A Novel Weekend

(I see a striking resemblance, don't you?)

Wow, the weekend is over already. This one flew by! I got up early on Saturday and headed right for the gym before I changed my mind. I have no idea what possessed me, but I decided to check the fitness class schedule when I got there to see if there were any classes I could jump into at that time. Lo and behold, there was a class I could join that didn't seem too intimidating--it was called 'Coreboard'. I even had a few minutes to spare, so I hopped on the ol' Elipse machine to get my heart rate going, just in case it was a 'warm up before' class. Wow, that makes me sound like a hard-core exerciser...but really, I was just trying to decide if I really had the guts to potentially make a fool out of myself again in trying a class. Those of you readers who have been with me from the beginning may remember a post where I talked about starting a class and running out of it after about 10 minutes. Once they got past the 'grapevine' I was completely lost. 'Coreboard', though...this one sounded more like a strengthening class, tightening up the old 'core'--the center of your bod--not too much movement. (God forbid, in a fitness class!!)

Well...I really was clueless. The class began with those of us who showed up shlepping 'The Coreboard' from one room to another. Yes my friends, it turns out the ol' Coreboard ('ol apparently being this word of the day!) was indeed an apparatus! And a heavy one at that, I got started on my workout just getting that thing from point A to point B. Now I was really nervous. Not only was it an apparatus, which is normally not a good thing for me, but the damn thing moved. You have to balance on it while you are doing the exercises. Eeeek! But hey, I had gotten that far, I wasn't about to chicken out. Plus there were only 3 of us, so there was no flying out unnoticed like last time! Long story shorter and a few wobbles later, I actually was getting the hang of it and can honestly say I enjoyed that class! By the end I could actually lift one leg and kick it up in the air to about knee level, which was a feat, let me tell you. (at least for me. I may be a red belt in Tae Kwon Do, but I would never attempt above kick on that thing, like Coreboard Christy, there!) I am even planning on taking the class next Saturday. Yay me. I could tell it was good, too, because I am feeling new muscles today. This is an improvement in my workout routine, since, I have no routine. They say you are supposed to change things up every so often, you get a better workout that way. So, there it is. Now I have the Coreboard class!

After that I took Vivian to a friend's piano recital. I have to say, that was a sentimental moment. This girl invited a few other friends her age, and it was the sweetest thing to see them all listening so quietly and respectfully, generally interested in their friends' musical abilities. Believe you me, I have seen kids this age in a group together and they can get quite rowdy, and not always so respectful. I was thinking about the memories that this will make for the pianist, wondering if she even quite took that all in. I think that must be an adult thing.

Today started out with YET ANOTHER puppet show. Ol' Noah's gettin' real old. Today I did a really dumb thing...I took the teacher's suggestion and let the kids act out the show when I was done, using the props. I told them to be gentle, but alas--the props definitely took a beating. Poor Elvis-I-mean-Noah even needs a new mini-pad-I-mean-make-up remover pad-I-mean beard. All in the desperation of trying to come up with something for the kids to do in the extra time that always comes at the end of the show. I won't do THAT again! One more next week, and then we're done for a while. The next unit of learning is the 'Journey to the Cross". Char and I decided to skip that one, as it seemed like sort of a morbid story to re-enact with puppets. Kari and I (the *sniff* ol' Youth Director who has since left and is a friend of mine) laughed about how funny it would be to use Davey and Goliath (remember those guys? They are what started this whole puppet thing--Char and I used them in Vacation Bible School over the summer) to tell that lovely tale. Davey could be hanging up there on the crucifix and Goliath could be saying, "Hey, Davey, whatcha doin' up there?" in that dopey voice of his. We got a good laugh over that thought, but realized that it probably wouldn't go over too well with the kids. Nor the parents, for that matter! And No, this is not why Kari left our church--she just saves those inappropriate suggestions for me. Aren't I lucky?? :-) I sort of have that effect on people...!

THEN this afternoon we painted!!! We've needed to paint the living room for years. It still has the same old yellow color it had when we moved in 5 years ago. It's a nice color, but we were ready for change. Well, we didn't paint the whole thing yet, but we did start with one wall--dark brown! It looks really nice, I have to say. I haven't decided what we'll do with the other 3 walls yet, but definitely a lighter complimentary color. I love the brown, but a bit overwhelming for a whole room! Even one wall gives someone the thought of possibly being in Willy Wonka's Factory. (but hey, if all four walls means Johnny Depp will come walking in my living room at any moment, get me the paint brush!) Next will be the trim around the windows--probably a light cream color, kind of like it is now. Then I can decide what other color I want in the meantime. Can I just say how nice it is to have a husband that lets me do whatever I want?! Thank goodness we do have the same taste. I always wonder what people do who are complete opposites in that department. Don't all husbands know that the wives should always have the final say in such matters? Come to think about it, all of my friends husbands that I can think of right now do kind of let the wives do what they want. Tee hee. We know who's really in control. :-)

Okay, by the time you are done reading this post it will be NEXT weekend already. Whew! Whatever will the next week bring?

Ham and Challah!

A nice Friday, I must say. Not long after Vivian left for school, Sullivan and I headed over to my friend Darcie's to play. Sullivan and her 4 year old son Elliot have been friends for about, well, 4 years now. Amazing! Darcie's always got a cuppa on for her friend Suz, it's a good thing. She's the one I accosted one day on a walk with Sullivan, thank God she didn't think me a nut and decide never to call me. (well, she probably does think I'm a nut, which would probably be true, but somehow she still wants to hang out with me...go figure!) Darcie and her mother have taken on a sewing project for me--what angels! In the quest for the perfect duvet cover (oh no! another quest!) I of course ended up with something that is far from perfect. It was in the right price range and matched the room, that's about it. Oh, and it's kinda soft. So that's good. But I think the manufacturers put it in the wrong bag, I do believe the thing is a King size, verses the Queen that we need for our bed. Poor Coreman, somehow the comforter always ends up filling the cover on my side, (smart little duvet cover!) and all he gets is material to cover up with, and flimsy material at that. So Darcie said she would take her sewing machine to it and sew up some seams on each side so that it fits tighter in there. (I won't make any dirty comments, I promise.) This is so nice, I can NOT sew. I actually had a machine once--once--and vowed I never would again. I am not a person who can measure well and thread a bobbin. It's just not fun for me. So between playing at Darcie's and then taking a walk with Sullivan in the unseasonably balmy January afternoon, it was a full day.

Having recently bought a "Judaism for Dummies" book, I know that according to the Jews, tonight is the beginning of the Sabbath. Vivian has been extra fascinated with all things Jewish since my sister recently found some Jewish cousins that we never knew we had. She saw Fiddler on the Roof for the first time not long ago, and was wondering why the mother waved her hands over the candles after she lit them, and then covered her eyes--these things being done before the Sabbath meal. I had no idea, so I relied on the trusty Dummies book. Vivian got the grand idea that we needed to celebrate the Sabbath tonight. I thought I'd be a good half-Jew and try my luck at homemade Challah bread. I actually did make it once, years ago, and I think it turned out well...! I won't take a photo and post it, like Stephanie, because I would be appalled if she saw it. I mean, they turned out pretty tasty, (the recipe made 3 loaves!) but they sure didn't come out all perfectly braided and shiny like hers did. I just don't have much patience with bread-baking, I'm afraid. Plus I didn't get around to starting the things until like 4:00. But the un-perfect Challah fit the meal, which was ham--which of course is not exactly Jewish. Vivian was all set to light the candles at sundown and do the whole prayer. Of course I'm trying to get the damn bread to rise and figuring out what the heck I'm gonna do for dinner--who has time for candles?! I tell ya, I don't know how the Jews do it! Now pass me another slice of ham. I'm a good Jewthran.

Tortillas and Twats!

So Kim and I headed over to Stephanie's last night, where she was kind enough to invite us over for an amazing dinner of Tortilla Soup and then a meeting of the minds about this podcast thing. Well, true to our form, our minds certainly met, but there was more laughter than there was any work to be done! Oh man. It's amazing to me how we can get going. I laugh so hard I truly think my head is going to pop.


Kim brought up the reminder of After School Specials. If you are a product of the 70's, than you certainly know what I'm talking about. It's funny when you think about it--now experts are trying to draw the children away from the TV, but back in the 70's, man, it was a serious teaching tool!!! We'd come home from school, grab a bowl of ice cream or something, and plop right down to the Brady Bunch, or some After School Special. I can remember watching them, but I'll be darned if I can remember what they were about. Kim talked about a short movie she saw in school called "Cipher in the Snow". I guess this was actually a film that was shown in her grade school. The only movie I remember being shown in school at that age were those 'coming of age' movies--where the girls went in one room to watch a movie about our periods and the boys went off into another to watch a movie about...wha?! It's still a mystery! (if there are any boys out there that actually read this, please comment and tell me just WHAT the heck YOUR movie was about!) Maybe wet dreams?! Ha! Anyway, this 'Cipher' movie sounds pretty darn dark and depressing--a story of a kid who was basically a nobody at school, who other kids made fun of, and because of his loneliness he just collapsed in a snow bank one day and died. Huh. Pass the popcorn! Brought to you, by Brigham Young University, school o' Mormons. ! Of course movies like these are supposed to promote empathy from young kids, but in Kim's case she said all it did was make kids call other unfortunately dopey kids a 'cipher' when they passed them in the hallways. Nice.

Of course it didn't take us long to run with the dark humor, ourselves. I actually have no recollection of how it got to this lowly point, but before I knew it we were weak with laughter over our new title of the film, "Twat in the Snow". ! (somehow, though, I don't think that film will be made by the Mormons) What that had to do with a lonely child, I have no clue. Just our weird sense of humor with a few glasses of wine and one topic spilling into another. (yes, we were talking about twats, but saying that offensive (but oh so funny!) word is as far as I'll go on that one...you'll have to tune into our upcoming Podcast to hear more of that...tee hee!

I am paying for the fun today. Puffy-eyed and oh so sleepy! But it was well worth it, let me tell you!

'Tis I, the Metal Queen!

The internet is a strange and wonderful thing. One day you are a suburban mommy, the next you are a Metal Queen. I received a comment on this very blog from a woman telling me she is a big Lori Linstruth fan, and complimenting me on the new Warbride snippets. She told me she has a web site dedicated to women of metal, www.metalqueens.com. Imagine my surprise when I went to her site and there was the very photo of me that was on this blog a little while ago! (click on the 'news' link, and scroll down a bit) Whoa! Kinda cool. I'm thinking, though, if I was going to be put on some site called Metal Queens, I probably should have teased up my hair a bit more and put on some more lipstick for that picture!!! It's a bit weird to think some of those 'metal fans' out there may stumble upon this and be reading my day-to-day fodder on this thing...I mean, a person has her image to uphold. Dropping the kids off at school or making chili is not very metal. (well, I suppose chili could maybe be metal if I made it really spicey, or if I talked about really bad farts that occurred because of it...farts are pretty metal) Well, I guess I'm not quite at that national level to where I need to worry about my image anyway. But it sure is nice to be considered a Metal Queen. NICE! (that was for you, Lisa!) Now if only I could get everyone to bow down to me whenever I entered a room.

My Little Homeboy

Here's another photo of my boy, or I should say, my Homeboy. Check out that hand signal! Of course he had no clue what he was doing, I don't even remember him doing that when the photo was taken--but I think it's so hilarious how he totally looks like he's going to break into a rap! This photo was taken at Brookside, a resort up in northern Minnesota that we stayed at last summer. In fact, my history with Brookside is a really cool story....

When I was young, my best friend Gabi used to go to this Brookside resort every summer with her family. For a few of those summers, she invited me to go with them. I remember it was a long drive from Iowa City, her dad blasting opera in the car and singing along at the top of his lungs. (we cringed and decided we'd have to wait until we got there to listen to some REAL music....Shaun Cassidy!) We were so happy to finally get there--it was such an amazing place! I remember how we'd help bring things into the cabin, which was basically right on the lake surrounded by other cabins, and then we were gone. All week we had the freedom to run around and do whatever we wanted to do--which was often nothing! When we did want to do something, we could swim or tube in the lake, or take any of the vessels they had available out into the water, play putt putt golf, tennis, golf, swim in the indoor/outdoor pool, play in the arcade, play games and eat ice cream in the lodge. It was heaven. And of course there were always plenty of boys there--either the ones staying at the resort, or the ones working there. Talk about heaven! Kind of like Dirty Dancing without the fancy restaurant and the dancing. I have such fond memories of that place, with Gabi.

So! Fast forward about 20 years, and I meet Cory. He's from Park Rapids, a town up in northern Minnesota. On the first visit to his hometown, I casually mentioned that I wondered if maybe Brookside was somewhere around there--and Cory said that the resort was only about 12 miles from his house!!! It was so strange to think that there I was, dreaming about boys, and my future husband was right in the same town! Now of course, it sort of kills Cory to spend all of that money (and it ain't cheap!) to be at Brookside for a week, when really we could just stay at his Mom's house for free! But there's no Bingo night at Connie's, no lake outside your door, no sand...just not the same. (no offense to Connie, of course!) Somehow I talked Cory into spending a week there when Vivian was Sullivan's age, 4. We had a wonderful time and of course it meant so much to me to be back.

Fast forward 5 more years, and we were back at Brookside again. This time it was extra special, because we shared a cabin with Gabi and her family! Talk about full-circle. There we are with our own children, doing the same things she and I used to do. And it's just as amazing to be there now as it was when I was a child. Now even Cory brings it up more than I do, looking forward to meeting up with Gabi's family again this summer and making it our yearly tradition. It makes me so happy to think of how it will be a part of my children's memories, too, in even a stronger way.

There I go again, the picture of my little homeboy making me reminisce about fun times in warmer weather. I've gotta stop before I make myself crazy!!

Fungus Among Us

Having a digital camera is a wonderful thing, but there is a downside...at least in my case. It takes me FOREVER to print up any photos. Not having a roll that finishes and then sits around taking up space is just a little TOO convenient. So we finally uploaded something like 500 (not kidding!) photos to the Costco website and started the process. Then comes the fun of labeling all of them. In going through all of them, I came across this one of Sullivan amongst the mushrooms. I just love it! (Maybe it's a Lord of the Rings thing that makes it so endearing to me...Hobbits love mushrooms ) Ahhh, spring. I definitely have the fever already, and alas, it's only January!

Puppets and Podcasts

Another Sunday, another puppet show. It went well again, despite the rowdy bunch of 1st graders that we had. Whew! Other than that, a pretty laid-back day. Vivian, on the other hand, was out of control. Yesterday she spent the night at a friend's house and when Cory went to pick her up, the mother informed him that the girls went to sleep around 5:30 AM. !! Then today she had a birthday party at the bead store, which ended with lunch at the Dairy Queen next door. That girl has more of a social life than I do! Amazingly enough, she is not a zombie today. She's going to bed early, though, because this sort of thing catches up to her.

I spent some of the day working on the theme song to my upcoming Podcast. Or, I should say, OUR upcoming Podcast--meaning me and a couple of my fine peeps, Stephanie and Kim. Coreman came up with the idea of us doing one, and I ran with it. The premise will be 3 women that get together and gab for hours (of course, each individual Podcast won't be THAT long!)...what ever could we be talking about all of that time?! Sort of a sneak-peek into our world. (be afraid...be very afraid!) I thought we could just have topics to discuss, maybe sometimes bring in guests. Maybe make them talk about a random topic we pick, or something. Could be quite a hoot. I came up with a few names, but nothing really stuck until I came up with Feminine Hijinx. I'm out of control with the theme song (out of control, I'm noticing, being the phrase of the day!) ...writing double-entendre lyrics that have something to do with feminine products. Here they are, just in case you are interested...!

Feminine Hijinx
Come hang out at their pad!
Feminine Hijinx
They're spot on!
Just go with the flow, you can't say no to

Feminine Hijinx
Feminine Hijinx

If you're in luck
They might run amok
(or they might just say f---no!)
Feminine Hijinx!

That last line is sort of a tribute to Stephanie and the grief she has gotten from a couple of people about using swear-words on her blog. (Get over it, people! It's a dangerous world we live in!) So these lyrics are set to a sort of 50's-60's lounge swing sort of ditty, I must say, I am quite proud of it. I just got out the old midi keyboard and between that and the loops that are in Garage Band (the program used to record), I went to town. Fun! We are going to have way too much fun with this. I suppose we'll get started with it in a few weeks. Just another thing I can add to my schizophrenic life!!

No Stone Unturned

Did you hear the news story about William Shatner's kidney stone being sold for 25K? I guess the proceeds went to Habitat for Humanity, a very worthy cause. But the whole idea of that is hilarious to me. I mean, besides the obvious ridiculousness of it all, I've had the unfortunate experience of passing a kidney stone or two in my day, and the process of retrieving one is usually not so easy. To put it plainly, you've gotta pee through a strainer. I remember the first time I dealt with this immensely uncomfortable situation, afterwards I had to carry around this mini-colander of a thing with me and pee through it every time. At the time Cory and I had the coffee shop, the Atomic Grind in Missoula, Montana, and so I was there all day behind the counter. It was pretty embarrassing to have to try to smuggle that strainer out with me into the bathroom every time I had to go! How appetizing! "Yeah, I'll get your coffee for you in a minute, I've gotta go strain my PEE..." ! And if you are lucky enough to 'catch the stone', it's unbelievable how miniscule they are. I'm not even sure to this day if I really got one or not. We're talking, like a grain of sand. How in the world can a grain of sand cause so much trouble?! Amazing. But the thought of William Shatner sifting through his little colander to find a tiny grain of sand, and then, what? Putting it in a little vial or something? Totally gross!

It reminds me of this documentary I watched, years ago, about people obsessed with Elvis. (who, me?! I've actually never been obsessed with Elvis the Man, only Elvis the Parody) I would never see Elvis' face in a potato, and if I did I certainly wouldn't make a velvet pillow to place it on and put it on display. (I'd just try to sell it on ebay!) There was a woman who claimed to have Elvis' toenail--she said she had been to Graceland and had found a toenail embedded in the shag carpeting of the Jungle Room. I wonder how in the world she knew it was Elvis'?? I mean, did it ever occur to her that it's probably been vacuumed since the 1970's, and could very well be that some body guard got bored and decided to do some personal hygiene?? Then there was another woman who supposedly had Elvis' wart that taken off of his hand when he entered the army. People are so weird. I mean, I can honestly say I would not want Orlando Bloom's toenail or wart. Or his kidney stone, for that matter.

The second round of kidney stone torture I went through, I decided that I had to try to have some sort of fun with it or I would lose my mind. I actually prayed to catch the thing in my colander, so I could bottle it up and name it The Arkenstone, a one-of-a-kind rare and beautiful gem stone written about in The Hobbit. Alas, though, it ws not to be. Now, my OWN kidney stone I would wear around my neck and proudly display. William Shatner's? Nah. Let's hope he doesn't try to auction off a Klingon next....!

Thankful!

I had my doubts at first, but Tuesday ended up being a very nice day. Any day you aren't dealing with barf is a good day, in my book. The night before Vivian was saying she wasn't feeling well...to the point where she was in her usual sick bay (on the couch, in front of that ever-distracting brain-drainer, the TV) crying and moaning with a wastebasket nearby. If anyone knows me, they know I don't do well with vomit. I mean, most people (I would assume!) think puking is pretty gross, that's no surprise. But the sight and/or sound and/or smell will literally send me running in the other direction--even if it's my very own beloved child doing it. I'd say it's a bonafide phobia. I hate having that phobia. I mean, let's face it--we all have to deal with it now and then, there's no getting away from it. Maybe that's why it bugs me so much. (well, besides the fact that everything about it is, like, totally gross!) It's very much an out-of-control sort of thing. I'm the first to admit I like to be IN CONTROL. I don't exactly do well with that 'Let Go, Let God' thing. Heck, I'm still trying to figure the latter part of THAT out. But anyway, for whatever reason, it was all a false alarm. I let Vivian stay home from school yesterday, (I know, I'm such a sucker...but I still have bitter feelings about the time I was forced to go to school feeling icky and ended up barfing all over the teachers shoes!) and this morning she's bouncing off the walls. Wonder what that was all about?!

But enough on that subject! (hope you weren't eating!) To cap off a wonderfully normal day, that evening I got to go out for coffee with my friend Lisa. Like Darcie, who I accosted on the sidewalk in front of her house whilst on a walk with Sullivan some 4 years ago and then stalked until she agreed to play with us, Lisa I coerced into conversation at the park, where we were both at with our little guys. You know how some people are just approachable, and you know you are going to like them right away? Lisa's one of those. So a conversation turned into an email, and the email turned into a play date for the boys, and then Lisa was stuck with me. Last night was the first time we actually managed to get together without the kids--woo hoo! A span of uninterrupted chat-time! Once again I am reminded of just how lucky I am to have great friends in my life. I learned the hard way that friendships are NOT something you can control--it's pretty surprising when a friend you've had for 7 years suddenly announces out of the clear blue sky that her spirit guides have told her that you need to take time apart from each other because you are 'keeping yourselves from your true potentials'. huh?! You think someone is going to be there as you grow old to share your complaints about hemorroids and gassy husbands over coffee, but, not necessarily. They could be taken over by aliens. Or spirit guides. So I am truly grateful for the friends that I have and I hope never to take advantage of the advantage I have of having dear friends. (and if you follwed me on that one, you are a dear friend indeed!)

So, onward to Wednesday--being thankful for friends who keep it real, and no barf!

A Happy (?) Birthday to MLK

Martin Luther King's birthday always makes me a bit depressed. What an amazing man he was, and what an amazing dream he had...if only we were closer to that dream. I feel like we, as a society, like to think we are close, but I for one think we have a LONG way to go. What will it take to make it a reality?? I have no clue. How do you stop generations of ignorance from breeding ignorance yet again? I know I can try to do my part by raising my kids in the most color-blind way as possible, but it just doesn't feel like it's enough. Besides health and general happiness, of course, more than anything I want my kids to have a tolerance for all kinds of people from all walks of life. No, not just to tolerate, but to embrace. Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King Jr. I hope to God someday your dream will come true.

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!...."

"And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual,

"Free at last, free at last.

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last." "

Weekend Skills

Ahh, the weekend. Kicked off by a Friday night gourmet dinner party at Bruggeman's. As I've mentioned before, dinner with this crew is always fun. We try to meet monthly, but sometimes getting the schedules of 4 couples to jive makes that impossible. A couple more years, and the Coreman and I won't need a babysitter anymore! Vivian will be able to be here alone, and watch Sullivan. Now THAT will be nice. As it is, we couldn't find a sitter last night so Cory brought them separately and then had to leave early. I made a cheese fondue, it turned out pretty amazing. Lucky for me Dawn just happened to have some extra Gruyere in her fridge--who just eats that stinky cheese on a daily basis? That is some seriously stinky cheese!--because for whatever reason, I seemed to have too much wine and not enough cheese in the mix. With the addition of the extra, though, it turned out perfect, and all was not lost! MMM! I'm starting to sound like my friend Stephanie, talking about food...of course her description would be much more poetic and gourmand--she probably doesn't call cheese 'stinky'. She'd probably say it has a piquant pungent aroma, or something like that. What do you say, Steph?!

Saturday morning started with me being awoken by Sullivan at 7:00, as usual. Oh, to be able to sleep in on a Saturday morning again, like old times. Hopefully as Sullivan gets older he'll sleep in longer. It's hard to believe there was a time where Vivian woke up at 5:00 AM--now I can't get her out of bed! I donned my workout attire and left for Kim's house by 9:00--she wanted to try out the club so I figured, hey, I'll go into trainer mode and get her going on a workout! That Kim is a bad influence, I tell ya. She already had me breaking the law so early in the morn--as I checked in I reported to the lady at the desk that I had a guest with me, and she told us to go to yet another desk to make it all official. Well, the line was long, and we waited for a couple of minutes. Then Kim gets that sneaky gleam in her eye and says, "C'mon, let's just go in!" At first I didn't even know what she was talking about, surely she didn't want to just...go in...without...telling anyone?! The Good Girl in me was having a hard time with the thought. But lo and behold, the Rocker Chick took over and we just marched on in, no one the wiser. Kim thinks Stephanie and I are good for her because we take her out of her comfort level...well, Kim brings out the Bad Girl in me! I tell you, sneaking into a club, that is B. A. D. And I'm a bad, bad girl.

So we had a pretty good workout, I was crackin' the whip. I must have been pretty successful, because I do believe at one point on the floor Kim called me the Exercise Bitch. Nice! There is something satisfying about seeing your friends sweat under your command. Mwah ah ah ah ahhh! Both needing iPod motivation on our Elipse machines, I realized while we were huffing and puffing away on those that it's probably the longest time that Kim and I have spent together without talking. Well, except of course for the time we went to the latest Harry Potter movie with Stephanie, and all of the kids. The only spoken words then were when Kim was explaining the Lowry's seasoning salt she had pulled out of her purse and was proceeding to spice up her popcorn with, or us 3 moms commenting on the brash inappropriateness of the bathtub scene that involved Harry and Moaning Myrtle.

I have no clue what the rest of Saturday will bring, but I'm gearing up for my big puppet show tomorrow during Sunday School at choich. It will be the debut of "The Builder and the Worrier", a script based on that fresh and titillating story of Noah and the Ark. I mean, no one's heard THAT one before. ! This story is supposed to be told by Noah's wife, who totally sounds like a Jewish mother. "I worried!" So, I'm going with that. At one point there is supposed to be food props, showing them putting the food on the ark--and of course they had to have SPAM. Noah will be played by none other than Elvis Presley himself--or at least, the Barbie version of Elvis. (see above photo!) I had fun getting him all duded up in the costume of the day, complete with white beard and hair made out of a make-up remover cotton pad. What was really great about that, was that Char--my puppet partner in crime--thought I used a mini-pad. Even better, now why didn't I think of that?! I love Noah's new look complete with black leather boots. Very hip, very now. The kids may not get this humor I am attempting, but I have to do it for my own sanity. It's the only way I can get through Noah and the Ark, or any of those bible stories if you want to know the truth. Life's too short to be serious about things like morals and values and the way you are supposed to live your life. So I figure now I can put 'puppeteer' on a resume, if I ever get back into the work world. Now that's a skill. As Napoleon would say, you gotta have skills! I think Napoleon would be impressed...fondue maker, personal trainer, and puppeteer all in one weekend.

Case and Point!!!!

Remember my previous rant about Jury Duty, and my belief that if you are rich and famous our supposedly unbiased justice system is anything but unbiased and just? Well! Take a look at this article about Ahhhnold, who was driving his motorcycle without a license, with his son in a sidecar beside him, who got into an accident with another car--but didn't get a ticket. Oh, there are supposedly all of these loopholes which I'm sure he was happy to take advantage of that made his poor judgement 'legal'. And actually, it wasn't even poor judgement. It was just plain stupidity. A man who's job it is to know the law 'just didn't think about' the fact that you need a license to drive a motorcycle. I would love to know what would have happened if the person in the other vehicle was actually hurt. Or if it would have been Joe Blow. I'm sure Joe would have ended up with a ticket. Ah well, blame it on the tumor in Ahhhnold's head. "It's not a tuuuumah!"

SNIPPETS!

It's official! Go to the Warbride web site click on the 'music' link, and you'll get to hear sound clips of the band! As I said in a previous post, it's a long time coming, so it's quite satisfying to have the music 'live' and out there for people to hear. Feel free to sign the guestbook or get on the forum when you're there, and tell us what you think! Our poor web site has been so deadly the past year I swear I could hear crickets chirping whenever I went there. It will be good to have some life into it again!

Lori leaves for her tour on Friday. It's hard to believe that time has come already! I'm so excited for her, I know she's going to have an amazing time. She's started up a blog that I'm sure will be a hoot to read--all of those sordid on-the-road band stories! She'll be at Arjen's rehearsing for a couple of weeks before they actually hit the road.

My husband is the cutest. He may even be more excited about our progress that I am. :-) He's telling everyone he knows to go to my site, and is sending out boatloads of emails to anyone who will listen to get them to pay attention. He's been hitting the Star and Trib, band forums, even some guy on ESPN who is always talking about new music. Now, if we could just figure out how to get it to Peter Jackson...my dream is to get him, or someone like him, to use our music for a soundtrack.

So! It has begun. Very fun. BANGETH THY HEAD!

Jury Doody

I'm sorry, but I have a bad attitude about Jury Duty. Especially when I am called to do it. Especially when this is the THIRD TIME I've gotten one of those stinkin' letters. Juty Duty!!!!!

The first time was back in LA, and I think I was totally naive at that time and had no clue what that letter even was. I don't think it was until I had moved and thought back on it that I realized it was actually a summons. Of course at the time I just tossed it aside with the other junk mail and ignored it completely. I have to laugh thinking of, for whatever reason, I'd be back in LA and end up getting arrested for evading my patriotic duty. Of all the bad things I've done in my past, that's what I'd be arrested for. I suppose any arrest is pretty rock and roll, though, and any anti-American one especially. Hmmm.

So that was number one. The second time I received the bad news was about 7 years ago, when Vivian was just a young babe and Sullivan wasn't even an idea. At that time we barely knew anyone in town, didn't have any family close by (like now!) and quite frankly it just wasn't convenient for a stay-at-home-Mom to try to come up with a last-minute place for her child every day for 2 weeks straight. (uh...also like now!) At that time, the duty consisted of reporting to a room at the court house downtown Minneapolis and sitting with a bunch of other unlucky saps, all grumbling and complaining along with me about being there. I suppose that part was kind of fun--there is a sort of camaraderie when a group of people are all held together against their will, I guess. We all sat around big round tables, swapping stories and playing poker for Triscuits. Every hour or so, a professional-looking person would come into the room and everyone would listen with bated breath as the person read from a clipboard the unlucky names that were to go with them to be questioned for a case. Some people came back up to the room, some--the ones who were chosen to be on the case--were not.

There was a person closed up in a little office in the front of the room who's sole job was to listen to complainers like me trying to get out of jury duty. As soon as I could I joined the line of people outside her door. I told her my sob story and this is the deal she gave me: I had to stay the rest of the day. If I got chosen for a case, after being questioned, then I needed to serve the duration of that case and then I would be done. (I believe if others were on a case that was done before their 2 week stint, they had to get back in the pool for maybe another case) If I didn't get chosen, I could go home and that would be that. Then my name would be off the list for a certain number of years (I do believe it was...SEVEN...!) until I could 'possibly' be called again. (we'll come back to this point later!!)

So of course all day I was sweating. Every time that person with the clip board came into the room I would hold my breath, convinced my name would be coming out of their mouth. The last group was called at 3:15--we were to be let out at 3:30--and I thought for sure that would be my time...but I totally lucked out! Man, I never felt such freedom as I did that day on my way home on bus #12. (of course you can't DRIVE down to the courthouse, because the entire whopping $30 they give you to do your civic duty goes right back to the city in parking fees...! A consipiracy, I'm sure!!!)

So, isn't that funny that just about SEVEN YEARS LATER I mysteriously get another Jury Duty summons? That later clearly states that I was chosen by random. Huh, what a funny coincidence!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now this is a whole different ball game, and I'm a little perplexed. Now I am on call for an entire year, starting September 1st of this year. (gee, I have 9 months to prepare...?!) I guess if I'm called sometime during that year, I'll be on call again for 2 months. It's very confusing. All I know is, starting in September, I am going to jump everytime the phone rings. Caller ID may very well be my very best friend. (although I'm sure they've thought of this ploy, and have a number that won't pop up on my screen!) Why me?!

Okay, I understand why there needs to be such a thing, and why they have to call in a group of people at random. But do they have to make it so darn inconvenient?! I know it's still hard for people who have full time jobs, but at least their work has to let them go, and they already have daycare lined up. What's a stay-at-home mommy supposed to do?? I remember before they were so laissez-faire about the kid thing, making it sound like I can just find a facility to throw my kid in for a couple of weeks. Not only is it not that easy, but isn't that why I stay at home?? To avoid daycare? And if I did need to find daycare, I wouldn't just desperately put my child in the first place that had an opening. And for me, it won't be a matter of daycare, it will be a matter of someone meeting my child off the bus and then being able to stay here with him, and/or her, until I get home. Arg.

And the whole thing seems to be pretty un-democratic to me, which I find very ironic. I don't feel like I'm in America when I'm told I have to show up somewhere and do something whether I like it or not, or I'll be arrested. I would be much happier about this if I could go in, tell these people it would be much easier for me to even wait 2 more years until Sullivan is in school full-time and have them be understanding of that. I remember the first time, talking to a woman who was still breast-feeding an infant and they wouldn't let her off. Sure makes you want to take off your hat and start marching to "It's a Grand Old Flag", doesn't it?! But then again, we do live in a country that spends more money on war than it does on education and the welfare of it's citizens. So what would I expect?! I know we live very priveliged lives here in America, and I am grateful for it. But you can't tell me that our justice system is completely unbiased. I have 2 letters for you...O and J.

So, there it is. There is my rant about being called for Jury Duty. At random. Again. Last night at coffee my friend Sarah casually pointed out to me how for the year I turn 40, I'll be on call for Jury Duty. As if 40 isn't bad enough! GRIEF!

Progress!!!

There is no better feeling--well, other than a good night's sleep, of course!--than finishing something you've started. Or at least, noticing you are making big progress. Yesterday, in the studio, I put the last finishing touch on the final Warbride song that will be uploaded as a 'snippet' on our web site! Lori is leaving for tour on Friday for a month, (*sob!*) and we wanted to get some music out there for people to hear before she did so. I can't tell you what a milestone it was, to hear all 5 snippets playing over our sound system, one after another! I couldn't help but get misty-eyed, at the recognition of a job well done (if I do say so myself...and I do!). I also think I was feeling a bit sentimental, having the last song be "Nevermore", a song which we've re-written that really was the Warbride anthem back in the day. It's amazing to me to think how far we've come. I definitely never dreamed I'd be doing something like this again now!!!

So I will let you know when the minute-long sound bites are available for your listening pleasure! (at least, let's hope 'pleasure'!) It should be in the next few days! Then when Lori gets back from tour we'll be back at it, hopefully finishing the songs in a more timely manner so we can actually get them out there for real! Wahoo!

Notify the Press!

Today I actually had a positive IKEA experience!!! We decided to head over there, fools that we were, on this sunny Saturday afternoon. (the sun finally comes out after like, a month, and what do we do? Head to the bowels of IKEA...?!) There were a few more things that we needed to finish outfitting Sullivan's room. I held my breath as I ascended the escalator--Cory even informed me that I was not allowed to take any short-cuts, I had to follow the arrows on the floor with the rest of the cattle, so we could have the true IKEA Experience. I made it through unscathed, and what's most amazing, is everything we saw that we wanted they ACTUALLY HAD IN STOCK. What's absolutely incredible is a table they said was out of stock, actually was IN stock after all! (call me the Eternal Optimist, I decided to check anyway) Woo hoo! So now we just need to figure out stuff for the walls, eventually get matching comforters for the bunks, finishing touches here and there.

Now Sullivan's room is looking pretty darn cute. At least Mom and Dad are happy about it...the whole time we were moving things out and setting the new stuff up, my poor son-- who doesn't do well with change-- was having a fit. But of course we all know that having a cool room is not about him, it's about me. I'm sure he'll grow to appreciate it...

The Beautiful Pain of Da Brows

The Before!
The After!

In defense of what both my husband and my guitar player do not understand, I have decided to let you witness the amazing difference that a Brow Wax can make. (that's just the kind of person I am--humiliating myself for the good of woman-kind)So fortunate me has never exactly had a uni-brow or anything, but ever since I decided, on a whim, to get the ol' brows waxed about 2 years go for the first time, one stray hair comes in and I'm feeling like Bush Woman. Let's face it--I have very dark hair. Those stray babies show. I even have stray hairs--gulp--ABOVE my eyebrows. ! It's funny, too, how when you get the waxing done it just looks fabulous, for quite a while. Then you go to bed and one morning you wake up--and in the words of Emeril, BAM! The hairs have myseriously grown back overnight, and no amount of random plucking is going to get them back to their just-waxed glory. I don't care what anyone says, you can NOT keep up with it yourself. Once you go wax, you never go back. And the weird thing is, I have always been a total wimp when it comes to pain, but I actually relish that ripping feeling when they tear off the wax in one fell swoop. It is so satisfying! Then I leave there with screaming red welts around the brow area, but it's all worth it. I just can't plan on going anywhere after the treatment. One time I made the mistake of scheduling a wax in the gym salon right before my new membership train-in. I felt like an idiot, trying in vain to comb my bangs down as low as I could to cover it up. Oh well, I'm sure I just blended in with all of the other weirdos at the gym.

So! If there is anyone out there contemplating a brow wax, take it from me...it is well worth it and, who knows, you may even enjoy it??

Happy New Year!

Well then. It is now 2006. Hard to believe! It just seems so...George Orwell, or something. I must be growing up, because this year I was actually able to make it to midnight. I have to say, I don't have any new year's resolutions. Do people really do those things, and stick to them?? I guess when there's nothing to improve on, what do you need to resolve?? I mean, heck, since I'm lookin' like Eva Longoria, what more to life is there???

And speaking of that--I was catching up on Planet Dan's blog (which I highly recommend reading, if you haven't checked it out already...you can click on the link on the lower right of this web page!) and I came across this web site--myheritage.com-- where he scanned his photo and they came up with a database of celebrities that he looked most like. Well, feeling pretty good about the Eva thing, I thought I'd give it a try. I suppose in the grand scheme of things, it came out pretty well. Sad to say, Eva was not listed. But the first person that popped up was Neve Campbell. Okay, not so bad. Number two, however, was Nancy Sinatra. Yikes! Have you seen her lately?! Please don't tell me I look like some broad that has horrible plastic surgery! Another scary one was Liza Minelli. Double yikes. But she was last on the list, so, I guess it could be worse. What's really bizarre is both Daniel Radcliffe, aka Harry Potter, and JK Rowling, aka the author of the Harry Potter books, were both on my list. What does that mean? That JK Rowling bases her book on a character that looks just like her?! Weird. Then they listed Janet Jackson. Hmmmm. Vivian entered her photo and she got some old, old man with a huge white mustache--the photo itself looked like it was from the 1920's, and I sure didn't know who the dude was. So, it can always be worse....

I guess one of my 2006 resolutions is to be grateful I don't really look like Nancy Sinatra quite yet. Or Liza Minelli. And try to get back into a gym routine before I start looking like Elizabeth Taylor.