Noooo! Not Little Harry Potter!!!

I've made this picture reeeealllly small (so as not to offend any body) but you get the gist of it. It's Dan Radcliffe (a.k.a Harry Potter) in one of his MANY (it seems) promo pics of Equus, (which are currently slathered all over the internet) which he is starring in in London's West End very soon.
I remember when Equus played in my hometown, and I was of course disgusted by it (hey, I was a TWEENager for Cripe's sake) and today I'm still a little rattled by the premise. I guess this is such a HEFTY departure from his role as the boy wizard. Here he is with his equally naked co-star Johanna Christie:
Personally, I still see him as the adorable eleven-year old with starry eyes, attending Hogwarts.

Apparently his participation in this play has caused quite the uproar. There are parents who will "never let their kids watch any of his movies again, because he is their child's "role model" and they are aghast that he would take on such a role in the middle of the Harry Potter furor, etc. etc. etc.

I am of two minds on the subject: Part of me is screaming: Why the BLOODY hell would his parents allow him to do this? He's still a MINOR! For Pete's sake he has to pull the Full Monty and simulate sex!!! It's an OUTRAGE!!!

And the more liberal part of me is calmly saying that the fact is: he's an ACTOR. He's not really Harry Potter. It would be unfair to pigeonhole him as Harry for the rest of his life, and he's branching out into riskier roles at this point. Good on him.
Granted, I think the timing of his choice is unfortunate for his younger fans, but his crazed teen fans LOVE it (although I have a vague suspicion that it is only because they want to catch a glimpse of his Willy) and support him wholeheartedly.

I still wonder where his PARENTS are in this process?
I'm sorry, but I have to say it: if my UNDERAGE son came to me and said "Mom, I want to be in a play and cavort naked onstage in front of the world and simulate sexual pleasure from horses" I would lock him in his room until he came to his senses. I really would. Even if he had more money than Croesus. I wouldn't care. He's still my underage son.

Personally, believing what I believe, I'm disappointed. And a little sickened. But that's just me. My nine-year old daughter, for instance, just walked in behind me while I typed this blog and gasped at the picture I didn't mean for her to see. "Mom, why is Harry Potter naked? What is he doing?" I told her he only had his shirt off and it was from the movie where he was in the bath scene with Moaning Myrtle (okay, out of context that sounds kinda bad) and I felt awful that she had even SEEN it.

I know Daniel is growing up. I am just not ready for it. I think a lot of people out there are with me.

Hallelujah!!

I've got Handel's Chorus running through my head this morning. We got the verbal offer yesterday, and we are getting the written today.

FINALLY.

So, I'm feeling somewhat relieved. I'm not full-on celebrating yet, because until the house has changed hands, I'm just...not.

I just got the parent/teacher conference times for my kids, and I'm going to have to call the office. They are at 4:00, 4:20 and 7:10. SEVEN TEN??? Just a little gap, there. Besides, the kids all have swimming class at 5:45, so it won't work. Phone call time...

Got all antsy yesterday. I have all these planned trips to the U.K. and other places (in my head--don't know when they will actually come to fruition) for novel research, but will I take any of them any time soon? Nope. One of my writing friends let me rant yesterday about how I feel slightly "trapped" because of my imminent arrival. I guess Google and Libraries and Barnes & Noble will have to suffice for now.

I skimmed through a seeming 600-page biography of Francis Drake yesterday (doing research) and how many pages were devoted to his first wife, out of all of them?

Not even one. Three paragraphs to be exact. I mean, this guy is probably the most THOROUGH biographer of Drake I have ever read, and even HE had nothing on Mary Newman. That's just wrong. I am on a mission, as far as she's concerned. More to come later.

Okay, my kids are being VERY high maintenance this morning. I want to ground all of them. I'd better wrap this up. Ah, the joys of Motherhood!

OMGOSH!!!

Stop the presses!!! Stop the FREAKING PRESSES!!!! Someone hook me up to some oxygen!!!

*NEWS FLASH* We actually might have an OFFER on our Denver house! Yes, the house that's been sitting in Lone Tree, Colorado since FREAKING JULY OF 2006!!!!

Okay, I need to breathe. I need to just Breathe. (I'm going to need a freaking DEFIBRILLATOR is what I'm going to need!!!)

Everyone cross your fingers for us!

Tossing and Turning...

I don't want to use this blog as a platform to rant about my current (knocked up) state, but I have to say, either I've gotten UN-used to being pregnant, or this one seems to be more difficult than my others.

(*Insert MAJOR growl of frustration, here*)

I toss and turn all night now, because if I stay too long on one side, my hip socket on that side feels like it's going to pop out. I've tried pillows (my record: sleeping with FIVE) and I've tried the Body Pillow, and I've tried sleeping on the old mattress, and I've got the Memory Foam Thing going, but nothing seems to work. Not to mention that I am now CONSISTENTLY getting up to go to the bathroom at 2am and 4am, like clockwork.

I am a zombie most days. And I know the lack of sleep will only continue AFTER the baby is born, so why am I having this problem now? It's frustrating at best. I am to the point where I want to get a semi-deflated AIR mattress and stick it next to the bed. Heck, I would squirt shark pee up my nose if I thought it would knock me out and let me sleep. Who cares if I wake up and my hip socket is completely dislocated. I JUST WANT ONE GOOD NIGHTS' SLEEP, DANG IT!!! WAAAHHHHHH!!!!

*Ahem* So we had a pretty good weekend. Hubby needed some serious down time (they're closing out the year, trust me, I'm happy to see the end of January) so we didn't do much except for a few errand-running trips and one birthday party drop-off and pick up.

I got the boys into a soccer clinic on Saturday mornings, and although I was unable to get Thing Two onto a team for Spring (we moved here too late and all the U8 teams are full) at least he can do the Saturdays and Thing Three (who has the REAL soccer talent, which I would never admit to Thing Two) will start playing on a team again in April. Next is getting Thing One into Volleyball and Gymnastics again, and all three Things into swimming. Yeah, I'll be running around a lot again, but after the baby is born I'll just cart him around with me. I've done it before!

Our NEWLY ordered Popcorn maker is supposed to come today! We ended up getting a better one. We paid a little more for it, but apparently we were getting a cheap one, that wouldn't have held up well. You gotta love EBAY!

Time to get the kiddos on the bus. I just hope they don't get hypothermia--it's a whole FIVE degrees outside! BRRRRR!!!!!

Update...

Didn't mean to leave anyone hanging...the ultrasound went well...and the baby is perfect. We even got to count all his fingers and toes, and...yes...he's STILL a boy!

Thanks everyone, have a great weekend!

Lazy Day, lazy post...

No school today. So the kids and I just finished having pancakes for breakfast. Hubby got me one of those belgian waffle makers (the kind you close and flip over to cook) so we've been having WAYYYYY too many waffles as of late. Pancakes are the bomb.

Not much going on today, I'm getting the kids to organize their rooms, and Thing One has a Brownie Troop activity at a fitness center. We might go out (our favorite non-school day trip: Half Price Books!) but it's still in the teens as far as weather is concerned. This kind of unrelenting cold makes me a bit crazy. And I can't wash my car because the water will freeze on it and I'll be driving a giant icecube--but it's so dirty and covered in salt from the roads. It's gross. This is the kind of freezing cold you keep your gas tank full in. I forgot and left a big bottle of water in my car during work yesterday, and in just four hours it was frozen solid.

So I've got Thing Two in his room (he's in trouble currently for not being nice at breakfast) and Thing Three is in my bed playing his gameboy, and Thing One is on the other side of my bed writing a story. I helped her make up names for her make-believe creatures while we were flipping pancakes this morning.
Thing One reminds me so much of myself, at her age. She's always got a composition notebook and a pencil in her hands, (and I'm always finding them all over the house...grrrrr) and she's constantly asking me if she can "read me her story so far" so see if I like it. In fact, I think she's going to be a MUCH better writer than me, because she is constantly writing. I only really did it in school until I was much older. She's been writing stories since she was seven. I've got notebooks and notebooks in boxes that she's filled up with her poems and stories. In fact, her teacher entered one of her poems in a contest and she WON! So yes, she's my little writer. She's basically a little Lara, only with blonde hair. SCARY.

I have my ultrasound today, and thanks for all the well-wishes. I have a feeling everything is going to be fine. Hubby is getting off work early so he can be there.

I'd better go up and talk to Thing Two about being rude at breakfast. He got mad because it looked like he didn't have any syrup on his pancakes. I had to explain to him that it had soaked in, but that wasn't good enough. He is my ONE grumpy child in the morning. I sure can't wait until he's a teenager! (Yes, that was blatant sarcasm.)

Okay, this is too funny: my daughter just informed me that she has "writer's block" and my six year-old son just randomly uttered "Cheeeese, Gromit!" for no particular reason.

Kids.

Have a good weekend, all! Stay warm!
Lara

Stuck at Home...

Brrrrrr! It's COLD outside! I was stressed most of yesterday because the Tree People came to prune my 75-year old White Oaks that frame my driveway, and although they had harnesses and a Cherry Picker, they STILL climbed into the topmost branches of the trees to whack them off, (we're talking WAYYYY up there) and I could just see them catching a bad limb and falling to their deaths. (Not to mention that it was only about 15 degrees outside the whole SIX hours they were there, and I was worried they'd fall because they were frozen!)

No one died, no one fell, but they sure whacked the crap out of one of my trees. The builder chose this lot because of the trees, but then he proceeded to pour a gigantic long driveway between them, cutting into some of the root structure, and stressing them. At this point the Tree Doctors gave them a 60% chance, as long as we follow a rigorous schedule of fertilization, pruning and TLC. I mean, these trees are BIG. The cost of saving them I'm sure would be nothing compared to the cost of replacing them.

But since I had tree limbs scattered all over my driveway most of the day, I couldn't go anywhere, so I was home bound. I outlined in completion a novel idea that has been bouncing around in my head, then spent hours poring over tax stuff and getting the files prepared for our accountant, and can I just say when you own two homes (and switch jobs mid-year) things can get...a tad complicated?

And no, we still haven't sold our house in Denver. We've been getting a showing every other day, but no biters. I think the three feet of snow might be a deterrent...just a guess. Our realtor says he's cancelling his gym membership--he's getting all the workouts he needs shoveling our driveway every week. :-)

I have to work today. My heart isn't in it. I have an ultrasound tomorrow (they saw something that worried them at my last one so we're checking it out again) and I get to drink the dreaded 24 oz of water an hour before. FUN. CARTWHEEL-TURNING FUN. WOO HOO.

YIKES! The bus is coming! Gotta get the kids going!

Tandem Nightmares...

Don't know if I should be concerned, but two of my kids and I had nightmares last night. HORRIBLE ones. I dreamt that some sort of bomb went off and everything was a mess, and looters broke into our house (only it was the house I grew up in) and took everything, including my kids, and I was running through these wrecked streets, screaming for them, trying to find them.
I was awakened from my dream by Thing One, who was at my bedside crying about her dream. She had been kidnapped and locked in a dark basement, and there were glowing eyes and something started roaring at her, and she was screaming. Thing Two told me over cereal that he had dreamt that we were all together in a restaurant, but suddenly he was in the woods in back and he couldn't find us, and he was scared.

I mean, what is the DEAL? I dream about getting separated from my kids, and they dream about being kidnapped or "losing" us. Craziness...

...Still shaking off that horrible dream. There were many other parts, it was one of those all-morning-long ones again.

Otherwise, last night was good. Our personal trainer came, and BOY is she awesome. She developed workout strategies for both of us (but it was all about Hubby last night because my O.B. shut down any working out until my ultrasound results this Friday) and she said after I have the baby she's going to put me through "baby boot camp." I'm excited. Well, nervous, after seeing what she will make us do, but it's something I truly NEED. Someone ELSE to motivate me, rather than just myself.

No work today, but I'm going to tackle a few closets. FUN. I just hope I can shake the yucky dream. It's still bugging me.

Finally! A Trendsetter!

Thing One begged me this morning to do her hair a certain way. I asked her why (I've only done it that way two or three times in the past) and her answer:

"Because I haven't seen any of the girls do their hair that way at school, and I want to try something different."

BRAVO Thing One! She's nine, and usually suffering from Herded Sheep Syndrome. She has to have the same things the other girls have (although I'm proud to report that since Dad is in the Fashion Industry, she's "started" a few trends at school) and frankly, any sort of difference is "not cool."

So I did her hair the way she wanted it, Princess Leia style. (I put it into two high ponytails, braid them, and coil them around into rolls, and bobby-pin them to death.) The end result is she looks like Minnie Mouse, but she liked it and it's different and Hooray for her.

OMHeck I have so much to do today. Nothing like a day off of work to run around doing all the things you couldn't do because you are working. I need to get an early start.

Watched a GREAT Aussie Open Tennis match (Williams v. Peer) last night, but was so sleepy I couldn't keep my eyes open. Although I had to laugh at the way pro tennis players make noise when they get really tired.
Sharapova is the be-all-end-all for game noise, but Serena and the Peer girl were REALLY going at it last night. Serena screamed with her strokes: "AAAARRRRRGGGGHH! and Peer made a noise like "Oooo-MA!" So the last hour of the match went like so:

"AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH!"
"Oooo-MA!"
"AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHH!"
"Oooo-MA!"

(repeat 10000000 times, ad nauseum)

And yes, I am very easily entertained. Well, the bus is coming! Time to pack the kids off!



It was pretty dang funny. I wonder, do they KNOW they're making those absurd noises?

Quiet Day.

Worked 8-12 today, and spent a few hours after that running errands, so I'm home for the first time today. WHEW! I don't work the next few days, which is fine with me, the store I work at is SOOOO quiet. Nothing going on there at all. And I swear there isn't one thing out of place. I had a customer leave a ton of clothes in the fitting room and I was actually grateful, because it was something to do. Eeek!

This weekend was good, we did a lot of running around on Saturday, but no movies. We ran out of time. So the kids watched Return to Witch Mountain in the Theater and Hubby and I watched TV.

On Sunday, we caught the end of the Saints/Bears game, and were VERY intense on the Patriots game. I'm REALLY sad they didn't win, but I guess you have to be happy for Peyton Manning-- he's never had a Superbowl. Don't exactly know which team I'll be rooting for at this point, because New England lost. Hmmmm....maybe I should toss a coin...;-)

Something New: Hubby got us a personal trainer, she comes once a week, and frankly, I am a little nervous. But she said she'll go easy on me, I'll just be doing cardio, and exercises on a ball with rubber bands, etc., (I can't even do the recumbent bike at this point because my knees hit The Belly) and she'll be busting Hubby's A** on the home gym. This is something we've never done before, so we'll see how it goes. But I have heard they (PT's) are good for motivation.

Nothing much else to tell, the kiddos are coming home soon and Hubby has a vendor dinner tonight, so I'll probably give them something REALLY not nutritious like Corn Dogs or something. I am so bad!:-)

Maybe I'll have something more interesting to write about tomorrow...

Stephen King Dreams.

Okay, I'm SERIOUSLY hoping Blogger gets their act together soon--now that I've switched from the old version (how could I not? They basically used every tactic but hit the button themselves to get me to do it) I really, REALLY don't like having to sign in twice, just to post. It's very annoying. End Rant.

Okay, I read a lot of Stephen King when I was younger (high school) and so I can accurately describe my dreams last night. The one I remember the most: I was stuck with a few other random people (no one I knew, isn't that weird) in an old, empty Stephen King-esque hotel (a big one) and there were these people-creatures who had vacuums for eyes and they would crawl around on all fours with their heads to the floor, vacuuming around for their prey. We were running away from them, but they inevitably "got" some people and you could hear the screams over the vacuum noises. I never actually saw what was happening to them, but I'm sure it wasn't pretty.
There was this random guy in a suit who told me he'd figured a way to thwart them, if they came into the room, to act like a piece of furniture and they wouldn't know you were there. They only know you're real if you MOVE while they're vacuuming you. (OK, I know, but remember, this was a DREAM)

So we're in a room and one of them bursts in, and I jumped up on a ledge and hid behind a corner, perfectly safe. He acted like he was a chair and I watched in horror as the vacuum-for-eyes-creature vacuumed right over him, nearly sucking in his tie. It kept going and finally left the room, and we both collapsed with relief.

At this point the dream must have ended because I woke up with a pain in my hip and had to turn over on my other side. I wake up and do that a lot because the baby is getting heavy.

So, I'm not sure how to interpret THAT dream (care to chance it, anyone?) but I will chalk it up to pregnancy. Being pregnant usually means weird dreams.

And now that I've "shared" it's time to get in the shower. Another long shift today. I can't handle much more of these. Of course, if I didn't have a bowling ball sewn into my belly, standing up the whole time wouldn't bug me at all! :-)

They're tearing down our local movie theater next week, so we're going to catch our last movie in it this weekend. Personally, I don't want to see either Arthur and the Invisibles or Happily N'er After, but we don't have much of a choice. But hey, it's something to do.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Eureka!!!

I've made THE DISCOVERY of discoveries...the Pregnancy Belly Strap. (I was calling it the Pregnancy Jock Strap but Hubby thought that was crass).

It's this nifty little...well, not really little... but nifty anyway--thingy ma jig that you strap under your bourgeoning belly and around your lower back that gives you lots of support. I bought it at Babies R Us a while back, but I haven't gotten around to using it because until now my belly wasn't "big" enough.

I worked a seven hour shift yesterday, ON MY FEET, and let's just say I was not doing well afterI got home. I was hobbling like an old lady. So I decided to strap it on. It was a bit complicated: first you put this wide strap around your lower belly and secure it in the back, then you take this other piece and put it behind your lower back and velcro it tightly to the sides of the previous strap, and THEN you secure this little strap over the top of your belly.

It took me a few tries to get it right, but I did it and it looks like this:

Anyway it was VERY comfortable (no, that is not me in the pic) and I suddenly felt much lighter. Practically NON-pregnant almost. It was amazing. I felt like a new person. This little cloth and velcro contraption is the HOLY GRAIL of pregnancy straps, as far as I'm concerned! Woo HOO!

...I just discovered that I can't really sit down in it, though. Because when I do, it sucks the baby in and makes him REALLY mad, he kicks against it and basically squirms until I stand up again. But I fully intend to wear it to work from now on. Because it's thin enough that you can't see it under your clothes.

...Although there is another small problem. You can't really go to the bathroom in it...I haven't figured out how yet...

We got another inch of snow yesterday. I'm not thrilled, but at least we're not in Denver. Friends of ours sent us picks and I swear the snow is the deepest I've ever seen it! We're talking SOUTH POLE deep!

Oh, and in other news, I think I got scammed. The company I ordered my Popcorn Machine from hasn't delivered it, they won't answer my emails and when I call their company I get routed through Siberia and end up in a mailbox that is "full." So I did some online research and realized that the website had HORRIBLE reviews. So I emailed them, cancelled my order, and I'm disputing it with my credit card company. Because I've given them plenty of time to respond and they won't. AND I'm going to report them to the BBB, if I don't hear from them at all. DO NOT EVER SHOP AT "ikitchen.com!!!" They are a scam!!! I just wish I had done my homework on them. They seemed so professional and ...legitimate. Lesson Learned.

Yikes! Time for the School bus! Happy Thursday, all!

Where's the "OFF" Button?

I couldn't turn my brain off last night. I was VERY tired, and instead of staying up and watching shows with Hubby, I went to bed at 9pm. WAY early by our normal standards. According to Hubby I was completely asleep when he got into bed at 11pm, but I snapped wide awake sometime later, and my brain was going over everything I had to do today, because since I work a LONG shift, my time is very limited. I have to cram in a lot before work, and a lot after.

I got up, and looked at the clock. It was 2am. And I was NOT going back to sleep. So I went downstairs to my office and filed and labeled all my old Primary music stuff, and it's now all in a drawer, neat and organized. Then I scribbled down a few To Do Lists, one for Today, for the Week, and a General One. THEN I went and found the remotes and the mounting equipment for the two flatscreen TV's the installers are putting up for us today (the movers packed the mounting equipment SEPARATELY from the TV's--I could kill them because two and a half months later I finally just found it--in an unlabeled box no less) and finally, FINALLY collapsed into bed at 4:30 am, and no sooner had I closed my eyes...

(*Insert annoying alarm clock noise here*)

...It was suddenly 5:30 and Hubby was getting up, becaue he had to be downtown by 7:30 for meetings. Granted, he works downtown, but if he wants to get there by a certain time, he has to leave here by a certain time (a.k.a. The Butt Crack of Dawn) because of traffic.

So I am a zombie this morning. And now I have to run and get into the shower and get the kids going, because I work at 8am.

(*Insert Curse Word Here*)

Why can't I be like those droids in movies where we get all riled up and we have a little button at the back of our necks, that when pushed, we "shut down?"

I would definitely sleep better.

The Snowman Kit

Okay. We got five inches of snow. Hooray! (*Lara smacks head*) Okay, what am I saying??? BOOO. I hate being out in snow. I have gone temporarily crazy.

ANYWAY...the kids got a "snowman kit" from the grandparents for Christmas, and they were VERY excited. It included a fake carrot for the nose, a red and white striped scarf and hat, and "coal" buttons for the eyes and mouth.

Only one problem: NO SNOW. In fact, it was so warm, we planted TULIPS Christmas weekend, Grandma and I. I mean, we're talking it was 50 degrees outside! So the Snowman Kit sat. And waited. And waited. And waited.

So yesterday I am figuring we'd better make use of it while we have the snow, and I go to the drawer I put it in, and it's gone.
"Where's the snowman kit?" I ask. Thing Two volunteers that he took it out to "admire" it. But then apparently Thing Three got a hold of it and lost all the pieces, while pretending he was a "snowman."

I think the Evil House Brownies (patron devils of Lost Socks In The Dryer and Mom's Misplaced Scissors) took it. And they're holding it for ransom, because all we found of it was the carrot nose, in Thing Three's toybox.

REST IN PEACE, Snowman Kit. Dang Evil House Brownies! They're probably giggling in their little lair, as I write this.

No work today, but I have enough errands to run to make up for it. And it's a whopping TEN degrees outside. Hubby called from the car this morning to inform me of that. So that means with windchill, we're probably minus. Woo hoo. How joyous.

Time to formulate the Errand Running Action Plan...have a good Tuesday, all!

Winter has Arrived!

Or so it would seem. We got about four inches of snow while we slept, and it's still coming down. It's about time. I was starting to feel like I DIDN'T live in Wisconsin or something crazy like that! (Then again the friendly "Have A Pig Roast For Your Next Party" sign I always see when I drive on the 94 always reminds me of where I live!) :-)

The weekend was yucky. Only because Thing Two had a fever and Thing One had a sore throat. Now let me tell you about Thing One. She is the Quintessential Hypocondriac. Some of her constant utterings:

"Mom, my foot hurts. Does that mean I am spraining it?"

"Mom, I have an upset stomach. Does that mean I have an ulcer?"

"Mom, I have a pain in my side. What does it mean?"

"Mom, my thumb hurts. Does that mean it's infected?"

I field these sorts of questions EVERY day. She always has some sort of physical ailment, and she's always wondering if it's a sign that something horrible is about to happen to her body. Luckily I have figured out when to be worried and when to just ignore her ramblings. I mostly chalk it up to "growing pains." I mean, she's one of those kids who can feel their food digesting and it bugs her and she complains about it. UGH.

Tedious, very tedious.

Where did I get such a complainer? SHEESH! She certainly doesn't get it from me. Then again, I think I whined a lot like that when I was younger. Now I just suck it up and deal with it.

ALTHOUGH, I will say this time around I might have to go and start sleeping on the old mattress soon, we got a new (much firmer one) and sleeping on my side with the growing belly has SUCKED (for want of a better word) the last week or so. This new mattress, even with the Memory Foam and the down mattress top, has virtually no give to it. Even pillows don't help. Hubby has been a trooper. I'm constantly tossing and turning all night long; I have to have a pillow between my knees, a pillow under my stomach, and one to hug, and I have to sleep with TWO pillows so I don't get acid reflux at night.

In short, I am a MESS. Or I have become a mess, as of late. And I still have three months to go. Heaven help me.

I have to work today--I feel somewhat guilty for packing Thing Two off to school so soon after his fever, but he's acting normal, so off he went. I just hope I don't get a call from the school. We've already threatened Thing One within an inch of her life (she's the one who makes all the frequent trips to the school Health Room) that if she calls us today from the Health Room she's in BIG TROUBLE.

So we'll see what happens...

Soup du Jour...

I have been craving soup lately. Tomato soup, Mushroom soup, Chicken soup, Stew, you name it. I love those Cambpell's "Soup to Go" in those little sizes that you pop in the microwave. MMMM. Plus, when you run around like I do, those little buggers come in handy.

Okay, random, I know, but I'm in a random mood. I forced myself to go to bed at 10:45 last night, and stayed awake lying down while I played a scene from my novel in my head (with Gerry Butler as the hero to my herione, yum) and of course had to snap on the light and get their conversation down on paper, sheesh!)
So I finally got to sleep sometime around eleven. But that's WAY better than 1am!

Hubby comes home today, so I am excited about that. He's ready to come home. After meetings ten hours a day and schmoozing and being wined and dined every night this week, he's ready to come home and have some home-cooked food and see his kids. (His words last night.) I told him that Papa Murphy's pizza was about as home-cooked as he was going to get. ;-) But it will be nice to have him home.

Watched The Wedding Date last night. Cuuuute film. Debra Messing was hilarious in it. And I've always had a crush on Dermot Mulroney, since Young Guns. (Yes, really, since then!) Even before he did "My Best Friends' Wedding" with The Roberts. I have a good eye for actors that way. (Another example, I was enamored of Jason Isaacs when he played the bit N.A.S.A. scientist part in Armageddon, BEFORE he was ever Lucius Malfoy!)

No word on the popcorn maker. I'm beginning to grumble. Of course they only have email instead of a phone number, and of course they say they'll get back to you with an answer in "72 hours" so I'm beginning to think I won't get this thing FOREVER. Which serves me right, for getting it for about half of what all the other internet sites are offering it for. UGH.

YIKES! Time to get the kids running for the bus! Have a happy friday, all, and a good weekend!

It STINKS in here...

FORCED myself to go to bed last night at 11:30. Of course I tossed and turned all night, and I feel like I didn't sleep at all, but I have to wake up because the Cable guy might come at 7:30 this morning.

The kids have a half day of school today, so I promised them we'd go to Target when they get home. The Target here is a good 12 minute drive so we hardly go (in Denver it was 1/4 mile from my house, and a SUPER Target at that!) and I always love it when they get new stuff.

I didn't watch any movies last night (the kids watched The Goonies in the Theater) I spent more time in back unpacking and organizing again. My back is a little "twingy" this morning, so I am going to take it easy. I don't work for the next four days! WOO!

Okay, now for the title of my post. We have a sun room off of the Master bedroom here, and Hubby and I decided to make it the Workout room. Well, a couple days a go we had a home gym installed (the HOIST V-5--it's pretty cool) and immediately afterwards, I noticed a foul smell.
Well, now that smell is EVERYWHERE it seems. It's this really nasty plastic-y/rubbery smell and it reeks.
I figured it was the new gym, because we got the rubber floor mat, and it's a brand new piece of equipment, but, seriously, does it have to smell like CA CA??? I noticed that about our Theater Room, too. All those new speakers and equipment--they kind of have a "new" (aka "stinky") smell too. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive because I'm Preggers. Who knows.

The wind is really going crazy here lately. It has been cold---about 20 degrees in the morning but bitterly cold because of wind chill. It's been spooky at night too. I can hear it whistling and blowing and making noises when I try to sleep. The poor kids. I bundle them up because I don't want their noses freezing off at the bus stop.

But hey, at least we have no snow!

I'm getting antsy. The Popcorn Maker still hasn't arrived, and the tracking information gives me nothing. I am emailing them today and asking them what's up. I should HAVE it by now!

I wonder if after I put it together--it will stink too?

Grrrrrrrrrrr.....

Okay, I am DANG irritable this morning. I guess it comes from getting about four hours of sleep the last few nights. NOT GOOD.
I didn't do squat last night. I was going to tackle taking down the Christmas stuff, but on days I work I come home completely exhausted, and I have little energy to do anything else. So I read part of a friend's WIP, and chatted online until late with her, and TRIED to concentrate on my editing, but I ended up downstairs watching THAT THING YOU DO on TV. (Okay, it really is a cute movie!)

I have SO much to do before Friday night, it's daunting. And Hubby is talking about having a work party at the house, since he's new. I am thinking that's a FABULOUS idea. I'll hire someone to clean the house, and then I'll take the kids to a movie while he has his party. And yes, I'm being bitingly sarcastic.
(Heh Heh.) Great. I'm feeling anti-social now, too. (Grrrrr.)

Maybe I could buy a really big mallet on Ebay and knock myself out with it tonight...I need some sleep soon or I'm in trouble. I work again today, so maybe when I get home at 3 I can take a nap.

Okay, I'd better stop now. I can't be funny when I'm irritable. Sorry, folks.

Bah Humbug.

I SHALL be organized!

Status: Feeling tired from yesterday's exertions--and I may have possibly OD'd on Candy Hearts...

Okay, not that I’ve made the new years resolution or anything, but for some reason, since it’s a new year, I feel the need to get organized. I’ve made a phone call to our handyman to build more shelves in the back basement (to hold all my storage tubs) and I bought TONS of hanging green folders at Walmart yesterday so I can get most of my novel research into cohesive groupings, AND organize my church singing visuals. GO ME.

Of course yesterday afternoon I spent about 3 hours mucking everything out in the storage area, and can I just tell you how NASTY yellow rubber gloves get inside when you’ve been busting your a** in them for three hours? Let’s all say it together: EW.

But now it’s fairly clean, and I have to figure out where to put everything back. That should take this week up fairly nicely. And I hung the pictures and billiard-cue rack, and made the basement livable. Now it really looks like a BASEMENT!

We watched CARS in the movie theater last night, and the kids were fairly awed by the giant screen. Forgive my schooldays-slang, but it was FREAKING AWESOME. But for some reason the cable doesn’t work, so I have a tech coming out Thursday morning to attempt to pretend he knows what he’s doing. Okay that was mean, but it seems that way whenever the Cable Guys come out!

Edited two chapters on the Novel last night. This conversion process from First to Third Person is proving tricky. I have decided to make the switch, and THEN go back and add in different perspectives, etc. Otherwise my head will explode. Then I watched Pride & Prejudice and Phantom of the Opera, until the wee hours in the morning. Insomnia whenever Hubby travels, is LAME. I'm really tired this morning.

Oh, and yesterday I renewed my subscription to F.A.R.M.S. (the Foundation for Ancient Research and some Other Blah Blah Blah) and I need to find an archaeologist or anthropologist who can give me the details on the latest equipment they use on digs. So I need to get in touch with a professor somewhere. OR I could Google. I love google. I know I’ve said that many times, but Google rocks!
I’m finally taking my friend’s advice and attempting to write a novel with a religious theme. We’ll see how that turns out. I have my cast of characters (for this time and ancient times) and now I just need the location. I’ve narrowed it down to a few spots in South America, but the research HAS to be extensive. Unfortunately no research trips will be possible for a while with the imminent arrival in a few months of our little Hoover Vacuum. (Yes, he’s hiccupping as I write this!) But I’m excited to write it and I hope I can do the topic justice.

Okay, enough writing blather. Time to pack lunches! And then it’s into the shower and off to work!

Hiccups? Hiccoughs?

Well, however you say em', the baby has had them, in spades lately. I mean, I've got one hungry little bugger in there. A teeny Hoover Vacuum, if you will. He's getting big enough to where I can basically feel his every move, and it's weird. I mean, yes, this IS the fourth time around, but having a little alien inside you (who at times feels like he is going to break free and escape) is disconcerting, until you get used to it.

Had a lovely weekend. The movie theatre guys are here today, again (yes, wiring, lots of wiring) but everything is in place and in a few hours he's going to show me how to work the remote (a bloody complicated thing with more buttons than this computer AND and LCD screen on it) and I told him I am a total luddite so to make it as simple as possible, sil vous plait.

The pool table guys are here too, building the pool table in the basement so it's sort of a madhouse. I guess you could say Hubby and I got antsy to get the basement done, once it got all cleaned up and unpacked. :-)

On the Writing front (oh my gosh how long has it been since I've mentioned it!) I have been doing some heavy editing. The novel I wrote in First Person is going to be now in Third Person so you can get into the OTHER character's heads, since this was a common complaint among editors. So, I am working diligently on it and writing another novel in between, and I'm REALLY excited to be "back in the Writing Saddle" once more.

Hubby leaves for New York today and so the kids and I will have "movie night" alone tonight, but this way I can get everything together for when he gets home. My movie posters arrived so now I am going to head to Michael's to get them framed for the Theater Room. I'm excited to have this project, because taking down the Christmas stuff this week will be DANG depressing.

Okay I've rambled long enough. And guess what? Baby has Hiccups (hiccoughs?) again!

Oh How Embarrassing...

Yesterday was interesting, and that's just about all I want to say about it.
Okay, well, maybe I'll tell a teeny part of it:

I worked 8-12, and believe me, I was running the whole time. I was the only one answering calls for all four departments (and I swear the next person who called me up and begged me to search for their size on the CLEARANCE racks I was going to hang up on them) and we were doing floor sets, because after all, it's after the Holidays, and now we're thinking Spring.

Anyway, I was dragging by the end of my shift, so I got my coat and handbag, and walked out to the parking lot. Well, it's been very windy as of late, and of course I have all sorts of receipts crammed into my handbag, and lo and behold, the wind got one of them and it blew out of my bag. I realized it was a very important receipt, and screamed as I watched it fly away from me at lightning speed. Instinct kicked in. I started running.

(now, picture in your mind a five-foot-ten woman with a large belly, sprinting after a receipt while wearing Born clogs, and you'll at least get a chuckle.) In my defense, I've been wearing my Borns and Clarks to work, because frankly, work shoes are uncomfortable these days.

So I get to the receipt, and try to bend down, and GUESS what happens? It blows away again. So I ran after it again, and just as I was about to get my foot on it THE DAMN THING BLOWS AWAY AGAIN.

I was getting fairly pissed off at this point...I'm sure I looked like I was filming a comedy or something, and I chased that little !#$%^&**!! piece of paper until I finally, FINALLY stomped on it at the very EDGE of the parking lot, almost to the street.

And yes, it was a dry cleaning receipt, the kind that has the ENTIRE checkcard account number printed on it. WHEW.

I picked it up, stuffed it into my bag, and ZIPPED IT. Now adrenalin left me and I had to hobble back to my car at the other end of the parking lot, and of course there was this pair of old ladies, (who had witnessed the entire thing) cheering and clapping for me. I took a little sarcastic bow, and climbed up into my car.

I wanted to die. But by the time I got home, I felt better.

So anyway, I am sore this morning because frankly, I haven't sprinted like that in a few months (for obvious reasons) and I am glad because I don't work until the middle of next week. AH!

And the Movie Theater guys are coming at 8am to finish what they started yesterday, we are going to have a FUN weekend in our new room!

So have a happy weekend, all, and try not to laugh too hard at the mental pic I just provided.

:-)

Busy Day

I worked 8-12, and now all the guys are here to install my movie theater. So I really can't blog. But I'll think of something worthwhile for tomorrow! Here's a lovely picture of my POPCORN MACHINE that is coming in a week. I'm so stoked! Cheers!

"I need a WHAT, Mom?"

Poor Thing Two. He's seven years old, and practically man-sized. (We're tall, so our kids are tall)

Okay, he's not man-sized, but he's not a baby anymore, either. So when I broke the news to him that he'd have to be riding in a booster seat in the car for a while, you can imagine his reaction.

Wisconsin has passed new safety laws for vehicles--all children under the age of 8 must be in car seats or booster car seats. Unless they're 5 feet tall, or weigh 80 pounds. Since my nearly eight-year old son is not a monster child who is over 80 pounds or five feet, he gets the booster.

He freaked out at first. "I am NOT going to ride in a baby car seat again!" he declared.

"You'll do what I say," I shot back, and that was that. (I almost added: "They are enforcing the laws, and I don't want to fork over $200 just for your dignity.")

I did get him a nice booster seat, with arm rests and TWO cupholders. He wrinkled his forehead at me. We drove to Target yesterday, and I put the booster inside (his six year old brother was FINE with being back in a car seat) and he looked at it somewhat apprehensively, and I told him with gritted teeth to GET IN.

And then he decided he LOVED it. He was much higher up and could see much more out the window. In fact, when we drove by the rock quarry he squealed with delight because he could almost see the bottom.

So, all that fuss for nothing. Although I was originally glad to be rid of the car seats--they're a hassle. And now we have TWO back in the car. And we'll have a third car seat in April, when I have this baby. It will be a juggling act when all that happens. But Thing Two turns 8 in May, and so we'll be back down to two car seats again.

Aaaahhhh.

Our bigscreen TV blew up during Christmas break. It's seven years old, and a piece of crap, but in our house we use things until they break, and SOMETIMES we just get them fixed. But this TV is a dinosaur. I turned it on, and heard a few clicks, and smoke started rolling out of the back. Naturally I turned it off immediately, and thanked my lucky stars the alarms didnt' go off.

And that was the end of the Dinosaur TV. We're getting a new one installed this Friday, and it's going to be even BIGGER. Woo hoo! I told Hubby we weren't going nutsos on it, 56-inches was fine, because we're getting a 110-inch screen put into the movie theater room in our basement. Which, by the way, I'm very excited about. I even bought movie posters online for the walls (one of them being Rebel Without a Cause because I lurve James Dean) and all we need now is an old-fashioned popcorn maker on wheels, and we're good.

Man, I LOVE being unpacked! Woo!!!

Okay, I'm rambling now, but we're in a new house so I'm going to ramble a little. Have a good day everyone! And I have to say, I'm pretty glad right about now that we're NOT in Denver anymore...it's going to be 50 degrees here today and SUNNY! Our poor realtor had to shovel a path at our old house (which we STILL HAVEN'T SOLD) just so people could get into it. Poor Denver.

:-)

It's a NEW YEAR!!!

*Disclaimer* If you didn't receive a Christmas card from me this year, it's not because I forgot you--I was really REALLY bad, and didn't send out any this time! So don't hate me!

Okay, on to the post--I've really been itching to blog this whole time, but I was literally busier than snot with in-laws (they left yesterday morning) and various activities. But they've left now and Hubby is back at work today, and the kids and I have one more day together before they go back to school.

Christmas break was fun, and I'm pleased to report that Santa was VERY good to me. I have to admit the in-laws helped a LOT with the unpacking during their week here; my basement was filled with boxes, and now, it's all clean and perfect. They even got all my food storage out of boxes and onto the shelves, in the back room, and we tried out a bunch of the mixes. (My favorite was the SCONE mix--to die for!) I was eating GOOD this past week.

So it's back to reality and I am still somewhat reluctant to take the Christmas tree down. So I'll wait until this weekend. As far as New Year's resolutions: I haven't had time to make any! So I plan to sit myself down at some point and write out some goals for myself. Although the kids and I each got a little tiny planner and a pen, and we're to do ONE GOOD DEED every day this year, and we are to write it down in the little book once we've done it. It can be as simple as giving someone a compliment, or helping a sibling make their bed, whatever. One good deed a day. They are very excited about doing it and frankly, so am I. :-)

A lot of goals on the Writing front this year--I have certainly piddly-farted around enough and it's time for action. I'll disclose those later. But this time around I need to do a lot of research as well, and it's just as important as getting the story out.

Well, I need to go and wake Thing Two. Things One and Three have already had breakfast (Thing One toasted them some bagels and poured some juice while I blogged) and Thing Two is refusing to wake up. He's going to be my "NON-morning-kid" I can tell.

I hope everyone had a safe holiday, and here's to a FABULOUS 2007! May we all keep our New Year's Resolutions longer than a WEEK!

;-)