inside joke for Paige). But really, some of you read my blog. Some I don't talk to as often as I would like, but I still love because I know you are sincere and good and not like those women I was warned about as a kid growing up. When it comes down to it women can be women's worst enemy with all the competition, gossip, and game playing that goes on. But Women can also be women's best asset when you have girlfriends like I do. So to all my girlfriends...thanks for being the kind of people I could use as an example of true friends to my daughter. Thanks for letting her see what true girlfriends are all about.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

I cleaned my pantry...




One of my favorite things is a clean pantry. It is one of the few areas of my house that when it gets cleaned, it will stay clean for a while...even a month or two. It is also a long process and an area I only get to about once a year...and I cleaned it early last summer. But I began to see little flying creatures and wormy things and knew that something (s) must have been infested and it was getting out of control. So I began. I did in fact find some Jiffy Corn Bread boxes and a bag of rice that became Chicken feed due to infestation. I also froze some boxes that were in question...only because I couldn't open them and look in.. (I hate it when I go to cook some mac 'n cheese and little "things" float to the top) So I figured if they are in there, at least they will be dead and not contributing to the increase of crawly things.

So here's another thing I did that was kind of cool. I took out all the stuff that I didn't want and that we were not going to eat (good stuff...not the bug infested stuff) and offered them on Craigslist. But instead of offering them for free, I decided to see if I could get someone to go to the store and bring me a couple of gallons of milk...not because I couldn't get milk, but because I didn't want to...and this kind of thing amuses me (Hey, I can't drink, Paige and I have given up sugar, and I can't have se...Never mind...Anyway, something has to amuse me.). So, believe it or not I had a gillion responses, and I got 4 gallons of milk brought to me in trade for my food that we were not ever going to eat and a bunch of expired food storage. Now that's cool!...if not a little weird... I think next time I will see if I can get a dozen eggs....