If You Really Want to Make Me Mad

Have you ever had this happen? You are going along thinking everything in your life at the moment is going well just to find out that someone/friend is mad at you for something you did months ago? (is that a girl or a boy MAD monkey??? Can't tell!)

I have had this come up at various times in my life and it never ceases to amaze me. Why do these so-called friends never just ask me at the time, "Were you serious?" or "When you said BLANK this is how it made me feel." Give me the opportunity to either explain or apologize. Don't nurse a grudge for months!

I have a sharp tongue. My TRUE friends know that I would never, ever do anything to knowingly hurt them. I have had some of my closest friends since high school so I don't feel that all the fault lies with me. But I am willing to share the load and would totally apologize and assure someone I was kidding or whatever.

What I have noticed is that there are people out there in the world who are WAITING for some one to look at them wrong, or say something just the wrong way so they can be all overly-sensitive about it and then hold it in for months before they ever say anything.

I do not have time for these people. If you want to be that sensitive then please do it around someone else. I will only disappoint you eventually.

I had this happen recently and it totally stunned me. The person who "thinks I am mad at her" is a person with an equally quick sense of humor and sarcastic. She is the last person I would think would take something purposely the wrong way. I refuse to acknowledge it and even the evening that it happened ( I was joking AND there was wine involved) another person told her that I was just kidding.

It took several months of her avoiding me and giving me the cold shoulder before I ever even noticed (see how clueless I am!) and then I asked someone else what the deal was. Boom. Got my answer and I was stunned.

Fun weekend at the Frio. Except for the whole moth migration/invasion. My car was disgustingly covered with moth guts. We were staying out in the country and yes, a Longhorn cow even got into our yard. I am trying to post a pic but for some reason it isn't uploading. Just imagine, the hubs waving a red plastic dinner plate at the cow in his attempt to be a matador and drive it out of the gate.

Floatin'

Me, an inner tube and a beer. That will be my weekend. Floating down the Frio River. I will post pics if they are not too incriminating.

I need a relaxing weekend. After the week I had AND putting my house on the market. Can you say "Let's pack up all the crap, paint a bedroom and hallway and clean in one night"! Then yes, we are ready to sell the house.

Have a FUNtastic weekend.

Funeral

A funeral for a 12 year old boy just seems wrong. Especially when he is cute, smart, athletic and from a wonderful family. Tragic is the only word that comes to mind.

When I picked up my son (who scarily mirrors the boy who died) from camp last Saturday, he cried for 20 minutes and kept saying, "Jonny was a good kid." I agreed and cried right along with him. Jonny WAS a good kid. They were all good kids. They just made a dumb choice and had a night of bad luck.

When they brought the mom into the funeral today she couldn't even walk on her own. She cried and sobbed for all to hear. As one friend put it, "She is a broken woman." This is a woman with Christian faith to fall back on and six other children.

I took lunch on Saturday to the other family of the boy who was actually driving and took the truck. They looked shell-shocked but were very sweet and grateful.

What scares me is this. I would be the mom today if something happened to one of my kids. I would be the one unable to walk, function, eat or anything. It frightens me. I have faith too but sometimes that isn't enough. At least at first. You can drive yourself crazy asking why.

Here's my theory. We are all drops in a big bucket. God sees the whole bucket. We don't. The little drops don't make sense when you can't see the big picture or the whole bucket. You've got to stop trying and that's where faith comes in. Things don't make sense when you look at them from where we are.

This has been a crappy, shitty summer. First, my oldest goes to basic training which means I don't see him for 3 months. Then his Biological Sperm Donor decides to show up in his life again. Then my Dad has a heart episode. Then my neighbor/friend has to have a triple bypass. Then the kids in my neighborhood and the whole stealing the truck thing AND now I just had a teacher from the middle school (in which I will be President of the PTO this year) died two days ago of an annurysm. She has taught there forever and one of her boys graduated with my oldest. I have worked with her on a several events because of this.

My heart is torn for so many people this summer. I am ready for this little black rain cloud to move on.

Summer Tragedy

Kids out of school. Too much time on their hands. Not enough supervision. Just bad luck.

Last night, a kid from my neighborhood took his Dad's truck, picked up four of his friends at 2 am, and they went driving around. All of the kids were ages 11 - 13. They hit a tree and two 12 year boys died (one was the driver).

The one boy was cute and from a really nice family. His mom used to be the crossing guard at the elementary and I have gone on scrapbooking retreats with her. The boy did TaiKwonDo and was some advanced level. So much promise. None of these were "bad" kids.

You wonder how it came about. Who had the idea? Why did the others go along?

My 13 year old is at summer camp this week. I will get to give him the news on Saturday. He knows these kids although none were his close friends.

I rode my bike back to where it happened (my new cardio workout cuz the bad feets). It happened right in the back of my neighborhood. The truck hit a tree. The news channel was out there preparing to go live with the 11 am news. At this point I still didn't know who the kids were. The pine tree they hit was probably 60-70 Ft. tall. One of the girls had to medi-flighted out. I found out who she was just a little while ago. Her family and mine all moved here with the same company from Louisiana 9 years ago. So I know that family too.

Of course, I am thinking as a parent. You invest your whole self into these children but you can't tie them up and never let them see the light of day. It just comes down to that Life is a crap shoot. And, sometimes your roll comes up snake eyes.

Another excuse not to...

Went to the doctor yesterday. I felt kinda stupid doing so but I went ahead and did it. I made the appointment because my feet hurt. Really hurt. Especially first thing in the morning, my feet hit the floor and I limp downstairs. And, then throughout the day, if I sit down for any length of time and go to get back up I would groan and moan loudly. For all around me to hear. I live with four men (three right now) so really....how much sympathy do you think I really get??? NOT ENOUGH!

So, I went to the doctor and discovered that I have Plantar's Fasciitis (Fash-ee-itis). There is a commercial right now where the little boy is reading a medical journal and the mother is trying to pronounce the word and he says it. That's what I have. I can't ever remember how to say it either and always want to say Plantar's Fashionista. Which would be a whole other disease of A Woman with Really Awesome and Amazing Shoes. That disease I do not have. But I am working on that one.

No, the picture is not of my feet or I would have to be doing way more than cutting back on the running and boosting the ibuprofen. I just liked that picture. Especially on hot days now, when you take your shoes off and go aaaahhhhhhh!!! That is what my feet FEEL like sometimes.

The good news is it is an overuse injury and can be healed. The bad news is I have to stop running. Especially on the road. My fat cells are already coniving on who gets to explode first, and where. "I get her belly!" "No, I get to do her chin!!"

Oh well, for the next three weeks I will be riding my bike and swimming for cardio. That's all for now, I gotta go put my feet up. Literally.

Family Reunion. Those two words either send shivers up your spine or tingles of joy. Luckily for me, its the tingles.

One year ago, I started planning a family reunion for my immediate family, and my brothers and their family units, plus the parents. I was sick and tired of everyone TALKING about how much fun it would be to get together for a vacation (that wasn't Thanksgiving or Christmas) but no one would plan it.

Okay, its a curse. I am a planner. I admit it and embrace it. So, I set out to plan a reunion. I picked a location that would enable my parents to get there without having to go through any major city or thoroughfares. I wasn't able to find a way that didn't involve interstate highways but if you charted your course around "rush hour" then you were fine.

I found a small lake with cabins. Each family had their own. Plenty of privacy. So, the cabins were built circa 1960? Kitchenette in this case meant two burners and a teensy fridge. Oh, and a sink. (don't forget the spiders and roaches - all a part of the flora and fauna) I had even sent out a menu for the weekend and what each family should bring for each meal. Since it turned out there were no ovens, I had to make "baked beans" via a cook top. It worked and my "slow-cooked" beans were ready in 20 minutes.

Of course, we picked a weekend with the biggest heat wave ever! Thank God there was a swimming beach. Yes, it was a mudhole in Oklahomabut you know what? When it tops 100 you will swim in a pothole.

Saturday night I dubbed "Luau Night". Here I am with my two boys (boy #3 is still at basic training in Georgia) . That thing in the foreground is Kipper's tail. Small dogs were allowed in the cabins. (ask Kipper what she did to the mini-blinds in our cabin!! She is a very bad dog and I am sure small dogs will be banned in the future!).

We all decided against cooking out Saturday night since we were calculating the heat factor standing over a grill (500-600 degrees????) so we went to a hut up the road dubbed "Catfish Cabin." NOTE TO ALL: Do not order a salad at a place that specializes in "all you can eat fried catfish." Then we came back and luau'd with s'mores and Hawaiian music.

We had several rousing games of "Apples to Apples" over the weekend (board game - I bought it at Target) and many laughs. We had lots to celebrate since my Dad's cardiology work-up came back fine, no heart attack, no blockages. Just high blood pressure and fast heart beat but both contollable via meds. He has already lost some weight and looks better. He did tire fast this weekend but he had a good time in spite of that.

My family was all already planning next years but of course dubbed me Executor of the Reunion. My thinking cap is on and I am already trying to think of a great place.

Its Nasty Hot

House Update: This is where we are with the new house. It's "dried in" and the structural wiring is happening. Next is insulation and then drywall. I went over today and took a picture of every wall and ceiling for my hubby. He wants to see where all the wires are before they walled them in. I took 64 pictures! I told him I have learned to pacify crazy people. Its safer.

The house will look better when they put the brick and stone on. I still have to pick out wall and trim colors, stone for the fireplaces and more....AAAggghhhh!! In the words of Scarlet, "I'll think about it tomorrow!"

It's too hot to go outside. I don't even want to swim. So, I spend even more time glued to the t.v. watching Food Network. Since I have invested quite a few hours in this "occupation" I feel qualified to offer up my criticisms of the various chefs.

Sandra Lee - stop flashing your big boobies and blonde hair. My husband can't walk through a room without stopping for a look when you are on, you 'ho!

Bobby Flay - you give the word arrogance new meaning.

Emeril - Stop with the Bam. That is so old and I never found it cute to begin with.

Gina De Laurentis - EAT SOMETHING. How can you be a decent chef if you weigh less than 100 lbs.??

Rachel Ray - I love you girl but you are suffering from overexposure. And, who said you could host a talk show? Cooking up a quick dinner and conducting interviews in a witty and engaging manner are two totally different things.

Barefoot Contessa - Do you have any friends that are straight? Why only men? Do you not know any lesbians? Have you ever watched your show to hear how pretentious you sound?

I will now crawl back into my hole of nastiness. The heat is getting to me.

Pardon my Venting....

How many of you receive your identity from the picture on the stamp you put on your envelopes???? Raise your hands right now, dammit!

Today I am at the post office waiting in line (that's why you go - just to wait in line - I didn't even need anything. I just was in the mood to stand in line with an impatient 9 year old who complained the entire time that his back hurt. It was so fun, I may go back).

One person in front of me waited until she got up the front of the line to fill out anything for her certified letters. Geez, she'd only been on this earth for at least 62 years. Obviously, she was a certified virgin.

Then the lady in front of me gets up to the postal worker and has to SEE every freakin' stamp for sale. She was "tired of the flags, what else is there?" When the postal worker answered in his monotone voice, "vegetables" the lady actually needed to see the vegetables to know if that's what she wanted! What? Are we afraid that if we sent out a pic of a yam and you don't like yams, it will effect the rest of your life???

If my life ever gets that bad that I have to care about the pictures on my stamps, please put me out of my misery.

A Little Friday Nonsense

A little this and that on this Friday....

A friend of mine was getting gas the other day. She is a multitasking queen so was buying a cup of coffee inside the station AND talking on her phone about her work while getting gas. She jumped in her car and took off only to hear a loud bang and a clunk. She had forgotten to put the gas pump hose out of her tank! Luckily, there was no spraying like in the movie "Zoolander" but still she has to pay to get it reattached. We laughed our asses off as she told me about it. She said she has officially entered "The Ditziest Person in the World" club.

It kind of freaked me out the other day when they announced Ken Lay died. I had just finished reading my Texas Monthly magazine article about him. It gave me goosebumps as the t.v. announcers here blathered on and on. I think that man has made the front page of the Houston Chronicle more than any other in the last few years. Even today, his cremation article is on the front page!!

While I feel badly for his family, I think he was a crook and in business had no ethics. How can you behave so badly at work and then be such a church-going humanitarian?? I don't believe he ever did any of his good works for any other reason then to bring attention to himself. RIP Kenny Boy. You even found a way to get out of jail time. And, bring a hell of a lot of attention to yourself. Your own perfect ending. He was CEO to the very end.

We have had rain everyday for the last week here and personally, I am hoping it stops today and allows us to have a nice weekend - outdoors. You have yourself a nice weekend too.

Young Love

Today while exercising I witnessed puppy love. You know the kind, oblivious to the world, we will stick our tongues in each other's mouths in front of people kind of love.

I was on the Reebok machine at the neighborhood workout room for the first time in a while (and the muscles were telling me so with every movement). I was listening to my MP3 player and staring out the window onto the pool. A huge rain storm had just moved through so there was no one swimming. The two lifeguards were there anyway I suppose since the pool was technically open they had to stay at work. The sun had just broken through the clouds so the two lifeguards were in the water with their Baywatch red floatation devices. Did I mention these two were a boy and a girl?

I had already ascertained that these two were friendly. Their position in the water told me so. Then the boy took the girl's head between his hands and he kissed her. It was very romantic, especially for a boy of 16? 17? Of course, he immediately reverted to typical boy behavior and began sticking his tongue out to touch her with it on the forehead, the nose, the chin while she wiggled and giggled and pulled away.

At first, I got all parental and neighborhood association-ish in my mind, "They should not be frolicking, they should be working!" and "They are not being paid to swim around and fondle each other!" Then I looked at them again. From a new point of view.

Young love IS beautiful. These two were both attractive teenagers (isn't it a prerequisite of lifeguards to be gorgeous? or at least passably cute?). They were totally oblivious to the world in that moment. No kids to worry about. In the pool or of their own. No bills to worry about. No dishes or laundry. They could indulge themselves in the moment because they had no distractions.

My entire life is one big distraction. Laundry, bills, errands, kids, cooking, newsletters to write and design. Those moments when I am alone with my husband, who I still love like a teenager, may be far and few between sometimes but I still love that feeling. That feeling that you are the only two people in the world who love each other that much. That feeling that you are in a bubble and time has ceased to exist. That nothing else matters but touching that other person.

Hey, why don't you reach out and touch someone today???

Bonus points if you can name the company who used to use that slogan.

Independence Day

I'm back and my dad is doing fine. He will be going in for a whole cardiological work up but hopefully it will just be an irregular heartbeat which can be controlled. Thank you for all of the wonderful comments. I checked email at my brother's house one day and it made me all weepy seeing everyone's wonderful supportive comments.

This whole ordeal has made me stop and think. Independence Day has new meaning. Not in a patriotic way. More like, some day my parents will be gone and I will truly be on my own. Independent.

My parents have always been there as a safety net. My cocky attitude and self confidence has always been in part due to that if I fall there is always someone there to save me. My parents always and my husband for the past 15 years. The idea of living my life without that safety net of my parents is frightening. Panic instilling even.

I am not trying to say that my parents are perfect people. Trust me they are not. But, they have always been honest with my brothers and I and treated us with respect. It's nice. We are a family that really likes each other, besides loving each other and it makes family get togethers fun instead of like dental work with no anesthesia.

I love going "home" and having my parents wait on me. Worrying about what I want to eat or drink. Living in my wonderful household with three boys and a darling hubby, I don't get too much of that. That is a real treat. Plus, I am the only daughter. No, my dad has never called me princess or been mushy with me but he doesn't have to. I know he loves me by his actions. Unfailing support. The kind of "call him in the middle of the night and he will be there" support. Seriously, my dad is the type that if you call and need help his answer is "Are you sure that's all you need? I can do more."

Some day they will be gone. I dread that day. I hate seeing my parents age too. They were always the "grown-ups" and never needed any help. Its hard to see that change and to know that they will begin to rely more and more on us, their children.

So, that's where I am this holiday weekend. Thanks again for all the nice comments.