Still in the closet.

2 more silly cat vines

Here's one:
https://vine.co/v/iKV0ghWdgWF

Top 10 reasons why being sick is fun

Ok, i lied, just 3 so far...

1. Lots of time to study the intricate designs on my very old quilt, handmade and given to me years ago by my now-deceased grandmother.  This quilt is full of memories, for it is literally a patchwork of fabric scraps from my mom's sewing projects over the years; mainly, our clothes!  Yes, our mother used to sew a lot of our clothes as kids, and so when I look at this, I think, oh yeah, there's part of the blouse I wore for that 9th grade school picture...there's those ugly plaid pants my mom used to wear...there's that old skirt I made in 8th grade sewing class...there's my sister's vest, and so on.  Memories.  

Reason #2, of course, Netflix, and the never-ending episodes of HIMYM.

 

And finally... (for now)..

plenty of quality time to catch up with my best buds: Piggy and Teddy.

in awhile, crocodile.

Avalanche

This is what happens when you're sick in bed and you try to sit up by leaning against the window shade cuz you got no headboard behind your cheapo twin mattress:

(This really just happened!)
Highlight of my day..

Sick day

Hate being sick, especially so close to Christmas when there's so much to do, and I could use the money I'd be earning at work tonight...if I weren't sick.
Oh well.

man bun #2

Attention Target customers:  There has been an official manbun sighting in the main aisle near the checkouts.  

I know, I know, I'm silly,  I don't know why I'm so fascinated by these quirky pseudo-masculine hairdos, but I just know that one day these things will be so fun to look back on...

..kind of like looking at old history books and laughing at the funny white wigs George Washington and his bruhs used to wear.

This particular man bun was more in the genre of a girl's "messy bun", as it was quite messy, and unlike my last sighting, this one was not an all-in affair; the rest of his hair was hanging down like a much shorter, guy version of an Ariana Grande ponytail.

till next time....keep your camera ready, and keep watching for those manbuns!!!

just a mommy moment

in the craziness of being a mom, sometimes i just need to stop and appreciate the small moments of fun and sweetness.  like today.  between dishes, laundry, shuttling one kid to a friend's house and leaving the door open for the other kid and his neighbor friends to come and go, baking stuff, etc, etc, i never had time for a shower. or even to get out of my pajamas.  no big deal.  it happens all the time.  so when i finally go and try to sneak in a shower at  4 pm while the little boys are out playing in the backyard, i am not quite quick enough, for as feared, i get this little knock-knock on the bathroom door:  "mommy, can we have a snack? can we have some drinks?"  Soooooooo i have to quick throw something on and race downstairs before the little guys make a huge mess of the kitchen.  

this is "something":

just makes me laugh, how i can go downstairs like this, and with these guys still so young, they don't give me a second look as i hand out the juice pouches and cookies.  in a few short years, when they've become budding young men, i don't think i could do this.

sigh. gotta appreciate kids while they're young.

just a speck along the mommy memory lane.

Shrinky dinks

   

Not sure why psychiatrists, psychotherapists and their kin got the nickname "shrinks". I suppose it's assumed that it's a mind-shrinking process that the patient, or client, as I prefer to say, undergoes during treatment. I disagree. I feel it's just the opposite of being shrunk, it's becoming decompressed. Like an inflatable life raft that automatically inflates on its own upon impact. That's me.  Shrunk for years in the first aid department of a jet plane fueled by dysfunctional gases, only to crash into a fighter plane that knocks me out, plummenting from 10,000 feet in the sky, crashing into the sea and nearly exploding upon its sudden impact and the sudden mass decompression that takes place upon tasting the fresh big air and ocean.  (ok that was a weird analogy, but whatever..)

And this is just a shot of the bookshelf in my therapist's waiting room, showcased with this hot cup of earl gray tea, which i prepared for myself, in the usual fashion before my session. 

I post this on "everyday" because..it's not going any deeper.  not today. Got too much to think about. big decisions.  confusing events.  loose ends.  

Went into this session thinking i had my game plan all set out, but then she has to go and dig things up i didn't want to talk about.  icky things. painful things. embarrassing things. not that these things will change the outcome, but may re-direct things, but hopefully in a good way.  so that there's healing along the way.  

no, i'm not shrunk. again, just the opposite. plans stretched, mind wobbling like it just got out of a medievial torture brain-stretching machine.  

and the best remedy for a wobbly brain?

hand over the red and green box.

thanks for the casual chat. see ya.

Man bun

Whilst killing time before my Body Combat class...I ventured into trader joes for some raw almonds and lo and behold what didst I see-eth but this beautiful artifact of our times, the highly heralded Man Bun!!! THIS, my friend, is what I shall show my kids one day when they once again try to taunt me with the ridiculous fads of my beloved 80s era!! Ha! Now how did he do this? Hmm, if I could only grow a beard as well.......

Let's take a closer look...

  

               


                     aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand you're welcome.

typical request

Today i learned how to screenshot a text.  I tried it out on the usual message I got from my daughter back home, while I was leaving the gym...as usual, she's begging for me to bring her a treat from Starbucks:

So natch, being the good sweet mommy that I am, I obliged.

Happy Thursday, y'all!

creature comforts

When all else fails...and nothing in life is going right...
there are a few small things that still satisfy the soul..


                                             like, sugary, buttery circus animal cookies
                                       and a bottle of el cheapo, two-buck-chuck cabernet.

..had some fun with this..

.........................and a few more oddities that i found pleasure in capturing this november.........

                                    like, 2 warm cuddly sleepy cats, curled up on my guitar case...          
                         

                                  ..........warm bootie slippers in a department store.....
                                        

...and the blurred sight of colorful leaves on a rainy sidewalk.

                       

when the big things in life have all turned upside down and they no longer give you pleasure,

you take note of the small things.  and give thanks.

thank you, Lord, and good night.

goofy selfie depository

so this is the kind of grotesqueness you'd see if i ever dared to snapchat:

                                    first of all, let me tell ya, coughing photos are the worst.  ever wonder what you really look like when you're having a coughing fit?   OMG, it's just awful!!!!! a video would be one thing, but a still shot?  oh my.  the horrid loss of control of all facial muscles, the look of pain... 

                                                       and to prove my point:

                                               ok this next one reminds me of an inside joke, had to be there, that goes like this:  (spoken in a deep voice, your voice booming inside your cupped hand which is placed over the hearer's ear, and you must make icky chewing sounds while you make it to make the person insane:)  "once there was a dog...who had a bone....and he began to KNAWWWW...and he KNAAAWWWWed, and he KNAAAAAWWWWed, and he KNAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWed.   (ok, like i said, you had to be there)
                                                       

and this next one, i have no caption for this.

           so there goes my chance of ever being taken seriously as an adult, forevermore.  oh well.

                  but there's hope!!  yes, i shall now try to redeem myself, to restore faith that i am not as far-gone into the loony tank as i may seem at times, here are a couple normal-ish selfies.

and that is all.  

(my poor kids have the weirdest mom EV-ER, seriously...)

Kitty beats

Malcolm had always dreamed of being a drummer one day..

drumming update

Colby had his 3rd drumming lesson yesterday.  It went well, he had fun, and his teacher ("Griffin") said that Colby is excellent at reading music and was able to read and play his whole lesson by reading the notes.  (proud mom moment, i helped him practice..)  He had been practicing a tricky new rhythm, which involved hitting the hi-hat, snare and bass drum all at once but on different counts. Of course we don't have any of those actual drums at home, so as usual, we improvised.

The biggest challenge: finding something to mimic a bass drum pedal.
The solution: Tinkertoys!!!  Here is my rendition of a bass drum pedal:



ok, maybe not so great.  I asked Griffin what we could use, and he suggested a drum pad kit, which isn't as loud as a real drum set (or as expensive), and was what he personally used for quite awhile before he got his own real set.

Here's one on Craigslist that could possibly become Colby's, we'll see...




A little nicer than my tinkertoys, i have to admit.

Till next time... keep that beat thumpin'....bah-dum-bum, CRASH!!

better than baseball

Colby's revised drum set, starting from the left:

2 tin cans = high hats

cream-colored, animal skin-covered ethnic drum = snare

black bucket = tom 1

large red bucket = bass drum (still trying to figure out how to make a bass drum pedal!)

orange plastic pumpkin with yellow ball on top = tom 2

metal pot lid hanging on stick stuck through plastic purple cone = crash cymbal (still rummaging through kitchen cupboards for an appropriate sounding ride cymbal)

So far Coly loves drumming!

Yesterday on the way home in the car, he says,
"Mommy, I love drumming better than baseball!  I actually get excited about going to lessons!"

Music to a mother's ears.

(Might have to start talking to Santa Claus about shoving some kind of REAL drum set down the chimney this year, we'll see.....)

new vine

pssst!!

fyi, no big deal, but i made another grocery store vine today; unfortunately, the new vine update now won't let me post to blogger.

so this link probably won't help you...

https://vine.co/feed

good luck. sorry.

Homemade mac n cheese!

Today when I asked my 12-year old daughter what she wanted for lunch, she said she loved the kind of mac n cheese you get in a restaurant, but not the kind that I made.  (meaning, of course, the blue and yellow box, aka kraft)

ok, so I'm always up for a challenge.. so I found a recipe and got to work on my first batch of real homemade macaroni n cheese.

First you boil the noodles according to package directions.

Then you melt the butter, stir in flour, salt, pepper, and slowly add the milk.

Stir until smooth and bubbly.  Almost done!

Ta da!  Now I may not be no Southern girl, but I think I can still make a mean pot of mac n cheese!!

Here's the recipe I followed:

• 8ounces elbow macaroni
• 1⁄4cup butter
• 1⁄4cup flour
• 1⁄2teaspoon salt
• 1dash black pepper
• 2cups milk
• 2cups shredded cheddar cheese or 8 ounces cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions.
2. In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat; stir in flour, salt and pepper; slowly add milk.
3. Cook and stir until bubbly.
4. Stir in cheese until melted.
5. Drain macaroni; add to cheese sauce; stir to coat.

****************************************************

ok, now the kids are begging me to join in their game of battleball on the stairsteps...with a TON of balls...how can i say no?  gotta go!!!!!!!!!!

tuesday pics

nothing much. just another day in the life.

starting with my boy's play date with his friend.

they're on track-out from year-round school, so they get to play while a lot of other kids start school this week.

anyway, here they are, battling it out with some boxing gloves. (one pair my own, the other an inflatable play type)

next random photo: a beetle i passed on my walk tonight.

y'know what i just LOVE?  finding a little guy like this on his back, his chubby little back, with all 6 legs kicking and squirming and he be like "help! i've fallen down and i can't get up!"

and so i come along and can't help teasing him a bit, but then i feel sorry for him and roll him over so he can waddle on his merry little way.

these next shots are of this guy's insane garden of exotic plants and flowers that completely take over his front yard.  he must be some kind of science geek, as he even has them labeled, with little tin plate markers giving their exact scientific name and genre name or whatever the word is, species, whatever. 

                           an orange tree?!!!

                                                                   that's all folks.